Friday, 15 January 2010
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Narrative Structure
Narrative structure is about two things: the content of a story and the form used to
tell the story. Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative structure are
story and plot.
Story refers to the raw materials of dramatic action as they might be described in
chronological order. Plot refers to how the story is told — the form of storytelling, or
the structure, that the story follows.
If we want to analyze narrative structure, we can use “who,” “what,” and “where”
questions to look at the story or content of a movie. “How” and “when” questions are
used to examine plot structure.
Conventionally, both story and plot are described in terms of how a character’s life is
disrupted by an event or change in his/her situation; this causes a series of conflicts
that the character(s) must face, including the major conflict that is eventually resolved
at the end of the film. “Conflict” in this model can take many forms, be it emotional,
interpersonal, or even between the character and his/her physical environment.
tell the story. Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative structure are
story and plot.
Story refers to the raw materials of dramatic action as they might be described in
chronological order. Plot refers to how the story is told — the form of storytelling, or
the structure, that the story follows.
If we want to analyze narrative structure, we can use “who,” “what,” and “where”
questions to look at the story or content of a movie. “How” and “when” questions are
used to examine plot structure.
Conventionally, both story and plot are described in terms of how a character’s life is
disrupted by an event or change in his/her situation; this causes a series of conflicts
that the character(s) must face, including the major conflict that is eventually resolved
at the end of the film. “Conflict” in this model can take many forms, be it emotional,
interpersonal, or even between the character and his/her physical environment.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Characteristics of a Thriller
Thrillers often take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or high seas. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger: law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. While such heroes have traditionally been men, women lead characters have become increasingly common; for an early example see Segourney Weavers's character Ripley, in the movie Alien, 1979.
Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened; while a murder mystery would be spoiled by a premature disclosure of the murderer's identity, in a thriller the identity of a murderer or other villain is typically known all along. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements. While a mystery climaxes when the mystery is solved, a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others. In thrillers influenced by 'film noir' and tragedy , the compromised hero is often killed in the process.
In recent years, when thrillers have been increasingly influenced by horror or psychological-horror exposure in pop culture, an ominous or monstrous element has become common to heighten tension. The monster could be anything, even an inferior physical force made superior only by their intellect, a supernatural entity, aliens, serial killers, or even microbes or chemical agents. Some authors have made their mark by incorporating all of these elements throughout their bodies of work.
Location Scouting
As i live in quite a rural area the only way i can travel anywhere is via car, with parents. So when planning a date to go filming i need to make sure that every turns up and i am able to get there.
My local area has a big forest near in which we could base our thriller, the forest is quite dark and scary and would make a perfect place to base a thriller film. Although lighting would be an issue, we would have to find a day with suitable weather for the camera and for the camera shots we want. I have a quite powerful torch which could be used for the lighting side of things.
My local area has a big forest near in which we could base our thriller, the forest is quite dark and scary and would make a perfect place to base a thriller film. Although lighting would be an issue, we would have to find a day with suitable weather for the camera and for the camera shots we want. I have a quite powerful torch which could be used for the lighting side of things.
Thriller films- Top Thriller films-imdb.com
Ridley Scotts - Alien
Alien is a sci-fi thriller and is set in space, where you see variety of different camera techniques, sound and mise en scene the way these are shown makes the spic sci-fi thriller a great film.
At the start of the film, the camera pans through space, and there is no music other than the odd small tremor of bass which creates the tense atmosphere. Even watching the credits at the start you get a feeling of tension. From this small scene at the start i have realised that i find, the less music there is the more tense it is. I think this is because in most films, you get certain music that sets the mood and atmosphere and you kind of know what is likely to happen through the music. But if there is no sound at all you don't know what to expect thus making it tense. I think as a group when making our film we should consider using less music making it more tense. "less means more".
The mise en scene is also really well done, as you can see that its in the future just by the clothes that they are wearing, they seem quite futuristic and yet beleiveable. What makes Alien so great is the constant feel of uneasiness. Right from the beginning you have a feeling that something is wrong. The crew is not particularly friendly towards each other, and you truly feel all the in-group tension.
For its time the visual effects are great, and the camera shots around the ship are really good as they look like the ship is real and makes you think you are in it, with lots of POV shots. There's lots of close ups of people faces which shows emotion. But most impressively is when it zooms out showing the planets and the land scape.
The film is really professionally done and i would happily watch it again. And through watching it, i have learnt about how to make a film tense through the sound and camera shots. And i think that Tension is a ket part in making thriller films what they are.
At the start of the film, the camera pans through space, and there is no music other than the odd small tremor of bass which creates the tense atmosphere. Even watching the credits at the start you get a feeling of tension. From this small scene at the start i have realised that i find, the less music there is the more tense it is. I think this is because in most films, you get certain music that sets the mood and atmosphere and you kind of know what is likely to happen through the music. But if there is no sound at all you don't know what to expect thus making it tense. I think as a group when making our film we should consider using less music making it more tense. "less means more".
The mise en scene is also really well done, as you can see that its in the future just by the clothes that they are wearing, they seem quite futuristic and yet beleiveable. What makes Alien so great is the constant feel of uneasiness. Right from the beginning you have a feeling that something is wrong. The crew is not particularly friendly towards each other, and you truly feel all the in-group tension.
For its time the visual effects are great, and the camera shots around the ship are really good as they look like the ship is real and makes you think you are in it, with lots of POV shots. There's lots of close ups of people faces which shows emotion. But most impressively is when it zooms out showing the planets and the land scape.
The film is really professionally done and i would happily watch it again. And through watching it, i have learnt about how to make a film tense through the sound and camera shots. And i think that Tension is a ket part in making thriller films what they are.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Location Scouting:
Transport - I live about a 3 minute walk away from a train station, so i would be able to get to and from places by the train. There is also a bus station a few meters away from the train station so i would also be able to travel by bus to places. Also, depending on the times and days, i may be able to get a lift with my dad.
Home - My house would be available to film in, but it is quite small and is in a very enclosed area, with no open spaces nearby.
Local Area - In my area, there are no open spaces as i live right next to the town centre, so there are no forests or fields nearby that would be suitable to film a thriller in.
Lighting - The sources of lighting would be plug sockets or battery power only. Plug sockets are available in my house, but i do not know of anyone that has powerful torches, and i do not have one myself, so that would need to asked around and sorted between the group.
Transport - I live about a 3 minute walk away from a train station, so i would be able to get to and from places by the train. There is also a bus station a few meters away from the train station so i would also be able to travel by bus to places. Also, depending on the times and days, i may be able to get a lift with my dad.
Home - My house would be available to film in, but it is quite small and is in a very enclosed area, with no open spaces nearby.
Local Area - In my area, there are no open spaces as i live right next to the town centre, so there are no forests or fields nearby that would be suitable to film a thriller in.
Lighting - The sources of lighting would be plug sockets or battery power only. Plug sockets are available in my house, but i do not know of anyone that has powerful torches, and i do not have one myself, so that would need to asked around and sorted between the group.