Research into editing styles- Miss Georgiou

In this Essay, I will be analysing how editing styles are used within the thriller genre. Editing is extremely important in the process of film making. Shots are united through editing and added to the film. And to make a successful thriller, there are many different editing styles that can be used. Also, specific styles should be use to set the correct atmosphere to the audience. The clip I will analyse is from 'Orphan'. I chose this as the clip uses editing styles that are conventional to the thriller genre. You can watch the clip here.

Firstly, a shot reverse shot is used when the little girl and the killer talk. This happens throughout the clip. This builds suspense as the little girl does not know that her adopted sister is the killer. The audience start to care about the girl as she is deaf therefore, is confused about the whole situation. She is also young and innocent, contrasting with Ester, the killer. Therefore, the audience feel sorry for the little girl, as she is innocent and pure. This shot can show the relationship between the two people and we see that the little girl trusts the killer, which upsets the audience even further. Because of this, the audience feel not to make the same mistake, seeing that Ester is not as she seems. This point relates to the conventional thriller genre as the audience get a view of the victim and the killer first hand showing the theme of good vs bad. Furthermore, this shows that the typical victim as she is pure and naive, the audience emphasise with her. The killer is unique and possesses a hidden identity, used in many major thriller films.

At this point, slow editing is used when there are cuts between the victim in the car and the killer is watching. The clip of the car is slower than the rest, highlighting the importance of this and the character driving, who is the victim who dies later in the clip. This creates suspense as the audience doesn't know the victim's fate and we wonder what will happen to the little girl as she is sitting next to the killer, unsuspectingly. As slow editing is used, suspense is built and the mood of the scene is tense, linking back to the thriller genre. The audience are unaware of what will happen leading on from this. This can relate to the thriller genre as it provides the audience with the typical thriller aspects. Shock, surprise and suspense. Lastly, slow editing builds suspense, largely and the audience identifies different editing used as this scene is slower than the rest.

Here, timing of shots is used when the victim/the nun is being killed. The shots could have been edited slowly to create suspense but these shots are fast to create surprise and excitement and can highlight the aspect of violence and the brutal nature of the killer. The audience can see first hand how ruthless the killer is which is ironic as she is a child and hasn't been identified yet. This adds to a unique narrative and character development. This links to a thriller genre as this point links to the idea of the villain having a hidden identity in typical thriller films. Lastly, this is conventional as fast timing of shots surprises and shocks the audience, therefore they react to what they see on screen, which is overall what makers want to achieve.

Also, I identified a jump cut as the camera focuses on the hammer when the victim is being murdered. The camera focuses on the hammer when it is high in the air, before it strikes the victim. This highlights how violent the death is and the audience feels sympathy for the victim. As the camera focuses on the hammer, the importance is highlighted to the audience. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it shows a key part of the film, which the audience would want to remember. The audience also view the weapon which represents the theme of death. This is also conventional as, because of the fast jump cut, we see how cruel and scary the killer can be. Which again shows irony as the killer is a child which highlights the villain in thriller films having power and sometimes having a hidden identity.

Lastly, the editing style fade is used at the end of the clip when all the audience can see is the little girl's face. This editing style shows to the audience the little girl's loneliness/upset/lack of hope.The audience can infer that this may link to the little girl being deaf, as she is unaware of what's going on and the audience wonder what will happen next when the screen fades to black. This links to a conventional thriller as the audience are unaware what will happen next.. Before the fade, the killer walked up to the little girl therefore, the audience is left in shock and suspense as the little girl is left alone with the killer, furthermore, linking to the conventional thriller as the character/audience bond is strengthened. 

To conclude, I have analysed the editing styles used in this clip and I believe that they are conventional to the thriller genre. This is because they highlight the aspects of surprise, suspense and shock. These styles have influenced me for my thriller clip as they represent the thriller genre in a vivid way. And they make the target audience feel something for example, shock which Thrillers aim to do.

Research into cinematography- Miss Miller

In this essay, I will be discussing the use of cinematography within the thriller genre. Cinematography is the making of a film, including different angles and shots used in that film including how they are conventional to the genre, in this case, a thriller. Certain different angles/shots chosen can set a certain ambience, within the thriller, the makers would want the audience to feel scared and tense. I have chosen to talk about the opening scene of 'Prom Night' which you can view here. I chose this clip as I feel that it contains a range of different angles and shots that are also conventional to the thriller genre.

