Highest rated thrillers on Rotten Tomatoes

1.) Citizen Kane
2.) The Third Man
3.) Laura
4.) Gravity
5.) Repulsion
6.) North By Northwest
7.) Rear Window
8.) The Maltese Falcon
9.) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
10.) Rashomon

The majority of the films on this list are pre-1950's classics. This works in my favour as it would be easier to be inspired by their techniques as most were made on a limited budget. Also I find the suspense in classic thriller movies to be more effective, in turn this makes making my thriller easier as I can more efficiently produce a higher quality thriller at the end of production.

Highest rated thrillers on IMDb

1.) Pulp Fiction
2.) Drishyam
3.) 1
4.) Inception
5.) The Zohar
6.) Waar
7.) Na Maloom Afraad
8.) Baby
9.) Usual Suspects
10.) Se7en

I agree mostly with this list, however most of them I have not watched, specifically 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Yet from the ones I have watched I can implement features from them that define them as thrillers, this will in turn make my opening sequence more a thriller so I can hit the mark criteria accurately.

My 4 favourite thriller films of all time

I am going to list 4 of my all time favourite thriller movies and explain how I am going to incorporate parts of them films into my own.

1.) Pulp Fiction - I really enjoy the comical elements in Pulp Fiction, however I am not going to include any in mine as I am not going down that specific path.
2.) Inception - I really like the confusion caused by Inception, I believe it keeps the audience interested. I have implemented the mysterious object in her hand to replicate this.
3.) Se7en - Se7en has a lot of elements that I wished to include into my opening sequence however due to budget issues and lack of a professional actor this was impossible. However I based the tone of my thriller heavily upon this.
4.) The Usual Suspects - I knew from the beginning that it would be hard to include any features of this film into mine, the acting is incredible and the twist at the end really surprised me during my first viewing.

Different sub genres of thrillers

Common sub genres are psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, erotic thrillers and mystery thrillers.
Another common sub genre of thriller is the spy genre which deals with fictional espionage. 
Alfred Hitchcock created some of the most iconic thriller movies to date and he was a bug influence on the way thrillers are made today.
The different genres of horror often overlap with the thriller genre. 
Thrillers tend to be psychological, threatening, mysterious and at times involve larger-scale situations such as espionage and terrorism.

Thriller Research - Conventions of a Thriller

Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewers mood, giving them a sense of dread and anticipation as they do not know what will happen to the protagonist next.
A thriller provides a sudden rush of excitement that drives the main narrative through to the end.
I believe this knowledge will help me improve my short film as I know I need to create tension in order to progress the story and to ensure the viewer does not get bored watching.

11/02/2015 Double Lesson Progress

In today's double lesson I have been improving and altering my individual questions for my evaluation. I have made significant progress however it is not perfect at the moment but I still have to the 14th of March until the final deadline. I strongly believe I have the time and perseverance to completely dedicate myself to completely everything within the given time and achieving a good grade.

Q7.) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

There have been several things I have learnt since working on the preliminary task, one of which is how to correctly edit transitions. For the preliminary task we used a basic fade in/fade out which subtly blends one shot into the next, however this is very basic and easy to do, so for my thriller opening I decided to try something new.

This is my timeline in Sony Vegas, here we can see that my opening sequence timeline is a lot more complex than the one for my preliminary task.

Hence, using Sony Vegas, I explored different features to gain a better understanding of how to transition shots. I discovered an effective transition that does not seem out of place. Little things such as this transforms an otherwise average piece of film into a completely new and interesting film.

Q6.) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have answered this question in the form of audio over images using Sony Vegas.

Q4.) Who would be the audience for your media product? DRAFT

For this question I am going to film myself talking as the director about who may watch my film and what type of person will enjoy it most.

‘Who watches thrillers? Who might watch your film? Try to come up with demographic descriptions of your audience. Can you find facts and figures about relevant audiences?’

