computer generated images

Computer generated images
It has evolved dramatically from the thunder birds for example with all the puppets on strings and with no special effects at all. To nowadays where we have huge explosions with bodies flying through the air which isn’t a stunt man it is a special effect added in after the taking of the scenes.

These are just some of the corporations that use CGI in there thriller films:

.Warner Brothers 
Whiteout
Sherlock Holmes
Orphan
A Nightmare on Elm Street

• DreamWorks
The Contender
Disturbia

• Sony Pictures Imageworks
Spider Man
Spider Man 2
Hollow Man
Watchmen
Super Man Returns

Target audience

My target audience
I want my target audience to be my age and up this make sense because I know the most about this age group as I am in it so I will know what they want within a thriller.
So my target audience is 15-25 I am doing this as a lot of my friends watch thrillers and find them very thrilling and I would be able to get there input on what they think is missing.

Also teenagers do have more time on there hands to watch thriller and are more intrigued by thrillers and production. As a media student I know that I don’t watch films the same way anymore and a lot of teenagers watching film probably do the same. This is good as this means that not only are they watching thrillers to help them with work but because they enjoy the thrillers and enjoy looking at the different angles and cutting techniques.

Hopefully I can enrapture this target audience and make sure I give them all they need and want out of a thriller film.
I think that my target audience would like these films
Pulp Fiction

The Dark Knight
Rear Window
Fight Club
Psycho 
The Usual Suspects
The Matrix
Se7en
These thillers are all successful with our target audience and i am pleased to say that I feel our story line is unque yet very silmilar to some of these which ensures that our target audience will like the outcome hopefully.

Sub-genres

A sub-genre: thriller genre can include the following sub-genres, which may include elements of other genres
These types of films get more popular demand in my opinun because it is more spesfic to peoples hobbys and what they enjoy to watch.
for example :

Most thrillers are formed in some combination of the above, with horror, conspiracy, and psychological tricks used most commonly to heighten tension. These thriller cater to more needs as they are more in depth and you are able to relate to it or enjoy it more by watching one of your likes or dislike. For example I am a doctor I would enjoy to watch a medical thriller as I do medical things in my job and I would enjoy it more. These films are more specific and I think are more popular.
• Action thriller:  a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. These films often have a sense of mystery films and crime films but these elements take a backseat to action. Notable examples are the James Bond films, The Transporter, and the Jason Bourne novels and films.

• Conspiracy thriller: In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he/she recognizes. The Chancellor Manuscript and The Aquitane Progression by Robert Ludlum fall into this category, as do films such as Three Days of the Condor, Capricorn One, and JFK. These films cater to a wide variety of people.

• Crime thriller: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually exploit action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crosses are central ingredients. Some examples include The Killing, Seven, Reservoir Dogs, Inside Man, and The Asphalt Jungle.

• Disaster thriller: In which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., or nuclear disasters as an artificial disaster. Examples include Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen, Tremor by Winston Graham, and the 1974 film Earthquake.

• Drama thriller: In which the story consists of the elements of a thriller and drama film. These films are usually slower paced and involve a great deal of character development along with plot twists. Examples include The Illusionist, The Interpreter and The Prestige.

• Eco-thriller: In which the protagonist must avert or rectify an environmental or biological calamity, often in addition to dealing with the usual types of enemies or obstacles present in other thriller genres. Examples include Nicholas Evans's The Loop, C. George Muller's Echoes in the Blue, and Wilbur Smith's Elephant Song, all of which highlight real-life environmental issues. Erotic thriller: In which it consists of erotica and thriller.

• Legal thriller: In which the lawyer-heroes/heroines confront enemies outside, as well as inside, the courtroom and are in danger of losing not only their cases but their lives. The Innocent Man by John Grisham is a well known example of the type.

• Medical thriller: In which the hero/heroine are medical doctors/personnel working to solve an expanding medical problem. Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Crichton, and Gary Braver are well-known authors of this subgenre. Nonfiction medical thrillers are also a subcategory, comprising works like The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. Films such as Awake are other examples of medical thrillers.

• Political thriller: In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him. The success of Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel, The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth, and The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon established this subgenre. A more recent example is the 1980 film Agency.

• Psychological thriller: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. The Alfred Hitchcock films Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, and Strangers on a Train and David Lynch's bizarre and influential Blue Velvet are notable examples of the type, as is The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (who also wrote Strangers) and The Good Son starring Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin.

• Spy thriller (also a subgenre of spy fiction): In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. Examples include From Russia, with Love by Ian Fleming, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, and television series such as Mission: Impossible and 24 (the latter demonstrating a break from the norm by Robert Ludlum, as it is as much a psychological thriller as a spy thriller).

