Evaluation - Question One

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In our as level work, were we given the task of creating, filming and editing a thriller opening scene. When we began this task, we had to ask our self’s what is a thriller? What are the conventions and forms for this genre?  

A thriller is a genre of movie. This certain genre of film has many elements. The main elements are suspense, tension and excitement – yet there are many sub genres and types of thriller, yet they still keep the same forms of content. A thriller movie challenges the conventions and forms of a normal movie. The main aim of a thriller is to keep the viewer in suspense – ‘on the edge of there seat’, through out the picture. The plot, through the movie, builds up towards a climax. These films are usually based in towns/cities that seem normal. The typical hero’s of a thriller are usually your normal average people that are unknowing of the situation they will be involved in. Unlike a normal mystery styled crime movies, the killer is most likely to be known through out the whole movie. The thriller killings/events are usually on a much larger scale than most movies, involving in larger amounts of people dying, or lots of the ‘events’ happening e.g. mass murder ect.  In more recent years, thrillers have become easily mistakable for different genres and styles of movies. But, the main way to distinguish a thriller is not by the subject, but the way they approach it.

Thrillers have certain conventions they must portray to meet the genres expectations. The way thrillers are shot are very specific in places. They use a variety of shots that seem normal. The shots miss things out in certain shots to get the viewer wondering adding a mystery element to it. The editing of the movie often builds up for the climax, for example, slow cuts to faster. The sound track usually adds mystery and suspense. The thriller genre itself likes to make you slightly nervous when watching, music helps this element. These sound tracks are also non diagetic, which means the actors can not hear this sound track, adding more to the feel of the film as the majority of the time, the main characters/hero’s totally oblivious to what is going on. All these elements add to the thrillers mis-en-scene, and meet the expected criteria made by the viewers of typical thriller movies. In the first two minuets of a thriller, there should be mystery, suspense and confusion.

In our thriller, we tried meet the expectations of our viewers. We did this by using the genres conventions and forms. I think in most ways we have achieved to capture the mis-en-scene. Yet we did break a few conventions of the genre thriller, as most directors and writers do. Apart from a few minor things, we used many of the same forms. We used signifiers in the shots, e.g. a figure in the background. We used a dark mis-en-scene, to give the ‘thriller’ effect. The victim in the scene is an innocent kid, and in thrillers, the victims are always innocent people. The twist on that convention is that it is not young blonde girl, as this is what thrillers like to use. Our music has a slight twist as it uses synthesizers and modern drums, yet it still gives the same feel as a normal non-diagetic track in a thriller film.

I think we captured the essence of a thriller very well, using elements of a thriller and elements of other genres; we produced a good opening scene. 

Evaluation - Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social group?

As we studied the genre ‘thriller’, it enabled us to understand the conventions and specifics of the genre and what is expected of it. We watched a number of openings of thrillers (The happening, momento, Donnie Darko), we saw that many had certain elements that were continues through out each opening scenes. The first scenes never make complete scene, this is used to draw the viewer in and making them want to watch the rest of the movie. The lighting and sound were also all similar. The lighting was never to bright, all dark gloomy shades used. There was also always a non diagetic sound through out, whether was music or just a certain thing to represent and signify the movie, e.g. the happening – wind was used.



Our music being created



Our Location in iMovie

In our thriller, we represented the three guys as ‘youths’ that were getting themselves in trouble, and just exploring. They were dressed in ‘hoodies’ and ‘joggers’, a significant stereotypical element so the viewers would be able to relate and infer that these kids are as the stereotype tells us. The three boys also have portrayed a certain attitude with there parts. The way they talk is a good way of telling. They use ‘slang’ words to also match the stereotype we tried to present. By inferring, the way these guys present themselves and portray there characters, we can infer that these boys are ‘youths’ looking for trouble. The music also adds to the effect. As I composed the music, I wanted to use the typical features and conventions of a normal thrillers non diagetic sound. But as we were shooting ‘youths’, I believed that a more modern element was needs, so then I added synthesizers and more modern drums and effects. The location we used was a typical ‘thriller’ location. Just by the site of the outside of the building, it has mystery and questions begin springing to mind, for example, what’s inside? Who used to live there? Why is it now abandoned? And this is a typical convention to a thriller – mystery. When we enter the building, it continues to represent a thrillers mis-en-scene. The lighting is dark, and casts a shadow over one part of the main actors face. This is for a mysterious effect, like the actor is ‘doomed’ and other things of that nature. But also to show that the actor has less authority than the camera. The ruins of the building and what used to be there are scattered around the building, this is to add again the confused element back to the scene.

