Adam's Thriller Analysis

The Usual Suspects (Film, 1995)

·         Camera Work: Throughout the scene one of the characters face is kept hidden from the audience by making him hidden in the darkness and by cutting his face out of the frame (restricted narration). When the gun is fired the camera moves to outside of the boat so only the shots are heard. The camera also tracks the fire as it ignites on the flammable liquid trail. (tracking shot) The camera shot sizes are either medium shots or close ups, they are close ups when a character is talking or when a character si doing something e.g. starting the fire. The shots are medium shots when the second character is first introduced (the one with his face out of the frame). the medium shots gives us an idea of the first characters view is of the man who just put out the fire, the close-ups also shows us how close the two characters are to each other while they are exchanging dialogue.

·         Editing: The frequency of cuts increases when the fire is ignited. The cuts slow down when the two men are exchanging dialogue. When the fire is re-ignited by the cigarette the shot is slowed down to show the fire igniting and the man running away, this also shows how fast the fire ignites. When the flashback finishes the shot fades into the next where the location changes, the characters change and the lighting changes, where once it was dark it then changes so it is lighter. The fade shows the flashback ending.

·         Sound: The sound at first creates a sense of mystery as to who the man is as his identity is not revealed. The music then changes to indicate impending danger to which the injured man was probably unaware of. Once the gun was fired the music changes to a sadder tone mostly done by string instruments, it then changes by getting louder and deeper as the fire begins to ignite and crashes as an explosion occurs. The non-diegetic music at the end of the flash back continues on briefly into the next shot (sound bridge).

·         Mise en Scene: The location is inside a boat and the boat is filled with barrels of flammable liquid which is spilling out into the boat. This shows a dangerous environment in the boat. Both men are wearing dark costumes, this is important for the man with the gun whose identity is being kept hidden. There is fire burning in the background during the shots to show that something bad has already happened, this is backed-up wither the few men lying on the ground. There is lighting used to show each character.

Cutting a characters head out of the frame is an effective way of hiding a characters face, it also suggests that the other man on the floor can see his face as he is always looking up at him but it is kept hidden from the audience. This technique could be used in our thriller.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Film, 2011)

·         Camera Work: The camera throughout is hand-held and at first does little movement. There is then a tracking shot as the camera follows the girl while she is walking. Her face is kept hidden throughout the tracking shot as the camera is tracking her from behind, this could mean that she is being followed.

·         Editing: When the camera is following the girl there are jump cuts as the location changes while she is walking, this shows the passing of time and where she is going.

 

At the start of the scene, the first shot fades in from black to the package on the desk. The cuts throughout the scene aren’t very fast; this shows that there is no action and that the man at his desk isn’t moving as he is sitting at his desk, he is also upset so the slow camera movement and cuts shows that he is static from the sadness.

·         Sound: The music at first creates a mysterious atmosphere as the package is being opened as no-one knows what the package contains. When the man realises what the package is the music changes to a sadder tone by getting louder and is slightly lower in pitch. When we first see the girl walking through the streets the music changes to a higher pitch and is very quick consisting mainly of violins and bass to give us an idea of danger but also suspense as the camera follows the girls movements through the street, we don’t know where she is going.

·         Mise en Scene: The first shots are filmed in a study with a man opening the package, he is sitting in a darkened room by a very large desk; this shows that this man has power. The girl’s costume is dark and matches with the fact that her face is hidden, it suggests that she doesn’t want to be seen and wants to be able to remain hidden. The lighting in the office and in the street is minimal with some of the light coming from props, e.g. tunnel wall lights.

Following a character from behind is an effective techniqe because it makes the audience feel like they are actually there following behind the girl, thiscould be used in our thriller, following  a character and keeping them hidden from the audience.

Example 1: Non-Stop, Film (2014)

·         Camera Work: At the start the camera films the car windscreen with raindrops sliding down it, there is then a focus pull to show Bill Marks sitting in the car. The camera throughout the opening scene is static and only moves a few times. It shows that Bill Marks is maybe stiff or tired. There is then another focus pull to show a plane landing. The focus pulls might suggest that the state Bill Marks is in, suggesting that he isn’t focused. Once Bill has had a drink the camera changes to hand-held briefly to show he is waking up, becoming more active.

