Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

In our group for media, containing me, Molly Emmerson and Claire Golightly, we filmed a short conversation as practice for our media production. Me and Molly were the actors and played a scene where I lost my phone under the stairs and she helped me find it. It only lasted a minute or so and was a short scene. We watched it back several times to check errors that we made when filming and sometimes had to re-film scenes because we had got it wrong. We used a series of close ups and medium shots and stuck to the 180 rule when filming to keep it in good quality. This is our groups preliminary task that we filmed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--KJpSWFNRE

I think our group planned well and had a good plot, also cooperating well with each other to use the best possible camera shots that we could.We worked very well together and listened to each others ideas. We struggled sometimes setting up the camera to film our shots and also to stop ourselves giggling sometimes and keeping our composure before filming a scene, however we overcame this well as we were able to film and finish the scene in a pretty quick amount of time and me and my fellow group members were all happy with the end product. I believe next time we could have maybe took more time to compose ourselves before scenes and also looked for a wider variety or camera angles, as I counted that we only really used three. When we film our opening sequence, its vital to remain composed and also to make sure we have the best camera shots with the most meaning and effect towards what we are trying to get across in order to draw in our audience. Watching our footage back helped us realise the mistakes we made and also how we could better things and what to look out for when we re-filmed. Watching back our mistakes also taught us lessons for our production and how we could make things better and also how to avoid the mistakes we made in this task.

Overall, this task has helped me and my group greater understand the concepts of filming and also what we can do to make it more gripping and entertaining, such as using different camera angles for effect and also work on the timing of our shots. Our overall acting is good and I do not believe it needs to be improved or anything, just to look out for our camera work and shots and I believe our final product will turn out very well.

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Research into Target Audience - Miss Miller

Target Audience

The purpose of our group surveying 40 people for our questionnaire was to have a range of results that would differ but also show peoples general attitude to thriller films. This was also to give us a better understanding about what people like to see in thriller films and also was used to help better our groups opening sequence piece. Here are our results, in pie chart format.

We started them off with a simple question to ease into the interview, however this was also helpful as it gave us a genral view of the type of people we surveyed, only a few more males than females and with this, we expected to possibly see more fans of gore as males tend to be less squemish.


We asked this to get a general idea of the sort of films the people we questioned had watched, with 60% watching 15+ rated thriller films, 30% watching 18+ and 10% watching 12A.


From this, we can see the majority of people we interviewed are fans of thriller films, with only a small percentage not being a fan of the genre, which tells us that the thriller genre is a popular one in films and a high majority of people do enjoy watching them.

Many fans of the thriller films tend to most prefer psychological thrillers, which is why psycho and shutter island lead in the percentages, and a close 3rd came saw, a very gory thriller which as mentioned before was expected to be popular due to our group interviewing more boys than girls.

From this, we gather that a high number of people who watch thriller films prefer to have a sense of mystery and not know exactly what is going on. We could possibly use this in our production as it is a simple change to make that may entertain people more and leave them on the edge of their seat, asking questions about the sequence and have an element of fear and mystery.


A high number of people prefer to watch thriller films with isolated locations, stating that they prefer this because it adds tension and mystery, and some may have said no due to the fact they may be confused as to what's going on or it might be too cliché. From the area we live in, it is to our advantage that our group could possibly include isolated locations in our sequence, as more people tend to favour this than those who don't.
 
As we see this data links with why psycho was the most popular thriller amongst the people we interviewed, as the psychological sub genre won this by a landslide.It shows people who watch thrillers mainly look for a good plot that will keep them drawn in and intrigued by the film. It is lucky that our group already has a very psychological plot and does not involve a less popular sub-genre such as crime.

This is interesting, because if we look deeper into the results, we can see 50% said yes and 50% said no, meaning the people we interviewed were literally half and half about this, as many modern thriller fans are today. Face it, many people watch thriller films to be scared, they like the feeling and some want to be suddenly spooked, but as the years have gone on with films, it has become a bit too cliché and sometimes it may even be too scary for the viewer. Our group does not plan to include any jump scares in our sequence, as in my opinion it would be too risky and i'm sure we can still make it scary or eery without doing this anyway.

