How to film a Thriller

Filming a thriller involves using a lot of different editing techniques, sound and shot angles. When you use different transitions between shots it helps the audience understand what is going on and helps the thriller flow better. The sound that is used can create suspense, danger or even relief in a thriller depending on if it is parallel and matches with the scene. Lastly, the shot types that are used can help the thriller develop depending on what angle the camera is in. Different angles can make the character seem helpless and vulnerable.



In the thriller opening we can see all the key features that make up the thriller. From the beginning of the short video we see a cross dissolve and this is used to leave out part of the journey. It makes the characters journey shorter so that we don't have to see too much walking. When the character gets into the fort there is parallel editing which cuts between inside and outside. This suggest that there is some sort of danger outside that the character may not know about. When the music builds up there is fast pace editing used. This means that we see a variety of different shots very fast and this indicates that the character is in danger.

Sound is another element used to make up a thriller. At the start we can hear some diegetic sound of a calm bird song. When the character enters the fort the bird song stops and we start hearing different types of diegetic sounds such as dripping water and splashing. Inside the sinister music starts playing and this suggests danger. The deep note of the sinister music implies the suspense of what is happening in the video. As we hear the music getting deeper the character starts breathing heavily. As the man runs outside the music and deep breathing fade out as the character feels relived that he is now in the open field and there is no danger around him. The bird song starts playing again to show that the character is back in normality.

Different types of shots can portray how the character is feeling in some situations. From the beginning of the sequence we see a long shot and this sets the scene as the character is calm. The tracking shot matches movement and the shot reverse shows what he sees. When the character is in the fort we see a shot through a gap and this suggests that someone or something mysterious is watching from outside. There is a close up of the character and this shows the reaction of the character as he thinks that he is in danger. The variety of canted shots shows that something mysterious is going on. He runs for the exit and the camera starts moving and this type of shot is called a steadicam. When the charcater gets outside the scene is bright and this shows that everything is ok.

Studio Indents

All film studios have idents in order to make themselves stand out and give an impression of what type of studio they are. These have varying design and can either be as simple as a picture or a short motion. Film studios such as "Warner Bros" are very well known,and there are others such as "Paramount Vantage" which are known, but not on a bigger scale. Each ident is different are easily identifiable.

The "Warner Bros" ident shows an infamous shield made out of a hard metal with their studios name on it. With this ident the studio are trying to portray that they are powerful, dominant and important. This gives us the impression that their studio is right at the top and we can expect good, high quality productions from them. 

The ident of "Columbia Pictures" has to represent their studio and also stand out. They have to make themselves look powerful, creative and offer an insight to the type of studio they are. By doing this it gives us a little bit information of what we can expect from the studio. 


Another ident is "Film 4 Productions". This is a British indie studio that is owned by Channel 4. Unlike some idents Film 4 adjust their logo depending on what film they have produced. For example if they had produced and action film they would have an explosion in the background of their ident. This ingenious idea is very creative and this is what most idents aim to do.

"Paramount Vantage" is an indie ident because it is not a big studio ident. Paramount Vantage is a film division from Paramount pictures. They also have an ident so that they can be identified, but instead of having such a detailed meaningful ident they just have an easy, simple ident. This is because they are not at the top of the film industry but they still create films which some may say are just as good.

"Unknown"

"Unkown" (2011)

"Unknown" is an action thriller that is about a man that has his identity stolen from him whilst he was in a coma and when he wakes up nobody believes that he is who he claims to be. He goes out and finds the young woman that was with him in the crash and they set out to prove his identity.   

From the trailer we can see that the film is a thriller because it includes fast pace right from the 20th second. From this point there is frequent action because the main character, who claims to be Martin Harris, has to try recover his memory and find the person that has stolen his identity and why. The trailer appeals to the audience because it involves these key thriller elements. From the trailer itself we can tell that the film goes up and down and is quite fast pace with a lot of action. Also the audience can make the assumption that Liam Neesons character is the resourceful hero who that thwarts the plans of the more powerful, better equipped villain and manages to find a way to stop the villains from killing him and stealing his identity.
   

