Monday, 17 December 2012

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The genre of this film is a drama, romance and a mystery.

The Manchurian Candidate is about a former Korean war captain, Major Ben Marco and his sergeant, Raymond Shaw. Major Ben Marco was a intelligence officer for the United Stated army. Major Ben Marco, Raymond Shaw and the other members of their squad are all brainwashed by communists. Raymond Shaw is brainwashed into becoming a political assassin. But Major Ben Marco may find a way to save him.

Director:
John Frankenheimer

Writers:
Richard Condon (based on the novel)
George Axelrod (screenplay)
John Frankenheimer

Cast:
Frank Sinatra as Major Ben Marco
Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh as Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin
Henry Silva as Chunjin
James Gregory as Senator John Yerkes Iselin
Leslie Parrish as Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver as Senator Thomas Jordan

Facts:
  • The film was made in the USA
  • The film was released in the USA on the 24th October 1962
  • The estimated amount of money that would be made in the Box Office was $2,200,00
  • M.C. Productions was the production company used
  • The film runs for 126 minutes
  • Its a black and white film


 
 

Thursday, 13 December 2012

The Bodyguard (1992)

The Bodyguard (1992)

 
 The film The Bodyguard includes the genres; drama, romance and thriller.

The Bodyguard is about a pop singer that has been receiving threatening notes, so her manager hires the best bodyguard he can find. He takes more security precautions than she thinks is necessary, eventually the singer discovers that these security precautions are necessary when the stalker strikes closer to her home. And the bodyguard and the singer soon start an affair.

The film contains elements of a thriller, its fast paced and is full of tension. Particularly in the scene at the Award Ceremony and the scene at the wooden log cabin house where a suspicious killer comes to kill the pop singer.

Director:
Mick Jackson

Writer:
Lawrence Kasdan

The Cast:
Kevin Costner - Frank Farmer
Whitney Houston - Rachel Marron
Gary Kemp - Sy Spector
Bill Cobbs - Devaney
Ralph Waite - Herb Farmer
Tomas Arana - Portman
Michele Lamar Richards - Nicki Marron

Facts:

"Never let her out of your sight. Never let your guard down. Never fall in love." This was a famous quote from the film.
The film was released on the 26th December 1992 in the UK.
The Bodyguard was filmed in the United States of America.
The amount of money the filmed gained was $410,900,000 worldwide.
Kasdan Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures were used for the production of the film.
The film ran for 129 minutes.




 

The Untouchables (1987)

The Untouchables (1987)

 
 
The genres associated with the 1980's film, The Untouchables, are Thriller, Drama, and Crime.
 
The film is about a Federal agent, Eliot Ness, gathers a personal team of his own mob fighters  in order to bring Chicago crime boss, Al Capone, to justice.

The film contains a lot of fast paced action as well as slow action to add upon the suspense and build up of tension.
 
 
Director:
Brian de Palma
 
Writers:
Oscar Fraley (suggested by book), Eliot Ness (suggested by book), David Mamet (written by)
 
The Cast:
Kevin Costner - Eliot Ness
Sean Connery - Jim Malone
Charles Martin Smith - Agent Oscar Wallace
Andy Garcia - Agent George Stone/ Giuseppe Petri
Robert De Niro - Al Capone

Facts:

A famous quote used in the film was "What are you prepared to do?"
In the UK the film was released on the 18th September 1987
It was filmed in the USA
The amount of money made was $76,270,454 in America.
Paramount Pictures was the production company used to help develop the film
The films running time is 119 minutes long





 


Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

An analysation of Drive's opening scene

Drive's Opening Scene

Sound

Throughout the opening scene of Drive there is a non-diegetic sound, which sounds like a heartbeat, this constanly puts the audience on edge and adds to the build of the tension. It foreboads. 

There is dialogue from one man in the opening scene, his voice is soft and quiet, as if he is whispering. It makes us seem like what he says is a secret.

Then we hear another mans voice, after the change in scene. There is not much conversation between the man from the first scene and the man in the next scene. The new man introduced in the second scene has a friendly voice.

After this scene we hear diegetic sound, which is the noise of the car and other cars on the road.


Lighting

In the opening of Drive there is not much lighting. It's dark with lots of shadows, so low key lighting must have been used.

Editing

There are not many cuts to scenes, the scenes are not fast paced either, this helps the build up of tension.

Camera

Drive doesn't have many camera angles or shots, or changes in scenes in the opening. But it does include close ups and some medium shots.


