Research: Mise En Scene - Costume, Body Language & Facial Expression (Miss B)

Costume/hair/makeup, Body Language & Facial Expression

Mise En Scene (Everything On Screen) consists of five main elements; in this post we explore costume, body language & facial expression. No film can miss out on these three aspects when characters are involved. The way a person carries themselves, and looks, allows us to make many judgement on the kind of person they are before they even talk. In movies, characters are designed in specific ways to create specific responses from the audience.
Costume is how a character is dressed. An important factor in clothing is colour - dark colours make us feel different compared to the effect of light colours. Hair & makeup is largely based on the colours used, and as explored in the 'Lighting and colour' lesson, different colours help with character representation depending on what they symbolize - for example, shadowy eyes make them appear to be hollow, and skulls have hollow spaces for eyes, ultimately indicating death. Hair also helps the audience to identify what a character is like. A scruffy do might represent a psychotic/disturbed character, neither a protagonist or antagonist. However, 'scruffy' branches out into other things such as 'grimy', which is largely associated with the antagonist - they tend to be unattractive which collaborates with an evil personality. A neat and normal hairdo represents a victim as they live their daily lives with normality. 

Body language is the way a character is presented through the appearance of their body. For example, looking up shows confidence whilst looking down shows hesitation.
Facial expressions are how characters' emotions are portrayed to the audience by the look on their face and the meaning this creates.
The way characters express themselves will be conventional to many other films of the same genre.


Certain kinds of costume encourage vague, stereotypical (often accurate) judgement of a character. These include:
Light Colours | safety, normality, positivity
Dark colours | danger, non-revealing
Protagonist suit | wealth, intellect, important character
Antagonist suit | deceptive, secretive, intellect
Vests | strength, physique, confidence
Cloaks | mysterious, scary, good OR bad (e.g batman wears a cloak, so do vampires)
Masks | hidden identity, mystery, entertainment, suspense, 'whodunit?'

COSTUME/HAIR/MAKEUP ANALYSIS

Stereotypical victim/protagonist | The male victim, due to be attacked by the antagonist, wears casual clothing for the home in neutral colours. We are fully aware that he is normal and innocent. His facial hair, neat, shows that he lives an average life and has the ability to take care of himself, however right now he is below that privilege in the comfort of his own home.

Stereotypical antagonist | The antagonist is clothed in a white, ripped dress. The white represents her youth. The rips represent what she went through when she was alive, and possibly what she's capable of. It's also covered in what seems to be some sort of dirt or grime, a convention commonly associated with antagonists, particularly the supernatural kind. This could also be a representation of what she has been through - black equals death, in our minds. It has been cleverly spread out over the bottom, so the dress looks like a timeline of her life. In the beginning she was pure and safe: white. In the end, she died and continues to creates more mess, hence the poor appearance of the end of the dress. Her hair, long and black, is a big contract compared to her dress, and skin which is almost as white.  In fact the first shot of her reveals just her hair sliding down the well, maybe imitating the spillage of blood? Usually, the hair we see in media is perfect, so the audience may be interested in how for once, the antagonist, the main appeal, especially as a female, is taken into such little consideration. I think that she's taken into the most consideration because her lack of identity characteristics other than 'death' and 'fear', is harder to maintain than picking a personality for a person. We see her face at the very end, and she is heavily made up - dark colours messily painted over her pale skin, again the illusion of a history trapped in years of dirt. 

