Evaluation of Skins

The scene begins of with the audience viewing a close-up camera angle shot of Cassie looking spaced out and in her own world, in the mise-en-scene of the back of a bus - the morning after a massive, out of control party. All throughout the bus journey there’s non-diagetic music of children eating food, which is ironic as the audience see a close-up camera angle shot of Cassie discovering a note in her dress with the words “EAT!” written on it. This indicates that the representation of this scene is focusing on Cassie’s eating problem, and the disease anorexia.
Throughout the first scene on the bus, Cassie is almost made out to look like an angle, as she’s wearing a stunning white dress, and her long blonde hair is flowing around her shoulders, overall making her look very childlike. On the bus accompanying her is very much a theme of children, as there are a variety of close-up and medium shots of young children, eating food which exaggerates the theme of Cassie’s anorexia. The camera angle when Cassie is sitting on the bus is positioned in front of her face, so the audience gain a clear view of her spaced out facial expression, and there’s an effective medium-shot of her sticking the note saying “EAT!” upon the bus window.
However, when the scene changes and Cassie is shown walking into her middle-class house, you automatically see the symbol of W.V van, which is the type of vehicle that middle-age hippies own, suggesting to the audience that her parents are going to be quite eccentric. What you notice straightaway when Cassie enters her house, is the naked painting of her mother, which actually appears about three times in different rooms of the house. Automatically, you gain a sense that Cassie’s relationship with her parents is very erratic and not a close one, as you see a zoomed in close-up shot of Cassie’s gormless facial expression when she walks in on her parents in the kitchen just as there about to have sex. Therefore, this induces another representation in this scene, not just anorexia but focusing on the relationship she shares with her parents. When Cassie’s dad pointedly asks if she’s had breakfast, and Cassie is blatant lying when she says how Michelle cooked her breakfast, you can tell that her dad doesn’t even care, yet is more thinking about having sex with her mother.
Cassie’s mum is not a stereotypical mother at all, and all her family are dressed in white, therefore it as if there all acting like children, and can’t let go of there “hippy” childhood, which is why the mise-en-scene of the very clean, middle-class house doesn’t contrast at all with the bright orange hippy van. Therefore, this concludes that Cassie’s loose relationships with her family could be the reason for her controlling her body and eating habits. Therefore, is anorexia really a disease, or is it just a way of teenagers controlling there body? This almost leaves you feeling sympathy toward Cassie, as she is struggling with her illness.
The audience also see Cassie almost turning into the mother, when she takes the liberty of looking after the new born baby. The mise-en-scene of the baby’s bedroom is very stereotypical of a toddler’s room, and Close-ups of Cassie cuddling and comforting the baby portray an image of Cassie almost a child herself. When diagetic music of the baby chimes start playing above the crib, it’s almost armour to cover up the noise of her parents having sex. Cassie still remains looking spaced out, and the scene ends with a wonderful shot which makes Cassie look like the baby in the crib, as it she’s looking above at the chimes, which soon blur out, making the audience almost feel as if there drifting of to sleep.

Method 3: Research into Film Distribution in Norwich

Method 7: Working Titile Films

Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London, England. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1984. It produces feature films and some television productions. Eric Fellner and Bevan are the co-owners of the company now.
The company gained mainstream traction after the unexpected global box-office success of Hugh Grant-starrer, Four Weddings and a Funeral. Among the company's films are Richard Curtis-scripted romantic comedies, which usually star Grant, and Coen Brothers' films, but has in recent times moved into many other types of film, such as United 93.
In 2004 it made a profit of £17.8 million pounds sterling. As of 2007, all its films are distributed by Universal Studios, which owns a 67% stake in the company, and many of its recent films are co-productions with Studio Canal. The remaining shares are owned by the company's founders, BBC Films, and private investors.
The film company also has a smaller low-budget film brand, WT2 (Working Title 2) which has produced films such as Billy Elliot (2000) and Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Recently the company produced Burn After Reading, a comedy starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
The purpose of Working Title Films is that it keeps the British film industry alive, as it produces many independent and popular British films. It’s also a huge company which produces many jobs for British workers, and it gives the British film industry a huge boost in terms of it having to compete with the USA film industry.

Storyboards for our Thriller

These are our storyboards for our thriller, which explain what me and my group planned to film shot by shot. However, our idea did actually change from what these storyboards show. Although, we did still use some of the key elements from our original ideas, such as the use of guns and the "gangster" element.

Method 2: Unit G321: Research into Media Audiences

Analysing Film Posters

The whole idea of using film posters to promote the film, is that it has to automatically grab the audience's attention when they're for example, just walking down the street. Film posters are designed to become eye catching, as film posters are displayed around various places such as on a side of a bus, on walls, or on a bus stop. Therefore they have to look interesting to be able to draw attention to them.

