sound editing;

When doing the sound editing using Live Type for our short film, I found it very hard to work out exactly how to add sound to the film and how to edit it.  We we're only shown once and i believe after being shown a few more times that I will be more abel to get it.  However in another lesson we made a anamatic film.  Firstly we took about twenty pictures, then chose the best ones and edited them together to make an extremley short film.  When editing it I found it very easy we used Final Cut Pro, and after a small amount of practise new what I was doing.

Who watches thrillers ?

                                     Genre ,Gender & Age

 

There were 31 suspense films released in 2009  and there were 

Action, animation and comedy account fro 52% of Box Office in the UK in 2009.These genres are so popular because the reach out to a wide range of audience they appeal to males and females and to people of all different ages .

 Thrillers accounted for quite a low proportion of UK Box Office takings (4% in 2009) This is because alot of thrillers fall under different category's

 

Looking at the 'genre by gender' diagram above, you can derive  Thriller audiences are spread out between genders . The diagram tells you that , females usually prefer to watch romance , period and suspense movies whilst males usually prefer to watch action and crime movies  

 

• The Stepfather – 15

• Marathon Man – 18

• The Taking of Pelham 123 – 15

• What Lies Beneath – 15

• Jaws – 12

• The Shining – 15

• Psycho – 15

• Fatal Attraction – 18

• Déjà vu – 12A

• He Loves Me He Loves Me Not – 12

All of these films have low age certificates , the majority of these movies are 15 + which  indicates that most of these thrillers are directed towards teenagers . This has left me wondering who my target audience will be for my film . I will try to target a variety of ages and i will try keep the target gender mixed . 

Documentary

                           WATCHING A DOCUMENTARY

When Thomas Sutcliffe says " Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment .While there are many tupes of seduction , the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible " He means that the opening of the film needs to grab the audience if the opening grabs the audience it is near certain that they will be seduced into watching more . Acorrding to Jean Jacques Beineix the risk of instant arousal is that the rest of the film has to be as great . If the film falls off from is fantastic opening the audience are going to lose patience and will lose interest . 

A good beginning must make the audience feel that it doesnt know nearly enough yet , and at the same time make sure that it doesnt know too little , this is as the audience can adjust to what there watching . The audience need to know what type of movie their watching and how they should judge it they need to know enough but not too much . If you know too much there is no point in you watching it and if you know too little you become confused and frustrated  Stanley Kauffman says that a classic opening is one with no dialouge and opens with an establishing shot .

Kyle Coopers title sequence to the film Seven is so effective because it wakes you up and setttles you into your seat .  What is meant by "a faviourte trick of film noir" this trick is starting with the ending.The film shining creates suspense because the person is being followed.

animatic movie

Title Sequence

 A title-sequence that inspires me at the moment is the 'Memento'. I enjoy the fact that the beginning of the film is actually the ending to the film. Also the movie is shown in black-and-white and also colour. The black-and-white is shown in chronological order where as the coloured scenes are in reverse. In the opening scene we have extreme close ups of a photo, of a bullet and blood. This is to show us they are significant to that scene. The pace in the opening is very slow and everything is going backwards. This makes us ask question, but we know, even if it is confusing, our questions will be answered. 

Here is the opening scene to Memento:

Thriller Sub-genres

Thriller movies are split into many sub genres. Some of these sub-genre are:
Crime Thrillers- Seven, Silence of the Lambs

Supernatural Thrillers- What Lies Beneath, The Others
Psychological Thrillers- Psycho, Memento
Action Thrillers- Deja Vu, Casino Royale
Romance Thrillers- He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

There are two sub-genres that inspire me. One is crime thrillers. The reason why i find it interesting is because they usually follow the life of the criminal. This could lead us to finding out more about the criminal and we start to feel sorry for them or we find out why they have been taken into prison. Another sub-genre I enjoy and I am inspired by is psychological  thrillers. I find it interesting how the director and the movie are able to confuse the audience and make them believe one thing that is actually something else. Also it may be that the protagonist's conflict is emotional or psychological not physical.

