Unknown

Unknown was made in 2011, and features taken star Liam Neeson. A biochemist and his dishy wife arrive in Berlin for a conference at which a scientist and his controversial Arab funder will announce breakthrough research. While his wife checks into the hotel, he grabs a cab to return to the airport for his briefcase, left at the curb. En route, an auto accident puts him in a coma, from which he awakes four days later without identification and with gaps in his memory. He goes to the hotel: his wife refuses to recognize him and another man has claimed his identity. With help from a nurse, the cab driver, a retired Stasi agent, and an academic friend, he tries to unravel what's going on...

As the movie opens, we meet Dr. Martin Harris and his wife, Elizabeth, who are on a flight to a biotechnology conference in Berlin. at the airport, Dr. Harris lets a guy load his luggage, and as the taxi leaves, we get a big shot of his briefcase, still on the luggage trolley.

Was this an accident? If I'm carrying a briefcase that contains a cure for world hunger or a formula of mass destruction, I'm not gonna leave it on the curb. Dr. Harris and his wife get to the hotel, she starts to check in, he realizes his briefcase was left behind, and without telling her, he grabs another taxi to the airport. He tries to call her, but can't get a signal. 

A container falls off the truck in front of them, the taxi swerves and plunges through a bridge rail, Dr. Harris is knocked unconscious, but his life is saved by the quick actions of the driver, Gina. He's in a coma for four days. He pulls himself together and races to the hotel, only to find that his wife says she has never seen him before and is happily married to the "real" Dr. Martin Harris.  How can he prove his real identity and understand the conspiracy that has taken control of his life?

As a veteran thriller watcher, you can think of several possibilities here. It was all a dream. He has been brainwashed. He only thinks he's Martin Harris. He only imagined he was on a plane with the real Mrs. Elizabeth Harris. The second taxi was waiting to pick him up. And on and on. Or possibly none of the above.

Was it an accident he left the briefcase behind? If he hadn't, there would have been no need to return to the airport. Was the falling container an accident? Was it an accident that he got a (beautiful) undocumented Bosnian refugee taxi driver who performed a heroic rescue in icy winter waters? Was it planned that he would be able to walk into the biotechnology conference and find the (real or fake) Dr. Martin Harris?

I'm thinking, if I'm an operative for some sinister secret organization and I want that briefcase and the MacGuffin it contains, here's what I'll do: kill off Liam Neeson, whoever he is, and steal the briefcase, or break into his hotel room, or drug him. Anything. Because, think. If he isn't the real Martin Harris, why does he possess the briefcase containing the MacGuffin in the first place? But if he's a fake Martin                                                                                    Harris, who is the real one?

The birds

Garden birds turning against mankind - even though the plot seems banal, it has become terrifying in the hands of Hitchcock. Tippi Hedren played the blonde heroine of "The Birds." The story starts with the lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), who meets a rich girl Melanie Daniels (Tippi) in a pet shop and treats her like a shop assistant. He is playing a joke on her since he once tried to persuade her in court for a practical joke that went wrong. They argue, and Melanie tries to get her own back by presenting Mitch's little sister, Cathy, with the two love birds Mitch couldn't find in the pet shop. 

She has travelled from San Francisco to Bodega Bay. After secretly delivering the present, Melanie is attacked by a seagull. As Melanie is introduced into Mitch's family (Mitch's mother, Lydia, is afraid Mitch will leave her - like when her husband died) and schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (she loves Mitch, they once had a relationship, she moved to Bodega Bay to be near him), the different species of birds escalate their attack: gulls attack Cathy's outdoor birthday party; sparrows fill down the house by coming down the chimney; Lydia finds a dead farmer with his eyes gouged out; crows attack the school children; gulls attack the town, which goes up in flames. 

 They all board themselves up in the house, only to have the birds attack but not get in. During the night, Melanie investigates a sound, and is trapped in the loft, repeated pecked by an onslaught of birds. Dragged out by Mitch, she is in shock. Mitch goes outside and all the buildings and land are covered with birds. They tiptoe out, and slowly make their way by car to some uncertain future. 

There is no music in the film, only natural and unnatural sounds. The sound of the birds massing is frightening than any kind of soundtrack.

                                

How To Film A Thriller

At The Fort 

Very Long shot- sets the scene for the audience, they can gather that the film in the country side with the non digetic bird sound running over the top.

Point of View- Helps the audience feel as though they're in the feel, makes us fell as though we're in the actors shoes

Dissolve- This means the audience know that we've moved forwards in time, instead of having to watch a long walk and have no action(boring!)

Long/ Tracking shot- Again, sets the scene, tracking shot helps move the action along. Not breaking the 180 degree rule.







High Angle Tilt- this shows the actors vulnerability, as it makes him look small and defenceless. Sinister music starts, suggests danger is approaching.

