Planning the Continuity Piece

Today in our media studies lesson, we were given a few helpful tips for success when filming our continuity piece. 

Firstly, we were told that we should use a story board and a script to plan what you will film, and so that you can reference back to them if you forget something that you are meant to be doing. The story board can also be used as a form of checklist to make sure that you have filmed all of the shots.

Secondly, we were told that we should always keep the camera steady. In order to achieve stable footage we were advised to use a tripod to film the shots and not to record it hand held.

Then, we were told that we should be sure to consider the shot/reverse shot technique whilst filming in order to make sure that it makes sense, and that there are no continuity errors.

Finally, we were told to include a wide variety of shots such as close ups and extreme close ups. This is to ensure that the footage is interesting to watch and helps to keep the audience engaged.

Caitlin and Hannah drew up the story board for our continuity piece and we all reviewed it to make sure that there was enough variety of shots in it. After reviewing the story board, Josh and I went and created the script. 

Before we were able to start filming, we had to make sure that we were able to set up all the equipment. At the beginning of the year, we had been demonstrated this by our teacher, and had undertaken a task to film some different types of camera shots. As this would only be our second time setting up the camera and tripod, we were watched over by our teacher to make sure that we had set up and secured the tripod correctly so it capsize, and that we had correctly attached the camera to the tripod so it didn’t fall off. We successfully remembered how to set up the camera and tripod, as our teacher gave us the all clear that it was set up correctly and was safe to use. 

The final preparations we made for filming were to clear the memory card of our camera to ensure that we would not run out of storage space whilst filming. We also made sure that we had a spare, fully charged battery on hand with us as a precaution, in case the battery we were using in our camera had/developed a fault.

As a testing shot, Josh filmed an extreme close up of Caitlin’s eye to practice this type of shot, to make sure that the reflection of the camera was not visible. We observed that very small movements of the camera were very noticeable, so we made sure that we kept the camera as still as possible when filming.

Thriller Codes & Conventions

To get a better understanding of the thriller genre, I conducted some research into the codes and conventions of the genre. I created some mind maps with what I found out when researching, and have featured pictures of them below:

Thriller Sub-Genres

The thriller genre is an extensive genre of literature, film and television. They often focus on keeping the audience tense and "on the edge of their seats", and tend to build towards a dramatic climax. Due to the fact that thriller films are characterised by the moods and feelings they create within the audience - including suspense, anticipation, anxiety and excitement - they can almost be linked with any other film genre. This is telling by the amount of sub-genres of thrillers. No matter what sub-genre of thriller, the main focus of the film will always be the danger/issue that is faced by the protagonist.

Below I have listed some of the many thriller sub-genres. I have included a brief explanation of what they typically consist of, and I have given examples of each, too.

Psychological Thriller

A distinguishing feature of a psychological thriller is the emphasis on the unstable mental states of its characters; typically focusing on their perceptions of the world, their thoughts, their distortions of reality and the struggle they face to grasp what is really happening around them. Psychological thrillers have a large focus on character development, choices and moral conflict.

Examples of psychological thrillers are: Case 39, Shutter Island & The Silence of the Lambs.

Action Thriller

Action thrillers are designed to keep the audience entertained via the use of SFX, weapons and semi-realistic storylines. Typically, action thrillers revolve around a heroes and villains theme, often with a plot twist to add to the tension. The combination of action and suspense grips audiences and the narrative often includes kidnappings, violence and crime fighting.

Examples of action thrillers are: Taken, Inception & The Bourne Identity.

Crime Thriller

Crime thrillers combine crime drama and thriller suspense whilst keeping a close focus on the criminal, not on the law enforcement. They typically include a lot of physical violence and weapons, and common narrative themes are robberies, shootouts, hostages and murders. The chase element of crime thrillers grips the audience by often providing near misses of the criminal getting caught.

Examples of crime thrillers are: Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects & Cellular.

Supernatural Thriller

Supernatural thrillers consist of fictional and unworldly plots in which typically the protagonist or antagonist have some sort of supernatural power; whether that be they are possessed or are part creature, etc. It is these supernatural powers that are the pinnacle of the plot, and what the film revolves around.

Examples of supernatural thrillers are: The Sixth Sense, The Orphanage & The Skeleton Key.

Mystery Thriller

The narrative of a mystery thriller is often very complex, and requires concentration and engagement from the audience. Typically, the story is driven by the hero, often the protagonist, and the film follows them on their quest to solve a mystery, which is often a crime. The audience is required to use their mind to try to solve the mystery alongside the protagonist, and there is always a logical solution at the end.

Examples of mystery thrillers are: Zodiac, Fight Club & Angels and Demons.

Conspiracy Thriller

Conspiracy thrillers are typically centred around a protagonist that is confronted by a powerful organisation, often with a conspiracy theory as the background of the narrative. Protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often stand-alone, as they are the only ones who are aware of the danger, or because they are caught in a multi-layered conspiracy involving law enforcement/government, so they cannot seek help.

Examples of conspiracy thrillers are: JFK, Enemy of the State & Capricorn One.


