Thriller Inspirations- Miss Georgiou

Inspiration is something that mentally stimulates the minds and leads to a sudden idea. Before we can create things we have to have inspirations so that we have ideas about what we are going to do and make our work effective. It also allows us to know what things work and what doesn't. We can take inspiration from anywhere, for example movie clips, posters, adverts, music or books.  Anything that stimulates our minds we can use as inspiration. For my thriller opening sequence i have got inspiration from looking at different thriller clips online so i could see how successful thriller films create shock, suspense, surprise and tension.

Research into the BBFC
The first piece of research i done to gain inspiration, was research into the BBFC age classifications. From this i have been able to see what content is allowed in each age classification, thus enabling me to chose an appropriate age classification for my thriller opening sequence. This is helpful as i will not harm or disturb people by them watching inappropriate content. I now think that my opening sequence will be rated 15 or 18 because the content within a thriller sequence is tense and strong language and violent scenes are common. I think that i will most likely choose a 15 age classification as the only restrictions are that there is no detail on sexual activity or encouragement of drugs. All of the film themes that i would be able to do would fit into the 15 age classification.  During the making of my thriller opening sequence i will have to continuously consider the restrictions the age classifications that i choose, so that the content is appropriate. While doing this research i looked at clips from the film Lucy. I really loved the plot twist within this sequence, and would like to incorporate this into my film because it will add to the enigma of the film.
From this research I know that I would like to include a plot twist within my opening sequence as i this it helps to build up tension within the audience, it also helps to keep the audience engaged in the sequence. This will mean that they will be able to relate to the sequence as the will be engaged in the sequence and paying attention.

Research into cinematography

I also researched into cinematography. From this is found out about the different angles and shots used within thrillers.  I analysed case 39 for this post, and from this i now no a plethora of different angles and shots that i want to include. Some of these are a high angle, it is used in the clip to show the families vulnerability. Therefore i have also decide i want to use it to show the vulnerability of my victim and show that they are the victim. Which will also makes the audience feel more involved with the characters. Also i will defiantly use a extreme close up to show the raw emotion of my characters and to show the seriousnesses of the situations. I would most likely do a extreme close up of a face unlike the cooker flames like in case 39. This will also help the audience to relate to the victim in the close up that i am going to do as they would of most likely shared this emotion. I really like how this scene keeps the audience on the edge of their seats right till the end thinking that the girl is going to be killed, and i aim to mirror this sense of mystery and keep the audience guessing in my thriller opening sequence. Case 39 do this really well as as an audience we are not sure who the antagonist is, which keeps us engaged as we want to find out. However I would use a mask to show hidden identity, unlike in Case 39.

Research into sound

Following this, i researched into sound. From this i learnt how sound is used to help the audience feel more part of  the scene and build up suspense to shock the audience. This research has helped me to find out what all the different sound devices are used for. In my thriller, I would like to use music at different paces to create intensity in a scene and make the audience feel suspense. The music played in the clip is from the CD player, the music doesn't match what is happening in the scene therefore is also contrapuntal sound. I would like to use this in a chase scene as i think it would help to add to the tension and fear of if the victim will survive.  I would also use diegetic sound to add normality to my scene and make sure the audience is following the story, such as speech, foot steps and radio.  These sounds can be used through my clip as it allows the audience to follow the story line better. Additionally, I would use silence, it is used in the strangers clip to build up tension as she is waiting to see who is coming towards her. However, i would like to use it to emphasise death of characters and to build up tension.

Research into mise-en-scene

Following this, i researched into mise-en-scene. I have learnt that there are five different factors that make it up, these are setting and iconography, the costumes, hair and makeup, the facial expressions and body language, the lighting and colour and the positioning of the characters.  While researching this i analysed a clip from scream 3 called the cutting room. From this i now know how to show the vulnerability of the protagonist, and that they always cower away from the antagonist. Also that a common setting for thrillers is abandoned places so i will highly consider this when choosing the location for my thriller sequence. Normally they are hard to escape from, so the protagonist is stuck in without an escape route. I also know no that the protagonist (usually women) wear flattering clothing and are attractive.  Therefore, i think that the victim in my opening sequence will be a young attractive female. Additionally, i know that the body language and facial expressions change when the victim thinks they are not in trouble to when they are in trouble. This has inspired me to make sure there is a definite change in expression and body language in my clip. To emphasise the innocence of my victim,  i can used lighting and colour to create shadows and highlight that victims try to hide. The positioning of characters show the authority of particular people in the scene and how to creates tension by making others appear weaker. From analysing this clip i have been inspired to keep the identity of my antagonist hidden to create a sense of mystery. I will use low key lighting to imply that protagonists are trying to hide and create shadows to give an eery feel to the sequence. After this research i have decided to include many of the features that i have seen in the saw clip, as they will help me to create a conventional thriller. 

Research into editing style 

Then i researched editing styles used in thrillers. For this i researched into a clip from the strangers. From this researched i discovered lots of different editing techniques and styles that are used in films, including thrillers. One main editing technique that this has inspired me to use is a reaction shot. I love the sudden change on screen and i think it will engage the audience well and this will increase the tension. We see a reaction shot in the strangers clip when, the killer walks up behind the mans wife and he reacts to this. I think that i could incorporate this into my clip when the the killer realises that the girl is escaping as this would be where there the biggest on screen reaction would take place.

Research into thriller conventions

The next thing i researched was common  thriller conventions. While looking inot thriller conventions i watched a clip from the film The Shining. Throughout this clip i saw many important thriller conventions that made the sequence easily identifiable as a thriller. One of the common conventions that i spotted in this thriller was the female victim and male antagonist. This is commonly used because it adds to the tension. The man is clearly stronger then the woman, he walks very dominantly and this makes him appear like an over powering person. Whereas the woman is cowering away, this makes the audience feel tense as we know that if the man gets to the woman that he could easily over power her. This is a common convention to a thriller as the audience are normally hopeful that the victim will get away but we always know realistically that the antagonist will be able to over power them easily. This creates suspense as its a waiting game for when the killer is going to strike. As a result of this i have chosen to use a male antagonist and female victim.  A piece of iconography that is very common to the thriller genre is a knife. We see this in The Shinning  when the lady grabs the knife from the bath room sink. This creates hope for the victim as she has a weapon. However, it also shows her vulnerability as she looks reluctant to use the knife. This also portrays innocence as a result of this we still fear the safety of the girl. As soon as a knife is seen on screen in thriller we know that someone is going to be killed this creates tension within an audience as they won't find out who the person being killed is until it happens. Therefore for these reasons i have decided to use a knife as the weapon in my thriller.

Through researching into thrillers i have found out what i should use in my own opening sequence to make sure that i have the maximum tension, suspense, shock and surprise. The use of enigma and hidden identity is something that i saw commonly is used in thrillers and they are some of the main conventions,