BODY LANGUAGE ANALYSIS 

Stereotypical victim/protagonist | We can identify the protagonist as Brad Pitt because he is wearing smart-looking clothes, indicating he may be a member of the Force, or a detective, or any other kind of authority related to thrillers. Also, he's standing up waving a gun around (this is his body language), whilst the antagonist is on the floor without defense. It may at first seem like the antagonist is in fact the victim, if you haven't seen the film, but he's clothes in orange prison material which is a big giveaway to his position as a criminal. Up until 1:18, Brad Pitt is very confident in his movements. He believes he is going to win, however, when information is revealed, he abruptly changes and an emotional state comes over him; so powerful that all confidence has vanished and the gun seems forgotten. This is when he turns to stare at the antagonist full on in the face and lowers the gun. Walking slowly, he seems to be thinking quickly over what he's being told; should he believe it or not?  Later, his movements are controlled by mixed emotion such as false hope, anger and revenge. He hesitates which is shown in the delay for his decision to shoot the antagonist or not. He shakes due to the emotion overthrowing his sense of authority.  The next time he raises the gun, it is with extreme uncertainty as his posture suggests a weaker persona than the one moments ago. The audience are made to react in sympathy as there is clearly no choice for him: his wife is dead and avenging her death would only make him lose.

Stereotypical antagonist | As explained before, the antagonist is clearly the man on the floor - unusual for a thriller, as they are usually dominant. However, this body language is contradictory to the fact that he has them all in a trap, a choice that benefits him either way. His body language is simple and emotionless, he seldom moves or changes position. His arms are by his sides, and having the nerve to do this whilst under the threat of a gun, shows that he just has nothing to worry about, doesn't care, and he already won. In fact, dying will clarify his official achievement, so sitting motionless is intended to provoke the gunshot. However, though he seems deluded enough to carry out little physical response, while he talks he nods his head to his every word in a careless manner, almost sarcasm or glee over the situation he's got the advantage over. I would not say that this is a stereotypical antagonist but one designed to shock the audience with little  yet meaningful action,  namely psychological, whereas in slasher thrillers, there is always something major going on. 

FACIAL EXPRESSION ANALYSIS

Stereotypical victim/protagonist | The protagonist toward the ending of this scene, where a one-to-one shoot off happens, is Neo. We know this because unlike the agent (antagonist), he shows emotion in his face - particularly at 1:56 which shows a close-up of his face looking frustrated and panicky. Audience infers this as him rather being a victim than a protagonist as he begins to feel under attack and powerless. This is heavily emphasized when he yells out for help.

Stereotypical antagonist | The antagonist is the agent. He is trying to stop Neo in his plans (this is made clear before the event we're analyzing, as he is given orders). So primarily he is not the main antagonist but the one actually involved in the attack. His facial expression at 2:01 is completely smug, a look that stirs up hatred and defeat in the audience as the 'bad guy got away'. However, apart from this, the other remaining seconds his face is neutral and holds no emotion. I think this portrays how he isn't real, he is a part of the Matrix, and he can't be good if he has no emotions. The irony of his slight smugness occurs when Trinity beats him at his own bullet-dodging game. He never won in the end.

In addition to the expected protagonist and antagonist, there are other characters conventional in not just a thriller, but most predictable and somewhat cliche films.

• Ghosts - dead but still relevant. I think a considerable amount of care is taken into how they look, whether they be played by actors/actresses or computer generated. We often see ghosts as pale or transparent, wearing the damaged clothes that they died in, or robes. Their body language and facial expression all depend on the situation they died in - whether they are looking for revenge - like the ghost wife in my opening idea, or looking for a way into heaven, like the ghosts of TV series Medium. This conveys their emotions, too.
• Female victim - I would argue much more stereotypical portayed than ghosts or any other character. Reality tells us that women are generally weaker and more sensitive than men. So, in films, they're often wearing neutral clothes (thrillers: covered in blood/ripped to show their vulnerability), cowardly and scared. They can't fend for themselves unless the woman is shown to be the Hero, like Catwoman.
• Children - shrouded in innocence due to the notion that childhood is a safe and sacred place that requires protection and nurturing. They would be dressed in clothing distinctively different from that of an adults - cute, such as dungarees or frilly dresses. Also their body language or behavior, will meet the public's expectations of what a child should be like: silly, immature, happy. Running around, shouting, laughing, oblivious to the overall plot of what they play a part in. 