Evaluation - Question Three

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

There are many institutions to distribute films, for example, ‘20^th Century Fox’, ‘Warner Bros’ and ’Sony pictures’. But after research and looking into other movies, we decided that the best intuition to distribute out thriller would be ‘Film4'. We chose film four because of there sucess distributing large and small budget films. They produced films like 'This Is England', a 1.5 million film. They also distruibuted '127 hours', 18 millon film. 'This Is England' wond the best british film in 2007, and this was a small budget movie. This would make a perfect institution for our movie, as it works with large and small budget movies.

'Film4' Logo

Evaluation - Question Four

What would be the audience for your media product?

Before we began this product, we had people fill in a questionnaire. This gave us ideas of what would interest people and what would be suitable to include in our product itself. We made sure to include these elements within our final product. Our conclusion was that most people were 16 or over, and were of both genders. As we took inspiration of the film ‘strangers’. We deconstructed the film to see how the audience reacted to certain bits. We also saw the age restriction on the cover was ‘15’. We then had to look into the BBFC ratings. This was to see what classification our thriller needed to be under. This would give us guidance and guidelines on what we could and could not involve in the thriller. After researching into the topic, we found that the classification that we needed was a ‘15’. This is so we can have a wide variety of thing involved in our thriller, yet restricts us to give us more guidance.

Evaluation - Question Five

How did you attracted/address your audience?

In our thriller we had to attract and address our audience. We had to think of ways this was possible. We did this by using the typical conventions of a thriller movie. This is because the audience will have expectations and we had to stick to some of the conventions to then be able to call it a thriller. We used the camera wisely. We did this by hiding or discreetly putting things in the shots, to add the scenes of mystery and keep the audience engaged. For example, when ‘Harvey’ is walking along the corridor, a figure moves behind him, yet you can only infer it is a person as the way the lighting is positioned, you cannot know for sure. The music I think also helped attract the audience, as the music builds up to add tension and suspense to the scene.



We used 'Youths' to involve/attract the audience



We also used ‘youths’, this is so the audience, going by our results of our questionnaire, can relate to the characters. This will appeal to our audience, as we aimed for the ‘15’+ mark, being based on BBFC’s guidelines. This is so we did not add things in that were not allowed to be in a ‘15’ rated movie, e.g. strong language, strong violence ect. To see if we met our audiences expectations, we asked people for there feed back on what they thought of our project. When people gave us feedback, we got mixed reviews. Most were positive reviews, for example, they ‘felt the suspense and tension’, and wanted to know what happens after the scene we shot. There feedback told us that they enjoyed the film and that everything was in the right place to make you nervous when watching the scene. Yet some people suggested other wise. People told us about our biggest fault in the whole scene - which it was to dark in some places, as figures/objects were hard to see. This was our biggest floor as the lighting where we shot was not great, and we did not have good enough lights to light the set as we wished. If we were to shoot this again on the same budget, I would either chose a different location or bring lights with me to avoid this problem.

Evaluation - Question Six

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Through out the whole of the task we were set we have used many filming, editing and other forms of technology to help form our final piece. We also learnt about the equipment e.g. camera, condenser microphones, whilst using the equipment.  We learn there were rules about the camera angles and where the camera could go. Using different shots to portray the image and feel we wanted for the scene, we used a variety of camera techniques. After shooting, we then took the footage into the ‘Mac rooms’ and uploaded it. We edited it in ‘iMovie’, a program used for editing video and motion pictures. This program lets you edit basically, e.g. simple cuts and transitions. If we were to edit this again I would prefer to use ‘final cut’ as it has more variety and more of a ‘creative wing span’ to develop and perfect our footage in. Finally, as I created the music, I used ‘Garageband’ to compose, play and record our sound track into. This program I found easy to use and simple too. Yet, if I was more familiar with ‘Logic 9’ I would of used this program as this program is far more advance. It also has better VST plug-ins that are a lot better quality and the overall mix would have been more professional sounding.

Evaluation - Question Seven



Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt In the progression from it to the full product?



Our camera that we used

Over the stretch of the course so far, I feel I have progress rather well in media. I have improved in my practical and analytical writing vastly. I understand the ways of how a camera works, and how to compose shots better. I have progressed as an editor, and I can use ‘iMovie’ comfortably now. I have struggled in the past using equipment and software, but I feel now I can work these with ease.






