Vox Pops

 Gaining public opinion through:
- Interviews
- Chat shows
- Questionnaires
- Vox Pops
- Forums

Vox Pop: This is an outside broadcast (OB), a street interview. Vox populi is a Latin word which means 'Voice of the people'.

What is included in a Vox Pop?:
- Normally the interviewee is on the right side of the frame.
- It is a mid shot of the interviewee, close enough to provide information and not too uncomfortably close.
- There is also a bar spanning across the lower part of the frame which provides information about the interviewee, such as; name, age and occupation.
- It is also done in a public area so we know that the interview is genuine and not set up.
- We also do not hear the interviewer but rather a question appearing beforehand in the video.
- It's short and snappy.

  Questions to ask the public about thrillers:
- What's your favourite thriller and why?
- What keeps a thriller interesting?
- What makes a thriller thrilling?
- What would you include in a thriller genre?
- What doesn't fit in a thriller?
- What scares you in a thriller?


By looking at my Vox Pop, it has gave me ideas on what to include later on when planning and producing my own opening sequence.

I asked two questions including: 'What's your favourite thriller and why?' and 'What scares you in a thriller?', these questions are suitable as it can provide the right information in what i can manipulate and add into my own thriller opening.

For the first question, i asked 4 students: Matthew, Peter, Luke and Archie.

Peter has gave me a response of "I like Snatch, it's got a good range of characters and it uses graphic match quite a lot". From this it persuades me to add a good use of editing to my thriller, to make it effective just as 'Snatch'. Through Peter's opinion it allows me to point out that what attracts him to a thriller film is the use of good editing and effective transitions.

Luke gave me a response of "Dark Knight, good story, good characters, got a lot of suspense in it". From this, I can conclude that what makes the Dark Knight good is a good narrative overall. Luke also point's out that the suspense within the film intrigues him and so by this response it allows me to try and include a lot of suspense within my thriller to heighten interest.

Archie's response was "Birdemic, it's a very realistic film", Archie implies that a film that captivates him, is a film that is realistic. This again influences me to consider realism and make my thriller realistic and not too exaggerated that may cause it to be impracticable.

For the second question, 'What scares you in a thriller?', I asked Matthew Johnson and Alfie Hopkinson,

Matthew say's music is what make's him scared in a thriller. This allows me to understand that to make a typical thriller which keeps you on your 'edge of your seats' i will have to add tense music which may be sounds which are minor keyed, high pitched, fast tempo-ed and so on.

Preliminary Film

Preliminary Evaluation

Continuity editing

Table for Preliminary Task

Storyboard for Preliminary Task

What makes a thriller thrilling?

How these films are typical of a thriller?:

These films I have chosen, all have the same aspects which are typical of a thriller. The two screenshots are from the film 'Divergent' and 'Godzilla', the lighting of both these films are low key, which is normally integrated to a thriller film to aid tension, bringing a dark atmosphere projecting feelings of overall despair.

In thriller's there is various amounts of shot used depending on the location and sub genre of the film. For example in the first screenshot, 'Gravity', the most used shots are of extreme long shots or long shots, these are used specifically to the narrative and location, we know that space itself is a vast array of barren emptiness and so by manipulating the camera shots to the film, it signifies clearly how dangerous and lonely space is for humans, therefore creating not only the typical tension but suspense due to as we view the actions of the character, we are unaware of what will happen due to the endless possibilities space may have to be encountered. Typical thrillers such as 'Divergent' will have many close up shots and extreme close shots, to project feelings of claustrophobia and isolation leading to an increase in tension due to the framing purposely cuts out any other area and so the audience are more unaware of the surrounding area, this gives a sense of enigma. As you can see, the 'Divergent' screenshot just shows the protagonist surrounded by darkness as we are unable to see the outer area - we are wary about what is about to happen.