CONCLUSION | Upon watching these various clips, I noticed how minimal changes in facial expression can determine what the audience thinks of a character. Subsequently, one look can cause various feelings, so I think they have to be chosen very carefully. In all of these clips, the antagonist seems to be over-confident, and sometimes likewise with the protagonist/victim, but it's subtle differentiation that allow us to determine whether it's an evil confidence or a 'save the day' confidence.

In all of these scenes, the antagonist's body language seems somewhat abnormal. This gives me ideas for the construction of their personalities, and make sure it includes too little of too much physical interaction with the audience so they always remain somewhat interested in the character, no matter how evil. Protagonists and victims are always normal human beings, so their body language would have to carry emotion 24/7, whether it be boredom or fear.

Costume, hair and makeup is easier to think about, however sometimes both the protagonist and antagonist can pull of the same sort of appearance. The interesting part is how the same outfit on different characters can create different responses from the audience, I think this would be a useful factor if I were to include a twist in my opening and tricking the audience just by the appearance of someone. 

Research: Mise En Scene - Lighting & Colour (Miss B)

Lighting & Colour

Lighting helps to convey mood and atmosphere, and can be used to guide the audience's attention to a particular subject, person, emotion or genre. Lighting creates more meaning than we think. Without lighting, watching a movie could become tedious and too predictable. Lighting also helps with realism - if a scene during the night is expected, the lighting should imitate nighttime. 

Colours have different connotations which give different interpretations of the scene. Certain colours symbolize certain things - for example, when we see red we think of danger, love, blood, heat, fire. Without colour, characters' emotions might not transmit to the audience as effectively.

LIGHTING

Angles Of Lighting

Under Lighting |  Source of light coming from below the character, effect includes the illusion of distortion.

Top Lighting | Source of light coming from above the character, effect includes highlighting facial features.

Back Lighting | Source of light coming from behind the person - creating silhouettes and provoking suspicion/mystery/and at times, fear.  

Types Of Lighting

Low-key | Dark with small areas of light, creating shadow and drawing attention to items of importance, facial detail. Often used in action or comedy movies.

High-key | Appears more natural and realistic to our eyes, the effect of the lighting is heightened. Often used in psychological, slasher or sci-fi movies.

COLOUR

The denotation of something, such as it's colour, opens doors to many possibilities of a connotation. Because the symbolism of colours are programmed into our awareness, they play a part in representing the genre as conventions. 

The Moon In The Gutter - Scene Analysis

As the moon is shown, it's obviously night-time. The lighting is low-key, with an overall darkness to represent the night, but spotlights on the characters. It doesn't just represent the atmosphere - darkness brings 'black' to mind, and in thrillers, the antagonist almost always wears black or very dark clothing. Black is an unhappy colour, most weapons are black, we mourn in black, so the fact that the sky is indeed black, gives off the impression that there is evil and yet-to-be misery in the air. In this sense, the lighting and colour have been cleverly combined to create a joint effect.

As the woman is moving, there is often a back lighting, and as she turns to face the man, it hits her face. However, we can't see her face because it's turned, so it castes dense shadows around her cheekbones and facial structure. This could be an attempt to make her look older, which she ironically will never get to experience because, as to be expected, she will die. The audience may overlook this and see the lighting as a simple shadowy effect to up the mysteriousness of the killer - if you can't see her whole face, you definitely won't see any of his.

The colour of her dress is white - representing youth and innocence. Again, the youth of her character will be permanent even when the dress decays and loses it's colour - which is white, a typical and safe choice to use for a female victim. 

At 0:45, a red under lighting covers her whole character. Red represents blood, danger, but also love and seduction. We could make the assumption purely from this shot that somebody wants to shed her blood for being overly seductive - look at how the red drapes OVER her dress and skin.

There is plenty of more red throughout the entire scene; at 1:00 a subtle reflection in the water of red, clearly foreshadowing her real blood to be spilled. In the beginning, the red covering the moon; blotting out it's white, pure light and replacing it with what we commonly associate with evil. And near the end, when we see her blood on the floor and the reflection of the moon inside it - an imitation of the first shot. A velvet-like material falls to the ground, red. This could represent her real dress soaked in blood and ridden of safety, purity.

