The Human Centipede - why is it a Thriller?

The Human Centipede trailer makes it obvious that it will be a thriller, through certain traits that it does e.g. in a remote area. There are two American girls in Germany for their first time, and they are trying to find a party but get lost and their car tyre gets punctured. During all this there is a dark solemn music which is going around, and the weather is rainy and stormy another obvious thriller trait, They find a house in the middle of nowhere, another thriller trait, and where they find a creepy mad scientist another trait to a thriller. In the house there are painting of Siamese twins, which is extremely weird, leading up to a twisted thriller. All these points signify the genre and are part of the codes and conventions of a Thriller.

Target Audience for Shutter Island

Within the first 10 seconds of the trailer, the audience are introduced to the A-list actor Leonardo Dicaprio, which immediately targets a female audience of around 15-35 as he is very attractive, popular and famous.  After the words, "its a mental hospital" "for the criminally insane" are said, a backing music that is quite solemn begins, creating an unsettling atmosphere, which suggests that it is a mystery/psychological Thriller.  This would relate to a wide audience as it is popular with all ages, both male and female, which contrasts to an action, which would mainly target a male audience.  The Federal Marshals (Leonardo and Mark Ruffalo) would attract both a male and female audience:  they are young and attractive and also can be seen as the 'hero' type that males would aspire to be.  Emily Mortimer, a famous actress is also introduced in the Trailer, which would attract an audience as she is well known.  Furthermore, as she is an English actress unlike the other two stars, this could attract more of an audience as it widens interest (English people are going to want to watch an English actress in a Hollywood film).  The Thriller is also set in 1954, which is suggested in the trailer.  As a result, this will attract an older audience also as they could relate to that time - there are flashbacks of concentration camps, etc.  Therefore, the Thriller can be seen as interesting as well as entertaining to watch as it shows shocking images, which emotionally attach an audience because it relates to real life issues.    

Target audience for Thrillers

1.  This poster would attract a male audience aged 15-35 as it shows Amanda Seyfriend, a young attractive woman would be the main character in the film.  It also suggests suspense in the film as there is a black image of a man in the poster, which would also attract a male audience because it appeals to what they like to watch.  This film could also attract a female audience around the years 15-25 as they would be a similar age to the woman. 

2.  In this poster, the colours of the background and the words in 'se7en' in red represents bloodshed, danger and violence, which is appealing to a male audience (15-35 years).  The picture of Brad Pitt would also attract a female audience, aged 15-35 as he is attractive and well known.  Furthermore, Morgan Freeman would attract an audience as he is popular and well known and therefore, it would suggest that the film would be successful and interesting to watch. 

3. This trailor of the film Taken would attract a mass audience.  The man in the Thriller would appeal to middle aged men with children as they could relate to how awful a situation like this would be.  Furthermore, it would attract men as they would appeal to be like this character, a 'Hero' type figure and the action in the film would also appeal to them.  The main man in the film would attract a female audience as he is quite attractive and the girl would attract a male audience, aged 15-35 as she is also attractive.  Therefore, this trailor would attract ages of 15-35 of both a male and female audience.

Examples of Thrillers

The Bourne Identitity

Spy Thriller

• You can see the man could be an agent or an assassin as he has a gun, is wearing black clothes (smart, camouflaged) and that he seems to be running.
• The colours blue and orange suggest that in this horror there will be action, implying the spy genre and the background also shows two people fighting in the corner.
• Because there is a target sign on matt damon, this also suggests he is on the run from people and that he must be someone important.  This again suggests the spy thriller because it is the target sign from a gun.  Therefore, this image of the film suggests violent action against a rival.  This target sign can also suggest his split personality and the fact that he is unsure who he really is, this links in with the half blue and orange background as well.

Inception

Psychological Thriller

• In this poster, some of the characters are holding guns which suggests the film involves some sort of violence or criminal offence.  
• The colours used are dark and mysterious which begin to set the mood for the film.
• The fact that the street is above them in the sky and surrounding them like walls suggests isolation and a sense of claustrophobia. Furthermore, it implies that they might be in some sort of other world which isn't real, 'Inception'.  
• The colours used are dark which implies this film is quite serious and the title 'inception' in red signifies danger. 

Conventions of a thriller - Scream

Opening sequence of Scream
Conventions of the Thriller

• Sound: Tense music during the girls hiding and running.
• Props: Telephone ringing is a key signifier that something bad will happen.
• Props: Popcorn used to contribute to tense atmosphere - she forgets about it and it's left burning and on fire while she is running from the killer.
• Props: Knife is represented which signifies danger, such as when the girl is fiddling with it at the beginning of the sequence whilte she is on the phone (1:56).  The knife is the main prop of the film and is used in all the murders.
• Lighting: House is dark, with bits of light coming in and the patio light is also used to create tension such as when the killer asks her to turn it on a off in the midst of the murder of her boyfriend (5:28).
• Characters: You don't feel that sorry for the girl as she is not too important.  Futhermore, she is only in the opening sequence and she also gives the impression she is quite dumb.  
• Script: conversation on the telephone about scary films brings tension and uneasiness to the mood of the film.
• Location: The house is in a desolate/isolated place.  

