Research into muse-en-scene- Miss Georgiou

Mis en scene in a thriller film.

The shining- "Here's Johnny scene"

In the opening part of the scene, there is Iconography of Axe in Johnny's hand, and as he is carrying a dangerous weapon, it shows trouble is on the verizon and he is out to cause serious harm, which strikes fear into the audience and makes them wonder what he is capable of. We then see his angry and psychopathic face expression, which shows the characters emotion and adds suspense as the audience does not know what he is capable of, what his plans are and what he will do in his bad mental state. The broken door behind him shows he is dangerous, reckless and aggressive, also emphasising the characters power and also the villain character is moving almost like a zombie looking for her, to connote death and that the villain is out to kill.

The characters are wearing normal every day clothes during this scene, however Johnny wearing red relates to the scene as it shows his emotions that he is clearly angry and wants to kill the girl and also the colour red connotes blood and danger. This is suspenseful as he clearly has intentions to kill and the colours that suggest blood and death makes the audience think that this may not end well and makes them want to see how it ends.

The antagonist is walking through a room of yellow walls while dressed in red. The colour yellow connotes happiness, which contrasts the scene as a man is walking through intending to kill someone. This could also be portraying the antagonists state of mind and that he is clearly mentally unstable. The trapped and endangered female is stuck in the bathroom with white walls and a white door and she is hiding, which connotes that she is innocent and the red of the antagonists jumper shows she is in danger. This creates suspense for the audience as they are left fearing for the woman's life and also fear what the antagonist is capable of if he is mental state is clearly unstable.

The lighting used throughout this scene is high key, which is uncommon for a thriller to have, but it is used in this scene to show the characters facial expressions, which creates tension as the audience are fearful for the female as she is clearly in a lot of distress and also they are fearful of the antagonist as his facial expressions are angry and somewhat psychotically happy.

The female desperately tries to force herself out of the bathroom but it is physically impossible, the gap is tiny and she knows she will not break free as she tells her son to run and how desperate she is to escape shows she is in danger and creates tension as the audience are on edge and are fearing for her and are wondering whether she will die or not. She is also defensive, which is conventional to a thriller as women are usually portrayed as the weak and vulnerable and the males are usually the most powerful and dangerous.

There is desperation on woman's face trying to escape, showing she is helpless and making the audience fear for her, which further adds suspense and makes audience ask how she will escape, as the narrow window stops her from escaping. There is added iconography as desperate woman grabs knife, which is a prop and she plans to use it in her defense against the villain, adding more suspense to the scene and making the audience ask who will win, her or johnny.

Johnny's facial expression grows more psychotic and Johnny grabs axe and tries to smash door, using the iconography and more suspense is added, as the female cannot escape and the female character is still screaming, showing helplessness and fear, which keeps the audience on edge. The Axe breaks through door and woman shows her emotions and feelings as she becomes more frantic. The door is breaking and now Johnny's face now looks determined and angry. An extreme close-up of his psychotically happy face shows him saying "here's johnny". He then attempts to open the door, but the female uses her iconography of the knife and slashes his hand, and the blood is shown and johnny's facial expression changes into pain and agony and then the bathroom scene ends.

Miss Miller- Research into cinematography

Analysing the camera techniques used in the silence of the lambs scene.

At the beginning of this scene, the audience see a P.O.V shot from the main characters perspective, Clarice, staring into the prison room of the main villain, Hannibal Lector. This shows how she perceives the villain and shows the main antagonist to the audience as this then turns into a medium shot of him, which is conventional to a thriller as males are usually scene as the antagonists and females are typically the innocent vulnerable victims. In the two-way conversation, whenever the antagonist is speaking, it is seen from an over-the-shoulder shot from the main character, Clarice, not revealing too much about the antagonist and keeping most of him hidden, making the audience wonder who he is and want to know more about him, creating suspense.

The antagonist then asks the main character to come closer, creating suspense as the audience are unaware of what he is capable of. The audience then throughout the scene are shown an extreme close-up of his face, showing his facial expression and emotions to the audience, allowing them to connect with the character and see what he is feeling. Both characters at this point collectively move closer to the camera, creating tension between the two as they get closer which also adds a sense of danger, as an extreme close-up of Clarice's face shows her fear and that she may be intimidated by the antagonist as she is following his orders.

As the camera remains an extreme close-up of the antagonists face, a constant close-up high angle is shot of the woman, which shows vulnerability and the camera angle shows her fidgiting and getting uncomfortable, showing she feels awkward in this situation and fears the antagonist. The scene ends with a shot of the antagonist looking at the camera and saying his final line.