CONCLUSION | I have, using my knowledge of the new key terms, noticed/identified incredibly clever techniques to spark up a worthwhile response - such as the red reflected in the water. What could that have been from? Did they fast-forward, and was that actually her blood we saw? I think questions like these are important because it;s the audience who asks them and it's the audience who finds out; by continuing to watch. 

I argue that under/back lighting is more important than top lighting for a thriller opening, because it was used so much in this scene and worked. Low-key lighting I think would also benefit my grade because, generally, they adapt to thrillers more.

Research: Sound (Mr. S)

Sound

Sounds are used to create understanding, create meanings about character's emotions and create a response from the audience. Sound is not just what you pick up using your eardrums, there are different kinds which will be explained here.

• Diegetic sound | Sound that is a part of the film world. This can be on or off screen. The characters are able to hear these sounds as well as the audience (for example, a radio or a jukebox).
• Non-diegetic sound | Sound that is not a part of the film world. The characters cannot hear these sounds, but the audience can (for example, a voiceover narrative sharing information directly to the audience).
• On screen sound | Seeing the source of the sound (for example, a radio is a physical object and has a close-range, so it would have to be in the shot with the character to make sense).
• Off screen sound | A sound that is heard but the source not seen (for example, when a camera is directed onto a park bench but we can hear the car on the main road behind the park).
• Parallel sound | Sounds that are expected (for example, at a beach we would expect laughter, children playing, the splash of waves and seagulls talking).
• Contrapuntal sound | Sounds that do not match expectations of the setting.



In this Scene of Jaws, we can hear contrapuntal sound - starting from 1:34, a 'dun dun' builds up, getting faster and louder, something which is what you would last expect to accompany children playing in the water on a bright day. This music is also non-diegetic; the characters are oblivious and their attention is focused on the screams of the child which is a diegetic sound. The response from the audience would be excitement, because they know something is about to happen - yet fear, because the contrapuntal sound is a giveaway that the upcoming scene will be horrific.

Conclusion | Sound is a key part in most films, and since I will be using it in my opening, these terms have helped me think of more ideas. For instance, before I made the assumption that horrors always need scary music, comedies always need upbeat music and thrillers always need creepy music. But like in the scene of Jaws I looked at, this isn't always the case; sound does not have to meet the stereotypical expectation from the audience. Doing something different may in fact create more of a response, for the music in Jaws is a tune known worldwide. 

Research: Editing (Miss B)

Editing

Films are joined together at certain points. The length of the shot determines the pace of the film, and helps to create a particular mood in which the audience responds to.

Trailers connect the audience to the film. They use a mixture of editing styles, techniques and ranges of speed to create appeal & appropriately advertise.

An edit is the cut between one shot and the next. The moods that edits create vary on the different styles and techniques used. For example, slow-paced editing is when the shots change at slow intervals. This can create tension and build up to a series of super fast edits which reflect a bizarre or unexpected event within the scene. An edit in slow-motion can cause a similar kind of effect. This is when a shot has been slowed down against time, making everything (obviously) appear extremely slow; likewise a shot can be sped up during action/fighting. Both could also be used for romance scenes, long conversation scenes and so forth. Other edits include:

• Straight cut | When one shot moves into another. This is a simple edits and avoids confusion within the audience.
• Fade to black | When one shot moves into another and there is a black filter in between.
• Wipe out | When the shot slides into another.
• Dissolve | When one shot disintegrates into another.
• Reaction shot | Any shot (often used as a cutaway) in which a subject reacts to a previous shot.
• Montage | Speed of editing in which the shots are quickly juxtaposed together to create excitement (or any other kind of extreme emotion).
• 180 degree rule | A 'pretend' line drawn between two or more actors. Shooting on the other side of the line will confuse the audience - if actors are facing each other, you cannot have both of the actors appearing on the left side.
• Shot reverse shot | Mostly used during fast conversation; one shot quickly follows another.
• Jump cut | A drastic camera movement that is noticeable to the eye, often described as jumps. 

