Thrillers.

Thrillers.

What is a thriller?

A thriller is a broad genre of film which uses suspense, tension and excitement as some of the main elements in order to viewer’s mood by giving them high levels of anticipation, expectations, suspense, action, terror and anxiety. Some of the main sub-genres of thrillers include physiological, mystery and crime thrillers. A thriller will often use techniques such as red herrings and cliff hangers.

Some examples of modern thrillers:

What is a red herring?

A red herring is an idiom which creates a sense of deception and misleads the viewer as it makes you think that something may happen when in fact it does not. Red herrings also can lead you to a false conclusion and creates a huge element of surprise.

What is a cliff hanger?

A cliff hanger is a plot device used in order to get the viewer to return/continue watching as they are anxious to see what is going to happen. A cliff hanger could have the viewer in a sense of confusion and create high levels of anticipation.

Written Assessment - 'Meeting George'.

AS Media Studies - Written Assessment. 

Our story was about two mates in school going to meet up with 'George' in order to go to their next lesson. We used almost all of the shots asked except from the crane shot and the low angle shot. The reason we didn't use the crane shot is because it was virtually impossible, as we did not have a crane. We didn't use the low angle shot as we didn't feel that there was any parts within the film in which it would have fitted in well and served a good purpose. In out project we used the close up of Wesley when he was asking what room we was in to show the confusion of his character at the time. We also decided to use the long shot when the friends was walking across the school grounds as we felt this was the suitable shot to use as it showed the viewer where they was coming from and where they was going to. We used a extreme close up of the hand shake when Klaus and Wesley met to show their friendship. I feel that all of our choices were successful except for one, the tilt shot, as it didn't really stand any purpose and wasn't tilted to a full ninety-degree angle. During George's POV the shot was not held 100% steady. If we was to do this again we would use a dolly in order to keep the camera 100% steady, this would look more professional and would fit in better with the film. I feel that not all of the shots were in frame appropriately. This is as during the long shot you do not clearly see the exit in which the friends come from Also there is a lot of surrounding in the frame which serve no purpose and you can not clearly see the characters. If we had filmed this from a different angle and show where the friend come from and where the end up i feel this would look more professional. However where we filmed the shot from, this was the best place, as we didn't have access to the other parts of the school. I feel that we had a few very successful shots but if I had to choose one I would say that it has to be the extreme close up when Wesley and Klaus greet each other. The reason I feel this is the best element is because looks very good and is a good addition to the film. I feel we could make a few improvements within this film. The first improvement would be within the first shot (long shot). I would maybe change this to a PAN shot and the camera could follow Klaus through the gate and then got Wesley into the shot when they meet. However instead of changing the shot perhaps Klaus could have walked a bit faster so the viewer doesn't feel bored, as there isn't anything going on around him. Another shot I would choose to improve would be the tilt shot, this is as I feel that the tilt shot we used was pointless/served no purpose and wasn't very well shot. When editing the film, there were some places where we couldn't apply transitions although we would have liked to. I feel that the main thing that was done well during the editing was the audio. This is as when there is no verbal communication, the background music was loud, but when it came to the verbal communication the audio was lowered. Also during the volume changes, the volume was applies slowly and didn't just change from one set volume to another. 

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hello, my name is George Spence, and this is my Media Studies AS Blog.

Brief.

Brief.

The Brief. You have been asked to produce the titles and opening sequence of a new fiction film in the thriller genre. The sequence should last a maximum of two minutes. You may work in a group of 2 - 4 students. As acting is ...