• Techno-thriller: In which (typically military) technology is described in detail and made essential to the reader's/viewer's understanding of the plot. Tom Clancy defined and popularized the genre with his The Hunt for Red October, and is considered to be the "Father of the Techno thriller".

• Religious thriller: In which the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions. While suspense stories have always shown a significant affinity for religion and philosophical issues (G.K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday has been called a "metaphysical thriller"; and Umberto Eco's novels The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum both display thriller characteristics), Dan Brown's 2003 best-seller The Da Vinci Code has lead to a current boom in religiously oriented thrillers.
• Science fiction thrillers: this is where there is an unreal element to the story like a dinasour for example in  Jurassic Park, Sunshine, or aliens which have landed somthing unreal and out of the ordinary this is what a science fuiction film is.
.

Director information

I am going to be looking at five different directors and picking up key facts and information on these different ways of directing and there favourite shots to use

• David Fincher- who directed the famous se7en and panic room

His movies often features several single frames that flash on the screen in the middle of a scene (Fight Club (1999)).
Fluid tracking camera which can access anywhere; a digital age innovation in camera movement pioneered by David Fincher and Kevin Tod Haug along with BUF Paris (perhaps inspired by earlier developments of Max Ophüls and Stanley Kubrick).
[Silhouettes] Frequently has characters in the shadows where you cannot make out their face (Kevin Spacey in Se7en (1995) and Brad Pitt in Fight Club (1999)).
His films often end in a suicide, either attempted or successful.
His films often have low-key lighting with green or blue tinted color temperature.
Wide shots.
Frequently casts Brad Pitt (Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)).
Downbeat endings

• Steven Spielberg- who directed jaws and many others

Uses powerful flashlights in dark scenes (Jurassic Park (1993); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)). The outline of the beam is often made visible through dust, mist, or fog.
Frequently uses music by John Williams.
Often shows shooting stars (Jaws (1975)).
Onscreen performers staring, usually at something off camera.
He often uses images of the sun (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998)).
His films often show children in some sort of danger.
Consistent references to World War II.
Frequent references to Disney films, music, or theme parks.
Frequently uses a piano as an element in key scenes (Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Minority Report (2002)).
Important images, or characters, are often seen through the rear-view mirror of a car (Duel (1971) (TV), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)).
Frequently casts Tom Hanks, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Frank Welker and Tom Cruise.
Protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, with fathers portrayed as reluctant, absent or irresponsible, most notably in _E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_ (Elliot's mother is divorced and father is absent) and Catch Me If You Can (2002) (Frank Abagnale's mother and father split early in the film). This reflects Spielberg's own experience as a youth with his parents breaking up.
A common theme in many of his films is ordinary people who discover something extraordinary - people, places, artifacts, creatures, etc. (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)).
Since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), all of his movies have featured visual effects (even those that were undetected) by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the F/X house created by his friend George Lucas. The only exception has been The Terminal (2004), which had F/X work by Digital Imageworks.
Is credited for starting the summer blockbuster tradition with 1975's first $100 million megahit, Jaws (1975).

• Alfred Hitchcock- who directed the famous Psycho

[Cameo] Often has a quick cameo in his films. He eventually began making his appearances in the beginning of his films, because he knew viewers were watching for him and he didn't want to divert their attention away from the story's plot. He made a live cameo appearance in all of his movies beginning with The Lady Vanishes (1938) (Man in London Railway Station walking on the station train platform), Young and Innocent (1937) (Photographer Outside Courthouse) ... aka The Girl Was Young (USA), The 39 Steps (1935) (Passerby Near the Bus), Murder! (1930) (Man on Street), Blackmail (1929) (Man on subway), Easy Virtue (1928) (Man with stick near tennis court), The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) (Extra in newspaper office) ... aka The Case of Jonathan Drew., excluding Lifeboat (1944), in which he appeared in a newspaper advertisement; Dial M for Murder (1954), in which he appeared in a class reunion photo; Rope (1948) in which his "appearance" is as a neon version of his famous caricature on a billboard outside the window in a night scene and Family Plot (1976) in which his "appearance" is as a silhouette of someone standing on the other side of a frosted glass door.
[Hair] Likes to insert shots of a woman's hairstyle, frequently in close-ups.
[Bathrooms] Often a plot device, a hiding place or a place where lovemaking is prepared for. Hitchcock also frequently used the letters "BM," which stand for "Bowel Movement".
Often used the "wrong man" or "mistaken identity" theme in his movies (Saboteur (1942), I Confess (1953), The Wrong Man (1956), North by Northwest (1959), Frenzy (1972)).
[Blondes] The most famous actresses in his filmography (mostly in leading roles) were Anny Ondra, Madeleine Carroll, Joan Fontaine, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren.
There is a recurrent motif of lost or assumed identity. While mistaken identity applies to a film like North by Northwest (1959), assumed identity applies to films such as The 39 Steps (1935), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), and Marnie (1964) among others.
Always formally dressed, wearing a suit on film sets.
In order to create suspense in his films, he would alternate between different shots to extend cinematic time (e.g., the climax of Saboteur (1942), the cropduster sequence in _North By Northwest (1959)_, the shower scene in Psycho (1960), etc.) His driving sequences were also shot in this particular way. They would typically alternate between the character's point of view while driving and a close-up shot of those inside car from opposite direction. This technique kept the viewer 'inside' the car and made any danger encountered more richly felt.
In a lot of his films (more noticeably in the early black and white American films), he used to create more shadows on the walls to create suspense and tension (e.g., the "Glowing Milk" scene in Suspicion (1941) or the ominous shadow during the opening credits of Saboteur (1942)).
Inspired the adjective "Hitchcockian" for suspense thrillers