Many people prefer a knife, as it is the most common weapon used for murder in the thriller genre, mainly famous in such films like Scream, Halloween and Psycho. It is likely that the ones who chose chainsaw are fans of gore and those who chose the axe may be a fan of the famous classic starring Jack Nicholson, the shining.

Vox Pops

In our group of three, we each did a vox pop on three people, which is basically recording ourselves conducting our questionnaires on some of our volunteers, to give an example of some of the answers we came across during our questionnaires. Here are the links to the vox pops that I conducted myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7zgZjh8qec - Stephen's Vox Pop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFkgjJHjvhg - Sharaf's Vox Pop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0n884lNAN4 - Charlie's Vox Pop

Conclusion

Overall, our research that we conducted was very helpful, as it allowed us to see the general opinions of viewers on thriller films and also help us see their opinions on elements inside the film, allowing us to see what our potential audience would prefer, which in turn will help us further improve our production to satisfy the general wants of our potential viewers. If we did this research again, i'd maybe include less obvious questions such as are you male or female and how old are you, as this can be noted anyway and we could use those spaces to include better and more important questions. Overall, I thought this research was very helpful as it gave us a good insight into the things we can include and avoid in our production in order to make it as entertaining and as gripping as we can.

Questionnaire-Miss Miller

Questionnaire

In our group, we conducted a survey on 40 people about the thriller genre in general. This was to give us a better understanding about what people like to see in thriller films and also was used to help better our groups opening sequence piece. Here are our results, in pie chart format.

Vox Pops

What is the purpose of Vox Pops?

We each had to record 3 people taking part in our questionnaires and giving us answers. The purpose of this was the show the general attitude and answers we may have encountered. 

Group Narrative-Miss Georgiou

Group Narrative

For our group production, I, Jake Butler worked with Molly Emerson and Claire Golightly

Individual narrative idea

The narrative is an important aspect of any thriller film, as it can dictate the appropriate target audience for the film
The narrative is the plot of the film.

Idea for a new thriller film

Claire's thriller sequence will show the audience the different events that leads the main character "Cameron" committing suicide by hanging himself.
The beginning of my thriller sequence will start with the audience seeing
The main character "Cameron" will have a dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality) - his name is unisex
Suicide - main character - twisted - hanging
Dark
Voiceover
"I know what you're thinking.." - talks directly to the audience - engages them

Following the suicide scene the audience will be shown a flashback of a dinner scene between Cameron and him mum.
Quiet and awkward - his mum attempts to start a conversation - she is the only one talking
"How are you feeling?" "Your doctor told me that you've stopped going to therapy..."
Cameron begins to get annoyed at her
"Do you ever shut up?" under his breath - foreshadows him killing her

The girlfriend "Harmony" and the mum "Grace" both have positive, uplifting names that tell the audience that they are the victims/innocent
In the final scene the audience will be introduced to "Harmony", the girlfriend of Cameron. She will arrive at the house shortly after the murder of Grace
Girlfriend comes to his house
Calling out to the mom and boy
Takes shoes off etc
After Harmony finds the mum dead at the kitchen table
Screen goes dark

Advantages: Creates an enigma
Disadvantages: Her idea is quite long and detailed and as a group we may not be able to fit it all into an opening sequence.





My Narrative Ideas

My idea: 

For the thriller sequence was to have a stalker ex boyfriend chase and hunt his ex girlfriend around the local area, such as forests and the satin and alleyways. I also wanted to show the audience the backstory and make them interested and intrigued by the background, making them ask questions and keep them guessing. The chase scene shall create suspense which keeps the audience entertained and on the edge of their seat. This may be difficult to film however, as we would have to clear the area and it may even be too dark to capture most of the scenes, which comes as a disadvantage, however an advantage can be is that the plots are completely different and it is a fresh idea.