The mcguffin used in this thriller is "Prince Shalla" who is the Arabian funder for the breakthrough research that has been found for world food. This provides the basis for the story of why Dr Martin Harris has come to Berlin for, however the audience are not interested about the event that is taking place. Instead they are only focused in Liam Neesons character to see if he will be able to find his identity and be able to survive from the people that want to kill him. 

The car chase is one of the most important scenes in the film. This is because it has the most effect and so much could go wrong for Liam Neesons character and he could be captured or even killed by the villains hit-men. 

The camera work used in the car scene is very detailed and a variety of shot angles were used. From the start of the chase we can see a close up of Liam Neeson's character trying to get away from the killers, then suddenly the get hit by a lorry and the shot changes to a wide shot. There is a point of view shot when Liam Neeson's character tries to look through his windscreen but it is covered in white liquid. There are many shots used in this scene to make it fast pace and thrilling.    

There must have been a lot of editing because there were so many shots used to make such a dramatic car chase. This is because the car chase needs to be fast tempo and by putting in different shot types that only last a few seconds it adds the effect that time is going faster during the chase.

The type of sound used is diegetic because the characters are talking and there are some sound effects from the cars. Parallel music is also being played throughout the whole of the chase. The music is faint but at some points you can hear it clearly.

Past Student Thrillers

"Psycho"

"Psycho (1960)"

Hitchcock's film "Psycho" is a horror/thriller about a secretary that steals $40,000 from her employees client goes on a run to get away from any chances of being caught. She checks into an outlying motel where she meets a young madman with a very peculiar,deranged mind. Little does she know that this man is a psycho, but it is a little too late for her to do anything about it. 

Alfred Hitchcock directed the film in a way so that the audience are able to work out that there is a murder but they don't know who the murderer is and when he/she will strike again. Hitchcock has made it suspenseful by prolonging the time of the next murder. He also stressed that as the apprehension increases there is less and less violence on the screen.

Thrillers are characterised by fast pacing, frequent action. In the scene where the Marion Crane gets stabbed multiple times, by the unsuspected murderer, there is a mystery to be solved and this is where we start to see the thriller element of the film. As the audience we do not see the murderer walk into Marion's room and we do not get to see their face but all we see is the murder taking place. The murderer stabs Marion Crane multiple times before making a quick dash and before we know it she is dead. There are many shots during this short period of time and the non-diegetic music that is played adds to the fast pacing action that is happening.  

We learn that the madman, Norman Bates, has a disturbed mind and is a psycho. He is under a psychological domination by his dead mother. Towards the end the characters learn that Norman was a lunatic ever since his dad past way. He killed his mother and his mothers lover.   

"The Birds"

The Birds is a Hitchcock classic that was released in 1963 and it is about crazy, deranged, aggressive birds that attack people.

"A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness." - IMDb The Birds (1963)

"The Birds"

"The Birds" contain the key aspects of a thriller film. From just the trailer we can tell that this Hitchcock film is another one of his thrillers because it contains fast pacing action within the scenes. The trailer starts off dramatically with "there is no reason to be afraid" and this then leads on to a short clip from the film. By this stage the audience is already curious of what the film is about then suddenly there is chaos on the screen and a lot of scene switching. There is so much going on within the scenes that the audience want to know what is the cause of the birds going crazy and what happens to the people.

Hitchcock's film used suspense greatly throughout the film to create uncertainty within the audience. At certain stages of the film he used it more than others and kept the audience intact. Also at the same time the suspense used created excitement because we wanted to know how the characters would cope with the evil birds and they would wriggle out of this problem.

During the scene where Melanie and Mitch's family were caved into the house Hitchcock used suspense to build up anxiety within the audience. During this scene the family the family have trapped themselves into Mitch's house to protect themselves from the birds. In the night Melanie decides to go upstairs because she has heard something and wants to investigate. She walks up the stairs slowly and by doing this the audience are on the edge of their seats. When she finally reaches the door there is hardly any noise coming from the room and at this point the audience are a bit uncertain of what is going on, but as soon as Melanie opens the door she is attacked by a mass heard of birds.  



Hitchcock used dramatic irony to draw the attention of the audience. In the schoolyard scene there were happy children singing their songs in contrast to the evil in nature. This engages the audience with the scene because the audience know what is going to happen, but the children in the schoolyard are clueless.