Thriller Opening - Finished | Cold Cold Heart - AS media

Continuity Piece - Finished | The Phone Call

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on the 13 August 1899 in Essex,England. He lived until he was age 80 on the 29 April California United States. Hitchcock was was a pioneer in techniques used in suspense and the thriller genre. Hitchcock had a successful career in British Cinema through silent films and talkies which were the podcast of that age. He moved from England to Hollywood in 1939 to start his career that he is well known for in Thrillers.

Hitchcock frames shots to try and maximize the viewers anxiety, fear or even empathy and he used innovative film editing techniques to accomplish this. Many of his stories featured a fugitive on the run from the law alongside a blonde heroine female character. Alot of the films that Hitchcock directed ended up having twist endings much like the one in Psycho which is one of his most famous works.

Hitchcock had a different approach to actors in his films he did not like the method way of doing things  and believed actors should focus on acting rather than working on the script on leaving it to the directors and screenwriters.Many of the actors Hitchcock put in his films he would reuse alot  if he thought they were up to his standard of discipline.

Hitchcocks childhood could have a lot of influence on the way he wrote his films. For example many of Hitchcocks films he portrays people being mistreated which could link in with his early life a good example of this would be one of Hitchcocks most successful thrillers Psyhco was influenced by his Mother.If Hitchcock would misbehave or do something wrong his Mother would often punish him harshly this is a large influence to Norman Bates in Psycho.

BBFC Research

The British Board of Film Classification or for short the BBFC is an independent, non-governmental organisation which is funded by the film industry it was first formed in 1912. The BBFC has been classifying films since it was founded in 1912, the main categories of the rating system are U,PG,12a,12,15,18 and R18 but also since the Video Recording Act which was passed in 1984 it also has been classifying Videos / DVD's and even some video games under the Video Recording Act of 2010.

 Universal (U)

A U Rated film is suitable for ages of 4 and up.

Content

• Mild Violence only.
• Very mild sexual behaviour such as kissing or cuddling.
• No Sexual References.
• No Discrimination.
• Infrequent mild bad language such as 'damn'.
• No drug references unless used within an anti drug campaign.  

Parental Guidance (PG)

PG means the film is suitable for general viewing, but with some scenes not suited towards a younger audience.PG films are usually aimed at children age 8 and over.

Content

• Do not contain any themes that are inappropriate for a child.
• Mild bad language such as 'Bitch' but the context and delivery are important.
• Mild Violence such as blood but not and serious imagery.
• Mild Drug references
• Unlikely sexual references unless they are undetailed and infrequent.

Suitable for 12 years and above  

 The 12a rating is only used in cinemas and means that anyone of the age of 12 has to be accompanied by a person over the age of 18 to view the film just like the A in 12a suggests which mean 'Accompanied'.

Content

• Nudity is allowed but sexual content must be brief and discreet when used.
• The themes used can be more mature but must be suitable for a young teen audience.
• Moderate violence is allowed but must not portray it in much detail and must not glorify gore.
• Weapons used are not allowed to be types easily obtained by teens around the age of 12 such as knifes.
• Misuse of drugs must not be frequently shown and must not but portrayed in a positive light.

Suitable for 15 years and above 

 No-one under the age of 15 is allowed into view a 15 rated film even if accompanied by an adult in a cinema or buy or rent a 15 certificate video.

Content

• Strong Scenes of violence.
• Frequent uses of strong language.
• Drug Use.
• Sexual Violence and or verbal references to sexual violence.
• Sexual Nudity.
• Discrimination. 
• No theme is prohibited only if it isn't suitable for people aged 15.

Suitable for 18 years and above 

Films with the certification 18 are for adults, no one under the age of 18 is allowed to view or buy the film. Any film that is rated 18 is not acceptable for any child.

Content

• Very strong violence.
• Frequent uses of strong language.
• Strong Horror.
• Sexual Violence.
• Strong use of blood and gore.
• Discrimination towards races in language and behavior. 

R18

R18 is a special and restricted category they usually contain very explicit imagery such as sex or strong fetish material involving adults.These films are only allowed to be viewed in specially licenced cinemas and the videos are only allowed to be bought from liscenced shops. R18 videos are also not allowed to be sent threw the mail.

Camera shots,Angles and movement

Here I have researched different Camera shots,Angles and Movements so I have better knowledge of them and can put them into my finished thriller opening to help bring up the camera work in the video.

Camera Shots

Different types of camera shots are used to show different aspects be it the setting,characters and themes within the frame.

Extreme Long Shot/Establishing Shot

Extreme long shots are also know as establishing shot this is because they are usually taken of an outside of a building or a large area this is used to set the scene showing the area within the shot to help the audience to know where the next scenes are taking place.

Long Shot

A long shot usually contains a full shot of the human body from head to toe while keeping the focus on the subject which is usually the person with background detail still emerging.

Medium Shot

Medium shot or mid shots contain a person from the torso up. This type of shot is usually used in dialogue scenes or in a action scene to show detail on the persons face such as scratches. There are variations on the medium shot there is a Two Shot which contain 2 people from the waist up then there is also a Three shot which contain 3 people any more than this usually means its a long shot.This shot minimizes background detail and puts the focus on the person or persons face to help in dialogue scenes.

Close up shot 

Close up shots show very little background focus and usually have the subject as a persons face or an object this helps show the importance of that focus or could be used in a scene that has alot of emotion such as in a death scene this is so it captures the emotion of that persons face and helps convey it to the audience.

Extreme Close up 

An extreme close up usually magnifies beyond what the human eye can see. This shot is used to usually show a person eye or mouth with no background detail it helps add dramatic effect . In this shot the lighting and camera movement would have to be almost perfect this is because any light movement or changes or shaking from the camera would be easily noticeable.

Camera Angles

Different use of camera angles within a scene helps give information to the audience such as the layout of the room or where things are placed.

Birds eye view

The birds eye view shows a top down view because it is directly overhead pointed down or titled. This can help put the audience into a god like perspective of the scene. And also portray the characters differently that are in the birds eye view it could make them look inferior and ant like. A director that is found of birds eye views is Alfred Hitchcock.

High Angle 

With a high angle shot the camera is usually elevated using a crane and is not as extreme as the birds eye view. This shot is used in alot of scenes to make one person seem a lot weaker than another by elevating the camera to look down on the person to make him seem insignificant.

Eye level

The camera is positoned as though it is human and observing so the actors heads are level in the scene.

Low Angle 

Low angle shots are when the camera is low the ground and titled upwards the low angles help to portray helplessness or make the subject in the shot powerful and commanding.Low angle shots usually just have  sky or ceiling which helps put the viewer in the mindset of the person with the lack of detail.

Oblique/Canted Angle 

The camera is tilted on its side to help suggest imbalance or  instability these shots are used alot in POV (Point of view) shots with hand held cameras.

Camera Movement

Pans

This is a movement where the camera sweeps horizontally this is usually done on a tripod to get a stead movement.

Tilts

This is a movement where the camera moves vertically up and down.

Dolly shots

A dolly shot is taken on a moving object such as a car or an office chair the camera move smoothly tracking a person this is good from when you want to transition from a long shot to a close up shot without cutting away.