Sabotage.

During one of our lessons, we watched the opening extract of Sabotage; a thriller film made in 1936. This was again another one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous British films that demonstrated several things. It included dramatic irony, meaning that us as the audience know something that the character does not. In the case of this film, a man called Verloc who is part of a gang of foreign saboteurs operating out of London  gives a package to his wife's younger brother to take it to Picaddilly Circus. His wife's younger brother follows the orders he has been given as does so even though that he doesn't know the package is in fact a bomb and will go off at 1:45. Although Verloc drumbs into the young boy's head that the package must be at Picadilly Circus by 1:30 he is unfortunately unable to make this deadline and therefore we see the end of his life.

During the film, suspense and tension is built up in many ways. For example, while watching the film we get several close ups of the package which is in fact the bomb. This is helping us believe that time is getting on and the bomb could go off anytime soon. We also hear the dramatic change in music. Whilst watching the young boy on the bus with the package, we hear a contrapuntal sound which comes across as a 'tik tok' which coudl therefore relate to a clock or a bomb which shows that the time is getting nearer to 1:45.

Thriller research interviews!

We carried out this research to find our target audience to see what type of thrillers people like and why they like them.We interviewed several people in this clip and the questions that we asked were,
What is your favourite thriller?
What do you like about this thriller?
What do you think makes a good thriller?

Conventions of genre (film language)

First of all there is:

Lighting & Colour

The lighting in a scene helps to express the mood and atmosphere that we are experiencing. The audience's attention can be grabbed by brightly lighting an object or gesture that is very important to the story line that we are following whilst keeping other details in either complete darkness or relative. A director can also use shadows to build up suspense and the tension by keeping elements in the scene from the audience.

In a studio the lighting comes from three main sources such as:
Key light- it is the most brightest light and makes the most difference.
The back light- this type of light makes a character/object look more 'rounded'.
The filler light- this light fills in the gaps and softens the hard shadows that the use of key and back lights create. There could be several filler lights used in a studio.

Lighting can be directed from different angles and heights to create different effects, such as:
Underlighting- this type of lighting is when the source light comes from beneath the object. This creates a distorting effect on the character or object and is often used in horror films.
Top lighting- this is when the main source of lighting comes from above the, highlighting the features and facial expressions of a character. It can also be used to make a character look glamorous.
Back lighting- this lighting comes from behind the subject. This type creates a silhouette, if little or no other lightings are used.      

The director of a film is the person who is responsible for the lighting within. They have to manipulate the studio lighting format to achieve the atmosphere that they are trying to convey.
Low-key lighting- this is achieved when only the key and back lights are used. It will then produce a sharp contrast of light and also dark areas on the screen as shadows are created. This effect that is formed is known as chiaroscuro. This is italian words for light (chiaro) and dark (oscuro).
High-key lighting- this is when several filler lights are used. This is lighting that appears normal and realistic to our eyes as the audience; shadows will also appear in this type of lighting. 

Thriller montage at OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I decided to create a montage of several images that come into my mind when i thought of a thriller. 

My Montage 12/17/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com
This is a montage that I created to show how Uncle Charlie and Charlie are both presented in the same ways when they are introduced to us in the film, 'Shadow of a doubt'. 

Shadow of a doubt

Shadow of a doubt is an American thriller film made in 1943 and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film stars actors like, Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Henry Travers and Patricia Collinge.                                                                 

While in class, we watched the opening scene of Shadow of a doubt. By watching this, we was able to analysis the mis en scene. The five different parts of mis en scene are, settings and props, positioning of characters and objects within the frame, costume hair and make-up, facial expressions and body language and lighting and colour.

Settings and props;
The opening scene first opened with a look of a bridge over a river. This looked like a run down city, as there were two burnt out, broken down cars and two random men sitting on the edge of the pavement looking helplessly like a pair of tramps. We also come to learn that the opening scene is set in New York California. The main props in the scene are money, a cigar, hat and a telephone. We first see the money on the cabnet next to the side of the bed. Hitchcock then cleverly moves the camera to show us around the room, which shows us more money on the floor. This money lying around on the floor and on the cabnet show us that Uncle Charlie doesn't really care about the money, as long as he is wearing a smart suit and smoking his cigars.
Positioning of characters and objects within the frame;
Whilst watching the opening of the film, in the first scene we see Uncle Charlie laying on the bed with his hands placed upon his chest. As we know, next to him on the bedside cabnet lay a pile of money and on the floor. Similary, when we first get to take a look at Charlie, Uncle Charlie's niece she is again laying on her bed with her hands behind her head in the same position. Above is a montage that will show you this.
Facial expressions and body language;
By watching the scene when Uncle Charlie is laying on the bed, his facial expressions and body language tell us that he is very relaxed and calm. He is basically laying there peacefully with a relaxed face and his hands just resting upon himself. However, soon after this scene Unclie Charlie receives a phone call and he starts to get very angry and serious. He is very undeciable, not knowing what he actually wants.
Costume, hair and make-up;
Unclie Charlie has a very old fashioned hair style. He has it gelled back and is always smartly dressed. This shows that he is a very important person with lots of money.
And lastly is lighting and colour;
Whilst Uncle Charlie is laying on his bed, the room is very dark however there is light shining onto his face. This could mean that he is important as he has light shining onto him. Also, when we see Uncle Charlie on the phone making a call to his niece, the light is only shining from down his eyes. This could show that he is very ominous.