Sin City (2005)
The first thing you notice about this poster is the blood red colour of the typography, which connotates danger, passion, love, sex and lies. This is indicating to the audience about what the film is about already, and the bright red automatically grabs your attention, and is the first thing that draws you to the poster. The typography is also very bold and thick, which makes the title of the film stand out to the audience, so the name of the film sticks in their head.
The symbol of the guns on the film poster connotes danger, and again suggests to the audience that the storyline and genre of the film is action and thriller. The use of guns also makes the film seem like it will have a tense storyline, which will appear to, for example teenager boys and young men walking down the street. The way that the rest of the poster is in gray scale compared to the bright red typography again makes the title stand out, and everything else seem more gloomy and dark in comparison, suggesting that the storyline will be quite mysterious.
The low angle camera shot portrays an image that the characters in the film are strong and powerful, compared to long shot of the one man walking down the street which is lit up by blinding light toward the bottom left of the poster. This suggests that the characters portrayed standing up strong and powerful in the poster are all together fighting against the one guy walking down the street. However, the blinding light surrounding him is very catching and draws the readers attention. One of the men holding a pistol gun in the poster is directing in an angle which portrays it as if it's pointing almost outside of the poster, creating a very clever 3D effect.
There are three male stereotypes on the poster, and it suggests that the film has one strong male lead by the way that one of the male protagonists is standing before all the characters looking stronger and more important, as its clear the camera s focusing more on him. One of the female characters on the poster is however in some ways stereotypical of a "slutty" female fatall, as she is wearing quite revealing clothes as her stomach is on show, yet she is also portrayed as being very strong by the way she is posing in a manner which portrays her as looking fearless. The other woman is shot furthest away from the camera, suggesting she is less important manner, yet from what you can see of her she is wearing very black, Gothic clothes, which goes against the girly, female stereotypes in thriller films. The way every character is wearing black connotes danger, mystery and a storyline of darkness to the audience. The mise-en-scene of the rain is quite effective to the audience as it stands out and technically looks very eye catching, and the dark background suggests to the audience that the film is shot in darkness for quite a majority of time.

I Am Legend (2007)

Straight away the mise-en-scene catches the audience's eye, as it's obviously the setting of almost a broken city. Therefore this suggests to the audience that the storyline involves devastation and action. The broken city scape behind the male protagonist looks very lonely, yet the brown, white and overall pale colours connote almost calm yet also creates tension in the atmosphere. The yellow typography for the title matches the colour scale of the mise-en-scene which makes the typography shine out above the ground, yet the lettering is very thin and stylish, suggesting to the audience that this isn't going to be a full on action film with loud gun shots and bombs. The word "LEGEND" stands out particularly to the audience, which will then stick in there minds and catch there eyes straight away.

The phrase stated upon the poster "The last man on earth is not alone," entitles the audience to gather what the storyline is about, which is obviously that the male protagonist displayed on the poster at some pint becomes the last man on earth and that the entire human race is killed. Again, the typography is simply laid out in the poster and blends in delicately with the mise-en-scene - quite a contrast compared to the Sin City poster. The name of the actor "Will Smith," is blatant set out at the top of the poster in quite big lettering so it stands out to the audience and Catches there eye as Will Smith is a well known, popular actor. Therefore, this film would appeal more to the audience as they know Will Smith is obviously the main actor, as he is the only human portrayed on the page.

The medium camera-shot of the male protagonist portrays the character is being quite lonely, as he obviously the only human around the world. The type of clothes he is wearing and the macho way the character is walking makes him look quite strong, and not afraid of anyone else. In the poster, you can also see that the male protagonist is accompanied by a dog, suggesting that he is the male characters side kick throughout the entirety of the film.
Overall, the whole mise-en-scene is portrays an image of a deserted picture, suggesting to the audience that film will contain quiet scenery's, yet contain plenty of tension, even though you can tell by the writing that the film wont star many characters.

Method 5: Research into Warp Films

G322 B Institutions and Audiences Case Study on “This is England and Warp Films.

Research into Warp Films

Information on Warp Films: gained from www.WarpFilms.com
Warp Films has created some of the most exciting pieces of British film making in the last five years. It has won numerous plaudits and awards (including three BAFTAs) since being set up in 2002.

'My Wrongs 8245-8249 and 117' was Warp’s first short film and was directed by Chris Morris. It won the BAFTA in 2003 and for its television premiere on Channel 4, more than one million viewers tuned in to watch it. Warp sold an astounding 22,000 DVDs of My Wrongs and was the first DVD single in the UK market.

Warp's debut feature 'Dead Man's Shoes', directed by Shane Meadows, received a record eight British Independent Film Award nominations, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Achievement in Production. ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ was also nominated for a BAFTA and won the Southbank Award for Best Film. The film has received nothing less that rave reviews across the board, and is being hailed by some as a landmark in British cinema.

Chris Cunningham directed Warp's next film, Rubber Johnny, –an experimental short and 42-page book that shocked and amazed audiences.

Following Rubber Johnny Warp made the critical success 'Grow Your Own', a film written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (24-Hour Party People), which tackled the subject of immigration.

In 2006 Warp made their most successful production to date: 'This is England', the story of Shaun, a boy who is befriended by a local skin-head gang after his father is killed in the Falklands war. With its evocative soundtrack, dazzling young star and emotive content it has won numerous international festival awards as well as scooping Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards and Best British Film at the BAFTAs. At the same award ceremony Warp collected it's third BAFTA as Paddy Considine's directorial debut 'Dog Altogether' won best short.