A screenshot of our project in 'iMovie' the program we used to edit our footage in.



I produced the soundtrack for our peice in 'Garageband' (the only program avalible at school), these are the tracks withing the program. Using Midi/Virtual, i created the melody.

 

When we shot the preliminary task, we found things of which we needed to be aware of before we shot our real thing. It gave us more of a reality of using a camera, as it is not as easy as it looks. This made us eager to learn the ways of a camera. We also found sticking to the rules like the ‘180 degree’ rule, was hard. This also gave us the opportunity to experiment with ‘iMovie’ and editing itself. This gave us the experience we needed to become fully familiar with the software we had to use for the final product. We found that the time to shoot something so short, took a lot longer than we expected. This made us make sure we had plenty of time to shoot our final product.



When we were in production of the task, we made sure we planned out of day of shooting. We planned the variety of different shots, and the most important ones we sketched them out. We planned out a basic script, yet we let our actors experiment with the script, as this gave us a more relaxed/real effect for the scene. Obviously if we were to shoot the whole thing, we would have used a full script, but for the first scene, this is just what we needed as there are no mass amounts of dialogue. We also took a trip to the location before the scheduled day of filming. This is so we were familiar with the location and layout of the building. I feel with a little bit more planning, we could have planned the lighting and how it was going to be, and find methods to avoid our biggest flaw. This was our biggest problem, the lighting. We also went through other problems with the music and getting the sound track to fit the actions on the screen, after a lot of work, we managed to work it.

As a group we had roles to make sure everything worked smoothly.

Harvey - he had to play the main character and edit the film. The acting had to be acted well, to give of the right effect, Harvey delivered this, yet the dialogue could be improved. He then edited most of the footage; this was because Harvey had the most experience. Harvey also had an experience with the camera, as when he was not in a shot, he had a go with the camera.

Declan – he was main camera man. This was because, due to his efforts and success in the prelim task we thought it would be best for him to shoot most of it. He shot most of the footage; he also edited the movie with Harvey.

George – he was like the director. He produced ideas on and off set for the shots/editing/music/acting. On set he made sure everyone was doing there jobs correct. George also filmed a lot of the footage.

Me – as for me, I was in charge of sound. I composed and produced our sound track to keep it original and so it is flowed nicely. I also used the camera to shoot the corridor and last room shots.

Overall we all had a role or job, yet experienced each others through out the production of it. I think we achieved what we set out to do, with a few minor issues which we have learnt from, I think we can call it a ‘job well done’.

Storyboard/Script

For the day of filming we made a story board and a slight script as then we knew exactly what we were doing on the day. Look below ...

Shooting Plan/Shot List

We thought it would be best to have a shot list for the day so everythign would run smoothly.

• Establishing shot of location
• Pan from the house to the ‘youths’ entering the premises
• Cuts to different shots ‘watching’ them enter
• Mid range shot of the three boys having a conversation
• Cuts to them finding an entrance to the building
• Pan from above of one of the, climbing into the building
• Close up of expressions and actions
• Tracking shot when the enter further into the building
• Close up on foot when it hits the glass
• Over shoulder shot to view the picture
• Mid range shot of ‘youths’ crowded round looking at picture, whilst focused on them, a black figure will cross
• Close up of one of the main characters face as they look through the door
• Over shoulder shot when question is asked ‘Guys, you coming?’ 
• Backwards tracking shot of corridor
• Close up/tracking of feet when climbing the stairs
• Focusing on main character, the figure again appears in the background of the picture
• Lots of different angled shots and pans of corridor scene, cuts between them
• A pan to follow main characters into the final room, whilst the pan is taking place, it also discreetly again follows the dark figure in the background
• Pan down, then tracks main character into the room
• Shots through the small door viewing the main characters actions through the room
• Point of view shot when door is shot on the main character
• Tracking shot from inside the house all the way out to the original establishing shot (then speed up in editing)

Institution

We thought for our project we would find an institution that we coudl use to distribute our peice. We came tio a conclusion that 'Film4 Productions' could do this. They are not a major label, but deffinatly an intitution that we would concider - if making a full lenght picture. Film4 helped out with films such as '127 Hours' and 'This Is England'. They also work with smallert budget movies, like ourselfs.

Film4 has help many movies - budgets ranging. For example, '127 Hours' had a budget of 18 millions. Then again 'This Is England' had a budget of 1.5 million. The difference between them is massive, yet they still helped out each, and 'This Is England' won the Alexander Korda for bgest british film of 2007. This is why 'Film4' would be perfect for us, as the budget for them is not an issue and they could distribute our movie as needed.