Intertextuality in films

Intertextuality is when an author borrows and transforms it and they reference the original . Alfred hitch hocks film have become landmarks in the film history and it is no surprise that his films have been referenced in many other thriller films made after him. Spotting these references can be hard to spot but sometimes they are so easy that we look pass them, I have looked at some films which use intertextuality which I find interesting,

In The Step Farther there is a scene where the step farther is chasing after Susan with a Big kitchen knife, she runs upstairs into the bathroom where he has her cornered she then quickly stabs him with a sharp object and runs away the step farther is then left there in pain and he slowly drops into the bathroom and pulls the shower curtain and it drops. Some aspects in this scene is borrowed and  identical to the movie "Psycho" as both killers have big kitchen knifes and the way they killing happened are similar even though in the step farther he did not die the way he fell down and grabbed the shower curtain just like the women in psycho who got stabbed and as she died fell down and grabbed the shower curtain breaking it down.

In the movie fatal attraction the women tries to kill the man using a big kitchen knife it seems as if since psycho many thriller now have big knifes as weapons it has now become and icon object in which you see multiple of time sin horrors and thrillers. I think using a big knife is a sign of danger and over the years it has been known to be used by a lot of serial killers to kill their victims , in fatal attraction the women who tries to kill the man does it in a psycho way she goes all out and attacks him this reminded me of the old women in the shower scene in psycho. The final clips that I watched was a student thriller film called succubus where there is a young boy showering while he does that we see camera shots of somebody walking towards the bathroom. we then see a young girl smelling the young boys clothes very passionately showing that she has strong emotions for this young boy she then later gets a knife and stabs him we then see blood dripping showing death. From looking at these clips I have released that  many films borrow from one another and it has been happing for  along time now. From the use of the big knife or using shower scenes or crazy women as killers they all interlink with each other one way or another. All of them creating suspense

Gender and Genre;

There thirty one suspense films released in 2009 and throughout the last year 408 and have been released.  Action, animation and comedy have made the most money for the box offices in 2009 because they appeal to both male and female audiences as well as young children.  On the other hand Thrillers haven't earn't much money as they are a harder genre to furfill, they also cut out a wide range of audiences.  Thrillers are watched by both genders as they are a mix between suspense which is what women susposdly like and horror which men susposdly like according to the 'gender diagram'.  So many thrillers are now rated between 15-18 showing that thrillers are aimed at a much older audience, this cuts out a large percentage of possible target audiences.

Title Sequence; Arlington Road

Documentary on film openings;

The opening of a film must grab the audiences attention and at the same time not give away too much of the storyline.  This makes the views want to stay and watch the film. Jean Jacques Beineix believes that if a film starts automatically with something exciting the audience is aroused straight away, meaning when less interesting things happen the views become bored.  The opening mustn't give away too much yet neither leave the audience not knowing anything.  This is so that the views feel the need to keep watching.  The opening to 'Panic Room' is what is known as a classic opening as it starts with an establishing shot and closes in till we first see the main character with large bold credits. Kyle Coopers title sequence to his film 'Seven' is extremely effective because its a discrete opening and gives nothing away of the actual story line yet shows its possible genre.  Also the music helps show what genre the film may be, this make the audience feel as though they know something about the film, and makes them want to watch more of it.  When Orson Welles made his film 'Touch Of Evil' he origonaly decided to go straight into the film without a title sequence.  However Universal Studios wanted different and so they changed it, so that it started with rolling credits instead.  At the time they thought it would ruin the whole film to start it without credits.  So they went ahead with it.  When directors mention "a favorite trick of Film Noir" they mean when the film starts at the end, for example in "Momento".  The opening of the film 'The Shining' creates the suspense as the camera follows the character from a birds eye view as though they are being followed, the audience has a sense that they might be travelling in the wrong direction.

'Watching' Documentary

When watching a movie, the beginning needs to be interesting to make the viewers carry on watching. Thomas Sutcliffe said "Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible." By saying this Tomas Sutcliffe meant that the beginning must grab the audiences attention. By saying instant arousal he means starting the movie with something big.

On the other hand Director Jean Jacques Beineix believes there are risks to an 'instant arousal'. He believes that the viewers should accept that they have to wait for satisfaction. If you start strong, what would you do next. He believes that if the beginning is interesting and then you start to introduce the film, your viewers will be disinterested and will not enjoy the movie. The beginning to a movie should never have to much information."A good beginning must make the audience feel that it doesn't know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure it doesn't know too little." As Alfred Hitchcock once said the viewers need to know more than the character. This is so that they are interested in watching the rest of the movie.