• Christopher Nolan – who directed the dark knight

Begins his movies and introduces his main characters with a close up of their hands performing an action.
Often works with editor Lee Smith, composer David Julyan, cinematographer Wally Pfister, production designer Nathan Crowley and wife-producer Emma Thomas.
Often casts British or non-American actors in American roles.
Frequently casts Christian Bale, Michael Caine.
Usually starts films with a flashback or a scene from the end of the movie.
When shooting a dialogue scene, the actors are often framed in wide close-up with a shallow depth of field to blur out the background.
His main characters are usually men with a goal who face adversity.
Films conclude with the two central characters discussing the preceding events and the results which have stemmed from said events.
Non-linear timelines (Memento (2000), The Prestige (2006))
Crosscutting several scenes of parallel action to build to a climax (The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008))
His endings have a recurring theme of justified dishonesty. (Examples: Guy Pearce's "Do I lie to myself to be happy" monologue in_Memento (2000)_, Michael Caine's closing remark that the audience "wants to be fooled" from _The Prestige (2006)_, and Christian Bale's rationale of how the citizens of Gotham City "deserve to have their faith rewarded" at the end of _The Dark Knight (2008)_)

• Francis Ford Coppola- who directed the god father

Often casts his own real-life extended family members in his films. In the case of the Godfather films, their characters' relationships to "Michael Corleone" often paralleled their real-life relationship to Coppola. He cast his sister, Talia Shire, as Michael's sister Connie, and his daughter, Sofia Coppola, as Michael's daughter Mary - named for Coppola's other daughter. In addition, Diane Keaton said that she modeled her performance as Kay Adams after Elanor Coppola, since both Kay and Coppola are protestants who married into Italian Catholic families.
Includes the original author's name in the title of his adaptations (i.e., Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1972), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)).
Releases re-edited versions of his work years later (e.g., The Godfather (1972) and Apocalypse Now (1979)).
Often works with cinematographer Gordon Willis and producers Fred Roos and Gray Frederickson.
Frequently casts Robert Duvall, the late John Cazale, Nicolas Cage, Diane Keaton, Matt Dillon, Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne and Marlon Brando.

generation of idea

Generation of Idea:

• Location: first it is on a street with a friend and then the atmosphere dramatically changes to being down and dark dingy path going into a dark forested path which is full of twigs which is perfect for when the girl walks down the path we will get that lovely crunchy scared atmosphere

• Plot: our plot plays with the classic damsel in distress but we don't know where or how or why. first take her and her friend are walking and talking just like teen age girls do and then she looks at the time and said she has to go. Next shot she carries on walking and we see her walk away from the camera and then it cuts to over the shoulder of her walking then something scares her and the camera drops and is tilled to one side. Then we see a big boot nearly cover the shot and walk towards where the girl ran away. Then we here a distant scream and the scream turns black and then the title is etched like the writing of se7en.

• Camera angles: At the beginning it is a match reverse shot where they are talking there isn’t very much dialog. Then the next camera angel is when we just see black then the girl walks away from the camera down the path in the darkness. Then we have an over the shoulder shot to make our audience feel like a second person. Then we look up for a point of view shot and showing a sense of worry and searching for something or someone. Then we have a fall to the ground and as the camera falls we will make sure it lands tilted. Then we see the girl’s feet run away down the winedy path and then we wait 10 seconds. Then we have a close up of boot as the man walks away still tilted, we have a 10 second tension break. Then we here a distant scream from the path/ forest.

