Vox Pop

Vox Pops

 

Different ways to feedback

Poll vote

Verbal feedback

Interviews

Reviews

Questionnaires

Forums

Ratings

Psychographics

Demographics

 

What makes a Vox Pop

Starts off quite basic

Short bits of interviews

Close to the persons face

Mainly only one person at a time

In a public area

You cant see the person asking a question

Peoples names

Peoples occupations

Peoples age

Off scene gaze

Don't hear the questions

 

Why Study Film Noir?

 

 

The first thrillers were film noir.

 

Hugely popular in their day.

 

Extremely effective use of mis-en-sene and lighting.

 

Mis-en-scene is what you see.

 

What is film Noir?

- Hero with a past.

- Femme Fatal.

- Always set in the big American cities.

- At it's most popular after WW2.

 

Expressionist style

 

Femme Fatal:

- Sexually liberal women.

- Get hero in trouble.

- Double crossing.

- Murderous.

- Hair over one eye.

- Laura Mulvery:- Feminist theory that sates media has men look at women like they are objects.

Work on Genres

 

 

Sub-genre-  Is a genre within a genre.
 

Hybrid- Is where genres are mixing.

 

 

Examples:

Speed: Action Thriller

Sin City: Noir Thriller

District 9: Sci-fi Thriller

The Departed: Crime Gangster Thriller

Stigmata: Horror/ Super Natural Thriller

 

Star Persona- Actor is associated with specific genre and personality of a character.

 

Typography- Style of text/ font

 

Film Noir:- 1950's

                 - Black and White

                 - Dark theme and dark representations

                 - Stylistic

 

Slogan:- Iconic

            - Catchphrase

            - Premise (hint of narrative)

            - Gets audience hooked

 

We categorise target audiences in the following ways:

Demographics:- Age

                        - Gender

                        - Race/ Nationality

                        - Socio-economic class

Psychographics:- Interests and Hobbies

                          - Lifestyle and Jobs

 

Scio-economic class- Is the combination between social class and economic class.

 

A:- CEO's

    - Doctors/ Surgeons

    - Head teachers

B:- Teachers

    - High Manager Roles

C1:- Nurses

      - Accountants

C2:- Plumbers

      - Carpenters

      - Electricians

D:- Retail

E:- Student

    - Pensioners

    - Unemployed

 

The Day of the Jackal

15

Aimed at people aged 35-50

European

Aimed at class C1 on the socio-economic class scale

Suitable for people with an interest in History

Crime/ Drama Thriller

Relates to people who are effected by politics in their lives

Target Audience for 'The Day Of The Jackal'

 

'The Day Of The Jackal' is a crime/drama thriller and is certificate '15'. The film is a hybrid genre which makes it accessible to a wider range of people because the film contains crime, drama and action. Although the film certificate is a 15, because of a twisting plot, the film may be better suited towards 35-50 year old people. The setting of the film is in France and the film is aimed more towards European people as the people and politics involved are all about Europe.

The film is about a professional assassin code-named 'Jackal' who plots to kill the president of France, 'Charles De Gaulle'. Due to this, people who are interested in politics would find the film interesting. People who are interested in History would also like this film as the history behind the film is all true, although the actual plot of the film is not true to life. On the socioeconomic scale, the film is aimed at class C2 and upwards because those people may be more educated in history and politics which would make the plot easier to understand and more interesting.

Key Vocabulary

 

Star Persona means an actor associated with a certain genre of film and a certain character personality. An example of this would be Liam Neeson who appears in many thriller films as the protagonist.

 

Typography is the style of text or font used on a film poster

 

Film slogan is like catchphrase for the film. It is sometimes called a premise which means a hint of narrative and this hooks the audience.

 

 

Basic Information on Film Work

 

 

Composition- Where objects are placed in the frame

 

Rule of thirds- When composing a shot imagine a grid over the top of it

                         Points of interest occur where lines cross.

 

The golden mean- When composing a shot imagine a diagonal line over the top of it.

                              Points of interest occur across the line.

 

Framing- Framing means what you choose to include in the shot and what you leave out. What you

                leave out can be important a thriller shot might exclude objects to create tension.

                Look at how much space is given around a subject.

 

Camera Shots

 

Extreme Long Shot- The subject isn't clearly visible.

                                  Point is to show subject surroundings.

                                  Used as an establishing shot.

 

Long Shot- The subject takes up the whole frame.

                    Used to show a characters surroundings.

 

Mid Shot- Shows some part of the subject.

                  Conversation shots.

                  Usually used in fight scenes.

 

Medium Close Up- Half way between close up and mid shot.

 

Close up- Subject takes up most of the frame, shows emotion as well.

 

Extreme Close Up- Only reason for them is if it is needed.

 

Cut Away- Shot that is usually of something other than the current action. It could be a different subject. Used as a buffer between shots.



Two Shot- Establish a relationship. used to bring attention to 2 people.

Over the Shoulder- Framed from behind. the person you can see should take up about a 1/3.

Noddy Shot- Where someone reacts at the same time as when info is given to you.

Point of view Shots- Show the view from the subjects perspective

 

Camera Movement

 

Low Angle Shot- The point at which your shooting from. Used for power and authority.

 

High angle Shot- Shot is taken from above the subject looking down at it. Subject is weak.

 

Pan- the camera moves from one point to another (left to right)

 

Tracking Shot- Camera moves on a dolly to follow the subject. Gives sense of speed.

 

Tilt- Moves from point to another (up and down). Sense of height.

 

Canted Angle Shot- Camera position is not straight towards the subject. Sense of caos.

 

Zooming in and out- More in than out.

