Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Opening Scene

CHARACTERS:
-The protagonist faces death, either their own or someone else's.

-The antagonist must initially be more clever and/or stronger than the progonist.
-Either by accident or out of their own curiosity, random characters are dragged into a dangerous conflict.
Characters include criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims (often on the run), menaced women, characters with deep dark pasts, psychotic individuals, spree killers , sociopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, private eyes, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.

STORY AND SETTING:
-Thriller plots involve characters which sometimes come into conflict with eachother or with other forces - the threat is sometimes known from the start or unseen up until the sudden end.
Thrillers often portray the world and society as dark and therefore produce a plot of similar darkness known as'pathetic fallacy'

EDITING


Conventions of a Thriller Mirrors, low key lighting, shadows, obtrusive editing, quick cuts, changes in camera angle, tension music, stairs, flashbacks, use of photographs, black and white, disorientation of time and space, montage editing Specific to psychological thrillers: two or more characters preying upon one another’s minds, deceptive mind games, trying to demolish each other’s mental state

 Mirrors Mirrors are used as a convention of a thriller film through the use of reflection of one’s soul and inner self Mirrors represent the darkness within some characters An example is ‘Mirrors’ directed by Alexandré Aja

 Shadows Shadows are closely related with low key lighting and are used as a convention of a thriller film They are used to represent the inner darkness within beings, and can also add to tension and eeriness that is created

Obtrusive Editing Quick shots and obtrusive editing are used frequently in thriller films to accentuate the feelings of suspense and tension They are often used during an important or particularly ‘thrilling’ scene – sometimes creating a disorientation of time and space, by using montage editing

 Flashbacks Flashbacks contribute to a sense of time and space disorientation in a thriller and this confuses the audience It is also a convention of a thriller film because it can display what has happened in the past to give the audience an insight into characters’ pasts An example is in ‘Momento’ by Christopher Nolan

Black and White Black and white is another of the conventions of a thriller, because it accentuates the use of shadows, and can often appear quite eerie and ‘dark’. An example is ‘Psycho’ by Alfred hitchcock.

SOUND

Sound

Sound is a very important generic convention when making a film, the use or non use of sound is able to enhance on how the audience interpret certain ideas and distribute emotions. Sound can give a different meaning to a scene or explain what action can not.

Sound Code:

Music is a sound code. The type of music in a text can convey a great deal of information, about the mood and tone of text, such as tension and emotions can be helped by the music.

à Psycho – (Shower scene): High pitch instrumental, slightly eerie, yet calm to build suspense for future scenes. Follows, immediate shower scene, where the sudden screeching noise arises, symbolising potential danger, death. Constant deep rhythmic beat with the use of particular instruments such as cello and base to create this.

Diegetic Sound:

Music or sound that belongs with the frame and what you would expect to hear following the narration or action in that scene. For example a door being opened may consist of the door creaking.

à Kidulthood- (Off licence scene): Bottles being brought to pay point, clanging together as placed down, when bottle is thrown, smashing noise against walls. When leaving store throwing down the card holders, shouting and swearing between two characters. When exiting the shop onto high road, noise from cars and traffic.

Non Diegetic Sound:

Sound or music that has been edited into the frame after the scene has been created.Usually to emphasise, exaggerate or make louder on what would have been a diegetic sound.

à X- men evolution ( Fighting scene ) : When fighting, punches and kicks have been enhanced to exaggerate the fighting. The sound track itself of the opera music is laid out throughout the whole scene as back ground music for dramatic effect.

Rhythm:

Rhythm of the music can dictate the rhythm of cuts, such as in the fight scenes to create tension.

à Charlie’s Angels (Fighting scene) – consistent rhythmic beat of both music and footsteps keep up the suspense throughout the scene. The beat picks up as the scene develops to the actual fighting, making it demanding with a quicker pace sound , this in turn is able to draw the audience to the excitement and thrill of the scene.

Silence:
When a scene is edited so that no sound is displayed. Silence is able to create tension and suspense or even dramatic effect.

à Crash ( little girl gets shot Scene) - Although when the little girl is shot music is played their cries and screams are in silence this is extremely dramatic as the audience is able to focus on the expression of their faces rather then the noise they make.

Voice Over Narration:

When dialogue is added on in the editing stage and is usually used to explain things that have already happen or will happen throughout the narrative.

à Stand By Me (Opening scene) : There is a narrative of a character who explains at the beginning of the scene his journey, description of his friends and how his life was when he was 12 years old.