Shot reverse shot- We see what he sees (POV) then the camera shows the actor. This was difficult to spot because we normally refer to this shot when conversation starts. Deep note suggests suspense. Digetic sound's:
feet splashing in puddles (live)
dripping water (sound effect)



Does this shot suggest he is being watched?!









Close up- This could emphasise danger is coming closer and that he may need his feet to run... showing the contrast as he may be running back through this puddle to escape.






Backlight- Creates him as a silhouette, suggesting that the outside (light) is his only escape....







Wide shot (Deep focus)- With this shot being deep focused, it could be hinting to the audience that this is where he will be running towards to escape. If it wasn't in deep focus the audience would know that it doesn't play a part in the film.






                                                                     


Sinister sound effect scares the audience, we sense that danger is fast approaching.

Low Angle (Parallel between inside and out. Sinister music stops when we are inside...)

Close up- This shot shows his reaction, emphasising the emotion (in this case, fright) on his face.








Fast pace editing, fast&threatening music and canted angles all suggest danger.








Worms-eye view- This shot is making him look big. Is he the one who's in control??

POV (using stedicam)- Makes the audience feel as though they're the character, this is helped with the digetic sound of breathing.






warm light = unthreatening while the music and breathing fade out, emphasising relief.

Silence, has the danger/threat gone? Was there even a threat??








Warm backlight. Everything ok and back to normal?









Extreme close up and ominous music! He is being watched? :o Ends on cliffhanger

Mise En Scene

What is mise-en-scene
Mise en scene is a french meaning, translating to "in the scene/frame, the main elements include

• Settings and props
• Costume, hair and make up
• Facial expressions and body language
• Lighting and colour
• Positioning of characters and objects in the frame

Colour

So the first use of colour was shown in films such as Voyage a Travers L'impossible in 1904. By the 1930's, the development was the introduction of two-strip technicolor using only red and green, with The Mystery of the Wax Museum as good example. in 1935, the first full three strip technicolor was Becky Sharp. 

From 1930s-1940s black and white represented reality while colour represented fantasy and spectacle. Today the opposite is true!

Colour- denotation&connotation

-Denotation: The literal description of an idea, concept or object

-Connotation: What we associate with a particular idea, concept or object

(colour work on the subconscious mind to create mood)

Examples

Red

Denotation- particular wavelength of electro magnetic spectrum

Connotation- anger, danger, romance, blood

Lighting
The two broad types of lighting approaches are: low-key lighting and high-key lighting.

High-key lighting is often seen in romantic comedies and musicals, encompassing an even lighting pattern and avoiding dark areas in the frame. Everything looks bright with little to no shadow at all. High-key lighting has little dramatic effect, and it is often used in a scene with no tension.
Low-key lighting is often seen in horror movies and thrillers, comprising of a lighting pattern that has both bright and dark areas in the frame. 

Rope

Rope  

Rope is a thriller made in 1948 by Alfred Hitchcock, and the actors include James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger. 

Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime. 

Amazingly, this film was based on a true story. It was converted into a film from Patrick Hamilton's play (1929) 'rope', which was based off the death of a 14 year year old named Bobby Franks. He was killed by Leopold and Loeb, who desired to commit the perfect crime.

The scene opens from the outside, establishing where we are, what time of day it is etc. Then the camera eventually finds it self in a room, where Brandon and Phillip are strangling David. Obviously they kill him, and hide him in the book trunk. They decided that they were going to hold a party, proving their intelligence to try and mastermind the perfect crime. They hold it in the living room, placing the spread on the trunk Davids body is lying in!

By now everybody is concerned about the whereabouts of David. Brandon tries to reunite Janet and Kenneth, who were former lovers. The conversation turns to disaster (it turns out that Philip is very proficient at strangling chickens), and Rupert explains that some people are superior to others and have the privilege to kill inferiors if they so wish. He says it in a light-hearted way but with conviction.

Then things start going wrong: Janet and Kenneth argue with Brandon and virtually accuse him of kidnapping David; Rupert notices Philip's agitation and begins interrogating him. At the end of the party, Rupert puts on the wrong hat -- it is David's hat. Brandon and Philip think they have got away with murder and prepare to dispose of David's body, but Rupert returns to find out the truth. A fight ensues over a gun, Rupert wins, fires three shots out of the window and waits for the police to come. 

In the movie, James Stewart's Rupert seems more like an intellectual without emotional experience who realists his position is wrong when he responds emotionally to David's death. To a certain extent, Rupert is to blame because he put these ideas into Brandon's head and encouraged him, although the act itself was carried out by Philip egged on by the dominant Brandon.

