Deconstruction of Existing Films.



Thriller Films: Alien and Alien: Resurrection

Alien is a well known thriller sequel, with four films making it a quadrility. To have made three more films after the original could suggest that it successful thriller film. The thriller sub-genre is closely linked to horror, which is noticeable in the Alien films as the audience are provoked to feel disgusted, fear and horrified. The first Alien film was made in 1979 (20th Century Fox) , followed by the second in 1986, the third in 1992 and the last one in 1997. There's almost twenty years difference between the first and last film and there's a noticeable difference of the quality in the opening titles. Just from a glance at the screen shots you can see a difference of colours, the vivid more detailed example of the fourth film compared to the simple first one; the final one is far more disgusting and fear provoking, this is something to think about, whether it's necessary for our thriller film considering our demographics.

Both opening titles include the names of the actors and producers as well as the main Alien title. The first film opening spreads the title over the nine clips, gradually building the word 'Alien' by breaking up each individual letter. This delay and gradual build up adds tension before the film has even started, without the use of gory pictures like the final film opening. The first film sticks to a basic slimy green background, not a very attractive colour which might indicate that the film might not be very attractive to watch. Another possible reason for the green background is that many people naturally associate the colour with aliens, therefore setting the general theme of the film.

The final film opening clearly shows how special effects had progressed since the first film. In the first six opening clips it boasts to the audience how gory and gross the film will be, using close-up shots of the peculiar, disturbing creature. In a way this isn't really necessary as the first film manages to create a tense opening without the gore, however as this is the final film it might have been appropriate to make the film more 'thrilling' to make it stand out from the previous films. Bearing this in mind, for our film we won't have the same equipment, time and resources to create something like the fourth film yet it is still possible to create the same tense feeling as shown by the first Alien film.

The main title appears on the third clip, which again makes use of the modern effects with the green halo. Again the colour green is possibly used for the general link people make with it to aliens. The following three clips then have stars and a space ship, similar to the first film and therefore linking them to each other, clearly setting it in space. This introduces the audience to where the characters are and their surroundings, however not sharing the thriller and horror themes of the previous clips but being more sci-fi by including a space ship.

Both film openings use non-diagetic sound of music playing over the top of the titles. They both use orchestra instruments which builds tension effectively, this could be something we could take and use in our main task. The main instruments used were strings, slowly getting louder as the opening progressed. We could either borrow music already made, with their permission, or find someone who could record playing a string instrument.

Thriller Film: Fight Club

Fight Club, 1999 is a completely different example of a thriller film. It includes different sub-genres like drama and mystery resulting in what could be a completely different genre to the Alien films. Fight Club is renowned for it's huge budget, something we don't have access to. The opening sequence demonstrates the technical advantages of having a large budget; the clips are either totally produced through a computer or have been altered and enhanced by a computer.

The opening sequence starts off inside the main character's head, following a glowing impulse through the different nerves in the brain until we eventually move to the outside of the character's head showing a bead of sweat. During this time the credits appear, each name appearing quickly and then given the effect of dissolving. At the same time restless non-diagetic music is played, making the audience tense ad nervous. The camera then continues to follow the characters head, along the top of a gun until it's from a point of view perspective of the person holding the gun. You get an extreme close up of the characters eyes, which are wide open and bruised showing his emotion of fear. Followed by head shots and a mid-shots the audience are able to see the roughness of the character's appearance, by their dirty clothing and poor physical state, and that they're tied to a chair with a gun in their mouth.

I found this to be an effective way to open the film, along with the title of the film, it introduces the audience to the thrilling and tense themes of the film, as well as letting you see inside the main characters head; the whole film being based around the mental state of the character.

The beginning is complex and grabs the interest of the audience from the very start. The credits show the most popular actors first, starting with Brad Pitt. This appeals to the audience therefore making them excited, which is also provoked by the jerky, modern music.