Sound Bridge:

This uses sound to link two scenes, by having the picture and the diegetic sound change at different points. Usually the sound from the second scene is heard before we start to see the picture from that scene.
à

Parallel sound:

When the sound and the image complement each other so the action and sound display similar aspects.

à Scar Face Ending: Images of a shooting and the sound emerging together creating in the audience being able to relate and feel a sense of realisation because the scene is so life like and poses all the factors both in sound and image to create a good fight scene.

Contrapuntal Sound:

The sound and image do not complement each other, for example happy music playing over a sad scene.

à Clockwork Orange: Clowns joyfully singing show tunes, while attempting to rape and burgle the homeowner, the sounds from the music did not match the scene.

 

 

 

 

1.Crab shot - AMAL/ME walking to toilets.

2.Zoom in on my hand reaching for door handle.

3.Crab shot - AMAL/ ME walking into toilet.

4.Tilt shot - AMAL /ME doing make-up in mirror

5.Zoom shot/Mid shot-hears a noise, dismisses it, hears it again.

6.Point of view shot - moves towards toilets.

7.Point of view shot - steps slowly towards toilet door, reaches to knock.

8.Person rushes out, pushes AMAL/ME aside and staggers out.

9.Mid shot - AMAL/ME goes to turn around but hears slam! Figure in background moves.

10.Crane shot - AMAL/ME walking towards last toilet.

11.Long shot - AMAL/ME reaching for door.

12.Point of view shot – KILLER grabs my neck.

13.Long shot - AMAL/ME dragged into toilet.

14.END! credits.

1. Plot: Generally, thrillers show justice and injustice (or good and evil) fighting against each other, with an overall feel of suspense. Most often, the identity of the antagonist is known and the protagonist must intervene with their plans; a thriller movie usually has a growing sense of threat and/or danger and there is a clear sense of pursuit, although they sometimes begin with a sense of equilibrium and show the overall degeneration of events. Narrative: (points of view; events) The story of a typical thriller film will usually be shown from the protagonist’s point of view, following events that the heroes must overcome. This point of view allows the audience to become more involved in the events themselves and therefore closer to the characters, as they see how the characters interact with each other in different situations. However, other points of view are sometimes included in the telling of the plot: often they will be short clips from the villain’s point of view, allowing the audience to see how the antagonist acts while by themselves, or how they used to act (i.e. in a flashback), which creates empathy for the villain and possibly allows the audience to understand why they have become the evil party. Depending on the character that plays the villain or how much is revealed to the audience, a sense of guilt can also be created. Most typically, events covered by the film are important to the film’s progression and lead directly on from a previous scene. There are usually lots of action scenes between characters, which keeps the audience guessing (often wrongly!) what will happen next and how the characters will interact with each other. If the characters actions are erratic and keep changing then the film’s suspense grows, as we do not know what will happen next. During scenes where the characters are simply talking with each other, the audience generally understands what is happening but never gets the full explanation of the plot or events taken place, which allows the film to retain its mystery and suspense until later. Usually the motive of the villain and their relation to the hero will be revealed at the end or near the end of the film, and the audience is then able to understand why the characters have acted the way they have. If the motive is left unrevealed, the film will end of a note of suspense and confusion, allowing the audience to continue to imagine what would happen after the film has finished. Characters: (dress; typical roles) The two main characters (antagonist and protagonist) in a thriller

2. are set apart from each other in the way the audience views them. The heroes in thrillers are often men that are accustomed to danger in their jobs or lifestyles (i.e. policemen, spies, etc) or are ordinary citizens that have been pulled into danger by accident. The male hero usually has an aim to defeat the evil of the situation and will persevere even if nothing is going according to plan. The villains in thrillers are also typically men, usually tall and/ or well-built, and with a shady sense around them that gives the impression that they shouldn’t be trusted. This character may have some physical deformity (if their identity is secret for the majority of the film), or a traumatic experience that has changed their outlook on life or humanity. Usually they will work alone. Other supporting characters are usually on the protagonist’s side and will attempt to help them (although sometimes these characters will betray the hero and leave to support the villain or another third party); female roles are often innocent and helpless until her help is needed, when she will become the ‘saviour’ of the hero(es) and support them. The types of clothing that different characters wear are very typical and generic. In general, most characters will appear smartly dressed or at least well-dressed (different types of thrillers and settings will cause the dress to change, for example in James Bond movies characters usually appear in suits, whereas in Memento the main character mainly wears a shirt with the top button undone with smart pants, achieving a casual look). Often the villain will wear form-fitting clothing that emphasize their build and therefore power (i.e. leather trousers or jacket) and creates a contrast with the hero, who will usually wear baggy clothes or appear scruffy or dirty after their journey/fights. Depending on the sub-genre of thriller, female characters will either wear clothing that covers them or reveals a lot: for example in slasher-thrillers, females often wear short skirts or low-cut shirts; while in drama or period –thrillers, women will usually wear full-length skirts or trousers with a shirt that covers their arms. One prominent feature of the character’s dress are the colours used. Typically, colours of the characters’ clothes will draw parallels with their personality: villains appear in dark colours (usually black), while innocent and young characters wear pastel colours or white to emphasize certain aspects of themselves. Occasionally a bright or shocking colour will be used– most often red – to draw attention to a particular character and show their differences to the main party. Red is also usually worn by alluring female characters to show that they are sexy or attractive. Iconography: (setting; mise-en-scene; props; colours)