http://youtu.be/LWxSBbBX4fs

In this scene of Scream, the woman is on the phone to an anonymous caller who is in fact the killer; at around 1:32 is an example of a straight cut, from her face looking outside to the camera directed outside, as if we as her looking out. (Point of view) the pace of the editing is not quite fast but not quite as slow as before - when she was in a calm conversation, which changed drastically. This in-the-middle speed of shots gives the audience time to think about what could happen in the next one, the tension being built up by the simple view of her pool, a massive contrast to what the audience knows is about to happen. In thrillers such as Scream, or any other slashers, events are highly predictable but sharp edits such as the straight cut keep the audience on edge nonetheless. 

Conclusion | Learning these edits are very helpful in my own filming. I think that all the different kinds mentioned here should play a part. Looking out for how these edits look in thriller videos also gives me an idea of how to perform them, such as which way to move the camera. The 180 degree rule is very important regardless of the plot or genre. Jump cuts seem really effective in thriller-specific films so I would include a few of those. I also need to pay attention to which shots should appear lesser than the others; a straight cut is normal and unnoticeable so can be used quite often, but a Fade To Black is significant and would disrupt the flow of the narrative if constantly seen. On the other hand, a straight cut shouldn't be over-used either because it might become boring and cause the audience to disengage with the characters.

Research: Mise En Scene - Settings and Iconography (Miss B)

Settings & Iconography

Mise En Scene (Everything On Screen) consists of five main elements; in this post we explore settings & iconography. These are very important and play a part in every film, whether they be of the thriller genre or not.

Setting is the location in which a scene is shot. The setting almost always links to sound, definitely always acts as a representation of the genre and allows the audience to interpret feelings/emotions of the characters and an understanding of what is going on.

Iconography is objects of significance, aka props, that are vital toward the audience's understanding. Iconography is usually a running theme, for example, in a thriller you would expect to  see weapons - such as a knife.

Different sub-genres within the thriller spectrum can have a variety of setting and iconography according to the genre linked with thrill.

Sub-genres & their typical settings/iconography

   
SCI-FI        |        PSYCHOLOGICAL      |  ACTION     |            CRIME

            

        SETTINGS:                       SETTINGS:                      SETTINGS:               SETTINGS:

       forest/labs/space      home/hospital/suburban          road/urban         business/isolation

      ICONOGRAPHY:              ICONOGRAPHY:            ICONOGRAPHY:    ICONOGRAPHY:

needles/medicine/tech        knifes/dolls/photos           guns/drugs/car          drugs/money




Connotations & denotations


The overall setting within this trailer of The Conjuring is a family home in America. Homes are believed to be safe from the outside world, but as traditional supernatural thrillers go, what you really need to fear is on the inside, among all of the attractive decoration. In the very beginning, the actual camera is facing the door from the inside as the family open it, whereas in reality you would be looking in from the outside. This already suggests that the house is inhabited by something invisible.  The furniture inside of the house looks quite old, maybe antiques, and haunted houses are typically old in children's myths. Later we see a different part of the house, the basement, which is dark, dreary and unwelcome. Perhaps the poltergeist lives here which is why is looks so foreboding and depressing. This setting depicts the family as normal and all victims, because as a family is seen as a unit, it is unlikely in the circumstance of them moving for someone to be an antagonist. 

Iconography within the trailer includes a blindfold, a simple act of playing but more meaningfully suggesting that you can't see the antagonist behind the mysterious activity we are about to see. Personified objects, such as the wardrobe, making the normal house seem paranormal. Falling and breaking photographs of members of the family. This might suggest that they are all going to die, or that their family bonds will be broken at some point.


Conclusion
My thriller idea has aspects of sci-fi and psychological sub-genre. It also includes death, and I have not decided if this will be shown or not, but if so, then a forest setting would suit the sci-fi aspect. The iconography includes an angel and perhaps a weapon. Psychologically, I could find a place to represent a hospital to fulfil the psychological conventions. The iconography would be photographs of the two friends included in my idea, dolls to show their childhood and again, a weapon of some sort.

