Screengrabs from Terence Fisher's films

Screen Grabs

Terence Fisher - Film Director

Terence Fisher was one of the most talented and influential Hammer films director. Hammer film production was best known for its Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. They produced film genres of thriller, science fiction, film noir and comedy.

Fisher was one of the most famous horror directors of the second half of the 20th century. He was the first to bring Gothic horror in colour. Although his films were commercially successful, Fisher was given received very little critical attention throughout his career. His films were known for their 'fairy-tale' like qualities.

His first major horror film was 'The Curse of Frankenstein', where the actors of the film were made leading horror stars of the era. Some of the other classics he went on to film included, 'Dracula' (1958), 'The Mummy' (1959) and 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1959). He also made the 1962 version of 'The Phantom of the Opera' which was a commercial flop.

Dracula(1958) Trailer




'The Mummy'(1959) Trailer

DVD Cover analysis - 'Funny Games'

DVD Cover Analysis

Conventions

Research on Thriller Sub-genres

Prom Night (2008)
Directed By Nelson McCormick
Starring Brittany Show, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie, Kelly Blatz, James Ransone
Prom Night is a mystery thriller. The storyline of the movie starts off with teenager Donna recounting to her analyst a flashback of the brutal murder of her family, by one of her former school teachers, who is obsessed with her. He was then caught and locked up 'for good'. Now living with her Aunt and Uncle, she is plagued by dreams of what happened to her family, fearing he has escaped prison and is out to get her once again. Her senior prom takes place. However the night turns from magic to murder when the psychopath Richard has escaped from prison and is lodged in the same floor in the hotel chasing Donna, stabbing anyone who gets in his way of reaching Donna. 



Vantage Point (2008)
Directed By Pete Travis
Starring Denis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt
Vantage Point is an action thriller. The storyline is about when the President of the United States visits Spain and is about to address the city about an international treaty designed to combat global terrorism, in a public square. Moments after his arrival he is shot. A bomb also goes off in the square. There are 8 main characters, all at the city place when the shots ring out, all with a different 'vantage point'. This set of eight characters includes people in charge of the President’s security, the media, civilians and the people taking out the attack. Each time the clock rewinds and those same 15 minutes are told several times, from each of the person's perspectives, adding additional details until the terrifying truth behind the assassination attempt is revealed.



The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)
Directed and Written By Anthony Minghella
Starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Talented Mr Ripley is a psychological thriller.Tom Ripley is a young man struggling to make a living in New York City. The story starts off with Tom Ripley playing a piano, in a borrowed Princeton jacket, at a party. He is approached by a wealthy father of a recent Princeton, who believes Tom to be an actual graduate of the university and a friend of his son, Dickie Greenleaf. Ripley is then asked to travel to Italy to persuade Dickie to return to the US help run the family business.He agrees, although he does not know who Dickie is. When reaching Italy, contrives an "accidental" meeting on the beach with Dickie and his girlfriend, Marge Sherwoo. Lying his way through, he quickly becomes a part of their lives. Soon later things begin to change when Ripley offers to Greenleaf to travel with him on a short holiday to Sanremo. The two hire a small boat and head out to sea together.Eventually Ripley kills Greenleaf and goes to extreme lengths to take his identity, to make sure no one finds out about the murder.

'Man-on-the-run'

We were given the task of creating a plot called the 'man-on-the-run'. We had to base our movie on a spoof, and so to help us, we watched the openings of a few movies such as 'The fugitive' and 'The Bourne Trilogy'.




The plot that our group came up with is as follows:

