Reconstruction

In this essay I will explore film and my chosen discipline thriller.

With film storytelling has evolved to be something which feels too real to be false, special effects and CGI make it possible to see dinosaurs which have long been extinct, in the box office, severe injuries such as decapitation can be performed; films like Inception, Terminator and the sixth sense which draw us away from reality would not be as intriguing if they were told in a form other than film. Documentary style films like the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity successfully deceived viewers into thinking that the events were real, because of this I wish to explore film making in my essay – particularly thriller. 

A genre, which plays most with the viewers’ emotions, it is a genre, which we can trust the least as we explore what we believe to be the truth until often in the end we find we have been carried in the hurricane called Plot. It is this unpredictability that draws me to Thriller. 

Shutter Island –Directed by Martin Scorsese. A mystery, drama, psychological thriller about U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels’ journey to Ashecliffe Hospital (an asylum) in pursuit of an escaped patient. This thought-provoking tale keeps you guessing; with no clear antagonist you are left with the question -who can’t the protagonist trust? Shutter Island beautifully uses the colour pallet of orange, warm yellows, greens, and blue, it is full of ill-lit and bright scenes such as the beginning on the boat which is a mixture of pale blues and white, the scene in the asylum garden features radiant green, pink and orange, slightly contrasting most thriller. The film has a single score, relying on ambience, weather, location and colour to create suspense and atmosphere. 

Martin Scorsese applies hidden clues and symbolism in his shots. Fire and water have great importance as when our protagonist is in a hallucinogenic state, he is accompanied by fire, at times obscuring characters’ faces, while water follows his reality, such details are easily missed when watching first time round, however once acknowledged create sympathy for Teddy. 

Terminator – Directed by James Cameron. The action sci-fi thriller film about a man and a robot who separately travel to the past, one to bring about the age of Ai dominance in their future, the other to make sure the savior of that future is born, throughout the film we are put on the edge of our seats hoping that our protagonist Kyle Reese successfully protects Sarah Connor the mother of said savior John Connor, the debate around this film is whether it is mainly action horror or action thriller. Thriller films unlike horror make you fear for the characters, the genre relies on the story and portrays character development; however, with horror you would not want to be in the characters position, you fear for yourself and there isn’t much character development. 

Like many thriller Terminator uses close ups to identify character’s emotions, at times close ups can be used to create discomfort, music amplifies suspense (the main score in terminator contains the prevailing sound of drums which mimic heart beats adding to suspense), gore and blood promote discomfort, it’s somber both in its colour pallet and the mood created. 

Rear window – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Filled with thriller action and mystery, l.b. Jeffries; our protagonist takes us along his investigation based on his suspicions about his neighbor possibly killing his wife, along with Jeffries’ girlfriend and nurse we remain in the one room setting left only with a window to witness the plot unravel. One of Hitchcock’s teachings include the following – Suspense and shock are two different things, if four men were talking around a table and we see a bomb under that table, but the characters are unaware – suspense is created (when the audience know something the characters on screen don’t), in the case of shock it is brief and sudden (This Guy Edits. (2017). 3 Hitchcock Filmmaking Techniques That Rule. [Online Video]. 1 July 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C1LaZx5yO0. [Accessed: 16 December 2018].); as a silent film director Hitchcock also stated the importance of show not tell “Dialogue are pictures of characters talking”. In Rear Window we see this being demonstrated for example the first few minutes of the film the audience is shown a leg in a cast, a broken camera and several framed photographs, the camera is telling us L.B Jeffries story: his name; which is on his cast, he broke his leg and he’s a photographer. 

Alfred Hitchcock uses lighting, camera, character, silence and ambience to create desired effects. Near the end of the film Lisa Carol Fremont (Jeffries girlfriend) sneaks into Thorwald’s house (the accused neighbor) however while she is there he is about to return home, the camera angle allows us and Jeffries to know this however we are left hoping she finds out, and although she does we now fear for her survival, until the police arrive due to her boyfriend’s call; throughout Hitchcock prolongs the wait and unease making this scene even more thrilling, Hitchcock states that the plot of a film should be the outcome of the character’s choices, he prefers to use as little coincidental events as possible, in this scene of Rear Window the consequence of Lisa’s actions is her near death, the police’s arrival was not a coincidence but rather the actions of Jeffries, this removes the hope that if the characters were in a dangerous situation they would be miraculously saved.

When Lisa is found in Thorwald’s home the lights are turned off, a signal of her impending doom, as the police arrive the lights are turned back on representing hope for her survival. James Stewart’s brilliant portrayal of anxiety and distress amplifies our concerns for Lisa. 

