Film Research

Codes And Conventions 

From analysing a number of films belonging to the thriller genre, I have noticed some patterns. One thing common to all thriller films is an exciting and engaging plot. A thriller should involve the audience and push them to the edge of their seats with pure interest in the characters and plot of the film. This audience reaction is achieved through multiple visual and auditory techniques combined with a unique story line featuring characters that we believe. With regards to characterisation it is common that there is one main character that the plot follows on a personal mission. Often the characters are male which leads to the main audience being males over the age of 15. Due to the fact that our film will feature a female protagonist I have chosen to analyse some films that also feature a female lead.

Target Audience

Due to thrillers having strong elements of suspense, mystery and anticipation, the target audience would be anyone in their teens upwards.  This is reflected in the age rating of most thrillers which tend to be recommended for those at least 12 and above. The most common gender represented in thrillers is male. The target audience can be mixed however there is usually a focus on males as a result of the characterisation. This is because in film it is important that people are able to relate to the characters. It is easier for males to relate to the characters seen in most thriller films than females.

Cinematography

A large variety of camera angles are used in thrillers to maintain interest and uncertainty. Close ups and especially extreme close ups are seen frequently in thrillers and are used to

accurately convey the emotion of the characters.

Shots of the environment are often seen in thrillers as a way of building tension. Pan shots are used to show the dynamics of the setting clearly. These are usually used as quick moving shots to add to the excitement of the events that are happening. Dolly tracks are a key feature in thriller films. Shots filmed on a track can be used as slow moving shots closing in on a subject to create suspense. They can also be used in a more fast paced setting to follow the mission of the characters. 

 Aerial shots are often scene to create another perspective on the setting and again increase the tension before a dramatic event.

Lighting is important in conveying a mundane, uneasy atmosphere. The opening of thrillers is very often shows the calm before the storm. Low key lighting is very important in thrillers in creating a mystery over a scene or object.

Zooms are also heavily featured in thrillers to create apprehension and make a shot more exciting. Reverse zooms can especially cause the audience to feel uneasy when necessary at certain points in the play.

Sound 

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound both play a big role in thriller films.  The soundtrack in thrillers often features a lot of high pitched music that usually build in tone to build tension and reflect the pace of a scene. Dissonance is also widely featured to cause the audience to feel uneasy ans suspicious in thrillers. 

In fast paced exciting scenes for example chase scenes quick quaver rhythms are often heard to reflect the nature and mood of the scene. Silence can also play a big role in thrillers, by isolating the sound in the environment with the absence of a soundtrack we can focus on the characters and what they are doing. 

Location 

Thrillers often take place interesting or isolated locations. The openings often take place in an outdoor location mostly to display isolation and uncertainty. The other extreme of this is an opening taking place in an enclosed environment to create apprehension and suspicion. To create the correct emotion with the audience in thrillers it helps if they are subconsciously looking at an environment that they would not be entirely comfortable in.   

HANNA

A film centred around a 16 year old girl raised in isolation from the outside world by her father, enters society as an assassin. The wild nature of the protagonists character is something to take inspiration from for our film. We need to create the same confusion and anxiety in our character to show that she has entered a world that is completely alien to her. It is vital that our viewers believe that our character feels completely isolated in this world that she has just entered.

The simple opening wide shot creates uncertainty straight away. We are not quite sure what we are looking at. The opening scene has the landscape emerge from the mist. We are not yet certain where we are, the simple shadows created by rocks in  the mist create a sense of the unknown.

In this wide shot the landscape is revealed to us more clearly however because the shot is not completely focused around the edges we remain curious as to what else could be in the surroundings.

This aerial shot allows us to see our surroundings from a different perspective, with each shot the nature of the setting becomes more clear. In this shot we start to realise the loneliness of the setting and how isolated the place is. The placement of the title is in the middle third of the screen. The white text on the white background is still easy to read however it also blends in to the natural environment of snow. 

The first time the character is revealed to us, the camera films from behind the trees. It is this not entirely clear view of the protagonist, and how she almost camouflages into the trees that creates a sense of wildness about her. We can clearly see that her dress is not typical of the 21st century and is simply practical.

Here a pan shot is used. As the camera moves across the forest, and passes through the tree it quickly cuts to a shot without the girl. In the editing process an invisible cut has been used. This creates the illusion that she has either moved at super human speed or has simply disappeared. Either way our curiosity is evoked and we are compelled to watch on to find out the whereabouts of the girl and who she is. 

 A point of view shot is used to give a different perspective in the opening. Again the way in which this shot is unfocused creates a sense of confusion, the deliberate shaking of the camera again hints at fear and desperation, it causes us to feel like we are also in a terrifying situation.

