Analysis of the opening of Cape Fear

Cape Fear is a psychological Thriller directed by J.Lee Thompson which was released on April 12th, 1962. The film was shot in the American state of California using the outdoor areas and Univeral Studios in Universal City.

The film is set in an urban American state where there is a sign of wealth and a busy working environment. Therre are lots of high rise buildings and palm trees which help to establish the setting and environment.
The film begins with a series of establishing shots in order to show the mise-en-scene which sets the scene of the film. The establishing shots also follow the male antagonist which creates the impression that the film is based around the male characters.
In the opening of the film males;in particular, the antagonist which is shown, are represented as having high authortiy and arrogance. The high angle shot on the stairs shows this by making it looklike the male character is looking down at the female character. This is then followed by the juxstaposed shot of a low angle, which represents how women feel in a male dominated environment.
The panning shots that are also used give the audience and insight into what the character is seeing and who he is in a room with. This is also established through a P.O.V shot, however, in the court scene for example, the panning shots cover a wider area of the room to ensure the majority of the characters in the scene can be seen in the one shot.The panning shot also continues to follow the antagonist as the etsbalishing shots did at the very beggining of the film.
The sound during the opening of the film subverts the traditional conventions of a thriller film. This is due to the sound being contrapuntal as even though the non-digetic stringed instruments can be heared,it is quite a cheerful tune to open a film of the thriller genre.
As the film opening progresses the non-digetic music increased speed resulting in a build of tension, this is more typical of what you would expect in a thriller film, therefore, the sound doesn't continue to subvert the conventions. However, the sound is still contarpuntal as the high pitched, tense stringed instruments don't match the action on the screen. This happens when the antagonist enters the court room. The tense music could foreshadow possible danger that happens in the court but in the present time it is contrapuntal.
There are a few digetic sounds that can be heared in the opening of the film such as, people talking and the cars passing by, this adds to the image that the area is quite a busy place and there is a lot going on. Digetic sound of people talking and moving about is also heared in the court scene.This adds to the realism of the film.
Continuity editing is very fluent in the opening to this film. Time flows uninterrupted and there is a persistant flow which follows the mian antagonist from outside on the streetrs into the court building. There are not really any quick cut edits so therefore, the editing is calm and well paced. This creates a feeling of verisimilitude.
Overall, Cape Fear intrigues the audience from the very start of the film due to subverting some of the traditonal conventions in terms of thriller music and editing. Also, the use of establishing shots that follow the antagonist draw the audience in and make them interested in the character shown.

Short Analysis of Existing Media Thrillers

Captive - AS Media Film

The opening of this film begins with an establishing shot which immediately refers to the title of the film, "Captive", as the shot shows the male character ( which is the protagonist) tied up.

The digetic sounds, such as, breathing and water drops are used to present realism however, there is non-digetic sound, such as, intense and high pitched stringed instruments. This is a typical convention of a thriller film.

The fast paced editing is used is parallel to the intensity of the sound which is used, creating an opening which flows and feels like a thriller. The montage of shots used are also quick and match the action on the screen.

The title of the film flickers when it is shown, this technique continues for the titles throughout the rest of the opening of the film.

It is evident from watching this film opening that there has been a substantial amount of money spent on costumes and make-up. This makes the film look realistic as the character is covered in blood and bruises which have been made using high quality make up, this adds to the realism of the film.



Excemption - AS Media Film







This film is an action thriller which consists of many features which are typical of a film from the thriller genre.

The sound at the beginning consists of digetic breathing which makes the film feel realistic, this also makes the audience know that the boys who are breathing are possibly in danger.

There are a montage of shots at the beginning which include, E.C.U, P.O.V and C.U shots. These shots make the audience feel what the boys are feeling, it makes us more involved with their emotions and thoughts.

The titles are simple and effective, they are shown between camera shots with a black background which fades in and out. This means that the titles do not distract any of the action on screen.

Quick, fast paced editing is used to create and build tension, however, this doesn't happen until one of the characters stabs the pen into another characters leg. This is when the boys start to run, therefore, the perfect moment for the editing to speed up.

