Thriller research

Key:
Camera - Mise en Scene - Sound - Editing - Other

Rambo (2008): Action Thriller

Intro sequence: 03m 10s

The chronological sequel to Rambo III sees John J. Rambo living in Thailand having retired from his life as a soldier. This movie follows his attempts to rescue missionaries from a war zone he brought them too.

The intro begins with a newsreel slideshow showing the goings on in the movie’s world. The images and video clips shown are all cropped, square videos and depict horrific war events occurring in the established location, Burma. To assist this introduction, several news reporters are speaking about the daily occurrences, speaking over each other to add a new point such as “Many peaceful protesting monks have been killed, some burned alive and other drowned”. The visuals show death and suffering with several Close ups and Medium Long shots but there is nothing consistent about them. Many of these clips appear to have been shot sporadically and with whatever recording device was available, many give the impression that they may have taken in real conflicts. This sets a mood that it might even have an edge of reality. The backing soundtrack of what may be xylophones and large cymbal clashes has the effect of heightening the images shown. The clashes also coincide with what the journalist are speaking. When a new piece of information is revealed, the cymbals clash and they emphasize just how horrifying the events in Burma are. The editing also doesn’t give much time to focus on any of the clips. 25 clips in 1 minute and 26 seconds beginning from the first picture, the map. Only a few clips are longer than a second, with the longest at 4 seconds. Most are roughly ¼ to ½ a second in length. This fast pace of action, which again coincides with the soundtrack heightens the disturbing images in what I can only describe as overload. A flood of disturbing imagery (shock factor) that has the audience asking “why”.

From what I can tell, by watching further, the movie is for the larger part shock factor with the little suspense available spoiled by the Netflix movie description: “When governments fail to act... John Rambo sets aside his peaceful existence to take action” Is Rambo going to save everyone? How many people will he kill? Will he kill those people in a ridiculous fashion that seems inefficient and against basic Human rights? The suspense is solved pretty quickly. However the news slideshow was preparing the audience by what the large majority will be used to, hearing about the world from a Television newscaster. Next, an up close and personal example is given. Soldiers are shown to stop at a rice plantation, forcing terrified civilians out of the truck. This time, a traditional Establishing Shot is used to show the entire plantation, the lake setting and the trucks location. Unlike the map shown in the clip show that showed the country’s location formally on the world as a newscaster would, this Establishing shot shows the location informally as merely a field by a lake with a mountain on the side. This is to make the audience become emotionally attached to the movie and to establish the lead villain, the head of the enemy army and how sadistic he is. The aforementioned civilians are lined up and forced to run across the rice plantation after explosives were scattered through it. The explosives landing in the water is most definitely a Foley sound added in Post production. No splosh could ever be made that stereotypically good when recorded on set. The civilians running across the field are shown in a Long shot, Extreme Long shot. This may be because the audience is still new to all this and are still only spectators to the truest sense of the word. The introduction of the villain General is rather subtle, a Close Up of his uninterested face smoking away with cool shades. The big sparkly crest on his hat immediately says important to the audience. He doesn't say anything, but why should he? He has only accompanied his soldiers to play with the lives of innocent civilians. Something that also caught my attention was the lack of music backing. The only consistent sounds (ambient sounds) were the occasional birds and the sounds of the forest around them. Because of this, the shouting of the soldiers and the cries of the civilians can really be heard, drawing the audience in. Everything is maximised in intensity “What is going to happen? Why are the soldiers exchanging money? Why are there mines in the plantation?!”. Then, as the camera moves further away from the civilians (almost like acknowledging their doom), the questions are answered and jaws drop as the General gestures to kill the surviving civilians. After the deed, we see a familiar Close Up of a familiar murder to then cut to the Title screen. A technique I had originally missed is a Sound Bridge to ease the transition between newsreel and rice plantation by starting the sounds of the trucks at a low volume, in the transition credits, before actually showing the trucks. This is done not to be jarring as starting the sounds with the video will be a shock and increasing the volume once the video begins can seem unnatural.

