Bailey Danahar

Question one
A thriller is a novel, play or a film which has an exciting plot. This is normally
involving crime, spying or action. There are many types of genres and these can
be merged together to create sub genres, for example;

Action thriller
Crime thriller
Disaster thriller
Legal thriller
Medical thriller
Psychological thriller
Religious thriller
Supernatural thriller

There are many other types of subgenres, but the one that I used was a crime
thriller. Crime thrillers normally psychologically affect and making realistic
scenarios. I thought I would use a crime thriller because I feel that they are often
enjoyable and disturbing to watch. I find them enjoyable because of the realistic
effect that they create and that they are normally well plotted throughout the
whole film. Sinister is the thriller where I got my inspiration from and Sinister is a
crime thriller. This thriller has great moments of tension where it makes the
audience not want to look but to look at the same time
because the film draws you in;
for example this screen grab
shows that the character is
scared for his life and this builds up tension which makes
the audience feel tenser. Also this screen grab from the film sinister creates a
feared atmosphere because the direction the character is looking at is at the
audience, which makes it feel something is behind you. This is the effect that I
would like my thriller to have on my target audience.

Bailey Danahar
Thrillers use conventional camera work, for example
close ups are used to create claustrophobia and
make the atmosphere uncomfortable. This screen
grab of the film Se7en is a great example because it shows an extreme close up
of someones face but also shows a reflection of what is happening in the
background. This allows the audience to figure out what is happening but also
makes them uncomfortable because of how close we are to this character.
Birds eye view is a shot which is used a lot
throughout thrillers and this screen grab from Fast
and Furious 5 is a good example of a birds eye
view. It is used so the audience can have a clear view of what is going on in the
scene. This car chase is full of action and fast paced edits, but with this birds
eye view it slows down the pace for a second or two which enables the audience
to realise what is happening.
I used many shot types, but the shot type I used most was a close-up and a
tracking shot. I used close ups in order to restrict
the audience from seeing the surroundings and to
make them focus on the importance that the
camera was showing them; for example this screen
grab from my thriller shows how I managed to make this effect.
I feel that this worked because I also controlled the light intensity, therefore the
surroundings were black and I only let the audience see what I wanted them to
see. This screen grab also shows how I managed to control the light of the shot.
I chose to use a tracking shot whilst following the rope to make it feel like the
audience we following the camera and the character following the rope were

Bailey Danahar
them. I feel that by using this shot type was a success and that it created the
effect I wanted.
Dark lighting, low key lighting, certain props e.g. knife
or a gun and dark costumes are all conventions used
in a thriller and these screen grabs show how dark and low key lighting are used
within real thrillers and my thriller. I used different conventions but some were;
to create questions for the audience and to make my
opening intriguing. I feel that I have achieved this
because my thriller creates confusion in the opening
which leaves the audience with questions. Because the
opening is left unknown, the audience will be intrigued

to

know what is going to happen.

Real thrillers inspired my work to become what it is today, such as Sinister. This
thriller gave me great inspiration to create a successful thriller and I used the
idea of a creating my opening like a home movie as this idea was used
throughout Sinister. These two screen grabs are from Sinister and my thriller.
Both of the screen grabs show resemblance between each other as each shot is
a close-up in low key lighting and this restricts the audience from seeing the
surroundings. It creates a sense of mystery as the audience would like to know
where the camera is taking them.

Bailey Danahar
Each screen grab is filmed as a home movie which gives
creates a more intense atmosphere and making it eerie.
Both images only have the light of the camera in the shot
because it is restricting the audiences views on the
surroundings. All characters in these screen grabs have
rope around their necks and are clear to see that they are
all being tortured. But the identity of who has been torturing them is protected
and this will be found out later on in the film.

In my thriller, the camera follows the rope to the

importance of the scene and by doing this it creates a
sense of mystery because the audience do not know
where the camera is taking them. The same feeling is
created by the film Sinister, but with the use of chains.

The

chains create an aggressive feeling because the chains

look

ancient and look more dangerous, violent and cruel. Compared to a blue rope
the chains create better affects for the audience as chains are threatening
towards the audience.
These two screen grabs are both similar because in both thrillers the antagonist
is looking over the victim who makes it look like they are controlling them. This
may create tension as the victim is unaware on what is going on and who is
looking over them. The screen grab on the top is from my thriller, Innocence; the
shot is dull and gloomy with a character that has a hidden identity which makes
the atmosphere feel queer. The second screen grab is from the thriller Sinister

Bailey Danahar
and this is a midshot with a dismal background. The
faces of the characters are well-lit compared to the
surroundings of the shot and this may be because
these characters are important and need to be
recognised.
Each screen grab shows pain and torture of the
victims in the scene. The top image is from my thriller
and this shows that the victim has been wounded and she has struggled. It is a
close-up of the wounds and injuries to show the importance to the audience.
From the film Sinister, the torture is much more violent as a family have been
burnt alive in their family car. This is much more severe
compared to Innocence, but each screen grab shows pain
and helplessness.
Both of these screen grabs show a victim that is helpless
and how the only light being used is from the camera
creates a sinister affect. This makes the audience feel
that they are the ones holding the camera. This will cause
discomfort for the audience but will also make them
continue watching because they would want to find out
who is filming.