Aspects of the Thriller Genre

A Noir Thriller: 
This is a cinematic technique used around the 1940s to 1950s period. It uses low-key black-and-white images to give harsh/dark shadows and evoke mystery, adding to the mise-en-scene of the whole film, generally. It is also to create silhouettes and therefore the ease of hiding a person's face in the darkness or giving light to a specific area to put focus onto a certain point and retain the audience's focus on that subject. 


Femme Fatale:
A femme fatale is a mysterious and/or seductive woman whom is subdued by domesticity or marriage, punished or exiled or killed off. This was mainly used in the same classic period as the Noir Thriller (1940s-1950s), but is still used today in films such as 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)'. At the time it was a very crucial shift in the film industry and the social context of the conformities of woman at the time. Historically, women are the mothers and carers, but in these films we are shown that women can be much more, thus breaking the social barrier for women. 


Flawed/ambiguous anti-hero:
This type of hero is an anti-hero because they are reluctant to help people in the first place, but ultimately end up being the hero even if they don't mean to be. 'Gene Hunt' in the 2006-2007 series of 'Life on Mars' was an anti-hero as he was a policeman, but didn't really want to help people. Also these type of heroes are very ambiguous, meaning you can't quite work them out or work out their reasoning and also have flaws themselves - which shows that even people with flaws, such as a drink problem, can also be a hero even if it is reluctantly. This also breaks the traditional values and characterisation of a 'hero'.


Attractive/sympathetic villain:
This is the type of villain that the audience fall in love with even though they know that they shouldn't because they are obviously a villain. This technique would be used to perhaps keep the audience on the edge of their seat because they love and hate the villain. This oxymoron of love hate means the director can evoke deep emotional reactions from the audience if the villain is attractive. Also if the villain is sympathetic the audience becomes sympathetic with the villain themselves which confuses the audience even more because you should side with the good, not the evil, but in some cases you're not sure who is who until the end of the film. 


Generic Characters:
Convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims, prison inmates, menaced women, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops, hit men, fugitives, twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, femme fatales, psycho-fiends, drug addicts. 


Generic Themes:
Greed, envy, jealousy, terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit or romantic triangles leading to murder. 


Generic Locations:
Dimly lit often wet narrow streets, alleyways, lifts, staircases, basements, large featureless exteriors, shower cubical, toilets, phone booths, bank safes, interior of cars, car parks, top of a skyscraper, shores, muddy rivers, scrap yards, derelict factories/warehouses, tunnels. 

Possible Thriller Case Studies

Animal Kindgom (2010) - I would like to use this as a case study as it is a brilliant film and encapsulates the genre of a 'Crime Thriller' perfectly and although it has a mainly linear narrative it has a complex storyline and is gripping for the audience. 


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) - Although I haven't seen this film as of yet, I plan to very soon as I have heard/seen great reviews of this film and think it would help me in understanding and being able to use Thriller conventions, such as the Femme Fatale in this film. 


The Birds (1963) - I would like to use this film because it's not a modern day film and I think to get a good, wide knowledge of the genre you have to explore all generations and periods in which the films were set and made in. 


The Third Man (1949) - I would like to maybe use this film due to the fact that it is a noir thriller and is the original type of thriller, thus I think that I could not use the genre to its maximum potential without analysing how it was first used in the original noir thrillers. 


Jackie Brown (1997) - This could be a good film to use because it is a film that challenges social conformities in that the main character is a middle-aged black woman and not a young white person, which shows a change in attitudes at that time and also perhaps reflects the Zeitgeist of the time also. 

Heavenly Creatures (1994) - I really like the idea of using this film because the narrative structure and storyline is very similar to some of the ideas we have been having and I think we could quite easily use the conventions of the Thriller used in this film in our own Thriller.

Thriller Films I Have Seen

Film/TV	Director	Release	Generic Conventions
Ashes to Ashes	Matthew Graham	2008-2009	Location: Car park, warehouse, police station Femme fatale Flawed hero
Casino Royale	Martin Campbell	2006	Location: Cars, enclosed spaces, Casino, glamorous locations - which are ironic to the genre.  The enigma/unknown
Animal Kingdom	David Michôd	2010	Location: Cars, Police Station, Prison, Supermarket, general enclosed spaces.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy	Tomas Alfredson	2011	Location: Staircases, narrow street, Dim/noir lighting

Film Techniques

Match on action

Match on action is the technique where each shot cuts to the next in chronological order to show a time frame and an impression of continuity - even if the shots were not taken in the order of final edit. It is when one shotcuts to another view still matching the action and pace of the first shot.
 