Critic Stanley Kauffm described the classic opening as an opening that starts with an establishing shot. Such as in the movie Panic Room, it starts by showing us New York City, then buildings, people and then Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart; the main characters. The title sequence for the film 'Seven', is very effective due to the unsettling music and the weird images shown such as the cutting of the hands. The titles are small, handwritten and it looks like the film is broken.  Orson Welles wanted to start the film, 'A Touch of Evil' by jumping straight into the film and not giving the audience a chance to prepare themselves. He did not want any titles at the beginning. Unfortunately Universal Studios did not agree. They were too cautious and decided to add titles to the opening and 'blunted' Orson Welles originality.

Many directors create a brilliant opening by using the trick of Film Noir. This is when you start the movie with the ending. For example 'Memento, Pulp Fiction and Casino'. Casino starts with Robert De Niro walking towards his car. When he gets in the car blows up. This is a great opening and pulls the audience straight into the film and leaves them with questions to be answered. This makes them want to watch the rest of the film.  Another film with a great opening is 'The Shining'. There is a lot of suspense in the beginning of 'The Shining' due to the camera work and the mise en scene. We see the camera following the car like a predator. This makes us know the car is heading in a bad direction. This leaves the audience wanting to know where the car is heading to.

How suspense is created in The Step Farther

In class we watched the film The Step Farther, While watching the film I marked

three suspenseful moments. 

The First Example is from the opening scene of The Step Farther. The scene opens up with the step farther in the bathroom  shaving his beard and changing his looks. At first look this seems normal yet we discover that his indeed transforming himself into a somebody else and changing identity's why we do not yet know. He then later goes down stairs with his luggage, The mis en scene of the house if very warming it is Christmas so there are Christmas decorations, pictures of the family and so on. We get a sense of a loving home. As he walks to the kitchen and makes himself some coffee and toast church hymns start to play this does give the scene a celebration feel as it is Christmas but yet the song is in some way sinister as the song is very airy and

in a way scary also them using the church hymns can also relate to death. 

As the step farther finishes his  coffee and toast he walks out of the kitchen then the camera drastically tilts to the side and there the audience sees a little boy his face laying on the breakfast table dead. This creates lot's of tension as the camera tilts revealing the body it puts the viewer in shock as that is not what they suspected to see so they go into shock. When revealing  the body the music also changes it's tone and the pitch goes lower helping create further

tension. 

As the step farther makes his way out the house more and more body's of the family is revealed all of them dead. In the surrounding of their own home. This whole scene creates lot's of suspense as in the beginning we see what we think is a normal man shaving and changing his looks go down stares to discover that he is a murderer the tilt of the camera and the different angles of the dead bodies gives the audience knowledge that this man has killed this family. The audience is in shocked and in suspense as they do not know why he has done this and what has happened. The man later walks to the door b4 leaving he looks at the body of a dead girl on the floor where he has a flash back of him attacking her, this also indicates that this man might be psychopathic. He the leaves this leaves the audience engaged in the film and makes them what to know more.

The Second Example is The death of the elderly women next door neighbour. One day the elderly women next door warned Susan about her new husband stating the she saw him on America's most wanted. Susan laugh sit off and then tells the stepfather later. Us knowing the truth we know he is a killer and the old women was right. When Susan goes out to the elderly women's house. At the old women house she hears the door ring and she goes to answer it but nobody is out there. so she steps out to check while doing so we get a point of view shot of somebody watching the old women, this adds suspense as the audience know that something might happen. As Alfred Hitchcock explained suspense can be created when the audience knows something the character doe snot know so us seeing somebody watching her creates suspense. As the old women comes back into the house the camera goes back on her as she looks around. As she comes back into the house we suddenly see a black figure run across the camera this creates shock and makes the audience shock as it was unexpected. The camera then turns and shows that it was just a cat and she is also re leaved. As she then turns around there standing there  is the step farther the audience then jumps again as we know he is not happy at the fact she told Susan about him,. He then grabs her while she struggles the audience have sympathy for the old women as we know she cannot fight back because of her age. we get different shot's of him pushing her aggressively the suspense is killer as we do not know what he attends to do with her  He then Pushes her down the stairs where she breaks her neck causing death.  

