Genre research (continued) choice of films:

Before we started filming the continuity or the main (2min) film, we had to study specific films of our choice which distinctively linked to either thrillers or horrors. However, we were only studying the openings to the films as that is what our project's basis is. We watched 'Memento,' an American psychological thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan in 2000. It stars Guy Pearce as the main character who suffers from anterograde amnesia (severe form of amnesia). He witnesses his wife's rape and murder and plans to get revenge on her killer. We also looked at films that were not psychological thrillers but were confusing and had strong links to key conventions of thrillers. 

Another thriller we looked at was, the American film called Psycho (one of the most famous thrillers ever) it is well-known for its tense scenes through the use of music, cross cutting and very little dialogue. In terms of Horrors, we decided to go straight to Dawn Of The Dead, a typical Zombie Horror that focuses on shock tactics (gore) and canted shots to create both tension and confusion for the audience. We wanted to include tense scenes in both our projects that specifically focused on suspense between the characters and also for the audience.

The last film we studied was Se7en. This film was made in 1995 and stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. It is set in a chaotic city where a murderer is on the loose, who presumably kills people based on the seven sins. The opening to this film is a great, traditional way to open a thriller/horror as the director blends subjective shots with extreme close-ups of the murderers hands. Subjective shots are a great way to create confusion as it is used forth character to know more than the audience. The addition of the extreme-close-up of the hands of the murderer adds to the confusion and makes the audience feel a sense of being uneasy with the situation. The opening credits also zoom in on alot of simple objects such as books, scissors etc. this technique is used to convey a sense of being trapped because you cannot escape what the murderer is up to with the close-ups added in.

Types of camera shots/movement etc. used in Memento:

Memento uses alot of close-ups on Guy Pearce (the main character) to show his emotions throughout the film. In the opening, we see how his severe amnesia came about and we realise that his wife has been raped and murdered by an anonymous man who we think is someone that Guy Pearce meets along the way. Throughout the opening it changes from black and white to colour to portray confusion for the audience and we see alot of extreme close-ups of Guy Pearce but we also learn that as a result of his amnesia, he has written loads of different codes and notes regarding his life and his wife through tattoos all over his body. There are several establishing shots aswell because we see his hotel that he is staying in and the place where he supposedly finds and kills his wife's murderer.

In terms of the types of movement used in Memento, the camera pan's to different people/locations throughout the opening sequence to show quick movements and preferably how Pearce's mind is spinning with all his thoughts. Finally, in terms of editing in the opening sequence the only example is when Pearce finds his killer before he shoots him in the head, the murderer tries to negotiate so the scene is split through cross-cuts to show both characters and there emotions are shown through close-ups and the editing gets quicker until the murderer gets killed. 

Types of camera shots/movement etc. used in Psycho

For this section I will concentrate on the famous shower scene of 'Psycho'. For this scene alone there are plenty of cuts and shots as it builds up to the climax where the killer kills the girl in the shower. The scene begins with the girl coming through the hotel room and into her bathroom ready for a shower. The cuts and shots in these few seconds are kept to a minimum but the changes when they are there are both slow and smooth changes. This is to convey the message to the audience that everything is fine and that there is nothing to worry about. The second that she is naked and in the shower gives an immediate sense that she is much more vulnerable. A dark figure begins to approach the shower curtain.

This signals to the audience that everything is not OK as the shots rapidly change and overlap with each other continuously. The dark figure then grabs the curtain with the women screaming then from here there is no camera movement. Straight cuts and jump cuts are used through the shots and cross-cutting is used for the editing to separate the killer's perspective and the women's. As the killer brings the knife and begins to kill his victim the cameras and music stop to show an over the shoulder shot of the killer himself.

Finally, the use of music plays a vital role in this famous scene as the music is calm and heartwarming at the beginning with the women getting ready but completely changes to a high pitched violin which makes out a danger indicator for the audience. Then the famous low drone of the cello after the 'Psycho' hence the name kills his victim.

This is a video from youtube of the opening scene to 'Se7en':

This is a video from youtube for the trailer of 'Memento':