There is then a third focus pull which shows that at first Bill is not aware of his surroundings and is oblivious to the man talking next to him, the focus pull shows that he has realised the man talking to him and shows that he is now paying attention to what’s around him. The close ups throughout the scene are looking at Bill Marks and also show that he is not very aware of what is going on around him.

·         Editing: At first the shots are in slow motion, the drink being poured, stirred, the plane and car outside are all moving in slow motion until Bill Marks drinks the alcoholic drink, once he has had the drink the shots return to normal speed. This technique shows how aware and how alert Bill Marks is and shows the effect the alcohol is having on him.

·         Sound: The music is very low pitched and creates a mood which matches what is happening on screen as the air marshal begins to drink, this makes the audience feel that he shouldn’t be drinking as he has an important job. It also gives us an idea of the mood the character is in, he appears tired, stressed and is an alcoholic and the music gives us the impression that he is in this mood. The music continues to create a sad atmosphere; this suggests that the character doesn’t enjoy his job and that he is obviously upset by a past event that he hasn’t come to terms with. When Bill is on the phone there is a loud diegetic sound of a plane approaching, this means that Bill cannot hear his phone conversation but it also means that the audience can’t hear it as well.

·         Mise en Scene: The scene is set in an airport car park; it appears that Bill’s car is the one of a few cars there which suggests that it is early in the morning. His costume doesn’t suggest what his job is and mostly suggests that he is a normal person, we don’t know why he is at the airport; he either works there or is going on a flight. Becuase most of the scene is set during the early morning some lighting might be needed but not a lot.

The focus pulls used throughout and the slow motion is very effective of showing the condition of a character, they show: confusion, disorientation and awareness. These techniques could be used in our thriller.

Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ydny7_non-stop-2014-opening-sequence-trailer-addict_shortfilms

Example 2: Captain Phillips (Film, 2013)

·         Camera Work: The camera throughout is hand-held and isn’t completely static, this shows that captain Phillips is maybe rushing to pack for his trip and is always doing something, he doesn’t stop or pause and neither does the camera which matches his activeness. This hand-held movement also makes the scene more realistic.

·         Editing: There are cuts throughout which are not very frequent to show that the audience can look at clues as to who he is, what his job is and that there is no imminent danger/action. Because the film is based on an actual event the film needed to be as realistic as possible so there are only basic cuts used in the whole film.

·         Sound: There is no non-diegetic music at all, this is to remind the audience that this story actually happened so it makes the film more realistic. This can create a silent atmosphere and make the audience sense how captain Phillips is feeling, it doesn’t make the audience think that anything bad is going to happen at first, it also shows that captain Phillips is not thinking about the job, he is more concerned about packing for the job and not thinking too much into the job such as where he is going and any dangers which he might face. 

·         Mise en Scene:  Right from the start we are shown a booklet which shows a shipping company’s name on it, this shows the audience from the start what the persons job is, we know already that he works on a cargo ship. Then not long after we see his computer screen which tells us that he is the captain and where he will be going. Captain Phillips’s costume is very basic clothing but realistic as this film is based on a true story. Some lighting would be used to show light entering the house from the windows but also to maintain a continuous brightness, the lighting would also make the interior of the house more visible.

Link: http://genvideos.co/watch_Captain_Phillips_2013.html#video=3NLhhjl0V3MOCvY3KD7Tl4b4nJhlOjzJ0o61_yhhUvY

Example 3, The Da Vinci Code (Film, 2006)

·         Camera Work: During the chase scene one of the characters is not revealed to us, we know it’s a person because of his shadow and because we see him walking in a black cloak. It isn’t until he is trapped behind the bars does he then reveal himself but we still don’t know who he is and why he shot the older man, we don’t even know why the older man ran from the man in the cloak. Keeping the mans face hidden from the audience uses the technique Restrictive Narration as the audience are restricted from knowing the identity of one of the characters.

These screen shots show that slowly the man is revealed more and more until we see his face. First it’s a blurred shot, then his shadow is shown, then the man with his face hidden, then his face is revealed. All the shots up until the mans face is revealed are all long shots to show the distance between him and the man he is chasing, also this further blocks his identity to the audience. A close-up is then used to show the audience the mans face, it is a close-up to make his face more visible but also to show how urgently the audience would want to see who is hidden under the cloak, a medium shot would have been more realistic to show what the other characters view is of the man in the cloak.