Shot-Reverse-Shot

The technique of shot-reverse-shot is where a character is shown to be looking at another character, as we see the other character from another charater's perspective. Then the first character is shown from the other character's perspective - therefore as the viewer we assume that they are looking at each other since they are both facing opposite directions.

This technique is shown clearly in this opening scene in Pulp Fiction where the characters are sitting in a restuarant and talking to eachother. We see the camera cut from one person to another - making the audience assume that the characters are talking to eachother. We used this technique in our Preliminary Task to show the conversation between our characters.

180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline for film making, which states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have a left/right relationship. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it can confuse the viewers.

A football match is a key example of the 180 degree rule; where the goals are at each end. This is used so then people can see where each team are playing towards, meaning you can say 'left' or 'right' side and not get confused. However, if the 180 degree rule was broken and they started to film from the other side of the pitch, the audience could get confused.

Final Cut: Preliminary Task

 

This is the final cut of our G321 Preliminary Task. This task shows use of camera skills and film skills, such as the 180 degree rule and shot-reverse-shot. The first shot used is a very low angle shot, which is used to connote mystery because the person in the shot isn't shown, therefore it is an enimga. This is followed by another low angle panning shot - zooming out to a long shot. This establishes the location and also shows more of the person in the shot so we can associate with them as the audience. We then used an over-the-shoulder shot to show movement down the corridor - this is used to gain further association with the character in shot. The next shot was a bird's eye shot as she walked into the room where the dramatic moment happened. This use of high angle, bird's eye viewpoint is used to give perspective, but it also could be said that it was used as foreshadowing to a dramatic point to her being looked down upon and dominated. As she walks into the room a panning shot is used to follow her across the room, but not focus on the other character in the room. The conversation of both of the characters is used inside the 180 degree rule, which means that all shots need to be taken along the same line of 180 degrees, if not the audience could get disorientated and confused. The shot process used in the conversation is called 'shot-reverse-shot' - which is used to show each character then cut to the other character.

How has Working Title adapted to changes in the film industry?

Over the last few years, many changes have taken place in the film industry, mainly due to the change in technology and increase of new technologies, for example; recordable television, 3D film and increased consumption of film via the TV and DVD. Working Title, along with other producers, has had to adapt their techniques to fit the changes that have taken place.

As it has always been, the blockbuster money is in the American market, mainly due the fact that it is so vast. Working Title has always tried their best to appeal to both the British and American market to maximise their profit. The trans-Atlantic idea has meant that American audiences love to British actors and British cultural signifiers and the same for the British audience seeing American actors and signifiers and Working Title have therefore  Although the film industry has changed slightly in that there are more 3D films than ever before as the new technology of 3D has meant that all film producers can make more money from a film in 3D and it also means that people will want to go to see it in 3D due to the technology not being up to the same level in home viewing. “In 2010, 28 3D films were released – double the number for 2009 – generating £241.8 million in the UK.” This fact shows exactly that film producers are adapting to this change of technology and embracing that people cannot, yet, gain the same consumption experience in their home. However, we can see that Working Title continue to release films of the same format as usual. They use A-List actors, both American and British, award-winning directors, popular genres – usually comedy, memorable locations and cultural signifiers. They have not, as yet, used much new technology such as CGI or 3D, as those types of films are usually very high budget and require a lot of backing, financially. I think Working Title have done this because they have seen that low-budget films, which is what they do best, appeal to wide range of demographics, although the main demographic for most films is young people of the ages 16-24. Thus, to keep their films on a low budget it means that they have to keep special effects to a minimum, but still offer something to the audience that will make them want to watch the film and inevitability buy it in some format.