Other thriller sub-genres include:
- Disaster Thrillers
- Political Thrillers
- Romantic Thrillers
- Religious Thrillers
- Medical Thrillers

Written in reference to:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller
- https://www.slideshare.net/Elliot27/action-thriller-genre-7153146
- https://prezi.com/gs0g-die1bxq/my-understanding-of-thriller-genre-and-codes-conventions/
- http://kingedwardthegreat.wixsite.com/productionportfolio/conspiracy-thriller-conventions
- https://hunterswritings.com/2012/10/12/elements-of-the-psychological-thriller-mystery-suspense-andor-crime-fiction-genres/

Thriller Directors

As part of my research into the thriller genre, I have conducted some research into some famous thriller directors.

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born in England, in August 1899, and died in April 1980. As a film director and producer, he pioneered what are now very famous techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. For this, he gained the title “Master of Suspense” in the film world. He had an incredibly successful career in British cinema and was known as England’s best director. After this success, he moved to Hollywood in 1939. Some of Hitchcock’s most recognisable trademarks in film are using camera movement that mimics a person’s gaze, and framing shots to maximise anxiety, fear or empathy. 3 of his top rated films are: ‘Rear Window’, ‘Psycho’ and ‘Vertigo’.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg was born in Ohio, America, in 1946, and is a director, producer and screenwriter. Spielberg is seen as one of the most popular directors in film history, and viewed as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era. His work spanned many genres, and he has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice, and was nominated another five times. The combined gross of the films he has directed makes him the highest grossing director in history, with the total topping $9 billion worldwide. 3 of his top rated films are: ‘Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark’, ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ and ‘Jaws’. Spielberg’s films are often produced by Universal Studios.

James Cameron

James Cameron was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1954, and is a filmmaker, director, producer and screenwriter. His first successful film was “The Terminator”, and after this success, he became a popular Hollywood director. Cameron directed ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’, which are the two highest grossing films of all time, and he holds the achievement of being the director of 2 out of the 3 films in history that have grossed over $2 billion worldwide. As a director, his films have grossed approximately $6 billion worldwide. For ‘Titanic’, he won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. The studio which often produces Cameron’s films is 20th Century Fox. 

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino was born in Tennessee, America, in 1963, and is a director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Some recognisable characteristics of Tarantino’s films are non-linear storylines, satirical subject matter and aestheticization of violence. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay twice, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director twice, too. Tarantino’s use of graphic gore and violence has proved controversial and he has been criticised for using it in ‘an entrancing yet simultaneously impulsive way’. The director says that a  hallmark office films is getting the audience to laugh at things that are not funny, with a difference sense of humour in each of his films. 3 of his top rated films are: ‘ Pulp Fiction’, ‘Kill Bill: Volume 2’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’.

What is "thriller"?

Create a collage to demonstrate what thriller means to you.

Here I have pooled together film posters, locations, typography and scenes from films to create a collage that represents what the thriller genre means to me. 

Thriller definition:

Using Camera Shots

During Media lessons, we have been learning about different camera shots and how to set up a video camera and tripod.

As practical work, we had to set up the camera and tripod, and then we were set the task to go and film some of the shots that we had learnt about in the lesson. Hannah and I took it in turns, with one of us operating the camera, and the other being the subject of the shot.

Our teachers set us a list of shots that we should attempt to film:

• Panoramic Shot
• Extreme Close Up
• Close Up
• Medium Shot
• Long Shot
• Canted Shot
• Point of View Shot
• Over the Shoulder Shot
• High Angle Shot
• Low Angle Shot

With the shots that we filmed, we created a short video:

We had set up the camera and tripod correctly, and we had this checked by our teacher, which meant we were able to go away and film. We felt that we got good examples of each shot.

In the lesson we learnt the purpose of certain camera shots. Here are a few examples:

Extreme close ups - These are often used to focus in objects or on a part of a character's body. This type of shot highlights the importance of the subject of the shot to the audience and amplifies its significance.

Close ups - These are used in order to show the emotions of the character and allow the audience to feel empathy for them. Close up shots will only contain the face of the character, as their expression is the main focus of the shot.

Medium shots - These are shots of characters from the waist upwards. Medium shots are used to show the body language of the character, and how they interact with other characters in the shot. They allow the audience to make a connection between the character's body language and facial expression, as both can be seen in this type of shot.

Extreme long shots - Often known as establishing shots, these are typically used at the beginning of a film, or even scene, to establish where it is taking place. Extreme long shots contain a large amount of landscape in order for the audience to get a feel for the place in which the film is set.

We also learnt some important filming tips for audience engagement:

• Keep the shots short - they should be no longer than 10 seconds
• Use a variety of different shots
• Use a variety of different camera angles

Saul Bass

Saul Bass was born in New York, America, in 1920, and was a graphic designer and filmmaker. He was best known for designing title sequences of films, film posters and company logos.

During his career, Bass worked for some of Hollywood’s most famous filmmakers, including the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, for which he created the title sequence for ‘Vertigo’, one of his most famous films.