A recipe for a Thriller- Thriller Conventions

Thriller Conventions



 
A thriller should be fast-paced and exhilarating. There should be frequent action and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of a more powerful and better equipped villain(s).
All the following devices should be used extensively they are:
  • Suspense
  • Red Herrings
  • Cliffhangers

A thriller is a villain driven plot. The villain presents obstacles and barriers that the hero must overcome. The genre is flexible and can engage the audience through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social and political tensions.

Alfred Hitchcock, a famous director, stated that thrillers allow the audience, "to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like".

In other words audience members like to experience a sense of thrill, and fear.

Foreboding builds up tension and a sense that something bad will happen, this can be used in a thriller.
A Thriller should have the following to the central plot:
  • Justice vs Injustice
  • Blurred line of good and bad
  • Enigmas
  • Red-herrings
  • Plot twists
  • Cliff hangers
  • Foreboading

A Thriller can be divided into sub genres such as:
  • Mystery
  • Crime
  • Spy
  • Political
  • Psychological
Some Thrillers can create different moods such as:
  • Murder
  • Menace
  • Mystery
  • Paranoia
It is typical for a thriller to have characters on a dangerous mission, who escape when it seems impossible, North by Northwest is a good example of this.

Thrillers should include:
  • The audience being on the 'edge-of-your-seat'
  • Tension
  • Climax
  • Suspense
  • Chases
  • Pursuits
  • Deadlines
To make a good thriller your villains must be complexed characters and troubled. And society must be seen as dark and corrupt.

Friday, 30 November 2012

Recipe for James Bond Thrillers

Recipe for James Bond Thrillers



  1. James Bond must be dashing, sexy and heroic secret agent.
  2. James Bond must try and defeat an eccentric villain of equal strength.
  3. Gorgeous women are always included in a James Bond film.
  4. Exotic locations and plot devices are used for a successful James Bond film.
  5. James Bond films are eye-popping and include stunt-driven action.


The opening scene to Casino Royale automatically starts with action, to catch the audience's attention. And the trailer to Casino Royale is also full of action, which intices the audience into watching the film.

Opening scene:                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu_qUn_90FE
Trailer:                                   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl5WHj0bZ2Q

The newest James Bond film SKYFALL, not only is full of exciting action scenes and all the rest to go with it (list is at the top) it also has character depth, and we find out more about our heroic secret agent, 007, as this James Bond film shatters the stereotypical tongue-in-cheek action.

Many critics have judged the new James Bond film, SKYFALL, as best ever James Bond film made.

Trailer:                                   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kw1UVovByw

Analysing a 3-4minute extract

Extract: Toy Story 3, The Incinerator Scene



Intro

I have analysed a scene from Toy Story 3, because personally I like this film as it is a classic and even though it is animated and doesn't have actors/actresses I feel that it shows different techniques and emotions. I find this scene to be exciting and full of suspense.



Sound

Within the first few seconds of the Incinerator Scene, there is diegetic sound from the machinery grinding up waste in the background. Whilst Woody is searching for his friends, music appears. The music's dark and mysterious; this highlights Woody's emotion, setting and his worry for his friends. At this point the music is non-diegetic. Throughout the 4 minute and 39 second extract the characters' voices are all diegetic.


As Buzz, Woody and Lots-O' fall from the magnetic ceiling, you hear the ruffling of the shredded waste as they land, this is diegetic sound.

The first 1 minute and 22 seconds of the extract, there are echoes in voices at times (diegetic). It emphasises the emptiness of the setting and how big the setting is for the characters.

The close up on Woody's face and the high-pitched non-diegetic music in the background shows Woody's realisation that what Rex saw wasn't what he thought he saw. Tensions build for audience members. This scene onwards tension is built up further, audience members become tense and worried and keeps the audience guessing.

Noise then escalates from a low sound to a high pitched sound to show how far away the toys are from danger. High pitched violins are used throughout this point in the extract as it builds tension, creates suspense and a terrifying atmosphere as the toys panic and run for their lives. The panting of the toys are heard as they run, this makes you on edge as you want them to live. We sympathise the toys. The music is fast paced to build tension. It then suddenly changed to deep, dark, low sounded instruments this gives a sense of something evil about to happen.

As the toys fall, instruments play quickly to exaggerate how far they fell. After the non-diegetic sound of the instruments, machinery is heard. You hear a clinking noise from the machinery over 5 times every 2 seconds to add tension. this diegetic noise then merges into non-diegetic noise and turns into instruments making a deep noise every couple of seconds. Violins, non-diegetic sound is being played as it's a miserable part. The same musical instruments are played in the same way, this builds tension.

