My Thriller Movie: September 2014

Monday, 29 September 2014

Have I been influenced or inspired by other media products in the planning of my thriller?

MUSIC

John Murphy - 28 days later has inspired me a lot and I may use this in my thriller opening scene. I think it is thrilling as it starts slow and relatively silent and gradually builds up and turns into a overwhelming, loud and frightening piece.

This song is very popular, and was used in a confrontation in the film 28 Weeks Later which is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle. Also, the track featured in a climactic torture and fight scene in Kick Ass in 2010 as well as throughout the sequel in Kick-Ass 2 and in the trailer for Metro 2033 a Ukrainian video game.

This music piece has an eerie tone. The repetitiveness of the song also becomes unsettling as well as allows most focus to be on the action in the shot rather than the audience being overwhelmed with the music.

Have I been influenced or inspired by other media products in the planning of my thriller?

POSTERS

I was inspired by poster of the science-fiction, thriller film "Gravity"

I love the color scheme of blue and black again, I think it is so effective as it is scary but has a element of vulnerability and innocence with the blue!

Similarly, I love this poster because of the focus to Sandra Bullocks eyes, which show intense fear and worry.

The reflection in the glass, also shows depth to the poster too.

Finally, I like the white writing on the black background and the fact the title's letters are spread out from each other.

Have I been influenced or inspired by other media products in the planning of my thriller?

MUSIC VIDEOS

I have been inspired by the Thriller music video by Michael Jackson.

The popular, iconic music video provokes a range of emotions including fear as well as being humorous.

The sound scape of screams is used a lot throughout the video (see 2minutes 40seconds in).

It has also made me aware of how my thriller could result in being a stereotypical scary theme, and this music video has warned me and influenced me to make sure mine is not.

Also, I like the dark, gloomy setting which seems remote and abandoned. I like the color scheme of black and blue, I may use this. Also, the mist used on the floor or dry ice is really effective, however may be a bit over dramatic.

Lastly, I noticed the music video keeps showing the eyes of the people, this is scary if they are being haunted for example; Michael Jackson is a zombie, or even just scared. The girls eyes are shown and that emphases her fear.

Showing their eyes, especially on a dark shot, is very engaging and effective to convey the emotions of the characters.

Friday, 26 September 2014

Inspiration of opening scene?

Seven and Buried

Both Seven and Buried films used really interesting title movements.

Buried used really interesting techniques.

However, there was one key idea which really inspired me. The titles in buried moved up the shot, firstly by word, and then by letter.

screen shots taken from http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/buried/

This was an inspiring concept, because the title movements emphasis the concept of the movie. I felt like the idea of the title rising suggested the depth the person was buried and I felt that was a great way to introduce the movie storyline.

Finally, Seven also a very engaging opening title scene.

The type of writing looked as if had been scratched on to the shot. It also shook. I think this created feelings of panic.

Also, the writing was childlike and therefore suggests innocence of the victim or vulnerability adding to the effect on the audience.

Finally, I like how it was black on white. This created a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

What other thriller films inspired me?

Taken

I would say Taken would be one of the film titles sequences I have taken most inspiration from so far.

Taken also uses the homemade video idea, which I really liked. The homemade video is of a child on her birthday, celebrating with her family. The bright light and the positive atmosphere, suggests the worst is going to come and the innocent child may be the victim.

Also, the black background suggests danger, death and mystery and provokes fear.

However, once researching into the idea of a homemade video through both Taken and Paranormal Activity I started to worry about how I would cut out of the video without having a awkward pause. This is where Taken was a really inspiring opening title sequence because it uses a really unique idea of cutting out of the video when the child blows out the candle and then the shot goes to present day. This is really interesting and allows the scene to flow really well.

The shot after is very dark and gloomy, which works as the child has blown out the light source of the candle.

Finally, I was hugely inspired by the music in Taken. The first part of the opening title was a sound of background sounds that resembled a gloomy attic as well as turning into a group of sounds such as people laughing but with a strange screechy noise however at 0.18 seconds piano music started. To find the piano music was more effective and engaging and was a more subtle way to evoke feelings of danger. The piano music was eery and thrilling, as it was slow and loud. I would like to use a similar soundtrack.

This music has been taken from the end credits of the Taken movie, however I could use this or something similar in my movie. I only would use the first 40 seconds or so.

Which thriller films have inspired me in the planning of my thriller film?

When researching on the artofthetitle.com and youtube.com I was inspired by many of the opening titles in a variety of thriller films, however the following ones have been very significant in my planning.

Paranormal Activity

I have been inspired by the Paranormal Activity idea of a homemade video, because it is particularly effective to scare the audience as it takes the action close to home.

I like the way the shot has the time and date in the corner and I may use this in my opening scene.