Introduction To Camera Skills

 How to use the camera 
In our lesson we were taught ...

• How to film 
• How to adjust the camera on the tripod 
• How to place the battery in the camera and take it out
• How to put the memory card in the camera 

What NOT to do with the camera

• Do not leave the camera unattended
• Do not withdraw the camera without using your media card 

                                                 
For our task we had to film a bag shot scene . We all discussed how we was going portray this scene .  Although we had a variety of ideas , we all decided on one strong idea . We came up with conclusion  the main 2 characters were going to be spy's  one of the characters face was going to be kept hidden this gave the the scenes a sense of mystery . This was challenging as we had to film a variety of different camera angles without showing of the spy's face . We had approximately 1 hour and a half  to do this . We tried to keep dialogue to a minimal to preserve a mysterious element to the scene . Once we had finished film our scenes we decided we needed to edit them . We filmed over 20 scenes and chose the best out of them . We did the editing in final cut , this was the second time i used this programme it was effective and was able to edit our video smoothly .    

The things we did well

• We used a variety of shots 
• We was direct and straight to the point 
• Our point of view shot was realistic 
• We were time efficient

Things we could improve on

• Their was to much space above the characters  heads
• We also needed to film more scenes , lack of scenes meant that we did not have much selection 

Introduction to Camera and Editing

In my media lesson we got to use cameras. I have never done any type of filming for media before so this was my first chance to learn everything. I was excited to have the opportunity to use the camera. In the lesson I learned how to:

• place the battery into the camera and take it out
• put the memory cards into the camera
• place the camera on the tripod and how to take it off
• film

I was also told they safety precautions for the camera. I like the tripod because it lets us pan and tilt, but I had some difficulty putting the camera onto the tripod and taking it off.

My group were give the story of a 'Bag Swap'. We had many ideas, but we all agreed on the same one; a confronted bag swap. We decided that we will not see the main characters face and both characters were spies. This was how we made it interesting.

The next lesson we were able to film. I was excited but really scared too. We had our storyboard and our ideas ready. We also knew we had to get an extreme close up, a close up, an over the shoulder shot and a point of view shot. We ended up of too many shots, that were not long enough. If we had more time I think the movie could have been longer and the outcome would have been better than the one we have now.

Our movie was filmed in the hall of the college. We made it a public area because we wanted the bag swap to stand out to everything around it. We made sure that both characters had bags that looked similar or we used the same bag. We used the tripod for most shots, but some were hand-held such as the point of view shot.

Once we finished we went back to the class and uploaded the clips onto the macs and used Final Cut Pro to edit the clips. Some clips fitted well together whereas others needed more time or an extra clip to look good. I enjoyed using Final Cut Pro because it was the first time i had ever used it and i learned a lot that I could do to the clips. This helped us work as a group and I got to know everyone in my group better. We were also able to be very creative.

3 things we did well:

• Our point of view shot looked really realistic.
• We used a variety of shots.
• Our panning.

Three things we could improve on:

• Less head space above the actors.
• Manage the time we have better.
• Work on the editing.

Thriller Sub - Genres

Thrillers can be to a divide into a variety of sub-genres .
These sub-genres include :

Crime thriller : Crime thrillers usually involve murder, killers , chases etc Crime thrillers usally focus on the criminals rather then the policemen  . These types of thrillers are usally action packed and have the audience on the edge of their seats .                          

                                                                                                              Psyschological thriller: Psyschological thrillers are less physical and their is a larger focus on the chracters mental strength and shrewdness/cleverness  . 

Supernatural thriller : Supernatural thrillers normally envolve a hero or villian with un naturalistic super powers . These type of thrillers are normally packed with action and have a varitey of plot twist which create supense

Action thriller :  Action thrillers consist of alot of violence . These type of thrillers are usally fast pace and are ofter pulse raising due to the high level of intensity the run at .



