Section 1: Background to the Thriller Genre

Thriller definition: from The Film Studies Dictionary

"Thriller is a loose genre term referring to any film that generates suspense and excitement as a major aspect of its narrative."

Theories about Thrillers

From Thrillers by Martin Rubin

GK Chesterton: The Transformed City

Chesterton was an early 20th century writer of thriller stories. He argued that thrillers took urban settings and transformed them into exciting locations for dramatic stories.

Eg. I am Legend, Day After Tomorrow, 28 Days Later, Batman

Northrop Frye: Heroic Romance

Frye argued that thrillers were stories that took ordinary people and threw them into extraordinary situations.

Eg. Seven Pounds, Saw, Envy Of The State, Phonebooth, Panic Room, Redeye

John Cawelti: The Exotic

Cawelti argued that thrillers took the elements of ordinary life and added an exotic element.

Eg. Saw, Phonebooth, Panic Room

W H Matthews: Mazes and Labyrinths

Matthews writes about how human beings have a fascination for physical puzzles which are often seen in mazes and labyrinths. He also says how thrillers often use the idea of a mysterious guest in a confined location that feels like a labyrinth.

Eg. Resident Evil, Saw, Tomb Raider, Jumanji

Pascal Bontizer: Partial Vision

Bontizer discusses how in thrillers the audience is given a partial view of things, with important details often being obscured.

Eg. Seven

Noell Carroll: Question and Answer

Carroll argues that thrillers are structured around a series of questions for which the audience is led to want answers.

Roland Barthes: Enigma Codes

Barthes analysed all narratives in terms of codes that operate moment by moment. Enigma codes are moments in a narrative where the audience are led to ask a question. In thrillers, enigma codes are very important for telling the story in a suspenseful way.

Section 2: Research into examples of thriller opening scenes

Red Eye

The narrative structure in this film is chronological but almost like a montage of two stories crossing over. The opening of this film suggests that it is a crime thriller. The personal story sets the scene for this film. The film is domestic to begin with, with the setting being in a house with personal pictures to someone of a certain girl.

This film has some thriller codes and conventions, with the personal photos which were on display showing the love in the film because these photos matter and are important to someone else.

The camera work in this film has a lot of close-ups, but only of certain objects, never faces. The camera zooms and draws attention to the wallet and the initials JR on it, making sure the audience notice this. The film uses a jerky pan purposefully to try and show a point of view lingering over a set of pictures. There is also a low angle of a bug building, to try and emphasise the size of it and its possible importance in the film.

The mise-en-scene of this film involves the pictures of the girl graduating, showing she must be smart and intellectual, but also contrasting with other photos next to them of the girl playing sports, showing she also has an aggressive and sporty side. The fact that the important box has a logo of South Florida Seafoods has to mean something in the storyline. There are lots of containers involved, and it makes you wonder about the location. It also contrasts two places, domestic being in the home and industrial being at the place where the box was opened. On the top of the box, there is a stamp that says 'inspector approved', which suggests that perhaps someone of authority is involved in the activity going on.

The sound of this opening is very fast paced, and the pace gets faster as it goes on. There are some diagetic noises in this, with sounds such as a plane taking off, and keys rattling and doors creaking, which is suspenseful but with a creepy element. There is a suspenseful noise when the camera is zooming in on the wallet. The opening concludes with a door closing and someone hitting the door, all done in time with the music stopping.

The editing of this opening is smooth and doesn't draw attention to anything. It is all simple and straightforward.

In the graphics, there is no background with the credits, just white writing on black, which could suggest good and evil. The credits fade out almost getting smaller. The credits are all paced with the music well.

State Of Play

In the narrative structure, the film opens showing an old couple, a china shop, and a man on a bike who we are all supposed to feel sorry for because they are so vulnerable with the element of a killer in the plot. This goes through equilibrium, disruption then revolution. At the end of the opening, the audience is left with a mini cliffhanger as the witness on the bike is seen to be alive.

The thriller codes and conventions in the opening are that it the city is raining and very dark, which is quite common in thrillers. The audience is meant to wonder what the man is running from and what is in this briefcase, why is it so important. We know that this film has something to do with information, what this man has seen and what is in the briefcase.