'Vertigo' opening sequence analysis:

The title sequence begins with a sound bridge of non-diegetic instrumental music, made up of primarily strings, over the title screen displaying the production company of the film. The piece of music is stereotypical to the thriller genre, and it creates a sense of suspense for the audience. This allows the audience to infer that the film will be filled with tension, from the very start of the opening sequence.The production company titles fade to black, which reflects danger and darkness, and represents a feeling of the unknown. These are all themes that are typically represented in thriller films. Following the fade to black, comes a close up shot of a woman’s lips. The close up shot is used to portray the emotions of the character, and it shows her to be straight-faced. This allows the audience to infer that the rest of her face is expressionless. The lack of smile reflects the lack of happiness of the character. This shot then pans up to a close up of the woman’s eyes, which shows her looking from side to side. This eye movement is associated with being frightened and in danger, and suggests she might be looking for someone, who might possibly the reason why she is in danger. This shot then zooms into an extreme close up shot of the woman’s eye, which is used to intensify the focus on her emotions. As the close up shot zooms into the extreme close up, a red filter is applied, which signifies blood, danger and death, which are all commonly included in thriller films. As the woman’s eye widens, the title of the film, ‘Vertigo’, enlarges out of her pupil until it is in the centre of the frame. Being in the centre of the frame highlights the importance of the title. As the title moves out of the frame, a swirling pattern is revealed in the woman’s pupil. This swirling pattern represents hypnosis and, of course, vertigo, which directly links to the title of the film. The fact that the swirling pattern emerges from the pupil of the eye puts emphasis on the theme of hypnosis to the audience, as the eyes are the part of the body that are associated with being hypnotised. Saul Bass’ work became famous as he was the first to use imagery which directly linked the narrative, or the title of the film. As the swirl enlarges, and the extreme close up of the eye fades away, the music intensifies, and the pitch increases to its climax. The music intensifying builds tension in the audience. Also, the pitch increasing leads the audience into a false sense that the film will begin when the piece reaches its climax. Different swirling patterns continue to appear throughout the opening sequence, and the music accompanying it becomes gradually more intense, and on the low notes, the volume of the music increases. This increase in volume on the most dramatic part of the music is used as a tool to shock the audience and to make them jump. As the swirling patterns increase to their maximum size, and then begin to fade, they are used to transfer between different title screens. At the end of the sequence of swirling patterns, the extreme close up of the woman’s eye with the red filter applied appears. The re-appearance of this shot reminds the audience of the themes that will either be the centre of the narrative, or will at least contribute to the narrative. The final swirling pattern fades into the pupil of the eye, and reveals the directors name to the audience, which sits in the centre of the frame, much like the title of the film did. As the the directors name and the title of the film are the only titles that sit in the centre of the frame, it reflects that these are the two most important titles, and need to have the audience’s attention brought to them. Also, as Hitchcock’s name is enlarged, a single low note is played, which grabs the attention of the audience, and ensures their focus is on the screen. After the shot of the eye fades to black, the pitch and the pace of the music increases. The increase of the intensity of the music creates a stronger feeling of anxiety in the audience. Additionally, the increase in pace could foreshadow that the film will begin with an action sequence.

The design of Bass’ film posters consisted of very simple, symbolic designs that visually communicated key elements of the film. This was different to other film posters produced in his time period of work, that were typically dominated by depictions of key scenes/characters from the film.

Here are some examples of his work:

"His poster for The Man with the Golden Arm, with a jagged arm and off-kilter typography, starkly communicates the protagonist's struggle with heroin addiction." - Wikipedia

"Bass's iconic Vertigo (1958) poster, with its stylized figures sucked down into the nucleus of a spiral vortex, captures the anxiety and disorientation central to the film" - Wikipedia

"His poster for Anatomy of a Murder (1959), featuring the silhouette of a corpse jarringly dissected into seven pieces, makes both a pun on the film’s title and captures the moral ambiguities within which this court room drama is immersed." - Wikipedia

In terms of filmmaking, Bass made his only feature length film as a director in 1974, creating the little-known sci-fi film named ‘Phase IV’. The moving image collection of Saul Bass is held at the Academy Film Archive and consists of a grand total of 2,700 items.

Bass has designed some of the worlds most recognisable corporate logos such as United Airlines, Quaker Oats and Kleenex. An analysis completed in 2011 found that the most common cause of the end of the use of a corporate logo designed by Bass, was the demise or merge of the company, rather than the company redesigning their corporate logo. It also found that the average time a Bass designed logo would be used by a company for is more than 34 years.

Here are some examples of Bass’ corporate logo designs:

Project Brief

Preliminary exercise:

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match-on-action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

My blog will take into consideration all these key areas:

• Forms and conventions
• Production contexts
• Role of technologies
• Audience/users
• Representations

Blog Introduction

My name is Jasmine Greene and I am currently studying AS level Media Studies in my Sixth Form college.

Today has been my first lesson of Media Studies in which I set up a Blogger account using Google+. Following setting up the blog, we discussed the opening sequence of the thriller film that we will be creating. After our discussion, I returned to my blog to customise it using images and colours that are associated with the thriller genre.

I will be using this blog to follow the process of making my thriller film opening sequence.