This is quite a difficult question to answer, you may watch a thriller movie because you feel that your own life is too uneventful to fulfil your high octane needs, so you may feel the need to get deeply involved in an imaginary world where espionage and kidnappings happen around every street corner. But then again, everyone can watch a Thriller and enjoy the whole journey, which is why I believe it is such an approachable genre for independent film makers, as it is a lot easier to create a dark and formidable world than it is to create a comedy as I believe it is a lot harder for an actor to be genuinely funny. But the type of person who watches a thriller varies, I believe the overall type of person who generally enjoys the average thriller more than the next person is someone who lives for the thrill and excitement, which is true for pretty much everyone.

[FADE TO BLACK]

I am hoping that die hard thriller lovers and people just getting started watching thrillers will enjoy ‘Junk’ equally. I have included concrete thriller conventions whilst also taking my own new spin on slightly more obscure conventions, for example in the movie Silence of the Lambs, there is a scene where the character of Clarice Starling is inside Buffalo Bill’s house searching for evidence and I took inspiration from this scene to make the scene in ‘Junk’ where my character of the girl is searching for the ringing phone. However, I hope everyone who has a love for low-budget thrillers watches ‘Junk’

[FADE TO BLACK]

The best demographic description of my audience is ‘young adult to middle-aged men, seeking raw excitement’ I completely believe that when big companies get their claws into a potentially good film, no matter how much money they pump into the production of the film, the shock value and rawness is lost due to greed of appealing to most demographics, however independent movies tend to please one specific demographic, which helps them make a better film as they aim to satisfy a niche market. It could be argued that someone who loves comedy films won’t enjoy my low budget thriller as much as they would a Hollywood thriller, however low budget thrillers aren’t made for people who love comedies.

[FADE TO BLACK]

Thank you everyone for watching ‘Junk’ and I hope you enjoyed it.

[FADE TO BLACK]

Q3.) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

To answer this question I thought I was use something basic but add a spin to it. I have made a PowerPoint presentation and then created a Slide Share account and uploaded the presentation so I could embed it straight into my blog. Enjoy.

Q3.) from Matt Hawes

Colour Correction

I used After Effects to colour correct my final piece. Firstly I created an adjustment layer and applied all the effects to that layer as it gives you more freedom. I used curves to make the blacks more pronounced and also lowered the white to make the image overall more dark and creepy, fitting with the tone of a thriller. I then heightened the blue levels to give a subtle film look. Look below for a before and after colour correction. Overall the colour correction is an effective way to make your low budget movie look and feel more professional.

After - Notice the subtle hint of blue in the image.

Before - Bland and unimaginative.

Q1.) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I answered this question in the form of directors commentary over 'Junk'. I added freeze frames to keep key parts of the film visible whilst I am talking about it.

JUNK - FINAL CUT

I have changed several things since my final draft edit, I have removed unnecessary sound effects and also changed all the titles so they appear more uniform throughout. This have given my film a new layer of professionalism and I am very happy with the final result. Enjoy.

Q5.) How did you attract/address your audience?

 How did you attract/address your audience?

I used XMind 6 to create a mind map answering this particular question. The software was difficult to use at first but with practiced I managed to understand the learning curve.

Q2.) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Changes to Final Draft

To improve my final cut I shortened the establishing shots as I believe they dragged out too long. Also I tweaked the audio and added a few new sound effects to really achieve the look and feel I was hoping for. It was really difficult editing my final cut and it has been an experience I hope I will embark upon again in the near future. I have included pictures of my timeline in Sony Vegas so you can get an idea of all the layers of video and sound etc.

JUNK - 2ND DRAFT CUT

I have since added better and more titles to my opening. Also I added and tweaked the audio to achieve the levels and quality I wanted. Also instead of individually adjusting the contrast and levels to achieve the look of that particular shot, I rendered the whole video out and adjusted the levels of the entire film to get a more even look throughout. However I have also changed the name since the last upload as I believe 'Junk' is simpler and more effective. Please enjoy my draft cut of 'Junk'.

Idea for Thriller

During the Christmas holidays I thought I would get in the holiday spirit by watching The Silence of the Lambs. Whilst watching I noticed an extremely effective editing technique in which the protagonist appaears to run through/past the camera. It would be hard to coreograph a similar shot however I will try.