3. The typical setting of a thriller is in an urban city. Usually the main colours used will be grey, black and white to emphasise the helplessness of the first character we see. Thrillers can also be set in quiet country villages, where everyone leads poor and simple lives; often the villain will come from a small village. Usually only a small range of colours will be used, the main being black or grey if it is set in a city environment, to show how normal and mundane life is. However other strong colours are often used at particular plot points; for example if there is a lot of blue we can assume that someone has or is going to die, and if there is a recurring theme of red (i.e. alarms) then we understand the characters are in danger. The camera shots are usually either very steady or move around a lot. If there is a scene with a lot of dialogue, or a character is being shown as having a quiet or intimate moment, the camera will be still and focus on the characters more than the background. If there is more than one character in the shot, the cameraman will use a medium (or close up)-two shot to show how they relate to each other, i.e. if they are standing close and being intimate or not. If the camera is moving around a lot then an action scene is typically taking place; the increased cut rate allows the audience to feel more involved in the action and keeps them on the edge of their seat as they do not know what is going to happen next. More camera movements are also used when there is a sense of vulnerability or something has gone wrong, which increases the suspense. More often than not, the lighting is dim and hides parts of either the characters or the environment, which makes the audience think that there is more to the characters than they originally thought; or if we see a villain in low light then it adds to the mystery and/or suspense as we are anticipating their next actions. The props used in thrillers are mainly weapons, usually either large or easily identifiable (for example, knives or swords) or loud and threatening (e.g. guns). Themes: The main identifying theme of a thriller is often based around something that occupies a lot of what society thinks about and is worried about; these can be anything from kidnapping and isolation, to terrorism and its effects. Most often the point of narrative will be from the hero’s perspective, and the perpetrators of the crime will be portrayed as the villain (e.g. the terrorist will be the antagonist of the film). Tables of Analysis: MEMENTO (2001) Sound Camera Lighting Location Characte Editing shots/angles rs/costu me

Propp’s character theory: Propp indicates that there are seven main character types produced in most of the media. These include:
•The villain, who struggles against the hero.
•The donor, who prepares the hero or gives him so magical instrument.
•The helper, who accompanies the hero on their quests.
•The princess, who marries the hero and is often the damsel in distress.
•Her father, usually dies before or during the film.
•The dispatcher, who sends the hero off to his quest.
•The hero or victim hero, reacts to the donor and weds the princess.

Todorov’s narrative theory: Todorov suggests that stories being with a status quo where any opposing forces are in balance, some event will disarray this balance setting of a series of commonly bad events and then the problem is solved and order is restored. This is said to be structure in five stages:

•A stage of equilibrium at the outset .
•A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.
•A recognition that there has been a disruption.
•An attempt to repair the disruption.
•A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

camera movement

•Tracking shot: simple backwards or forwards movement.
•Crane shot: enables director to follow action in the vertical direction.
•Crab shot: follows movements of characters or action.
•Panning shot: moves from left to right, point of view shot.
•Tilt shot: also tilts in the vertical direction.
•Shot reverse shot: shows both characters, used for interviews mostly.
•Zoom: reveals emotions of character, can be an alternative for tracking shot.
•180 rule: opposite camera showing person going indifferent directions in same scene.
•Arc shot: enables audience to see reaction of characters.

Influences

Definition of thriller

The aim for thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax. The cover-up of important information from the viewer, and fight and chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own unique characteristics and methods.