Warp Films has also worked closely with the Arctic Monkeys, producing two music videos for them and collaborating on the short film 'Scummy Man' starring Stephen Graham, which won best music video at this year's NME awards. Richard Ayoade has recently directed a feature length live show film with of them. Shot at their final concert of a world tour.

Warp Films' development slate currently includes projects with directors Shane Meadows, Chris Morris, Chris Cunningham, Richard Ayoade, David Slade and Lynne Ramsay. They are also dedicated to seeking out new voices; this goal is reflected in their recent ventures into promo making and the new digital slate, Warp X.

Explaining the Purpose of Warp Films:

Warp Films are different from any other film company as they support independent and unique films, instead of the mainstream Hollywood block busters. Warp Films have created a number of successful British movies, such as “Dead Man Shoes” directed by Shane Meadows which received a record eight British Independent Film Award nominations. Warp Films don’t follow the route of Hollywood and USA films, yet they create and support the independent British film industry. For example, in 2006 they created there most successful film yet “This Is England,” also directed by Shane Meadows, which is film completely based on England’s traditional and historical values.
Warp Films also make the type of films which tend to show the reality of Britain. For example, they don’t make films which portray an image of British people talking in a posh London accent like the Queen and go round shooting pheasants all day. Yet instead, the type of films directed show perhaps the “rougher” side of England, and the lower class.

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham first forged his relationship with Warp Records in 1995 with his debut promo “Second Bad Vibel” for Autechre, and since has directed a score of mind-bending videos for the likes of Squarepusher, Bjork, Madonna, Portishead and most memorably, Aphex Twin. His role within Warp Films is that at the moment he is currently developing a feature length script with Warp Films. He has also created films such as “Rubber Johnny” – an experimental short and 42 page books.

Chris Cunningham’s Music Video “Africa Shox.”

Chris Cunningham’s music video is shocking, and certainly portrays America in a bad view, as it’s representing how white Americans treated Black African/Americans. The main guy in the film looks like a completely broken man, with no-where to go. At one point during the music video, you see a white man sitting down on the bench reading a newspaper completely ignoring the black African/American, which proves how badly treated they were and possibly still our.
There are certain resemblances to “Africa Shox,” and Shane Meadow’s film “This is England.” For example, Africa Shox and This is England both show the reality of their countries. For instance, This is England portrays the real image of what England is actually like, and shows the lower class side of living in a British city, and Africa Shox portrays the harsh reality of how people are still treated in America, not the rich living white Americans. Both films also use quite real life settings, as This is England uses the setting of a rough end of Grimsby, and the setting of Africa Shox looks as if it’s also set in a rough city in America.

Shot Types

Rule of Thirds:

The Rule of Thirds is one of the most common shot types. The basic principle of Rule of Thirds is to imagine breaking down the image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, so your then left with nine parts. You now have four important parts of your image left in the frame, therefore you make these four parts the most interesting, so the shot type grabs the audience's attention.

Panning Shot:

The panning shot is overall just he horizontal movement of the camera. Therefore, this creates the image that the object you are filming is also moving horizontally.

Dolly Zoom Shot:

This is a diagram example of a dolly zoom shot. The dolly zoom is an un-settling in-camera special effect that appears to undermine the normal visual perception in film. This effect is achieved by adjusting the camera lens, to adjust the angle of the view. This is happening while the camera moves toward or away from the subject.

Tilt Shot:

This is quite a simple shot, and basically just involves moving the camera angle just up or down slightly, so the angle isn't always at the same level. This therefore creates either a high or low angle shot. This can make the object appear smaller or larger to the audience.

Vertigo 1958

The film Vertigo was directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1958. The one thing which I noticed straight away in this film was the fantastic mise-en-scene which was used, as it was all stylish and authentic. For example, there is a lot of the colour red used within the mise-en-scene which creates danger, love and passion. The colour red is used in many scenes, such as for the colour of the walls, the red lipstick worn on the female fatale and the also the red clothes that the female fatale wears. However, the scene with the roof top chase is a great thriller opening, as it automatically engages the audience, and brings them into the action themselves, which therefore makes the audience want to continue watching the film. The chase scene also means that film isn't giving anything away at the beginning, which is therefore keeping the audience guessing. The film also has the scenery of a house, which is quite light. This is a normal everyday setting, meaning the film isn't being to fancy, and wants to give away a feeling of the characters living an ordinary everyday life.

The female protagonist wears old fashioned clothes which obviously suit the time that this film was made. At one point within the film she wars a green backless dress which creates sexuality. As it is backless it is made to make the women stand out above the crowd, and green is the colour of envy, suggesting she's showing of to the men and making other women jealous of her looks and hold upon the men. There are plenty of effective sounds used in the film. For instance the music is quite sinister and non-diagetic. The music builds up, and is quite jumpy and contains a creepy feel about it. However, it keeps changing tone from loud to quiet to build up the audience for something to happen, then bring them down, which keeps the audience engaged. Certain thriller signifies used is the detective, and this is quite typical of a thriller. Special effects used are spirals around the characters eyes at the beginning, which gives the effect of dizziness to the audience and engage them.