There are a lot of point of view angles, which make you realise why he's looking at certain things. The camera work is very rushed, which is like the man running frantically. There are lots of extreme close-ups, showing emotions as the director wants us to sympathise with the audience. There are no two shots of the killer and victim together until the man is dead and he is standing over him. They use a track shot moving forward to show how the man is still alive.

There is lots mise-en-scene in this opening. The man holding a gun and briefcase makes us wonder if he is a hit man, especially because how quickly and smoothly he kills the man. The setting of the film is Washington, which suggests it could be about Western politics, and that it could be a political thriller. The old couple in the opening are very fragile and vulnerable, which again makes us feel sympathy for them. The man running then goes into a china shop, and the phrase 'bull in a china shop' comes to mind, which can also be associated with him crashing into the old couple because they are also fragile. When the man falls off his bike, there are people watching which stop the man from killing him. This links with how we live in a democracy, and how people cant get away with certain things because of people watching. When the man is dead on the floor, and the killer is stood over him, it could bring out some possible racial issues in the film, with a white man standing over a black man on the ground, because he has more power than him.

The sounds in this opening are very diagetic, with sounds of helicopters, sounds of the city, crashing and beeping, these all exist in the world of fiction. All these sounds also add excitement to the film. When the non-diagetic sound escalates, it brings out more tension and suspense. The thunder gets louder as the opening reaches its climax.

The editing in this film is slow to begin with and then speeds up, which creates the pace and suspense of the film. The speed gets faster as the man gets even more frantic.

The graphics have a classy logo opening, working title. There is a very establishing shot of Washington at night. In the title of the film, it flashes red white and blue, which again suggest a political thriller, because thay are the colours of the American flag.

Strangers On A Train

The narrative structure of this film is in chronological order, two stranegrs meet on a train, in conversation one mentions the idea of a perfect murder and then they part ways.

This film does not have the thriller codes and conventions typical of other thrillers. The music in the opening starts quite dramatic like other thrillers, but then fases into the sounds typical of a romance or comedy film. It is conventional because the plot is all about murder. The opening asks the audience lots of questions, like who the strange man is, what are his intentions, and why he is so pushy trying to get information from the other character.

In the camera work, the are lots of low angle shots of the characters feet and bottom of legs. There is cross-cutting shots of the two different mens feet and a shot reverse shot when the men sit down and assess each other. There are also lots of closeups.

There is lots of mise-en-scene in this film. When pulling up to the train station, the characters get out of taxis, which are very anonymous and give across this idea of strangers. The setting of the train station is unusual because this is a place where strangers meet. The opening does not show any shots of the characters faces, so not showing their identity again saying that everyone is anonymous and that we live in an anonymous world. The camera only shows shots of their feet because we use feet to travel with, linking with the fact they are in a train station, and the title involving trains. The opening makes it look as if the two characters are walking towards each other, as if it is their fate and destiny to talk to each other and cross paths. When the characters get on and the train moves, it shows two paths for the train to go down, as if the characters have two choices, and the train goes down one of them, possibly meaning again that this was destined to happen and they were meant to meet. When the characters sit down, it shows their shoes and their feet bumping, its almost as if when their feet knock, it makes them talk and they connect in life and tradgedy. We can notice how one character has strange, quite eccentric shoes, and these belong to the strange man, so the strange shoes match the strange man.

In the sound there is dramatic epic music in the opening of a full orchestra, this could be because of the time the film was released and how some films were playes with an orchestra playing. In the opening there is some quite happy and cartoonish music, but the music becomes more masculine when it is defferentiates the two character's personalities. The music also turns quite enchanting and magical, with lots of harps in it, but becomes much more dramatic when the characters are eventually on the train.

The editing speeds up as we realise the two characters are coming together and meeting.

The graphics are all black and white, and so is the film because of the time it was made. There are lots of different fonts used, and the title of the film is noticeably larger than the rest of it. The titles come up over a filmed background opposed to usual ones of plain backgrounds.