I think that Working Title have realised a long time ago that a popular, non-specific comedy or family film will make profit and also can be directed towards DVD sales and not just in the cinema as they have seen the change in the industry to be that not many people are going to the cinema to see average films anymore, but will still happily buy them on DVD. “6.2 million DVD players were sold in 2010, and 1.1 million Blu-ray stand-alone players were sold.” This shows that the use of DVD is very significant and people consume film greatly in their own home. Also the fact that, “92% of households own at least one DVD player and 8% own a Blu-ray player” shows the whole picture of how accessible film is to people on the format of DVD and Working Title have embraced this change by making films that were aimed towards not only Cinema sales, but thinking onwards to easy DVD sales. And they also now know that the time in between the Theatrical release and the DVD release can be so short that people are willing to wait for the DVD to come out before they attempt to watch so then they don’t have to pay cinema prices, which Working Title have seen this as a contemporary issue and have made their films for DVD so that they make a large profit on a low budget film in the cinema and on DVD. A film such as, ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ (2010), used A-list actors, British actors, a clear demographic of families and children, and a popular genre of rom-com. The simple nature of this film is very typical for a Working Title film and includes everything needed to appeal to the audience and gain interest, but it’s still low-budget enough to gain profit. The initial estimated budget for this film was $35,000,000 and on the opening weekend it made £2,586,760 in the UK (28 March 2010). Its worldwide Gross was $93,246,388, which clearly shows a massive amount of profit for this film and that Working Title do not need to use the new technologies to make the profit they need. However, another film ‘Paul’ (2011) used CGI, but from the profits shown, it doesn’t look like this film worked out in their favour. An estimated budget of $40,000,000 and $13,043,310 (USA) taken on the opening weekend, but only $37,371,385 total Gross in the USA, which shows a loss if the budgets were solely on the US market, but possibly on a worldwide market they did make a profit. I think this happened for many reasons, one reason being that because their budget was a lot higher, they had to make more Gross profit to enable their NET profit to be positive and not make a loss. This film was under nearly the same format as every other Working Title film, but this film used CGI and also had a ‘15 Certificate’. This, inevitably, decreased their available audience, as a popular genre such as comedy is usually available to everyone, but due to the somewhat graphic nature of ‘Paul’ and some language used, it was given a 15 Certificate. This meant that people under the age of 15 could not go to see the film, therefore reducing the profits. So, although Working Title, have tried to adapt to the changes in the film industry by using the new technology it didn’t work. Yet, I personally don’t think that the use of CGI was completely to blame, however it did raise the cost of the film to start with, but the fact it was a 15 Certificate meant that some of the target audience for the film couldn’t see it in a multiplex.

            Other film companies have adapted to these changes extremely well, in the sense of using new technology to appeal to the audience. However, these films are usually extremely high budget and also cost a lot to market in the right way to get people into the cinemas. For example, ‘Avatar’ (2009), had an estimated budget of $237,000,000 and its opening weekend it made $77,025,481 (USA). It then made $2,039,472,387 Gross worldwide. The target audience for this film was the general audience of 16-24 year olds as well as families, but it was made such that anybody could see it and enjoy it and therefore wasn’t restricting the demographic. This film, along with many other high budget films, used CGI, special effects and it was shown in 3D. This, at the time, was something extremely new and exciting and was one of the most anticipated films of the year. However, Working Title simply cannot compete with the level of budgeting as they are a small, low budget production company and therefore keep to smaller films and have adapted to the change of DVD and home viewing rather than expanding into keeping people in the cinemas. Another recent film, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ (2011) was a highly awaited film and broke box office records, making $169,189,427 (USA) on the opening weekend. This is even more impressive when you look at the estimated budget for the film being only $125,000,000, meaning that they made a profit even after the opening weekend. The total, worldwide, gross was $1,325,005,007. This film was made using a lot of CGI and special effects and it was also shown in 3D in the cinema. There was a lot of marketing and promotion behind this film and because it is in a series of films people were anticipating the finale. The use of new technology paid off in this respect because the budget allowed them to be creative and do a lot of marketing for the film. The audience for this film was, again 16-24 year olds, but it was also a lot of different people because it was the finale in a series, a lot of people had seen the build up, people of all different ages, so that meant a lot more people wanted to see it. Thirdly, another similar film was ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (2010). This film is similar to the other two as it used CGI, special effects and was also shown in 3D. Along with the other two films it used A-list actors and award winning directors, but I think Tim Burton’s distinct style of directing had made this classic film a much anticipating revival. The estimated budget was around $200,000,000 and it made $116,101,023 (USA) on the opening weekend, totalling up to $1,024,299,291 gross. So we can see that this was another majorly high budget film that succeeded in using the new technology. Also the audience for this film would have been slightly differently because it would have appealed to not only children, because of the story, but also nostalgic teenagers and adults who want to re-live a story from their childhood, which along with the marketing, appealed to the audience.