BBFC - Classifications

After deciding on what pitch we were going to do, we thought it would be a good idea to look into BBFC's classification, so we can put an appropriate classification on our project.

Universal - Suitable for All

‘It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.’ A section taken from BBFC

Discrimination – No discriminating language/actions unless shown strongly disapproved of.

Drugs – There should be no illegal drug reference. Only in anti-drug promotional videos should this been shown, yet should still be suitable for young children.

Horror – Only short brief sequences of horror should be used, yet the outcome must be reassuring.

Imitable behaviour – No potential dangerous activity should be shown that could influence young children.

Language – No swearing, use of very mild bad language infrequently.

Nudity – Occasional natural nudity with no sexual content.

Sex – Mild sexual behaviour e.g. kisses, and mild references, e.g. making love.

Theme – The theme should be soft and suitable for children

Violence – Mild violence and threats used occasional only.

Parental Guidence - Suitable for all (Young children with adult)

‘Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.’ A section taken from BBFC

Discrimination – Shown strongly disapproved of or in an educational context.

Drugs – Illegal drug reference should carry out an anti-drug message.

Horror – Only short brief sequences of horror should be used, yet the outcome must be reassuring.

Imitable behaviour – No potential dangerous activity should be shown that could influence young children.

Language – Very mild bad language infrequently.

Nudity – Occasional natural nudity with no sexual content.

Sex – Mild sexual activity can be implied discreetly.

Theme – When more serious issues are involved, Things should condone unacceptable behaviour.

Violence – Mild violence, without detail, that is justified by its content.

 12 - Suitable for 12 Years And Over

‘Exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.’ A section taken from BBFC

Discrimination – Discriminatory language/actions/behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole.

Drugs – Any use of illegal drugs must be used infrequently and not be brought up to glamorise it. No instructions of use of drugs should be given.

Horror – Physical and psychological threats are allowed, yet they must be infrequent and not sustained.

Imitable behaviour – Should appear pain/harm free. Easy accessible weapons must not be glamorized.

Language – Very mild bad language infrequently.

Nudity – Occasional natural nudity with brief and discreet sexual behaviour.

Sex – Mild sexual activity must be brief and discreet.

Theme – Mature themes are acceptable.

Violence – Mild violence, but not to be dwelled on detail. No emphasise on injuries/blood.  

12A - Must Be With An Adult 

‘The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.’ A section taken from BBFC

The guidelines are exactly as the same as the ‘12’ classification guidelines.

15 - Suitable For 15 And Over

‘No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.’ A section taken from BBFC

Discrimination – The work must not endorse discriminatory behaviour/langue as a whole.

Drugs – Any use of illegal drugs must not be promoted or encouraged.

Horror – Strong threats and menace allowed, unless is it sexualized or sadistic.

Imitable behaviour – Dangerous behaviour should not be dwelled upon. Easy accessible weapons must not be glamorized.

Language – There maybe frequent uses of strong language. The strongest language maybe used if justified by the context.

Nudity – Nudity is allowed with sexual behaviour with no strong detail.

Sex – Sexual content maybe portrayed with no strong attention to detail. Strong references may be used.

Theme – Anything as long is suitable for ages 15 and over.

Violence – Violence can be used, but must not dwell on injury or pain. Sexual violence must be discreet.

18 - Suitable For 18 And Over

‘In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at ‘18’ the BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.’ A section taken from BBFC

R18 - Strictly Suitible For Only Adults In Specially Licenced Areas

‘The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ video works may not be supplied by mail order.’ A section taken from BBFC

Chosen Idea

We chose idea two out of our pitches. This is due to the reaction we got after pitching this idea to everyone. We also chose it becuase it is different than you typical 'chase scene'. I decided to go into more detail about the story line ...

