Phone Booth - Mock Exam

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Intertextual References

The Grudge

Although ‘The Grudge’ is as a horror film, it has elements of a mystery thriller. One of the scenes is where a woman is looking through photos she has taken; in all her picture there is the same Chinese woman in every photograph. This idea is great and is scary even for the audience so we have a similar idea with our project



Psycho

Psycho is a classic thriller, so we though we would look to this film for ideas. The shower scene Is a very famous part so we thought we would use the curtain idea. Our thriller takes place in a darkroom. In the darkroom is a curtain, we thought this would be a good chance to reference psycho, so we are going to do a similar thing where a man creeps up on the photographer and pulls back the curtain. Using lighting behind the curtain should create a good shadow as in Pyscho.

Review from Msn - 'vfern'
'. . .no more showers for me. Well I'd shower but my mom would always yell at all the water on the floor (I was showering with curtain not drawn). A first class psycho-drama that upped the ante for horror.'

This shows how people find this scene so scary and how the curtain is a great effect. This influenced our choice to use a curtain at the end of our production.



Blow Up
This film is about a successful photographer in London whose world is surrounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex; he feels his life is boring and depressing. But in the course of a single day he accidentally captures on film the commission of a murder. The fact that he has photographed a murder does not occur to him until he studies and then blows up his negatives, uncovering details, blowing up smaller and smaller elements, and finally putting the puzzle together.

After watching 'Blow Up' the idea of our photographer finding something strange after developing photos was made a definite. It makes it better using a film camera because you don't know what the photo looks like until it is devolped. The suprise can be shocking and this is how want to create in out production

Pyscho Notes

Hitchcock's Psycho Notes

Marians underwear is white at the beginning of the film. In the sequence before she leaves the city she is wearing black. The black connotes Marion's fall into crime. Which is the stealing of all the money.

Bates is obssessed with birds and there are many stuffed brids and pictures of birds all around. The significants is that Marions surname is crane, which is also a birds name. This connotes that marion will suffer as the birds have. Adding more tension to the scene

Thriller Questionnaire For Thriller Production

Thriller Questionnaire

1.What do you like best about the thriller genre?

Answers

• The tension
• Scariness
• The shock and unexpected events
• The suspense
  

2.What is your favourite thriller?

Answers

Just a selection of my answers

• Reservoir Dogs
• United 93
• Phone Booth
• The Godfather
• The Matrix
• Kill Bill
• Sin City
  
  

3. What weapons do you associate with thrillers?

Answers

• Knife
• Gun
• Light Saber
• Sword

We have decided not to use a weapon in our thriller because it would be hard to make it look realistic and also not to have a 'cliche' ending.

4. What is your favourite thriller sub-genre (showing them the list)

Answers

Coming up most often were:

• Techno-Thriller - using lots of technology
• Crime-Thriller - crime based - e.g robbery
• Action-Thriller - e.g James Bond
• Supernatural-Thriller - e.g Spiderman
• Mystery Thriller - e.g The Third Man, The Entity

A lot of people said they like the idea of a mystery thriller. People liked to try and work out what was going on and be amazed by the strange plot lines. Many people like how the mystery is scary. This has influenced my choice to make mystery thriller.

What was the last thriller you saw ?

• Quantum of Solace
• Vantage point
• Inside Man
• Phone Booth
• The Third Man

When was the last time you saw a thriller film?

I gave them an 5 options

In the last week

In the last month

In the last 3 months

In the last year

Over a year ago

Asking 17 people i was amazed to here that at least one person had not seen a thriller in over a year.

Film Audience Questionnaire

I gave 13 people this questionnaire to influence my choices in our thriller production. This questionnaire included 4 questions.
What films have you seen over the summer ?
Where did you see these films ? Cinema, Tv, Internet, Other
How did you out about these films? Tv, Internet, Poster/Magazines, Other
Do you know if the film was . . English, American, Other, Don't know ?

I had a variety of films such as :
Atonement, Lord of the Rings, Mama Mia, Harry Potter, Step Brothers, Bad Boys 2 Disaster Movie, 300, Vantage Point, Phone Booth, Bourne Ultimatum and Phone Booth

8 of these had been viewed in a Cinema
1 on the Internet
and 4 on Tv

When i asked people why they preferred cinema they said that it was better viewing because of the surround sound, large screen and many said that it made it more scary.

When i asked people where they found out about the film
7 people found out about them on the TV
2 people found out on the Internet
5 found out on through posters or magazines
1 person found out through the word of mouth

The final question was a test to see if they knew what nationality the film was

2 people said they didn't have any idea what it could be
9 of the 11 left all answered correctly
But two were wrong
'Jack Mccurley' thought that 'Batman Legends' was a English film.

I found that main place for watching films over this summer was cinemas. I expected this result as cinemas are great to watch films as they have comfy seats, large screens and surround sound.

Thriller Shot Analysis

Thriller Analysis

Phone Booth

Genre - Mystery Thriller

Director - Joel Schumacher

Release Date -18 April 2003 (UK)

Awards - 7 nominations

This shot is very near the start of the film 'Phonebooth' It is a shot of the phone to the right which is heavily focused on. This builds up tension because you know something is going to happen involving the phone. It then starts to ring and Colin Farrell (the actor) in the background to the far left. (also using rule of thirds, left actor, right phone, nothing in the middle) he hears the ring and turns to look directly at it and the focus changes to him. This is known as 'Depth of Field'. It is used to create a focus on an object or person. It is not a quick transition of change but a slow gradual change. This emphasises the movement so you don't miss it. It's in the middle of the day so its light source is all natural so it is ambient lighting. It is set in a busy New York and you can see and hear all he traffic behind him but when the phone rings you can't hear the traffic. All you can hear is the phone ringing. This creates even more focus on the phone.