·         Editing: The cuts at first are quite frequent throughout the chase, until the two men exchange dialogue which is when the frequency of cuts slows down, then when the gun is fired the cuts increase quickly then slow when the cloaked man walks away.

·         Sound: There is non-diegetic sound during the chase which is very low pitched consisting of string instruments which creates danger. The sound stops momentaraly while the two characters exchange dialogue and then starts again when the gun is fired, then there is a low pitched harmony when the cloaked character walks away and the other character is on the floor after being shot.

·         Mise en Scene: One characters costume is a suit to show that he might be an important person who works at the museum that they are in. The other mans costume is a black cloak which covers him completely and blends him into the low key lighted background; this gives a sense of mystery as we do not know the man’s identity until he takes his cloak hood off. This also suggests to the audience that he could be the antagonist. The lighting throughout the scene is low key lighting as the scenes are quite dark but just enough so that shadows can be cast and that faces are hidden but clear when revealed. There is lighting used is small areas to show shadows and to show light entering from windows, if the scene was set at night then the light would either be from the moon or from street lights.

This opening is very effective because it creates questions such as: who is the man in the cloak? why is he chasing the other man? why are they in what looks like an art gallery?. This would be an ideal opening to a thriller. Elements from this thriller opening could be used in our thriller such as the hidden character, the chase scene or the dark lighting.

Example 4, FlashPoint (TV Series 2008-2012)

·         Camera Work: The camera at the start of the shot is hand-held and starts by focusing on a building, it then moves down to reveal the first character and crab around him to show what he is looking at. The camera throughout the rest of the opening scene is hand-held and is always moving either moving towards a character or moving around in front of them. This shows that the situation is very dangerous and that no-one can rest until the situation has been resolved. The hand-held camera work also makes the audience feel like they are actually there. The camera angle at the start is a worms eye view which is looking up at a building, as it begins to crab round it reveals the first character, momentarily the camera is looking up at him while it crabs round, ever so slowly rising up to a low angle, when the camera reveals the police the camera has moved behind the gunman and has changed to eye level. This shows that at first the gunman has all the power and control, until the police then appear on screen the power shifts so it is even between the two.

·         Editing: At the start the shot fades from white to the location the scene is shot at. When the scene gets to a climactic stage, a flashback occurs by flicking rapidly through the episode back to the start of the day. (flashback occurs at 1:49) This is present in every episode.  As the situation gets more tense and unpredictable the frequency of cuts increase. Once the flashback happens the cuts slow down.

·         Sound: The music at first is very low pitched and creates a sense of mystery as we don’t know who the man is, why he has a gun and woman with him and who he is talking to. It isn’t until the camera moves round do we see the police and the music changes to tense, fast paced low drums and cow-bell like sounds to show a tense hostage negotiation/stand-off. When the sniper is about to take the shot the music gets very drum-heavy to show a crucial moment. Once the flashback takes us back to the start, the music stops to show the new scenario is normal and that nothing is going to happen.

·         Mise en Scene: The man with the gun is wearing a dark costume and the policemen are wearing police uniforms. The woman who is being held hostage is wearing a pink top, this shows that she works in one of the buildings and was taken by surprise and that it was a normal day for her before this happened. The location seems to be near a block of offices and in a city center, this is shown by the large buildings and the large open space where the gunman is standing. Because the whole scene is set outdoors then little light would be needed as the natural light would be enough to show that the scene is taking place at some time near the afternoon.

I like the choice of using flashbacks before a climactic event happens because it leaves the audience wondering what happened and what led up to it (why did it happen?) and they would have to watch the whole episode to answer those questions. The effective part of this opening is when th camera reveals a tall building and then lowers and crabs around the gunman, this is because for the first few seconds of the scene the audience would be asking questions such as: who is that man? who is the woman with him? where are they? who is he shouting at? When the camera crabs round all those questions are answered, he is a gunman, the woman is a hostage, they are in a city and he is shouting at the police.

Other Examples of Thriller Films: Blade Runner, Gravity, Angels & Demons, Taken Trilogy, Die Hard, The Expendables, The Matrix Trilogy, The Bourne Films