Characters and their roles are almost the same in a typical thriller, consisting of a protagonist, the first screenshot shows George Clooney, typically perceived as heroic and all knowing and powerful, there is also normally an innocent victim such the second screenshot shows of Sandra Bullock, a person who is unaware of danger and more susceptible to danger and death than any other character. Also there is sometimes a antagonist depending of the narrative, shown as powerful and seemingly unstoppable. For the film 'Gravity' the danger is brought about through physical events rather than a human creating danger. Overall what creates a good thriller is keeping the viewer intrigued and aware of the narrative, so by integrating a typical innocent victim, it keeps tension high through creating an unsafe atmosphere as we are almost a part of the victim. The large jumps of sound, 'stings', keeps tension high but also provides a fast paced feel, keeping the action flowing therefore keeping suspense high as we are surrounded by action at every point of view.

Word's associated with a thriller:

- Excitement                - Protagonist/ Antagonist
- Unknowing               - Crime
- Tension                     - Heart pounding
- Mystery/Enigma
- Suspense
- Fast paced
- Puzzle
- Action
- Cliff-hanger

Feelings projected from Shutter Island:
- Trapped/Claustrophobic       - Paradox (multiple feelings)
- Uncomfortable                      - Uneasy
- On edge                                 - Nervy
- Thrilled                                 - Scared
- Captivated                             - Engaged
- Confused                               - Enigma

Mise-en-scene:

- Weapons                   - Non diegetic sounds
- scenery - dark           - Tense music
- Low key lighting      - Set outside
- Black and white        - Abandoned setting
- Shadows                   - Special equipment
- Uniforms                  - Law enforcements - guns, badges

Themes of genre:
- Mystery - Solving a problem       - Mind games
- Stopping trouble                          - Political conspiracy
- Escape                                         - Paranormal pursuit
- Chase                                          - Crime scene
- Revenge                                      - Terroism
- Anxiety                                       - Life message
-Mind games                                 - Assassination

Characters:
- Protagonist:
 . Hero            . Civilian
 . Teacher       . Innocent bystander
 . Journalist    . FBI
 . Student       . Side kick
 . Explorer     . Soldiers

- Antagonist:
 . Villian         . Assassin
 . Psychotic     . Stalker
 . Mental         . Prisoner
 . Seek revenge
 . Supernatual

Narrative:
- Beginning:
 . Introduces characters
 . Finds problem to solve

- Middle:
 . Tension builds up to a point
 . Realises he's/she's been tricked

- End:
 . Problem resolved- possibly death
 . Cliff-hanger

Title Sequences (Timelines)

Film titles are used in TV and film to present their productions and introduces important members of the creation of the programme or film, such as: cast members, directors, producers, artists etc.

We can split film credits into two, there is the ‘Title sequence’ and there is the ‘Opening credits’. Opening credits are nothing but a series of text introducing important members of the production. The title sequence is similar however normally presented with use of visual and sound editing.

The film opening can consist of many credits, such as: Production Company, studio, producer, director, actors, title, music, designers, editors, book influence, and writers.

Not only is the credits just a list of names, it can also hint the genre through its typography, for example, quite sharp and brittle lettering can connote it is a serious film maybe a thriller or horror full of danger. Also with the use of background action it can also show us characters and what they may be like and set the scene by adding location. The editing side of the credits can influence what film may be like and intrigue the audience more to watch further into it, for example a plain slide of text may give expressions that the film is quite dull and not well thought out.

     

 In ‘True Detective’, the title sequence is full of superimposed images, fading in and out, the use of these images hints the setting, actors and maybe what the programme is about. The credits seem to go in order of importance in the involvement of the production, from actors in the beginning, to production teams throughout and towards the end, the creators – writers, creators and directors in their own section of the title sequence; it is clearly separated by the main title appearing before the creators. Non diegetic sound is also used, it is quite mournful music, expressing that the programme is full of despair and unhappiness which relates to it's thriller genre. The typography is seen as formal with no use of bright colours, just grey, could hint that the film is about serious situations that could relate to reality.  