• We are having non degetic sounds which creat tension at the end of the scene and during the rest we be having deigetic sounds through out which is going to be twiggs, wind, birds nature in general. Then we are having a short dailog sequence at the begining.

• Dull colours very dark and down the path the trees cover any light which might try and get in but you do get scary shafts of light which sneak through. As we are recording quiet late we won’t have this effect it will look more black and white and also at the beginning it is bright and the other girl is wearing bright vibrant colours which shows a contrast.

Anotationg of thrillers

I have been watching thrillers to inspire my storyline and setting for a film that I could make and produce.
Se7en, this film was made by David Fincher. This film had very eerie music that defiantly scared me and really made an impact on the audience it had a moaning scratching quality which makes the audience feel very uneasy. There was a very scary flashbacks effect that kept being used cutting from writing to pictures in a dark room; this red light effect was very blood like. In the opening sequence we seem to think it is a man and we only see his hands and this is very mysterious and he also seems to be collecting evidence. So we tend to think it is a murder inquiry or he is the murderer and tend to think he is the murderer as we never see his face which gives use a sense of mystery and worry that he is not trustworthy. The titles are very child like and are in the left hand corner and are like etching the titles they are white on the dark background which highlights the title. There are a lot of shots in the dark room with dripping pictures being developed and this gives us a sense of dripping blood and as the lighting is red the liquid looks red. There are a lot of close ups of his writing which is very childlike and gives him a sense of venality and this is very scary as children in thriller are usually used very cleverly. This makes us panicked and scared about what he is writing he also seems to be self harming by shaving the ends of his thumbs and fingers. This is almost as if he is hiding his identity by taking away his finger prints and not allowing himself to be recognised this makes us think he is ashamed of his own identity. This conforms very well with nearly all of the conventions apart from the twist in story line which I suspect comes later in the movie not in the beginning credit sequence. I think this opening sequence is very effective and is the perfect opening sequence for a thriller.




• The other opening sequences I looked at were “The usual suspect” this is completely different and this film seems to be more batman adventure like than se7en. The direct uses a lot of close ups that make us as an audience feel uneasy and concentrates on one purposeful object. They also use a lot of dark colour the connotation of this is cold and shadow and night time which gives a sense of mystery and suspicion. There is a lot of diegetic sound like foot steps and dripping water and not very much dialog, this is to add a mysterious curious sense to the opening sequence. The use of camera angels is very good as they do high and low angle shots for the villain and victim this allows use to have a clear perspective of who’s who. We never see the villains face which dose scare us as an audience we only see from his stomach down the victim is on the floor hurt and venerable. The mis-en-scene is gloomy and dark and does fit the conventions of a thriller but it is predictable as he is a ruined buildings and the villain throws a lighter on the floor. We all know what’s going to happen. This makes this thriller unsuccessful as there is supposed to be a sense of mystery and confusion. The use of music is very good as it creates tension and atmosphere which scares the audience and builds tension for what’s happening. There is a twist in the storyline as the villain shots the victim before dropping the lit match which doesn’t make any sense. There being a death at the beginning is very drawing as the audience will be thinking why has he died what did he do. There is a huge explosion after the match being lit and dropped but we don’t know weather the villain made it out as you can’t see this does make us want to come back and find out. The cuts and fades were very well done and they used a lot of fading one shot into another which was subtle and very effective and almost unnoticeable cuts at times. I think this is a more jumpy adventure film opening sequence then thriller.



• The last opening sequence I evaluated was hostage this opening sequence is very different to other ones it seems to not fit a lot of the thriller conventions. The music was very much thriller it was very much like opera and felted very haunted ghostly and eerie which is exactly what thriller music should be like. The typography was 3D the way the credits were up on the 3D buildings was very effective and subtle. There were soldiers on a building battle field almost it felt very much like a cartoon and was not effective in my opinion. The credits seemed to go on for a tad to long and had a sense of army type and seemed very a war game. I did like the way that all the action seemed to be frozen while the credits were displayed it seemed very panicked and confusing. The connotation of colour was reds which in this case of army battle fight was blood and black and white which went perfectly with the red. These colours are used a lot in thrillers as these colours mesh well and the connotation is perfect for a thriller. The movie seemed very concerted on weapons and it seemed very violet which sounds like an adventure film but the connotation of colour is very much thriller as other thriller movies seems to use this. My opinion of this thriller opening sequence is that it has got some positives with the music being thriller and colour but the camera effects and 3D type (font) was not a good idea for a thriller and didn’t fit very many thriller conventions.



This has allowed me to get inspiration for what I would like in my opening sequence and has given me lots of ideas.