Conclusion
Overall, this scene was effective and gave me some positive ideas about what I could include in my own thriller production, using camera shots featured in this scene to show the characters facial expression to connect the audience with them, drawing them into the story.

History of a thriller- Miss Georgiou

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. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. 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. (The Script Lab)

Examples of Thriller Films throughout the years:

The Great Escape - A large group of POW’s plan an escape from a German camp in World War II.

The Silence of the Lambs - An FBI agent develops a relationship with the notorious serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lector, in order to gain Lector’s assistance in the hunt for another serial killer.

Prom Night- A deranged and obsessed psychopath sets out to kill a girl who rejected him on prom night, detective. 

The most famous thriller films include films such as Jaws, Pulp Fiction and the shawshank redemption.

The atmosphere in a thriller film is also enhanced through the lighting and use of music. An example of this is from the opening of the film ‘Alien’ by Ridley Scott in 1979. In the opening of this film, the lighting is minimal and dull, this creates the atmosphere of suspense and mystery which links into the thriller genre. One of the most well known and popular thriller films is ‘Psycho’ which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was produced during 1960. This film is a psychological thriller based on the American 1960‘s time period. The film was adapted from the 1959 novel which was written by Robert Bloch also called ‘psycho‘. Both the film and novel are based on the cases on convicted serial killer Ed Gein, this therefore allowed the directors of the film to associate the film with other genres such as horror, drama and mystery, as well as the thriller. Alfred Hitchcock is considered the pioneer of the thriller genre, and the true creator of these type of films, which led to in the following decades producing blockbuster thrillers such as Jaws, the silence of lambs and pulp fiction.

1940's- Rebecca (1940) - A psychological thriller from the legendary Alfred Hitchcock released in 1940 focuses on A shy ladies' companion, staying in Monte Carlo with her stuffy employer, who meets the wealthy Maxim de Winter. She and Max fall in love, marry and return to Manderley, his large country estate in Cornwall. Max is still troubled by the death of his first wife, Rebecca, in a boating accident the year before. The second Mrs. de Winter clashes with the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, and discovers that Rebecca still has a strange hold on everyone at Manderley. A scene that builds great suspense in this film is when she is about to kill herself realising how many people dislike her and tension is built in a number of ways.

1960's- Psycho (1960) Another Alfred Hitchcock great, released in 1960, this movie focuses on a Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane who is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother. Marion is then later killed by norman's mother, and this film is most well know for its shower scene, which adds huge suspense in a number of ways, through music that slowly builds heavily, the feeling of the character being alone and the hidden identity of marions killer punching the knife through the shower curtain.

1980's- Fatal attraction (1987) is about a Happily married New York lawyer Dan Callagher who has an affair with his colleague Alex, and the two enjoy a love weekend while Dan's wife and child are away. But Alex will not let go of him, and she will stop at nothing to have him for herself. 

2000's- Sin City (2005) Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller's popular comics, focusing around a muscular brute who's looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, a man fed up with Sin City's corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake, a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little cash. A suspenseful scene is when the main villain is using the toilet and clive owen stealth attacks him from the toilet and drowns the villain in another toilet, suspense built as the audience do not know what could happen to either character.

2010's- Shutter island (2010) It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity. A suspenseful scene in this is when Leonardo Dicaprio is given a gun which appears real and he shoots the man opposite him with blood on the board but it is all just in his mind and the gun was fake, misleading the audience.

List of top 10 Thriller films

1.	Psycho	1960
2.	Jaws	1975
3.	The Exorcist	1973
4.	North by Northwest	1959
5.	The Silence of the Lambs	1991
6.	Alien	1979
7.	The Birds	1963
8.	The French Connection	1971
9.	Rosemary's Baby	1968
	10. Raiders of the Lost Ark                                                         1981 1. This film is iconic in a number of ways, but most famous for its shower scene at the end of the film which creates great suspense and keeps the reader on edge. It's also mainly famous for it's music in one of the films final scenes where Marion and is even recognizable in today's day and age. 2. A film also easily recognizable by it's suspenseful and terryfing music, this film builds suspense in a number of ways, including never showing the shark during it's attacks, again adding susepnse and leaving the audience clueless. 3. This film is famous for being spine chillingly terrifing and is also known to have been banned in many countries worldwide. It's shocking scenes are what rank this film so high. 4. Another classic from Alfred Hitchcock, this approaches the less scary/horror route, but is still a thriller filled with great suspenseful scenes and this film is just one of Hitchock's many proving why he is one of the greatest movie directors ever to live. 5. A chilling classic with suspense, horror and shock throughout with also a nerve-racking and cliffhanger of an ending. 6. One of Ridley Scott's best, who is also famous for directing American Gangster and Gladiator, alien arguably being his best film and is most memorable by the frightning extra terrestrial villain in this movie. 7. Another Hitchcock film appears on this list, further emphasising his great work and power as a director, this film shocked many and some where even scared to step outside their house as they feared what happened in this film could happen to them anywhere! 8. A crime thriller which features one of the most gripping and entertaining car chases ever filmed. The scene speaks for itself and give the french connection its number 8 spot here. 9. A psychotic mystery thriller, this film is great because it always seems the audience does not have much an idea of what is going on throughout. 10. One of many in the indiana jones trilogy directed by the legendary steven speilberg, speilberg shows his great craft in this film, creating action-packed suspense throughout, the first film of this trilogy set a founding stone for a legendary series of indiana jones films and a huge fan base.

