Narrative Ideas
In Media Studies I have been set the task of creating my own thriller movie trailer, to do so I will need to analyse a variety of clips to get ideas since I do not have any of my own from my lack of experience with film-making and editing. I have seen a few good, stereotypical thriller clips as part of the class which use very good conventional material to get our own ideas but I need to research more thriller movie scenes myself to gain a variety of possible ideas to incorporate into my very own trailer. To make my own thriller movie trailer I will be looking at the cinematography, all aspects of mise-en-scene, the main conventions of a thriller film, the effects of different editing styles to enhance my own trailer as well as incorporating and showing my knowledge of how sound is used in thriller films through the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound.
I would like to incorporate many different techniques I have seen in different films into my own trailer to create an original yet conventional piece. I will first need to find a place to film which has an eerie and even abandoned feel to it, such as the film 'Strangers' which is set around a cosy log cabin home which allows the audience to build a relationship with the characters through empathy which is essential to thriller films to make the audience feel much more involved. But the home is also in the middle of nowhere so it adds a secluded, eerie undertone to the film where they are far away from help.
Another film that involves a secluded feel is 'Saw V' which features a group of characters trapped in a run-down old building which is filled with diabolical and ingenius traps to test them to their ability to sacrifice others and show how much they value their life. This is very conventional because throughout the film series there is a huge plot involving a hidden indentity and who is behind it all which is a very clean, effective yet simple way of creating suspense by using a technique which is conventional to thrillers.
I will most definitely be using low-key lighting to some extent in my trailer, it is used in the majority, if not all thriller films to evoke a sense of a fear of the unknown and what may lurk in the darkness and is an incredibly effective way of creating tension and suspense.
Camera angles are a huge thing to take into consideration because you can sub-consciously tell the audience something about a character by a simple positioning of the camera. For example a high angle looking down on someone will show that person to be in a vulnerable position and make them out to be a victim. Handheld camera movement is a very good one to use because the jerky, uneasy motion made by handheld camera movement creates suspense and a feeling of that something is about to happen as well as a sense of chaos and urgency. Shot speeds can also be used, for example in a chase scene the speed of shot changes can speed up to create suspense of what is going to happen to any characters involved.
I will most definitely be using low-key lighting to some extent in my trailer, it is used in the majority, if not all thriller films to evoke a sense of a fear of the unknown and what may lurk in the darkness and is an incredibly effective way of creating tension and suspense.
Camera angles are a huge thing to take into consideration because you can sub-consciously tell the audience something about a character by a simple positioning of the camera. For example a high angle looking down on someone will show that person to be in a vulnerable position and make them out to be a victim. Handheld camera movement is a very good one to use because the jerky, uneasy motion made by handheld camera movement creates suspense and a feeling of that something is about to happen as well as a sense of chaos and urgency. Shot speeds can also be used, for example in a chase scene the speed of shot changes can speed up to create suspense of what is going to happen to any characters involved.
You have considered a range of conventions that you wish to include within your thriller film, but you have not explained what your narrative idea will contain and what will be seen within your opening sequence.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, you need to remember that you are creating a film opening and not a trailer! so you need to make these changes.
Finally, you need to explain how your narrative will appeal to your target audience