Induction Media Work

Induction Media Work

The typical narrative of a thriller centres on a crime e.g. murder and builds suspense by gradually increasing the speed of the narration. This draws the audience in by keeping them entertained.

The setting is usually a darkened place with claustrophobia commonly used to build tension and make the scene seem scarier. Then setting can also be a vast open wilderness e.g. the woods, this would create a sense of vulnerability as the victim would be exposed.

There’s usually a hero fighting a villain in thriller films e.g. Batman, the hero usually conquers the villain in dramatic fight scenes, or many thriller films are psychological and get into the mind of the audience to build suspense which is personified in the actors e.g. Phone Booth where he is being attacked by a man he can’t see so is therefore effected psychologically.

The plot of a thriller is usually very deep as it aims to affect the audience in a more subtle way than the typical action film, instead of people wildly wielding weapons, thrillers use music, dark horror, claustrophobia etc. to create an impact on the audience.

A lot of the time the actors have to work around the camera rather than the camera working around them, Quentin Tarritino uses this effectively in films such as Reservoir Dogs.

Thrillers effectively use sound by implementing it to build tension slowly, to signify a sudden pace in the plot the sounds tempo would increase.

 

I watched the film Phone Booth directed by Joel Schumacher.  This is a very effective thriller as most of the film is focused on one man trapped in a phone booth whilst being threatened by a man with a sniper who he can’t see. By focusing the camera on just him this emphasises the feeling of claustrophobia which effectively builds tension as the audience doesn’t know what’s going to happen next so they’re immediately drawn in. Outside the phone booth he is surrounded by police and onlookers, this is a stark contrast to the phone booth where there is minimal noise, whereas outside there is a chaos of noise caused by police sirens and frightened pedestrians.

 

 

In this shot it shows how the main character looks in everyday life, his appearance suggests he is a high class businessman who is well dressed and quite wealthy, it also looks as though he has an assistant to his right, further emphasising his rich lifestyle. It is a medium shot of them but a very long shot of the city of New York in the background; this sets the scene and provides the shot with some context. Both of the men have serious expressions suggesting they may be in a business meeting.

 

This next shot is a stark contrast to the previous one as it shows the main character looking in some distress with shattered glass behind him; this suggests a gunshot has been fired towards him. The shattered glass could symbolise his shattered life as the previous shot showed that he lead a relatively normal life but now he is in real danger and his facial expression shows a mix of confusion and fear. The gunshot would’ve also made a loud bang, another contrast to typical New York life, where it’d be noisy but gunshots would be rare.

 

This next shot shows just how much this man’s life is crumbling as he appears to be beaten up, this suggests that in the space of a day he has gone from being an ordinary man to someone who’s getting involved in all sorts of crimes. This is further emphasised as the woman in the background appears to be a prostitute. He is also still trapped in his booth, so the feeling of claustrophobia is not lost, but there is now someone invading his booth, giving him his first taste of the outside world.

 

In this next shot he is seen coming out of his booth for the first time, as he has done the whole time, he’s still got the phone in his hand, suggesting he has to have it with him at all times. His facial expression suggests he is very confused and scared. The whole way through the film the booth has been well lit; suggesting all this is happening in daytime, so the sniper shooter can get away with it in plain view of everyone.

 

In this shot he has finally got out of the booth and is giving up, this suggests that the person he was on the phone has gone. His facial expression shows he is relieved and that he should be able to get his life back on track. This is a stark contrast to the other shots as he was trapped and felt very claustrophobic, whereas now he is out in the open.