A4.

B Coursework

Witness: Thriller Short Film

The film Witness is about a young girl who is in the wrong place at the wrong time she sees
something that she is not supposed to see, this all happens while she is taking pictures
outside of trees and wildlife and then she hears a sudden noise of someone being pushed to
the ground, so she then walks over and stands behind a tree trying to see what is happening
without being seen, she then realizes that there is a man in a black mask on, who is pushing
a young student down to the ground and is sitting on his knees with the guy behind him,
once she realizes what is going on she decides to take her camera out and take pictures of
what has happened so she has evidence to show the police, while the guy in the mask is
strangling the young boy he sees the young girl taking pictures and decides to chase after
her, but she manages to get home safe without him following her, she then calls the police
and they question her about the crime of which just happens, she shows the police pictures
of the guy and realizes she has one which shows on his arm he has a tattoo of a butterfly,
she notices that the guy she is interviewing has the same exact tattoo on his arm, she tries
not to make it obvious and decides to ask him if he wants a drink so she can get up and go to
the kitchen, when she is in the kitchen she pulls open a draw which has knifes in it and puts
one into her back pocket, she walks back over to him and tries to escape by making an
excuse up by saying can she go to the toilet but he says no in an aggressive voice and by the
time she puts her hand on the door handle he pulls out his gun and shoots her in the leg, he
then walks around the room thinking about what he is going to do next and while she is on
the floor she reaches for her back pocket and pulls out the knife and stabs him in the side of
the leg, she then gets out the door and tries to make her way top freedom, he then walks
out and tries to pull for his gun but by the time he does that many gun shots come through
the front door and shoot him in the chest, he then falls to the floor and the last scene is a
close up of his face being dead and then the film ends.

In this film they use Todorov’s theory where the film begins with an equilibrium and through
the course of the film the equilibrium is disrupted and then restored by the protagonist, in
this short film its starts with the young girl talking to the police officer, this is the start of the
equilibrium where there is an equal balance of the movie meaning nothing exciting has
happened yet, then the next scene in the film is the flash back to the crime which happened
this is the disruption event which is known as the disequilibrium, then there is the scene of
where the young girl realizes the person she is talking to is the killer so this is where the
disruption is still occurring and when she puts the knife in her back pocket and tries to run
away this is the damage trying to be repaired, then at the end of the movie it shows the
killer being shot so this is then the restoration of a new equilibrium at the end of the
narrative. This type of film does fit to Todorovs theory because there is a disruption in the
film when she finds out that the person who came to help is actually the murder this
therefore links to any type of thriller due to there always having a twist as the end to shock
the audience.

Mise en scene:

Mise en scene is used In this short film, they include props, lighting and costume, one of the
main props of what they use is a camera, this is used to take the photos of the crime of
which is happening in that moment in time, this prop creates tension another film which
uses a camera is unfriended which using a computer and someone can see into the screen
through the camera. The movie, which reflects to the genre thriller as these types of movies
are revolved around suspense. Another prop which is used in this short movie is a gun this is
an important prop as it stands out to the audience, due to guns being known for violence,
the gun is used in many scenes, such as the person she thinks is a police officer turns out to
be the villain she saw, shoots her because she realizes who it was, so he decided to shoot
her in the leg, most films which use guns are thriller there has been many films that use
them like American physco. This is a convections of a thriller because you don’t know what is
about to happen so it’s a disruption to the movie which therefore then links to Todorov’s
theory as this scene is the height to equilibrium as it reaches the peak of the movie so it’s
the most dramatic part, as this is where the storyline changes. The lighting of this short
movie is low key lighting this creates an atmosphere of gloom and tension, this links to the
genre thriller because most movies which fall under the genre thriller are associated with
darkness and low-key lighting making the atmosphere more tension. This short movie they
use this low key lighting all the way throughout, there is only in certain parts of where they
would use a high key lighting, this is used to show drama and that something is about to
happen, making the audience more intrigued in the movie, there also can be referred to the
color changing meaning the mood of the movie might become different. The costumes of
the actors are important as they represent who the actors are playing the role, from looking
at the clothing of someone you can tell a lot about the person, as in this film the young girl is
dressed in normal clothing as which any teenage girl would wear, this then gives the
audience an understanding on who the girl is, showing she could be innocent and the way
her clothing is bright and colorful showing she has nothing to hide from due to her standing
out. . Whereas the character playing the killer is dressed in more dull and plain clothing, he
is wearing all black and he is wearing a mask, which hides his face so no one can see who he
is, this is a connotation to death as it’s dark and black these are the type of customes films
mostly use. This links to the genre thriller because most victims are always seem to be
innocent and young and the attacker is normally dressed so no one will recognize them, this
therefore makes the audience feel more on edge while watching as they don’t know who he
is, so they have to wait for the end of the movie to find out. In this film there are many
different locations, all the different types of settings have different meanings, the first
location would be the woods this is an isolated place and most thriller movies are filmed in
quiet and remote places, the reason they do this is because normally people find the woods
scary if it’s dark and they are alone, so filming in places people already are afraid of makes it
seem realistic. Another location this movie uses is an apartment which is the young girl
house, this is where the police officer asks the young girl questions about what has
happened, this location is related to the thriller because the house is her safe place, but as
the movie progresses she realizes she has to leave due to the office being the killer, meaning
that is now a place she must run from, this then creates suspense like all thriller movies do.
The frozen ground which is a film
uses am apartment to film the main
scenes in and another one where an
intruder is trying to get into there
one is Ratter, which is therefore to
do with a young girl as they see the
most venerable.