Zoom in - Map sets the idea of
formal TV news report.

LS, perhaps handheld from slight shake - Children kicked
which shows cruelty of the army.

ELS, Tilt down, Handheld - Point up to
the sky, showing smoke coming from house fire then
tilt down to reveal running civilians. Shows how desperate and dangerous the situation is.

BCU, Eye level - Last shot of the newsreel creates empathy and
compassion towards oppressed civilians.

ELS, elevated camera (Crane?) - After newsreel on Burma, with this Establishing shot,
audience connects the dots on where it is. Trucks are small in
the frame but can still be heard. Sound is muffled to simulate the distance.

CU, Eye level - Camera shakes considerably almost like shivering in fear
at sight of the Enemy General. Could have been done in post or on set with handheld.

ELS, Slight High angle - Camera moves from observing civilian closely to observing from a far and safe distance. Because we know what is going to happen? Camera moves even further away when of the mines is stepped on.

Mr. Brooks (2007): Crime Thriller

Intro sequence: 2m 53s

The story of a serial killer battling with his alter ego that has him going back to his murderous ways. I would say this is more of a Psychological Thriller than a Crime, but the murders and police sub-plot to stop Mr Brooks steer it more towards crime.

The intro is simplistic, yet intriguing. White text in a Serif font (font with a line at each stroke e.g. Times New Roman. Seen as formal and old fashioned) on a black background which reads “The hunger has returned to Mr. Brooks’ brain. It never really left”. The text fades in two parts. The first sentence fades in as the Soundtrack Crescendos. After 3-4 seconds, the second sentence fades in. Lastly the first sentence fades out leaving the second sentence alone, bringing emphasis to it. This establishes that our central character, what the movie is named after, has a few issues to deal with. The lack of information in this restricted narrative creates suspense. What hunger? Why did Mr Brook want it gone? The Soundtrack assists to focus the audience but not distract them. It seems like the kind of music used in a plague apocalypse movie. Slow, serene and clean. I would go as far as to say sterile clean. Just a calm, yet tense, steady rhythm to set the pace. After this, a man, that can be assumed to be Mr Brooks, speaks. It would appear he is repenting in prayer as he says “Oh God. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change”. At this point, the melody of the previous Soundtrack Diminuendos and changes to long piano notes. The percussions stay the same at about a beat a second. Note, at this point there is still no visual element, only text fading in and out showing who made the film and the voices of Mr Brooks and his alter ego. He juts in in the middle of the prayer, mocking Brooks. From the conversation it becomes clear that the alter ego, with his low, rumbling and complexed voice, applies the peer pressure onto Brooks to kill. While Brooks, with his gasping, quiet and hesitant voice is trying to stay in control, trying to keep his sanity and trying to make his family friends don’t find about his murders. This is evident by him pleading to God to forgive him for his sins.

