Rope

"Rope” is a psychological thriller. It was adapted from Patrick Hamilton’s Play which appeared in 1929. The Play was based upon the real life murderers Leopold and Loeb who killed an innocent man to see how it felt. The case became very famous in America. It was linked to the ideas of Nietzsche and his notion of ‘Superman’ a morally superior being. These ideas influenced Hitler and the rise of the Nazis.

The film was made in 1948 and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

What makes this film famous is the unique editing. Hitchcock wanted to film the story as one long continuous take so that it was like watching a play and the audience felt they were ‘living’ the action.However, in his time Hitchcock had to work with 10 minute rolls. He tried his best to hide his cuts but they are noticeable to a more modern audience. Using this editing technique creates a feeling of claustrophobia. The actors and the audience are both ‘trapped’ in the film. The fact that the body is present throughout the film adds to the tension as the fear of discover exists from the onset.

Another fascinating element to the film is the way homosexuality is portrayed. The relationship between the two murderers is clearly romantic but due to the times, Hitchcock wasn't allowed to state that.

Source Code

Source Code

Source code is a futuristic thriller, in which a soldier exists in a simulation of a train bombing. The objective of the soldier is to figure out who bombed the train. The film raises many philosophical points, including points about parallel universes and dimensions. In addition the film has moral and ethical dilemmas on whether or not such a thing should exist to prevent terrorism.

The film ends with many things open or unanswered, for instance the audience doesn't know whether or not the soldier is dead or alive, or whether he is continuing living as the man on the train. Either of these endings hint toward an alternate dimension.

For all the excitement the film has romantic moments. There is an ongoing romance and a very moving scene where the soldier, Colter Stevens (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) phones his father.

The film was made in 2011 and was directed by Duncan Jones.

. The film contains CGI special effects and cost $32,000,000 to make.

Colter Stevens is a resourceful hero. He gets out of a lot of scrapes as he challenges fellow passengers.

At the end of the film he challenges/persuades the scientist Colleen Goodwin to allow him one more attempt to enter the source code and change the outcome. She grants him this wish and whether he achieves his goal or not is unknown.

This film is an example of an ordinary person, albeit a soldier, who has been dragged into a situation he does not really understand.

Thrillers are villain driven plots. Colter Stevens is not only against the bomber he is also against the creator of the Source Code who refuses to let him die and wants to use him for future missions. Until the end of the film Stevens is powerless and is driven by others. In addition he also has to fight his own demons. This gives the impression that Colter Stephens is against the world.

Psycho

Psycho

Does psycho follow thriller conventions?















One of the conventions of a thriller is frequent action, psycho follows this convention is fairly action packed, especially for its time. Throughout psycho the protagonist is always in danger whether it be Marion or Detective Arbogast.












Another feature of a thriller is fast pacing. Psycho is a fast paced film, again, considering when it was made. The film was never short of action and it progressed at a good pace.
Also, in a thriller the characters are supposed to be smart and resourceful, this adds to the tension as the villain can outsmart the protagonist. Norman Bates isn't the smartest character but his awkwardness makes him scary anyway so he doesn't need to be smart.
Psycho doesn't have a driven villain but Norman Bates is a great villain nonetheless.
Suspense is needed in thrillers as it breaks down the action and makes the audience feel as though they are in the situation of the protagonist. A red herring is used to mislead or confuse the audience. In psycho the red herring is Norman's mother.  Psycho also has a good cliffhanger with the idea that Norman Bates is still mentally unstable.

Use of McGuffin.
A McGuffin is what starts the plot of the film but in the end has nothing to do with the plot. In psycho the McGuffin is the stealing of the money, by the end of the film nobody seems to care about the money.

Narrative Theories
Equilibrium- at the start of the film all is calm and seemingly normal until an event disrupts the flow of the film.

Disruption- In this case the disruption was Marion stealing the money. This drives the plot forward.

Attempt to restore order- The protagonist has to solve whatever it is that is wrong. In psycho this stage is when detective arbogast investigates the disappearance of Marion.

Equilibrium is restored but with changes- in this case norman is locked up and marion and arbogast is dead.

Lighting

This is a prezi on the importance of lighting in film.

Evaluation of camera techniques

As you can see by our camera techniques exercise we aren't the most experienced. However we did show some signs that could indicate that we have some skills in the area. Looking back on it there's a lot that i would change. For example, the shot at the end when someone is approaching our actor was unsteady and looked unprofessional. There was also a lot of flaws in some of the other shots where we could still see directors in the background. The sound was distorted which is another thing for us to work on. We tried to eradicate this problem by adding sound over the top. There was also a lot of subtle things about the editing that was frustrating. If i were to re-do it, i would make the transitions from shot to shot a lot smoother.

Camera techniques exercise

Use of the camera

North by Northwest

North by northwest from AlexJamesMaloney

Thriller conventions