Cinematography:
In this short film there are many uses of cinematography this is to show the emotions in the
young girls face when she is afraid this will be shown using a close up of the girls face, in
many thriller movies they use close ups this is because they want to be able to see a clear
facial expression on the person face, most of the time the person is showing fear, this
happens when she is standing behind the tree and realizes that someone is being killed, the
camera will then zoom in on the girls face and show a close up to see how scared she is. This
then makes the audience feel more involved and gripped to the movie her face shows that
the genre is thriller. They also use other ways to show what the young girl is looking at,
which includes a tracking shot of her running towards the door, this links to the genre thriller
because it seems like the person who is being tracked is also being watched as well by
someone. There is also an over the shoulder shot and close up together this is of the girl
when she is looking at her camera of the pictures she took, by using this shot you are
allowing the audience to see what she is doing and become more involved, in this moment
she is looking at the camera and this is where she realizes that the person she is talking to is
the killer by the evidence in the of the picture, this links to the genre thriller as it’s like
someone is watching her, so makes her look more vulnerable.

Sound:
In the first opening scene it shows the girl running towards the door, when she opens it she
puts her back against the door and it shows a close up of her face, this allows you to hear
her heavy breathing which indicates she is scared and distressed, on the screen it shows a
diegetic sound as the camera is picking it up. Heavy breathing is accosted with thriller films
because they create a lot of tension, as heavy breathing is normally associated with
someone being in trouble. This scene shows her having the back to the door indicating she is
blocking it or trying not to let someone in who has been following her, this builds up
suspense throughout the movie. The reason for using this certain type of scene is because
you want the audience to have empathy for the girl as she is scared so you are also scared
for her, this means the audience can understand the genre more because she is frighten
showing it’s a thriller. The middle stage of the movie there is a scene where the girl realizes
the person, she is talking to is the killer, after that music appears in the background which
shows this is non-diegetic sound, the reason they do this is to make it obvious to the
audience that something is about to happen, the music which is being played gradually gets
more intense as the scene goes on, building up more suspense for the audience, the tempo
stays the same but the pitch gets higher and higher throughout this scene, which suggests
that a peak in the movie is about to happen. This is convectional, as it gets louder as makes
the audience feels much more intrigued and scared.

Editing:
Editing has been used in this short film to show the genre thriller, they do this by using many
short takes at the start of the movie, this causes tension as in these short takes different
movements are going on in each shot, for example she could be sitting down and the next
minute she is standing up and wondering about, this makes the audience feel nervous and
worried as they are unaware of what might happen next, use of iconography is also used
though the use of a prop which is a computer, this brings indication that she is searching for
something and rushing to find it, this links to the genre thriller because she is panicky and
her face shows fear. Cross cutting is also used to create suspense this is where it quickly
transitions into another scene and a different location, this is the scene where she has a flask
back and the screen becomes brighter and it fades out into another location so starts by
sitting in a her room then ends up in the forest, this therefore creates uncertainty of what
may happen to the girl as she is alone. This implies that the two characters are connected
and something might happen to the girl. A jump cut are normally used in thriller films to
convey distortion within a character or a scene, this is a good way to show weakness within
a character after an intense scene has occurred.