There are times during the opening where the continuity needs to be looked at in more detail, for example, when they are running across the grass, the camera cuts away and then shows them running again, when the camera returns to them running the positioning might be slightly off.

Audience Survey - Thriller Films

In order to see what people want to see in a thriller film I created a survey online using Survey Monkey. I then asked ten people to answer my survey so I could collected a range of answers.

Shown below are the results to my survey and analysis of each question:

The first question I asked on my survey was 'What is your age?', this was so I could see what age range of people were answering my questions. From my results I can see that 40% of the people who answered my survey were aged 16 to 19. This was followed by 30% of people who were aged 12 to 15. 20% of people who answered my survey were aged 20 to 23 and 10% of people were aged 24 to 27. This information is very important to consider whilst thinking about the target audience for my thriller film as I need to make sure that my film appeals to the age range which wants to watch thriller films.

My second question asked participants what gender they were. Similar to question 1, this information is important to look at when considering my target audience. In the results there was an equal split for each gender, 50% were males and 50% were females. 

My third question asked about sub genres of thriller films, and what were peoples favourite. From my results I can conduct that the least liked thriller sub genres was religious thriller, and the most popular sub genre was crime and psychological both with 30% each. This is important as the thriller film that myself and Caitlin are planning on making is going to be a hybrid of a psychological and crime thriller.

In this question I asked, "What are the most effective features in a Thriller Film?". There were a range of answers to choose from which were, Music, Actors/Acting, Mise En Scene/Setting, Editing, Titles and Camera Angles/Shots. When I collected my results I could see that the most popular answer was music and acting both with 30%. The least popular feature was Titles which had 0%. Therefore, from looking at my results I now know it is vital to carefully consider what music we use to ensure that the film fits the theme of a thriller also, it is important to choose good actors who can portray realism throughout the film. The next most popular answer was editing. We will have to carefully edit our film to make sure it all runs smoothly. All this will appeal to the audience and make it a much better film to watch.

In the previous question titles had an answer percentage of 0%, however, I am going to need to include titles on my film to inform the watcher of the director, producer and actors ect. Therefore, I then asked about the colour of the titles. Once again there were many options to choose from but the most popular was white with 40% of people choosing this answer. Red and black both had 20% and then grey and blue had 10%. Therefore, from these results I think that the typography colour for our titles will be white and this was the most popular answer but also, I think it really stands out, especially if there is a dark background behind it. 

Question 6 asked "What narrative is most effective in Thriller Films?", The most popular answers were supernatural, Kidnapping and Murder all with 20% each. This is quite relevant as our film is going to based on a murder, therefore, it is good to know that a murder narrative would be popular. Having a really good narrative is vital to ensuring that the film is popular and works well with an audience. Stalker and chase only had 10% each, I think this is becasue they are quite typical and struggle to be multi stranded narratives. 

My last question on my survey asked about intense openings to thriller films. 90% of people said that they think that it is importamt for a thriller film to have a quick and intense opening whereas only 10% of people said that this aspect was not relevant. In my opinion, I think it is very important for a thriller film to have a quick and intesne opening as it draws the audience in and makes then want to watch the film. Enigma codes are also a massive part of an opening of a thriller film and this can easilly be acheived throughout a quick and intense opening. Thriller films make the audience think and the opening is the vital part to grap attention of the audience. This will make me want to have a quick and intense in the opening to the thriller film that we are making. 

All of my results from my survey are very helpful and will assist me in making my film successful and will help me to back up my reasons for my target audience and the decisons I have and will made. 

Title Sequences

Definition: A title sequence ( also called an into ) is the method by which films or television programs present the title, key production and cast members, utilising conceptual visuals and sound. It typically includes (or begins with ) the text of the opening credits, and helps establish the setting and tone of the program. It may consist of live action, animation, music, still images and/or graphics.
(With reference to: https://en.wikipedia.org/Wiki/Title_sequence )

Film Title Examples
The following are only the main film titles therefore, not including, director and actors ect.

Shown above is the iconic title of the Harry Potter films with the specific series below it. The typography is iconic to the Harry Potter films and is used for all of the other films. The style of the typography is quite significant, especially on the letter 'P', this is because the style represents the scar that Harry has on his forehead. The black background makes the silver, metallic writing stand out and really represents the dark themes which run throughout the film.

