Editing Effects - Miss Georgiou

Saw V - The Cube

 

 

Within the thriller genre editing plays a extremely important role in creating a specific atmosphere and helping the narrative flow in a suitable manner. Editing within a film is the joining of two different shots, the way they do effects how effects the pace of the scene as well as affecting the atmosphere within the film. There are many different techniques used when editing and each of these achieves a specific effect.

Within this clip, which see's the victim struggling to escape from cube filling with water, the montage effect is frequently used. For example as he's attempting to escape his head violently shakes, this is a montage effect as shots are quickly juxtaposed together. This is a example of fast paced editing which creates excitement as this pace gets the audience' heart racing. This effect is frequently used within thriller films as it is very successful in creating excitement therefore film-makers usually use this effect in adrenalin rushing scenes. 

In this clip the wipe effect is used when the screen wipes from behind a wall to reveal the man trapped in the cube. This technique creates a little bit of suspense and excited as in the short space of time in which the character has not fully been revealed the audience are excited to see the full identity of him and his difficult situation. This effect is frequently used within thrillers to keep the identity temporarily unknown and also keeps the scene slow paced.

This picture is an example of the timing of shots effect which is used within the clip. Timing of shots is used as the shot slows down as the water is entering the cube. The effect of this is that it creates suspense as it slows down the scene making the heart rate of the audience slow down before being shocked. This effect is used within thriller films as it sets the audience in a state of mind ready to be shocked. This is often reffered to as 'suspense' in the 3 'S' of 'shock, suspense and suprise'

To conclude within this Saw V clip numerous unique editing techniques are used to initially create a slow paced suspense building scene before using contasting editing techniques such as the montage effect to create excitement within the audience. Within my thriller i plan to use similar techniques which will have a similar impact on the audience for example i will use slow paced editing to create suspense before using contrasting fast pace effects such as montage effect which will get the audience heart racing.

Research Into Miss-En-Scene - Miss Georgiou

 

The Omen 

 

 

Mise-en-scene refers to everything that can be seen within a scene. It consists of 5 main elements: setting and iconography, costumes and make-up, lighting, body language and expressions, and postioning. Each of these elements is carefully used to create a complete scene with a specific atmosphere. Within the Omen they use a grande setting with wealthy costumes this is a common scenario for older thriller films but unique to the newer thrillers. The lighting is very bright within this scene which is unsterotypical to the thriller genre this bright joyful lighting contasts the dark violent occurances within the scene. The mise-en-scene within the scene is unstereotypical to the thriller genre this leads to a moe relateble film.



1) Setting and Iconography:

This clip is set in a small fairground based in the garden of a grand manor house which is the focal setting for the rest of the film. The picture above shows a small section of the fairground activities in the foreground as well as the mansion in the background. I believe The Omen was set in this manor house because it makes the occupants appear vulnerable and weak as they can never be sure what is in the rest of the house due to its large size. I also believe this setting is suitable for this particular film as, as well as making them appear vulnerable it is a typical home for a rich family making the film more realistic. The joyful fairground setting also contradicts the violently horrifying occurances this makes the act appear more horrifying as it is infront of numerous young kids. This was a common setting for thriller films of this era as it was relatable to their target audience when it was release. On the other hand this setting is unique to thriller of todays time as they are commonly set in dark isolated locations, this makes the thriller more unique but less relateable.

2) Costume, Hair and Make Up:

In this clip the wealthy focal family are dressed in typical expensive clothes for that particular era. For example despite his young age Dameon is dressed in a full grey suit with a matching shirt and tie which makes him appear rich as he's dressed smartly which suggests he's been dressed by someone else. His father is also wearing a full matching patterned suit which presents him as smart and sophisticated emphasising his high social and economic status. These smart and sophisticated outfits contradict the chaotic occurances. These costumes are unstereotypical to the thriller genre as they are not relateble to the majority of the audience and therefore the film creators have to use many other elements to evoke emotions with the audience as they will not empaphise with their emotions.

Contrastingly the nanny who hangs herself is wearing a full-length, dull, grey gown. Her dark gown could represent her dark horrifying actions, this contradicts the light happy clothing of the antagonists which could also be a representation of the situation and joyful emotions. This stereotypical 'nanny' attire is used to make it clear to the audience of her occupation in comparison to the houses owners. These costumes are usually used within thriller films as it clearly categorises the characters which allows the audience to understand their relevance and possibly relate to particular characters. Thriller films also often use the costumes of characters to represent there situation and emotions.