 

Steadicam- Camera moves with action.

 

Crane Shot- Takes camera from a high angle.

 

Aerial Shot- The camera is positioned to give a sense of size.

 

Thrillers

What is a thriller?

Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced.

 

The Dark Knight

 

 

The Dark Knight is one of the most watched and highly rated thrillers on the IMDb website. The common elements of this film are darkness and being silent. It follows the two main characters around to let you know how their lives intertwine with one another. Also within this film there is a lot of fasted paced action and very sudden but very memorable movements. Such as when the Joker takes hostages and slices their cheeks right down the centre from the corner of their mouth.

There also tend to be a lot of special effects which in thrillers are of their own kind, for example explosions and gun shots. It really makes the audience get interested in the film and want to continue watching. The story line of this film is the chasing down of a notorious villain who puts a lot of innocent people’s lives in danger. The setting of this film is mainly Gotham city where lots of problems start to occur. The actors who play the two main roles of Batman and the Joker really do know how to do it. Considering this is a remake of the old version the actors did pull of a very good job of making it one of a kind. The role Batman is to be this dark figure that protects Gotham city without anyone knowing his true identity. The role of the Joker is to be a homicidal maniac with strong psychological problems putting fear into innocent people’s lives. A lot of the props used are weaponry such as elite armed forces destruction vehicles, and knife and lots and lots of black-market guns.  The camera work is very unique the director was able to get like every single camera angle that exists. Editing such as the explosions and the high speed driving is of a very high level edited because it makes it seem that the explosions are real and the actor is like a professional racing driver.

 

The sound effects used in this film or of its own level, the blend of pure silence and then explosions when you least expect it really makes it’s a very good piece of film work because you stay wanting to see how it ends. The make-up that some of the characters have does really reflect their characters, such as the Two-Face because the burn half of his face does really like his face has actually been charred the extreme and the jokers make-up really does make him look like he is wrong in the head. The costumes also tell you what the characters should be. Batman actually looks like a bat/ humanoid. The Joker dresses very similar to the original joker but with a modern and mental twist. Two-Face dresses like an evil master mind should dress very smart and form but something to separate him from the rest, and commissioner Gordon actually looks like he should be a police commissioner.

 

 

 

In this scene it gives you a real sense of what Batman’s vehicles are like, they are the best of the best nothing could possible stop them and it lets you know he isn’t prepared to lose. The camera angle shows a sense of power and with the explosion it shows that this vehicle is state of the art and one of its kinds.

 

In this scene it is a long shot Batman in all his body armour landing on the top of a car and watching the top of the car getting crushed shows that he is someone that is a power figure and that intimidates anyone that tries to defy him.

Thriller analysis

 

 

 

This is Expendables 3; it is an action adventure thriller. It has a very well-known cast consisting of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Harrison ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The way this becomes a thriller is because it’s a quick passed action film. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting more action. The lighting effects are just normal day lighting, this makes you feel as if you are seeing this action live and getting involved with the movie.

 

 

This is Nightmare on Elm Street (2010); it is a horror mystery thriller. This is a very tense film. The director has taken the original film and made it into a piece of art. The director managed to really catch the essence of this classic film with this new version. This thriller is a very thrilling movie because it has very fast and quick moments to make you jump off your seat. But the lighting in different scenes defiantly gives you a sense of a mood change.

 

 

This is Gravity, it is a sci-fi thriller. The reason for this being a thriller is because throughout the film there are a lot of tense moments. The director was able to create tension in loads of different scenes making the music die down and go almost silent, where you can only hear deep heavy breathing. Then with that it creates a sudden scene of excitement. The lighting within this feature is and odd one to call because in space there is no like accept for the Sun so at times it will be really dark or light. However when the main actress gets into other shuttles and centres the lighting tends to be red and flashing to show some sort of peril and again adding to the thrill of this film

What are the Components of a Thriller?

 

1. Tension

2. Sudden movements/ Fast paced

3.Special Effects

4. Plot Twist

5. Soundtrack

6. Protagonist in danger

7. Violence

8. Cross Cutting

9. Suspense

10. Mystery

11. Crime

12. Backstory

13. Cliff Hangers

14. Fight Scenes

 

What do you think are the Typical Audience Feelings?

 

1. Jumping/ Nervous

2. Wants them to stay involved

3. Suspense

4. Edge of the seat

5. Excitement

6. Tension

7. Nerve Wracking

8. Anxiety

9. Uncertainty

10. Fear

11. Problem solving

 

Thriller Characters

 

1. Protagonist- Stereo typical- Leader- Skilful- Smart- Generally good looking- Psychologically disturbed- Male- Power figures- Strong

2. Damsel in distress

3. Antagonist- Hollywood ones are British or Russian

4. Extras- killed or hurt

 

Themes

 

Action Thrillers- Physical action, fights and chases

Crime- Cereal killers and murder

Film Noir- Black and white (40's and 50's), heroes and villains

Psychological- Drama, mystery and hero is normally smart

 

Narrative

Start: Intro's

          Finding Character- Mainly Villain

          Problem

 

Middle: Solving problem

              Another Problem

              Action

 

End: Resolution

         Purpose of problem

 

Mis-en-scene

Lighting- Lack and Changes

Props- Weapons

Music- Tense 

Costume- Period

Lots of Silences

Camera shots- Wide, Close

Setting- Period and Theme related

 

 

Sound

 

Sound in thrillers is considered a key part of the genre because it isn't just the visual effects and video that keeps people engrossed, the sound will make people find a film more interesting. The audience are probably more likely to jump at a scene with sound and video than just video.