Thriller Narrative Research

HI!

This week, I started researching narratives for a thriller. I reviewed the resources my teacher provided and some examples that might help me. I have realized that the best way to research is to watch movies, take notes on them, and analyze their mise-en-scene to determine what I need for my film opening. 

Research

First, I was researching what directors to focus on. To me, the director's style matters the most in terms of analyzing the choices that they made for the genre. While researching, I found this website that gave me a preview of the thriller directors. As I scrolled I found directors like Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, and Alfred Hitchcock. I was surprised to see that Stanley Kubrick was not on the list, seeing as he created one of the most famous thriller movies ever, 'The Shining'.

The Kubrick Stare -one of Stanley's signatures- is something that I definitely want to implement in my film opening. I feel like if you are an enjoyer of the thriller genre then you would appreciate the cameo.

Watching the Movies

Although I love thrillers and horror movies, I have not watched some of the classics like 'Psycho' and 'The Shining', even though I have been wanting to. I have watched all of the 'Scream' movies and I am using traits like the final girl to put in my opening. I started by re-watching the 'Scream' movies to immerse myself in the genre again. 

  I took some notes on my Apple Notes app and proceeded to watch the thriller 'Psycho'. I was a bit nervous to watch it but I focused more on the shots and the mise-en-scene to make myself more knowledgeable. I also watched 'The Shining'. After watching, I decided to read an analysis of both movies to enrich my knowledge of both of them and to polish off anything I might have missed while watching the films. 

Reflection

After watching the movies, I have realized that it did in fact help a lot. It was also a fun way to research the genre so it did help retain a lot of knowledge and information in my head. In the future, i will continue to watch more thriller movies to expand my mind with information. The next time I will focus more on shots and transitions that are typical in the genre.

Sources

https://movieweb.com/best-thriller-movie-directors-of-all-time/ 

https://storygrid.com/thriller-genre/

https://lewislitjournal.wordpress.com/2021/01/27/christians-cinematic-syntax-a-review-of-alfred-hitchcocks-psycho/

https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2020/the-shining-at-40/a-dramaturgical-analysis-of-the-shining/

Thriller writing research

 Today is Sunday, January 26, 2025, and I began researching how to write a thriller. Since my writing knowledge is limited, I relied heavily on websites and resources to write my opening. I started by reading this website: "Writing 101: What Is the Thriller Genre? Definitions and Examples of Thriller in Literature."  I remember things well by taking bullet point notes which is exactly what I did. I noted down the most important things that I needed to remember and started a rough draft of my opening. 

The rough draft was in fact rough; However, it was very helpful as it opened up my creative mind and allowed to me write my thoughts on a sheet. Since I was heavily inspired by Squid Game for the opening, it did help that I had a base to relay to when I was confused and struggling in my writing. Next time, I plan to be able to write a full draft of my script and be able to start planning out production.

Websites and Videos 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-the-thriller-genre-definitions-and-examples-of-thriller-in-literature. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsvhq28sOI

Genre planning

 Today is Friday, January 24, 2024, and my partner and I are starting our research on our film opening. We began by finding out what genre we wanted to do. We have recently become obsessed with a thriller show called Squid Game. The premise of the show is that 456 players participating in games to win money. We have decided that we will be doing the film opening heavily inspired by squid game. I feel like there is a lot of interesting material that we can use for the opening.

The next step of research is finding more about the genre of thriller. Like what shots are the best, music, sound, and mise-en-scene. The thing that I struggle with the most in the production of filming is the writing. Reading a lot of articles that are based on the writing will help me a lot. I will be doing more research using this website - https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-the-thriller-genre-definitions-and-examples-of-thriller-in-literature.

 

Portfolio Practice #1

 On Wednesday, January 15, I began practicing for my film opening project. The assignment was to create a 15-second film opening of my favorite spot in the school, the 'star'. I started by finding my favorite spot. My favorite part was working with my friend to create this video.

I had to devise creative ways to display the area, which was a bit of a struggle. Although I have previous experience with filmmaking, I have not touched a camera in a while, so it was a process to get used to again. This practice warmed me up to filmmaking again, and for the next project, I am more prepared for what's to come. 

 Hi, my name is Angelina. My favorite colors are red, black, and pink sometimes. I love film and its cinematography. Media Studies is a great way to express my love for film. My experiences in Media Studies are enjoyable and I am actually learning more about what goes behind doing a film. I hope to gain more insight in the resources that I research and post on this blog. Im considering doing the 2-minute filming opening, seeing as I have previous experience in the filmmaking process.

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