The first shot that I’m going to discuss is an 'extreme long shot'  This is used near the beginning of the clip, when the girl is in her house, unaware of her father's dead body behind her. First, this could show a sense of normality, before the more negative events. The setting is conventional as a house is shown, linking to the thriller genre. However, this can alarm the audience, causing them to relate to what they see on screen. The theme of normality is shown in this shot, causing the audience to build a relationship with the character but also shocks them, as the setting is relatable and familiar. Linking to this, the angle used is more personal as it is hand held and not something more professional. Other than this, the shot used makes the character seem smaller and the room larger. It shows to the audience that she is the victim, and foreshadows her loneliness and negative events to follow. Therefore, the audience worries about what could happen to her later on in the film. This relates back to the thriller genre as the audience are in suspense and the atmosphere is tense and worrying. Conventionally in thrillers, the audience gain a character/audience relationship, which adds to the understanding of the narrative. This point is included within the use of this shot.













Another angle used is eye level, which is used a number of times when the victim is hiding under the bed. However, I will be discussing the use of this when the victim's mother is hiding from the killer. The use of this angle provides the audience the same view as the victim as they see these events take place from under the bed. As the audience are in the same place as the victim, they also feel inferior and weak, this further causes them to emphasise with the characters as they experience the same event. The victim's mother has closed the door, attempting to keep the killer out. This angle helps show intensity and the feeling of uneasiness and the audience worry about what will happen to the characters. This is also conventional to the thriller genre as the setting is relatable, causing the audience to possibly worry about themselves, and they are left in suspense. Within the thriller genre, the aspect of uncertainty, fear and surprise is always evident, and can also be seen within this scene, eye level creates this feeling and makes the audience worry about the victim's fate.

A close-up is used when the victim is hiding under the bed, watching her mother die, the camera is mainly focused on her face. From using an extreme close up, the audience see the character's emotion, which causes them to emphasise with her and experience the same feelings. Furthermore, the audience are engaged in the narrative and with the characters. Close ups are used within the thriller genre in this instance to create a character/audience bond. The audience view first hand, the importance and reality of this situation, as the negative emotions are evident on the victim's face, this further links back to mise-en-scene and facial expressions.

Another shot of cinematography I found was 'tracking.' This is scene when the victim is hiding under the bed, her mother's dead body placed in front of her. The focus is constant, and the audience are left in suspense. Her mother had just been murdered, and she watched the event take place. The audience feel empathy towards the character, therefore are engaged in the whole narrative. Tracking shows that the victim is close the killer/woman he murdered, highlighting that she is unsafe, causing the atmosphere to become tense and disheartening. This shot causes suspense, the audience are left worried for the character but also wonder what will happen next. Overall, this is conventional to the thriller genre as this certain shot can be used to show a lack of safety and shows that the victim is in a negative/harmful situation. The killer is close to the victim which leaves the audience in suspense, which is also a aspect within the thriller genre.












A close up is also used when the knife is scene for the first time. A knife is an important piece of iconography within the thriller genre, and have been a well known aspect associated with the thriller genre. Iconography is an important element as for example a knife, shows danger and foreshadows the theme of death. The use of a close up shows the importance of the knife and that it had been used to murder the victim's family. As the killer still holds the knife, it highlights his strength and dangerous/murderous ways and the audience can imply that he will kill again. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the audience are left in suspense and the use of the knife and a close up to show this is typical, and scares the audience as the mood is negative and frightening. 

Lastly, an extreme close up is used right at the end of the opening when the victim gets stabbed by the killer. The extreme close up is focused on the victim's eyes/nose. The audience see the terror in her eyes which leads them to feel empathy towards her. As she has been stabbed, this causes a surprising and shocking atmosphere, which ties into the thriller genre. Within the thriller genre, cliff hangers are popular, and the audience is always left on the edge of their seat. As she has been stabbed, and this is the opening sequence, the audience want to watch on, to figure out if the scene was a dream, flashback or in the present time. 

To conclude, these shots and angles are used to build a relationship with the audience and create tension and suspense. Although the setting is normal and familiar, the audience are scared by this and are left frightened and want to know what will happen to the victims within the setting. In this way, they are effective in creating suspense as the audience worry about what will happen next for example 'tracking' when the main victim, Donna was hiding under the bed and the killer is close to finding her as her mother's dead body lay on the ground. These shots and angles are all relevant to the thriller genre as they make the audience feel different but negative emotions which is what the thriller genre aims to produce. It provides shock, surprise and suspense. The clip mainly is full of suspense which as an opening sequence, is a positive aspect as the audience would want to watch the whole film. However, the killing scenes are also shocking the audience emphasise with Donna. Fundamentally, this clip has influenced me in making my own thriller opening as it is full of suspense, making the audience want to continue watching. Also, I like the idea of the reality/normality in the opening and then shocks the audience by adding the thriller factor near the end. 