The opening will start with the credits. These will be hand written on something, as this is unconventional and adds interest for the viewer. This also will be cut in between some ‘debris’ shots. The music here will ass mystery, and use unconventional sounds/synthesizers. This will add again mystery, one of the main thriller elements, to the scene. This then cuts to an establishing shot of the house and the music will drop to less textured piece. The camera will pan around to find the characters walking towards the house. This will have several cuts of different views of them walking towards the building. There then will be some dialogue, and then the walking and cuts will continue. They then enter the house. If we were on a high budget film we would use a crane shot for this, yet for this, we are not. They begin searching the house, as young youths they will explore. They come across an old picture. This we will use for a signifier to what is going to happen. This in when things start happening. A Figure will then enter and exit the scene for a second. Only one of the youths will notice this has happened, and follows the figure. The music will come up into a more heavy texture piece slowly as the character begin to continue through a corridor. Fast cuts of this will occur, wil the figure appearing in the back ground of some of the shots. Then fast cuts back and forth from the main character and the other youths will occur. The character finds a door. The music is at its peak. Then a point of view shot will come out, and shut the main character in. This will leave the viewers on edge as they can only infer that the hand was the figures hand. This will then have a sped up shot all the way out of the house, to back to the establishing shot. This will have reversed violins to build it up, and then will end on the main three notes used through out the piece.

Pitch

Look below and see our pitch and how it went ...

Project Pitches - Idea Two

Idea TwoPlot
A group of young teenagers head to an abandoned building. They break in and begin to smash bottles, just general antisocial behaviour. But they don’t realise that all the time they are messing about they are being watched by someone in the shadows. One of the group members begins to notice unusual things such as a bloody handprint. He ends up further away from the group and his friends voices become distant. The boy finds himself in a long corridor, scared and alone. Something draws nearer and the film will end with a silhouette of someone at the end of the corridor.

Location
We are goign to use an abandond house. This will give the perfect feel for the project. This is located in bourne so is easy to get to.

Shot ideas
We will use tracking shots - handheld/dolly
We will use point of veiw shots - to show what the person in veiwing
We will use establishing shots - to show the location and how over powering it is
We will use high angle shots - to show the character is weak
We will use close ups - to focus on detail

Project Pitches - Idea One

Idea One
Plot

'A man wakes up alone and tied to a chair in a dark room. Panic kicks in as he doesn’t where he is. There are a few flashbacks of him being chased by an unknown figure through fields towards woodland. All the while still tied to the chair and helpless. While he’s figuring out where he is, the unknown figure is slowly making his way towards the room where the victim has been captured.' - Text taken from our presentation 

Location

We decided to use the feild behind harveys house for the chase scene and a near by woodland. Then we would be able to cut the two together to create a good effect.

Shots
We would use tracking shots for the chase - using point of veiw/hand held shots or a dolly
We would use over shoulder shots - to protray the stregth of the character
We would use high angle shots - to show the victim is weak
We would use close ups - to show expressions or other details

Project - Opening Thriller Scene

We entered class today knowing that we were going to be given our final project. This was to shoot a opening scene for a thriller movie. We had to plan the shoot, film the shoot, edited the footage, and make sure itr gives the right feel and meets all expectations needed. We got to work straight away and started comming up with three potential pitch ideas. We then had to present these pitches to the class, and collect feedback on each idea.

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

A few weeks back, we were set a task to have a test with the cameras and software we were going to be using during our project. We also could test out shots using the camera shot rules which were set. In my group I had, George Pell, Declan Heart and Harvey Ewen. We planned out our prelim and what shots and storyline we were going to use. We tried to incorporate as many different shots as possible, for example, close ups, high/low angles, over shoulder conversational shots, point of view ECT. We tried to make our preliminary task look as good as we could get it. This is because when we filmed for our real product, we would have more experience. We came up with a plot, found props, turned on the camera and we were rolling.

Filming day came and we were very eager to get stuck in with the shooting. We took longer than expected to film our prelim, yet this did not bother us, because it gave us an insight into how long we would need for our real project. We re did many shots, and did many takes for some action shots. We realized even though we planned out story line, we did not plan enough, and struggled slightly with some of the dialogue and action shots. As this was a prelim, it was not as much of an issue, yet this improved our knowledge on what we needed to do for our final project.

After shooting this, we got a insight in how it was to upload and edit footage on iMovie. Before we uploaded the piece, we were worried about the camera quality, but after uploading the footage to the iMac’s it seemed to be less of an issue. We edited the piece to run smoothly, also ‘playing’ around with contrasts and other colour elements. It looked good, yet we thought there was something missing, this was some music. As I have experience in audio and MIDI sequencer programs, I took up the position of producing a very simple sound track for the back ground. It was incredibly simple as there was no need for a complex sound track. After the music and editing were done, we were happy with the result, but even more pleased we got to get an experience of all of the equipment and software we were going to be using.