Also, the setting of the house gives the effect of being close to home, and therefore the audience will be scared even if they are in the comfort of their own home, and therefore my thriller would have a significant impact on the audience.

Wednesday, 17 September 2014

What are my favourite thriller films?

1. My favorite thriller movie to date is The Hunger Games

The hunger games is directed by Gary Ross and stars popular actors Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and more. The Hunger Games is a 2012 American Sci-fi adventure thriller.

I love the Hunger Games movie because the storyline is so unique and one I have never watched before. Also, I feel I started to really connect and like the characters adding to the thrill of the movie as I wanted them to succeed and therefore was on the edge of my seat throughout.

I feel this is a very good scene because it is captivating, scary and thrilling yet a heartwarming and shocking moment showing the loving, close and protective sister relationship.

2. Paranormal activity

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American Supernatural horror thriller film written, co-produced, photographed, edited and directed by Oren Peli.

I find this film so haunting and hard hitting because the film is based on a young couple who are haunted by supernatural presence in their own home. I find the movie particularly thrilling and scary because the film is presented in the style of found footage from cameras set up in the house. That is my favorite aspect of the film. Therefore, the film focuses on a couple attempting to document the unnatural activities that happen to them within their house.

I think this is the best scene because it demonstrates just how powerful the demon is. This scene is significant because it is the first time the demon called Toby becomes hands on with the couple as before all he had done was terrorize them from a distance to scare them. Therefore, I found this scene shocked and scared me the most as I was unaware of the strength and confidence of the ghost as I hasn't seen anything like that in the film yet.

3. Taken

Taken is a 2008 action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. Taken stars the likes of Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Leland Orser.
Taken is about a former CIA operative whose daughter gets kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery while she was traveling round France, and his adventure to track her down and save her.

One of my favorite scenes is when he drives the wrong way down a street dodging cars to catch up a boat beside, to end up jumping onto the boat. This was a action-packed, exciting and engaging scene that had me on the edge of my seat.

Also, a very key captivating scene was when Neeson is on the phone to one of the criminals and he makes a very good speech which made me feel he was powerful and he had control over the situation his daughter was in, exciting me to see what he was going to do next.

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills -- skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Thursday, 11 September 2014

Which thrillers are considered to be 'the best of all time'?

Best thriller films in history...

"Seven brought intelligence and genuine thrills to the sagging genre, during a considerable drought."

Seven is a 1995 American thriller film written by Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by David Fincher. The gritty film features popular film star Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow as well as many other popular supporting roles.

The movie slowly unwraps an exciting gory tale of a serial killer who plans murders which correspond to the seven deadly sins.

The film was released in the US on September 22 in 1995 and it quickly became popular grossing $327 million at the box office internationally.

"David Fincher's film ensures that audiences will squirm from the first frame to the final grisly revelation." - uk.ign.com/articles/2005/10/15/top-25-thrillers-of-all-time?

Psycho is a 1960 American horror-thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock featuring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Janet Leigh.

Previously, fans were disappointed with the film due to high expectations from Hitchcock's film North By Northwest, and critics thought this may be because of the fact the film was shot on a lower budget involving a television crew in Black and White. However, Psycho eventually received outstanding box office returns and overwhelming feedback along with four Academy Award nominations including Best Supporting Actress for Leigh and Best Director for Hitchcock.
Now considered one of Hitchcock's best films, Physco involves scenes of violence, unusual behaviour and sexuality.

Chinatown is a drama/mystery thriller which was released on the 20th June 1974 in the USA. The popular thriller film was written by Robert Towne, directed by Roman Polanski and stars the likes of Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston.

Chinatown is about a private detective who was hired to expose a person who commits adultery however finds himself getting caught up in murder, deceit and dishonesty.

Chinatown has won an oscar as well as many other nominations.

Another Alfred Hitchcock film that is considered many peoples top favourite thriller film is North By Northwest. The classic thriller is a described as a "masterpiece of intrigue, and features some of the most copied sequences in film" online on uk.ign.com/articles/2005/10/15/top-25-thrillers-of-all-time?

Hitchcock directed this American spy thriller in 1959 . The screenplay was also written by Ernest Lehman. The thrilling movie is a story of mistaken identity in which an innocent man is mistaken to be a spy and therefore captures exciting action which engages and shocks the audience.

North by Northwest is one of the first films to feature the use of kinetic typography in its opening credits, so therefore is not only making a mark for its excellence in storyline but also in history.

"North by Northwest was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing (George Tomasini), Best Production Design (William A. Horning, Robert F. Boyle, Merrill Pye, Henry Grace, Frank McKelvy), and Best Original Screenplay (Ernest Lehman) at the 32nd Academy Awards ceremony."-Wikipedia