Thriller OTS Planning and Research

I want to base my work loosely around the themes of 'Die Hard: With A Vengeance' starring Bruce Willis and Samuel. L Jackson. It is about an anonymous bomber who keeps ringing the detective via pay phones in New York claiming that he has a bomb in one of 3 big business buildings and that he has several hostages. Willis has to stop the madman before it's too late and destruction is brought to the city.

As I don't have a budget of around $2,000,000 I cannot set up enormous backdrops and sets so I will have to use local environments to create similar effects to those in the movies.

I would like for there to be a crooked policeman that turns out is/works for the bomber just to add a twist to the storyline. Thrillers are based around twists and things that you wouldn't expect, so this would fit in perfectly.

Tzvetan Todorov's Narrative Theory - Lord Of The Rings

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosoper born on 1st March, 1939 in Sofia. Todorov came up with the theory that a story will follow a set structure to keep the reader intrigued and want to continue reading to discover what happens in the end, and to see if there are any odd twists in the plotline.

His theory is set out like so:
(I am using the Lord Of The Rings as my example to explain this theory)

Equalibrium
Bilbo Baggins hands down the 'One Ring' which he found in a cave, home to the creature Gollum, who found the ring after Sauron had lost in the Battle for Middle Earth many years before. Frodo accepts and Bilbo's good friend and wise wizard Gandalf explains the quest to him

Distruption
Frodo sets out from his homeland of the Shire with his best friend Sam, and his two good friends Merri & Pippin, not knowing the power of the ring that he carries with him. Meanwhile, 9 riders of the night, or 'Ringwraiths' are released by Sauron in search of the ring.

Recognition Of Distruption
The people of Rohan move to Helms Deep when they are overun by an Orc army, sent from the evil Saruman who is working for Lord Sauron, in search of the ring that Frodo carries.

Attempt to Repair Distruption
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimmlie, Boromir & Gandalf set out to battle the Orcs and Wraiths, to help Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom so they can cuss the ring into it, destroying Sauron's evil power and bringing peace to Middle Earth

Reinstatement Of Equilibrium
Frodo manages to get to the peak of Mount Doom and destroys the ring, destroying Sauron and bringing peace back to Middle Earth. Aragorn marries the beautiful elf princess Arwen and becomes King of Rohan. All lands are returned to their former glory. Gandalf, Frodo and Arwen set sail to the lands of the Demi Gods.

I have decided to adopt the method of Todorov's Theory in my own piece of practical work because it is a solid structure that is easily recognisable, easy to mould into ways that are comfortable for the genre of you piece, and the style in which you film it can be played around with too.

The Uses Of Sound In Thrillers & How I Intend To Use Sound In My Work...

Sound plays a large role in any film, no matter what the genre. It is used to emphasise a certain feeling or emotion in accordance to what is being shown on the screen at that particular moment. For instance, if a superhero character had just saved the world from an apocalypse or an evil villain, the music would be upbeat with a lot of instruments. This shows an achievement and relief.


In the case of thrillers, being that they are meant to keep you on edge, slow orchestral music will be in the background. When a climax of terror or vulnerability arises, the music becomes high pitch and change rhythm to increase the viewers heart rate.


Music in thrillers is used to portray:

• Tension
• Vulnerability
• Fear
• Lonliness
• Victims being chased
• Stabbing (music will play in a rhythm in synchronisation with the blows)
• Death
• Running away / hiding
• Create a sense of the unknown
• Sets the mood

Here is an example of this, taken from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960's thriller 'Psyco'

This works brilliantly as it shows the lady in the shower, unaware that somebody has just walked in, and so fear is felt as you just want to shout to her 'there is someone behind you!' Her vulnerability in the situation creates tension as you know there is no way of making her aware of the danger she is in.


I intend to have the same effect in my piece of work, just at a lesser level. By using dark and contrasting music, i intend to make the viewer know that something bad is going to happen, but i don't want them to instantly be aware of when it may occur. Slow but high notes and chords are an ideal way to do this as it constantly makes the brain think that something is bound to happen soon, and you get agitated. This is how i plan to have the viewer on the edge of their seat and with the video i have shot, i think it should do just that.

