News report script. George.

*THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCMENT FROM THE BRITTISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION. USUAL SCHEDUALLING WILL RESUME AFTER THIS BROADCAST*

 

We have a recent update on our origami killer. Psychoanalysts believe this is another case of systematic kidnap murders and an independent team of crime investigators believe they have cracked the killers elusive code. The purpose of this broadcast is not to cause panic but to inform and encourage the public to stay vigilant and more cautious than usual.

 

The Kidnapper seems to be targeting children based on their last name, age and location within the local area. The list of missing children so far indicates that the next target may have a surname beginning with the letter ‘S’, be around the age of 8 years old and may be residing around this area here *circles area on map behind*. If you know anyone matching this description closely the Sussex police force has issued a warning and are advising families to keep a close watch on their children and avoid leaving them to travel alone.

 

Thank you for your time and stay safe.   

Map for the news report - Dan Fairhall

This map will be shown in one of the corners of the screen during the news report and this will indicat the area of which the next target for the kidnapper will be.

Synopsis - Dan Fairhall

Along the southern areas of England there is a psychotic madman who takes children but not for ransom but more of a sadistic game. When Aaron Stevens realises that it is his brother who is going to be taken away he makes an attempt to get to him as soon as possible but when he arrives at his school there is no sign of his brother but there is a small piece of origami (his trademark) on his desk and once opened their reveals a message which reads 'How far would you go to protect someone you love'. This then sparks a vast search for his brother and he then attempts to find any leads onto this kidnapper or at least to find out who he is. By using his initiative he is able to guess who then next child after his brother is which enables him to find out the identity of the kidnapper and also allows him to follow him back to the place in which he has taken all of the children. In a confrontation with what is a hooded figure only to find out that the kidnapper is in fact his childhood baby sitter.

Thriller opening - Inception

Thriller Opening (4 of 4) - Daniel Johnstone
Inception

Camera -

• The panning across the sea to show a extreme close up Leonardo Di Caprio lying on the floor in the sea, this is unexpected, but a good use of camerawork
• At an high angle on the beach to show no help is at hand for him and he is in trouble
• Another extreme close up of the spinning top, to give the audience the question of what is it? why is it used?

Editing -

• Using a point of view shot they edit this by using fade in and out, dimmed out sound, to show he is not truly awake and that he is struggling in his position
• The match on action here is when they grab the character and bring him inside to confront him and search him, to find he has a gun and a spinning top
• A shot reverse shot is used between the guy that found him and the main character we just saw, using focus pull this might indicate that they're not friends and in fact enemies

Mise en scene -

• The setting is on a beach with lying there deserted
• the make up used was him bruised and cut and being the start of the film this gives you questions
• ragged clothing aswell to show he has been 'in the wars' and that what has happened to him previously isnt very good

Sound -

• Gentle music mixed with the diegetic sound of the sea while he is waking up
• fading sounding in and out again whilst he is waking up.  

Thriller Opening - Batman Begins

Thriller Opening (3 of 4) - Daniel Johnstone
Batman Begins

Camera -

• In this opening there was a shot from a far away distance at an high angle to show how trapped Bruce was
• High angle on the bed to illustrate he was dreaming or having a flashback
• Fast paced panning showing Bruce getting chased by his friend Rachel

Editing -

• The wipe using the bats is a cool effect as the title of the film is 'Batman' also it creates the link between him and bats
• Quick cuts from the start to the end of the opening, usual in thrillers
• Match on action when Bruce fell through the hole this shows tensity

Mise en scene -

• The setting went from a rich 'well off' house to a dirty prison, which leaves you questioning what happened to him to get to that position
• The lighting is very dark particulary in the cave
• He went from smart looking to very scruffy (when he was in the prison)

Sound -

• The diegetic sound of bats volume put all the way up, to create terror
• Diegetic sound of the gentle wind, mixed with screaming which is often seen in thrillers
• Spring bird tweeting in a calm enviroment, straight on the action, thrillers usually use this to send a fright to the audience