In ‘Sin City’, the title sequence starts with a small section of the narrative, showing a man holding a dead woman, it slowly edits to a panorama of the city itself – establishing setting and creatively using the city buildings to create the main title. The editing of the spilling red pigment onto the title is used to create the final red title and can maybe signify 'blood' pouring and so portraying the film as a quite blood filled thriller film. Cast credits are shown, accompanied with static comic images of the characters (in relation to its original graphic novel), this shows us who plays who. The typography used is very bold, large and very comic like and stands out well with its red colour on a black and white canvas,and therefore relating to its hybrid genre of a thriller/noir film. The red may connote certain aspects that may be found in the film such as blood and violence. The title sequence also has non diegetic music; jazz music, this helps us visualize a detective type of movie, smooth yet violent, overall gives a sense of enigma, which is typical for a thriller genre. Also the dark editing, which is typically used in a thriller genre gives a sense of hopelessness. The setting of a city, can be manipulated to project unsafety as we see the city as a very large place.

Mise en scene analysis - Setting, Costume and Props (Breaking Bad)

In the TV programme ‘Breaking Bad’ it is about an average Chemistry teacher and a drop out young man who end up getting into the drug business, where the chemistry teacher uses his knowledge to make the most pure methylene drug. There are two main settings in this programme shown throughout the series, one is of their neighbourhood, the use of this specific placing of the two main characters can project some feelings toward the viewers; it gives the idea that they are normal civilised individuals living it a perfectly established neighbourhood, so makes it surprising for these men to be involved in drugs, it also seems that the town is quite isolated in vast barren land, leading to the idea of quite confined spaces where it may be risky to be involved in the drug manufacturing business as you may be easily caught, this keeps the tension high throughout the series as you never know how close they will be into getting caught. The second main setting is of a lab of some sort, either a lab being purely for meth or a school lab or even a lab in a caravan, the use of this setting clearly indicates what the programme is about as we are constantly reminded that this is about the manufacturing of illegal drugs, the use of a quite mechanised and developed lab gives the idea that this is serious and dangerous business and not just a small one, they are manufacturing mass amounts.

‘Walter White’ and ‘Jesse’ are the main characters in the programme. Walter is the Chemistry teacher and overall the boss in the production of meth. The costume choice in for Walter is quite casual and normal for a middle aged man, the shirt and formal trousers makes him seem educated but also makes him look quite serious with his high worn trousers, also this type attire is quite stereotypical in which a teacher would wear. On the other hand Jesse is the opposite, his outfit makes him seem uneducated and quite rough due to his baggy clothing, again very stereotypical in which you would see a person involved in bad business, it reflects his behaviour as an undisciplined individual.

The use of props may reflect a person’s personality and what they do. In this case, the first shot shows bowls of snacks and knocked over beers, these props indicate that these characters are quite laid back and maybe uncaring to the world around them, they live life in the moment and don’t worry about the consequences. The second shot shows typical scientific equipment and gas masks, these provide the information of what they do and their business, it also expresses that it is dangerous through all the protective clothing. The final shot shows ‘Walter’ holding a gun, throughout the programme there are many aspects of weaponry, this connotes death and danger and the seriousness of a situation, it emphasises that the business they are involved in is not safe and that it causes a lot of trouble from opposing groups (Other drug lords), again this keeps the programme high in tension and anticipation as the viewer is always lead to think of possible outcomes.

Analysis of: Shot type, angle, composition and framing (Divergent)

The film ‘divergent’ is about a world that is set out in factions where people are separated in different factions basing on virtues. The character above is ‘Tris’ and she is a divergent – someone who doesn’t fit in. In this shot it is the moment where she picks what faction she has been suggested. This shot shows a close up and neutral angle of Tris, this emphasises the tension as it’s the biggest decision she’ll have to make, the framing excludes surrounding people to focus and share feelings with the character, the close up is to show emotion where you can see the characters nervous expression. The neutral angle may also suggest that Tris is in the same position as everyone else where all the people involved will feel just as nervous to make a decision.

The close up of a knife and ‘Tris’ hyperboles the closeness of the two. It brings attention to the sharpness of the knife and expresses its danger. Tension rises at this point as we can see that ‘Tris’ is very close to death. It also shows a neutral view, where it can show the accuracy of the knife thrown and how it was maybe deliberately thrown to scare the individual. Framing again excludes any other area, bringing utmost attention to Tris’ emotional state, where it shows the fight between fear and bravery. The placing of the knife leads to the closeness, where it avoids covering the face completely as the audience should be able to empathise.