.                          The genre that inspires me at the current moment is pyschological thrillers . They get the audience to think and have the audience cosntantly thinking whilst watching the movie . With Pyschological thrillers , the audience is constantly focused and once you put everything together you get a great sense of acomplisment . Pyschological thrillers are un predictable and  also have numerous twist which can be exhillaration to watch

Our film analysis

Whilst making our short film we realised that we needed more time to make it, and we needed more time to prepare our soundtrack.  We needed incidental music that created suspence, the music was crucial for our film in order to show that it was a thriller.  The very minimal script made it more sinister because it gave nothing away.  The film could have been a lot more successful if we had more time to plan, film and edit, and if we had used our time more wisley.

'The Bag Swap'

Thriller Sub-Genres

Thriller is a genre of film, literature and television. Thrillers
are known for creating intense excitment, suspense and tension.

There are many types of sub-genres in thriller here is a list
some of the sub-genres.

Crime Thrillers ( Collateral, Deja Vu, Eye For An Eye)
Psychological Thrillers (Black swan, Phycho, Donnie Darko)
Supernatural Thrillers (The Others, The Six Sense, What Lies Beneath)
Action Thrillers (Rambo, Salt, James Bond)

Deja Vu (Crime Thriller)

Crime thrillers show different accounts of crime, usually focused on
criminal activity consisting of murders, robberies, guns and
car chases all of these are used to create a action packed crime film.

Psycho (Psychological Thriller)

Psychological thrillers tend to be about things related to the mind
or how the mind is processed. Most characters have conflicts to do
with the mind rather than physical conflict. Characters often try
to discover what is real or not and are sometimes confused on their
own identity. Some thrillers show a persons perception of the world
through their eyes.

The Six Sense (Supernatural Thriller)

Supernatural thrillers always keep viewers at the end of their seats
just like in horror films using the same elements with ghost and death.
Most supernatural thrillers characters battling some sort of paranormal
force or a situation where they are influenced or controlled by
otherworldly forces. These types of films have audiences heart pumping,
second guessing and frightened.

Rambo (Action Thriller)

Action thriller is a very well known sub-genre as it is used a lot
in many thriller films. Action thrillers have big explosions and
consist of guns, bombs, and violence. They are used a lot in big
holly wood blockbusters. They can have some elements of crime
thrillers and mystery with the help of all these things action
thrillers are very fast paced and fun to watch films.

For me personally I enjoy watching supernatural thrillers as I
think hey create more tension and suspense then the other sub-genres.
Supernatural thrillers grab audiences more as they use very good
story lines that keep the audience anticipating for more on what
is going to happen next. They keep you at the edge of your seat
as they are so intense and get your heart pumping. Supernatural films
also play with your mind just like phychological films sometimes it
is hard to know what is real and not but that also plays a role in what
makes them exciting and captivating. One of my all time favourite Supernatural
film is the Final Destination film saga.

Here is a link below to a clip of final destination.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eemSmo2nlvI

Introdution To Camera Skills.

When first given the camera's, we we're given a task to film a bag swap. We had an hour an and a half to do this in, we filmed around thirty one short sences and edited them together. We only put a very small amount of vocabulary in our short film, as we thought this would be more effective. Three things we could do to improve our film would be to plan more carefully and more thoroughly. Also to use the tripod a lot more as some of our filming was very shaky and looked unprofessional. Lastly we did not have that much time to film, so it would have been better to have had slightly more time, or to have used our time more co-operavitely. Three things we did that were successful were editing our film we knew what we wanted it to look like. Also we all were assined to do different things and sometimes work together but because we all knew what each individual was doing things ran smoother. Finally we took this as a good practice lesson, and we know feel that when we do our real film, we will be much more prepared.

Title Sequence;The Stepfather

The title sequence of 'The Stepfather' is exciting and unexpected. It shows a sence of irony when the camera is focused on the kitchen equipment and tools that he used. In the first 2 minuets of the title sequence you do not expect this to be a thriller, it shows the father just getting ready possibly for work. The music is a large give away to the genre of the film. This shows the audience that there could possibly be a lot of twists throughout the film.