ThrillerOpening - The Departed

Thriller Opening (2 of 4) - Daniel Johnstone
The Departed

Camera -

• There was an old style gangster film panning action into a cafe whilst Jack Nicholson was narrating.
• Once Jack when getting his money, high angles and low angles were used to show the dominance of Jack getting the money off someone and showing what sort of force he is.
• Tracking is also used once the kid walks out of the shop assuming he might play a bigger part of the movie

Editing

• Slow paced which fits perfectly fine with the narration being so slow, they do this in Thrillers for a chance to explain all of the story.
• A match on action of opening the door into the cafe, this sound is emphasised and once this happens the music suddenly dimmers and Jacks voice overpowers all sound. This is used greatly to show there might be trouble
• Whats interesting about the transitions in this clip is how very few there are, which normally are used quite a lot.

Mise en scene -

• Props are key this opening with the money and sunglasses shone the most, with the money you're asking the question of why there is that sort of money being handed and the sun glasses keep Jacks identity hidden
• Lighting is a good one to pick out, as all the lighting all seems to be fine, just daylight in a cafe, but cleverly what they did, they kept the shadow on Jack, to keep his identity safe.
• The costume was interesting as the woman in the scene was dressed stereotypically in an old style cafe, she wore a high skirt, low cut top matched with dashing make up and done up hair.

Sound -

• The non diegeticsound was old fashioned and slow paced to match the action.
• The actions were emphasised such as the door opening and till opening and shutting, but this seen always in thrillers
• All sound was diegetic in this opening

Thriller opening - The Matrix

Thriller Opening (1 of 4) - Daniel Johnstone
The Matrix

Camera -

• They used a few close ups and extreme close ups, the ECU was used when the camera zoomed out of a sniper lens and the close ups on Trinity, this may illustrate she is one of the main characters in the film
• Panning was used to show a police officer holding a pistol and a knife heading towards a place of danger maybe
• A group shot outside the door to show all the officers nervously expecting danger, used to create the feeling of tension of what is beyond the door.

Editing -

• Using the fast paced cuts of the coding, creating the enigma of, what does all of this mean? where are they coming from?
• The match on action in this sequence is when the officer kicked down the door to reveal Trinity in a close up shot
• There was also a slight shot of a 180 degree rule when they were all lining up to go through the door

Mise en scene -

• The lighting in this opening is very dark for the most of it, which is usual in thrillers usually its used to keep hidden an identity or if they're in a mysterious room.
• The key prop in this scene has to be the gun, because it creates all sorts of question such as where are they? why has he got a gun? this binds well with a thriller
• The costume in this were pretty generic, seen quite often, but effective as you have to ask yourself why the law are there.

Sound -

• The off screen phonecall made it all very suspicious and created worry in what they were doing, were they bad or good? This did a good job of making this happen
• A fast paced violin is always good in a thriller, makes everthing more tense and seem more fast paced
• Diegtic sound of the match on action of the door smashing, the smash was emphasised to send a ring in your ears.

1st day of story boarding

George - our appointed origami artists

George making origami figures that we could potentially use in our opening

More story boarding

Dan copying the story board on to postit notes for animation
George burtenshaw

1st fraft story bored

Dan starting our 1st draft story bored....
George burtenshaw

Storyboard

Starting the story board! George.

Swan origami

First attempt on making a swan for our thriller. George

Better idea.... Origami Killer

This is our new favorite idea so far!!

Garageband! Dan, Dan, George and George

Here is a small muted clip of a chase scene using Garageband we were able to use sound effects to create the lookalike of this film! Although there was a slight fault in the fact I couldn't cut the video so the sound will only be there for about 10 seconds, but a few sounds to enjoy!

Disturbia. George Burtenshaw

Movie - Disturbia

Mise en scene

- The normal in water fishing costume
- Props; sunglasses, fishing rods, coca cola and car etc...

Camera

- The opening starts with a relaxing and slow home movie style of camera work.
- Some medium close ups when they have a deep chat, this is done to emphasize the talk.
- Long shots at beginning to give us an idea where the characters are.

Editing

- Slow cuts to begin with then gradually speeding up towards the car crash near to the end.
- Shot reverse shots when the characters are having their father and son chat. this is done to show their relation ship and how close they are.