Towards the end of this scene, angelic voices are sung to highlight that it's a miracle, that they've been saved, it's a key moment. Trumpets are played after to show the triumph of the rescue. Machine noises are also played in the background at times. Light, happy music is being played and the characters begin to talk. Whereas before in danger, their actions spoke louder than, their words and they didn't talk to each other. The music clearly showed the emotions of the situation. There's foreboading in this extract, foreboading's when tension is built and itmakes the audience think something bad will happen. Sound's important in the part of the extract where no one speaks, as it is tense.

As Lots-O' sneaks off a dustbin truck stops beside him, the noise of the truck are diegetic.



Mise-en-scene
A close up of Woody and then onto his point of view shot, which is panned slowly. Old appliances are shown and the atmosphere is dark with no lighting, this gives us a clue to the setting. An over the shoulder shot of the group's point of view of Rex and what he was seeing. As it moves onto a close up of Rex, we see that the group of toys are stood behind Rex blurred, while Rex is clear. As Woody moves next to Rex he becomes in focus for example.

 Editing



The characters and the setting of the place in the extract are all clear and detailed. At the start action is face-paced as they’re running and trying to escape from danger. It then slows down as it’s a sad moment and everyone thinks they are coming to an end and they struggle and give up.

Cinematography

Lots of ranges of shots are used such as; point of view, slow panned, bird’s eye view, medium shot.

Most of the colours and lighting in the start of the film and dark and there is no light. However above the stop button is a flashy whitey, blue light this signifies that this could be what saves them. As they come to the dangerous near death experience part, you see a bright light at the end of the tunnel; however, this isn’t daylight, its fire. Just as they’re being recused a bright, whitey, blue light is shone this gives a sense of heaven and safety. Daylight is also shown at the end to show they’re outside and it makes the setting.

In one part of the extract Jessie calls Woody’s name. Woody then looks down; this is his point of view from a bird’s eye view shot. In the first part of the extract it changes from birds eye shots to medium shots of the whole group a few times. These dramatic changes in shots highlight the smallness of the toys.

Friday, 23 November 2012

Sound & Lighting

Sound

 
 
There are many types of sound in film.
 
Diegetic sound is when the sounds on screen which are relevant to the film, or sounds in the film setting.e.g. voices of the characters, sounds made by objects in the film.

Non-diegetic sound is when sounds not on the screen, or setting that are edited in the scene of a film.e.g. narrator's commentary, soundtrack.

Contrapuntal sound is when sound does not match the actions happening on the screen, for example in a fight in a film classical music could be playing. Classical music doesn't match the action on screen.

Parallel sound however is when sound matches and fits the actions and emotions of the setting on the screen.

Sound bridges are techniques to make the film continuous and smooth. It's when sound from the end of one scene continues into the start of the next scene.

 

Lighting

Key Light: The main light on the subject, which is the brightest light.
Fill Light: Counter acts the key light, which makes the key light softer and it gets rid of harsh shadows.
Back Lighting: Helps add depth to the field, and makes the subject look more 'rounded'. The light source comes from behind the subject to create silhouettes.
Under Lighting: Main source of light comes from below the subject, mainly used in horrors.
Top Lighting: When the main source of light comes from above the subject, highlighting features to create a glamorous and flattering look to a star.
Low Key Lighting: Using only the key and back lights, a sharp contrast of light and dark is created forming deep shadows.
High Key Lighting: More filler lights are used to create a bright, daylight effect.

The Movement of the Camera and Shot Angles

Camera Shots



Extreme Long Shots are  usually used to show an exterior (outside). E.g a landscape, building.



Long Shots show a full image of a humans body from head to toe.




Medium Shots are usually shot from the knees to the waist up. Over the shoulder shots are included as a medium shot. 


Close up shots don't show much of the background but concentrates on one particular image. This shot can magnify an image.


Extreme Close up shots magnify a specific part of a face.





Camera Angles


Bird's eye view angles are shots which are taken overhead.



High view angles are shots taken overhead as well but are not as zoomed out as bird's eye view angles.


Eye level angles show the eye level of an actor/actress or animal, this is more neutral. It is a shot of which the actor/actress is looking directly into the camera.




Low angle shots are shots that emphasise an objects largeness and makes them seem bigger than they actually are.




Point of view shots are used to show what a character is seeing.







Camera Movements


Pan is when the camera is on a tripod, the filming is horizontal and moves from left to right or right to left. The pan can be moved horizontally slowly or quickly. When it is moved quickly it is called a whip pan.

Tilt is when the camera is moved vertically, up and down.

Tracking shots show the movement of something, and it follows the movement of it.