3) Facial Expressions and Body Language:

Within this clip not many variations of emotions and facial expressions are used but the one frequent emotion seen is shock. After the nanny unexpectedly hangs herself the audience views numerous characters with shocked expressions much like the one above. In this clip this shocked is followed by by frantic, panic with all the children and parents chaotically, running for safety. The initial emotion of shock is shared by the audience as they are equally as surprised as the characters by the unexpected occurrences, the panic expressed by the characters then creates excitement within the audience as they are concerned for the characters welfare and hope they escape the tricky situation. Shock is usually used within thriller films as it follows suspense which keeps the audience on the edge of their seat before the characters panic causes for more action creating excitement. 

 

To conclude The Omen uses unsterotypical mise-en-scene to create a unique atmosphere. They successfully use Victorian appearances and setting with bright lighting to present the family as wealthy yet troubled. The mise-en-scene they use extremely significant as the soundtrack within this particular scene does not play a important role in evoking emotions within the audience. Thriller films often use mise-en-scene as it plays a extremely important role in dictating the narrative as well as evoking emotions within the audience.

Individual Ideas For A Narrative - Miss Georgiou

For my opening clip to a thriller i have been inspired by the use of setting in The Strangers. The Strangers is set in a isolated house in the middle of a dark forest. I believe this is a successful location to set a thriller because they are far away from others making them isolated and vulnerable. This makes the audience believe that something is going to happen to the characters therefore creating suspense as they are foreshadowing the characters future. This particular setting is conventional to thriller films because it is isolated making the characters vulnerable increasing the fear felt within the audience.

For my opening thriller scene I aim to create a scene where a young vunerble girl is wondering around a forest on her own. This young girl is being followed by a mysterious masked character who is continuosly tormenting her.

Research Into Cinematography - Miss Miller

Strangers

 

Cinematogrpoahy is defined as photographing of motion pictures: the art or technique of photographing and lighting motion pictures and usually refers to the camera shots used within a scene. Within the thriller genre cinematography plays a extremely important role in creating a certain atmosphere as well as influencing the narrative as certain camera shots can significantly be used to highlight certain things witin a scene.



Within this clip of the film The Strangers a extreme long shot is used, I believe they used this shot because it shows the vulnerable victim as well as the villain in the background. This makes her appear in danger and powerless as she does not know he's behind her. This shot also portraays dramatic irony as the audience are aware that he is menacingly staring at his victime but the character is not aware of the extreme danger she is in. These shots are regularly used in thriller films as it creates a sense of fear as the protagonist is unaware of the danger she is in and the audience foresee the severity of her situation. This shot also helps the audience form a relationship with the protagonist as they have more knowledge of the situation than the character themself therefore they position themselves with a sense of authority over the villain and victim. This superoir knowledge also allows the audience to emphaphise with the charcters danger and therefore they feel her fear.

In this picture zooming in is used as the camera starts further away and gets closer. The effect of this is it shows the door and nothing else, this suggests to the audience that this unexpected knock will be significant to the narrative. This also creates a sense of mystery as the charcetrs and audience are unaware who is the other side of the door, so the zooming in increases the time between the knock and the opening of the door, this increases tension and suspense. This scene is very relateble to the audience as it is a every day occurance but this use of zooming-in makes this ordinary scenario very tense and scary. This effect is regularly used within thrillers as it successfully highlights objects or charcters which are significant to the narrative therefore it is easier for the audience to understand the storyline and be affected by the emotions it evokes.

This shot used is a extreme close up; it zooms in extremely closely on a small inanimate object focusing entirely on that object and no background. This effect emphasises the significance of that object suggesting that it has a pivotal role in the plot. Within this specific clip this shot creates suspense as the fire alarm has been removed, meaning that the unknown protagonist has removed it. This makes the victim seem vulnerable as she is not aware of his presence and will now not be alerted in the case of a fire. Much like zooming-in this camera shot is used to draw the audience attention to a object or charcter which will have a significance to the narrative.

This is a close up shot; this consists of the camera showing the characters face and nothing else. This shot is regularly used within thrillers as it aims to show the characters emotion. In this picture it shows how the camera has zoomed in primarily on the characters face to emphasise the fear she feels after the unexpected knock on her door.This clear portrayal of the charcters emotions make the audience feel sympathetic for her and there emotions mirror those felt by the charcters. Thrillers usually use this shot to show the characetrs emotions and help form a relationship with the charcters and audience and therefore they feel there emotions throughout the film and are more engrossed in the narrative.

 

To conclude Strangers effectively uses cinematography to draw the audiences attention towards specific objects or people and this highlights their significance and suggets they have a impact on the narrative. Strangers also successfully uses cinematography to express a characters emotions, this causes the audience to feel sympathetic towards them and form a relationship with that character. This results in the audience becoming fearful of the charcters situation and therefore adds suspense.