Thriller Sub-Genres

A Genre is a category or ‘type’ of film, characterised by similarities n form, style, or subject matter.

Genre can be an important factor in influencing audiences when selecting films to watch. If an audience can identify the genre of a film they will establish certain expectations about whether or not they will enjoy the film. A sub-genre is a subcategory within a particular genre. For example, the academic mystery is a sub-genre of the mystery novel.

Sub-Genres for a thriller:

• Action Thriller (Olympus Has Fallen):

• Crime Thriller (Silence of the Lambs):

• Conspiracy Thriller (Angels & Demons):

• Disaster Thriller (San Andreas):

• Psychological Thriller (Seven):

• Spy Thriller (The Bourne Identity):

• Supernatural Thriller (Ghoul):

Studio Lesson #2

On Thursday 24th September we had our second studio lesson and we learned about the 180 degree rule and how to film sequences, along with some studio "lingo" for example "Stand By", "Roll", "Rolling", "Action" and "Cut".

The 180 Degree Rule:
In film making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters, and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character is always frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. The camera passing over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line; breaking the 180-degree rule by shooting on all sides is known as 'shooting in the round'.

How To Film Sequences (The Five Shot Sequence):
1) Start with an extreme long shot:

2) Then you move into a long shot:

3) You start to zoom in to the action with a mid shot:

4) Then you move closer in with a close up, which normally shows a face:

5) Finally you focus on part of the body that is being focused on, for example the eye. This is called a big close up:

Learning about the studio

On Thursday 17th September 2015, my class and I had our first studio lesson in Media Studies. In that lesson we used three different types of cameras along with tripods and additional lenses to go onto the cameras we used. The cameras that we used were the Sony NX5, Sony FS100 and a Canon 5D. Now I am going to talk about each one in detail and separately.

The Sony NX5:

This camera can cost up to £3,000 which is a lot of money, but the main purpose of this camera is that it will be used when filming big, high budget films, due to it very high quality and power the camera holds within, which can definitely be seen by looking at the size ant the weight of this machine. This Sony camera is quite heavy for a camera but you can expect it due to its size, due to its weight it is normally put on a tripod. Unless you are looking to do big budget and incredible filming then the next best camera to have is another Sony camera called the Sony FS100. 

The Sony FS100 & The Cannon 5D:

This camera is not as expensive as the Sony NX5 but it is also a very good camera as it shoot in very high definition and it is also quite heave and it would normally be put onto a tripod to hold a very steady shot as that is what it would normally be used for. The Cannon 5D is a light weighted camera which can very easily be held by hand but when this is a camera for a low budget film then this is the camera as it is good quality at a reasonable price.

The Tripod:

A tripod is a three-legged stand for  supporting a
camera and keeping at a horizontal level so it can stay on a straight line, you check this by "bubbling the camera" (this is where you stabilise the camera to make sure  that it is straight), you bubble the camera by a small spirit levler in the shape of a circle. The tripod holds each camera securely at different heights adjusted by the user by locking and unlocking the hooks which securely keeps the tripod in place without falling over.

RED (2010), The Poster

RED Poster:

The Genre of the film can be seen through the poster due to the text type, colour and the images on the poster. I will analyse all different types of sections which can figure out the genre along with the target audience of the film.

Text type:

The size of the text is extremely large as it covers almost half of the poster to make it stand out, this size of text along with it all being in capitals makes it very loud and clear that the genre is an action or adventure film as it make the viewer of the poster feel very ‘en medias res’ (in the middle of the action) which straight aways gives the viewer that thrill and adrenalin rush of being in that environment. There is a Sub-heading which is “Still Armed. Still Dangerous. Still Got It.” which doesn't make a lot of sense as this is not a sequel to any film, this line intrigues you despite the text size it is in, however it is also in capital letters, which does make it feel as if it is important to read, but the title Red does stand for something and that is Retired and Extremely Dangerous.

Colour:

The colour of the poster is primarily RED, this links to the title Red and how it is the colour of blood and fire and it is associated with meanings of rage, anger, danger, malice, wrath, stress, action and determination. All these feelings and thoughts come to the head of the observer of this poster when it is seen. The colour red stands out a lot especially with a black background. The colour black in the poster doesn't make it feel any less dangerous and exhilarating, if anything it improves and strengthens those feelings towards this film and its poster.

Images:

The images on this poster are all in red and black, causing the feelings expressed in the section where I have spoken about the colour in the poster, and are all close up shots of different actors and actresses in the film. Two of them seem to have guns and weapons in them drawing more people to look are it and some to look away which leads to the target audience which I will talk about in the final section of this blog entry. These close up shots of the actors and actresses draw attention to the way they are feeling due to the way they look, for example you can see the genre of this film through their facial expressions as there are two serious images and one quite funny/intense image (this has tow side as it can be seen in two different views).

The Target Audience:

The target audience of this film (with evidence from the poster) would be those who enjoys a crime and an action film with a bit of comedy and it could, possibly, have explicit language meaning that it wont be suitable for children under the age of 12 when they are not accompanied by an adult (in the UK). 

Conclusion:

In conclusion the genre of this film poster “RED” can be identified through the colours used, the text sizes and font which is used along with the images that have been put into the poster, like facial expressions and props that they hold.

The Opening Sequence Of Inception

At the start of the clip there is a very dramatic music playing which features lots of loud sudden noises. These noises help to build tension before the audience are introduced to the main character. As the music stops there is a quick and loud sound of waves clashing against rocks this helps set the scene for the audience know and tell them that the film is set in the present day. The audience is then introduced to the main character who seems to have woken up after being washed up on shore. Also there is the sound of children playing and he also sees them after looking for them, which shows that he recognised them. The Inside of the, what seems to be, bad guy base is a very traditional Chinese looking building which goes against the typical ideas someone would have of a Sci-Fi film. The props that are featured are 21st century style weapons which once again goes against the stereo typical Sci-Fi film style weapons. Immediately the audience will be asking questions who is the man that was in the water? Who is the Asian man? Why is the main character there? What does that spinner do/mean? The scene suddenly jumps back in time with no indication of how long ago but the main character is there with a different Asian man and it is set in the same room. Suggesting that time plays a big part to the plot of the movie, maybe time/memory traveling? The characters talk about "the dream state" this tells the audience that the film is about dreams. This suggests that the film may have quite a dark and mysterious atmosphere. The rattling of the table and the sound of Mr Cobb's watch ticking suggests that the place they are in may not be reality.

How Tension Is Created In Detachment

First of all, the up close camera shots of, what seems to be, the main character really shows how he is thinking a lot and they also show his feelings, for example how he is seen to be stressed also because of the shouting in the background. It is a very dark piece which reflects on the genre of the opening sequence which is obviously a thriller piece. They show that this opening sequence is a thriller by using a lot of sounds, like aggressive shouting which seems like an argument between two people as well as the shouting at the door, which links to how and where he lives, for example he seems to live in a very messy house which could be in a council estate. The main character seems to be on edge most of the time, for instance after the close up camera shots of the character at the beginning of the sequence he tries to light a cigarette which shows the stress the is feeling and when his lighter doesn’t work it makes him more stressed which puts the audience on edge as well, this also leads to the Hip-Hop music in the background which doesn’t seem to help him relax especially with the people shouting in the background.