Handheld shots are when the camera operator just holds the camera, the camera can be supported slightly by using a steadicam, this makes the shot of the film shaky and unsteady.

Crane shots can move up, down, left or right and can make swooping movements.

Rolling shots are when the camera tilts and has the effect of someone falling over to the side.



Thursday, 22 November 2012

Film Language

Film Language


Media can include a wide variety of things like:
  • Advertising
  • Print Media
  • Public Adverts i.e. Buses, Billboards
  • TV
  • Newspapers
  • Radio
  • Music
  • Magazines
  • Film
  • On line Media i.e. Facebook, Websites, Viral, Banners, Animated films
Media is a form of propaganda and can have a big influence on people, it can be positive or negative.
The purpose of Media is to mainly inform and entertain us.

Cross Media Convergence is when one or more different forms of media come together.

Intertextuality is when one text makes reference to another. For example in a Simpsons episode the refer to Star Wars.

Preconceptions are previous expectations, prior knowledge based on past experiences.

Experiential Knowledge is about what you've experienced and how this might influence you and the way you read a film text.

Elements such as Plot, Narrative and Story all have to be included into a film because that's what makes it.
A story should always have a beginning, middle and end but this can be  unfolded in a different order in films. A story is a series of events recorded in their chronological order (linear narrative).

A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic and emotional significance (linear/ non-linear narrative).

The art of good directing, or good storytelling is the ability to plot a story in the most compelling way for an audience. Plotting a filmed story means deciding which events, characters and settings will be seen in the film.

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock


Sir Alfred Hitchcock, (13th August 1899 - 29th April 1980) was a film director and producer in England.

The creator of the films; North by Northwest, Psycho, and Birds, liked to be filmed in some scene in his films, you can see him right at the start of North by Northwest.

Many of his thrillers had all sorts of techniques. And he created many films full of suspense as well as psychological thrillers, he was a master at this sub-genre. He thought that "the only was to get rid of my fears is to make films abou them."

Hitchcock said the following quotes:
"There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

"If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on."

"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible."

"I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body on the coach."

After achieving the title 'Best British film director'  he moved on to Hollywood.

Hitchcock framed some of his shots to maximise empathy, anxiety and fear.

Many of Hitchcock's films had twists in the end and had the MacGuffin at the end of them, like in the film Birds. The story line of Birds is forgotten half way through as no one in the audience cares that it was a practical joke, we care that the main characters survive.

Alfred Hitchcock liked to put blonde women in his  films. And directed more than 50 feature films.

Alfred Hitchcock had a daughter named Patricia Hitchcock, who became an actress. She is once of the secretaries at the start of Psycho.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock, stated the famous words "Thrillers allow the audience, to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like".





Alfred Hitchcock and his daughter Patricia Hitchcock.

Thursday, 25 October 2012

"The Birds"

" The Birds"


What is the film, "The Birds" about?

A beautiful, wealthy blonde woman from San Francisco meets a potential boyfriend and follows him to a small town in Northern California. The town slowly takes a bizarre turn for the worst as hundreds and hundreds of birds of all kinds start attacking people from the small town of all ages and both genders. The bloodthirsty, vicious, plotting birds increase in numbers and attack anyone who comes near. 

Who helped with the making of "The Birds"?

The Director: Alfred Hitchcock
The Writer: Daphne Du Maurier (Story) and Evan Hunter (Screenplay)
The Stars: Tippi Hedren as Melanie Daniels
                 Suzanne Pleshette as Annie Hayworth
                 Rod Taylor as Mitch Brenner

In this film the external threat is from nature, whereas in North by Northwest and Psycho the external threat was from people.
The petrol pump scene in this film was fast paced and full of action, this is what characterises a thriller.
Mitch soon becomes the protector for the 2 women and the little girl. He keeps calm and boards up the house, and soon after drives them all to safety. So Mitch, the resourceful hero, tries to thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. In this case the birds are better equipped as there are more of them.
It's a villain driven plot, as all the birds intend and plan to hurt and kill all the people in the small town.
There was a cliff hanger at the end of the film as we all thought that the birds would attack the car, and we are left wondering.
 It is also a MacGuffin as the story line is forgotten as at the beginning it was a practical joke which turned into a fight for their lives.

