1) Research into Mis-En-Scene- Ms Georgiou ---------------

Mis-en-scene consists of 5 main points. these are location and props, lighting and colour, costumes, positions and facial expressions and body language.

Mis- en- scene is important because it is used to create everything within the scene. The lighting can create an eerie dark atmosphere, whereas the location can be used to create a heightened sense of fear amongst the audience if the character is alone in the middle of nowhere. The body language and facial expressions is important because this can give the audience an insight into the characters on screen and show them what they are thinking or feeling.

The clip i have chose to analysis is from the film 'Sinister'. I chose this clip because it displays mis-en-scene to the audience through a thriller and shows many of the conventional techniques associated with a thriller film.

The clip starts off with bright lighting and a happy atmosphere with children playing by the pool. However halfway through there is a big contrast as the lighting changes drastically and becomes dark and eerie. The change in lighting would also make the audience realise that the atmosphere has changed and become more on edge. It also lures the audience into a false sense of security before changing the lighting and building suspense within the audience.

Throughout the clip ambient music is played which also adds to the atmosphere and sets the sinister tone. This is also suspenseful and creates tension as the pitch of the music gets higher and higher as the climax is nearly reached.

The setting of the clip is a house. This is a relatable setting for the audience which immediately makes it more personal and scary as they can imagine themselves being put in that situation. The props used in the beginning of the chairs like deck chairs are usually associated with relaxation and enjoyment. At the end of the clip the bodies are tied to the chair and the chairs therefore develop a negative association with death.

After the characters death a masked face appears in the water. This use of hidden identity makes the audience fear the villain as they do not not know who he is or why he is killing them. The mask prop makes him seem more mysterious and increases the fear factor that the villain possesses.

5) Opening scene - Ms Georgiou --------

This clip begins with the use of a handheld shot. This makes it seem like the house is being watched and creates suspense amongst the audience. It is also hidden identity as we do not know the person who is watching the house. As the camera looks inside the house we see the low key lighting which runs throughout the rest of the clip. This lighting is conventional to a thriller film and makes the atmosphere more eerie.

The woman seen in the scene is a blonde female. This is conventional to a thriller film as by using a female the character seems more vulnerable and helpless than a male victim. This creates a greater sense of empathy and helps to build more of a relationship between the audience and the main character.

The setting of the opening clip is a house. This would make the film scarier to those watching as it is a relatable setting. This would also help to create more empathy and build a relationship between the audience and main character because it is easier for the audience to see themselves in that position. This is similar to paranormal activity which is also set in a house and makes the audience more on edge as they can relate to the setting of the house.

As the unknown person enters the house there is a jump cut is used to focus on the knife. By putting the focus on the knife it begins to give the audience the idea that it will be significant later in the clip. By making the audience wonder what the knife will be used for this shot is successful in building suspense.

There is great deal of music and non diegetic sound added to increase the tension in the clip. When the man enters the house there is the noise of a clock ticking, this foreshadows that the main characters time is running out. It is also used to build suspense. As the person walking through the house gets further in the clock becomes louder and more evident to the audience. This helps put the audience on edge as they are expecting something to happen next. As the person reaches the bottom of the stairs there is the sound of the clock chiming as he moves to the top of the house. This is the climax to the suspense of the clock which has been ticking throughout the clip.

3) The history of thrillers - Ms Georgiou ------------------

A thriller is a novel, play or movie with an exciting plot. They usually include crime or espionage. Thrillers also usually include a great deal of suspense and tension which can be created in many ways. Throughout the years thrillers have found new and different ways of creating the suspense and tension and I will be looking at how they have changed and why.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most recognisable thriller film makers. At the time of his movies in the 50's and 60's there was not aloud to be as much violence and blood shed as we can see in modern thriller films like scream and sinister. Because of this films were much more reliant on using a quick timing of shots and different camera angles to create suspense or show violence. However now there is a greater use of effects used to create these things so there is less reliance on things like camera angles and timing of shots.

The most famous of Hitchcock's movies was the 1960 film Psycho. This is an example of how film makers used timing of shots to create things like violence and murder. The scene includes 77 different camera angles and 50 different cuts in order to show the woman being massacred in the shower. This meant Hitchcock did not have to show the actual killing and instead by using the quick timing of shots left a great deal of the scene to the audiences imagination.

