Thriller Opening

Preliminary Task

Analysis of I Am Legend

Shot 1

This screen shows the preparation the character has made. The camera angle perfectly captures the vast amount of food in the area. It is a medium camera shot showing only down to the person’s waist. The kitchen is lit via natural light from the window, with shadows from the sun peeking through the window. Sounds of a TV in the background can be heard, as well as the character putting away cups and other food and drink utensils, therefore all the sound in the shot is diagetic. 

Shot 2

This screen shows the devastation after the character has killed his dog, because of an illness. The camera angle is a long shot, showing the main characters whole body. The lighting is dim with computer monitors projecting faint blue lights on surfaces. With the main plot of the film being that Will Smith is the last human survivor in Manhattan, I believe that this screen really emphases that, being as his companion has just died. As he looks up, I believe the feeling and mood of loneliness is increased.

Shot 3

This screen portrays a scientist of sorts testing on a patient. The surrounding area appears to be a laboratory with specialist equipment scattered around.  Sounds that can be heard are the beeping of a heart-monitoring machine and the tapping of tools on metal surfaces, as well as the scientist documenting what he has found regarding the patient. The camera angle is medium, showing only the torso-up of the character. The lighting is very dim, the brightest areas being on the scientist’s lab coat.

Shot 4

This last screen shows the scale of destruction cases by the illness/virus. There are almost no sounds in the area showing how alone the character is and how empty and desolate the city has become. There is emphasis on this by the fact that his vehicle is the only vehicle in the shot. The camera angle and shot is long to give a larger sense of scale of the buildings. With the light only emerging in the distance, there is little light in the street.

Rationale Behind Our Idea

From the start of Media Studies this year, we as a group have wanted to create a sense of loneliness and fear through our intended Thriller Opening. Our first idea was to create a post-apocalyptic setting in which we could incorporate a threat similar to ‘Zombies’. This was soon cut as an idea when we performed our pitch to the rest of our class, as we realised that it would take a lot of effort and time to literally piece together a post-apocalyptic, destroyed-city type area in which we would film. One of our other pitch ideas was a simple, yet effective take on an interrogation scene.  It started as just an idea to flesh-out our pitch, but it then became our final idea when we were given some constructive feedback on how to effectively pull-off this newly found idea. Many people said we should look to film this sort of thing in a dark, secluded place away from the hustle and bustle of natural and man-made life. After we had set on our storyline and plot we sent out questionnaires looking for more ideas and feedback to fill in the cracks on our Thriller Movie Opening.

Some of our key findings are listed below:

•  Approximately 85% of the people we gave questionnaires, said they actually enjoy watching Thriller Films regularly.
• Here are some Key features that people suggested we include:
• Blood
• Screaming
• Introduction to main characters
• Evidence of a crime
• Gripping storyline, to keep the audience enticed
• Violence
• Dismembered body parts
• Guts
• Good introduction to the story from the opening
• Interrogation
• Here are some ideas for Locations to film at/from:
• A desolate suburban area
• Dark, secluded places
• Anywhere that feels isolated
• Abandoned buildings and streets
• Alleyways
• Some Key Lighting Techniques to use:
• Film Noire (BLack and White)
• Dim, with some rays of light, to creat a sense of being traooed
• Shadows, and/or shadowy figures
• Flashing or Strobe Lights
• A single bulb hanging in the middle of the room, the only source of light
• Dramatic sharp tones
• Low tones in the background (under-the-radar)
• Gloom/gloomy
• Intimidating bright lights

These results have helped us to refine our Thriller Opening and it now hopefully appeals to more people, having included many of the suggested ideas.

We have incorporated many of the conventions typically found in a Thriller film as to hopefully make our opening as much like a real Thriller as possible. One of the conventions we have followed is to create a strange and sometimes scary and horrific aura about the characters in the opening. The character portrayed by Toby Phillips is meant to be a Cop or Detective, that has been removed from a case as his Agency have deemed the case as a waste of time. However, the Detective has continued the case in his own time to uncover the mystery.

Here are a few Key Features we wanted the Detective to have:

• Intelligence - The character is a Detective, therefore he should be very intelligent and a quick thinker.
• A Sense of 'Right' and 'Wrong' - A Detective works for the Police Force or an Agency, therefore at the forefront of what happens in the Country, so he should be a very moral citizen.
• Determination - The Detective, despite being discharged from the case, continues to find sufficient evidence to resolve the case.

Audience Research

Before we decided what thriller opening we were going to film we created a questionnaire and handed it out to students in our school so that we can get a good idea of what they think of thriller movies and what features should be included.

The feedback from the questionnaires will give us an insight into what features people are expecting to see in a thriller film. This gives us an advantage because it allows us to tweak our production so that we can accompany the newly explored suggestions proposed by our feedback. For example; if multiple people have suggested the same thing, then it would be in our best interest to incorporate these ideas into our Thriller Opening.