The type of camera shots used varies, for example there are extreme close-ups used of the women's mouth and eyes. A birds eye view shot is used on a stair case (another known thriller signifier), which is effective yet simple to achieve. This emphasizes on the picture, and gives the audience a different view of the scenery. There are also plenty of quick angle shots including long, mid and close-up shots. The audience is also left with the question "Do you think Madeline is still alive?" This creates tension and engages the audience themselves to solve the mystery.

The script for our Voice Over

"It wasn't the first time I've got mixed up in a deal like this. For some reason something went wrong, and the rest is kind of a blur. All I remember is those flats and being carted away in that white van. Everyday I find myself walking back there, hoping that somehow I can change what happened."

We chose to use this for our Voice Over, as it's quite simple, and we didn't want a voice over running over the whole of the introduction. We are going to separate parts of the voice over to match in the timings of certain scenes of the film. We're using a females voice as it's a female lead we are using as this goes against the typical casting of a thriller, and it's also a female we use for the shots of the character walking back to the scene of the chase.

Editing our Thriller

So far, editing our thriller has become very successful. We decided to use the colour of black and white as these looked more stylish, and we have edited the shots down to make them look slow paced in some sections, yet fast paced during the chase scene. We arranged our thriller to alternate between the chase scene and shots of our female protagonist simply walking back to the place where the chase all happened. We did this to almost confuse the audience, yet at the same time we have a voice over which help explains what goes on. At the moment we are using a combination of music and a voice over. The music is very fast paced to match the fast paced style of the film, and the music is quietened down while the voice over is running. We are also having the titles appearing in edited transitions across the bottom left of the screen as we have our female protagonist running. They appear only for a short duration each to again match the quickened pace of the film. However, at the end of the introduction we end with a gun shot and the title of the film will appear in just white and black, which we are hoping will create a stylish end to the introduction.

The Process of Filming

After the decision of me and my group to change the idea of our thriller, filming it has been more successful, and we are achieving what wanted. We've mainly been focusing on creating established shots, and concentrating on the style of our film. We changed the location to a block of the flats within the city centre, which we used for our chase scene between our two characters. We chose the block of flats as they contained a very "city" feel about them, and it was easy to imagine a chase scene happening in them.

The layout of the flats were also quite symmetrical, and looked effective with stairs leading down to the ground either side, which is where we filmed parts of the chase scene. We also used a range of thriller signifies in our thriller, such as spiral staircases, as they are a known thriller signifier, and looked very effective. We also filmed a white van as white vans are normally associated with kidnappings, and we wanted to suggest to the audience than the main female protagonist had been kidnapped.

Women in the Film Industry

During my media lessons it has become apparent that men certainly have the upper hand within the film industry, as most directors appear to be men, especially in the Hollywood film industry. If you look at the films which have won the most Oscars within the last 10 years such as "Titanic," in 1997 who won 11 Oscars, "The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King," in 2003 who won 11 Oscars and "Ben Hur," in 1959 who also won 11 Oscars, they were all directed by males. This is a huge problem within the film industry, as without women as directors, the audience loose out on seeing women views. However, this also creates the problem of male actors playing the leads in both films and TV series. For example, how often do we see an action or thriller TV series with a female protagonist playing the lead? In fact one of the only TV series which we do see a female taking charge is in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," or programmes also such as "Charmed," which have three women leads who are viewed as being very powerful, and hold the upper hand against men.

Thriller Conventions

During my media lessons, I have learnt what actually makes a thriller, and what thriller conventions are. For example, a thriller doesn't include super-hero's which have the ability to climb up walls or have magical powers. Instead thrillers are corruptive and often quite dark and bleak. Often they also have the certificate of a 15 or 18, and not for the younger audience. They also use real protagonists who are often dark characters who have the ability to kill people and corrupt there lives.

Examples of these type of thrillers are films such as "Chinatown," "Sin City," "Reservoir Dogs," and TV series such as "Spooks." Conventions include crime at the core of the narrative. Examples of films including crime are "Psycho," which involves a human being being murdered while taking a shower. "Sleeping with the Enemy," where Laura is the victim of systematic and violent abuse by her husband, and plenty of other plots from films include penicillin being given to vulnerable children. All these type of plots are defiantly chilling, and not for the younger audience.

Other conventions include false paths, false clues, red herrings and enigmas. An example of these type of conventions being used and conveyed is "Third Man,"where questions may be asked to as why at the end of the film when she walks past the well intentioned protagonist Holly Martins because she is still in love with the character "Harry Lime," who committed heinous crimes against children. This crimes included watering down Penicillin and selling it on at the black market.

Resolutions to the crime are also often ambiguous, and the protagonist is often dis empowered and drawn into a web of intrigue by the antagonist (the person who intends to oppose the hero). The protagonist is also often flawed. For instance, in "Pulp Fiction," Jule's brutal past is redeemed by his sudden professed conversion to Christianity, which is presented as threatening and hilarious.

The antagonist is also often attractive, but the arrogance of the characters can often be there downfall. Extraordinary events also often occur in ordinary situations. For example, the gruesome scene in "The Godfather (part 1)" where a member of the mafia wakes up in bed with the bloodied head of the horse sitting on the pillow beside him. Most possibly one of the most gruesome scenes throughout the the trilogy of "The Godfather." This also induces the shock factor.