Actor Planning

Actor Planning

Initally I wanted my brother, Jonathan, to be the main actor but he refused as he was camera shy. Secondaly I approached my Dad to see if he would be interested. He was quite skeptical at first but relucatantley agreed eventually, however after a few shots I realised he was not suitable because he looked too old for the character I had in mind and he was not an amazing actor. 

After that I thought I would not be able to find an effective actor so I thought if I told my Dad exactly what shots I wanted and how I wanted them to be filmed then I could act and he could film. That went well but shortly after filming my teacher informed me that this technique would not work as I was meant to be behind the camera and I could in no way prove I had control over the shots (which is completely understandable). So I rescheduled to film mid-January 2015. That meant I had a couple weeks to sort out an appropiate actor and change the story to fit the new actor. 

Eventually my friend Ben agreed to be my protagonist, however on the day of filming he did not show up and he let me down so I sacked him. Fourtanatley my friend Connor agreed to shoot and he did show up.

So after all the mishaps and reshoots I finally have all my footage nessecary to edit. So let the editing begin.

Copernicus Project 2nd Draft Edit

For my second draft edit I have changed the entire opening into black and white. However this was only a test to see whether or not it does justice to the film. But I am going to need to re-shoot some sections as they are not up to the standards I believe are great. Once all re-shooting is complete I will use class time to compete another draft edit but this time with different footage (but I am keeping the establishing shots). By shooting and re-shooting I have learned the importance of patience, I have been getting stressed out but now I have learned that nothing comes easy. I believe this is a good mentality to have whilst making even a short film because being impatient can completely ruin an otherwise great shot.

Title Idea

I have just finished watching a film on Netflix called 'Zombies: Wicked Little Things'. Albeit wasn't a AAA title however I noticed a great, subtle technique used in the title sequence. The picture would quickly fade to black to show the names etc. I think this is a great technique to use in my own opening sequence as I am currently having issues with visibility of titles. 

17/12/2014 Double Lesson Progress

Today I have spent the double lesson planning my titles. I have made two logos in Adobe Photoshop for my two production companies. I believe they look good, however more work is needed until I cam implement them into my edit. I have learned many useful techniques for Photoshop that I will remember to aid me with my progress next lesson. The two production company logos are only a draft at the moment, however they should not need too much altering.

Draft Edit

The day has come, I have finished my draft edit for my opening sequence. While not 100% complete as of yet, I believe the quality at the moment is good. However during next weeks lesson I will be sure to imporve my edit and by the end of January 2015 I should have my final edit completed and rendered.

I have learnt many things whilst filming and part editing my opening sequence. I have learnt the importance of white balance and how not adjusting it correctly can completely throw the quality of the shot off. Also the use of a tripod has become extremely important to me. Firstly I attempted to complete my filming without a tripod but quickly learnt that my shots were too shaky and it looked too amatuer. Therefore I borrowed a tripod from college and rescheduled my shooting date and filmed again. I am pleased with my second opening as it is of a much better quality and whilst the story in my new one doesnt exactly make sense it is atleast coherent. Whereas the story in my first attempt was a complete mess.

I have uploaded my first draft of my second attempt onto YouTube which I will link in this post. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks
Matt.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

One risk that could incur whilst filming is:

• My main actress could get hit by a falling tripod or lighting equipment.

To counter this I will take extra care not to put my actor into this direct danger. I will double check that my equipment is securely sat on level ground where the danger of the equipment falling is kept to a minimum.

Another risk that could arise is:

•  My actress could get hypothermia due to the cold weather and the time of year. Also if the costume isnt warm and covers her whole body then she is at risk of becoming extremely cold. This may not sound like a likely risk but it is certainly possible.

The solution to this problem is clear. Make my actress wrap up warm whilst filming is not rolling. This will ensure she is warm at all times and she is available to shoot.  