Molly's idea was:

In my own film I want to concentrate on a very disturbed character. With dissociative identity disorder (multiple personally) the character will be male and named Cameron, due to it being a unisex name and portraying his split personality. The mother and girlfriend will remain innocent whose names are Harmony and Grace to remain positive and shown to represent good. The young boy struggles with having to deal with the evil other side of film and continues to end his life right at the start. The audience see his death and then wander what made him do this a voice over will then be present and lead into a flash back. The scene flashbacks into where his troubles began, he begins having a conversation his his mother over dinner but then suddenly and violently turns and murders her with a knife. This is a good idea as it is a psychological plot that is well thought out and shock some in a good way, however one disadvantage may be that it is quite confusing and may be hard for the viewer to follow.

Final group narrative
Our group decided to mainly use molly's idea and to start our opening sequence to a thriller film by showing the audience the main antagonist, Cameron committing suicide, this will create an enigma early on the film to keep the audience hooked. The first shot will be of his feet dangling to show the audience that he has hung himself, followed by a voiceover that will be directly to the audience. The scene will then flashback to before the suicide to show the audience Cameron and his mum eating dinner. Things will escalate between the pair and cameron will end up murdering his own mother. His father or brother will later find him dead, which is where the film ends with the end credits playing out the scene.

Disturbia

Narrative Theory

The narrative that my group follows is aristole's. His theory is that the narrative focuses on themes within the film. We believe that our group narrative will incorporate two of his suggested themes. these are a dramatic question and sympathy.Our group cannot follows vladimirs theory as it is not a fairytale and it does not follow todorovs as we have no equilllibrium and it does not figure itself out.

Individual narrative ideas- Miss Georgiou

Narrative Ideas

Narratives in films are particularly important for a number of reasons, they guide the audience as to why the things on screen are happening and what is behind them, which also at the same time has to draw in the readers attention. The audience wants to know the backstory and the plot of the film, and the narrative has to be flowing, makes sense and draws them in. Most films tend to explain the narrative later, but no film can ever not contain a narrative, as no one would want to watch it and no one would be interested.

For my thriller production, I am considering basing it around possibly a night chase or jump scare scene, filmed around the local area such as alley ways and train station. It is important to use features such as low key lighting and close-ups in my sequence to entertain the audience and keep them on edge. The main plot could be about a jealous stalker ex who hunts down his previous girlfriend, becoming obsessed with her. Typically a scene like this would end on a jump scare, however these days they can be considered too cliche so I will have to discuss with my group whether this is a good idea or not. Mis en scene included can be such things such as a knife, phone, dark lights and lonely station. Mainly tension and suspense is the main intention for my idea as it is a chase and I want the audience to be on edge and not know how the scene will end, further drawing them in.

I plan to share this with my group and discuss these ideas to see if they agree with them and if we settle on a different narrative, if they can take other features from mine that we can add into our final narrative.

Research into conventions- Miss Miller

Conventions of a thriller film 

Suspense, shock, surprise, tension, enigma,




In a thriller film, it usually will consist of a battle between the protagonist and antagonist, commonly when there is a disruption in the plot. Then the story shows a chain of bad events building up with suspense and tension prior to the climax. The aim of the protagonist is to restore justice, while the antagonist seeks to destroy it.

The main conventions will usually be to do with the plot, sound, lighting and editing, but in terms of a thriller and its' conventions, you should expect to see black and white shots with possible low key lighting, quick cuts (jump scares), digetic sounds to do with the scene, music which changes in tempo to add tension and suspense and finally, usually the protagonist may be in the mercy of the antagonist.

Suspense- Suspense is mainly used prior to a climatic part or even the ending of the film and has the purpose to keep the audience on edge and draw them into the action. It can be built up using sounds, scene editing and cinematography and plays a key role in the thriller genre itself, as suspense are the main parts of climatic scenes with elements of mystery where the audience are left guessing and on the edge of their seat.