Thriller Sub-genres

Within the genre of Thriller, there are many other sub-genres;
Psychological Thriller
Action Thriller
Romance Thriller
Supernatural Thriller
Political Thriller
The particular favorite sub-genre at the moment would be Psycological thriller because for example in 'Momento' the film is very weird and different it shows another side of life or another way of looking at life. I also find these the most interesting as they have a lot of tiwsts and are very different to a 'scary film'.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is when one scene from a films is used in other films. It may not be the whole scene but some type of method may be seen in another film. A scene that is used a lot by other films it the shower scene from the 1960 'Psycho'.

This is the scene:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

The scene has been used in the movie 'What Lies Beneath'. In the scene we see a man carrying a woman to the shower and he is talking to her but she cannot move or

answer back because he has given her some type of drug. He turns on the cold water and leaves the shower running. Aspects that have been borrowed from 'Psycho' is the running shower, the bathroom scene and the man v woman.

Another movie that uses this scene is 'Fatal Attraction'. In the movie we see a man walk towards a woman's house and knock on the door. Once she opens it he pushes the door open and he starts chasing her. They start fighting and the woman runs into the bathroom then they carry on fighting until the get to the kitchen.

The man then starts to strangle the woman, but then gives up. Once he lets go she grabs a knife to stab him. The aspects taken from 'Psycho' is the loud music just when she is about to stab him, the bathroom, the kitchen knife and the man v woman.

'The Stepfather' uses the 'Psycho' scene, when David is trying to kill Susan so she runs into the bathroom. As David is trying to open the door the mirror breaks and Susan picks up a piece of the broken glass.

She then stabs David in the neck and he falls into the shower. Aspects used here are the stabbing, the bathroom scene, man v woman and when David falls into the shower and pulls the shower curtain down with him.

Lastly a few A-Level students decided to use the 'Psycho' scene as their inspiration. They created a movie called succubus, where a man is having a shower and a woman walks in, takes her hair out of a ponytail, smells his jacket and then stabs the man. She then leaves. The borrowed aspects are the loud music and the stabbing in the shower. The man v woman role was reversed in this movie because it is the man who is stabbed.

The Stepfather 2009

Suspense is created in 'The Stepfather' from the beginning of the movie. In the opening sequence We hear non-diegetic sounds such as high pitched string instrument along with a piano, which is usually used in horror and thriller films. These

sounds are used throughout the film especially when someone is about to be murdered. Silent night is also played in the background as diegetic music which is a we find out is binary opposition because silent night connotes good where as he is evil. The camera is used to show us close ups of sharp objects in the bathroom; this gives us a sense of curiosity of why they are showing them to us. There are also many wide shots to show us that the house looks normal and that he lives a normal life. The camera then tilts and we see reality of the dead kid on the table.

In the scene when Susan's sister, Jackie, is murdered we get the feeling of suspense. Mise en scene is used to make Jackie stand out. The scene is based during the night with only a little lighting around. Jackie is wearing a bright red jacket

that makes her stand out to the lack of colour around her. Also it makes us focus on her and lets us know something is about to happen to her. I also think the weather plays a big part in this scene. There is a storm which makes the shots look very busy, but just as she pulls the umbrella out of the pool we get a close up and the storm seems to get quieter. This is so when she screams after the camera zooms out we are able to hear it.

Suspense is also created in the scene, and the one that I found most interesting, when the old lady was murdered. In this scene I think the camera shots was quite important here. There were multiple shots used, but the most important shot was the point of view shot. This is when we can see from the characters eyes, which in this scene is David. The point of view shot is very important because it lets us know something that the character doesn't and we know what is about to happen. According to Alfred Hitchcock, one of the best thriller producers, the audience needs to know what is happening or they will not be interested. I agree with this because if I did not know more than the character it would not create any suspense for me and it would not be interesting.

I believe something that is important to have in your thriller, except the point of view shot, is a false plateau. This is when you believe something is about to happen but it doesn't. In 'The Stepfather' false plateau is used when the old woman opens the door and no one is there. You believe when she comes back in and closes the door that David will be there but he is not, instead a cat jumps past the screen. This works well in films because the audience believe they know what is about to happen but they are wrong.

Opening sequences

What Lies Beneath is a supernatural thriller which can be seen in the opening title sequence. The opening titles are shown on a background of water which looks like the sea, but is actually the woman's bath tub. You can tell it is a supernatural

because it shows us a face before she gets out of the water and the sound of voices whilst the music is playing.