•  As I live next to a water source and therefore I will be filming in close proximity of said water source, I will have to make sure any equipment (Camera, Lights, Tripods etc) do not fall into the water.

The solution to this problem is to secure any equipment to the ground, therefore eliminating any risk of equipment becoming unsteady and falling into the water. I will attach a picture of the water risk. 

•  One more risk that could arise is if I am filming outdoors and the weather suddenly decides to change and it starts raining. The equipment will be at risk of water damage.

To counteract this I will ensure I bring a waterproof jacket that could be quickly thrown over any equipment that is in danger of water damage. This should ensure all equipment works properly afterwards. However this particular risk is highly unlikely and I doubt it will happen. Although I will still bring the waterproof jacket to be extra safe.

• One last risk that could be a potential danger is the weather itself. Lightning in particular could be a risk, I have checked the weather forecast for my shooting date and there isnt any rain or lightning predicated so I should be fine. But for extra precaution I will make sure all my equipment, myself and my actress are grounded if any rain should make itself present.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming has helped me tremendously to achieve a better understanding of what I am hoping to achieve with my Thriller opening. Next up is storyboarding then I can begin to film. Unfournantley I am a day behind filming due to personal reasons but thankfully I planned ahead and my back up plan is in full swing. Therefore by the end of the day I will have storyboarded and filmed my opener ready to be edited in Wednesdays lesson. 

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule

Filming will commence on the 6/12/2014. I am going to be shooting the film in and around my house. I am going to minimise the amount of locations I use as to add to the claustrophobic, closed off nature I am trying to put across. Update - Today is the 7th and I have not filmed yet although I am about to shortly. I have missed my scheduled filming date however this is not a problem as I have a few days until the deadline. 

Actors Needed:

The actors I need is as follows: Me as the central character. I have chosen to have me as the main character because I am working solo and therefore have no one else who can do it. Also I want full control of what the final version will be like so if I do it myself I have 100% control. My Mum is going to play the owner of the house and also the villian, although they are not supposed to be the same person. I have chosen my mum as the owner of the house because she has a trust worthy face so seeing her won't immediately put doubt into the audiences mind about whether something strange is going on. 

Stills From My Storyboard

Storyboarding my ideas has proved very useful. I now have a very clear idea of which shots come first and how they are going to look. Storyboarding is essential to planning a movie and it has helped me tremendously to gain an insight into what the final version may potentially look like. 

Equipment Needed:

I am opting to not use a camera that my college can provide as I am more comfortable using my brothers camera as I have expereience with it before and I can easily work the interface. This should therefore save me time of learning the learning curve of a new camera I have not used before. I am also borrowing my brothers camera stabiliser to make the shots more steady and professional. 

• Camera. 
• Tri-Pod. 
• Sources of light (i.e. lamps etc). 
• Costumes. 
• Camera stabiliser. 

Weather Requirements:

 Ideally I need the weather to be dry but slightly damp. The area in which I live is in close proximity of a canal and therefore the mornings can be very foggy. If on the morning of the 6th of December it is foggy then I will sieze the oppurtunity to film some outdoor shots I will need to create atmosphere and a sense of dread. Although the majority of my opening will not be set outdoors.

Second Backup Plan:

If on the day I plan to film the weather is torrential rain or someother weather type that prevents me from filming then I will still have 3 days to film until the deadline. That will be plently of time to swap my schedule. I have also made sure I will be available during the 6th to the 10th because I could be tied down by other responsibilities but I have swapped things around and I am free to reschedule if needs must.

Internet Audience Research

Audiences Targeted By Thrillers

Most thriller films target an audience of adults, 18+, because they tend to include alot of heavy violence and dark subject matters that are essential to progress the story. This is the nature of thriller movies and they dont include violence and swearing for the sake of things, for the most part anyway. Therefore they are inappropraite for small children and anyone sensitive to violence. Most DVDs say on the reserve cover why they are rated 18+. Disaster films fall under the catergory of 'Disaster' however in the case of 'The Day After Tomorrow' as soon as the destruction begins it is clear that it has tranformed into a thriller film, with intense sequences that put you on the edge of your seat. This just goes to show that you can begin your film as lets say a Horror, and end it being a comedy. However that example would be tough to acheive.

