Thriller Analysis: Orphan

ORPHAN

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Characters: Kate - Mum (Vera Farminga)

                     John - Dad (Peter Sarsgaard)

                     Esther - The Orphan/ Adopted daughter (Isabelle Fuhrman)

                     Daniel - Son (Jimmy Bennett)

                     Max - Daughter (Aryana Engineer)

Story: The film is about a woman, Kate, who had a still birth and dealt with her grief through drinking alcohol. Kate and her husband, John, decide to adopt a child. They choose Esther to join their family, however, she is not what she seems. Esther is actually a 30 year old woman, who has a disorder that makes her look like a child. She moves from family to family, trying to seduce the fathers. When she cannot, she kills the fathers and their families out of revenge.

Camera Shots: Throughout the film, the director uses certain camera shots and close ups to reveal to the audience that Esther isn't as innocent as she seems. In this video, the audience is shown that Esther's paintings are actually quite sinister and eerie. Also, the lighting used in this scene helps to show Esther's "dark" side.

This is an example of  a sinister looking
close up of Esther.

This shot also makes Esther look evil.

This still is taken from the Storm scene. There is slight low angle on Esther, which makes her appear very powerful. It also makes the sleeping Max look very innocent and vulnerable. The director also used lighting again to add a creepy feel to the thriller. At first, it looks like nobody is in the room with Max, however, the flashes of lightning reveal that Esther is actually standing over her.

Music/Sound: Non-diegetic music has been added in to the background of some scenes to increase the tension and to make the film more frightening. However, in the beginning, calming music is used in the background to give off a homely and loving atmosphere. An example of this is the music used in this clip:

Opening Scene: 

• In the opening, the audience is shown the distributor and producer, Warners Brothers and Dark Castle Entertainment.
• The title is also shown in an eerie looking font, which shows what the film is going to be like.
• It does not follow the all of the typical conventions of film openings, as we are not shown the setting straight away. However, we are introduced to the main character Kate and her husband, John.
• The scene is a dream sequence, and this is obvious because bright white lights are used throughout. 
• The audience is also told about Kate's history and the story of her still birth. 

comment from Donna

can you also upload digital shots of your storyboard.

comments from Donna

Hi Girls

can you

upload your remake? and talk to phone camera about the making of this.
look up some professional blogs sites and come back to me with some styles, fonts and layouts that inspire you.
take of some of the stills i.e. 'these are Natalies feet"?
upload your analysis of your own choice of thriller film with screen grabs.

Thanks Donna

The Killers: Remake

This is our version of a sequence taken from the film, the Killers.

The clip shows two girls sitting at a table having a conversation. One of the girls, Sheena, spots a strange woman staring at her from across the room. The woman has left a note for Sheena, telling her to meet up at a specific location. 

Using our storyboard, we tried to get our shots to look exactly like those from the original film.

It took a lot of precise angling to get these two shots to look almost exactly the same. Therefore, it's clear to the audience what part of the sequence we were recreating.

By choosing this clip to recreate, we learned how to do over the shoulder shots, which will be very helpful in the future, when it comes to filming our own thriller. 

The Making of: The Killers remake

Baris the Director!

Sheena setting up the tripod for the first time since the tutorial.

She did it perfectly!

About to start filming.

Hanna directing

Hanna had to film this a few times, to get the angle perfect

Hanna trying to film a long shot of Natalie

Sheena acting.

Natalie acting!

I didn't set up this shot as well as I could've, so the angle wasn't perfect.

During this remake, we learned how to do two shots, over the shoulder shots and long shots. Through the cinematography process, we learned that planning the pre production stage is essential. In reflection, we realised that our storyboard could have been more detailed in the description of shot types and angles.

Storyboard of The Killers

our storyboard.

Health and Safety tutorial on filming equipment

In the lesson, Mickey gave us an induction on how to use the equipment we will need for the filming of our thriller. The list of equipment used included: a camcorder, battery, memory card and tripod.

 We were shown how to work the camcorder, and how to do many different things, such as turning it on and various camera functions. His tutorial will be very helpful in the future when it comes to filming.

We were also shown how to fit in the memory sticks and how to tell if it had been locked or not.






Here, we were shown how to fit, and replace the camera batteries.







And finally, we were taught how to correctly place the camcorder on the tripod.









As well as teaching us how to work the camcorders we will be using in the future, he showed us different shot types and classic mistakes made when filming.

Forrest Gump Film Opening

This opening follows the typical conventions of a film opening as it begins with the institutional logo for the production company, Paramount. Then, the audience is shown that it is set in a small city. The title of the film, names of the cast and director have also been included. Non-diegetic background music is being played, which sets a very calm mood. And finally, we are introduced to the main character, Forrest Gump.

Introduction to cameras

Close up of Sheena. There was a slight issue with the lighting in this photo. 

Another Close Up, with the lighting problem corrected.

Close up of Natalie 'Vouge'

A Close up of Hanna

Another Close Up of Hanna

Wide shot of Sheena and Natalie

Wide shot of Hanna and Natalie

Interesting shot of feet (reflection)

Sheena's feet against the window.

Natalie's feet.

Hanna's feet.

Broken rule of third. There is too much space behind Sheena.

Now we have corrected the broken rule of third.

Broken the rule of thirds. There is to much space over Natalie's head.

Corrected the rule of thirds. The camera is now positioned correctly.

Over the shoulder shot.

'

Awkward Turtle' over the shoulder shot.

In front of a window. There are no lighting issues.

Wide shot, Welcome to London

• Convention of film music 
• Title of film(1 minute in)
• Sense of pace from the film
• director/cast etc (Titles' genre)
• Music- often sets mood + tone
• Institutional identities/logos for production + distribution company
• Learn about location and setting
• Introduces main characters (Protagonist)
• Diegetic + non diegetic sound combination
  
  Classic Opening
• Established a city scape setting
• Building- to know what your dealing with
• Long shot window
• close up window into the room
• meet the characters
  

What are the conventions of film openings?

Typically, film openings contain:

• the title
• the names of the director, cast etc
• music  (which often sets the mood)
• the institutional identity/logo for the production + distribution company
•  the setting/location
• an introduction to at least 1 main character
• diegetic + non diegetic sound combination

Classic Opening 

•  Establishing a city scape building
• Long shot of window
• Close up of  window  into the room
• Then we are introduced to the main characters

What are the conventions of film openings?

* Title of the film
* Sense of the pace of the film
* Director and cast names etc.
* Music -> sets the mood and tone of the film (genre)
* Institutional detail -> logo of production and distribution company
* Setting -> give sense of location
* Introduce main characters
* Diegetic and non-diegetic sound combination

Classic opening
* Establish a city scape
* Building
* Long shot of window
* Close up of window
* Into the room
* Meet the characters