Themes of voyeurism is also used, and elements mise-en-scene frequently reflect the protagonist's emotional state. Shadows, lift shafts, alley ways, car parks, car boots, spiralling stair cases all reflect the entrapment of the hero and a suggestion that there is no way out. Thriller signifies such as wall streets and narrow roads indicate a fall into the world that is morally corrupt and confusing.

Deviant female fatale is also classic of noir thrillers. For instance women are often filled with glamour and sexual seduction and pulls the male protagonist into further peril. The themes of identity of who is the protagonist who is the antagonist or line between good and evil are often blurred of confused. The narratives are also often very twisted, which us again a known thriller signifier.

Progress of our Thriller

Over the past few weeks of filming scenes for our thriller, it soon became apparent that having a large cast wasn't working properly, therefore we felt that it wasn't too late to change certain aspects of our thriller to make it easier. The problem we found with having a large cast was that it was always the issue that at least one actor couldn't make it on time, and when they were all together they weren't working properly.

Now, instead of having a large cast with around 6 actors, we are only having two, one boy and one girl. We are still including a chase scene, but it shall be circled around a block of flats instead. We are also going to focus more on artistic style with more focused shots, and are going to use the feature of a voice over, so we don't have to focus so much on the chase scene. Therefore this will create more mystery.

Millers Crossing (1990)

Millers Crossing was directed and written by the Coen brothers, and is of a Crime/Thriller genre. It is very cleverly directed and is full of thriller signifies and intense scenes.

The style of the film is quite "gangster" as the actors play the role of American Gangsters, which almost reminds you of the Mafia in Godfather. The beginning scenes have a fantastic Mise-en-scene and are full of thriller signifies such as slattered blinds and a electric fan. The colours of the Mise-en-scene are also quite dark and dingy, which almost portray a feeling of a thriller. There are also many gruesome scenes which obviously are typical of a thriller, yet at the same time scenes are quite stylish, with quite calming music in the background. This is typical of a Coen brothers film as well, as there always made with class and well thought about story lines.

The guys in the film are also quite tough which you always find with a thriller film, however the female lead in this film isn't actually portrayed as being vulnerable, yet quite strong as she stands up for herself against the main guy lead. This is quite surprising as you normally find the female leads relying on the guy to rescue them. Although every single time you see her, she's always filmed within quite a personal place for a women. For example, at one point there's a scene where the she's filmed being invaded in the girls toilets by the main guy, and another one where she's filmed while she's in her dressing gown and underwear. Although, at the same time in these scenes she's always strong and stands up for herself. This isn't very typical of thrillers, and is therefore quite unusual.

There are plenty of varied shots used throughout this film. For instance, they used shallow focus, where one of the male protagonist is in focus, where-as the background is out of focus. This is quite effective, and therefore adds to the films style and authenticity. There are also plenty of zoomed in close-ups, longs shots and medium shots. However, in this film there are also a range of simple shots, for example there's a simple shot of one of the male protagonist hat falling upon the ground. Although the shot looks fairly easy to film, in reality this was probably quite hard to achieve, and it looks very effective and adds the films "class." Overall, Millers Crossing is a stylish film and every character you notice is dressed in glamorous clothes, and during the film there's the symbol of the expensive looking cars and the powerful men smoking. In every shot, the mise-en-scene is stylish and typical of the era that the film is meant to be shot in. For example, the colours of the room are rich such as dark browns and deep reds which are connoting danger, love and passion, and during scenes in which violence is happening, the men always seem to keep calm.

Why does Britain need a Film Industry?

Britain needs a film industry for a number of reasons. For example, the most obvious reasons is that it creates thousands of jobs for British people. This includes:

• Actors/Actresses
• Directors
• Produces
• Camera Crew
• Builders
• Costume Designers
• Script Writers
• Marketers
• Hair dresses
• Make-up Artists

Without these type of job offerings, the employment rate would most likely double. Having British films made is also great for our tourist industry, as British films have a tendency to show of our true culture, instead of having the Americans perspective of England, which basically includes showing of the posh parts of London and having us speak in posh accents. However, British films such as "This Is England," actually show of our city and rural settings and what life was like for British, working class people. Where-as not many films actually show of our culture. Therefore, British films put our Country on the map.

We also gain Britain's political views, as if we simply just had American films being made, all we ever see is the Americans way of ruling this world, yet we never view the British government. Therefore, people all over the world will be more aware of how we rule this country and our political history. We also have a British film industry to show of our talents! Most people believe all the best Actors/Actresses/Directors are American, simply because that's all they see in films, yet in fact some of the most talented directors and Actors are British. However, if we don't have British films showing this then they would permanently stay hidden.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

No Country for Old Men is directed and produced by the Coen brothers, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and was one of the most intense thrillers I have watched in a while!

For starters, the actual narrative is very simple as it's quite straight forward as it's simply a goose chase mainly between the sheriff of his town who is carrying around $2000,000 and drugs in a suitcase, and a guy who follows him in his tracks as he's after the money. However, of course the guy who is chasing him is pure evil as he intends to kill anyone in his path.

The simplicity of the story is what makes this film so watchable and intense, as it's filled with wonderful shot types and thriller signifies. For starters, the Mise-en-scene for most of the film is of a desert, where you get to witness some fantastic scenery. There's a powerful shot of the Sheriff looking through his binoculars at some tree's, which is a great example of "The Rule of Thirds," and the shot type also shows shadows from the tree's which is a great thriller signifier.

