Synopsis

Jack is a young man with a weird past. He had a loving family and life was good, but then everything went wrong and he ended up in a war with his brother. After an initial fight with him things escalate and they begin to get paronoid. This begins a flat out war between the two where no-one can be trusted. Who will come out on top? Why are they fighting? Find out by watching Britherly Hate...

All these questions are what makes our film a thriller. These questions confuse the audience and cause them to fall off the story line so that you can shock them with a big unexpected ending. The espionage elements of our film will lie deeply in the score. Whenever we hear the guitar riff of the James Bond theme tune we assume the connotation to be spies saving the world. Also the mysterious past that Jack has provides not only a back story but a hook. The Thriller elements and techniques cause discomfort for the audience resulting in a satisfied audience.

New York City. Home to 7,000,000 people, they work, play, and have fun by day. But at night the city is run by ruthless street gangs such as; The Furies, The Boppers, The Hi-Hats, The Lizzies, The Turnbull AC's, The Gramercy Riffs and The Warriors. One night at an all gangs meeting, the leader of the Riffs, Cyrus, makes a speech and creates a plan to unite all the gangs of the city. One gang strong enough to overpower the police. But suddenly he is shot and a gang called The Warriors are framed by Luther, leader of the Rogues. Now they have to return to Coney Island, escaping from 20,000 policemen and 100,000 sworn enemies. They got one way out. They got one chance. They've got one night. THE WARRIORS

This synopsis is for The Warriors, a 1979 film directed by Walter Hill. The synopsis sets the scene by stating the location and the population of one of the busiest cities in the world. This makes the audience understand the scale and “epic-ness” of the movie. The diverse list of gangs makes the audience think about which gang they would belong to in the world of the film which is good because after the film is over, they can discuss it after which is free publicity. The thought of a united gang, 20,000 strong, is a scary idea to anyone and is possible, so this causes discomfort for people, which is exactly what a thriller should do.

A powerful virus escapes from a British research facility. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realising that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them

The word powerful makes us think that the story and filmmaking will be really good, this is a cheap way of publicising the film. The fact that it is set and filmed in Britain will attract lots of people and the recent outbreaks of SARs Bird Flu and Swine Flu make this film very relevant to people nowadays. The synopsis also lets you know that there is more to the story than just a virus which will draw people in.

Audience

Audience is always an important factor in determining how a film appeals to a certain audience that a film is directed at. There are a variety of thriller genres that appeal to different audiences of different tastes in the thriller genre. However, in particular, ages from 18+ tend to favour the thriller aspect, in which mysteries, action and horror most commonly are used as a sub-genre, where people over the age of 18 are most capable of watching. Thrillers such as science fiction thrillers (Jurassic Park), may perhaps appeal to the young generation from 12+, techno thrillers such as (Robocop) may appeal to a universal audience, whereas a thriller such as Psychological (Se7en) may appeal to an older age of an audience, 18+ where the film portrays the exploits of a deranged serial killer. Older audiences may enjoy a genre hybrid like a

 romance thriller where a man chases through the streets of New York to find a mysterious admirer. As teenagers and people who fit into this 15-30 bracket we have a good knowledge of the kind of people we will be aiming a thriller at.

The various BBFC certificates differentiate in terms of the variety of audience that are able to watch the film, such as if a film was classified as “Universal” you would have a larger range of audience, therefore appealing to more people, however, in terms of a thriller

genre, the audience would

 be very limited as you wouldn’t be able to include a lot of the

 conventions of a thriller, for

 example scenes suspense or stronger language.

In similarity with the Universal classification, “PG” shares similar elements.

Although a PG film is directed at everyone, it may include some more mature content but still not enough to

meet the conventions of a thriller.

“12A” however, is suitable for those who are under 12 but have to be accompanied by adults at all times.

“15” on the other hand is only permitted for those who are 15 or over. A 15 certificate allows much more mature content in terms of suspense and language. Still, although 15 is directed at a limited audience, but the end product may be directed at them in a less complicated manner.