Shock- Shock in thriller films are what true fans crave and is usually at the climax of the scene, which contains gore and usually violence. It's what the audience pay to see, the real action and often what sells the film.

Surprise- Surprises can commonly be referred to as "Plot twists" and are used to throw the audience off, creating more confusion, making them ask questions and keep them on the edge of their seat as they are more drawn into the film.

Tension- The eery atmosphere in a scene where the audience are left working out what is going to happen can be described as tension, and it is built in a number of ways, through possibly sound and even the narrative itself.

Enigma- Enigmas create mystery and confusion among the audience and are usually something the audience does not know and are associated with the plot and narrative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LToG7Agx30

Scene Analysis

For this piece, I decided to analyse the kidnapping scene from the purge (2014) it is a favourite scene of mine and forecasts the conventions of a thriller in a number of ways.

Tension is created as there are eery sounds that create an atmosphere and the characters are forced to stay silent and helpless in a closet and the audience is left fearing for their safety and wondering if they will be found, making them feel sympathy for the characters. The silence in the air also creates suspense, as well as the villains stalking through the house to hunt the protagonists, again giving an element of fear and making the audience wary and scared of what the villains are capable of. There is then more tension and suspense, as we see the facial expressions of the protagonists and see how scared they are, which shows the audience their emotions and allows them to relate to the characters and possibly feel sympathy and fear for them. There is then sudden surprise, as a jump scare occurs when the antagonists storm in and capture the victims, as there was silence the audience may have possibly thought the trapped characters were safe, but to their sudden surprise, they were caught. The enigma in this scene is that the audience does not know the identity of the antagonists, as their faces are hiden the whole time, which creates an element of mystery. The shock then comes at the end of the scene when the characters are suddenly dragged through the hall and a masked antagonist is seen shooting, the characters are now in trouble and the shock provides the climax for the scene, what the audience have been waiting for.

Conclusion

In just a short while, this scene managed to cover all conventions of a thriller by using a number of techniques to keep the audience drawn in and on edge, which means it was successful. All conventions are clearly present, and for my sequence, I could possibly include suspense and shock, as it keeps the audience on edge and also the shock itself has to be good, as it's what the audience have waited for and they expect a good climax to the scene as they have been eagerly waiting for it.

Opening sequence analysis

"How does the opening sequence of the film halloween , inform, the audience of the conventions of a thriller film?"

Opening sequences in thriller films are vastly important and they have a number of purposes for the audience. It is only a short scene, but it usually contains a lot of action and vital detail towards the story. This is important as it draws the audience not only into the film but the story itself and the opening sequence can determine their whole attitude and feelings towards the film from then on. By watching the opening sequence, the audience is given a taste of what is to come in the film and it is also used to introduce the audience to the films main elements, which may be the characters, location, plot, themes and visual style. On the other hand in some films, you may find an enigma of the film in the opening sequence. This gives the audience feelings of uncertainty and as the film and it's plot continues to develop on slowly but surely, the enigma is being established and a perfect example of an opening sequence having an enigma is the film I will by analysing in this piece: Halloween (1978)

Halloween- Cinematography

There are various elements of cinematography featured in the opening sequence of halloween. From the start till right the near the end of the entire scene, there is a P.O.V from t`he antagonist, which hides the identity of the killer and creates an enigma for the audience, which leaves them confused and guessing as they do not know who the killer is. At the end of the opening sequence, the camera zooms out into a long shot of a young boy as the clown mask is taken off, this shows the antagonist to be a young boy which shocks the audience as a young boy is not your typical main villain in a thriller. This then becomes a high angle shot of the house, looking down at it and the people in the garden with the boy, this high angle shot is a juxtaposition of the events, as a high angle shot wouldn't be used on a villain as they would not be vulnerable, however it could be being used because the villain is a young boy or the fact that those around him in the garden could possibly be vulnerable when he is around, which creates an element of mystery for the audience, as they do not know who is the the boy's next victim nor do they know if he is the one vulnerable himself.