Of course, certain parts are very gruesome as you witness a lot of wounded men, but the pace of the film is quite slow and not rushed. The actual Shrift himself resembles quite a secretive man, especially to his wife, and is typical of a strong, male stereotype. What really keeps you on the edge of your seat however, is the scenes when the Sheriff is hiding in a Motel with his money, and the guy chasing him finds where he is with a tag he carries around which bleeps every time he nears the money. These scenes are so intense due to the fact the camera doesn't allow you to see where the two guys are, therefore your kept on the edge of your seat waiting for something to happen.

The music also creates atmosphere because it's dead quiet before something is about to happen, which creates intensity throughout the scenes.

The Themes of our Thriller

The themes of our thriller are corruption, deceit, duality of characters, mystery, danger and finally moral ambiguity. The reason why these are the themes which represent our thrillers is because there is a lot of people deceiving each other in our thriller. For instance, there is a lot of conflict between the two gangs which therefore connote a lot of danger and mystery.

The style of our film is that it is a modern, British and is of a gangsta genre. This is because we wanted our gangs to reflect similarities to the "Mafia," and the role of gangstas suited the genre. Therefore, our Sub genre is action thriller.

The influences of our film is "Layer Cake, 2004" and "Essex Boys, 2000." Layer Cake has held an influence over our film because of there use of plot line (drug use) and the dynamic chase scene they use which really grabs the audiences attention, which is what we wanted to achieve for our own film. Essex Boys influenced us by the gangs, as there typically British which will hopefully come across in our film.

Overall, we shall be analysing plenty of films which involve various chase scenes, so we can base that in our own thriller film. However, we shall not be focusing on American films as they tend to be to over exaggerated, and we want our film to give of a British character.

Method 4: Case study into "This Is England" Shane Meadows (2006)

Rules and Different Shot Types

180 degrees rule:
A basic film editing guideline. It basically states that two characters in the same scene should have the same left/right relationship to each other. There's an "imaginary" line which can't be crossed, however if the camera does pass the line it is called "crossing the line." A new shot from the other side is called a Reverse Angle.

Shot reverse shot:
A film technique when one character is shown looking at another character, and then the other character is shown looking "back." Basically alternating shots.

Match-on-action: When action shown in the first shot is repeated in some fashion in the second shot.

Location Scouting

Eaton Park :


For the meeting between the two gangs in the deserted park, this will be filmed at night time. We chose Eaton park because we can film at nighttime and it has a circular building (shown on the photo) which can be used to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, and it's a spacious area. The tree's and columns surrounding the building will help create shadows and darkness which will create a sense of mystery and a convey a feeling of a thriller film. The scenery surrounding the building is also quite symmetrical, which helps give our film more style and authenticity.



Lucy's House (Living Room):


For the flash back scenes of Rex's wife talking to him on the phone. We chose this location because it is a good homely setting, perfect for a home call scene. Also, we do not need permission to film there, and it is easy to get to. The wall paper in the background also quite suits the theme of a thriller, as the colour of the deep red connotes mystery and love. The wall paper is also stylish, and the colours blend in together.




St. Benedict's Street:

For the chase scene between the two gangs at the end and beginning of thriller film. We chose this location because it is an urban setting, but not as busy as the city centre so you wont have people ruing the shots by walking into them. The buildings there such as the pub photograph appear seedy and therefore create a feeling of underbelly of the city. Also, there are alleyways leading off from the street, we can get shots using vanishing points, and we can use alleys in the chase scene to create claustrophobia.

Our Script for Thriller

For Park Scene:

Ricky: (To Charlie) What's gone wrong eh? We need to sort this out.
Charlie: I don't know, it's not my problem, I thought you were the one in charge of this.
Matt: Look, there's no use fighting, we just want the money.
Lil' Bob: Just let Rex sort this one out.
(Car pulls up, Rex arrives)
Rex: What the bleedin' hell have you done? (Rex uses violence) I'm going to make you all pay for this; you've blown the whole deal.
(Phone rings, Rex leaves)

Possible scene, phone call.

Kate: Where the hell are you Jimmy? You were meant to be gome hours ago, I thought you were at a business meeting.
Rex: Sorry babe, things look to have gone wrong.
Kate: Well, you'd better hurry up, I don't like waiting.
(Kate hangs up)

Shooting Schedule for Thriller

Every Wednesday Evening - To shoot the deserted park scene. Will take about 3 sessions to fully shoot for this scene. Will be shot at 7.00pm
Within these scenes we shall be filming the meeting between the two gangs and the phone conversation between Rex and his wife. It will most likely take us around an hour to shoot each session. We planned to shoot at this time to get the right night setting, as we want to film when it is darker to give of a sense of mystery.

Every Sunday Morning - To shoot chase scene, will again take about 3 sessions to shoot. Will be filmed at around 7.00am
Within these sessions we will shoot the chase between the two gangs, which will involve plenty of action and fast paced editing shots. We planned to film at this time to get the early light, therefore you will be able to see plenty of action happening.

Possibly Thursday Evenings if necessary, this will be in case we don't get all the filming done for the gang scene, and in the evening so we get the same tone of darkness.

