Editing Analysis

Media Editing Analysis: The Strangers

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrCZ-X66KKQ

Editing helps to create pace for the scene, add to the suspense and create an illusion of danger even if there isn't any.

The first editing point that I looked at was the slow editing that is being used at the beginning of the clip. We see the main female character Kristen, walk slowly to the door to see who is knocking. The slow editing helps to show how hesitant she is to go to check the door and shows her fear of the unknown person behind it. This is a common convention for a female in a thriller movie because they are normally seen as the weaker gender and are usually the victims.

Kristen looking out of the window

Kristen locking the door

After the slow editing, I analysed a reaction shot, which happens after Kristen locks the door. After locking the door, she moves away from it and then decides to go look out the window to see if the person at the door had gone. This is showing the audience that even though Kristen is hesitant and scared whilst walking up to the window, she is still intrigued and feels the need to make sure that they have gone. This is conventional because the victim will always try to check that everything is ok to reassure themselves everything is ok, which in turn helps the audience connect with the victim. This is because the audience will feel pity for the victim and will be hoping that the person has disappeared, not just to make everything good for the victim but to also give themselves a breather from the many climaxes that you would expect from a thriller movie.

Kristen looking at the door

Kristen trying to fix the smoke alarm

A linking shot was the last shot that I looked at. We see this happen through most of the clip as whatever Kristen does, it all links back to the door and who is outside. Through every action she does, the audience will get reminded by the door, from a sound of the person knocking or from Kristen turning towards it and the audience getting an image of it. This keeps the audience’s attention on the door and creates a focus around it. In this clip, the door is a representation of the fear that Kristen has, which makes the linking shot a conventional one. You would expect a thriller movie to have a heavy focus on fear and they are using the door to channel the fear of the unknown into the audience. Another conventional part of this clip, is that we see the fear from Kristen for whoever is behind the door. Her fear has taken over her so much that she can't even complete the task of turning the smoke alarm off without getting scared and turning to the door once again. This shows that she is the weaker character and this can cause the audience to have empathy for Kristen. They can see that she is scared and as she is the weak female character, they would expect that she is going to get hurt in some way. This can create a connection between the audience and Kristen, which is very conventional as in most thriller films, the audience will connect with the females victims more than anyone else in this genre of films.

From my analysis of ‘The Strangers’ clip, I have learnt that the way a film is edited can have a massive impact on the whole scene. It can create a sense of danger or safety, which can help to trick the audience and this causes the climaxes to be even scarier and thriller like. It also helps the audience connect/disconnect with the characters and helps us understand the characters feeling. This has helped me in my decision of what style of editing I can use so that my own thriller clip will fit into the genre more.

Sound Analysis

Media Sound Analysis: Mama Trailer

Sound plays a vital role in a thriller movie because it helps to create suspense and keeps the audience engaged.

One significant point for sound in the clip was when the scientist is talking about the two girls to the male and female characters, we see his side profile but we don't see him actually speaking so that makes it a non diegetic sound. Also we hear the sound carry on into the next scenes, which makes it a voice over too. This is conventional to a thriller film because you would normally have someone who would explain what is going on to the protagonists and try to give them advice as if they are a mentor or an informer. Using this in a thriller film can help the audience understand what is going on in the movie a little more, however it can be used to confuse the audience too. In some thriller movies, you get a person who is pretending to help the protagonists/victims when they are really a antagonist who is just leading them on the wrong path. 

Another point is the off screen sound is when the mother and older girl are talking and as she looks at the door, there is an eerie sound. This is conventional because you expect to hear weird and unusual sounds in a thriller movie because there is always a sense of mystery and the sound can help keep the audience engaged and intrigued. We also know that the sound is an off screen one because there is nothing in the scene that's Luke make that kind of noise and from the type of sound that it is, you can tell that it would have been added in when they were editing. The eerie sounds can also make the audience pay more attention because they know that something important is going to happen if that kind of sound is playing.

The last sound that I analysed was a contrapuntal sound that happens at the end of the clip, where the youngest girl smiles at the camera, yet there is still some sort of scary, sinister music playing. With the girl smiling, you would expect the sound to turn lighter but with it staying the same, you can see that it is a contrapuntal sound. This is because a contrapuntal sound is when the sound doesn't fit the scene and expectation and this happens when the sound doesn't change whilst she is smiling. This is very conventional of a thriller film because they will try to trick and confuse the audience so that later on, when some action or a climax comes up, you will be more scared and will not expect it as much. This will also cause the audience to remember the scene more because of the scare, so this is why they use it in thrillers.

From my analysis of the 'Mama' trailer, I have learnt that the sound can help with the impact that the scene can have on the audience and it can help to keep the audience engaged with the film. This has also helped me with my decision with what sounds I should use in my own thriller film. 

Cinematography Analysis

Media Shot Analysis: Orphan Trailer

Camera shots are very important for films because it can change the focus, set how the audience views the film & how they connect with all the characters.

The first shot that I analysed was a zooming in close up of the mother trying to open Esther's (the orphan) door. This shows that Esther must be hiding something because this door is locked and the person who plays her mother seems very panicky. This is conventional for a thriller movie because there is always an element of mystery and it helps to add to the climax of the movie. Another reason why they would have put this in is to help keep the audience engaged and adding the mystery will make the audience have questions which they will want to have answered.

Another significant shot was where Esther was screaming into the camera. It is a close up with a hand held movement which adds to the chaos that you can see in the screen. They also used a shallow focus, where everything in the background was blurred, which shows the audience that she is the most important thing and that she is the main focus. This is also conventional because you would normally chaos around the antagonist because they are the ones to create trouble. The chaos also makes the audience realise that Esther must be a main character and the chaos will make everyone pay attention to her and it is conventional for the antagonist to get the most attention in a thriller movie.

Another conventional camera shot used in this Orphan clip was the point of view show when the mother sees her car rolling down the icy road with her daughter in the back. You can see that it is a point of view shot because we can see the railing that we saw was in front of her in the shot beforehand, where her son turned her around. The point of view helps the audience connect with the mother because the audience can understand the distress she must be going through and it can help the audience feel pity and empathy for the mother, as it makes everyone wonder what it would be like to be in her position. This is conventional because in thriller films the female character is normally the weaker one, so you would expect that something bad is going to happen to her and she will not be able to handle it as the main male protagonist would be about to. Also we see her running for the car afterwards in a panicking and shock like state, which indicates that she cannot do nothing about it, whereas conventionally, the audience would expect a male protagonist to be able to stop the car somehow. Both the anticipation of something bad, the weaker female and the empathy for a character makes this clip a conventional one.

From this analysis of the 'Orphan' clip, I have learnt that the thriller genre uses shots that build on the character audience relationship (with the protagonist). The shots also keep the viewer on edge as this keeps the audience entertain and hooked into the film. This has also helped me with my consideration of what shots to include in my own thriller.