In the 1990s there was an increase in the number of psychological films like hannibal. There was a change from the violence and gore from the films like psycho and others and the film makers aimed to mentally scare the audience rather than doing it through violence alone.

In modern thrillers directors are not nearly as reliant on cuts and camera angles as they now have the ability to use effect to create the scene and it is now more acceptable to show the blood and gore in scenes like these. Films like saw have multiple scenes with murders and torture aimed to scare and spook the audience through the use of gore.

However although the thriller films have changed a lot there is still the similarities. The story lines have not changed a great deal. There are usually the typical features of thrillers including empty houses, female victims, dark lighting. These have not changed throughout the years and in films like Halloween , which was made in 1978, the female victim is still present. Just like it is in modern films like scream. This shows the main conventional elements of thriller films have not changed and the same things are still used to create the suspense and tension that we see in films today.

Lifetime Gross /Theaters		Opening /Theaters		Date
1	Hannibal	MGM	$165,092,268	3,292	$58,003,121	3,230	2/9/01
2	The Silence of the Lambs	Orion	$130,742,922	1,642	$13,766,814	1,497	2/14/91
3	Basic Instinct	TriS	$117,727,224	1,884	$15,129,385	1,567	3/20/92
4	Seven	NL	$100,125,643	2,528	$13,949,807	2,441	9/22/95
5	Red Dragon	Uni.	$93,149,898	3,363	$36,540,945	3,357	10/4/02
6	Saw II	Lions	$87,039,965	2,949	$31,725,652	2,949	10/28/05
7	Saw III	LGF	$80,238,724	3,167	$33,610,391	3,167	10/27/06
8	The Bone Collector	Uni.	$66,518,655	2,623	$16,712,020	2,587	11/5/99
9	Saw IV	LGF	$63,300,095	3,183	$31,756,764	3,183	10/26/07
10	The Cell	NL	$61,334,059	2,476	$17,515,050	2,411	8/18/00

Hannibal made the most amount of money in the opening weekend after its release in 2001. I believe this is because at the time there was a large demand for psychological thrillers as these had been popular throughout the 1990's in films like silence of the lambs. It also may have done so well in the opening weekend as it was the sequel to silence of the lambs which was extremely popular, so people would have been keen to see the sequel. 

Another film on the list is SAW 2 along with 3 and 5. The fact that these films are on the list shows that peoples tastes in films have changed. The conventions of gore and blood have become more popular in recent years which shows people are more inclined to watch films with these conventions rather than psychological thrillers which may have been more popular in the 1990's. 

I believe se7en is on the lost because it caters for both the psychological audience and the audience who are more interested in the blood and gore side of thrillers. Se7en includes conventions from both as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman follow a set of clues to track down a murderer. However, there is also the bloody murder scenes and gore which caters for a wider audience which is why it may have been so popular in the opening weeks.

2) Sound in Thrillers - Ms Miler ---------------

In thrillers suspense and tension are created by using things like sound effects and music. I am going to be looking at how this is done by analysing the sound within the clip from the film 'Vacancy'.

At the very start of the clip the TV is turned on and begins to crackle. The sound of the TV crackling immediately shows the audience there is no signal and suggests they are in an isolated area. When the video is inserted you can here the screaming and pain from the TV which shows the audience that whatever they are watching is not very nice.

As the main character watches the video there is a high pitched non diegetic noise. The more the man watches the video the higher and louder the noise becomes. This builds the suspense and the crowd begin to realise that what he is watching is happening in the room they are in.

As the man realises its the same room there is a sudden deep noise which shows us he had confirmed his fears. This sound will also make the audience realise what the man has found out and may create empathy for the character.

As he gets up the screaming from the TV continues which foreshadows what may happen to them if they stay in the room. This puts the audience on edge as they will be urging the main characters to escape the room.

The suspenseful music kicks in again as the woman also realises that the videos are in the room they are in. This intensifies the feelings of fear as both characters think what to do next.