The Open Door: Short Thriller Film

The Open Door is a short thriller film about when a young girl called Naomi returns home,
she leaves the front door open in a moment of haze. She doesn’t realize that she has left it
open, she begins by bringing in her shopping and then starts to cut up some food of which
she has just brought, it then brings a close up of the knife cutting the food this therefore
makes the scene more intense because knifes are normally revolved around danger. There is
then a scene of her lying on the bed with a facemask on, she seems relaxed and calm. There
is then a close up of her face which then jump cuts to scene of a faded shadow coming
closer and closer to the screen, you can only see a black figure coming towards you. Then
someone walks through the young girl’s front door and starts walking up the stairs, you can
only see the bottom of their legs to bring suspense. It then show the black figure walking
into her bedroom, it then shows the person whispering into the girls ear, she then wakes up
and starts to panic, he then pushes her back onto the pillow and this is when the screen
goes black. She then
wakes up from her
nightmare and starts
breathing really heavy
thinking what she has
dreamed about could
be real, she gets out of
bed and walks down
the stairs making sure
that the door locked
and looks outside the
window she then realizes that something is behind her, and a white figure comes out the
corner of the frame, after that a bright light flashes and then the movie ends.

In this film they use Todorov’s theory where the film begins with an equilibrium and through
the course of the film the equilibrium is disrupted and then restored by the protagonist, in
this short film it starts with a young girl walking through her front door and not realizing she
has left it open, she then carries on by normal and does her nighttime routine, this is the
start of the equilibrium where there is an equal balance of the movie this means that
nothing exciting is happening yet, the next scene consists of her going up to her bedroom
and laying down with her eyes covered from a face mask making her unaware of what might
happen while that is happening a black figure is making its ways to the house slowly, this is
then disruption event which is known as the disequilibrium, there is then the scene where
the black figure enters the house and walks up the stairs to the girls bedroom and whispers
into her ear, this is where the disruption is still occurring, then she wakes up from her
dream, this is then trying to be repaired but then is disrupted again by when she walks down
stairs she realizes that there is someone behind her and the movie ends, this is then when a
new equilibrium would start if there was another movie. This film fits with todorovs theory
because there is an intruder, which fits in with this theory as most thriller, has a bad
character, which makes the audience feel on edge.

Mise en scene:

Mise en scene is used in this short film they use props, lighting and costumes one of the
main props of which they use in this film would be the knife that she uses at the start of the
film, a knife represents danger and also protection as it can be used against you and also to
help you in dangerous situations, this reflects to the genre thriller because a knife is used in
most thriller films as a weapon to kill someone, it all makes the movie much more intense
this also helps to make suspense at the start of the movie so the audience know that it’s
going to be scary and intense. An example of a thriller which uses a knife is Friday the 13 TH
they use a machete. Another prop which is used at the start of the movie and at the end of
the movie would be the keys she uses to get into the door, this is very important as the
whole movie is based on the door due to it being a symbol of how the intruder gets into the
house, and how it is mentioned in the film a lot, the keys are a way of safety by looking the
door meaning no one can get in, this reflects the genre thriller because it shows that the
movie does the opposite and someone appears in the young girls house, making the
audience feel uncertain about what is going to happen next, making the movie more on
edge as it’s not clear of what might happen. Another prop which is used is cut up pieces of
cucumber of which she outs onto her eyes, this means she can’t see so she is blinded
meaning she can’t see if anyone enters her bedroom, this makes her vulnerable as the
intruder has all the control because he can see her. By covering her eyes it adds to the
tension and fear for the audience as they know something could happen therefore they will
be at the edge of there seats. Techniques like this area often used in thriller films example
bird box. This links to the genre thriller because you don’t know what is about to happen to
her as it jump cuts into another scene. The lighting of this short film is low key lighting its
very dark and there is no bright lights, this short filmed is in monochrome which gives it
more of a tense feel and much more mysterious as its very mellow, throughout the movie it
is harsh and dark lighting but when it comes to right to the end there is a bright light which
shines onto the girl, this says that something intense happened as after that the movie
ended, leaving the film on a cliff hanger. The costumes of the actors are simple as there are
only two characters, the girl is wearing normal clothing which shows that she is either
coming home from work and that today is just a normal day for her, this links to a thriller
movie because the main character is normally someone young and innocent, this therefore
puts the audience more on edge because she is more vulnerable, the intruder is wearing
dark clothing there is a scene where the intruder is walking up the stairs in black shoes,
black normally symbolizes death, so him wearing all black clothing makes him much more
intimidating. In this film they don’t use many locations the first location they use is the girl
walking down a street, the street is gloomy and quiet no one else is around her this makes
the scene more tense as it just focused on the girl. The next scene switches to the girl
walking into her house, this location is very quiet as it’s only her in her house making her
more of victim as she as no one to protect her, she goes to different places in the house like
the kitchen and the bedroom, the bedroom is the main focus as this is where she is left
alone and laying on the bed asleep this is where she falls into a dream and has a feeling
someone is in her house, all these places link to the genre thriller as most films like this are
done in people houses, as people think there house is a safe place but it shows different
when someone enters your house making it more tense and dramatic and it shows you
aren’t safe anymore.