The quick pace of the entire movie is essential to build a frantic atmosphere. In this shot the unfocused background and the sheer speed of the scene reflects the protagonists desperation.

There are a number of things that contribute to the characters aura of wildness. Her abnormally pale skin is what you would expect someone to have that hasnt gone outside much. This reflects how she has not had much exposure to the outside world. The cinematography, using dim lighting in this part of the movie contributes to the element of fear throughout the movie. The use of central framing reflects her role as a unique and driven protagonist.

Soundtrack


In this opening the sound is kept minimal, there is no soundtrack as such. Simply the use of ambience sounds to maintain atmosphere. The silence is somewhat unsettling and reflects the barren landscape. The minimal soundtrack here sets the right tone for the rest of the film. The silence can also be seen to reflect the calm before the storm as in the tension before she shoots the animal.


As we plan to have a suggested flash back scene and set some scenes in the forest the soundtracks below are something that we can aim for. The mysterious and menacing aura of the soundtrack create the same effect we need for our project.The soundtrack however does not feature all the typical elements of a thriller soundtrack. The use of more innocent sounding melodies are used and combined with the instrumentation suggest the fairy tale themes.

"Marissa Flashback"
"The forest"
"Escape 700"


The shorter more abstract tracks are subtle and contribute to the sort of atmosphere that can heighten the experience of a movie. The tracks are never overpowering and very often have an innocent fairy tale like feel to them, reflective to the underlying themes of the movie. 

Target Audience
This Action Adventure Thriller has an age restriction of 15+ its target audience would range right up to 25. The age rating is due to the violent nature of the movie. Due to the running themes of survival, hunting and violence it would be more likely that men would express and interest in it, also men that share some of these hobbies such as hunting.

Types of Companies
Focus Features is an American film production and distribution company, it distributes independent and foreign films in the United States and internationally.

Social groups
The fact that the main character is Hanna is an uncommon representation of females in film. A hunting, surviving, trained assassin is not a character that is typically thought of as female. The movie breaks the social expectation of women having to be polite and civilised constantly. In the opening the themes of hunting and survival represent those who have this hobby in society. People that enjoy hunting are represented as a social group. 

Audience Expectation
From the trailer we expect a high paced action packed film. The character evokes a certain amount of emotion despite her violent persona.This causes the viewer to be more curious and increases the likelihood that they will watch. From the opening set in an harsh outdoor environment we expect a film that has themes of survival. The way in which the animal is killed in the opening suggests that the film is going to have elements of violence throughout. The innocence that is normally associated with young girls has been revoked due to this incident and the audience now view the girl as someone who is capable of surviving and providing for themselves. The introduction of the father as a character however reminds us that this is still someone who is almost a child. 

The Maze Runner
Action-Thriller

A  teenager wakes up inside an underground elevator with no memory of his identity. The opening scene where he emerges from the elevator is reflective of our opening scene where our character emerges from the water.

In the opening scene the main character is revealed, however an air of mystery still surrounds them as they remain shadowed in the darkened lift. This heightens the viewers curiosity. The soundtrack to this  scene is very minimal and is over powered by the sound of the lift. The extremely low lighting presents the character as simply a shadow. 

The overhead shot shows us our character frantically crying out for help. We see the character but we cannot see what he is seeing, or what he is travelling towards. The fact that the shot is taken form the other side of the wired cage emphasises how trapped he is feeling, this is similar to the air/water barrier separating our protagonist from the outside world.

 The point of view shot of the sunlight beaming in through the lift contrasts with the previous shots in the film. It is a dramatic change and a sense of mystery is created as we are eager to see what is within the light in this pov shot. For the first time we see what the character sees above the lift and we get the sense that something is about to be revealed.

   This fast paced shot as the character tries to make a get away is filmed using a dolly, subsequently the camera runs with the escapee. This method makes the viewer feel more involved, as if we are running from something also. The high pitched noise at this scene also isolates the character from all outside noises. This combined with the shallow focus adds to the sense of escape. 

This panorama shot as Thomas looks around his new surroundings, emphasises the sheer bewilderment he is experiencing as he takes everything in. It reflects how confused he must be at waking up in an unfamiliar place not being able to remember anything. Thomas in this scene is experiencing almost exactly the same thing that our protagonist will.  The sheer height of the wall combined with the low angle exaggerates the situation of the situation.

Seeing how startled Thomas becomes at the appearance of another human being, demonstrates just how unsettled he is and perhaps how isolated he has previously felt. His expression is one both of fear and confusion.  Taking from a high angle it makes the character seem more vulnerable. We as the audience fear for him in this position. 

Up until this part of the film,there is no dialogue from the main character and only very minimal dialogue from the other characters. The first line we hear from Thomas is "I cant remember anything" this one simple line emphasises his previously expressed fear and confusion.

