Requirements of the Pre-Lim Task

• Match on Action shot: Match on action (or cutting on action) is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot.
• Shot Reverse Shot: Shot reverse shot is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects.
• 180° Rule: The 180° rule is a filming guideline that participants in a scene should have the same left-right relationship to each other, with filming only taking place within the 180° angle in which this is maintained in a conversation.
• Different camera shots
• Dialog.

Mood Board

The purpose of my mood-board, was to collate a variety of images that conform to the Thriller Genre to help me find inspiration and develop my knowledge and understanding of the Thriller conventions. I have learnt that low key lighting is predominantly used throughout. This is used to create a fearful and dark atmosphere for the audience and for the victim featured in the scene. This is a useful and effective convention we will be focusing on in our film to create the suspense and tension we need.


I have also learnt that many of the characters are represented in the sinister way creating a frightening atmosphere for the audience, the use of masks is a popular prop that is used to hide the identity of the character. Finally the use of close up and medium shots are used to focus on the character's identity and their actions which is effective to the thriller trait. This shows the type of character they are and their motives. We will be using some of these genre conventions not only to conform to the Thriller Genre but to make our film gripping, interesting and enjoyable to watch for the audience

The conventions of a thriller and how they affect the audience

Low key lighting; This is a common trait found in thrillers. It can be used to emphasise fear and darkness as well as creating an eerie atmosphere which can create a sense of tension and suspense for the audience.
<----- This is an example.

Mirrors; mirrors are a useful tool because they can show a characters hidden side without it being obvious and can say more about a character or setting than just showing it because they offer a different view point.
<----- This is an example.

Quick cuts; Cutting between shots fast can make it harder to understand what is going on and can suggest something heart pounding is happening or that a character is confused/rushed/scared ect. This is a very useful tool because it is used heavily in all thriller movies to increase the emotions that the audience feels for the character/s. An example of this is the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.


Dramatic music/score; This can help set the tone for what is happening in a scene and also can increase the impact of a big reveal or a tense scene. It is very important because it can have the biggest effects on the audience.
 <----- This is an example.

Diegetic sounds; They can be used to immerse the audience into the scene and make them feel part of the action. They can also mount the tension up if they are the only sounds being used. Examples of this are heavy breathing, floor creaks and shattering glass.
 <----- This is an example.

Mise en scene; This is a key feature of any film but it is useful for the thriller genre especially because it can be used to build a sense of mystery and suspense. There are many iconic uses of mise en scene that range from Superman's costume to Mary Poppin's umbrella or the Joker's make up to Citizen Kane's speech.
 <----- This is an example.


Camera angles e.g. close ups; Camera angles such as close ups can be used to mount tension for example a close up on someone's face hides the background and emphasises on their emotion which can make the audience sympathise with the character.
<----- This is an example.

Narrative theories: Roland Barthes

Narrative theories: Claude Levi Strauss

Strauss studied many stories from myths to modern literature. He identified that most narratives use polar opposites to tell a story.

Examples of Binary Opposites:
Good vs Evil,                                                             This theory can be applied to our narrative
Black vs White,                                                          because we will have protagonist and 
Boy vs Girl,                                                                antagonists in our story as well as a
Peace vs War,                                                            conflict between civilised and savage
Civilised vs Savage,                                                   views.

Democracy vs Dictatorship,
First world vs Third world,
Domestic vs foreign/alien,            
Articulate vs inarticulate ,
Young vs Old,
Man vs Nature,
Protagonist vs antagonist, 
Action vs inaction,   
Motivator vs observer,                      
Empowered vs victim ,
Man vs Woman,
Good looking vs Ugly,
Strong vs weak,
Decisive vs indecisive,
East vs West,
Humanity vs technology,
Ignorance vs wisdom,
God vs Mortal.

There are many examples of Strauss' theory in film such as Harry Potter using the good vs evil; Terminator uses humanity vs technology; Snow White uses young vs old; Independence day uses domestic vs alien; Django Unchained uses Black vs White. As shown above, there are many examples of this used in cinema throughout the ages.

Narrative theories textual analysis: Tzvetan Todorov

A recent film that fits into Todorov's theory is Taken.