Cinematography:
In this short film there are many uses of cinematography, a main camera shot that this film
have used is in the opening scene
was a pan shot and also a long
shot, they do this in thriller movies
because it makes it more intense
for the audience due to them not being able to see that far into the distance because it may
be a faint figure ahead which they are trying to work out which makes it more mysterious.
When using a pan shot it gives the perspective that you are moving with the screen, so your
eyes are looking at the location around you. Another shot which is used is a many close up
shot of the actors hands, the camera seems to be focused on them for a majority of the
time, and this therefore links to the genre thriller because it creates a lot of suspense

Sound:
In the first opening scene it captures audience attention straight away and involves u in the
film the sound is very subtle the music which is being played in non-diegetic due to it being
added into the background, this music sounds like a piano is being played like makes the
scene much more suspicious, the sound is high pitch which creates a creepy sound, this link
to the genre thriller because it gradually brings you into the movie slowly as it’s the opening
scene, this therefore makes the genre very clear of what it is. There is also diegetic sound
used in this film when she is walking down the hill you can hear the footsteps of here
walking down, it creates hyper real which suggest the footsteps are getting much louder to
create attention. Footsteps in a thriller film bring tension as they show someone is around
but you cannot see them making the scene more suspicious.

Editing:
Editing has been used in this short film to show the genre thriller because it starts off with a
tracking shot of the young girl this is when the camera is focused on one person and tracks
them, the editing technique for this is a long take they use this type of shoot because it will
keep the audience engaged they are also using a long shot as well by doing this they are
drawing the audience into a deeper story of their characters as they are allowing the
audience to walk with them so they experience the same thing. By using a long shot you are
allowed to see all the surroundings around the person, when she is walking you can see
there is a lake on one side and house on the other, while she is walking there is no one
around her making it more suspicious another piece of editing of which they have used is a
jump cut this is when it switches from her cutting vegetables with a knife to her lying in bed
asleep with something covering her eyes, these types of shots help to convey distortion they
are mainly used in thriller movie as they make a scene more tense as the victim they are
Normally showing is portrayed as being weak and helpless.

Road Side: Short Thriller Film

The film Road side is about a young girl who walking down a desert road, with blood on her
face and torn up clothing, while she is walking down this long winding road a car in the
distance comes up behind and pulls up next to her and starts talking to her, he starts asking
questions about her on what has happened, he then gets out of the car, he tries getting her
into the truck but she doesn’t want to go. He then pushes her into the front seat of the car
and they drive of together, when they start driving he starts swerving the car stops and the
girl gets out the car and open the front door and pulls the guy out the car and he lands on
the floor, she then gets into the front seat and drives away with the car into the distance and
then the film ends.