Individual ideas for a narrative- Miss Georgiou

So far I have watched many different clips that have inspired to make my own thriller opening. The first of these is the film 'Prom Night'. I have seen various different clips from this film and find some techniques used very interesting. The first is from the trailer and the first parts of the movie, overall. The audience feels a sense of normality and suspense. This is because, a group of friends are getting ready for prom. This is conventional to a thriller as it builds suspense. This has inspired me as this frightens the audience as the setting and plot is so normal and familiar that it could happen to anybody. Also, mise-en-scene is used in low key lighting, which foreshadows deaths of characters. In the picture below, a high angle is used to make the victim inferior, foreshadowing her death, linking to the thriller genre as the character is weak and innocent. Lastly, the audience appeal to this as characters identities are shown, causing them to relate to what is shown.












The use of costume is very important and is shown in Prom Night as the villain is dressed in black which
raises suspense and the ideas of 'hidden identity' and the victim wears white prom dress, highlighting the idea of purity and innocence. This can link to the first Scream opening I analysed. This is because, the villain wears a mask, which builds tension. Also, the victim wears a white jumper showing again her status and foreshadows what is to come.











The opening of Scream is set in a house which shows a sense of normality, frightening the audience as this could happen to them. A clip I watched from the film 'The Strangers' shows the female victim alone in a house, too. This highlights to the audience that the victim is alone in a secluded setting. This links back to the conventional thriller as a positive setting should produce a tense atmosphere, and should be dark and secluded. Houses are proved the most popular within the thriller genre.

This again links to another inspiration 'Orphan'. This is because the main character/victim is troubled and problems continously occur in her day to day life. We bond with the characters and therefore worry about them and care what happens to them. Therefore, it is much more emotional if something bad happens to them. This further links back to the thriller genre as makers want the audience to have a bond with characters. This is because the audience would care if negative elements were to follow.

Lastly, I believe that The Conjuring is a positive influence as when being released to the cinemas, the film was believed/rumoured to be a true story that cannot be proved to this day. This frightens the audience even more and the film leaves an effect on the audience which is conventional to the thriller genre.

Below is an overview of my own idea for a narrative. I have taken all of my inspirations into account and after research from past posts, I identified elements of a good narrative and opening sequence.

Narrative idea: A child is bullied growing up and experiences many disturbing acts. This includes bullying and abuse at home. When he is older, he blames the whole world for what happened to him. Throughout, there is a theme of fire as he is a burns victim. He burns his victims himself, to make them pay for what happened to him. Overall, I believe this is a new idea that hasn't been seen before. A unique plot will intrigue the audience, causing them to engage with the whole narrative and gain a character/audience bond with quirky characters that are not explored in typical thrillers.
Opening sequence: The opening sequence should contain a series of childhood images, creepy music or nursery rhyme (which links to 'Orphan' as the child's song was a motif). This shows the audience the theme of a negative childhood. Overall, creepy elements such as nursery rhymes and clowns are a popular fear, appealing to a wider audience. Also the sequence will contain scenes that link to fire/smoking. This again engages the audience and shows them aspects of his troubled childhood. Lastly, it should contain the link back to clowns as the killer uses masks to cover up his burns and to be unknown to the victims. This overall is conventional to the thriller genre as the sequence contains eerie music, a masked killer and troubling flashbacks, this engages the audience from the beginning, which is what a successful opening should do.
Characters: The characters are, the main killer/burns victim.
Five old school friends (typical three boyish males, and two typical girls) who are also the bullies.
Killer's family who make a brief appearance, probably in flashbacks of the killer's troubled past.
Old school friends/bullies family. They can be shown in the present, the killer could possibly take his revenge out on these families.
Conventions: The opening sequence/overall narrative will contain a masked killer, which links back to the conventional thriller, leaving the audience in suspense. The setting is also a forest, including suspenseful and tense aspects.
Mise-en-scene: Dark, lonely settings (the woods and a house), linking back to conventional thrillers such as my inspirations that include 'Scream'. Facial expressions are also important within killings as emotions are shown to the audience, showing sadness and hurt relating back to the thriller genre.

The target audience for my thriller would be a fifteen. This is because it would contain violence and death. Also, the film would contain strong and violent language. My film would contain injury and threat which could easily scare a younger audience. The film would appeal to my chosen audience as it is suitable for the age. Overall, plot is unique and the opening sequence contains suspense and conventions to the thriller genre, causing the audience to want to continue watching. My next step is to share this research with my group, and show that I have analysed different areas within the genre by using inspirations that we could potentially use when planning our final narrative.

Research into mise-en-scene -Miss Georgiou

In this essay, I will be discussing Mise-En-Scene and how it will help and inspire me to plan my own thriller. Mise-en-scene means everything that appears in a scene and the five elements of mise-en-scene are settings and iconography, costume, hair and makeup, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour and positioning of characters and objects within the scene. The clip I chose is the 'Scream' opening sequence, where the victim (a blonde girl) is being taunted by the killer. I thought this sequence included many different elements of mise-en-scene as it creates shock, suspense and surprises the audience. You can view the clip here.