Seven

narrative structure:
Shows you how the killer plans out his killings which makes you know something that the detectives don't, this makes the audience feel clever. The credits are after a section of a film. Action in the first few minutes so that the audience becomes interested straight away.
thriller codes and conventions
Character at the beginning of the film is not shown which makes the audience instantly want to watch more to find out who he is. Why does he have all the weapons. Who is the dead character. Which city is it. Why does one character have a metronome? Who is the character that is writing in the book. Not seeing a character makes it very mysterious.
Camera work
Long shot at the start of the film makes the viewers more aware of where the film is set. Close up of character putting on a tie to let the audience know he is going somewhere, because he is wearing a suit it also makes the viewer think that his is important as it is a stereotype that high class people wear suits. Low angle shot on a dead character makes the audience instantly know that he was very vulnerable. High angle shot makes the main characters in the film seem important and maybe also make the audience feel vulnerable. Tracking shot shows movement instead ofthe usual stationary camera shots. Close up shots on the metronome which makes the audience think and asks why he has it. Close-up shots of what killer is doing lets audience know how he plans his murders.
Mise-en-scene
The character owns knifes and guns which means he is involved in danger. Character is very organised as he lays everything out, the films shows this as to let the know the characters personality. As soon as you see him talking about thedeath of another character and because of the type of hate and coat he is wearing you presume he is a detective by typical stereotype. The rain in the city matches the mood of the film, gloomy and dark. Young detective has scruffy uniform gives off personality of the character as laid back and unorganised. Lots of people walking past detectives on teh street makes the audience know that it is a busy city. You presume the character in the credits is the killer as he gets rid ofthe skin on his fingers and has pictures of dead people. Murderer black out a persons eyes which could mean the person has no soul as it is said the eyes are a door to the soul. He cuts out the word god in a dollar bill which means the film might have something to do with god. The end of the credits shows you allot of handmade book which could mean that he has been planning for a while.
Sound
Diagetic sound while logo is being shown gets you into the film slowly, also thesounds lets the audience know that the film is set in a busy city. Another character swears which makes the audience think he is not a nice character or that he isn't as upper class as the main character. None diagetic music sounds likescratching records. Eerie sounds during credits. 'you get me closer to god.' lyrics are heard which could mean the film has something to do with religion.
Editing
Shots flow well not drawing attention to itself. Blur to make the audience focus on certain things. During title the effect draw attention to itself by using effects such as ghosting which makes the viewers feel that he has been writing for along time. Also the amount of effects used in the titles shows that the film is professionally made. Red shots in the credits connotes danger.
Graphics
Font shakes could connote fear. White font and black background connotes thefight between good and evil. Handwritten font. Does not put much emphasis on themain title.

Thriller Analysis; Strangers on a Train

Narrative Structure;Two people meet eachother on a train journey, they begin to talk about life and such and this conversation involves murders.

Thriller Codes and Conventions;The main plot is about murder.The sound used in the begining is dramatic, used to build up tension it then moves into a romantic comedy feel.

Camera Work;There is alot of low level camera work, this could be to stop identity being as obvious as there are also lots of close ups on legs/feet.The film uses shot reverse shot in their conversation to show the characters are assessing eachother.

Mise en Scene;It is set in a train station. Anonymous people are walking towards eachother, all dressed the same, well dressed and they all look quite respectful, they have different shoes on to establish different characters. The fact they are walking towards eachother symbolises walking towards their fate. Everybody at the train station is a stranger to one another and this resembles their fate, as do the train tracks, asif life was meant to go one way, but has ended up going in the 'wrong direction'.

Sound;Orchestra is used to build up the tension at the start.Happy, almost cartoon music is used, when the opening scenes change direction ( romantic comedy ) and their is also enchanting music, to make the viewer think this is going to be a 'happy' film. Characters in the film also have motif music.

Editing;Cross cutting is used, also the editing speeds up as we realise the characters are coming together.

Graphics;Black and white titles are used, to represent good and evil, they are also placed on the action of the film, rather than blank space, this could incorporate them into the film more, maybe representing that the good and evil in the film has already begun.