The lighting used when we seen the titles is very dark; this is completely different from the bright light used in the bathroom. After she gets out of the bath she is seen holding a hair dryer which the camera zooms into. Also the pace of the editing is very slow also used in the hair dryer scene. This adds suspense because by zooming in we know something is about to happen, but you do not know what and would like to find out. The camera is used a lot for panning forward and zooming. Many jump cuts are made to show the woman getting from having a bath to blow drying her hair. The sounds are quiet but you can clearly hear a piano being played which is usually used in thrillers and horrors.

In the opening sequence, suspense is mostly created through the use of sound. It is also shown through the mise en scene, editing, camera work and editing. After watching the first two minutes I would like to watch the rest of the movie to find out what happens.

A movie which is completely different from What Lies Beneath is the movie, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not. This movie is a romance thriller, which you can see from the hearts and roses. When we see the title sequences they are moving in a 'funky' font and is on a red background.

The camera is used to make many extreme close ups on the roses and on the woman looking at the flowers, this shows and also because she is smiling that she is in love. They used romantic music in the scene along with bird noises and fountains. These are used to create a romantic atmosphere. Also used to create a romantice atmosphere is the editing; it is slow paced. The lighting is very bright and the main colour used throughout the scene is red like the t-shirt that the girl is wearing. Red denotes love which proves this is a romance.

In my opinion no suspense is created at the beginning of the movie and you get no proof it is also a thriller. If someone does not like romances they would not watch it to find out what happens. Whereas you find out straight away that What Lies Beneath is a thriller and suspense is created straight away.

Definition Of Suspense

Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and tension caused by fear and danger. Suspense is used a lot in films in big events or dramatic moment's, to create excitement and anxiety. It helps to connect the audience to the film and anticipate on what is going to happen next. This makes the film more pleasurable and exciting for the viewer.

A Link to a video of Alfred Hitch Hock
on how to inject suspense and tension into a scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPFsuc_M_3E

Title Sequence Analysis; Marathon Man

The film 'Marathon Man' was produced by Robert Evens and Sidney Beckerman, and directed by John Schlesinger.  In the title sequence the first few people that is mensiond are the producers and director, shortly after a few of the actors are mentioned including; Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane and Marthe Keller.  Its not until this point that the actual title of the film is shown.  Then it lists just a few of the co stars, along with music producer and composer, editor and product designer.  At the very end it shows the associate producer, director of photography and who the screen play was written by; William Goldman.

INTERTEXUALITY

Intertextuality is the term to describe the visual referencing between films.
     In the film 'What Lies Beneath' there is a scene where the male character carries her up the stairs and lays her in the bath, this is simular to the scene in physco where her body is layed in the bath as she is staring longingly into the camera.  Both characters of which are in danger.
     In the film 'Fatal Attraction' in this clip you see a man break into her house as he chases her, he also tries to strangle her, after he releases her she grabs the nearest weapon which happens to be a knife and attempts to stab him. The same stabbing scene was used in the film 'Physco'.
    Also in the 'Stepfather' towards the end of the film David is shown chasing his girlfriend up the stairs, bursting open the bathroom door as he shatters a mirror, he attempts to stab her but luckily she gets to him first and collaspes into the bath pulling down the shower curtain with him.  This was also taken from the scene in 'Physco'.
     Finally in the student thriller 'Succubus' The small clip shows a boy in the shower whilst the camera is also foccusing on a girl walking down the corridor.  As she gets closer she grabs his jacket and smells it, showing some sort of effection towards him, and then the camera jumps to him and shows her stabing him quickly with his blood dripping everywhere.
    

In the film the 'Stepfather' in the opening scene David changes his whole identity and gets ready to lave his house, meanwhile the music being played is orchestral and creates suspence as the first murders are revealed.  Later on in the film when the old woman goes to open the door, her cat randomly jumps through the door which would scare the audience as they are always expecting David to show up.  This is an example of a Plateau where there is a large build of suspence yet later the audience finds out that it was nothing.  Finally the scene where the childrens real father comes to visit them the audience find out that he has done some research on David, and we realise that he has been lying, this then makes the audience think that hes capable of lying and we begin to question everything about him.