Interesting Facts:
  • The first day the film was released was in Argentina on the 30th May 1963
  • The genre is a Thriller/Horror
  • The minimum age to watch this film is 15
  • Box office made $11,403,529 in the USA on this film
  • 119 minutes is the running of the film
  • The production company used in the production of "The Birds" was Universal Productions and Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
  • The scene when Tippi Hedren was viciously attacked by birds near the end of the film took a week to shoot. The birds were attached to her clothing by nylon threads, so that the birds couldn't get away. This was to make it look like she was getting attacked and smothered by the birds. The birds were also real and at one point actually cut her face in one of the shots.
  • When the audience left the film's UK Premier at the Odeon, in Leicester Square, in London, they were greeted by loud screeching and bird squawking noises.
  • Alfred Hitchcock did not end the film with the words "The End" as he wanted to give the impression that the terror didn't end.
 

"Psycho"

"Psycho"

What is Psycho about?

A young woman runs off with $40,000, which she stole from her employer's client. She got caught in a storm whilst driving to her boyfriend's store in California, so she stopped at The Bates Motel and only planned to stay for the night. A young man managed the motel business but seemed to be dominated by his elderly mother.

Who helped with the making of this film?

The Director: Alfred Hitchcock
The Writer: Joseph Stefano (screenplay) and Robert Bloch (novel)
The Stars: Anthony Perkins starred as Norman Bates
                Vera Miles starred as Lila Crane
                John Gavin starred as Sam Loomis
                Janet Leigh starred as Marion Crane

A cliffhanger used in Psycho would be near the end of the film, when the audience assume that Sam won't recover from the bash on the head by villain with a split personality Norman Bates.
Sam Loomis and Lila Crane had to use their initiatives to find out what happened to Marion Crane. Whilst trying to find clues they had to use their brains and think of ways to overcome the villain and not get caught sneaking around.
Norman Bates mislead the audience into thinking that his mother was alive, this is otherwise known as a Red Herring.
The MacGuffin was used in this film. I noticed that the real reason of the plot of the story was the $40,000 that Marion Crane stole from her employer's client and that she planned to start a new life with her boyfriend Sam Loomis. However this gets over shadowed by the death of Marion and everyone forgets about the $40,000 as they want to know who Marion's killer is.
Suspense is built up throughout Psycho, as Alfred Hitchcock does a good job of keeping his audience guessing. An example would be how the audience thought Norman's mother existed, when she didn't.
Thrillers are fast paced this is shown through the famous shower scene, the link is on the bottom of this page, why not have a look!

Facts:

  • The film was released on the 8th September 1960
  • Psycho made $500,000,000 on Box Office worldwide
  • The production company used to produce this film was Shamley Productions
  • The approximate running time of the film is 109 minutes
  • It was a huge box office hit              






Tuesday, 23 October 2012

"North by northwest"


"North by Northwest"

So, What is North by Northwest about?

North by Northwest, a film from 1959, a thriller, a chase, a confusing nightmare for an innocent New York advertising executive as he is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies. He is chased all over America to look for a way to survive.

Who helped with the making of this film?

The Director: Alfred Hitchcock
The Writer: Ernest Lehman
The Stars: Cary Grant starred as Roger O. Thornhill
                 Eva Marie Saint starred as Eve Kendall
                 James Mason starred as Phillip Vandamm

Cliffhangers are used, for example when Mr. Thornhill is drunk and he is put into a car and made to drive.

Mr. Thornhill had to think on his feet many times, this is when he out smarts the more powerful and better equipped villains  For example when he causes a scene and gets arrested in the auction.

When the audience are mislead, this is a Red herring. For example when the blonde woman tried to help Mr. Thornhill, but we find out she's plotting with the villains  but we are mislead because she's a secret undercover agent.

Most of the time the villains had the upper hand but Mr. Thornhill turned it around and used initiative on many occasions, for example when he was kidnapped, this became a villain driven plot, the kidnapping was fast paced this is typical of a thriller.

North by Northwest also contained an element called the MacGuffin. The MacGuffin is a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction. for example in this film we cared more for the heroes safety rather than what the villains were really after.

Interesting Facts:


  • The film was released on the 22nd November 1959
  • $13,275,000 was made in the USA on the showcasing this film
  • The production company is: MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
  • The film is approximately 136 minutes long
  • "Singin' in the rain" was whistled by Cary Grant in the film

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

About my blog


I am.....IRON MAN!

Just kidding i am Lucy Allen, and you have now officially visited my Blog site, Welcome!
I am a Robert Clack sixth form student and I'm currently studying the following subjects:
-Legal Studies
-Legal Secretary
-Sport and not forgetting Media!

I am studying Legal Studies and Legal Secretary at Eastbrook, Sport at Warren and Media at Robert Clack.

This Blog is about Thrillers, and my thriller coursework.

So i hope you find what you're looking for.

ENJOY!!!