When the visuals fade in, we see a man in a suit and bow-tie, looking at himself in the mirror. The angle is Low in a Medium Long Shot. This allows us to see his entire body in from how he’s dressed to his composure (weak at first but quickly recovered). The Low angle emphasizes his size and his power. He’s the boss guy. He’s Mr Brooks. The Low Angle also gives a wide view of the bathroom location showing sinks, mirrors and cupboards. As he focuses his composure, he walks past the camera, most likely out the bathroom and towards the sounds clapping and voices. The voice is muffled and has a slight booming echo to it, as if it is being amplified by a mike and speaker. We then cut to an Extreme Close Up of a decorated drinking glass with clear, colourful liquid (white wine perhaps). The camera is positioned in such a manner that through the glass we can see the reflected face of the man seen in the bathroom. The camera Pans right and Focus pulls to a new glass of bubbling champagne behind the first glass. Then a final Tilt up and second Focus pull formally introduces us to our main character, Mr Brooks in stunning Big Close Up format! The lighting is Low Key with very little Back and Fill Lighting. With just the Key Lighting, the contrast between light and dark is strong, yet subtle. The near black background makes the brightly coloured and illuminated face stand out. The expression is plain with slightly lowered eyebrows (unless they are naturally that low). This, plus the neutral mouth look like he’s focused (The prayer) but when the same clapping and speaking heard in the bathroom is heard as very quiet ambience, it shows Mr Brooks is also distracted from his surroundings. When the prayer voice over comes to a close, the ambient speaking Crescendos into what would be heard if we were there. At the same time the soundtrack stops which show his change of focus. At this point we see the current location, a party or similar venue seemingly in honour of Mr Brooks. This is shown in a very tightly framed Long shot where only the necessary people are shown, while every other corner of the frame is filled with people closer to the camera. Such a tight view could represent a claustrophobic feeling of entrapment. Even more so, that he knows he doesn’t deserve anything of what is to come from these people. This is also when we see what the world thinks of Mr Brooks. The speaker says: “He gives so freely of his time and his money”. Clearly many see him as the good guy. The guy who will put everything down to help someone. What the speaker also reveals is that the reason for the party is to give Mr Brooks the award of Man of the Year. Still without a Soundtrack, Mr Brooks moves up onto the stand and reads out a pre-prepared speech. The camera is at a Low angle in Medium Shot with heads floating in the foreground at the bottom of the frame. This says the audience has moved to spectating and is watching from one of the guest tables previously seen restricting the view in the frame. Another similar shot is also done but directly right of Mr Brooks from the head table. This can show that the focus is on him. At the beginning of his speech, Mr Brooks stops to blow a kiss to the woman he came with, perhaps his wife. The crowd "awws" and applauds slightly and this reinforces the just how much the world doesn't know about him. While the audience may not be 100% certain about the murdering side of Mr Brooks, there is that inkling at the back of the mind that just says “This is false”. That inkling grows and with it, so does suspense. How is he going to keep the secret? Who will find out?

Because a full blown speech would be tedious for the audience, there is a Dissolve from the party to a dark, night city landscape with water at the bottom of the frame. The title of the movie fades in at the bottom right of the screen as calming piano piece begins. The title is a light/dark blue gradient colour which stands out considerably against the black city scape. The positioning at the bottom right almost makes it seem like a signature. “Hello. This is my work as a murder. Signed, Mr. Brooks”. The piano Soundtrack (which is more of a short snippet) is also very soothing and relaxing. In Todorov’s Theory, this would be the Equilibrium before the Disruption. The music helps to reassure that everything is okay, nothing has happened and all is as it should be. I can go further in that this is the new Mr Brooks. He is no longer a murder as we heard by his prayer.

Text - Establishes psychological
issues with a character.

MLS, Low angle - Shaking himself down in
the mirror, gathering himself back up
when finished.

ECU, Slight Low angle - Artistically framed
shot somewhat showing he doesn’t
fit in or doesn’t want to be there.

BCU, Low angle - Finished Focus Pull
to reveal face of Protagonist in detail.

LS, Low angle - The restricted, cramped view goes
with the idea Brooks doesn’t want to be there.

MS, Low angle - Observing the speech from
a guest table within the crowd.

MS, Low angle - The act that he is a regular
person with real feelings.

ELS, Bird’s Eye View - Signing the
entire movie off.

Pandorum (2009): Sci-Fi Thriller

Intro sequence: 2m 55s

Like Mr Brooks, this begins with text, although the background is set in deep space with stars making everything pretty and bright. Because this is a Science Fiction piece, the font is also futuristic, still with serifs but more blocky, as if out of a computer. The text, which appears using a turnstile effect as if from Powerpoint, has four separate messages depicting historical events in space exploration, only two of which are real (The apollo moon landing and Kepler telescope launch) along with the Human population numbers at the time. Each time, the population increases drastically and as text says, “food and water shortages are commonplace”. By 2174, battle for resources have reached a boiling point and the “Spacecraft Elysium is launched”. The Soundtrack is dire in this introduction. A string instrument (Cello perhaps) plays very low and extended notes. Percussions are deep and powerful but used sparingly, and ambient sounds such as strange breathing like sounds and metal vibrations, for use of a better word. The text sequence lasts for just over 30 seconds and on the last sentence, when we are taught about the existence of the spacecraft Elysium, a small object can be seen moving across the frame as the text begins to disappear. A minute thing on the screen that is blended in well, the only reason it can be seen is because of the speed it is moving at.