Audience Response

User Comment - From the International Movie Database

''Phone Booth' could easily have been a quirky novelty flick that played well amongst the art house set. Thanks to Farrell's performance it makes for good mainstream cinema (normally an oxymoron) and may actually make a few top ten lists'

The Guardian
'Colin Farrell shows he can be an engaging lead actor as well as scene-stealing support in this briskly enjoyable thriller from Joel Schumacher.
Written by B-movie whizz Larry Cohen (It's Alive!, Q, The Private Files of J Edgar Hoover etc), it centres on Farrell's slick, amoral PR man clueing in a new, unpaid assistant in the role amid teeming New York street life. A Sidney Falco for our time, Farrell makes one big mistake - answering a ringing street phone - and lands himself in big trouble in a way that turns his life around.
It's not wildly original - the use of occasional split-screen and real time, and the presence of Kiefer Sutherland, recall 24, and there are shades of Jerry Maguire and Dog Day Afternoon. But Schumacher gives it a cracking pace - it's all wrapped up in 81 minutes - and is a really good "what would you do if..." movie. You always want to know what's going to happen next, although, in the cold light of day, it may not all add up too well to the strict demands of logic.'

United 93

Genre - Drama

Release Date - 2 June 2006

Awards - Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 17 nominations

Director - Paul Greengrass

This is a close up shot of one of the plane hi-jackers towards the end of the film as he is flying the plane. The close up creates a claustrophobic space for him. His face looks scared and nervous and in the film he is breathing heavily. He also has sweat dripping down his face. It switches to him hesitant to flick a switch as if he is not 100% sure with his decision. The lighting is non-ambient because there is a lot of shadows around the face. there is a brighter light coming from directly in front of him and no where else, This suggests unnatural light is used.

Audience Response

User Comment from International Database

'There truly are no words to describe the power of this film. The cinematography is excellent, albeit a little unsteady with the shaky lens thing going on. I found that the film very much followed the reports in the 9/11 Commission's book, as well as numerous others. They stuck to the facts and didn't add in any glorified scenes that weren't warranted. You saw the mass confusion as the various air traffic control centers tried to make sense of what was going on. You saw the events on the plane unfold as we think they did that morning. You saw ordinary Americans, scared and frightened, band together and try and keep that plane from hitting another target'

Psycho

Genre - Thriller

Director - Alfred Hitchcock

Awards - Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations

The Psycho 'Shower Scene' Is a famous scene because of its amazing use of close up shots which Hitchcock was famous for using so well. This shot shows a 'character' through a shower curtain which the audience can see but Marion can not. The shower is a great location for a murder as it creates claustrophobic spaces and no where to go for Marion. The medium shot is used well to help the audience make out the figure of a person and they expect something to happen. This creates tension. The use of non-ambient lighting behind the character creates a darker shadow and is therefore easier to see the characters movements.

Audience Response

User Comment

'Aside from this though, the movie is flawless. I won't even go into to how incredible the cinematography is. One thing I think people seem to forget about the movie is the incredible soundtrack. Sound is such an important element in movies and Psycho is undaunted when it comes to sound. The only other horror movie that even comes close to using sound with such perfection is Halloween (1978).'

Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Case Study

Layer Cake - Case Study




Director - Matthew Vaughn

Realase Date - 1 October 2004

Genre - Crime Drama Thriller

Awards - 3 wins and 8 nominations - including Best British Director and Best British Actor

Opening Scene



Layer Cake uses a internal monologue which is read by Daniel Craig, the main character. Using the monologue in the film allows Daniel to tell you a little bit of background information on him and what he does. He mentions about how 'it was all just cops on robber' when he was born, which later turned onto drugs. His opinion on drugs is that there is a lot of money to be made and he seems himself as a 'business man who's commodity happens to be cocaine.'
Contently flashing through the scene are images of police, guns, sex and drugs. This appeals to mainly a male audience and is linked with the main characters bring male. The mise en scene


Introducing you to his risky and illegal lifestyle the audience watch on preparing for the high action. The film is a crime-thriller because of the drugs and illegal activity.

During the opening the camera peers in through the shut blind in the window of where Daniel Craig is. This makes it clear that it is a secret buisness and makes the audience feel like there in on the secret.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - Case Study




Director - Guy Ritchie

Release Date - 28 August 1998

Genre - Comedy Crime Thriller

Awards - 13 wins and 6 nominations

Opening Scene


The opening scene shows you a confident man selling stolen goods for knock of prices, similar to Only fools and horses which adds to the typically british atmosphere. The mise en scene is an unglamourous corner of a street which is a convention of the thriller genre. Similarly to Layer Cake the film makes the audience aware that it is a crime-thriller such as running from the police. During their getaway an internal monologue comes in, 'His real talent lies in cards and gambling cards.' This introduces you to the fact that there will be gambling during the film. 'Bacon could see that his days of selling stolen goods on street corners are numbered'. The monologue introduces you to there names and a little bit of background information. Bacon obviously does a lot of 'dodgy dealing' and is narrowly escaping getting caught.

This over the shoulder shot makes the audience feel involved as if they are there as he sells the stolen goods.

The music kicks in when they start running and adds to the pace and drama. The panning shots of them running away also adds to the pace of the chase and makes the scene more lively. This connotes the pace of life that the characters may have.

The film was produced by Matthew Vaughn who may have learnt from this film and inspire him to go and direct Layer Cake.