Research into the BBFC- Miss Miller

                                               BBFC

The BBFC is the british board of film classification, responsible for categorising films into age appropriate categories prior their date of release, ranging from U, PG, 12, 12A, 15 and 18. For categorising these films, they consider things such as violence, nudity, foul language and so on as factors towards ranking films. It is important to have the BBFC for a number of reasons. Film classifications are put in place to mainly protect the public, as it is not suitable for a child to see films ranked 15 or above and it is also useful to older or adult viewers to give an age rating because then that gives them an idea of what to expect in the film that they are going to see.

                          U- Universal, Open To All 

The U symbol stands for universal and should be suitable for children ages 4 and over and if the film is given a U, its usually because no content was found that could be considered harmful to any type of audience. A U film can explore a wide range of themes, as long as the treatment is appropriate for a young audience so that they understand it and are not offended by it. This doesn’t mean that all films rated U are necessarily children’s films. A children’s work at U will generally contain positive messages about loyalty, honesty and friendship, particularly amongst children. The film or video may well have a happy ending for the child watching and the overall tone should be reassuring. U films are unlikely to contain foul language or behaviour unless it is clearly disapproved of. Examples of U: Brave and Up
Up is considered a U because it is a child themed film, no themes in it could be considered harmful and it also contains a happy ending.

                                            PG- Parental Guidance 

PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for overall general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not upset a child aged around eight or older. Parents may want to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive children. A PG film will not contain any theme which is inappropriate for a child, as it is still open for general viewing. PG works can explore challenging issues such as bullying, anxiety or racism. Examples of PG: Toy Story, The Incredibles and Mrs Doubtfire. The incredibles is a PG because although it is considered a childs film, there are themes such as violence, anger and family stress which may concern a younger child which is why it is ranked a PG.

                                                      12A and 12

Films classified 12A and videos that are classified 12 contain material that isn't considered suitable for children under the age of 12. No one younger than 12 is aloud to see a 12A film unless accompanied by a parent/adult. Adults that plan to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should think about whether the film is suitable for that child and whether or not it may disturb them. Examples of 12 films, spiderman, taken and stolen. Spiderman was ranked a 12 and was the first ever film to have this, because the film contained stronger violence and themes not considered suitable for a child, however spiderman has a large child's fanbase and as a 12 rating did not exist before it's release, it meant they'd have to make it a 15 which meant they would lose many potential customers, so a new age ranking system was introduced and spiderman was still a big success.

                                                      15 And Over

No one under the age 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.It is usually ranked this age because it contains themes that are not suitable for younger ages, such as strong violence, language, sex/nudity and possible drug use. The Parent rule does not apply here and you must be 15 or over no matter what to see these type of movies. Examples of 15- Run fat boy run, Prom night and inbetweeners 2. Inbetweeners 2 is considered a 15 because its humour is not suitable for a child to hear, and it also contains themes such as strong language and sex references that are not suitable for a younger audience, but not strong enough to warrant the film an 18.

                                                         18- Adult 

Films rated 18 are only for adults. No one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children, let alone anyone under that age and it is very likely you will be asked to provide ID upon seeing these films.No theme is prohibited at  an 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment provided the material is not illegal or potentially harmful, so it is possible some themes tackled at 18 may be offensive even to some adult viewers. Examples of 18 films- Project X, Saw and Piranha 3DD. Saw was awarded an 18 due to its strong gory violence that is very graphic that even some adult viewers may have found disturbing. On top of that, this film also contains very strong language which confirms it as a clear-cut 18 film.

In conclusion this research has now helped me understand the importance of the BBFC and taking this into consideration, I shall likely make my thriller sequence a 15, because I believe if it is ranked lower, it will not be as exciting but if I was to award it an 18, then I would be reaching a lower audience and less people would bea ble to see the film.