Research - The Usual Suspects

Today we watched the film The Usual Suspects (directed by Bryan Singer, 1995)
We noted factors in the film that we thought defined a 'thriller' such as the plot and characters, we also noted different techniques used (camera shots, themes, music) so as to help develop ideas for our own thriller prequel.


 



 Opening Sequence:

• Recurring element theme of water? 
• Dark setting, steady water, no action, eerie, builds idea of dark plot
• Little happening, no complex plotlines to follow allows for the music to build the sequence up, adding tension as it reaches its crescendo

 Plot:

• Partial element of love story
• Poses lots of questions, setting up a narrative enigma
• Answers to questions answered slowly throughout keeping the audience's attention and desire to know the end result of the film
• Clues and red herrings throughout to encourage the audience to keep interest and watch out for these aspects
• Slightly difficult to follow, however this was justified by the final reveal at the ending

 Characters:

• All major characters bad in a sense, avoids stereotypical convention of good vs. bad
• Police acting against them so as to remind the audience of the fact the main characters are essentially villains
• Not all identities known, not a lot of information revealed about main characters either (more questions posed to audience)

Camera:

• There was a lot of establishing shots emphasizing the recognition for the good and relevant locations chosen (busy streets/ cities, caves)
• Close ups to show reactions, helping the audience empathize with the characters as the plot sometimes became difficult to follow
• Over the shoulder shots used often when a certain character was exchanging dialogue with another to show the dominance 

Editing:

• Flashbacks used to allow audience to gain an understanding of the previous story, slowly allowing them to work out the plot

Sound:

• The music throughout was usually slow and drawn out, the use of instruments such as the piano and violin which are usually associated with sorrowful music gave a chilling effect when played together
• The music also added suspense due to the build up towards the crescendo's linking in with the changes in action and mood within the film

Mise-en-Scene:

• The locations tended to be (as mentioned above) busy cities to emphasize the action and chaos taking place or dark, eerie hidden places like caves or warehouses, adding even more fear into the already fast paced plot
• A lot of scenes set at night enforcing an already present fear the night poses to many, adds even more tension and danger to the plot

Final

Prelim Conclusion

Throughout this task I feel that we have learnt quite a lot from the range of experiences we have had. We did come up against quite a few problems such as the amount of footage as we felt it was too short for the Preliminary Task. I think that together we worked well as a group, we used the lighting equipment available to add to the tension of the scene as well as following the script and with some exceptions following the plan we had devised.

Another problem we faced was the filming as we did not have enough footage, especially the shots needed to start the sequence off as one of our actresses had to be somewhere else so we had to shoot her scenes first leaving little time for our opening shots to be filmed and edited. This was a problem we overcame by filming her scenes editing them and then filming our next scenes and just adding them in at the beginning. This was the biggest issue for us as we had a deadline to adhere to.  

The planning and stroyboard helped us to film the shots quickly with the fewest re-takes so as to save time, it also helped with the editing as we knew how we wanted the shots to appear and from what angle and person we would see each piece of dialogue. We did face a few problems but together we overcame them and worked around them to get the best possible result with our Preliminary Task.

For the final quality of the film, I think for a first attempt it has gone fairly well, the problems we faced were a slight worry but we finished in time and worked well as a team, gaining good experience from the task.

Filming and Editing

We started filming, setting up one of the rooms with a light focused on the table which was central to the main part of dialogue as we wanted to use the lighting effectively. Pip played one role and the other actress that we picked being Phoenix Cooper-Morriss was mainly for the reason she is doing A Level Drama. We followed the storyboard and made sure to keep to the 180 degree rule whilst filming. We included close-ups and shot-reverse-shots within our piece as well as two shots and over the shoulder shots. We took several shots of the same take, to get one that would be the best, rather than relying on one. We used a tripod and a Canon camera whilst filming. Having a tripod helped us massively as we could pan across the room and it would remain steady, which is important for quality. We filmed the dialogue, making sure that the camera could pick it up. We also followed the storyboards, making sure that what we planned was done on camera.

 

For the editing we chose the best shots out of the range we had taken and used them according to the story board. We discussed what shot would be best to use, having it sometimes cut to a close-up for dialogue and then back to a two-shot or an over the shoulder shot. We also edited the ambient sound so that it continued into the next shot so as to keep the continuity. By editing our preliminary task, it has helped me to learn how to edit properly and what looks good on the finished piece. It has given me the chance to experience shooting different shots as well as experiement with factors like lighting and ambient sound. Whilst editing, we also considered the element of sound and how much any ambient sound affected the dialogue. 

Prelim Storyboard

We discussed what shots we needed and wanted to use and decided to alternate the pace of the cuts we would edit in so as to suit the way we wanted to film it. We decided on making the transitions between shots (cuts) fast paced so as to build the suspense as the quick alternations between the actions and characters emphasizes that the scene is nearing its climax. We used the medium shots and close ups so as to draw out the build up whilst still keeping the scene fast paced and focus on the characters feelings and reactions throughout. We also decided on ending the scene with both characters in shot so as to link them together and encourage a feeling of unity between them.