Nevertheless, “18” is only directed at adults. The most successful thrillers have their audiences directed at 18’s with a more complicated plot. Thrillers appeal more to adults (18+), therefore having more of a success in this classification.

 However, for our film is directed at an audience of the age of 16-25, mainly due to the fact that we are producing the film where, students our age can understand and communicate with my film more. Audiences 16-25 year olds who are looking for a film that scares them but does not disgust them. These films tend to be too developed for younger audiences unless they are specifically made for them, and they may be too racy for the older generation, as they typically do not like to get scared to often. In this process, we need to be aware how we need to attract them. By directing a certain aspect of a thriller that students are most likely to be comfortable with, such as a mystery in the plot we would achieve this. The way films are classified in the UK is by the age rating system of the BBFC (British Board Film Classification) the have 5 ratings U (for everyone) PG (Parental Guidance) 12A (twelve and above unless accompanied by an adult) 15 (Fifteen and older) and 18 (Adults only). The thriller genre offers a feeling of uneasiness which may be unsuitable for children so typically thriller films should be 12’s or higher.

Conventions

Thrillers were born from Alfred Hitchcock, a man that introduced many different things that you see on screen nowadays. They range from shot types to the narrative of a film. Thrillers are supposed to make the audience feel almost uncomfortable so that they’re hearts are racing so you can reveal the ‘Punch Line’ of the film. One way to cause unease is to have a non-linear narrative and show the main point of the film first. This causes dramatic irony throughout the whole film as the audience knows more than the on-screen characters. Or the director could fool the audience by using red herrings, so that they think they know who did what, but really it will just be even more shocking when they found out who did.

Shot types that can cause unease for the audience are extreme close-ups, low angle shots, high angle shots point of view shots and so on, but these can really throw the audience.

Jump cuts are a good way to disorientate the audience as they show little movements that are barely noticeable. Fast paced editing can get the audiences hearts racing especially when coupled with a good score, but on the flip side, slow editing can build tension before a crescendo.

Contrapuntal sound can confuse the audience, as it does not match the on screen actions, leaving them to wonder why it is there. Anything on either of the speed and pitch spectrum makes the audience uncomfortable as it is something theatre not used to.

Typical characters in thrillers are masked men, stupid teenagers and femme fatales. If the director is feeling extreme then he can 'flip the script' and make them be masked women, smart teens and males in distress, which continues to cause confusion for the audience.

Subgenres

Subgenre is when a film has a set genre (in our film the set genre is Thriller) but it also has other kinds of techniques and storylines. Here are some examples:
Psychological – Red Eye
This film is a thriller because the action keeps you on the edge of your seat and the mind games played by the antagonist are what makes it psychological.
Zombie – 28 Days Later
The unnerviningness of an empty world means that the thriller element of this film has been taken care of and the zombie ‘enemies’ are what, obviously, makes this film a zombie thriller.
Crime – The Warriors
The fast paced action, and the fact that the whole film is spaced out over only one night gives this film a thriller, but the gangs, looting, stabbing and brawling are what makes The Warriors a Crime Thriller
Drama – Panic Room
Elements of horror in this film are what give it the thriller label. The horror is minimal enough to make it not be classed as a horror. The acting in this film is what makes it a Drama.
Comedy – Pineapple Express
The plot of two men running from killers who after them is what Pineapple Express a Thriller, but the comedic use of cannabis in the story and the actors cast are what make it a comedy.
Documentary – Blair Witch Project
The way this movie is filmed (with handheld cameras) makes it a thriller as the audience is not used to it and it will cause discomfort. The handheld cameras also give the film a feel of a documentary.
Espionage – James Bond series
The James Bond series is classed as Espionage because of the face that James Bond works for M.I.5 and saves the world from calculated villains by using stealth. The score in Bond films are a major reason for the thrilling feeling in the series.