Sound

- Non diegetic soft back ground music while fishing to show us its a calm atmosphere
- Diegetic sound almost through out - when fish is jumping out of water

Thriller Opening Research - Dan Fairhall (4 of 4)

Taken - Pierre Morel (2008)

Camera:

• the sequence starts with slow 'Home Movie' style of camera operation.
• lots of long shots to show realistic style of everyday life.

Mise En Scene:

• Typical costume of normal everyday characters and a retired cop.
• props eg the car show the type of position a retired cop would be in

Editing:

• slow cuts show typical thriller opening 
• shot reverse shots show the emotions between characters and also the tension.

Sound:

• lots of on screen diegetic sound to create an equilibrium
• little non-diegetic sound and it is also hidden because the continuity helps the song at the concert, any other soundtracks are typical of the emotion of the characters.

Thriller Opening Research - Dan Fairhall (3 of 4)

Die Hard 4.0 - Len Wiseman (2007)

Camera:

• Uses a lot of close ups and slow moving shots to create a sense of suspense and it has you wondering from the very start just what is happening in the sequence as you are not show what is happening.
• when we are introduced to the John McLain character be can see from the shot reverse shots that show a normal life.

Editing:

• although the shots are slow the editing makes the pace of the cuts at the very start makes the sequence speed up and shows thriller aspects but not of an opening but of a disequilibrium or a confrontation.
• when the sequence with John McLain the pace slows down and shows more aspects of thriller openings. with the use of shot reverse shot dialogue and sound bridges in the confrontation.

Sound:

• The Sound is mainly Non-diegetic soundtrack to create suspense and build drama when the characters are hacking into computer systems.
• The sound is also on screen for the dialogue and then it is also off screen for dialogue and some of the sounds of the keyboard being typed on

Mise en Scene:

• the costume of the hackers is what you would expect as they are not in a contradictory costume and you can see that they seem to be young males.
• when we are shown the John McLain character we can see that he is in the typical costume of a detective policeman. 
• the lighting is also typical of the place in which a character like this would operate.

the way that these areas make the film conform to the thriller genre is by creating a sense of disequilibrium for the start. I also feel that it is easier to distinguish this as a thriller because it is a franchise film and we know that the other films in the franchise are also stylistically Triller.

Thriller Opening Research Task - Dan Fairhall (2 of 4)

District 9 - Neill Blomkamp (2009)

Camera:

• This sequence sets up to be a documentary about a fictional event of Alien life encountering Johannesburg, South Africa the way that it does this is by having framing of the character in the centre of the frame with a lot of excess space around the character showing the background (the office)
• Also shows establishing shots of the city show how everyday life is although it shows the inclusion of an alien space ship hovering above the city.
• In the opening sequence you do believe that this film is a documentary because of the uses of realistic Documentary shots.

Mise En Scene:

• The costume and facial expressions in this sequence makes it very realistic.
• The props that are used make it believable for the audience to see the sight of everyday life in an office.
• it then goes to one of the slums in which the aliens live and then it seams that this is a comparison to the real slums that would be on the outskirts of a large city.

Editing:

• The editing is parallel as it shows the questions being asked to the character in the office and then cuts to some action of the city or the aliens and then comes back to the character.
• The editing is also typical of a thriller opening because they are rather long takes and smooth cuts not to create a feeling of panic or confrontation even when we are introduced to the aliens first of all

Sound:

• the sound that is used is very diegetic because it is mostly natural sounds.
• and a lot of the sound is on screen because it is just naturalistic sounds or sounds that were made by the aliens.

the way that these four areas come together to create a sense of a thriller is by making an interesting and different style of thriller by starting with a documentary and then when the documentary thins out and the action follows the main character through his journey and how he actually turns into one of the aliens. what is interesting in this narrative is that the opening and Equilibrium lasts for nearly a quarter of the film until the disequilibrium seems to stem from the point where the main character comes into contact with the alien character Christopher where he begins mutating. this example is a questionable example of a cross between thriller and sci-fi

Research task- Twisted (2004)- George Kilby

Editing- multiple establishing shots set the scene very well.
Very quick cuts between the beginning of the attack and the repelling of the attacker.
Rather restricted narration.