In this film they use

Todorov’s theory where the films begins with an equilibrium and throughout the movie the
film starts with the equilibrium which has been disrupted and then restored, in this short
film it starts with the girl walking down the street this is the start of the equilibrium where
they is an equal balance meaning that nothing important has started yet so the audience are
not on edge. Then the next scene is when she walks into the house and goes up stairs to her
bedroom she then puts on a face mask meaning her eyes are covered and there is a shot of
where the camera does a pan shot of the room, making the girl a main focus, then she has
someone enter the house and whisper in her ear, this is the disruption event which is known
as the disequilibrium. Then the girl wakes up and she thinks someone is downstairs, she
locks the door and while her back is turned she feels like someone is behind her she turns
her head and sees someone and then the film ends this is the restoration of a new
equilibrium meaning the film ends on a cliff hanger. this film doesn’t really fit with this
theory as there is no point in where the audience feel anxious due to it being more creepy
film then a scary thriller movie.
Mise en scene:
Mise en scene is used in this short film they use props, lighting, location and customs one of
the main props this film uses is a car they use this throughout the entire movie, it’s the main
focus, the reason for using this is because this is where the car will rescue her from safety.
The customs is another key point as the girl significantly stands out as she is wearing a torn
shirt, which has blood on it; the blood is also on the girls face, indicating that she has got
herself into trouble or that she needs help. The blood on her shirt signifier’s danger and
warning as its stands out from the surrounding as the color red is blood and known to many
people as someone being hurt, this links to the genre thriller because it’s scary and intense
and most people are scared of it or cant bare to look at it, so thriller movies include gory
scenes so that the audience feel nauseous. An example of thrillers that use blood as a prop
would be most thriller films due to that being a main concept, which connects all thriller
films. The second character in this short film is the man which is trying to help the young girl
in the car, he is wearing dark clothing which makes him look more intimidating, when people
where black or dark clothes other people seem to have less trust towards them, due to the
media representing people who were clothes like that to be a In this short film the lighting is
very low key they do this to create a sense of suspense and gloom, it also to depict a sense
of danger and uncertainty as well as making a setting look unsettling and disturbing for the
audience. This links to the genre thriller as it defines what the genre is of the movie that
they are trying to create, this short film uses low-key lighting to make dark shadows, which
create a sinister tone. The location of this movie is very isolated and lonely, as when she is
walking down this long winding road where there is no one around, it seems to be very
tense and scary for the young girl as its about to get dark and there is no one on the road.
Thriller movie use locations like this to make the characters feel helpless and to make the
audience feel worried for them. This road is the only location that this short film is shot in.
limited locations would be convectional as most of the time thriller films are set in one
location to make the characters feel captured.

Cinematography:
In the first opening scene there is a tracking shot of the young girl walking down the side of
the road, it will physically move the camera through the scene for an extended amount of
time, and this type of shot can be used to show of a scene. In these scene it’s good to know
as little as the character does so that we can understand and empathize with their fear. This
therefore doesn’t ruin the surprise for the audience. Another shot which is used is an over
the shoulder shot this is when she is talking to the person which is stop of at the road for
her, this means you can only see the back of her head but the body of the main, this feels
like you are talking and speaking to the person. This can show that something suspicion may
be happening as they are having an important conversation.
Sound:
The sound for his short film is all natural sounds; they haven’t used any effects they have to
do this because its shot in one take, the sounds are all from the natural sounds. It is all done
in diegetic sound meaning that it is all done from natural sounds. An example of this would
be when they are having a conversation about helping the girl, the man says ‘why don’t you
let me help you out’ and she responds with ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea’ this is a
conversation in which they both have dialogue so it’s not been added in to the movie, this
type of scene it intense due to her refusal for help suggesting something is wrong. At the
end of the movie there is a non-diegetic sound which has been added in when the title and a
black screen appears this is when a low pitch sound appears, it appears to be more like a
loud bang in the background, this therefore links to the thriller movie as it ends with a tense
sound suggesting something bad happened which might scare someone. As leaves the film
on a cliffhanger so the audience talks about the film more and ask if there would be another
one.
Editing:
The editing for this movie is shot in one take, meaning that they had no editing shots or they
didn’t stop while filming, it run on in one long take. Thriller movies often do this to make the
film seem more realistic for the audience as they are watching, as it’s more like a home
movie to people as it feels real to them, this gives the thriller movie more of an eerie vibe.
The affect of being making a film with one take is that if u made an mistakes you would have
to start a film again which could delay production and also filming one takes is very
completed and hard for actors as they have to get every scene right.