Research: Cinematrography (Miss B)

Cinematography



Cinematography is one of the four micro elements within film industry, alongside special effects, mise en scene and editing.(1) Using a collection of filming techniques, cinematography can act as a direct communication with the audience, or the feel of being 'inside' the movie. Smart and sophisticated camera tricks are distinguished greatly over the thriller genre, the most common being a fast-passed zoom, an establishing shot, and so forth.

Cinematography is split into three main sectors, and branches off into more about the different kind of techniques:

• Shot frames

Establishing shot | Shows the primary scene + setting

Extreme Long Shot or XLS | A shot slightly longer than head to toe

Long Shot or LS | A shot displaying head to toe

Medium Shot or MS | A shot displaying head to torso

Medium Close Up or MCU | A shot displaying head to chest

Close Up or CU | A shot displaying head to shoulder

Extreme Close Up or XCU | A shot size that is very close to a face or an item of significance.

• Camera Angles

Low Angle | Camera angle directed below the character, representing power or a high status

High Angle | Camera angle directed above the character, representing insignificance or defeat

• Camera Movement

Panning Shot | Camera moving across, e.g following somebody walking

Tilt Shot | Camera moves up and down over a character, giving the impression of a 'dirty look' or introduction

Crane Shot | Camera placed on a crane, extending it's flexibility and abilities

Zoom | Capturing emotion or getting away from it

Point Of View or POV | First person perspective

Hand Held | Camera moving in motion with the character

Overhead Shot | Camera positioned as if from an eagle's perspective (ceiling)

Over The Shoulder | Shot from behind a character's shoulder while in conversation with another, whom the camera is facing

Two Shot | Sideways angle with enough space for two characters to fit in the frame

In this scene of The Grudge, at 0:09 we see a close-up of the woman's profile. This technique was used so cleverly, because behind her, you see The Grudge in the mirror where the woman's reflection should be - however, it isn't easy to see at first glance because of the close up on herself. This sighting may scare, excite or confuse the audience, and mostly create apprehension for what they know is about to happen.

At 1:07, the woman and the man are shown from a high angle, and already being positioned on the floor, it creates the illusion (and obvious reality) that she cannot defend him or herself, they are insignificant in terms of the Grudge. Also, because she is coming down the stairs, this angle could perhaps be seen as a point of view as we would expect her to be on a higher level of floor than them. The raw explicitness of the couples' moment of weakness could perhaps stir sympathy from the audience, or excitement, as in psychological effect including the urge for them to move on and survive. 

This point has already been analysed, but a panning shot is used briefly as the woman walks across the mirror. This creates enormous effect as the camera is also panning the Grudge; whom we can see in the actual mirror. Their movements are synced, giving off the impression that the Grudge knows what you are doing, and where, whenever. 

Conclusion | From this lesson I have decided that I will definitely use an establishing shot, perhaps more than once, the first time being the undisturbed area and the second time being the drastic change (stated as an example). I think that extreme close ups would be ideal for my opening if I choose to include a psychotic murderous character, displaying abnormalities such as looking directly into the camera, their proportions distorted. Both angles of lows and highs are needed because of the antagonist and victim roles. I don't think I would use a hald held camera movement because I feel that fits under more of a documentary/journalistic thriller.

SOURCES:

(1) http://www.slideshare.net/spingwoodmedia/film-language

Research: What Is A Thriller? (Miss B)

What Is A Thriller?