This is the title of the DreamWorks film Madagascar. The typography is bold and really stands out from the back background. The red and orange colours that are used represent the tropical country that the film is set in; sun, sand and warmth. The main title ' Madagascar 3' is curvy and curves upwards slightly making 'Europe's most wanted' fit neatly underneath where it curves.

This is the title for the horror/thriller Sinister. The black typography has the blood like look as it is smudge and almost looks like it has been dripping, this adds to the feeling of the film and represents the genre. The black colour also makes it stand out against the grey background which also represents the genre and atmosphere of the film as it as cracked. This title is directly in the centre and is the main focus point.

The first thing that stands out about the STAR TRECK title is the colour. It is a metallic silver which strongly represents the science fiction genre. The typography is very strong and bold, the edges are very sharp and fully represent the genre. The title is positioned directly in the centre.

The Toy Story film title is very representative of the genre and has the child/toy look to it. This is created by the use of primary colours ( red and blue ) and the very strong yellow which is used for the typography. The typography is bold and fun. It is quite chunky and possibly represents blocks or toys, which would be relevant to the film. This is set in front of the background of sky blue with clouds, further adding to the childlike look which strongly represents the genre and target audience of the film.

Second/Final Edit Of Continuity - A Trip To The College

 

The video above is the final edit to our continuity sequence which we completed when we visited the college to use their media facilities. As mentioned in a previous post, I explained that we would be using different editing software's. This software was called Premiere which was on the Apple iMacs at the college. We were able to make the improvements that I said I wanted to do, therefore, the second edit is much more naturalistic as the pauses between the conversation shots are shorter and the shots flow better as there is no time wasted focusing on one thing.

Myself and Caitlin decided to cut the first shot out of our continuity sequence. This was the slow pan from right to left at the very beginning. The main reason for cutting the shot was because we felt it was quite slow and then when we tried to increase the speed it didn't look right, therefore, we decided to cut it and use the second shot as our opening one.

I really liked using this software because the experience and features seemed to be a lot more professional and the programme had a high quality which meant that all our shots were clear and the playback quality of our shots and sequence was very good.

The new software took quite a while to get used to but once we knew our way around it we found editing to be quite easy and I really enjoyed it. It was helpful that one of the tutors at the college gave us a quick tour of the programme and shown us the basics so we knew what to do.

First Edit Of Continuity

This is the first edit of our continuity film using Serif Movie Plus which is a Microsoft programme which is available on our school computers.



The Strengths of our continuity film:

• I like how we kept good continuity throughout each shot.
• We included a variety of shots and camera angles which made our sequence more interesting.
• Our teacher said that she liked the 'High angle shot' through the window of myself walking outside. This was because it was different and interesting as all the other shots were of inside the school and this was the only one of outside.

What needs to be improved:

• The first few shots need to be cut slightly towards the end of them. This is because it focus one one thing for too long and are not really needed. If they are cut shorter it will have no impact to the full sequence. 
• When myself and Caitlin have our conversation towards the end, the shots need to be cut sooner, as i say "Thank you, I need to finish my homework" and then there is a gap when no one speaks, therefore, that shot needs to be cut slightly sooner so Caitlin's response comes in straight away.
• The shot of when I open the door needs to be cut slightly and made faster, this because it looks like the door opens in slow motion towards the end of the shot. When we were filming, we must have opened it and then slowly moved it resulting in the door slowing down.

These improvements can be made when we visit the college to use their media suite and facilities. We will also be using a software called Premiere at the college so it will be interesting to evaluate the differences in the two software's we used and see which one provides the best overall quality.



The editing software that we were using worked well and it was quite easy to upload our shots and edit them together. However, when we saved it as a Serif Movie Plus file I noticed that the overall quality was not that great, therefore, I then saved it as an MP4 file and the quality was much better. The film ran a lot more smoothly and wasn't freezing or jumping. The video that is shown above is the MP4 version of the film that I uploaded to YouTube.

