Initial Ideas

Initial ideas from http://www.slideshare.net/wojwiatrowski

Production Log #1

Production log #1 from Steedman123

Music Inspiration 20/9/13

I used this for my inspiration because most of these songs have aspects that i could use in my thriller opening, the first song has an ominous opening which could be adited out and be used to create an entire song for my opening credits and even further into the film. I have found various other songs that could be used however these represent the theme of my film. I want to use contropuntal music in my film which could change the emotions that would be felt during various scenes and even the opening.

Six Feet Under- Analysis

The opening to 'Six Feet Under' connotes death throughout, the main theme is centred around death and the idea of a circle of life. The crow flying through the sky at the beginning connotes death because the crow is a symbol of death in many cultures. The sequence then pans onto a tree on top of a hill which demonstrates life a life force however as we return to the tree at the end of the title sequence we can see that the tree is dead and withered which shows that it has gone through it's own life process; this connotes that death is inevitable. I think this links in with the contrapuntal music, which would show us that the show could possibly hold a more comedic view on death.

 

 

The Mise En Scene features a lot of bright things such as a sunny sky, and a lot of light, however as they are pushing the body through the tunnel with the light at the end? This shows them going towards the light, which is a popular saying which trivialises death which also shows the common aspect of death in a sense that it will happen to everyone

Soundtrack review- Se7ev

After listening to the music from the opening credits of the movie 'Se7en', i have found that not all thriller films must have an orchestra featuring strings and powerful bass, a good example of this is the opening song to 'Se7en'. It features quite a lot of random sounds, with possibly some percussion instruments, however it lacks the original orchestra feel. The soundtrack has an 'electro' vibe to it, quite often seen in action films. Nevertheless it still creates a strong feeling of ambiguity, this poses questions for the viewer, which would later be answered in the film.
The soundtrack has flat tone at the beginning, while keeping a lot of texture, the first half of the song is very monotone as most of the sounds repeat over again. It could be considered strange for note-clusters to repeat as they are usually quite random, however it seems to me as if it is there do add a darker undertone. At around the 1 minute mark the volume and tempo iKill Bill- One of my favourite films of all time by my favourite director, Quentin Tarantino.  Since first watching this film i have found that although it is a thriller, I personally find it rather humorous.

 Breaking Bad, Crime, Thriller, Drama T.V show about a Chemistry teacher, turns Crystal Meth dealer to provide for his family in his last; cancer ridden years. Along with his ex-student, they deploy meth as well as building a drug empire. I found that these shows inspire me because they are not part of the norm, things that you would not usually find on T.v they challenge my interests and do not get boring, like a lot of shows do.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Indicud, two albums That inspire me, they also have a thrilling undertone. I think that these are my go to albums when it comes to boredom and the ones I listen to the most in order to get motivated.


The film Fight Club goes in depth with issues regarding human identity and social standings; as well as being rather mindlessly violent you learn quite a lot about the issues certain people face. Plus the film is very entertaining.
ncreases drastically as drums and deeper base are introduced, this instigates a feeling of incoming danger and tells the viewer that the film will be very dynamic, however it does not reveal anything of importance. 
I do believe that some sort of guitar 'shredding' could be present however I can not be sure. I think that a lot of the music is electronically generated, it also does not feature any lyrics.
I would personally describe this piece as quite mystical and somewhat 'sci-fi' because it features sounds that you would usually associate with films that feature some kind of extra terrestrial activity, which could be a big clue. I picked a soundtrack of a film that I have not watched because I wanted to focus on just the music and what it could connote, whereas if I had watched the film I would have been tempted to alter my opinion based on the story line and content of the film.

Inspirations

Kill Bill- One of my favourite films of all time by my favourite director, Quentin Tarantino.  Since first watching this film i have found that although it is a thriller, I personally find it rather humorous.

 Breaking Bad, Crime, Thriller, Drama T.V show about a Chemistry teacher, turns Crystal Meth dealer to provide for his family in his last; cancer ridden years. Along with his ex-student, they deploy meth as well as building a drug empire. I found that these shows inspire me because they are not part of the norm, things that you would not usually find on T.V they challenge my interests and do not get boring, like a lot of shows do.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Indicud, two albums That inspire me, they also have a thrilling undertone. I think that these are my go to albums when it comes to boredom and the ones I listen to the most in order to get motivated.



The film Fight Club goes in depth with issues regarding human identity and social standings; as well as being rather mindlessly violent you learn quite a lot about the issues certain people face. Plus the film is very entertaining.

Thriller Film Timeline- Pulp Fiction

A timeline presenting the opening to Pulp Fiction, I found that the titles were presented mostly on a black background which is common for thriller films. In addition it features a pre-scene to introduce the film and pose questions for the viewer.

Conventions of a Thriller film

Titling - Most thriller films use Non-diegetic (Sound where the source is not visible on the screen) music, the titles appear on the screen, this can be done over an animation of sorts or an opening scene. It is common for thrillers to have titles appear over a black background. Also it is common for some to have a scene which sets up the rest of the film, even before any titles have been shown>


Camera movement - Tracking and Panning shots are traditionally used in the opening of thriller films, however in a lot of action scenes you will find zooming shots and over the shoulder shots. Many horror/thrillers will use extreme close up for dynamics.

Framing of Shots - The most typical mood setting shot for a thriller film is a close-up, in films such as Kill Bill, and V for Vendetta they are used to reveal bigger parts of the story.  It is quite common for Long shots to be used to set the scene and to show where the action will be taking place.

Camera Angles - High angles are often used to show someones insignificance and the lack of their power, as if someone is being dominant over them. Low angles show the increase of height which increases dominance. These are the most common angles used in thriller films.






Location - The scene for a thriller film, or any film for that matter depends on the story line, however most thriller films rely on lighting to set the right tone for the scene, and through my research i have found that a common factor in most of these films is an apocalyptic mood.

Types of cuts- Thriller films usually use fast paced sharp cuts in the film because the genre tends to be fast paced. You might find that a lot of thriller movies change pace and have a lot of twists in the story line, hence why the use of cuts is so important, it alters the pace of the film. Quick sudden cuts can add to the suspense.
.

Sound - Most thriller films use non-diegetic music playing in the background to create an intended atmosphere, very few films use dialogue, however it is very rare and used to present motives. Silence and lack of music can often be used to build up tension.

Types of Cuts: Thriller films usually use fast paced sharp cuts in the film because the genre tends to be fast paced. You might find that a lot of thriller movies change pace and have a lot of twists in the story line, hence why the use of cuts is so important, it alters the pace of the film. Quick sudden cuts can add to the suspense and ominous nature of a thriller film.
Types of Camera Angle: When setting up a scene the camera angle plays a vital role as it can change the nature of the scene, for example a close-up shot with dark scenario immediately creates suspense.

Welcome!

Hello, I am Wojciech Wiatrowski , a media student at Harris Academy Beckenham and as part of my Media project I have to write, produce and direct a thriller film opening, of roughly two minutes. On this blog I will post various content relating to the making of my thriller opening.