            One of the most recent Working Title films has been ‘Tinker Tailor Solider Spy’ (2011) was not funded by Universal, who mainly fund all Working Title productions and it was gauged for a more European audience. The way it was marketed was by Print media, the use of posters and outdoor advertisement, Events, Press and Promo, the use of social networking and interviews. Also the release of Trailers meant that people got a preview of the film and teasers about storyline and plot. The Internet (Web) also played a key part, the use of YouTube, Facebook and other social media meant that they could sell the film by ‘word of mouth’ by people talking about it Online and releasing small teasers on these websites. Overall, it was mainly marketed on the Internet because it is very cheap and ‘word of mouth’ marketing is very effective and can create a lot of hype just from one trailer or photo. ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ was marketed very much towards to the European market, which is why Universal did not back Working Title on this film. Universal try to appeal to both British and American audiences and the complex storyline and European nature of this film would not have appeal to American audiences. Also the use of British and European actors meant that it was geared very much towards a British and European market rather than an American one. I somewhat think that Universal thought that this film wouldn’t work and that is why it was not funded by them and I can see why because it is a very different tangent that Working Title have taken with this film. Most Working Title films, as I have said before, use a popular genre, usually rom-com or comedy, but ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ was a spy/thriller film and didn’t have a very wide demographic. It was aimed towards British and European Men who have an interest in spies or thrillers, or even perhaps an interest in the Cold War and the history side behind it, but what it was not, was a family film. It was not the type of film that anybody could go to see and come out of the cinema happy, it was complex and aimed for people with a higher understanding of the subject or people with a genuine interest in that area, which is a very specific demographic and that’s why, I think, Universal decided not to back Working Title’s decision to make this film.

            To conclude, Working Title have adapted to the changes in the industry by appealing to the DVD market rather than trying to compete with the high budget blockbusters which dominate our screens. They have found their niche of rom-com films, with A-list actors and many cultural signifiers, which works and makes them profit. As we saw from, ‘Paul’ 2011, the use of CGI in a low-budget film doesn’t make for a good profit if the marketing isn’t that great. With the main changes in the film industry being the use of new technology, Working Title have looked beyond the new technology and seen why people don’t need to go to the cinema anymore. Although, they do care about their cinema profits, they have aimed their films so that they can be put onto DVD and watched straight away and not miss out on any experience that they would’ve gotten from the cinema, as most people can enjoy and consume film at home relatively the same as in the cinema, but the high budget films have tried to change that by offering more than what you can offer yourself in your own home, however Working Title cannot offer this because they are not a high budget production company therefore have to find other ways of adapting in the ever-changing film industry.

How are new technologies affecting the ways in which we consume films?

New technology has affected the way in which we consume film over the last few years more than any other time previously, shown by Figure 13.2 that although cinema going is still high at 11.1%, new technologies that enable the recording and storing of film on the television have meant that film viewing has increased on that platform.

The internet is a major part of new technology and has meant that young people have increased viewing both on the internet and the cinema due to the accessibility of film and cinema via the internet. However, Figure 15.4 shows that elderly people tend to consume film more through TV and less through the internet, mainly due to lack of knowledge or access to it.

The use of 3D films as a new technology, with “28 3D films being released in 2010”. This shows that because there is the accessibility via the internet, film companies have had to compensate by adding something new and exclusive to the cinema as with a standard film some people may just wait until the DVD or TV release as the time between the theatrical and DVD releases is so short.

Also, the places where we consume film have changed, shown by Figure 10.2. It shows that the use of traditional cinemas has decreased slowly from 1,134 in 1999 to 904 in 2010, this shows people are using traditional cinema screens less and less. However, this is backed up by the fact that multiplex cinemas have increased significantly from 1,624 in 1999 to 2,767 in 2010. This shows the high increase in people using commercial cinema over the last 11 years.