• Bryan Mills is a retired CIA operative who wants to get closer to his daughter, Kim. This is the state of equilibrium.
• The disruption is when Kim and her friend go on holiday to Paris without Bryan's permission and then get kidnapped.
• The realisation is when Bryan finds out that his daughter has been kidnapped.he then calls the kidnappers and tells them that he is going to stop them.
• Bryan attempts to repair the disruption when he chases after the kidnappers taking them out one at a time.
• The new normality is when Bryan has beat the antagonists and he is back at home with his daughter.

An older film that fits into Todorov's theory is The Girl Who Knew Too Much (The Evil Eye) 1963.

• Nora Davis is somebody who is on vacation in Rome, Italy to see her elderly aunt. This is the state of equilibrium.
• The disruption happens when she is mugged during the night and she awakens to find that she is next to somebody who has been murdered.
• The realisation that something is wrong is when she receives a call from somebody stating that she is next.
• The attempt to repair the disruption is when she investigates the killings and follows leads to uncover the truth.
• The new equilibrium is when she goes home after solving the mystery.

Narrative theories: Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory can apply to our thriller movie opening because the story is split up into the different sections that are shown and explained in this presentation.

Narrative theories textual analysis: Vladmir Propp

A recent film that fits into Vladmir Propps narrative theory is Kingsman: The Secret Service.

• This films hero is Eggsy; Who trades his life of causing trouble for the police to be a super secret spy. 
• The princess is his mother and sister because they are what motivated him to make the change so that he could protect them. 
• The role of donor is taken by a character called Merlin. He is the gadget guy for Kingsman and supplies Eggsy with what he needs to take down the villain. 
• The Helper is Roxy, a cadet; like Eggsy; who helps in taking down the villain. 
• The Dispatcher is Harry Hart, a fully established gentleman spy working for Kingsman who finds Eggsy and decides to train him. 
• The false hero is Arthur, he is the leader of Kingsman until he is persuaded by the villain to betray them.
• The villain is  Richmond Valentine, a billionaire philanthropist who wants to destroy the world

An older film that fits into Vladmir Propps narrative theory is The Italian Job (1969).

• The hero of this film is Charlie Croker; a cockney thief who has just been released from prison and who wants to do a big job to get rich quick.
• The Princess of this story is the $4 million that he wants to steal.
• The donor is Mr. Bridger who is a crime lord stuck in prison who financially backs Charlie plans.
• The Helper was Freddie who would assist Charlie in every part of the planned heist.
• The dispatcher is Mrs Beckermann, a widow who lost her husband to the mafia because they wanted to do the job.
• The False Hero is "Big" William because he causes the bus with the stolen gold to pivot out of control and hang of the side of a cliff.
• The villains are the mafia because they want the gold as well but they go to a higher extreme to get it.

Narrative theories: Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propps narrative theory can apply to our thriller movie opening because we will have something (character or item) that fills the roles that Propp believed are what creates narrative. We will have protagonists and antagonists. An item that will motivate the protagonist to go on their adventure.

Types of narrative

Liner Narrative:












Non-Liner Narrative:

Circular Narrative:

What is a narrative theory?

A narrative is a story structure, usually in great detail. There are many different types of narrative. These include a normal liner narrative where every piece of the story follows on from one another in chronological order. There is the non-liner narrative which gives story points in the wrong order which may seem not to make sense until the very end of the narrative. There is also the circular narrative where the story seems to start and end in the same place. Often a narrative is meant to include the "whole story." 

A Narrative theory is an idea about how the narrative of stories are typically portrayed in the media of books, television and films. There have been many narrative theories over the century including Propp's, Strauss' and Todorov's.

Classifications of film analysis

For a film to be awarded a rating of PG, it can feature violent and intense scenes however they cannot be accompanied by gore. There can also be mild use of light profanity.

For a film to be awarded a rating of 12, it can feature violent and intense scenes that can contain more gore than a PG film can. This age rating also allows for some sexual references and a mild use of profanity.

For a film to be awarded a rating of 15, it can feature hard violence and intense scenes accompanied by gore. This age rating allows for a strong use of profanity and some mild sexual scenes.

For a film to be awarded a rating of 18, it can feature extreme violence and intense scenes with a lot of gore. This age rating also allows for an extreme use of profanity and sexual scenes.