Another source says that Thrillers are aimed at an audience who enjoy the mystery and intrigue of a good story with high levels of anticipation. Pyschological Thrillers allow the audience to almost become the detective within the movie and enable them to slove the case with the characters. Some aspects within a pyschological thriller may be distrubing for a younger audience yet these tend to be mental and emotional distraint rather than full blown blood and guts.

My Target Audience

I am going to target an audience of 15+ as I believe this is the perfect balance to make an effective thriller film yet have it available to largest audience, without it being too soft. Also I want to target mainly a male audience because all my characters are male and possibly they will have an easier time connecting with my characters. Although it is entirely possible that females can enjoy my film just as much.

I am also going to target my film to a more mature audience who can wholly appreciate the subject nature. Furthermore my film will be dark with subtle hints of violence, without fully showing it.

Bibliography

Some of my resourses I used are blogs other A-Level students have written, which will help me because they are in the same situation as me and reading about their successes can motivate me and inspire me to do well. Also their expereinces can help me make my Thriller opening better because I have first hand experience of previous students. However I have not copied any ideas and everything I produce will be original and completely from my own mind. I have only used other A-Level students as guidance and used them for their experiences in the same situations. 

http://40thriller2013.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/target-audience-expectations/
http://billiepearsonportfolio.weebly.com/target-audience.html

Questionnaire

I completed a questionnaire and handed it out to my close friends and family for compeletion so I could gather as much infomation as possible about what to include to make my Thriller opening as effective and professional as is within my skill range.I recieved all of my questionnaires back and collected all the data up, unfourtanatley I do not own a photocopier so I am unable to upload a picture however I can type up all the infomation I gathered.

Q1: What is your favourite Thriller film from the list stated?

Pulp Fiction: 4
The Silence of the Lambs: 2
Taken: 1
Usual Suspects: 2
Se7en: 1

From this question I have learnt that the majority of people I asked enjoyed Pulp Fiction more than any other on the list which means I can take conventions and ideas from Pulp Fiction and implement them into my film to make it more effective.

Q2: What is the most effective convention of Thriller films in your opinion?

Quick Cuts: 2
Low Key Lighting: 5
Tense Music: 2
Diegetic Sound of Breathing: 0
Acting: 1

From these results I have learnt that to make an effective and creepy thriller opening I should implement dark shadows and low key lighting.

Q3: Should my opening sequence contain more than one character?

Yes: 4
No: 6

This result did not surprise me as I believe an opening sequence with one character is more effective because the audience feel alone just as the character in the film does. However I will consider using more than one character but it may not be viable as it was hard finding one person to act, nevermind two.

Q4: Do you think Vertigo Pictures and Green Apple Studios are believable names for production companies?

Yes: 8
No: 2

I was surprised by these results as these names to be sound possibly too fake and cheesy. However I am now more drawn to using them as I am failing to think of a better alternative.

Q5: Do you think 'Unanswered' is an effective and overall good title for a Thriller film?

Yes: 5
No: 5

I was also surprised by the answers to this question as I thought Unaswered was a great name. I will consider changing it however I am not sure because I am already changed it from 'The Copernicus Project' which is terrible and I only used it in my draft edit as I could not think of a better alternative.

Research Into The Industry/Genre

 Thrillers

Thrillers are a genre of film that contain various conventions and techniques, these include: excitement, suspense and tension. Thrillers tend to stimulate the viewer, forcing adreneline around their body to hook them into what is happening on screen. Films of this genre tend to be intense, gritty and fast paced.
I can use this knowledge to further help me with my production because I can implement some of these aspects to solidy my film into the genre of thriller.

Subgenres   

Whilst thriller is a broad concept they can be narrowed down into specific sub genres. Some of these include psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, erotic thrillers and mystery thrillers. Another common subgenre of thriller is the spy genre.

What would it take for my film to be recognised by a production company?

