Andreas Vårhus - Media Blog

Thriller Film Audience Reasearch

2010-03-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

I did a questionnaire for my audience research, focusing on mainstream/indie thrillers, the use of the eye in films and locations.
I handed out the questionnaire and had 18 participants.

One would expect results like this. 14 out of 18 chose Vue, Odeon or Hollywood as they are considered more mainstream which would apply for most of the market today. The differing results between those cinemas I would think are mostly of geographical reasons. For most people, when they go to the city centre, Vue would be the one which is closest.

Again, this was expected. Angels and Demons is a more known mainstream thriller and one have to take into consideration that not everyone has seen all of the films selected. Angels and Demons were probably the film most people had seen. Shutter Island could also had been the choice for more people, but since it’s just recently released, one can’t expect many to have watched it yet. London to Brighton were the “most indie” of the films and may not appeal to most, and there is a high chance that not everyone have seen solely because it’s an indie film.

I would think the results here comes from the fact that many people like action-thrillers, or atleast the people I asked. Bruce Willis is an actor many would connect to that genre and I think for most people seems like a natural choice. Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood I think most people would think of I had focused on crime- or drama-thrillers while Tom Hanks most people wouldn’t think of as a “typical” actor for thrillers.

For this question the answers were varied and all of the characters could be expected to be seen in a thriller. Though, a priest wasn’t expected by anyone as a main character, I think that only is because it hasn’t been done by many well known mainstream films yet. One could also think that a priest could be expected in a “less-important” role in a film and as a side-character. A politician could also be expected by many as character in pure drama film rather than a thriller.

I think that New York for many represents what a thriller location should be like; a hectic, fast, and never-sleeping city. East End London could be what most people would expect where a thriller in England would be set. A psychiatric institution however would create a totally different setting with a different atmosphere. This question however I think is all down to personal preference more than the others and this could also ber affected by which films a person has seen.

Here there was no single clear candidate, but A, C and F were the ones which most people chose.I think many chose A because of the glasses. The glass is shaded which creates a bit of mystery and hides a bit of the person’s identity. It also has more to it than just the eyes and glasses themselves, with the reflection on them. You can clearly see a white-and-red checkered tablecloth, which at least I would connote to Italian mob/mafia.C creates a tension of someone being watched, which would leave a big impact on the audience. F however has more “natural” color and more simple than the others, but still it leaves quite a big impact. It is seen from the front and is more zoomed in than the others. However, it may be seen as a bit creepy though it is a very simple image. The pupil seems dilated, one can clearly see the veins on the glossy eye, which is looking directly at the viewer.

NOTE: There are missing some pictures and text.

Thriller planning and research

2010-01-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

More of my new and updated thriller planning will be coming up gradually in the next few days along with old notes and new film analysis.

Once Upon A Time In America

2009-12-06T17:22:00.001-08:00

Directed by: Sergio Leone

Released: 1st of June 1984

Genre (according to IMDB): Crime, Drama

Running time: 229 Minutes

Average IMDB-rating: 8.4/10

As the credits appear on the screen we start to hear distant noises. First; sounds of a busy street and "God Bless America", before we can hear high-healed footsteps. The use of "God Bless America immediately suggests that the film could take place in USA. A common feature not used just in the thriller genre, but also in other types of films as it is an easy way to give the viewer the early information about the location.

2009-11-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Still to come:

Continued planning

Research from class

Own research/analysis of films - Phoonebooth, Se7en, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Panic Room and others

Cancelled plans for our thriller opening

2009-11-17T18:23:00.001-08:00

Main idea - Following three people in a car park;

- A man in a car

- A man in a lift

- A woman walking

All these meet at the ending of the sequence

Setting - Modern day setting and clothing

Shot 1 - Camera from above a car, showing a pair of hands on the steering wheel, seen through the windscreen.

Shot 2 - Camera zooms out to a mid-shot, showing the full torso of the person. Face is covered by the sunblind.

Shot 3 - Long shot, camera pans around the car as the driver gets out and walks to the both. Face is covered by shadows.

Shot 4 - Black screen. The sound of the car-booth-lock opening. View from inside the booth as it is being opened. Cuts just before you can see the face.

The rest of the shots aren't fully planned yet, which order, etc...

Locations - Castle Mall; lift, car park, staircase. Filming has to be timed so that it's dark and few people. Either very early or very late.

Costumes:

- Man in the car: casual, dirty clothing

- Man in the lift: respectively dressed, black suit etc...

- Woman walking: something between casual-formal. Wearing high heals.

Props: The car(preferably a dark/black sedan)

Still to do:

- Continued planning and storyboarded

- Finding/creating a soundtrack

- Cast

- Get a dialogue with managers of Castle Mall

We decided to not use these plans for our thriller. Sam Cameron joined our group, and we decided to merge our ideas together instead.

Essex Boys

2009-11-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

Directed by: Terry Winsor

Written by: Terry Winsor, Jeff Pope

Released: 14th of July 2000

Genre (according to IMDB): Thriller, Crime

Production: Granada Film Productions

Running time: 1hour 42min

Average IMDB-rating: 5.9/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6Sp-3MKtQ (sorry, embedding is disabled)

Starting with what seams like a blackboard being scratched, the movie kicks off already during the opening credits. Accompanied by the non-diegetic sound of scratching and dramatic music it creates tense. It all stops, leaving only the black screen with a single white line. Which, creates a transmission between the opening credits and the film.

The establishing shot of Billy opening up the garage is lit by chiaroscuro lighting, which is a common feature for the thriller genre. The dark surroundings around Billy can be a metaphor the "dark/bad" life he experiences. The "clumsiness" and the fact that he actually seems happy could mean that he doesn't belong there and has yet to experience how serious the things he's getting involved in is.

The purpose of the voice over from Billy is to engage the audience and make him speak directly to you, while giving a very brief summary about Jason. It also helps make sure the audience know it takes place in Essex.

More to come

Red Road

2009-10-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Uploaded a PowerPoint from my presentation of Red Road.

2009-09-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

2009-09-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

My media blog

2009-09-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Andreas and this is my blog.
I'm a lower Sixth Form student at CNS, but come from Trondheim, Norway.
In this blog I'll write about anything releated to the media subject and also use to post my homework.