The man begins to look around the room and he finds a camera. The camera is heard whirring and moving. This acts as a climax to the suspense which has been building throughout the clip as we now definitively know that the couple are being watched. The sound of the camera makes the couple seem vulnerable as there every moved is being watched.

The lights then cut out in the room and as they do there is a sudden deep note played followed by silence. The silence is as effective as the sounds themselves as it puts the audience on edge and makes them think something is about to happen or jump out.

7) Individual ideas for a narrative- Ms Georgiou ------------

The idea for my narrative is set at a high school party when all of the lights turn off. When they are turned back on there are numerous bodies to be found lying on the floor. I would use a range of shots to create the suspense in this clip. At the beginning I would use a quick timing of shots to show the quick tempo and atmosphere of the party. I would also use a high angle shot just before the lights go out to make it seem as though the students are being watched. I think that the effect of this would be to create suspense and hidden identity as it would be unknown who is watching the students. The sense of them being stalked could be furthered by some shots from outside the house looking in which would again make it seem as though the party is being stalked. The conventions I have used for this are typical to a thriller because the dead bodies will be those of blonde females which is common in films like Psycho and Scream. For my individual narrative ideas I have chosen to use inspirations from the films paranormal activity, prom night and scream. The setting of the house in paranormal activity I felt made the film scarier as it was more relatable to an audience and the party theme of prom night I felt was also relatable as people could see themselves being in that situation. Scream was used as inspiration due to the fact the killer has a hidden identity which creates mystery and an added element of fear as we do not know who it is carrying out the killings.

3) Conventions of a Thriller- Ms Miller --------------

I am going to be looking at the typical conventions of thriller films from the clip 'the smiling family' from the film insidious. This film shows a number of typical conventions such as lighting, music and editing.

The clip starts with low lighting which immediately sets a tense eerie atmosphere as the dark represents the danger and unknown. There is non diegetic sound of whistling from a source with the audience are unknown of. The fact the source is unknown creates fear amongst the viewers and as it gets louder builds the suspense.

As the man ventures further into the room there are a number of close ups which show the faces of the strange dolls. There is no sound for this part of the clip and this makes it seem as though something is going to jump out at us. This helps build the suspense and keep the audience on edge.

The doll then blinks causing us to jump. As the doll jumps the music comes in and slowly builds. The whistling starts again and the source is revealed as one of the dolls. This is unexpected as the audience are repeatedly shown that the dolls are lifeless. The whistling noise is an example of contrapuntal sound and

An over the shoulder shot is used when the man returns to look at the dolls who have changed positions. As one of the dolls move the timing of shots decreases and there are numerous shots of him backing away from the scene. This shows us he is trying to escape them and the music which starts simultaneously also adds to the fear the audience are feeling. The music also increases the panic as the audience by this point would be urging the man to run. The quickening pace of the music creates empathy for the character as the audience will be wanting the man to escape

There is then a close up of the mans face which gives the audience an idea of the fear the man is feeling. Silence is used to again build the suspense before the family of dolls jump out at the man. The use of silence is conventional to a thriller and successfully builds the suspense by making the audience feel like something is about to happen.

4) BBFC- Miss Georgiou -----------

The British board of film classification is an independent body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912. the films are classified by examiners looking at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, bad behaviour, language, nudity, sex, sexual violence, theme and violence when making decisions.

The films are classified into one of six different categories. U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, or 18. 

U: This rating means that the film is suitable for all audiences.

PG: This rating means that parental guidance is advised before letting a child watch the film.

12A: This rating means that people must either be 12 years or older to view the film or at least be accompanied by an adult if you are under 12. 

15: This rating means that people who are 15 or older can view the film. 

18: This rating means that people who are 18 or older can view the film. 

A film like reservoir dogs for example would be an 18 due to the violent nature of some scenes and the language used in the film. 

The film up is rated PG by the bbfc. This is because in the film there is a slight sense of peril and danger which moves the rating up from a U to a PG. Film classification is important because it allows films to direct there material at certain audiences and the film certificates let people know whether or not the film is aimed at them and whether it is suitable for people of there age. It is important because it stops people of a young age seeing explicit material or foul language.