I have found a video prodcution company that help younger directors get recognition as larger companies, like Warner Bros. or MGM, would not be interested in small budget, independant movies. The video production company I have found is called 'Agile Films' and they are located in London. On their webstie there is a 'Contact' section that outlines what needs to be done in order to contact the right person so you can get your film noticed by a wider audience. This is an exact quote from their website:
"If you're a director looking for representation, or you want to discuss an idea with our development team, please contact Kristian Brodie."

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_%28genre%29
http://www.agilefilms.com/

Catch Me If You Can - Opening Sequence Analysis

 Catch Me If You Can - Opening Sequence Analysis

The cartoonish style is evident from this screenshot.

Catch Me If You Can sports an impressive title sequence full of beautiful animations that wholly capture the imagination and theme of the movie. What really makes this title sequence memorable is the way its subtly suggests some of the films key themes without making it obvious. 

The fonts used for the title cards are simple yet effective. They are soft and smooth and the animated characters are exaggerated and over-the-top. However, like most films, the positioning of the names and the order in which they appear, suggest greatly the importance of said person.

From analysing Catch Me If You Can’s title sequence I have learned that I can make my title sequence cartoonish and, if I do it well, I can still capture and maintain what makes a thiller title sequence. 

However I am not going to implement much of the conventions used in this title sequence into mine but I believe looking at this title sequence has still been beneficial to me as I am more familiar with different title sequences in the genre of thriller.

Also the cost of producing such a title sequence would be exponential as the amount of hours necessary to animate such a breath-taking piece of animation would be ridiculous. But I maintain the belief that an animated title sequence can be just as effective of showcasing a thriller movie as, lets say, the opening to Fight Club or Se7en.

                                                     

Camera:

The camera used in this opening sequence does not exist in our physical world, the camera is within a computer animation software, however both work similarly. Many techniques are used to effectively transition from one shot to the next but the ones I noticed that are used more frequently are standard zoom and pan. These are used to show the simplistic nature which is clearly trying to be put across by Steven Spielberg in this opening title sequence.

Sound:

The opening portion to the opening sequence contains light hearted and soft instruments. Such as slow guitar riffs and soft piano notes. These are effective at calming the audience which could be argued is not the intention of Thriller films. However this is how Catch Me If You Can is different to most thriller films, it does not rely on dark lighting or scary music to be an effective thriller.

Then as the opening begins to come to an end the music changes to a more dark and ominous tone. The change is subtle and effective and completely changes the atmosphere. Perhaps the director chose to change the tone of the music to remind the audience they are about to watch a thriller film and not an upbear childrens comedy.

Editing:

Editing is used throughout the duration of the opening sequence to suggest urgency through the use of quick cuts. It could be argued that the director chose to do this because the urgent nature in which the shots are put together is a key convention throughout the film as the main theme is fraud.

Mise-En-Scene:

There are two prominent main colours used throughout the opening sequence, these are blue and black. It could be said that these two colours suggest different themes that are used in the film. Blue could represent the light hearted nature in the film and black could represent the subject nature of crime and fraud.

List of Titles (In Order):

Dreamworks Pictues Presents

A Parkes/MacDonald Production

A Steven Spielberg Film

Leonardo DiCaprio

Tom Hanks

Catch Me If You Can

Christopher Walken

Martin Sheen

Nathalie Baye

Amy Adams

James Brolin

Brian Howe

Frank John Hughes

Steven Eastin

Chris Ellis

John Finn

Casting By Debra Zane, CSA

Co-Producer Devorah Moos-Hankin

Based Upon The Book By Frank W. Abagnale With Stan Redding

Titles By Kuntzel Deygas

Music By John Williams

Costume Designer Mary Zophres

Film Editor Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

Production Designer Jeannine Oppewall

Director Of Photography Janusz Kaminski, ASC

Co-Executive Producer Daniel Lupi

Executive Producers Barry Kemp, Laurie MacDonald

Executuve Producers Michel Shane, Tony Romano

Produced By Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes
Screenplay By Jeff Nathanson

Directed By Steven Speilberg