Section 3: Brainstorm of ideas for your film

Idea 1: A man is abducted after meeting drug dealers at Albert Docks in Liverpool. The man is a very prestigious member of parliament.
Idea 2: A man is taken hostage by another man. The man who takes him hostage believes that he is guilty for the death of his wife.
Idea 3: A man gets the rest of his family murdered after he has been having an affair with a woman. The other woman's husband finds out and so punishes him.
Idea 4: A detective is investigating the murders of local people around his neighbourhood.
Idea 5: Two detectives set out to find a burglar who is targeting very high members of the police force.

Section 4: Audience Research- and research into BBFC film classification system

We asked if an audience would prefer to see a thriller opening being fast paced or slow paced. More people chose it to be fast paced as it is more intreaguing.
We asked people which type of thriller they would prefer to watch, most people chose a mental thriller.

We asked people what they would rather see a thriller film open with, most people chose a death to open a thriller film.

We asked where people hear about films they see. Most of the people asked say that they see them on websites.

We asked where people were most likely to watch a film. Most of the people asked chose the cinema as a place most likely to watch a film.

This pie chart asked how much people enjoyed thriller films. Our research showed that many people find them very enjoyable. This question asked whether people prefer thriller films to any other genre of film.

This question asked what other genre of film was a persons favourite. Our research shown that apart from a thriller film, comedy is the genre many people enjoy.

This question asked where people like thriller films to be set and take place, our research showed that an audience liked a big city centre to be where the film is set.

We asked what the weather should be like on a thriller fiml to set the tone for the film. Most of the people asked chose the weather to be raining.

We asked what time of day people like thriller films to take place, the ,ajority of the people asked chose them to be set at night.

We asked out of the following films, which would be soemones favourite thriller to watch, most people chose Seven as their favourite.

We asked whether people prefered someone to be chased or to be killed in a thriller film. Most people chose someone being killed as it would frighten them most.

We asked whether an audience would rather see a younger person as a killer, or an older person. Most people chose a younger person to be a killer.

We asked people if they would watch a film directed by a woman or a man. Alot of the people asked chose a woman.

We asked what age group would be most likely to watch a thriller film, the most people chose the age group 16-25.

This pie chart shows how long an audience would want a thriller opening to be, most people chose 1-2 minutes, as it would keep them interested and not drag on.

This pie chart shows what name an audience would prefer and be attracted to. Most people chose the name 'indigestible'.

This pie chart is to show what sex an audience would rather see a victim be. People voted as a woman would be the best victim in a thriller film.

16 men to 7 women prefered men to be killers in a thriller film. This could be because the killer then seems more intimidating to the audience.

Section 5: Treatment

Treatment for Indigestible
Indigestible will be an unusual political thriller in which the characters are like real people, not the stereotypes that other films usually present.ConceptThe mp of Liverpool, John, is having an affair with a slutty woman named Helga, he has denied to let the cancer drug be available on the NHS. A man named Arnold’s wife died because she could not get hold of it. Arnold hatches an evil plan to capture and torture John.
SynopsisBeginning: John goes to meet Helga at St Johns park, but is captured and taken hostage by Arnold, who takes him to his secret lair.
Middle: Helga alerts the police to johns disappearance and they begin to search for him. Arnold kills Johns wife and children and secretly begins to feed them to John.
End: As the police are about to bust in on John and Arnold, Arnold tells john what he has been doing, and john grabs his Arnolds gun and blows his own brains out. Arnold is sectioned.
Opening Scene: The film begins with a black screen and diagetic sound of a train coming to a halt, we see a establishing shot of lime street station, Liverpool. We see an over the shoulder shot of a man looking at campaign posters for MP of Liverpool with John on them. We then see john walking down the steps of the natural history museum in Liverpool. Next there is an over the shoulder shot of Arnold looking at pictures of John. We see john crossing the road to st johns park looking nervous and shifty. We see another over the shoulder shot of Arnold looking at a book on cannablism and more photos. We see john at the park looking nervous. We see Arnolds feet walking towards john, then we see a zoom shot into Helga. We see john as he sees Helga and makes an advance towards her, but before he can move we get a low foot shot of Arnold walking up behind him and we hear the sound of john being hit over the head, and him falling to the floor. Black screen. Then flashes of the hostage video. Finally ‘Indigestible’ appears on the screen, and quickly fades in beat with the music.Target AudienceThis film will be a mostly gender specific film, in the direction of male viewers, as it will have a lot of action and gore within the film and these are typically aimed at men. The age range will be quite broad starting at around 15-35, but there will still be relatively broad spectrum of viewers, dependent on individual taste. The film we be certified as a 15 as it shows a bit of gore, which is acceptable, but none of the violence within the film we be seen directly.
Other Details: The film will seem realistic, where as with typical political thrillers, the politician(s) are quite high up, where as in ‘Indigestible’ it is the MP for Liverpool. Locations will be very ordinary, e.g. lime street station, and this will give a relatable feel to the film.

