Narrative Image

In the foreground of the shot there is a shovel. this immediately gives connotations of death and murder as well as anchoring the title.
The shovel is dug into the ground with no body visibly holding it which perhaps gives an element of fear towards the object.

There is also an enigma around the shovel. the viewer wonders what it is digging, if it is a grave who is it for? this makes them want to see the film to find out.

The people in the background are out of focus. this perhaps suggests they are in a way out of control of the situation they are in.

the fact that there are three characters suggests they are the 'good' characters who are in an unfortunate situation. it is unusual that the murderer or villain in a thriller will be part of a team. the way they all lean on each other and look scared also makes them seem like victims or perhaps unlikely heroes.

the dress code is also mysterious. the way they are all quite well dressed is strange, the viewer perhaps wonder why they are in this situation.

The colour code in the picture is very green which has spooky connotations and perhaps suggests the story line is very dark (metaphorically and actually). the picture fades to black at the bottom and the top which suggests that it is the dead of night. this really sells the film as a thriller.

The trees in the background are also spooky and almost give a surreal unnatural feel. they are also very skeleton like which gives connotations of death which is almost certainly a feature in the film. This is making sure the correct target audience gets involved.

The way the Shovel obscures the characters and the way they all look at it indicates that they are going to have to use it but they do not want to. This further anchors that they are perhaps innocent and ads mystery to what they are doing.

Theories (using Disturbia as an example)

1. Levi-Strauss - Binary Opposites

These are 'opposites' that come up in films to create conflict.

• good vs evil
• murderer vs Kale & Co.
• adult vs youth
• normality vs abnormality
• society vs situation
• fear vs happiness
• light vs dark
• freedom vs entrapment
• deliberate vs accidental death (self defense included)
• family vs individual
• warm vs cold
• conviction vs casual
• prisoner vs captor
• order vs chaos.

All of these create conflict which is what makes films exiting and makes the viewer want to watch.

2. Todorov
Narrative structure

• disruption of normality
• thwarted attempts
  
• resolution (death of villain)
• normality can never be the same
• new equilbrium
• death of father
• punching teacher
• lack of belief
• investigation
• no more house arrest
• gets boys back
• more mature.

3. Barthes - Action and Enigma codes

• one thing leading to another
• interest suspense
• car crash
• garage
• punching of teachr
• house arrest
• ashley spots them watching her
• voyerism
• see the woman leaving thehouse
• turner spots kale
• turner kidnaps kales mum
• kale goes round
• why is the house joined up?
• why has turner bought a shovel
• why is ronnie in the cupboard
• blood smear
• death of turner

4. Propp - Character Types

• protagonist - hero - kale
• antagonist - villain - robert turner
• helper - ronnie
• princess - ashley - mum
• the doner - mum, dad
• the dispatcher - girl, dad
• father figure - dad, mum
• false hero - police man

This is a clip from a film called Heat. It shows Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino together. they are pitted against each other in the film and i think this shows how the two respect each other despite being on opposite sides. In a lot of films there is respect between enemies, such as Catch me if you can. I think this works well because it gives the film a light hearted 'cat and mouse' feel.

The film Heat is brilliant because it builds up tension through out and comes to a very exiting climax.

This clip is a meeting between Pacino's character (the policeman) and Deniros character (the villain).

The film does not have such a clear protagonist/antagonist because the viewer is Supposed to respect both central characters. Films such as Heat and Oceans 11 etc. often have the criminals as the good characters and 'worse' criminals as the bad characters. another film with no real 'bad' characters is Pulp Fiction.

i saw pulp fiction recently and thought it was very good however it is perhaps more of a black comedy than a thriller.

Certain Conventions...

There are certain things that come up in most thriller films.

They can be divided into categories or codes:

Character:

• murderers
  
• crooks
• gangsters
• hero
• victim
• protagonist
• antagonist

also included in character are the types of motives, such as revenge, greed etc.

Themes:

• mystery
• thrills
• suspense
• obsession
• paranoia
• tensity
• sexuality
• death

this is what the film is about as well as the reactions it evokes in the audience.
The themes underpin the narrative, speaking of which...

Narratives:

• death
• assassinations
  
• capture
• police interviews
• chases
• meetings with mobs etc.
  

The narrative is what happens in the plot. it includes the structure of the film and sound!
which includes dialogue sound effects and music. (diagetic sounds and non diagetic)

Iconography:

• mise-en-scene
• colour
• shadows
• everything that you see
• props

the iconography is the visual elements, including lighting, camera, setting, dress c0des and the above.


All of these elements can be altered to fit any genre and are what make up films.

Thrillers

this is a list of thrillers that i have seen and enjoyed. I have also added the link to each of their IMDB pages.

-Heat;

i love this film because the acting is amazing and it has a really exciting climax.

Heat on IMDB

-Rear Window

i think this film is good because of the way it gradually builds up tension through the film.

Rear window on IMDB

-Les Diaboliques
this film also builds up tension through out the whole film to an almost unbearable level. i think it is also original that there is no music in the whole film.

Les Diaboliques on IMDB

-The stranger

i think the acting in this film is superb!
The Stranger on IMDB

-colateral
this is not one of my favourite thrillers but i saw it recently and thought it was very good.

Collateral on IMDB



These are not all of my favourites but i will most likely add more.

xxx