Planning The Continuity Filming Exercise

 We were given some tips on how to make sure we were successful when filing our continuity piece, these included:

• Use a story board and script to plan what you are filming.
• Ensure that you keep the camera steady.
• Consider the shot/reverse shot technique whilst filming to ensure it makes sense.
• Try to include a wide variety of shots including close ups/extreme close ups.

I scripted our continuity exercise and ran through it with Caitlin to sure it made sense and to double check that we had enough shots of different types.

Before we were ready to film we had to make sure we knew how to correctly set up all the equipment which meant setting up and stabilising the tripod, setting up the camera and making sure that it was securely fitted to the tripod to avoid it from falling off.

We got the camera running and double checked everything to make sure it was safe to use. I filmed a close up of Caitlin's eye to get used to filming this type of shot. I did notice that slight movements were very obvious so we had to make sure the camera remained as still as possible when we were filming.

We also checked that our memory card was clear so there was plenty of space for our shots to be filmed and then we checked we had a spare battery for our camera just in case the battery we were using had a fault.

Codes & Conventions of Thriller Films

codes and conventions of thriller films from Joshua East

I created this PowerPoint to show the codes & conventions of Thriller films.

Thriller Directors

whilst I was researching directors of thriller films I found this really useful PowerPoint Presentation on Slide Share. Below is the link to the original Slide Share page where I sourced it from and an screenshot image of each slide.

I agree with the analysis of each of the film directors.

http://www.slideshare.net/MattSmith1995/thriller-film-directors-17288378

Alfred Hitchcock stood out due to the fact that he directed the film 'Vertigo'. I researched this film whilst I was researching Saul Bass as I analysed the opening title sequence that he created for it. At times Alfred Hitchcock was known as the 'Master of Suspense'.

I did some more research into Alfred Hitchcock and found out that one of his stylistic trademarks included camera movement which would mimic a persons gaze and he also framed shots to maximise the feeling of anxiety and fear. Hitchcock is know as the best British filmmaker with over 50 feature films being directed by him in a career stretching six decades.

Sub Genres Of Thriller Films

Thriller Film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax.

( with reference to - http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/thriller#)

Sub Genres

Due to the suspense and fearful excitement caused by thriller films; a thriller can be linked with almost every other genre. Therefore there are many sub genres to thriller films and I have given some examples below.

• Psychological - The main focus for psychological thrillers is to focus on the mental and emotional state of the characters involved. This creates suspense and plays on the audiences mind. There is also normally a plot twist in a Psychological thriller. A few example of these type of thriller films include: Shutter Island, Psycho, Inception, The Shining and the Silence Of The Lambs.
  

• Techno - Techno thrillers consist of  spy, action, war and science- fiction elements. The handling of technology also plays a prominent part in Techno thrillers. Some examples of Techno thriller films include: Nerve, Hackers, The Net, Swordfish and The Recruit.

• Supernatural - Supernatural thrillers consist of other world and futuristic elements along with tension, suspense and numerous plot twists. The protagonist or antagonist will often have some sort of supernatural powers. Examples of Supernatural thrillers include: The Others, Sixth Sense, The Orphanage and The Skeleton Key.

• Conspiracy - In a conspiracy thriller, the protagonist will usually face or confront a large and powerful group/organisation, however, the threat of this group will only be seen by the protagonist himself and usually they will have to face it alone. Some of examples of these films include: The Parallax View, The Conspiracy and Enemy Of The State.

• Crime - In a crime thriller, there is a larger focus on the criminals who commit the crime rather than the law. The films are normally from the criminals point of view and include physical action. Crime thrillers include a vary of topics such as killers/murders, robberies, chases and shootouts. Crime thriller examples consist of: The Usual Suspects, Heat, The Departed and The Bourne Ultimatum.

• Religious -  Religious thrillers focus on the history and myths of religion to create a thriller film. In most cases a religious or historical secret is discovered and different people and groups have try to take control and have different views. Examples of Religious thriller films include: End of Days, Devil, The Order, The Rite and The Last Exorcism.

Below is a mind map I found on the internet displaying thriller sub genres and a film that could be used as an example for each one.

Link to original source