Overall summary of Anton Chighur

Throughout the film we come to learn many things about the main character Anton Chighur. We even learn from the opening scene that he is a very one toned man. This one tone makes him seem very serious, polite and calm, however we soon learn that this is really not the case. When Chighur is about to attack on his prey he sounds very rehearsed and relaxed, even though he knows he is about to kill them.
Anton Chighur basially dresses all in dark, black clothing. This colour of clothing represents that he is a very brutual, cold hearted killer that has shows no signs of remorse. He also has a very unusual haircut which makes us the viewers think suspiciously of him as he looks a bit mysterious.
 He also doesn't show any feelings or facial expressions throughout the film. Everytime that he is presented, he always has a very blank and calm face. He stays very still whilst talking, shows no gestures or greetings and seems to question people on the spot. An example of this would be when he trys to decide an inocent man's future on a coin as he approaches him in his shop.
Below is a clip that I found on you-tube that shows the scene in the shop.

What do you look for in a successful thriller?

There are several key elements in which a thriller needs in order for it to be successul within the public. These key elements include:

Suspense
MacGuffin
Red herrings
Action
Cliff hangers
Tension

Sub genres
Characters
Enigmas
Society
Deadlines
Chases
Pursuits
Menice
Crime

Isolated place/desert/abandoned warehouse
Closed in locations/phone box/lifts

Using/jump cuts
dissolve cuts
straight cut
fade in

Close ups
Fast movement
Establishing shot
Point of view shot
Long shot
Cinematography

Non- digetic/tensed music/whispering from off screen
Digetic/dialogue/creaking doors/floorboards

No Country for Old Men 2007

No Country for Old Men is an American crime thriller which is directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and set in Western Texas. Throughout the film it examines the themes of fate and circumstance whilst adhering to the genre's villian driven plot. There are also traces of a sub genre linked with westerns, due to the remote and primitive setting of Texas. At the beginning of the film, the audience experience the non-diegetic narration of a texan sheriff explaining how difficult his job is,  "you have to be willing to die for the job". This builds up tension for us watching. Soon into the film, we come to learn of a criminal (Javier Bardem) who is arrested while the narration takes place. Shortly after Anton Chigurh is arrested, at the police station he strangles the police officer to death. He strangles him with no fear showing no concern as the man struggles to breath and eventually dies. After the murder has taken place, Anton steals the officer's car and pulls over an innocent person who is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man automatically presumes he is a police officer and gets out the car as he is asked to, "step outside the car please sir". This scene which is placed in the desert, makes the audience feel very suspicious as we know no one is around to help therefore we automatically assumes something bad is going to happen. From this opening scene, we learn that Aton Chighur is a cold, calm and dangerous man.


This film tells the story of a drug deal that doesn't go to plan and therefore sees the death of several Mexican men. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) whilst hunting deer through the desert comes across the dead as well as a satchel full of money, which he takes back to his trailer. That night, he returns to the scene but is welcomed with an unpleasant surprise as he is quickly chased by two men in they're trucks who fire gun shots at him and intend to kill him. Fortunately, he gets away but returns to his home without his truck and wounded.Llewelyn then orders his wife to go and stay at her mothers so that Chighur cannot come to cause any harm to her.However Llewelyn soon comes to harm by Chighur as he finally hunts him down and kills him. Chighur then gets off without any arrests.

What is a MacGuffin?

A MacGuffin was introduced by Alfred Hitchcock. He said it is a 'plot element' in the film that catches the viewers attention or drives the plot of work of fiction. A MacGuffin is commonly used in thrillers.

North by NorthWest

While in class, we looked at a thriller called North by NorthWest. This is an American film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In this film it contains severals things which make a good recipe for a thriller such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers.

Therefore in the film, the red herring is when we think that the woman known to us as Miss Kendall is being evil and setting Thornhill up, however we are fooled and realise we are wrong as we find out at the end that she isn't evil and has fallen for him.

Another red herring in the film is in a particular scene when we see Miss Kendall shoot Roger Thornhill. To ourselves we believe that she has shot and killed him as he is taken away on a stretcher in the back of a car. However we come to learn after a short while of him getting shot that it was a fake shooting and he never died.

In the film, there is a part known to us as the crop scene. While watching this scene, we are filled with suspense and the urge to know what's going to happen next as Roger Thornhill is shot at by an aeroplane. We start to feel suspicious about what's going on at the start of this scene as he as been told to meet someone at this certain point but finds thats completely empty, nothing but crop circles surrounding him.

There is also a cliffhanger in the film as right at the end of the film Miss Kendall is literally hanging off the end of the cliff as herself and Mr Thornhill are being chased on the monuments.

What is a thriller?

The research that I have done below will inform you of what a thriller is.

A thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television that includes numerous and often overlapping sub-genres. Thrillers are characterized by several things including, fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. 

Films that are thrillers contain devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers and are used extensively. A thriller is a villain driven plot, whereby they present obstacles that the hero must overcome. The genre is flexible and can engage the audience through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social and political tensions. 

Welcome to my blog.

My name is Georgie Cameron and i am currently studying AS Media Studies at Robert Clack. This is my first blog.