This is when the voices start. Gradually Crescendoing, they are Human voices but not English. Several different voices can be heard, with which one would go to assume that there are several different languages. This increases suspense by creating the question of is this message? Why not just tell us, why are they not telling us? The Soundtrack is also diminuendoing after a spike in the sound that typically means “Oh no! This is a really bad situation!”. A cut to the back end of a large metallic structure. Seeing that it is in space, what is being shown is Elysium, the combined efforts of the Human race to save themselves from extinction. I know that it is Stern (nautical term for back end) of Elysium because of the large, blue flame prominently visible. This shot would be a standard Establishing shot of the ship, however, rather than having a Computer Generated Image of Elysium flying past to show how it looks. The camera flies below the engines to begin a very complicated Establishing Scene.0 It flies further on down the central column of the spacecraft until spinning around into the cockpit. Throughout this, the Soundtrack is largely ambient and somewhat tribal with a fast beat. The voices take precedence however, thus being far louder than the the soundtrack. But it still does Crescendo slowly, reaching its peak on reveal of the cockpit. A constant ambient noise is also a machine hum, most likely from the ship itself, that fills in any gaps in the audio. An additional Foley sound addition is when the camera is passing close to a structure, slight “woosh” can be heard. This is of course impossible because no sound can travel in a vacuum, but it just helps to draw in the audience with something they might be familiar with.

As the camera Pans and moves into the cockpit there is a transition from CGI to Live action while passing through a hologram. Being inside the cockpit and seeing Humans inside help to give scale to Elysium. Just before entering the cockpit, the entire soundtrack stops! All that is heard is the voices and other Diegetic sounds. This really brings emphasis to them and gets everyone’s ears turned. In the cockpit, the three uniformed Humans are intently watching a hologram screen which reads “decoding message. The soundtrack restarts with the same, tense ambient sounds. Cut to a Close Up of a very serious man with his chin held up, listening intently. Then the message is translated and the camera cuts to a wide angle lens from a High angle, showing the entire cockpit. The message reads: “You’re all that’s left of us. Good luck, God bless and Godspeed”. After this scary message that is bound to freak anybody who heard it in such a dead silence, the title sequence begins. All the letters of the title roll into place on a galaxy background. The sequence lasts for 2-3 until it starts getting smaller as if it’s moving away. As it gets smaller, the dark space around the title becomes the black pupil. An Extreme Close Up of an eye then dissolve to a Big Close Up of a girl face. As a plot device, she sets afoot a mystery. Who is this girl? Is she important? Why do we see her? When will we have our answers? All creating suspense for the film.

Text - Space backdrop helps with the setting.

ELS, Tilt & Pan - Establishing Shot of the entire ship. The voices begin.

CU, Slight Low angle - Shows state of the crew, waiting anxiously for message to be translated.

LS, Tilt & Pan - The command area and where the voices are coming from.

LS, Dolly back - The entire cockpit once the realisation of the message sinks in. The last Humans are on the ship.

ECU, Eye level - Camera doesn’t stay still and dissolves to different framing. A mystery creating suspense.

The Firm (1993): Crime Thriller

Intro sequence: 2m 40s

I chose this movie because from it’s intro, there is no indication that it actually is a Thriller. Perhaps a Comedy Drama about a student trying to find a job and ultimately, his place in the world. But as a matter of fact, it is a rather serious Crime Thriller where the Protagonist is hired by a lawyer firm with feet in several murky waters, to put it lightly. When the FBI gets involved, it becomes a race for the Protagonist to help the FBI uncover the firm’s secrets lest he go to jail himself.