During the scene of Jeffries and Thorwalds confrontation dim lighting reduces information available to the audience, the lack of light creates a sense of foreboding while the lack of information can be linked to the idea that people fear the unknown, this scene remains without music, the sound effects such as phone ringing and footsteps drawing closer increase suspense, the silence upon answering the phone begins the terror, close ups and zoom-ins on Jeffries face display his distress, after two minutes thirty seconds of buildup Thorwald appears, the first thing we see are his menacing eyes in a close up while his face remains hidden in the darkness. 

With the introduction of new technology all genres of film have changed greatly. Modern thrillers now make better use of colours to depict certain moods, music to enhance suspense for example the score used in Terminator, special effects have evolved and look realistic, adding gore and discomfort, thriller now crosses into wider platforms, hybrids of thriller with crime, thriller with sci-fi, and thriller with fantasy can be seen in the box office. At times filmmakers become too absorbed in the special effects and forget about story, some audiences love the ripped jaw effects and massive explosions while others seek an exciting story.

Social Media in film has made exposure a lot easier especially for beginner filmmakers who don’t have the money for advertising, and rather than putting your work in the cinema; with a cut back in profit you can upload it on YouTube, gaining publicity if its widely viewed.

YouTube and home cinema have infested the world with short films, many filmed on extremely low budgets but remain entertaining and creative such as Roadside; a 5 minuet thriller short film about a mysterious hitchhiker with an unexpected ending. Although filmed as a one shot the camera angles effectively hide certain details from the audience as it dances with the characters on the road, without social media this short would not have been popular or even seen. Web series and other short forms of films are at times preferred as they can be watched while journeying to school or work.

Just as respected Quentin Tarantino’s views on dialogue and screenplay are quite different to Alfred Hitchcock’s, Tarantino stated his love of writing novels in the form of screenplay leading him to often re-adapt his work into a script while filming, he disagrees that the screenplay is a blueprint for a film and questions the idea of it not being seen by anyone making screenplay less relevant in the film process. 

Tarantino’s love of writing can be seen in his films, his skills with words disprove Hitchcock’s statement of dialogue being pictures of people talking, rather Tarantino uses dialogue to create conflict, keeping the audience’s attention in preparation for the next scene, an example being the first words said in Pulp Fiction “Forget it, it’s too risky.” From here the audience’s curiosity begins, gluing us to the scene, as the film progress’ we are pushed to the next scene by the previous through the unknown (not knowing what characters are thinking or what could happen between characters) and captivating dialogue.  

Another example of this is Inglorious Basterds, when the American spies impersonate Italians and are discovered by Hans Landa, rather than arresting them or telling them he knows, he mocks them, repeatedly asking them to say their names and applauding when their Italian accent is correct. The audience know Landa is aware however we are not sure what he will do, his mockery surprises us however Landa won’t let them free as that could cause issues for German occupied France, this brings suspense. 

Both Directors establish the difference between shock and suspense. In Inglorious Basterds’ opening a French Farmer is visited by a German general who has been tasked with exterminating Jews, suspense is created when we later find out the French Farmer is hiding a Jewish family under his floor board, unease is shifted between several levels; Tarantino first establishes a calmer atmosphere as Landa requests milk from the farmer and later suggests he will leave, but when he asks for another and makes it aware that he knows the Farmer is hiding Jews tension rises.

In conclusion the preference of using images to communicate with your audience proves more effective than words, but dialogue; if used with skill and creativity, can give us insight into a character’s personality being as effective as the show not tell method.

References

Myles Media. (2019). History of the Thriller Genre. [Online Video]. 16 January 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FZxmLsfMI0. [Accessed: 16 December 2018]. 

 Myles Media. (2016). Thriller Film Conventions. [Online Video]. 16 September 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C1LaZx5yO0. [Accessed: 17 December 2018]. 

 This Guy Edits. (2017). 3 Hitchcock Filmmaking Techniques That Rule. [Online Video]. 1 July 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C1LaZx5yO0. [Accessed: 16 December 2018]. 

Tyler Mowery. (2017). Shutter Island — Notice The Details. [Online Video]. 7 February 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVsXVzSse8I. [Accessed: 8 January 2019].

Filmsiteorg. 2019. Filmsiteorg. [Online]. [21 January 2019]. Available from: https://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html

Snyder, B., 2005. Save the Cat. 1st ed. America: Amazon.

2010. Frey, J., 2010. How to Write a Damn Good Thriller. 1st ed. America: Amazon.