Assault on Precinct 13... The opening

Assault on Precinct 13

Camera – Mid-shot of Jake talking; camera is slightly shaky, gives a sense of imbalance

Editing – Rogue Productions 'zooms' into screen followed by fade to black. Straight cut to man talking, jump cuts whilst Jake is talking, suggests he is uneasy/unsure about something. Straight cut to a Serbian man, who is only on screen for about a second. suggests he is unimportant

Mise-en-scene – Man we first see (Jake) is in a white, slightly grubby vest; has an unshaven face, suggests he isn't bothered by his appearance. Serbian man is clean shaven and better dressed than Jake; suggests he is more professional about the deal.

Sound – Whirring sound as Rogue Productions 'zooms' into screen. Man starts talking whilst screen is black. Jake is talking rather fast; suggests he wants this over with. Dog starts barking as drugs are passed from Jake to the Serbian man to an assistant.

Watched until 1:06

Analysis of the opening scenes of "The Matrix" (1999 - Andy and Lana Wachowski)

Watched to 3:35

Camera

·         Extreme Close-Up of policeman’s face, showing that he is slightly bored, with his gun up at his head, ready for action. Point Of View shot of the door being kicked down, shows the police’s power in that instance. Tilt up of Trinity’s face, showing absolute calm, shows that she is going to be powerful in this film. When Agents are confronting policeman, the policeman is low in the frame and they are high, showing that they have more power over him, even though he’s acting cocky. Through Trinity’s arm, you see the policeman coming towards her, and she is very large in the frame, and he’s tiny, which suggests that even though she looks defensive, she really has the upper hand. Bird’s eye view of Trinity after she has just beaten up all the policemen showing how much destruction she can cause

Editing

·         Shows “Matrix Code” with the title coming into it, shows that the film will have technology.  Fast straight cuts to create a quickened pace.

Sound

·         Action type music, the type that you hear before a fight, which shows that this film is going to be very action based. Talking over the phone with computer screens showing, shows that they are mysterious figures to be worked out later on.

Mise-en-scene

·         Street filled with police cars, shows that the scene is chaotic. When Agents step out, their body language is confident, they hold themselves up high, but the policeman bows his head and tries to look away, showing that he is weak to them.

Thriller Opening - Planning

 Your tasks:

1.       What DVDs do you have at home that are Thrillers?

a.       Watch the opening 2-3 minutes and do a detailed textual analysis

                                                               i.      What is told to the audience?

                                                             ii.      How is it conventional/unconventional

                                                            iii.      How has it inspired your own planning

2.       Begin brainstorming your thriller opening Ideas

a.       Plot Ideas

b.      Conventions

c.       Camera Shots/Angles etc

d.      Characters

e.      Sound + Music

f.        Locations

g.       Subgenre

First Two Minutes Of A Film

We expect to see:

• A title
• Names of the actors
• See at least one of the main characters

Memento

Camera

Extreme close up of blood on the wall. Close up of bullet on the floor. Shots are quite tightly framed, conceals information. P.O.V of him holding Polaroid picture.

Editing

It’s backwards… All of it. Straight cuts. Simple blue font used in titles, but the blue gets darker.

Sound

String music; builds suspense. Hear the Polaroid picture being waved about (un-developing; time’s going backwards). Hear the camera whirring, the bullet and the glasses rattling on the floor. No dialogue. Sounds that are used are used to draw us in.

Mise-en-scene

Dark colours, not very brightly lit, man has a wedding ring on; suggests he’s a “normal” guy, man is wearing neutral colours; again suggesting he’s “normal”, man also has cuts on his face; suggests he’s involved with violence; BUT he looks scared/upset; suggests that he doesn’t want to kill the other man. Polaroid – set not too long ago. Lots and lots of blood.

Famous Thriller Directors

M. Night Shyamalan directed many films, such as The Village, The Sixth Sense, and Signs.

Christopher Nolan - Memento, and The Dark Knight.

Some Thriller Titles...

The Silence of the Lambs; starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster; directed by Jonathan Demme This is in the psychological thriller sub genre.

District B13; starring Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle and Tony D'Amario; directed by Pierre Morel. This is in the action thriller sub genre

The Village; starring Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard and Adrien Brody; directed by M. Night Shyamalan. This is in the psychological thriller sub genre.

I chose these 3 films to get clips of because in my opinion I think they are good examples of the thriller genre. In my next post I'll include some that are pre-1990s and that I haven't seen :)

Thriller Conventions

A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.

A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the audiece expects to be resolved.

A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.

Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.

Themes of identity.

Themes of mirroring.

Themes of voyeurism.

Protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist.

Titles often reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonist’s psychological state.

There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.

Mise en scene which echoes/ mirrors the protagonist’s plight.

Thriller Conventions

Definition of a Thriller

Wikipedia defines a thriller as:

"a broad genre of literature, film and television that includes numerous and often overlapping sub-genres"

It also lists the sub genres, which are given as: Action thriller, Conspiracy thriller, Crime thriller, Disaster thriller, Drama thriller, Eco-thriller, Erotic thriller, Legal thriller, Medical thriller, Political thriller, Psychological thriller, Spy thriller (also a sub genre of spy fiction), Techno-thriller and Religious thriller.