Target Audience
The target Audience is mostly young adults, based on the book an aim would be to attract the people that are already a fan of the story. Due to the cast being almost entirely male the target audience would appear to be of the same gender.

Production Company

Temple Hill Entertainment is an American-based film and television production company set up by producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen. 

Social groups 

The movie represents teenagers in an environment that is not the typical high school setting. It shows a group of young people working together in order to survive, they are not lazy or concerned with trivial matters, they focus on the community and will not accept their fate to be inside the maze. 

Audience Expectation 

From the trailer and the title, we expect an thrilling action movie, with an ongoing element of mystery. We expect the end product to be the escape of the teenagers or at least we hope. The use of the word "runner in the title alludes to a main part of the movie audience expectation of an adrenaline filled film. 


Soundtrack

The opening does not have any kind of musical soundtrack, perhaps this is so that the drama can build throughout the movie. This is something I also noticed in "Hanna" and is perhaps something that is necessary in thrillers to fully involve viewers in the setting of the film. Although there are some interesting sound effects to add atmosphere to the opening.
The music throughout the whole film reflects an incredibly fast-paced and frightening narrative.
"What is this place"

Stranger Things

The character eleven enters the modern world with absolutely no previous experience. Raised in a lab she sees and experiences things that she has never even heard off. As we are introduced to the character we can see that she is not an entirely normal. We do not know where she came from, what her name is or what she is trying to do. As the episodes progress we learn about this mysterious young girl eleven.

Target Audience
Stranger things aimed to attract a younger audience, mostly teenagers. The show also taps into the important experience of family viewing. The show managed to attract their youthful target audience by marketing the show largely through social media. The way in which the show is set in the 80s is perhaps a way to attract anyone that grew up in this era. Emphasis on technology of the time such as the radios helps to remind us of the time setting. The feelings of nostalgia that some will experience is key to attracting an audience. This maximises the audience as it now consists of a wider range age.

This shot follows a shot mentioning "the girl". The bare feet walking through the forest evokes curiosity as this is not a typical thing to do. The camera appears to be on a dolly and moves as the feet  pace forward. This shot creates a sense of mystery as we are keen to find out who the feet belong to.

The camera pans up the full length of the character to finally reveal their face. The girls unusual appearance still maintains a sense of curiosity. Her dirty face and short hair create an aura of wildness around her.

As the character peer through the darkened doorway, we expect a POV shot so we can see what she has revealed through the door. As she enters we hear music,hinting to normality and civilisation but the song also has a slightly sinister nature to it due to the previous events in the episode.

By the girls expression, mannerisms and behaviour we gather a sense of her confusion at her surroundings. The camera continues to pan across the kitchen behind the utensils and creating the sense that the girl is almost being watched. As the chase scene begins a more upbeat track is played and now becomes part of the soundtrack instead of background music.

The shock at this young girls appearance is conveyed in the restaurant owners expression. Shot using a low angle, it makes the man seem more threatening, increasing our sympathy for the young girl.

 The quick change of shot to a normal setting, a classroom is a sharp contrast to the previous scene. The sight of normal children doing their day to day thing shows what the girl in the previous shots should be doing. The use of the sound effect of the school bell also shocks our auditory senses back into reality.

This two shot showing the police officers, creates an imposing effect as it is taking from a low angle. This scene reminds us of the scale of the situation and brings us back to reality.

Company 
Netflix, Inc. is an American entertainment company founded on August 29, 1997. Specialising in   streaming media and on demand video the company recently , expanded into film and television production, as well as online distribution in 2013. 

Social groups 
The plot is centred around a group of preteens that do not seem to be accepted into the larger community in their middle school. They prefer the comfort of each others company while playing a fantasy board game in the basement. The script features this group as the heroes of the story, contrasting to their previous sheltered life before the story began. 

Audience Expectation 

Stranger Things can be put into as many categories as the following Science Fiction, Supernatural fiction, Horror fiction, Mystery, Historical period drama. The audience at first glance can expect a TV show centred around childhood in the 80's, with the added dimension of the  supernatural. From as early as the marketing  essences of classics like stand by me and The Goonies are evident.

The Witch

The witch is a historical supernatural horror, set in New England and follows a Puritan family on their journey following the group being exiled from their village.
The movie begins with a blacked out screen and a cello solo. The emotional nature of the music foreshadows the dark events to come. The title "The witch" followed by the first shot.

The film immediately cuts to this shot of a young girl. With a concerned expression we can tell that there is something unsettling going on. We can hear she is intently listening to a man with a deep and threatening force. The music continues although it is now much more subtle. The central framing, combined with the length of the shot of the shot tells us straight away tells us that she is a character of importance.