Although we won't be able to use the same computerised effects that this film opening has we can carry different thriller factors like the use of dirty clothing and the idea of being tied up in a chair. This also gives us an example of non-diagetic sound which is able to provoke the audience effectively to .fit the theme of the film. This film is possibly aimed at a slightly older audience than ours is, therefore we need to bear this in mind and not make our film too mature.

Other Genres: Juno



Juno is a comedy-drama film based mainly on teenagers but also marriage and responsibilities. The opening sequence is light-hearted and jolly especially in comparison to the thriller Alien films. The animation adds a less mature approach, possibly introducing the audience to the character's behaviour; it's also very different from the majority of film openings which is a reflection of the film overall, as well as the character themself. The colour scheme isn't the usual primary, child related colours that people associate with animation and cartoons, it is more of a mixture of duller tones giving it an older, maturer approach which is quite unique.

The main title appears next to a long shot of the character 'Juno', which lets the audience establish who Juno is and who the film is focused on. This is a clever technique that could transferred to a thriller film and in our main task, bearing in mind that the film is named after the character or something specific. We have many long shots of Juno where we are able to view their casual clothing and overall appearance, including the Sunny D bottle which is seen as quite comical due to it's large size. The audience also view close ups of Juno's facial expression which is cheery and relaxed. This again reflects the character's overall perspective throughout the film.
It uses both non-diagetic sound and diagetic sound, with the 'county' style music played over the top along with diagetic sound of runners within the setting. The audience are given a animated view of the setting but still continues to use real sound to confirm that the setting is real. As the setting is animated, the producers are able to emphasise different objects which stand out within the film, for examble the guitar is shown next to the actor Michael Cera's name to make an obvious link to his character.

Overall the opening sequence emphasises the unique factors of the film and character, it combines animated drawings with the main character who is pixalised. As the character isn't animated into the setting the audience don't misjudge the film to be completely animated.

Other Genres: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium



Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a family comedy, somewhat an opposite to a thriller however thrillers sometimes involve comedy to lighten the viewing but it would this would be difficult as it risks taking the 'thrill' away. The demographics for this film is children, the use of bright colours and animated drawings instantly encourages children to watch it. The film is clearly appropirate for a child based audience therefore making it very different to a thriller.
The title of the film doesn't appear until clip four, giving a slight build up of scenes from the plot. Not until you've watched the film do you realise that these clips are animations of different scenes, nor do you realise that the film isn't animated through out. The text that the title and names are written in shows how the theme of the film is quite unusual, there isn't any sustainability and multiple fonts are used with multiple colours. The muliti colours isn't something that we could use in our thriller film as multi colours generally represent cheerful scenearios, although we could use brights colours for example if we decided to have blood we could emphasise red. The opening has many close ups of certain objects like the paper-aeroplane which lets the audience focus and pick up that this is something that might occur again in the film.
I don't think an animated opening would be suitable for a thriller film as it is important for thriller films to be realistic enough for the audience to believe that the plot is genuine. However it is a good contrast to compare a family based film as we now know certain factors that we will not use.

Chosen Film Genre

After narrowing it down to either drama or thriller we decided to base our film on a thriller genre. We didn't pick drama as although it was something we'd be able to produce, most dramas aren't appealing to an audience of my age. However thriller films are widely popular, not just for my age but for older audiences too. It is also linked to a large variety of sub-genres making it a good choice as we are more open to different elements within sub-genres, this will help our film be unique therefore more interesting and successful.
The conventions of a thriller film vary along with the different sub-genres, however there's certain things which remain similar. For instance they are often based in cities or the suburbs around a city, the main character finds them in a situation which seems impossible to escape from which normally threatens their life. After deciding on the genre for our main task, we started to look at examples of thriller films. We'll make comparisons and decide what we might like to include in our main task.

Initial Decisions

In my group I'm working with Sophy and Bethany, we worked together for our preliminary task which was successful. We went through possible film genres for our main task, genres including action and thriller, and then discussed what would be most suitable for us.

Bethany wrote down all of our ideas on a mind map whilst me and Sophy looked up different types of films genres and what each of them includes. We had to think about settings and actors available so that we can make our film realistic.