What is a thriller? What types of thrillers are there?

Thrillers are a genre essentially about the battle of justice vs. injustice and there is often a price to be paid for the consequence of the story. They can also be defined by their point of view and all possible central figures of the narrative can have both major and minor character roles.
Conventions of a thriller
- Protagonist at mercy of the antagonist
- Sudden unexpected action/movement/sound causing an easy shock
- False ending
- Making the story become personal - changing the professional action to a personal quest or turning the protagonist into the victim
- force the audience to imagine some things and leave it up to them to decide how to look at certain things in the story
3 examples of genres of thrillers:
1. Conspiracy Thrillers - where the hero approaches a big, powerful group of enemies in which he only understands their true extent.
2. Psychological Thrillers - the conflict between the main characters are more mental and emotional rather than physical. Although ultimately this often results in a violent resolution.
3. Horror Thrillers - conflict between main characters is emotional, physical and mental. Therefore, Horror Thrillers can combine all of the other Thriller elements

Preliminary Task

basic camera skills

Extreme long shot or establishing shot - It is usually an exterior shot which creates time and location of the production. This is an important shot which is normally used at the beginning of the production so that it can present the audience with the setting and the storyline.

Long shot - this is a shot which usually follows an establishing shot which enables the audience to understand the relationship between the character and their enviroment. This shot provides the audience to see the character from head to toe.

Mid shot - This allows the audience to see the character from the waist up. This shot helps the audience to become more accustomed with the character and their motives in the storyline as it enables the audience to see the characters body language and facial expressions more clearly.

Two shot - This is a shot with two characters in the frame acknowledging the audience of the relationship between them and the action which they are both in.

Close up - This shot includes the characters head and shoulders in the frame with very little background. This shot is used so that the director can focus on the characters emotions and expressions at that time.

Point of view - a close up shot of a character works as a reference towards the point of view shot as the audience sees the characters view point of an object of significance or their view of the actions. This shot engages the audience of the characters motives.

Extreme close up - draws the audience further into the characters emotions as there is nothing else in the frame. This shot can be very deep for the audience as all the focus is put on one thing which makes it an unfamiliar view point. An extreme close up is usually focused on the characters eyes or an object of significance.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

For our shoot we filmed in the filming room on a set, which was made for this task.  I believe this location was really good for our task because it provided us with a good background, setting, props, mood and lighting.  We were able to move around the set also to get the best shots.  During filming I contributed in setting up the camera, which included bubbling, putting the camera on the tripod, white balance and making sure that the camera was in focus.  I also positioned the camera for some of the shots such as the wide shot.

For lighting, we used light and soft because it was important to cut out shadows and give a natural, attractive aspect to the set.  I think that this was effective because when editing, I found the lighting gave an appealing colour to the set and characters while giving off an engaging disposition.  

We set up the camera properly by refocusing it every time we moved the camera to a different angle or type of shot and by bubbling the camera at the start, we knew that the tripod was level in each shot.  We also made sure the frame was shot correctly each time by going over the script before every shot and also redoing it a couple of times to make sure it was the best it could be.  We also ensured that the ceiling and lights were not in any of our frames, otherwise the effect of the set would be ruined and give off an unprofessional look.  Most of our sequence was filmed at eye-level: this showed the subjects how we expect to seem them in real life, which I thought was appropriate for the script given.    When filming the shots, we made sure we filmed in a practical and a sufficient way so we had enough time to make each shot perfect.  At the start, we planned on beginning with a wide shot, filming the whole sequence of our storyboard then moving to other shots such as medium shot, repeating the sequence and then following with over the shoulder and close ups.  We realized this technique would be the quickest and easiest way to get through all our shots and I believe it was a good decision.  During filming, we also had to consider other rules of filming such as the 180-degree rule, which we didn’t break.  By following the 180 degree rule we made sure we followed the 180 degree axis.  We did 5 separate takes behind the actor’s shoulders and with close ups so that you could see the conversation line between the two actors.  If we broke this rule by going over the 180 degree axis, the filming would look odd and confusing for the viewer.  To ensure everyone on set knew what was happening, we used all appropriate terminology such as ‘stand by’, ‘action’ and ‘cut’ before and after each frame. 

In conclusion, I have learnt that in practical film making it is always easiest to film the whole sequence in each shot first and then put it in order during editing afterwards.  You never follow the storyboard otherwise you would have to change the camera angle and shot on too many occasions, refocusing constantly: it would waste money, effort and a lot of time.  I also have learnt how important lighting is in filming as whatever lighting you use; it will give off a different mood each time. 

Storyboard for Preliminary Task