Character Profiles

The male protagonist in our group’s thriller is more of an anti-hero, like in film noirs. He has a double identity; leading two lives- one as a regular business man for IBM with a wife and a good successful life ahead of him, the other with a slutty promiscuous girlfriend, and as a leader of a corrupt drug gang known as ‘Speed’. To his wife, he is Jimmy Brown, but in his other life he is known as Rex Reynolds. The actor playing this role will need to be able to act as two different characters easily, making an obvious contrast between the two. He will need to be dressed smartly in a suit and shirt.Kate Brown is Jimmy Brown’s wife. She is 25, has blonde curly hair, and suspects nothing of her husband’s 2nd identity. Although Kate appears to be fairly boring as she is just a housewife, she is quite glamorous, and the actress playing her should reflect this, whilst making sure the audience know that she has no idea of her husband’s two identities.Ricky and Bob (sometimes called ‘Lil Bob’) are Rex Reynolds’ sidekicks who stand by him no matter what. They also dress up smartly like Rex, and are just below Rex in the hierarchy of the ‘Speed Gang’. They need to appear tough and unafraid, as well as following what ever Rex tells them. They are between the ages of 18 and 25, and don’t seem to be particularly clever or intelligent.The Speed gang’s rivals are Ecstasy. The three key members of this gang are Charlie, who is 26, and Matt and Simon, who are both 22. The gang are meant to seem like the “bad guys” and are a lot less smart and well dressed as the Speed gang, and are also made to seem less clever, more into violence and even more corrupt, which the actors playing these characters will have to emphasise.
The reason why we have the main character Rex leading a double life, is because it enables us to create and induce mystery into the thriller, which will allow to explore the theme of lies and characters decieving eachother. Therefore, we gain even more ideas about what the thriller genre is about.

My Final Perfume Advertisement

The first thing you notice when looking at my perfume advert is the hands clasped in the middle. I did this as its a signifier of love and relationships, yet there faces aren't actually revealed so it connotes a feeling of mystery. The photo in the background is of a cathedral and a magnificent tree covering it, which overall gives of a very classy and beautiful look. Again, this links in my theme of love. I used a close-up shot of the hands, as I wanted them to be the main focus of the advertisement, and I used a low-angle shot for the photo of the building and tree so it looks overwhelming and powerful. I'm linking my perfume advert in with the film "The Notebook," because the theme of my perfume advert is traditional love, and "The Notebook," is revolved around this idea. The two hands joining are also a reference to the two main characters of "The Notebook," as there meant to be in love with each other.


Originally, this perfume advert was meant to turn out differently. For example, the typography “Simplicity” was meant to be of both different style and font colour. For instance, it was meant to be of the faintest colour blue transparent against the background, and then it was meant to be positioned on the top. Then the perfume bottle is meant to be on the right hand side. However, I couldn't change these factors as the layers on Photoshop didn’t save properly so I was unable to change this factor. But the angle of the bottle would be at the audiences eye level, so it's clear what to look out for when buying the perfume advert. It would also of been a close-up shot. The typography at the top would be at a low angle, to make it seem more powerful, but the style of the writing would also have a "melting" effect, to make it appear to be seeping into the background.

The demographic classification of this perfume advert is for B’s, and the social value group is probably "Strivers" as social climbing is probably important to these types of stereotypical women, yet at the same time holding onto traditional values is
important. The reason why this is clearly important for people who will be attracted to this type of perfume is that my advert is a reference to the traditional love within the film “The Notebook.” This is a reference to “The Notebook,” because the scene with the buildings and trees give a very traditional value to the bottle. The symbol of the trees and the colour of the leafs also give of a feeling of winter and autumn.

Props for our Thriller Production

· Blinds for the house scene when wife calls Rex up while he’s at the meeting because slattered blinds are a key thriller signifier. We are also hoping to use white slattered blinds, so its more likely to create shadows.
· Suits for the men to wear , such as dark colours like black to connote feeling of mystery and it fits in with the night scene at the park. Wearing suits is also typical of the thriller genre. We also want the dark colours to fit in with the night scene and blend in so the men don't stand out,
· Cigarettes to be used as a thriller signifier. (Mainly for Rex, for the panning shot when he is shown stubbing the cigarette on the ground. This is a known key thriller signifier, and it gives us the ability to use panning up shot along the male protagonist body.
· Guns (fake) to be used in the chase scene, as a gun is what is used to kill one of the members of the gang "Ecstasy." This will create a cliff hanger at the end of our introduction, and create a more tense atmosphere.
· Fan for in the house scene as it is also a known thriller signifier.
· Wife to be wearing stylish clothes. Red to connote danger and passion, and also to add to her sexuality. Wearing red clothes also connotes love, and the wife will also be wearing red lipstick to match, to add to the affect of her persona.
· Binoculars for the beginning shot, so it looks more mysterious and it uses special effects, making the scene looking more technical.
· Dark glasses to show authority and is again typical of a thriller film.