Section 6: Character outlines and Script

Script of Indigestible

INT. Liverpool Lime Street station. Night time.
It is a plain black screen with the diegetic sound of a train station and a train pulling in. The screen changes colour and we see an establishing shot of Lime Street station. There is a long shot of a man stepping off a train and we see him walking across the platform.

INT. Unknown room. Day or night.
There is an over the shoulder shot of an unknown man pinning photos of the main character, John, onto a board. The camera pans across the board, revealing more picturesof John going about his everyday life and a newspaper article about him denying a cancer drug.

EXT. Liverpool Lime Street. Night time.
There is another long shot of John coming out of the station and walking down the slope towards the main road, carrying a brief case. The camera follows John as he crosses the road and heads towards the museum and St Johns Park.

INT. Unknown room. Day or night.
There is another over the shoulder shot of the unknown man looking at a book on canibalism with a picture of a man and a woman in the background.

EXT Liverpool St Johns Park. Night time.
The camera shows John approaching the park and going up the steps. The camera has a low angle shot of John from waist height stood near a tree. The camera shows Arnold behind the tree, an over the shoulder shot. There is a long shot of Helgawalking towards where John would be stood. There is a profile shot as Helga watches John being dragged away by Arnold. Helga runs behind a tree and hides, upset.

Credits
There is an image of John sat on a chair looking dishevelled, he is still wearing his suit but with his tie loose and his jacket off. He no longer looks smart and clean cut. He has a blind fold over his eyes and it is obvious that he has been taken hostage. The name of the film appears.

Arnold
Arnold is a 42 year old psychotic killer, he is very tall and stocky and his wife died of cancer a year ago because she couldn’t afford the money for the cancer drug. He has very big hands and pale skin because he has not left his house in the past year. He wants to kill John because he blames him for the death of his wife.

John
John is the MP of Liverpool; he has a wife and 2 young children. He himself is 38 and lives in West Kirby with his family. As an MP he has power to rule things out, he did this with the cancer drug, he made sure it was unavailable on the NHS, because he believes people who get cancer deserve it. He is very clean cut and he has a reseeding hairline and is always in a suit, he is widely respected in Liverpool, but he is secretly having an affair with a woman named Helga.

Helga
Helga is a heroine addict who will do anything to get her fix. She is the woman John is having an affair with; she wears dark pink fishnet tights and black leather mini skirts, and always looks like she could do with a shower. She has fallen in love with John and thinks that they are going to run away together, but John is just using her for sex.

Detective Johnson
Johnson is an old single man, who is very well respected in his field; he has a lot of experience and goes through everything meticulously, to slowly but surely solve any case. He has almost got OCD because he is that scrupulous with everything. He is always in a Mac and trilby, and has a thick layer of grey stubble on his chin, he likes literature.

Detective Boon
Boon is a laid back detective, he is young and inexperienced. He is always messy and wears un ironed clothes, sporting the ‘just got out of bed look’ often. He wants the case over and done with but has been paired with Johnson who is annoys regularly. He is in a serious relationship with his girlfriend and she is pregnant.

Claire
Claire is John’s wife, she is the ‘perfect housewife’, she always has tea on the table and looks after the children, and however she refuses to have sex with John. She has a cleaning OCD and is suspicious of John. She is very clean cut and always has her hair tied back and a sleek bun.

Section 7: Production Material- Storyboards & shotlists