It begins with an Establishing shot of a snowy city following a row boat on the river in the foreground. The camera Pans to follow the boat, revealing more of the old fashioned city with no skyscrapers. The soundtrack is an upbeat piano solo piece that I can only think to describe as Jazz. The soundtrack stays strong and nonstop throughout the intro. In fact, to make it easier when discerning the end of the intro, I chose when the piano diminuendos to a halt to be the end. After the Establishing shot , a cut to a store sign helps to assert where this is. The sign reads Harvard square and below it, jumpers reading Harvard University are on sale. So the location is Boston, close by Harvard University. After showing a Long Shot of what are most likely students going to class, an Establishing shot of a the Harvard Book Store is shown. This was done so that the next move to inside the shop isn’t jarring or sudden as it would have been if it was cut from the students walking. Inside, the camera Crab follows two people in Medium Shot as they move to a notice board with “Harvard Law Recruiting” written on it. This establishes to the audience that someone studied Law at Harvard and is now looking for recruitment. A basketball game is used to show to whom all this applies too. A Sound Bridge from the notice board introduces the basketball game using high pitch squeaks of shoes and the ball bouncing. After a few Close Ups of feet running around and Medium Shots of the players, we see Tom Cruise, the Protagonist in a Big Close Up cursing after the opposite team scored. Immediately, his expression is goes apologetic, while his voice seems fearful. It is confirmed that he is the Law student due to the fact that he is playing basketball with a Court Judge (The one who scored).

As the Jazz piano diminuendos, it allows space for a Sound Bridge of the Protagonist at a job interview practically showing off (in a formal manner) at the interview. ”Top five... in my class… not the top five percent” is an example of such. In this short scene we learn that Protagonist could go onto learning $68,000 a year and we learn his current status is as a waiter in a crowded cafeteria. As the intro goes on, more job offers are being shown, both in Voice Over and in visual. The Protagonist suit is nothing fancy or flashy. It appears to be second hand, the suit coat seems odd at a first glance and the shirt is untidy. The look of a freshly graduated student. To show the long process of these interviews, the commute to one using a bus is cut in. No more than 2 seconds but it gives a chance to look at the character in a Close Up while also giving a small breather from the interviews. This commute is also to show the journey to the job the Protagonist will eventually take. A large building with ornate walls and a member of staff to take your coat when you walk in. Showing the poor student, the Protagonist looks a bit confused at first and even looks behind him at the exit. To accentuate how richly decorated the building is, the next shot begins on a crystal chandelier, tilting down to reveal the corridor, then finally the Protagonist, adjusting his suit and tie. The hallway also shows the stark contrast in the suits of what may be regulars to this building. A Sound Bridge of a knocking door precedes a cut to a door opening revealing a smiling man with combed hair in a blue suit and ornate tie is part of the group of interviewers that give the job to the Protagonist. The joyful jazz piano finally diminuendos to a close as the film properly begins.

This whole intro is strange and mundane. There is nothing suspenseful or shocking about. A Harvard graduate is looking for a job. That’s it. Nothing more. Nothing less. It serves a purpose to introduce some characters and their roles but that is it. The only shred of mystery is that we know nothing of the characters other than their names.

ELS, Pan - Establishing Shot of Boston.

LS, Pan - Cutting to the notice board from here would be unnatural and seem odd and sudden.

MS, Pan - Notice board showing the current events at this time in the film.

MS, Eye level - One of the interviews, with one of the several lawyer firms.

MS, Eye level - A show of the costume that shows some small current financial troubles.

CU, Eye level - Apologising to Court Judge for profanity. Almost fearful expression.

BCU, Eye level - Brief respite from the interviews. Character calm yet possibly nervous.

LS, Eye level - A raggy suit versus the high end business men and women of Boston.