• The scene starts off with a bus riding on a long, narrow, deserted road. The setting of the movie will be quite dark to create an eerie atmosphere. The audience are made to think that something ominous is about to take place.
• The bus is holding prisoners that are being transported to another prison.
• All of a sudden a small pair of lights appear in the distance heading in the direction of the bus.
• The bus crashes into the car. The bus driver is not able to control the bus and so it skids and rolls off a hill. 
• The car has crashed and hits a big rock. Many of the prisoners on the bus are dead. 
• At this point the audience meet the main character. He is one of the prisoners. 
• The prisoner manages to escape out of the bus through a hole. 
• He makes a runner and travels to the nearest town.
• In this next scene, he is on the phone to his friend. The audience discover that the prisoner has been wrongly convicted of doing a crime. 
• In the scene, we meet a man hiding amongst the crowds, eying the prisoner. He has a gun. 
• The man shoots, however misses as the prisoner realises his shoe lace is undone and bends down to re-tie it.
• The prisoner ends his phone conversation and walks away, not noticing that he is being aimed at. 
• The man shoots again, failing to hit yet again. The prisoner realises he has been shot at and runs for his life. The chase is through a market place. They destroy everything while running, tripping over things too. This adds a bit of comedy.
• The prisoner turns the corner, walking into a sweet shop crowded with demanding customers. The shooter looses track of him. 

Analysing 'The Birds' Scene

How many shots are there?
17 shots were used


Where was the camera positioned for each shot?
1st shot - Long Shot
2nd shot - Mid Shot
3rd shot - Medium Long Shot (tracking)
4th shot - Low angle Mid Shot turning into a Long Shot as she walks
5th, 6th shot - Mid Shot
7th shot - Medium Close-Up
8th shot - Wide Shot
9th,10th,11th shot - Medium Close-Up
12th shot - High Angle, Wide Shot
13th shot - Medium Shot
14th shot - Close-Up
15th shot - Long shot turning into a Medium Long Shot
16th - Long shot turning into a Low Angle, Close-up

1. What principles of continuity are used here? How successfully? Refer to specific shots / screen grabs.
The continuity is quite successful in this scene as it flows fluently. Examples of this is when the lady looks from the kitchen into the hallway. The first shot is taken from the side of the character looking into the hallway from the kitchen. The second shot is taken from the hallway of the character looking in. The shot creates apprehension and suspense, keeping the audience feeling tense.

2. What is the effect of the editing on the viewer? What are we meant to feel at different stages?
The editing helps to keep the viewer attention and focus on the film. This has been done in many ways in the sequence. When she first knocks on the door no one opens the door. The door then appears to be open which is quite suspicious and gives the viewer a hint that something omnious may be in store. Once the character has entered the house, we come to learn that the glasses are broken which create even more tension and dubiosity. We also see the character moving quite slowly and cautiously, which creates even more apprehension. When the lady enters one of the rooms, we see that the room has been wrecked, everything has been torn up. In this part of the sequence there are 10 shots. In every other shot, we are shown the characters reaction. The viewer is able to experience the characters emotions in a way. The sequence does not use any music, which builds up tension as the audience does not have any clue on what is going to happen next.

3. What is the 'best bit' for you in this sequence in terms of learning new techniques and why?
I felt the best part of the sequence was when she entered the room, and saw how it had been destroyed and torn up. The camera shots enabled us to get a reaction from the character while the frame slowly uncovers the mess that has been made, and of the man covered in blood. This part of the sequence flowed really smoothly.

Preliminary Task - Door Opening Sequence Self-Assessment

 

1. What did you think was the point to the activity? 

The aim of this activity was to enable us to understand and demonstrate the different types of camera techniques that are used in the filming industry. We also learnt how to use a software called 'Final Cut Express', which is what we edited the film on. On this software we were able to crop the shots and put them altogether, so that the scenes would flow, like a proper movie.

2. In regard to your finished sequence, what worked well? 

I felt that the continuity of the sequence was quite successful as the shots flowed smoothly making the scene look professional. To achieve this we had to edit the frames, trimming the shots at appropriate places. The videoing of the sequence was also quite steady, which shows clarity of the picture.

3. What would you aim to improve about your sequence? What continuity mistakes can you see?

If we had a chance to recreate the sequence, I would shoot the scenes again leaving more time at the end of each shot before I cut it, making it look more professional and not so rushed ,allowing time for the audience to digest what has just taken place in the shot. We could have also add music in the background to create more suspense and tension. In some of the shots, there was a bit of background noise of people talking, which we could have prevented by re-shooting the shot, which we did not do.

4. What did you learn from doing this activity?

From this task I was able to learn how to shoot from different types of camera angles such as an 'over head shot' and a 'close-up'. I also learnt how to use the software 'Final Cut Express', when editing and trimming the shots.