Thriller Research Task by Helen Scarlett

The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan)

• When I first watched this I thought all  of the people with hoods on were victims and the other men were villains. But when the hood is taken off the third man I almost straight away changed my mind, (is this because of his mask?). I also change my mind because of man with the gun’s hesitance when taking off the hood and his scared/shocked face when he finds out who he is. We also suddenly realise the man with the mask is wearing black, and therefore he is suddenly transformed into an antagonist.
• EDITING: Cuts - simple so the attention of the spectator isn't taken away from the action. Continuity Editing - Shot reverse shot (example), and 180 degree rule.
• CAMERA WORK: Extreme Long Shot, High Angle - establishes the setting, threatening because of height, so much could go wrong.

 
Over the Shoulder Two Shot - this zooms into a close up of   Bane's face to emphasise who the main character in the scene is.

• MISE-EN-SCENE: Costume - army uniforms. Setting - establishing shot, plane, in the air. Archetypes - army officers, rich man.
• SOUND: Diegetic - Speech (Bane's Mechanical voice and the other men shouting), the sound of the wind when they open the plane door, gun shots. Non-Diegetic - Music (violins, minor key, faced paced).

Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)

• When I first saw this clip I wanted to know the answers to the following questions; Who is the man? Why's he being chased? Who are the men casing him?
• EDITING:Morphing of the Birds Eye View to make the ground look further away then it is. Cuts = simple but effective, people are more interested in the film than the complicated editing.
• CAMERA WORK: Birds Eye View, looking down on street to show his vertigo.

 

 

 

Extreme Long Shot of the men running across the roof tops, establishes setting and foreshadows whats about to happen. Extreme Close Up, hands on rails, tensed hands show the pressure of the situation.

 

• MISE-EN-SCENE: Costume :police uniform, man running away is dressed all in white (makes us question if he's friend or foe), man behind is in dark brown smart suit and hat (well off, important). Archetypes:police officer.
• SOUND: Diegetic - emphasised sound of fast paced footsteps and the character's heavy breathing, gun fire, and the sound of the bullets missing their targets, the only speech n this clip is from the police officer; 'give me your hand' and his scream as he falls off the roof. Non-Diegetic - the BFI (British Film Industry) said this about the sound track in this clip: "Hitchcock's film is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same moment, again and again ... And the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfilment and despair. Herrmann really understood what Hitchcock was going for - he wanted to penetrate the heart of obsession", it is a very recognisable / famous piece of music.

Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese)

(LINK TO CLIP: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3240494105/  )

• When I  first saw this clip I was totally convinced by every thing I saw and heard, however, by the end of the film we find out that everything has been a total lie.
• EDITING: Cuts, simple but effective, people are more interested in the film, and being shocked than the complicated editing.
• CAMERA WORK: Extreme Long Shot, shows a small island with little population followzed by a zoom in following the car going past a group of black workers in a field (this shows us the period the film is set in, 1954).

 

Extreme Long Shot, (point of view shot?) of main characters docking at the harbour with police/guards, shows setting (remote, surrounded by water, one way on and off the island). Extreme Close Up of 'Deputy Marshal' badge, this makes the spectator think it's to prove the reality of the badge, but we later find out it's fake.

• MISE-EN-SCENE: Props and Costume represent the genre and time period of the film (Cars, Trench coats, etc.). Facial Expression  and Body Language are hostile which makes us think that they could be some kind of antagonist, however their costumes say otherwise - the facial expressions of suspicious looks from the guards make us think that they are worried about the missing lady, but we later find out it's because of the main character.
• SOUND: Non-Diegetic, music in minor key, cello, quiet at first then suddenly becomes louder and quiets again (this repeats over and over). Diegetic, the accents of the characters show where and when they are from (1950s, Southern America).

Kill Bill: Volume One (Quentin Tarantino)
(THIS SHOT FROM 'KILL BILL' IS FROM 00:36 TO 02:22 OF THE MAIN FEATURE OF THE FILM ON THE DVD)

• EDITING: Everything in this clip is in black and white (this shows how every thing is black and white to our main character, people either stand with her or against her) It also shows that this is a memory. There are only three shots edited together with simple cuts (even thought the clip is a minute long, there are only two cuts, which is the director Quentin Tarantino's style as he seems to like to do every thing in the most difficult way possible).
• CAMERA WORK: Close Up of the main character's face so we can't see who's talking to her, only his hand, this leaves the spectator questioning what has happened.

 

The only other shot in this clip is an Extreme Close Up of a man's feet walking across a wooden floor, this makes the character seem mysterious as we only ever see the man's hands and feet, then it goes back to the close up of the woman .

• MISE-EN-SCENE: Props, a white handkerchief with the name 'Bill' written on it, shows us who the man is, but not what he looks like. Costume, she's in a wedding dress, we see a smart expensive suit sleeve and smart shoes on Bill which shows he's wealthy and a dangerous villain. Make Up, blood all over the woman's face, a missing tooth, etc..
• SOUND: Diegetic, her deep breaths, him talking, gun being loaded, her saying 'Bill, it's your baby', gun shot is halfway through a sentence so it's sudden and makes it's spectators jump. All of the sound in this sequence is diegetic, so the characters can hear it, this suggests the setting is empty as the words seem to echo.

BY HELEN SCARLETT