I believe that the age rating best suited for our production is a 12. This is because we don't feel we need all the things that are available at a higher age rating to make a quality production. Also, movies with this age rating (i.e. The Sixth Sense) tend to do better at the box office and become more successful than films with a higher or lower age rating. This could be due to the fact that it is available to more people than higher ratings.

Classifications of film analysis: PG - 12

The Sixth Sense:
The Sixth Sense was awarded a age rating of 12 by the BBFC because it features some sexual references and intense scenes. There are also a few scenes of a violent and of gory nature. As well as this, light profanity is used in certain scenes. The film was the second most successful film of its year (1999) and made $672 million at the worldwide box office.


Citizen Kane:
This film has had an age rating of PG given to it by the BBFC because it features some scenes that could be upsetting to younger children and because its plot could be confusing to younger viewers. The film was released in 1941 and made a loss upon his initial release however because this was released so far in the past from the current day, I do not feel this example reflects the effect of a PG rating for thriller films.

Mission Impossible:
This film has a PG age rating that was decided by the BBFC because there are many intense action scenes which are usually quite violent. There is also mild use of profanity throughout. This film made $457 million at the worldwide box office and was succesfull enough to warent a sequel and spawned a long lasting and succesfull franchise

Classifications of film analysis: 15 - 18

The Silence of the Lambs:
It was awarded an age rating of 18 by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) because it features scenes of nudity and of a sexual nature. It also features many graphically violent scenes and it also has a high use of profanity as well as incredibly intense scenes.
The film made $272 million at the worldwide box office and was considered a profitable investment by the studio.

Se7en:
This film was given an age rating of 18 by the BBFC because it features sexual references and some casual drinking. As well as this, the film also features scenes of intense violence and gore alongside frightening scenes. There is also a high amount of profanity. The film made $327 million at the worldwide box office and made profit from its $33 million budget.

No Country for Old Men:
This film has the age rating of 15 given to it by the BBFC because it features many scenes of extreme violence and gore along side many other intense scenes.  There is also some strong obscene dialogue coming from the characters. This film features no sexual references however it alludes to the idea only once. The movie made $171 million at the worldwide box office which meant a profit for the studio.

BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) Film Classifications

We have decided to go forward with the idea of a Thriller film so I decided the first thing to research was the typical age rating of most Thriller films to help give me an indication of my target market and what factors decide the age classification of a film.

Our Products Genre

We have all agreed and decided that the genre of film we wish to make is a Thriller. This is because it is a genre we al are familiar with and are fans of. We believed that choosing a genre we all like was crucial, to keep us passionate about what we would be making and so that we will always be wanting to improve upon our previous efforts at producing our opening.

Defining genre

Genre is a way of categorising a piece of media. It is used to categorise books, movies, television shows, music or any other piece of entertainment media. An example of this is defining something funny as a comedy because it is designed to be funny and make its audience laugh.

Genre can also become more complicated with the introduction of sub-genres and hybrid genres. Examples of sub-genres are: Space opera is a sub genre of Sci-Fi, Slasher is a sub-genre of a horror movie. Hybrid genres are also complicated. Barry Keith Grant talked about hybrid genres in his books. These are the combination of two or more genres that work together, some examples of these are: Romcoms, a cross between romantic genre and comedies, usually involving two lovers who struggle to upkeep a relationship in some way, with the male being funny and the female admiring him- usually both getting into strange scenarios that are meant to be humorous to the audience.

Introduction to Media AS

This Blog is going to showcase the research, production and shooting of a film opening for the OCR AS Media studies course.

I have chosen to use the platform of Blogger to record all the steps taken in the making of a film opening because I have had previous experience with this site before and I believe that it is extremely easy to navigate.

The brief we have been provided is to develop the opening sequence in our assigned group for a two minute film. For this task we will all bve assigned different job roles to show how we have been able to develop and enhance our Media skills. I think that this task will allow me to develop my own creativity.

I think that I will be able to use all of the techniques I have learnt to be able to think about how to engage a potential target audience and to see how the conventions of a specific genre can be used to develop a narrative.

I would like to develop a Thriller film for this task but this will have to match the ideas and thoughts of my group.

In my group there are four people

- William Savill (me)
- James Silk-tyler
- Maisie Threadgold-Smith
- Seun Odubade.

I have excited to work with these individuals and I think that we will be able to use our time effectively to produce a good narrative for our audience.