This is a low angle shot of ‘Tris’ looking towards the city. The low angle gives perspective where it may relate to the view of the character and what they are seeing. The placing of Tris on the left side of the frame expresses her size compared to the city, the city almost minimizes her as she is a small human in such a large world; the city towering over her may also suggest the dangers within the city. The framing includes a lot of the cityscape which again emphasises its largeness and it’s full of endless possibilities and opportunities that the city could provide.

This shot shows a tilt movement and progressing long shot which shows the ‘soldiers’ in their environment, also connoting power and size of these soldiers as the mass amounts of them create a large amount of dominance. The framing of this shot includes the marching of a lot of individuals which again emphasises the size due to the fact they block off the view of anything else, expressing an unescapable feel as the lack of open space. The placing of these soldiers shows their seriousness with their coordinated march, it gives the audience slight detail to attire and establishes that these are people who are not to be reckoned with.

Here show’s a two shot of Tris and her companion ‘Four’, this two shot establishes a connection between them that could hint an admiration of one character to another also as this shot shows Tris is looking at four quite admirably. The neutral angle suggests that they’re both in the same situation. Four is placed more near giving him a more dominant status, this may show that he is more serious and possibly a leader; as his facial expression suggests, as he has determined expression, whereas Tris is placed behind expressing her innocence and vulnerability, the placing of her behind makes her look more small and inferior.

Fast and Furious 6 - Sound Analysis (Moovly)





 

 

 

Fast and Furious 6 - Key sounds used:

 

There is a lot of uses of non diegetic sounds, mainly fast paced sound tracks. The soundtrack is almost in sync with the action shown - 'synchronous' to emphasise and exaggerate the danger shown, it makes it more thrilling by keeping it captivating, gaining the audiences attention by such sounds as 'stings', this is typical of a thriller because we want the audience to be on the 'edge of their seats' and so by adding jumps of sound, we are increasing tension further. The soundtrack was specifically made for this movie - 'score', it sets the mood and relates solely on it's areas of fast paced action.

 

As well as that,  it's diegetic sounds (cars) are manipulated and increased in volume further, just to emphasise again the car's speed and 'furiousness'. Incidental music is used in events to signify it's increasing action and therefore increasing tension as we are lead to believe that something will occur. Again, the diegetic sound of the cars is classed as 'perspective' sound, making it seem more realistic to those who are viewing it, the sounds make them feel involved, again typical of a thriller due to we want the audience to be in the character's point of view, just to add to suspense as the audience themselves feel as if the danger is around them.





 
Words asocciated with 'sound':
- Diegetic           - Sound bridge
- Non Diegetic   - Synchoronous
- Tempo             - Asynchronous
- Pitch                - Volume
- Rhythm          
- Tone

What is in a typical thriller soundtrack:

Sound track one:
- Instruments        - Tense music
- Fast paced          - Out of tune
- High pitched      - Tension building
- Cresendo           
- Enigma

Sound track two:
- Creepy sounds              - Cresendo
- Asynchronous sound   
- High pitched

What makes a good sound track:
- High pitched      - Panning sound                     -Fast tempo
- Asynchronous    - No lyrics                               - Instumental
- Bass                   - Gives a sense of engima      - Altering pitches
- Cresendo           - Minor key                            - Dramatic

Mise en scene analysis- Lord of War (Padlet)

Created with Padlet

Audience profile for Sin City

Sin City is a film that explores a dark and miserable town which tells a story about 3 individuals: a brute who’s looking for a person responsible for the death of his loved one, a man who doesn’t agree with the law enforcement and so takes the law into his own hands and a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a paedophile.

Sin City will most likely appeal to adults/young adults, ageing from 18 to 35. With the whole plot set out to be about the brutality and darkness of a town, we would suggest that this crime/thriller/noir hybrid film would appeal to those who are comfortable with the high accounts of violence set out throughout the film.