Conventions of the Genre (Thriller)

Here are some typical conventions of the thriller genre:

• Quick Cuts - Quick cuts are used typically to build up tension, and keep the viewers brain constantly having to follow the action on screen. This works very well as when the action happens (stabbing, screaming, grabbing, tripping etc.) this triggers the viewers into feeling sympathetic and occassionally making them jump.
• Discordant music - Discordent music is used to add a deep sense of eeriness and mystery to the actions on screen. Helps create tension and vulnerability
• Close Ups - By using close ups, it becomes easy to show fear or hate in the actor's face, making it clearer to the viewers that sympathy or fear is what they should be feeling. It is a clear way of expressing emotions.
• Dim Lighting / Shadows - Dim lighting is commonly used to make it hard to see what could be lurking around the corner, creating a sense of possible doom and intense vulnerability. In turn, this triggers sympathetic feelings towards the victim(s).
• Places in the middle of nowhere - This occurs in almost every thriller film or production as it emphasises the victims vulnerability by not knowing their surroundings, leading on to them having no way of escaping or getting to saftey.
• Fast Pace Tracking - An excellent method of portraying the victim(s) trying to run away from danger, or to show determination in whatever it is that is hunting the victim(s). Increases the viewer's heart rate which will eventually (when the main action takes place, aided by sudden bursts of loud sounds or screaming) make the viewer jump or get goosebumps.

My Prezzi

http://prezi.com/ztbpgv3tw1vi/harvey-shread/

Evaluation Of Preliminary Task

• In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?  How have I created verisimilitude in my work? To begin, my media is based around that of a typical television soap opera such as Eastenders, but has loose connections with a drama such as The Bill. The reason for this is because a wider range of text and camera shots can be used, adding effect and making the piece feel more gritty and realistic. Almost as if the viewers could relate to it, or see the reality of what's going on. By keeping the number of props down, we were able to show that the piece was meant to be realistic, and not some over the top Hollywood film (in which the building would blow up and so on...). This was to get across the fact that we wanted our work to be as real to every day office life as possible, and hoping the dialogue would aid the creepiness of the Boss. I believe that with a bit more practise and skill in the art of editing, i could have made this more believable, and less like an A Level drama production.
• How does your media product represent particular social groups? - Almost subconsciously we decided, being male, that i was going to be the boss. Already, we have committed a minor act of sexism in the fact that, why couldn't the female have been the boss? Is she incapable of making major decisions that could affect the outcome of a highly rated business? And the fact i was creepy could suggest that women in office type work are possibly vunerable agains high ranking boss's? In our video, the boss tackles the interview with quite an autocratic approach when he says 'Congratulations Miss. Cousins, you start on Monday'. By not giving her a choice of when is suitable hours for her to begin work, already he has dominated her and she has no other option but to agree. I think imy media is representing the typic admin workers of business, and how their lives at work may be the same, not everythign runs as smoothly as you may think.
• What kind of media instition might distribte your media product and why? - Personally, i'm not entirely sure that the type of media we have created would be distributed because of it's low quality, and also the fact that there is a lot of media with similar intentions already out there being published or broadcast. With it not being unique and a new idea, i generally do believe that it is not worthy of distribution. If it was to be distributed, it would more than likely be on a channel such as channel 4 daytime television.
• Who would be the audience for your media product? - It's more suited to possibnly the elderly who watch television in the daytime, or like to sit down and watch something in the afternoon. This is simply because they enjoy the thrill almost, of the weird boss, and like a twist in the plotlines.
• How did you attract/address your audience? - We attracted our audience by having a weird, creppy boss, making them hooked on wanting to see how far he will take his extreme approach to interviewing the young female worker.
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? - Throughout the filming and editing of our piece, i have learnt many new skills. these include: How to capture video using a normal video camera, using different angles and motions with the camera to add effect, how to use Windows Movie Maker to upload and chop/cut the video, and to also add transitions, using a blog and uploading/managaing items on the blog, as well as managing the log itself, and keeping it updated with regular feeds.
• Looking back on your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? - The majority of the things i feel i have learnt since beginning the project i have listed above, but smaller things like how to make fair and equal descisions when it comes to filming with other people, and how to make sure you get the most out of a shot by using editing tricks, transitions, and clever, secret hints in the dialog or dress code. Overall i think i have gained a detailed understanding of what it means to be in the media industry, and how you need to be unique in a way that your target audience will stay interested in your work. I think i am going to really enjoy doing media studies at A Level, and i look forward to going deep inside the media cave and learning all there is to know about how to make it in the world of media.

Preliminary Task (Unedited Version)

This video is the original footage Hannah & myself shot of our preliminary task. What with this being the unedited and untouched version, several obvious mistakes can be pointed out.
These include:

• Opening doors 3 times
• The footage jumps about
• Continuity errors such as not being in the same position in one shot as you were in the last one
• Making mistakes with the speech
• Camera shaking/being run for too long

However, on the edited version, these minor mistakes have been removed or corrected, and a few extra transitions and effects have been added to enhance the quality of the footage. This will be uploaded next.