 With this shot of the back of someones head, although we cannot see him speaking it is immediately clear that this is who the dialogue is coming from. The use of shallow focus here creates the ghostly figures on either side. 

 The view of the speaker is becoming clearer with each shot. 

 The first clear view of the speaker, is presented in this two shot. We can see from a darkened side profile that he has a strongly featured face to match his voice. The lighting is kept dim reflecting the mood and atmosphere in the room.

 This shot creates the sense that someone is hiding. As the camera peers through the hole, we can see that the vehicle is retreating from the village, as the inhabitants turn their back on the cart. The grey tones to the village and clothing is fitting with the over all theme and time period. We can hear the whining of the cart and a type of atonal string sound is introduced.

Introduces religious theme to the film. Taken from a low angle it puts this man in a superior almost god like position. We can see that he is someone who is entirely dedicated to some superior being.

This zoom is made sinister due to the dissonance in the soundtrack combined with the ghostly human voices, that grow in dynamics and pitch. sinister, The ascending music and zoom draw us to the forest and cause us to fear that there is something in the trees.

The dramatic cut to nothing straight after the previous dramatic shot shocks are senses back into reality.

Camera pans across the hamlet from behind the trees creates the sense that this is a closed community that most people can only be outsiders to.

 The girl is dressed in white a colour representing purity, innocence. Her angelic expression and her hands joined in prayer all compliment each other in this shot. Her dress and complexion contrast to the dark shadowed background. Again she is represented with central framing as she is an important character. The framing here perhaps also represents how she is different. 

The film is not a conventional horror type, it uses psychological uncertainty to engage the audience. Due to the unsettling nature of the work, its target audience would consist of those 17+. The witch aims to attract mainstream horror fans however due to its more subtle nature you do not need to be a horror fan to enjoy it.

Company 
Production Company: Parts and Labor Rooks Nest Entertainment RT Features
Distributed By: A24 Universal Pictures

Audience Expectation
Releasing this movie declaring it a terrifying horror movie, causes the audience to have expectations of a horror movie with a similar scream-factor as films like the exorcist. The movie does still fit into the genre of horror, but it is more compelling and thought provoking than it is terrifying.

Social groups
Interestingly the movie was endorsed by the satanic temple “The themes in the film mirrored the things we talk about in our work,” said Jex Blackmore, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple and the head of its Detroit chapter. “It’s a criticism of a theocratic patriarchal society and a fair representation of the stresses that puts on a community.”
The movie has been described as "wildly feminist". The main character is said to be able to represent women that today live atypical lives, women of colour, women who challenged patriarchal systems.

Sound
The opening relies heavily on off screen sound. We here the deep voice of the man while solely seeing the reaction of the girl and other people in the audience, this adds a sense of mystery to the opening of the film. 



The Host 
science fiction thriller

We hear the words “The Earth is at peace. Our world has never been more perfect,” narrated at the beginning. The earth has become inhabited by an alien species who inhabit the bodies of humans. There are very few surviving humans left. The story follows one girl who is determined not to be defeated by this alien species and keep her own conscience, 

The sequence of shots fading into one another creates an unsettling atmosphere as each character stares into the camera with their icy blue eyes. This sequence of shots is accompanied by a soundtrack comprised of strings. Simple but filled with emotion.

 This close up is a dramatic change as we now have a very frightened, normal looking person. We can immediately see that she is different from the others. The  dim lighting emphasises that she lives a life of secrecy, contrasting to the bright, light exposed shots of the other people. This scene and following scenes is set against a low drone sound, reflecting the gravity and danger of the situation.

As the character falls from the window the music stops and we see her fall from a great height. The shot is taken from below to create more drama and to highlight how far she is falling. Falling into what looks like an enclosed space, creates the feeling that there is no escape.

This shot taken from a low angle makes the person seem powerful and wise. The white colour scheme of the costume and background creates a very clinical atmosphere.

The light in this persons hands seems to represent goodness, it is not a typical appearance of a substance that should be feared.

This dramatic close up lets us know that the girl has indeed become inhabited.

Target Audience 
The Host is mainly concerned with a specific stage of adolescence. It will probably have most to say to the teenage girls however there is plenty of attraction for a male audience. Although it does have an ongoing theme of romance it is certainly not the only gripping issue in the film as the hunt for survival still remains the primary focus.

Company
Silver Reel is one of the leading international film financing and production companies. Since 2009 Silver Reel’s executives have built a wide network with producers, writers, directors, actors, agents and distributors worldwide.

Audience Expectation
The science fiction thriller creates an expectation with the audience that this is going to be a story of adventure and survival all while the characters have to deal with the challenges of adolescence. As suggested by the name the audience expect a twist on the common alien invasion film idea,