In this post I will start by outlining what exactly a 'genre' is. Genre, coming from French origin and pronounced like the French, is a certain type of many things in the media. Our focus is based on films (movies). Genres are split into many main categories, such as thriller and psychological. Often, sub-genres occur which is a mixture between two or more genres. An example is a psychological-thriller movie; such as Final Destination, in which the audience (being young adults) bears confusion, doubt and tension all at once.                                                                                                                                 Psycho - shower scene

Genres & Target Audience | It is important to know what a genre is, and an insight into the different kinds, so the codes and conventions of a movie are easier to locate and comment on as they all portray the particular genre. Certain genres are achieved to entertain certain audiences. An audience is made up of people with similarities, one being an overall interest in the type of movie being produced. However, factors such as age, ethnicity, social class, location, hobbies and interests narrow down audiences even further - sometimes creating a niche audience. This is a small group of people who share movie interests that the majority do not. Elements of different genres are included in a typically action-packed movie to gain the possible interest of these small groups, and so forth with any other type of movie. Many independent movies have a niche audience, and many Hollywood movies attract a wider range of people. Thrillers generally have a target audience of 18+ (R/X) Other genres include comedy, action, supernatural, superhero, paranormal, chick flick, tragedy, horror, family, religion and so forth. Arguably, it isn't always important for the audience to know what to expect, especially from a sub-genre, twists and surprises are not meant to be expected.

The Thriller Genre | Though there are endless types of movies to discover, this course specifically focuses on thriller movies. Thriller movies traditionally use these three main elements: suspicion, tension and excitement. Like mentioned before, thriller movies can be entwined with other genres - one being the psychological sector of film industry. Some examples of thriller movies are:

• Se7en (1995) Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.(1)
• Psycho (1960) A Phoenix secretary steals $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.(2)
• The Dark Night (2008) When Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let the clown out of the box, the Joker, bent on turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level.(3)

Conventions | Thrillers are usually associated with a horror-like plot. They ease into the horror while playing tricks on your mind - twists and turns concealing the actual truth - while a genuine horror film dives straight into the kill. Some themes are shared between thriller and horror movies. These include:

• Eerie music - all around the world, music is widely appreciated by different cultures. Though certain kinds of sound and rhythm create a universal feeling. Slow, somewhat tedious and tense music allows us to pick up that tension as an emotion. Thrillers widely circle around the build up of tension.

• Make-up - actors and actresses are often made to have scary-looking features. Make-up can add hardness to the features, creating the illusion of tension on the face itself. With a face like this, no-body knows where to look or if they should be looking at all. At the same time, members of the audience are keen to study the face in anticipation of a surprise outburst.

• Camera angles - As seen in the Thriller Panic Room (starring Jennifer Lopez), there comes a scene in which the camera is positioned in front of the width of the security door; allowing us to see both sides of the room. As the door slides shut, it speeds toward the camera. Both views would be blocked out (the camera would also be smashed, removing the privilege of sight either way) leaving us wondering what happens next? What do the burglars do? Will the door hold them off forever? These questions are usually associated with panic emitted from the audience, as when hooked into a scene, all feelings are immersed into the plot.

Audience Response To Thrillers | Thrillers, or any other type of movie, always have a response from the members of the audience. This is narrowed down into two main fields: psychologically and physically. Both are very chilling.

Physical changes include gripping the edge of your seat, shifting positions to get closer/farther away from the TV, sweating, biting nails, facial expressions showing some such as concern or fear, outbursts toward characters in the movie, and so forth.

Psychological changes include thinking, feelings things such as confusion, believing that you are 'inside' of the movie, believing you are the character, apprehension; doubting what is to come yet excited for it.

Conclusion | How has this research helped my understanding of thrillers? Opening my mind to a type of film that I normally do not favour was the first start to learning about it. A thorough think about what genre really is, and how it determines which conventions used, made it easier to ask the same questions about more specific options. By the word 'action', I can pull together the knowledge that an action movie typically uses destruction, fighting, and world-known superheroes to up the release of the movie. Likewise, the production of a thriller movie would include a little bit of mystery, and again a famous face - perhaps one already known for fulfilling the roles in thriller movies. Promotion. But how has this helped me recognize my coursework requirements? With a solid, basic knowledge on the world of thriller, I can incorporate the conventions I have learnt into my own work. Having an awareness of the general target audience and audience response also helps me to carefully plan out what may have the best effects on who.

SOURCES:

(1)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/

(2)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/

(3)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/

(4) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/