Synopsis of Thriller Film

Our overall synopsis of our beginning to a thriller production is that we are going to start of with a long shot of a street which looks as if you’re looking through binoculars. The shot won’t last very long, around 3 seconds. Then they’ll be jazzy music to start of with which at first will be quiet, then as it grows louder all of a sudden you see about five guys sprint across the screen as there being chased by guns. You will also hear sound effects of guns and will be shot in the early hours of the mornings. Finally, the scene will suddenly cut out and flash back in time to a gathering of men deserted in a park. However, the jazzy music will continue on.
The next shot will start of with a Pan, moving from a high angle to a low angle. As a thriller Signifier, you see a man stubbing out a cigarette at his feet as the camera zooms up and then out to view all the men in the “meeting,” which will be around 5 altogether. The music will continue on playing, but will be quietened down in parts so you can hear the dialogue. The whole scene in the park will include plenty of mystery being created. For instance, the storyline is that the men are discussing a drug deal which is illegal which is why there meeting in a park at nigh time. They’ll be plenty of conflict between the men as they get angry and frustrated at each other. For example, they’ll use threats and violence toward everyone. Different men will also be shown arriving and driving away at the scene in cars, which is another thriller signifier. Also, within the meeting, mystery will be created as one of the guys will receive a phone call from who we learn is his wife. His wife doesn’t know what he’s involved in and thinks he’s at work at a normal business meeting, so it’s clear that he’s lying. The wife also calls him a different name from what everyone else calls him. During this shot the music will stop, then re-start again. They’ll be flash back shots of the wife sitting alone at home. The scene will then suddenly flash back to the beginning shot of the same street and the audience get to witness the chase between the men which will be filmed in the city. Overall, the film will include plenty of action and create mystery as we’re left with a lot of un-answered questions.
The actual film synopsis is that there are actually two gangs with three men in each. One is called “Speed,” and one is called “Ecstasy.” (Purposely named after drugs.) The two gangs join together though to arrange a major drug deal involving heroine, but the gang “Speed” goes behind “Ecstasy’s” back and gets the drugs without them, which is why there’s a chase scene between the two gangs, in which one of members of “Speed,” gets shot. The main leader of Speed is called Rex and is the husband of the wife who calls him during the meeting in the park. However, she calls him a different name “Jimmy” because it turns out that Rex is leading a double life and told his wife a fake name and identity, so she can’t find out who he really is. The film also involves Rex having another girlfriend. So overall there are two different storylines going on. The film ends with Speed actually killing all the members of Ecstasy in order to keep the drugs for themselves so they can sell them for money, but the film also ends in a cliff hanger with Rex being shown at gunpoint by a person who isn’t identified. Perhaps it was his wife? Or a member of Ecstasy who they thought they killed, but actually turned out to be alive?

Meetings Schedule for Thriller Film

(For meetings in school to discuss out thriller and plan when we can all next shoot.)

Week 1 –
Monday – Period 2
Wednesday – Period 2
Thursday – Period 3
Friday – Period 3
Week 2 –
Monday – Period 5
Thursday – Period 3
Thursday - Period 5

We have planned these meeting schedules during school time so it is easy for me and Nena to get together and discuss where we are going to film our thriller, and what we are going to film. During these meetings we are planning to discuss details of our thriller such as what props we are going to use, who we shall gain for our cast, and most importantly our script.

Film Noir - The Blue Dahlia (1946)

I chose to watch "The Blue Dahlia," by Raymond Chandler because its actually a thriller film itself, therefore it relates to the work we have been doing in class. Raymond Chandler himself is very famous for creating thriller stories.
I overall found the film very interesting, and the plot basically revolves around the death of a woman named Helen. Before Helen's death she admits that alcoholism caused the death of hers and a guy named George's son.
Within the opening credits, the mise-en-scene is black, with simple white typography for the credits. This has an almost classic effect, and obviously relates to the Noir black and white colouring.
The shot used is a simple mid-shot of the writing. Within the opening scenes there's a great close-up shot of a sign saying "Hollywood," which is a reference to the Hollywood movie scene, and signifies richness and fame. We soon gather throughout the story that most of the characters are actually rich themselves, and we can tell this from the there dress code, which is mostly very formal and glamorous wear. Also, there are classic symbols such as both genders drinking and smoking which shows of how much money they have. There's also a scene which involves a dinner party, which again indicates the type of rich life style they have. Therefore, this gives the film a very classic effect. The men and women are also very stereotypical of there genders, as the men are always seen drinking, smoking and very masculine. The women are also perceived as sex symbols, and yet almost innocent at the same time. For instance, there always shown dressed in expensive dresses and speaking in a propper manor, yet there never shown as being in charge. It's a very true picture of how life was among the rich in the 1940's.
There are also plenty of thriller signifiers used, such as there are plenty of scenes shot in the rain, which is a well known thriller signifier, as it gives of a sense of mystery. The music played throughout is also quite jazzy, and probably was the type of music people liked to listen to in the 1940's. Also, there's one scene which involves a window being blown open by the wind at night time, which connotes mystery and intensity. The types of shots used mainly involve plenty of mid-shots, especially really effective ones of people being shot while driving cars, as you can see the background moving behind them. This also allows you to see there facial expressions clearly and whats happening within the scene. There's also a nice over the head shots of the city behind them, which gives the film style and poise.
Overall, a very well made film by Raymond Chandler, which keeps you engaged with the film throughout.