Categorising the target audience into demographics (Age, gender, race and socio-economic class), we would say that this film would most likely appeal to the males because of its graphic/comic integration and with its sombre and shadowy features expressing more masculinity, the violence would also support this as we would think that males would be more keen in a movie full of dangerous action and overall more comfortable in the brutal violence. Again the film would most likely appeal those in adult years from around 18 to 35 years old, as this age group would be more understanding about the concept of the film in general and who are not easily deterred from such violence as maturity levels would expect.

The dark and sinister portrayals in this film is outlined by its black and white editing, the two contrasting tones also outlines vast array of feelings such as isolation, distress and hopelessness. In addition to that, this shot shows a man slowly lifting a decapitated head, the graphic violence will most likely not appeal to those easily discomforted.

In terms of nationality, we would suggest that this type of film would appeal to mostly Americans but maybe British due to the fact of its general setting in a large city in America, where American’s can maybe relate to the lifestyle shown in the film. Looking into the socioeconomic (Social class/how much you earn) side of things, the film would appeal to classes of C downwards such as students, through the main reason of looking for excitement and enjoyment which is found in the film from its exaggerated themes.

Socioeconomics:
- A - CEO's, surgeon >£100k
- B - High managers - degrees >£35
- C1 - Nurses, radiotherapist, physiotherapist
- C2 - Skills; electricians, plumbers
- D - Retail
- E- Students, unemployed, pensioners

Psychographics (Interest/hobbies, lifestyle and job) – This film would fascinate people who enjoy comics and the way they are set out and made, people who enjoy exaggerated films, as the shot shown above: this film is overemphasized with its dark background yet vivid yellow deformed person. Overall appealing to those interested in surrealism. A further interest in the film would be the interest in the actors for example a well-known actor such as Bruce Willis plays in this film where it reflects his star persona of being typical of him being in a thriller and playing a heroic status, intriguing those who are keen on his work.

Psycho analysis

This an extreme long shot of the setting in which the murder occurred. This shot is used at the end of the shower scene to establish the setting; establishing the area while excluding any other area except from the house, creates tension as it allows the audience to realise the isolation of the victim and how vulnerable and unreachable she is from the outer world. The editing has influenced the feel of darkness and hopelessness as it shows low key lighting, as well as emphasising an eerie and uneasy feel towards the scene. The low angled shot shown symbolises weakness but also gives the house a larger look, reinforcing the idea that the size of the house reflects the isolation of the victim, and how she cannot be heard as she screams for help. The silence given off at this point may reflect the death of the victim; at peace, but also giving off an eerie feel. The weather shown in this shot seems to be dark and gloomy, projecting a sinister feel towards the area, increasing tension as it makes the audience slightly uncomfortable.

 

A lot of close ups are used in this film to build tension as it allows the audience to be on the ‘edge of their seats’ from its uncomfortable closeness. This shot shows a close up of the antagonist holding a knife. The rule of thirds are used in this film to outline important aspects of this shot, the knife being one of them connotes pain and anguish that may soon arrive and giving the antagonist a dominant role in this scene. The shower is also cleverly used as it allows to hide the identity of the killer, causing a tension build as the audience get a sense of enigma, the low key lighting also supports the covering of identity and gives the murderer a more brutal status as we suggest that they have no emotion as we cannot visualise one as we see them firmly grasping onto the knife. The antagonist taking up the whole frame dramatizes the scene as it exaggerates the dominance of the individual and how at this point the victim would be ridden from her freedom. Overall the use of non-diegetic sounds such as the high pitched soundtrack supports the quickness of this scene as it accompanies the strikes of the knife (synchronous sound) and we also see later a montage of shots, rising tension through the murders brutal strikes.

The extreme close up on the drain with the editing of graphically matching this shot with the eye of the individual, we can see close relation between them. The draining of the murky blood filled water may symbolise the draining of life in which the murderer had took. The cascading darkness within emphasises the darkness of the murder as it was done so fast as the murder was so unhesitant. The diegetic sound of just the water draining marks the end of the stabbing as we hear nothing else. Relating it to the dilating eye (graphic match), we can see it is a clear representation of death, as the eye dilates and the water drains we see life just fade away. The extreme close up of both excludes any other aspects of the scene and it is shown directly in the middle of the frame, increasing tension through its uncomfortable closeness and directs all attention to the elements shown.