Production Meeting; Possible Problems

Production Meeting; Possible Problems

Today we began our storyboard for our thriller and came across some problems we might have when in filming certain shots. We tried to work out how we could create a 360 degree camera rotation around a person sitting on a chair. At first we thought that simple walking slowly would work, but it wouldn't be a smooth shot so we discussed the idea of putting the camera on a 'Scaletrix' track or train tracks, but then noticed that it would be difficult to get the camera stable and even if it did work, there would be background noise as the car or train went round the track.

 

We decided to try out as many different solutions as possible to see which one would work best. We could use office chairs and push the camera and cameraman slowly round the chair, or use an industrial sized wheelie bin and sit the camera and cameraman ontop of it and push that. We will also try just walking around the chair to see if, with a steady had, that would work.

Children of Men

In "Children of Men" shock was used more heavily than suspense, for example in the opening scene everything was all calm, the camera follows the lead charactor out af the shop and down the road where he stops to put sugar into his drink. The camera rotates 360 degrees around him at a normal pace, so the viewer can take a good look at him, and rests on him with his side to the shop. Out of nowhere the coffee shop explodes without warning; this is shocking to the audience as we had no idea or suggestion that the peace would be disrupted in such a shocking manner.

Zodiac

Because Zodiac is set at night time, there is little light and the car in which the two characters are in was dimly lit which conveyed an air of mystery, you dont know what could come out of the shadows; this builds suspense as we don't know what is going to happen. We also never see the face of the murderer, this worries the viewers as we generally take comfort in knowing who is the killer, the majority don't like guessing games or mind games at the end of a film, we prefer the story to be wrapped up.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Following a truck hijack in New York, five con men are arrested and brought to a police station for questioning. As none of them are guilty, they plan a revenge operation against the police. The operation goes well, but then the influence of a legendary mastermind criminal called Keyser Söze is felt. It becomes clear that each one of them has wronged Söze at some point and must pay back now. The payback job leaves 27 men dead in a boat explosion, but now the real question arises: Who is Keyser Söze?The Usual Suspects is a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat right til the very end. It makes you question everything and everyone, plays mind games as every good thriller does.
 ''Who is Keyser Soze? Nobody believed he was real. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody that ever worked directly for him, anybody could have worked for Soze. You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, poof. He's gone.'' 




-Roger Kint (played by Kevin Spacey)

A History Of Violence

Today I watched the opening scene of  the film ‘A History of Violence’,where we are introduced to the two main charactors, one wearing a black suit in the middle of a desert, while the other in more appropriate t-shirt and shorts. This contrasts one another as the man in the black suit is instantly seen as the antagonist- a cliche in the thriller genre. The two men were casual in their way of talking, moving and body language, almost too exaggerated in their casualness which builds suspense as we want to know what's happening, and frustration at their exaggerated slowness. There was hardly any sound at all in the opening, there was little speech with only the sound of crickets as a background buzz. 

Today in class we watched the iconic shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The director had used fast and frantic shots to make the scene more gruesome and scary than it actually appearance, and at no point does the viewer see the killer stab the woman. We see her reaction to the killer, the knife, the stabbing motion, blood around her feet, but we don't at any point see any harm being done to her, but we assume she's been stabbed to death due to the rapid edits.

A MacGuffin

A Mac Guffin is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story but has little other relevance to the story 

"We have a name in the studio and we call in the Mac Guffin. It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crock stories it is always the necklace and in spy it's alway the papers".

Thriller

"Thrillers are films of suspense... supposed to instill terror into the audience" - Susan Hayward,'Key concepts in film studies'

When looking at thrillers, we have found that it is very difficult to define what passes as a thriller as most thrillers are also put under other genres, the most common one being action, horror and even romance.

Thrillers :

Usual Suspects
Disturbia
Buried
Panic Room
Phone Booth
Hostage
Battle Royale
12 Rounds
No  Country for Old Men
When a Stranger Calls
The Strangers
Law Abiding Citizen