Soundtrack

The scene starts from outside and non-digetic sound can be heard of crickets in the distance, which is common for many films. There is then digetic sound from the couple inside the house, we can hear a conversation from them and some laughing. Suspense is building, but the audience arent thrown off here or frightened as there's nothing to be scared of, apart from the fact someone could be watching the couple. There is then complete silence apart from the crickets after the couple head upstairs, which could show loneliness and vulnerability as no one is around them. Then, as the lights turn off in the bedroom which is shown outside, a sudden high pitched sound of ringing is played to startle the audience, as the point of view shot goes into the house, which is followed by a soundtrack of a piano that gets lower and lower. This frightens the audience as the sound is unexpected and startling, it is not a contrapuntal sound as it fits with the dark and mysterious scene that the audience are currently watching. The piano pitch getting lower is a parrallel sound to what is going on in the scene, it gets lower as the character grabs a knife and also when he enters dark rooms, building further suspense for the audience as what is going to happen as the scene is reaching a climax. The piano suddenly stops as another character is spotted leaving the house, and all that can be heard is high pitched ringing, along with silence to keep the audience undistracted and drawn into the climax of the scene, as they are being left on edge waiting for this to happen. As the antagonist is wandering around the house, sudden digetic sound occurs as the high pitched sound heard near the beginning is heard again, as the villain now comes onto the screen and in the sights of the antagonist. Then, the antagonist strikes and digetic/on screen sound occurs as the antagonist is stabbing the victim, which is also parallel sound is you can hear and see the knife stabbing her. Non-digetic sound can also be heard and seen from the girl who is being murdered, as the audience have now been given what they waited for and the suspenseful scene has reached it's climax. The deep and low pitched digetic piano sounds then return and play out until the end of the scene as the antagonist is revealed to the audience.

Editing

At the beginning of the scene, there is a straight cut to jump straight into the action. The camera then comes to a halt and for a moment, there is only continuity as all we can see is the interaction between the male and female, which could also be a jump cut as the film suddenly and only stays focused on this. When the couple head upstairs, there is all of a sudden a jump cut to the bedroom window, as this shows a change in focus and startles the audience. There is then slow editing as the antagonist is approaching and walking through the house, he is taking his time and not rushing, slowly building suspense for the audience which keeps them on edge and wondering what will happen. At the end of the scene, there is a reaction shot of the young boy who's mask has now been taken off and those around him, who are in shock which shows the audience their reaction to the scene and could also share the audiences reaction.

Conventions

In the beginning of the scene, low key lighting is used as the antagonist is walking, this creates suspense as the scene is dark and we do not know the identity of the killer, leaving the audience clueless, When the killer is walking the through the house, there is then thriller iconography as the antagonist grabs a knife from the kitchen, this startles the audience and gives an element of fear, as well as foreshadowing what is about to take place. The hidden identity of the killer is also another convention present in this opening sequence, as right up until the end, the audience are only given a p.o.v shot, giving an added sense of mystery towards the narrative.

Characters

The main character, the antagonist has an unknown identity right until the very end of the opening sequence, making the audience ask questions about them and eagerly wait for their identity to be revealed. The victim of the antagonist is also not really known either, from what the audience have seen, they can only gather that the victim is either the boy's mother or sister, it is only revealed later on in the film that it was his sister who was killed, thus creating an enigma for the audience.

Narrative

The main narrative of this film is that it actually takes place on halloween night, conjoined with the film name "halloween", which is associated with the dead and evil, so the audience can expect costumes and murder, as provided in the opening sequence. Like other many other thrillers, the sequence ends with shock and surprise, as the antagonist is revealed.

Target Audience

The film would have to be an 18, due to nudity and strong violence very earlier on in the film and mainly young viewers aged around 20 could be attracted, as they are the young adults who will remember halloween night. The audience could possibly feel sympathy towards the antagonist, as he is just a young boy and is possibly just confused and excited about halloween and doesn't know what he is doing, but at the same time they fear him as they do not know what he is capable of and they also feel sympathy for the young girl who has just been murdered.

