Genre: Thriller

Some conventions of thriller include:  

•   Quick cuts
• Lots of camera angles 
• Music that gives tension
•  Lighting often high key lighting to emphasise shadows and two sides to a character.
• Often told the story from the Killers POV- allows it to be more menacing
• Use of Flashbacks.
• Use of Black and white
• Use of montage which helps pass time and elongate the storyline.

The primary elements of the thriller genre:

• The protagonist(s) faces death, either their own or somebody else's.
• The force(s) of antagonism must initially be cleverer and/or stronger than the protagonist's.
• The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character who cannot be put down.
• The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.
• The film's narrative construction is dominated by the protagonist's point of view.
• All action and characters must be credibly realistic/natural in their representation on screen.
• The two major themes that underpin the thriller genre are the desire for justice and the morality of individuals.
• One small, but significant, aspect of a thriller is the presence of innocence in what is seen as an essentially corrupt world.
• The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well.
• Either by accident or their own curiousness, characters are dragged into a dangerous
• conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve.
  Examples:

•  Psycho (1960)
•  Snakes on a Plane (2006)
• Rebbecca (1940)
• The Shining (1980)

Evaluation of Feed the Fish

Our preliminary sequence was Feed the Fish. We shot ours in the photography darkroom with the red light on and the main antagonist was wearing a mask. When we presented our piece we were given some critique about why it was good, and where the areas that needed some improvement were and what we could do to change that. The first thing that we were told was that we had a good diverse range of camera angles which meant that it was interesting to watch. We were also told that the audience liked the shot of the main protagonist from the side with a MCU of her feet. The red lighting in the darkroom was also a positive and we had used this on purpose to connote danger. The use of low key lighting also meant we had high contrast and shadows on the characters face to show that they might not all you think they are.  We were also told that we had used good parallel editing as they liked the idea of time passing somewhere else while the girl ran up the stairs and that it was effective.

However, we were also given criticisms and areas that we needed to improve on. For example we were told that our editing had too much dead space in-between shots, so we needed to speed the editing up so that the shots fitted better with match on action. For example when the protagonist runs round the corner in a LS we need to cut when she is half way out of the scene and when she is half way into the next scene. Another point was that our establishing shot was of centre on purpose and although that was a positive, it would have been nice if we had continued that with some of our other shots. We were also told that we should not use the dissolves were they were as they weren’t necessary as dissolves show a change in time. Also in general it would have been had been nice if we had experimented with a few other editing effects to make it a bit more visually interesting. Although our camera angles were a positive as well we were told that we could have emphasized the high low shots more to get the feel of power. Some of our clips also got deleted so I would like to shoot those again to make our sequence complete if we did it again. 

If we did this again I would definitely take in to account what has been said and I will apply what I have learnt into the opening sequence to make it better.

Images for Max Payne exercise

Sound in the Extract Max Payne

                                                                                                                                          

Shot Number	Technical Sound	Effects
1)	Motif is used for the Twenty Century fox.	This is used because it creates a sense of familiarity for the audience.  We recognise the music and it reminds us of 20th century fox. There is use of trumpets, which gives the feel of announcing something important. The company want us to feel that their company is grand and this is matched with the logo and spotlights over it.
2)	Sound bridge is used as there is no image and there is off screen dialogue. There is also off screen diegetic sound with the wind.	This creates suspense and introduces the storyline; it helps give full attention to narrative. The wait for dialogue, makes us intrigued and when the character is speaking we concentrate on what he is saying as we cannot see his face. Gives sense of outside world, it’s a very raw sound the audience could associate it with winter and cold, which reflects the tone of the clip as being dark.
3)	Diegetic Sound is used. (on screen) Foley track added.	He is splashing around and that would have been there also he is breathing loudly. This helps create suspense and adds to the feeling that he is struggling. The breathing probably was added later as it is quite loud, this contrasts well to the silence that was at the end of 2 and beginning of 3. The breathing also adds realism. The audience is also given an enigma as he is suddenly here and we wonder why.
4)and 5)	Again Diegetic Sound. (on screen)	This time the diegetic sound is from the water. The sound is muffled when we go under the water and it sounds as it would. The sound seems to be the bubbles. The effect is that it feels more three dimensional and is we are there with the character, and drowning ourselves, this could heighten our emotions. There is a contrast in sound as there is no longer the talking over the top of the sequence, this makes us concentrate on his actions and makes him struggling more dramatic as we can hear everything in the water. We feel he is really fighting for his life
8) and 9)	Of screen diegetic And Non diegetic	The door is creaking and there is a light on inside. The door says baby on a sign and we can hear a baby crying but we can’t see it. This adds enigma and a 3D like experience for the audience. A clock also starts ticking which could suggest foreshadowing and impeding doom, this could also link with the earlier sequences as we see he is dying.
10)	Sound bridge, Voice-over and Non Diegetic  Sound	A really deep music is played and a sound bridge is used to continue the ticking of the clock in the background from the previous scene. This supports my point earlier that this means he is running out of time.  There is also someone speaking over the top. The sound bridge creates cohesion between the scenes, it flows well and links the two events.
13)	Another sound bridge is used.	The sound bridge is again used to carry on the ticking this perhaps creates a message that his time is running out.
14)	Non diegetic	Slowing down of ticking sound, symbolizes slowing down and death.
15)	Silence.	Separates the flashback from the most recent things that have happened. It also has more of an impact and suggests an end to this.
16)	Off screen diegetic	Police sirens and muffled voices over walkie talkie are in the background this helps to create the new setting and alert us that this is to do with a crime.
Throughout the clip	Parallel sound is used.	This is because the clip is very dark and the seriousness wanted to be emphasized.