The whole film is done in ten-minute takes (the maximum amount of film held in a film camera) and transitions from one take to the other are covered by the people walking into shot filling the screen. This gives us the impression that we are seeing what is happening in real time. This is the legend. However, there is said to be one definite cut, when Brandon talks about Philip strangling chickens, Philip shouts and then we cut directly to Rupert's face. In "Rope," Hitchcock is not concerned with the characters and their moral dilemmas. Here the concern is on the way the characters look, sound and move, and with the overall spectacle of how a perfect crime goes wrong.

The suspense in Rope is created through the chest. Its normally always in shot, and makes the audience have a slight rush of fear and adrenaline.  we wonder what will happen next? will the two men (and body) be found and brought to justice? do we want them to be caught? The audience is constantly looking for answers, and this is due to suspense.

Dramatic Irony is something that the audience knows that the characters don't.We obviously know Davids in the chest, and because of this there is no red herrings as the plot is based around                                                                                           Davids death and the chest. We know                                                                                       everything.                                                                                                      



look at how these follow narrative thories






























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Saul Bass

Saul Bass was a graphic designer and filmmaker, perhaps best known for his his design of film posters and title sequences. During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of hollywood's greatest film makers, including Alfred Hitchcock! He became well known in the film industry for making Otto Preminger's 'The Man With the Golden Arm' in 1955. For Hitchcock, Bass designed effective and memorable title

                                                                                    sequences, inventing a new type of kinetic                                                                                               typography for 'North by northwest' and 'Physco'.

These logos include Dixie (1969),

Bell Telephone logo (1969) and successor AT&T globe (1983)Continental Airlines (1968) and United Airlines (1974).

However, Bass is best remembered not for his logos, but for his movie posters, "we best remember his work through his timeless and beautifully minimalistic movie posters – which transformed the visuals of film advertising. He typically developed simplified, symbolic designs that visually communicated key essential elements of the film."

The Man With the Golden Arm

Vertigo

Anatomy of a murder

West Side Story

North By Northwest

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, North by Northwest is one of the most iconic thrillers in history.

Establishing shot:

Whenever a new scene occurs, Hitchcock utilizes an establishing shot to provide overview to a scene.  After Mr. Vandamm’s associates kidnap Roger Thornhill, there are numerous establishing shots providing an overview of the location Roger is being taken to, Townsend Mansion.  When the movie progresses and locations change, Hitchcock utilizes establishing shots at the United Nation’s complex, the Chicago bus stop, and Mount Rushmore.  These establishing shots allow audience members to understand what is going on and where the succeeding scene is occurring.


Shot Reverse shot:

The second editing technique used in North by Northwest is the shot reverse shot pattern.  When Roger Thornhill first encounters Phillip Vandamm, Alfred Hitchcock uses the reverse shot pattern throughout the conversation.  The shot reverse shot pattern allows the viewer to see the reaction of the character’s faces more closely, which adds suspense to the film.  If a master shot was used, the viewer would feel more distant from the story and the suspense would be lacking.

Discontinuity techniques:

Discontinuity techniques can help depict a character as either the protagonist or the antagonist.  When Thornhill first meets Eve, she is wearing a white dress with plenty of skin showing, depicting her as a “good” person who is helping Roger escape from police.  While Eve Kendall is off-screen, the viewer learns that she is an agent for the evil Mr. Vandamm.  The next scene, we find Kendall wearing a thick, black coat, depicting her as a “bad” person.  Using this
discontinuity technique emphasizes Eve’s                                                                                               transition from a helpful person to a secret                                                                                             agent, which helps the viewer follow the story                                                                                         and adds suspense.

Title Sequences&idents

In this task we had to discuss how thriller openings are typically composed. we decided with a typical format that we see in the majority of films, however some films do change the order of this. We went through some idents, and some examples are listed below. I then decided to look at some examples and wrote what order their opening sequences went in.

The production company- IDENT 

(E.g. MGM, Paramount, Dreamwork, pixar, 20th century, universal, warner bros., disney)

Production company presents

A film by...(director name)

Main stars

   TITLE

Other major cast number

Sound, editing, make up, costume, lighting

 
Producer

Director

Examples:

1. 'Se7en'

-Production company/ Ident

-Film by...(David Fincher)

-Main stars (Brad Pitt&Morgan Freeman)

-TITLE

-Other cast members

-sound, editing, make up, costume, lighting

-Producers

-director

2. 'Panic Room'



- Ident/ Production company
-Main stars
-TITLE
-Other cast members
-Costume, sound, make up, editing, lighting etc.
-Producer
-Director (David Fincher)

3. 'Godzilla'

-Production company/ Ident

-Directed by...(Gareth Edwards)

-Main stars

-other cast members

-costume, lighting, make up, sound, editing etc

-Director

-TITLE

What we can learn from these examples, is that they all follow this philosophy one way or another. Wheather its slightly changed, it always there, in similar layouts and has become apart of the norm when watching films. One thing we can guarantee is that the ident will always be first.