Conclusion And Summary

Overall, this opening sequence shows the conventions of a thriller in a number of ways. There is tension built by using different shots and slow editing, also especially the iconography of a knife, making the antagonist seem dangerous and making the audience unaware of what he is capable of, there is suspense present as the scene is slow and slowly builds up to the climax, leaving the audience on edge the whole way. The moment of shock comes as the young girl is horrifically bladed to death, shocking the audience and giving them the epic climax of the scene that they have been waiting for. The surprise comes at the end, when the killer is revealed to be a blonde young boy which you would perceive to be as innocent and instead in this case, he is not and is actually the main antagonist of the film. This analysis will assist me in making my thriller sequence, as it has helped me better understand the conventions of a thriller and also ways to add suspense and draw in my audience, keeping them on edge and entertained as they are drawn into what is happening, because I believe that is the most important thing in an opening sequence for a thriller.

Research into editing styles

During a film and its scenes, there are many points of editing, including the camera, sound. The scene I am editing is from the film "human Centipede" the scene where the female escapes from the surgery bed. The scene begins with a straight jump cut, to the frantic action which is taking place inside the surgery room. There are then shot reverse shots between the two girls panicking which adds suspense as we know the characters are in danger and as the shot reverse shots keep occuring through the start of the scene, this shows continuity. The shots switch between one character escaping and the other panicking, which adds suspense as we don't know what is going to happen to the characters which adds a sense of mystery.

Once she escapes, there is then a straight jump cut to the doctor which shows his sudden emotional state change as she is escaping, which is also a reaction shot of him. There is a short montage between the anger of the doctor and the girl slowly escaping, which adds excitement to the scene as it is fast paced and the tension is rising. From when she reaches the stairs, there are linking shots of her trying different ways to escape, such as a few doors and windows which is an element of continuity, we see the character's emotion and it is happening at a fast rate. There are then reverse shots between the bedroom she is in and the empty hallway, these shots keep occuring to add suspense as the doctor eventually appears in the hallway and walks down it. There is silence and she thinks she is hidden, but then the doctor pulls the handle on the locked door and a reaction shot of the girl shows her fear, adding to a sense that she is now trapped and helpless which adds suspense as we don't know what will happen to her. There is not a reaction shot of the doctor gettting increasingly angry as she is not oepning the door and the scene focuses on linking and reverse shots between the two, with her inside and the doctor outside. This builds tension as we see their emotions strengthen, the doctor becomes more angry and the girl becomes more emotional. There is also slow editing present when the doctor is walking down the corridor looking for the girl, which creates suspense as it further drags the scene out and slows the action as the audience eagerly wait for a conclusion. This is conventional to a thriller as a male antagonist is hunting a weak and vulnerable female, typically seen in thrillers. The slow editing is followed by a reaction shot of the endangered female, which shows her facial expression which builds tension for the audience, they fear for the character who herself clearly looks worried, making them feel uneasy and worry about what will happen next to her. The antagonist clearly has bad intentions and wants to hunt down the girl to kill her, which builds more tension as not only do the audience fear for the girl, they now fear the dangerous and psychotic antagonist, wondering what he is capable of.

The scene ends with the doctor banging on the door and not giving up and the girl still alone and helpless, further building suspense and tension as we don't know how this is going to end for either one of them. In the end, the last shot is of the girl, which is a reaction shot of her to what is going on outside of the room.

From this post, I have learnt that it is essential to include relevant editing styles in order to properly create significant suspense and tension for the audience, for example including reaction shots to engage the audience with the character as they see how they are feeling and slow editing to drag out action in a scene to create further lasting suspense. In my own production, I will look to include elements such as this to draw in my audience and make them feel connected to the scene.

