SPY THRILLER CONVENTION FINAL PRODUCT

SPY THRILLER CONVENTIONS CREATION PROCESS

With the same group (Me, Mickey, and Jenny), we created a short spy thriller clip that we believe contains aspects of conventional spy thriller films for example a man in a suit playing the spy(Mickey), some form of Hi-Tech electronic and people watching his every move. During this project Mickey played the role of the spy and he was in charge of audio and sound effects for our clip, Jenny was in charge of using aftereffects to create special effects such as the surveillance tv effect and I was in charge of the sequencing and colour correcting of the clips. All three of us took part in the filming processes.
Our story board is essentially a spy walking into a public area and hiding into a private room where nobody can see him. He opens up his computer to hack into the system of the building and a system shut down sound effect was used to emphasise the fact that it has been hacked into. The spy then walks out of the room knowing that he is being watched, clicks his fingers and the whole building goes dark, signifying that he gained full control of the building and the people watching him is now powerless and unable to track him.

SUBGENRES OR THRILLER

Split in to groups, we researched about the sub genres of thriller together to create a slideshow:

CONVENTIONAL CREDIT STRUCTURE

We analysed the opening of the film Panic Room and identified the conventional credit structure.

THRILLER CONVENTIONS

AUDIENCE SECGMENTATION

Audience Segmentation is dividing the audience into specific groups to be able to efficiently focus the marketing of films to the target audience.

Some examples of audience Segments are :

• Gender
• Age
• Race/Ethnicity
• (experiences) (fears) Personality
• Occupation
• Interests
• Wealth
• Class

INCOMES AND SOCIAL GRADING CATEGORIZATION :

ZODIAC

Director : 
David Fincher 

Is the director of Se7en, Fight club, Panic Room, Gone Girl, 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The game, Curious Case or Benjamin Button)

Experienced with Directing Thrillers

ZODIAC 2007

GENRE : Crime, Drama, Thriller, Non-Fiction, Mystery, SERIAL KILLER

STARRING : Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhall

STORYLINE : 

- Murder

- Investigation Begins

- Another Murder - recognised pattern

- Slowly Track down killer

- No Suspects match 

NARRATIVE RANGE :

UNRESTRICTED (Big Picture)

Audience knows more than characters

- we know the Zodiac was never caught

- what is about to happen

Shown in the Film by :

- Long shots

- Wide Angle

- High Angle - Omnipotent view,Taxi scene

RESTRICTED (Detailed Picture)

Audience learns information/plot same time as the character

- Details of Case 

- Suspects

Shown in the film by :

- Close Ups

- We learn the evidence as characters

- Bombarded with Detail

CHARACTERS :

GRAYSMITH

- Detached from other people
- Motivated
- Friendly
- Curious
- Brave

Mis En scene that create these impressions about Graysmith: 

In many of the scenes in this movie, Graysmith is shown walking or working alone a lot of the times and in this particular shot the colour tones used is cool and dull, signifying the solitariness and lack of warmth from social interaction

In this shot, we see from the point of view of Graysmith where he looks into the door from outside of the bar. The fact that he was standing outside and not included within the group of reporters signifies the isolation of Graysmith and the completely different worlds the reporters and he lives in.

Graysmith is shown standing by the wall in almost every scene where there is a meeting, especially when there are inspectors involved. There are several connotations that i received from this; one being it emphasizes the segregation between Graysmith and the reporters, and the other being that in this shot, the three people standing up are the ones that are genuinely passionate and interested in the case of the Zodiac.

Graysmith is seen peering out from the outside in several scenes of the movie, this suggests the extent of his curiosity and devotion to the case, always wanting to know more about it. Although he is unable to obtain resources about the case directly, he is always shown waiting on the other side to gain information indirectly.

TOSCHI

-Idealistic

- Hardworking

- Devoted to the Case and Law

- Stylish

Mis En scene that create these impressions about Toschi: 

WHY DO WE WATCH SCARY FILMS?