The  first element of mise-en-scene I will be analysing is 'positioning of objects'. This is found right at the beginning of tturns out to beifresearchthe killer patronizes and scares tidentim bdifthe phone. This would scare the audience as we see that the killer can very easily come in contact with the victim also, the phone leaves the audience in suspense as the killer starts to play a game with the victim. Leading from this, the audience connect with the character and want to know what will happen to her. The phone is an important and popular prop as it acts as a motif throughout the whole clip, thus showing how important this iconography is. This highlights a conventional thriller to the audience as the phone highlights the idea of hidden identity which scares the audience and adds the element of suspense. Furthermore, the ring of the phone shocks the audience, showing how a piece of iconography and sound is very conventional to the  thriller genre. Overall, the audience finds that the killer is calling the victim but have no idea of the purpoae and her fate is concealed, furthermore, this is how typical thriller writers want the audience to react.

This clip also contains the use of 'costume'. And the audience see thisbelement of mise-en-scene as the woman wears the same costume throughout. The victim wears a white jumper through the whole sequence which shows to the audience that she is the victim and this scares the audience as it foreshadows her fate. The colour white is typical to the thriller genre as it signifies innocence and purity. Linking to this, the woman is blonde which stereo-typically also refers to the idea of innocence. Blonde female victims are conventional to the thriller genre as they are used as a main victim an example of this is the film Pyscho. Lastly, the girl seems to have the 'girl next door' look which causes the audience to relate to her therefore, we care about what happens to her and the audience senses a lack of hope, relating to the character, themselves. Like the prop element before, this costume creates a sense or normality. She looks like a normal girl and this is running through the whole clip, even before any negative events occur. This would terrify the audience as they worry why she is getting targeted. Overall, this links to a conventional thriller as typical costumes are worn by characters to show the audience their status and forforeshadoif they are good or evil, in this case, the victim wears white. Another example, is a villain wearing black to show mystery and hidden identity like in this clip.

The setting is typical to the thriller genre and is an aspect of mise-en-scene. The same setting is used throughout the whole clip, which is a house in the middle of a forest. This highlights that the house is important and could foreshadow her death. The setting adds a sense of mystery and makes the audience think about what happens in a conventional thriller and what the victim's fate could be, this is because forests and houses are popular settings used in the thriller genre. This aspect of mise-en-scene shows the audience where key scenes are going to take place. Aswell as this, the house is the only house in that area, which highlights the victim's lonliness. Because of this, the atmosphere is eerie and tense. Therefore, the audience see that nothing positive can occur as the victim and killer are the only people in that area. This causes the audience to feel empathy towards the victim and want to find out her fate.

Also, the positoning of characters is an important aspect and is used when the victim runs to the door and locks it. This shows that the victim is scared and in trouble and that the door is significant as the woman was placed their for a reason. She locks the door, which scares the audience as we know that the killer is in her presence. Because of this, the audience can see the lack of safety and her negative emotions and the scary aspects of this situation. She is also wearing white and blends in with the background and from this the audience could infer that she is unimportant. The fact she locks the door relates and links to a conventional thriller as we can identify that she is unsafe and that even if she does lock the door her door, she still isn't completely out of harms way. The fact she rushes to the door and locks it shows that she is scared and on edge which makes the audience fe the same as from using different mise-en-scene effects, we as an audience care about the character. The setting before links to this point, highlighting even further the conventional thriller genre as she is not safe in her own home, causing the audience to relate to this, also. The use of the element positioning of character raises a large amount of questions from the audience. 'Will she die?' 'Where is the killer?'

Lastly, a character's facial expressions are used especially to show the victim, which is key to a typical thriller and an aspect of mise-en-scene. The expression of horror and shock is visable to the audience as she learns that the person on the phone isn't as they seem and as we feel linked to her, we do too. She is especially shocked when she finds that the killer knows her boyfriend and this raises suspense. This element of mise-en-scene helps to show the thriller genre as the victim is in danger and the audience is terrified also as overall, she isn't the only one in danger, her boyfriend is, too. Lastly, this point is conventional to the thriller genre because traditionally, victims act scared, shocked or saddened.

To conclude, many mise-en-scene elements are used within the opening sequence of Scream ndchosea are all conventional to the thriller genre and play a helpful role in the making of my own thriller. This research will help me plan my own thriller as this clip includes the typical thriller elements which are suspense, surprise and shock. Which are essential to add to my own thriller as the audience would be interested to watch the sequence. The costumes have inspired me as they make it easier for the audience to identify different roles and the fate of characters. Also, setting is really important and can increase the audience's fear. Lastly, the setting can raise suspense and could easily be twisted for example, a murder in an unsuspecting place such as somewhere light and innocent. Overall, research into mise-en-scene has helped me identify different elements that I could add to my own thriller sequence.