Furthermore, the use of video, DVD and Blu-Ray means that film is now much more accessible to everyone and can be consumed in many ways. Figure 11.1 shows that from 1999 to 2004 there was significant ride in both the volume of video sales and the value of the retail, from 96 million volume and £878 million value in 1999 to 234 million volume and £2,478 million value. However, from 2004 to 2010 it shows a fluctuation in both volume and value. This shows that the use of DVD and video is still prominent, but people are consuming film in different ways, such as on the television and internet. It also shows a slight drop in the profitability of the video industry, this is mainly due to new technology and internet piracy.

Figure 11.5 shows the significant fall in the video rental market. Over a nine year time period (2001 to 2010), the transactions have fallen from 198 million to 63 million and the value has fallen from £494 million to £183 million. This is mainly due to a change in technology from video to DVD then the technology of recordable TV came along enabling people to consume film in their own homes without having pay any extra to rent the film. Also, the internet has gained popularity over those years and in-tern caused the video rental industry to deplete due to the ease of internet piracy and consumption of film via the internet.

            The statement that “6.2 million DVD players were sold in 2010, and 1.1 million Blu-ray stand-alone players were sold” shows that the consumption of film via the new technology of DVD is still increasing and also that “92% of households own at least one DVD player”, which shows how prominent this technology is and how it has affected us in the way in which we consume film. It also shows that the even newer technology of Blu-ray is becoming more and more popular, mainly due to people wanting more from their film viewing experience now that the new technology of High Definition Television is around; people now want ‘HD’ film too and the fact that “8% of households own a Blu-ray player” proves this fact that it is becoming a more significant way of consuming film, as people want High Quality, Cinema-style film, but in the comfort of their own home.

            As we can see by Figure 12.4, the ‘digital multi-channel’ industry has increased fairly significantly over the 10 year gap shown, whereas the ‘subscription film channels’ are on a slow decrease. This is because people no longer need a specific channel to view film on because the multi-channel television packages sold now-a-days are much more efficient, giving people the choice of many channels, including feature films. Also the new technology of recordable TV has enabled Television companies to push their technology and show the ease and convenience of having multiple channels and the technology of being able to record anything and watch at a later date.

            The internet is a main factor in why new technology has changed the way in which we consume film. Figure 13.1 shows that Online-based VoD (Video on Demand) increased from a value of £6.2 million in 2008, to £41.2 million in 2010. This shows that the relatively new technology of the internet has meant that television companies, such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, have been able to put their media onto the internet for their viewers to consume at any point. Meanwhile, the value of TV-based VoD has increased also, with the use of ‘+1’ channels and being able to consume and/or record film or television wherever or whenever.

            We can also see that television is a major part in the change of film consumption, shown by Table 15.18. It shows that while on 4% of people consume film via the Cinema, 80% consume film via the television. This shows that the new technologies of multi-channel, recordable and storable television have enabled new ways of consuming film. The use of the cinema has decreased mainly due to that people can get the same, or near to, experience in their own home, either legally, by recording or watching it via the television or illegally (piracy), by downloading it via the internet. This has made is a lot harder for cinemas to make an profit on a film and the main reason for why 3D has been so heavily used over the last year or so, to get people back into the cinemas rather than at home.

           

            To conclude, new technologies are affecting the way we consume film by the simplicity, ease and convenience of them. The convenience of having a television that can record and store hours upon hours of feature films only a few months after the theatrical release is appealing to people. Also the ease of internet piracy has meant that the film industry has had to try to change it tactics by offering something that your home entertainment can’t, 3D. Although the new technology of the internet does have a negative side, it also has a very positive side, as internet marketing for a film is very cheap and also extremely effective by ‘word of mouth’ and ‘sneak peak’ trailer advertising on websites such as YouTube and Facebook. However, this does mean that people may just wait until the DVD release or try to illegally download the film. As piracy is impossible to police, it means that the film industry have to just admit defeat and perhaps find a way in which they can embrace it.

           

            Overall, the ways in which we consume film will always be affected by new technologies, in this case the internet has caused VoD to become more popular, piracy to be in the increase, but also cause an easy way for film makers to get cheap advertising. The main way new technology has affected the way in which we consume film is television. This is because television is very accessible to the public and can be consumed in your own home, making it very appealing, by being able to view a film without going out to the cinema. So, new technologies have affected the way in which we consume film by making it easier to consume film in our own home, this means film companies have to do more to get people out of their homes and into the cinema, things such as promotional offers and 3D technology, which is not yet available, easily to everyone.