Research into sound- Miss Miller

Research into sound- Inception zero gravity scene

Sound is a crucial part of any thriller film, as it can have many effects on how the visuals are perceived by the audience, it can affect how the audience feels, and can create a number of different emotions and atmospheres, as I will be showing through the analysis of a scene from inception.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvDba2nMv_U

Right at the beginning of this sequence, the only sound that can be heard by the audience is the edited sound in the first few seconds of the world itself shaking, which is also an example of non- diegetic sound, the segment has been edited (both visuals and audio included) after filming as the screen is shown shaking which implies that the audio has been edited in after filming as well. It is also an example of offscreen sound as it can't be seen as to where the sound is coming from (as it has been edited in).  This is most probably done at the start of the scene to add to the surreal atmosphere which is allready present though out the film, and it would be incredibly costly and unnecessary to make the sound diegetic, as it adds a mystery element to the sequence. It also establishes what is about to occur in the following scenes (thrilling sequences) as this is the only audio that can be heard, establishing the atmosphere.  This is convectional to a thriller as the audio at the beginning of the sequence alerts the viewer as to what to expect in the following scenes, and the noise heard is of a violent nature which is suited as the scenes to follow contain fighting segments.

As soon as an unknown person comes into frame just as he walks past in the elevator, the background music (non-digetic and offscreen sound) picks ups instantly. The drastic change in music could be used to connote to the viewer that the unknown man is a threat. This scene creates suspense as the up come to the encounter is through a long empty corridor which could also connote that he is about to be attacked. This is supported by the fact that the unknown man is shown behind the other man, which shows that he is possibly vulnerable to such an attack. This is conventional in thriller films as it creates high levels of suspense for the viewer as the visuals on scene suggest that something is about to happen, accompanied by the suspenseful music makes a deadly combo in creating atmosphere suitable for a thriller sequence.

During the scenes in which the motorcyclist is shooting at the van, gun shots (diegetic and on screen sound) are fired at the vehicle. The music in the background is very slow paced and dramatic which could be a possible example of contrapuntal sound as in other action sequences in different films, faster paced background music would be used, as the one in this sequence would be often featured in different types of scenes. The background music does however stay consistent throughout the sequence and builds up gradually. This could be done to accompany the ever changing pace in visuals as the parts in the scene go from full out action to slow paced scenes. Having a constant climatic back ground music can be applicable to both different types of scenes, by doing so connecting the two types of scenes together.  By not changing the type of music it  does not lessen the suspense which could be possibly done by changing the music. This is conventional for the thriller genre as the gradual increase in speed with the music adds tension and suspense to an already climatic scene, creating a ammersive thriller atmosphere. 

At the very end of the scene in which the driver of the van recovers his fall and drives off, the audio goes completely silent, an element of silencem apart from the noise of rain and the windscreen wipers. This could be done to signify to the viewer that it is the end of all of the madness and hectic scenes before this point, and to completely slow the pace of the scene down and to allow the viewer to access what they have just seen, and the sound of the rain and windscreen wipers is included to connote to the viewer that the atmosphere and surroundings has changed, or also to create tension, as nothing can be heard and the audience await to see what will happen next. This is conventional to the thriller genre as a silent pause or lack of music is often used to create suspense, however, as inception is an offbeat psychological thriller, the use of sound does not have to apply to other films in its genre as it is a sub-genre film, one of the reasons for its huge success is because of how it doesn't follow the typical conventions of a thriller, it goes outside of the box, which also surprises the audience and intruigues them. 

I believe that overall this research should effectively help me in creating my own thriller sequence, as I am now aware of what different types of sound there are, which allows me to use when it comes to creating thriller conventions, and examples of such types of music with real thriller sequences. Analysing a thriller sequence in which these conventions are used will enable me to know in what instances what type of sound should go with what visuals, and to what affect this will have to the viewer and film itself. I have taken many inspirations from this sequence, and the examples I intend to incorparate into my own thriller sequence is the use of silence at the end of the opening sequence, by doing so indicating to the audience that the end of the chaotic scenes have ended. Another type of sound I want to incorporate is the use of diegetic, off screen music of a instrumental, intense variation to build up tension and suspense within the opening sequence.