Shot list/Story Board - Preliminary Task

This is some of our photos we took before shooting. We thought after drawing a storyboard, we should go and take photos and see what some stills from our shots would look like. Take a look for yourself …

Preliminary Task

We were asked to shoot a small clip using a variety of shots to get practise with the camera. Myself, harvey, george and declan, came together to 'quickly' plan our preliminary task. We came up with a short story line and a good idea of shots we wanted to use. We had about a week to plan this - so not very long at all. Even so, we wanted to make this small little clip as good as we could, because then, we would have more experiecne with the camera for our real project - filming a thriller opening. After shooting we are then supposed to edit the footage. Learning how to use the software should be no problem for our group as harvey has experience.

Thiller Research

After watching and analysing many Thriller openings, I thought it would be in the best interest to research more into the genre.

Thriller is a genre of film, TV and literature. It uses tension, suspense and excitement as the three main elements. There are also many sub genres of the genre that have become quite popular. The primary sub genre is the ‘Psychological Thriller’. The best examples of thrillers are the ‘Hitchcock Movies’. The cover-up of information from the viewer, and the case scenes are common methods of a sub genre. This aside, every sub genre has its own characteristics and methods. One of the most famous thrillers known is ‘Psycho’. This movie came out in the 1960’s, then again in 1998, and yet again in 2008. This movie was a hit, and uses all conventions of a thriller. It keeps the viewer unknown of who the killer is.

My Views on What a Thriller Movie Must Consist Of:

Story Line

• Mystery
• Suspense
• Things are ‘Unknown’
• Confusion
• Excitement
• Tension

Characters

• Hero – a normal innocent civilion, usually totally oblivious to the situation
• Killers – unknown through-out (possibly revealed at/towards the end)
• Victims – Innocent people that have no reason to die

Shots

• Close ups of expressions
• Attention to detail
• Cutting little things, that could be important, out of the frame
• Fast zooms
• Establishing shots of the locations
• Tracking shots

Editing

• Fast cuts
• Slow cuts during the more ‘normal’ scenes
• Flashes - to add confusion

Sound

• Unconventional noise constant in the background to some scenes
• Sound track builds up from a soft, light textured piece, to a more heavy textured, intense end
• A pulsing discord on a violin is used quite frequently on  the most shocking sections of the movie

Setting

·        Houses, buildings, woodland, cars, long back roads

·        Abandoned buildings

·        Lots of space around

·        Places that are distant from civilization

Props

• Weapons – usually that are easily accessible

'Psycho' by Gus Van Sant - Opening Scene

The scene begins quite slow, without too many jumpy actions or fast cutting. The camera pans through the rooms following her and into the shower room. When in the shower, the camera focuses on a low angle shot, facing up to the shower head. This is a mysterious shot as it makes you think. It adds the mystery of what is going on when the camera is focusing on this. It gives the effect of if the camera is hiding something, or someone. It adds suspense to the scene.

Next, the cuts still continue at this point to be slow, and not much is going on, as it continues the scene by looking at her, then the shower head, repeating. Then it cuts to an incredibly composed shot. She situated on the left hand side of the screen and the rest is the shower curtain. The music starts to build at this point and it zooms in on what seems to be an object moving behind the shower curtain. As the zoom comes to an end, the curtain is ripped back and reveals the murderer. Because of the zoom it the killer takes up the whole of the screen. This is brilliant as it shows the power of the killer and also frightens you. It then turns to the women for an extreme close up on her mouth to show the scream she lets out.

As the scene progresses the cuts get extremely quick. The music becomes thicker textured and louder and the camera begins to use new angles. This is all to add to the effect of the killing, and to show chaos of the murder taking place.  There are many shots of the killer, yet things are always hiding the face, and never clear who it is. For example, the showers water, her hair, the angle of the shot. This is all to add to the mysteriousness of who the killer is. After many shots there is one from a high angle, where the women in the shower is being repeatedly stabbed. This angle is used to show she is hopeless, and nothing can help her. Also to show the power of the killer.

Near the end of the scene, there is a very unusual shot of the sky. This is to mirror the trauma that is happening inside the shower room. Also, the best shot of this scene I think, is when the blood is flowing down the drain. This mirrors life draining away. This then fades into an eye shot, were the camera is spinning, to then resemble the water. A brilliant shot as it is incredibly thought out.

Through out the whole scene, the music is very cliché for a thriller movie. Using the long notes on the violins for the build up, then a pulse for when the action is happening. Although very cliché, adds the perfect suspense.

This scene itself has over 70 shots within it. And for only about 45 seconds long, it is a masterpiece and very well thought out. The shots, the music, the angles and the editing all work well to put this scene of inspirational work together.