Camera- many establishing shots.
ECU of eye ball, and reflection in eyeball.
Reaction shot sequences.

Sound- seagulls, waves, general nautical sounds set the scene (diegetic).
Ominous building non diegetic strings build tension.

Mise-en-scene- Gun, Knife, general weaponry used as action codes.
Lighting was very dim mirroring the attack/rape situation.

Research Task- Contagion (2011)- George Kilby

Editing- sound begun before any picture.
Editing sequences of maybe something being passed around. Tracking of some unknown object.
Full of enigma codes, the bowl of nuts for example.

Camera- acute low angle MCU.
BCU of nut bowl, provokes questioning (enigma code).
CU of fingers touching a screen, suggests the transmission of something.

Sound- Coughing (diegetic) suggestion of sickness.
General chatter and announcements set the airport setting.

Mise-en-scene- make up made to make the character look very ill.
Wedding ring and engagement ring, combined with phone call from stranger about last night hints at some form of affair?

Thriller Opening Research - Dan Fairhall (1 of 4)

The Dark Knight - Christopher Nolan (2008)

The Opening for the Dark Knight uses all techniques of Editing, Mise en Scene, Camerawork and Sound. To create the setting for the rest of the film to be placed in the Thriller Genre.

Camerwork:

• Uses restrictive narration so that we do not see the face of the character who does not have his mask on. Suggesting his importance as the other robbers already have there masks on.
• The establishing shot of this sequence suggests an average day in a big city. However that is twisted by a window being smashed on the building suggesting a criminal event is about to happen.
• The sequence also uses a lot of build up shots to lead to the up and coming robbery such as the two robbers on the roof and the other three in a car looking to go towards the bank.

Mise en Scene:

• This sequence also uses all areas of mise en scene to make the build up suggest to the audience that it is a robbery that is going to take place, for example all of the "Robbers" are wearing masks and are carrying some sort of weapon, for me this is suggesting that it could only be building up to a robbery because there could be no other reason for that Costume and Props.
• Also the lighting and colour of this sequence is contradictory of what is happening in the narrative because the colour is very bright and you can clearly see that none of the subjects are hiding or being secretive in any way. But also the lighting shows clear day light which is contradicting because when we associate a robbery we think of a night robbery which would make for an easier hit without any people in there.

Editing:

• In this sequence the editing is typical for a thriller with a lot of slow mysterious shots and long takes, and the cuts are not sharp and quick as it seems slow and you do not tend to notice them.
• You can argue that the method of editing is parallel because you can see the characters on the roof and then the characters in the car who are both building up to the robbery but do not meet with a collision between the two "teams".

Sound:

• The sound that you notice more than the dialogue is the Non-diegetic soundtrack which helps the scene build up suspense for the audience.
• Most of the sound that you here is Diegetic and is also on screen and the only time we hear some off screen sounds is some screams from the hostages which may or may not be foley

The way that this all makes this film conform to the Thriller genre is because in the opening which is stylistically thriller is by having the Equilibrium as the robbers planning their raid of the bank and then the Disequilibrium happens when there enter the bank.

Research task - Clean Skin (2012) - George Kilby

Editing- parallel editing between more than one story, builds tension.
Two of the stories eventually meet up.
Restricted narration.
Enigma codes.

Camera- lots of reaction shots broken apart by swift cuts.
Close up of enigma code (watch). What is the significance on time etc?

Sound- the diegetic sound of the news on the television forms a sound bridge linking two story lines together.

Mise-en-scene- setting of two apartments are polar opposites, one very privileged the other rather basic, lighting dim in the more basic apartment.

Research task - The Grey (2011) - George Kilby

Editing- quick, fast, clean cuts.
Restricted editing, information withheld from audience, provokes enthusiasm for viewing.

Camera- long establishing tracking shot.
Tracking shots of character as camera matches movements.
Reaction shots.

Sound- wolf calls (diegetic/non diegetic?)
Machinery running sounds (diegetic) each cut contains a different pitch of machine noise.
Voice over (only non diegetic sound)

Mise-en-scene- large parka coat.
Lots of white, bright, cold colours.
Very dimly lit.

Some opening ideas... George

Thriller

Some props and a setting for a potential story line. George