SUBVERSIVE
Sadistic : deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others
Masochistic: putting ourselves in the situation of the victim

ARISTOTLE 384BC - 322BC
Catharsis Theory : we purge/cleanse our own negative/violent feeling, by watching, consuming and experiencing violent, negative imagery












DOLF ZILLMAN
Excitation Theory : The negative emotion gained from violent/scary/negative imagery intensify the positive after it has been resolved

GLEN D. WALTERS
What do films need to be scary : 
1) TENSION - created by use of micro-elements and manipulation of information and narrative
2) RELEVANCE - The fear generated has to be relevant to the audience and believed
3) UNREALISM - The audience has to be aware that it is not real to avoid trauma/harm

OUR FEARS AND THE FILMS THAT PLAY ON THEM

In Class today, we identified some of our fears and how film creators used this to their advantage, linking their movie to the conventional fears in society. 

SHAPE THEORY

A theory that we studied was how the denotations and connotations of shapes in media are able to affect audience's perceptions on what they are watching:

FILM OPENING CONVENTIONS

In order to start our coursework project, we had to be familiarised with what we are going to produce (FILM OPENINGS) and what are expected in them. 

There are a few conventions(what audience expect to see) in film openings:

CHILDREN OF MEN OPENING

We looked at an example of an extremely effective film opening from the film Children of Men and analysed the different components that made it so successful.

REPRESENTATION

SETTING

At the start of the opening, the audience is introduced to the situation of this film through a series of news reports. Although we are only able to hear voices, we are able to easily identify the unusual occurrences that were mentioned :

• Army occupation of Mosques
• Day 1000, Siege of Seattle
• British boarders closed for 8 years
• Death of "youngest man on earth"

In this opening the audience is also informed the date and location of the setting, stating in the corner "London, 16th November 2027". With this, we are immediately able to figure out that this film is set in a dystopian universe set in the future where many abnormal news being told such as "Siege of Seattle", which is what we audiences associated as a calm and peaceful city.

Another way the audience was introduced to the setting was through a pan following the main character outside the coffee shop. In this shot we are able to see several things that help create an impression of the environment:

• Chinese carts and TukTuks (asian vehicles) - suggests that London in 2027 is very culturally diverse as in current days and real world it is not what people would expect to see in the city of London
• Dirty street with rubbish bags lying on sidewalks - creates impression that instead of developing for the good, the world became unhygienic and grim
• Bad fumes and traffic - again, emphasises the lack of civilisation and refinement that you would expect the world to be persistently improving on
• Military planes/helicopters - suggests oppression and impending violence in the society controlled by officials

CHARACTERS

We are introduced to two significant characters in this opening : "Baby Diego" and the main character of the film whom the character follows throughout the clip.

Baby Diego is the only name we are introduced to in this clip and it gives the audience a lot of information about the dystopian world.

An 18 year old man is "the youngest man on earth" and had just been stabbed to death. The introduction of Diego suggests the violence and unsettling problems the world is facing.

The Main Character can easily be identified in the film because the camera follows him throughout the whole opening clip and he undeniably stood out amongst the others.

The man is portrayed as scruffy and not clean shaven, suggesting that he does not have full control over his life, which is similar to the situation of the dystopian world he lives in. The stern and lack of expressions of his face gives the impression that he is a cynical man. He is also wearing very dark colours to support the previous ideas.

He seems to be extremely unbothered by the situation(death of baby Diego), standing out amongst the crowd of viewers and his sole goal being to get the cup of coffee from the shop. The composition shows that he is the only person with his back facing the audience, indicating the detachment to the society and lack of empathy he has left for this world.

In this shot we can see the main character pouring alcohol into his coffee that he just bought. The fact that he is consuming alcohol during the day can suggest that the man is alcoholic, or drinking in order to suppress the depression of facing the reality.

ENIGMAS ESTABLISHED

• Why is the death of Baby Diego a big deal?
• How can he possibly be the youngest person on earth?
• What caused the explosion?
• Bomb? who planted the bomb? Why the coffee shop?
• Who is this man?
• Why is he drinking?
• Why doesn't he care?