Transit

Location
One of the most important aspects of our thriller was the location. We had to get the location just right in order to connote the genre of the opening that we were trying to create. The location seen in Transit is very dystopian, portrayed as unglamorous, unpleasant and degraded; these characteristics help to give Transit a very cold and gritty feeling, much like the British drama/thrillers such as "Kidulthood", "Top Boy" and some of the more established thrillers such as "Se7en" and "The Killing". We choose to use Anglia Square car park for our location due to its claustrophobic atmosphere and drab grey appearance; thus we were using generic conventions to signify the genre as car parks are often seen in crime thrillers, a good example of this is the use of a car park in the TV series The Killing and the estates/industrial areas in Essex Boys. These sorts of locations are a visual metaphor for moral ambiguity and corruption. We developed this generic convention in Transit by making sure that the car park was desolate so that John was isolated, further signifying the corruption of morality and of society as a whole. Isolated locations can be unwelcoming, much like the Essex marshes in Essex Boys and the countryside in Heavenly Creatures (during the murder scene) therefore we tried to build on this by creating a claustrophobic and isolated environment. The car park is much like a labyrinth, with many levels and different exits/paths. This is important because it helps to make the audience fear the location; thus intriguing and engaging them. Several thrillers make use of labyrinth like locations, such as Lucky Number Slevin, The Matrix Reloaded and Fight Club. One of our main influences to use the car park was the music video for Angel by Massive Attack because of its sinister aesthetics and noir style lighting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLq1laAC6l4

Underground location in Fight Club which is very similar in terms of lighting and appearance as the car in Transit.

The car park used in our thriller, Transit.

Camera Angles
We aimed to use a range of shots, but also felt that close ups were important because they help to engage the audience and also help to keep the mise en scene feeling claustrophobic. We used close ups of Johns feet whilst he was moving to enable us to move through the location quickly and get to the action whilst also building tension. We also used an extreme close up for the final shot of Bill because it gives a sense of ambiguity and enigma. When thinking about these close ups we linked it back to the opening scene of Kill Bill in which we see Bills feet walking, this creates suspense whilst also keeping the character of Bill ambiguous. Close up shots are often found in thrillers because they are effective in conveying emotion and engaging the audience. For example, in Witness a close up is used of the boys hands as he panics to lock the door, this helps to heighten the tension amongst the audience. Therefore they can be used to connote the power or status of a character. We used this generic convention when first revealing the antagonist Bill by using an extreme close up of his eyes in order to signify his fixation with John and his backpack.

Opening scene of Kill Bill Vol. 1, close up of Bills feet.

Extreme close up of Bills eyes, engaging the audience and showing the emotion that Bill is feeling.

Close up of Bills feet (in Transit). This shot creates enigma fear due to it fill up the frame.

Camera Angles
Once again we used a close up, a generic convention of the thriller genre, to engage the audience and raise questions about the character of Hanna. This time however, we shot here from a lower angle in order to try and hint at her elevated status over John, even though she is killed quickly and doesnt dominate much of the screen time. Low angles are often used in thrillers to connote the power and intimidation that they possess, a good example of this would be in the film Psycho when Norman Bates house is seen. If this film was made to be longer or a feature film then the story of Hanna could be developed by the use of flashback, such as in Memento; therefore would be able to explain her position/status within the triangle of characters. The use of the low angle also challenges the generic stereotype of women in film, often they are portrayed as weak and unable to fend for themselves. Instead Hanna is shown from the low angle, connoting her status over the male character of John.

Norman Bates house, shot from a low angle in the film Psycho.

Lighting
The car park that we were using was already lit with artificial/nonambient fluorescent lighting which made for a brilliant noir/chiaroscuro style. This sort of lighting (light on dark) is very typical of early noir thrillers; therefore we used this generic convention in order to establish/signify the genre. Through the use of chiaroscuro lighting we were also able to pay tribute to the classic noir thrillers that have similar lighting set ups such as The Third Man and Gilda. The natural/ambient light coming from outside also helped us to create some interesting, contrasting shadows across the face of Hanna as she was waiting for John. This helps to connote a sense of moral ambiguity and corruption as well as perhaps hinting that the character of Hanna is not as she first seems. Using shadows to connote danger/ambiguity is a generic convention of the thriller genre and can be seen in films such as Taxi Driver and Kill Bill Vol. 1. However, I like to think that we developed the use of this generic convention to further signify/connote the character type of Hanna.

Title
We decided to use the name Transit for our film title because it directly links with the events that are happening on the screen. John is tasked with delivering something in his bag; therefore the items that are in his bag are in transit. The idea of the film title came from the fact that the characters are always moving and always carrying unknown items, thus creating enigma. Bill is driving a van, therefore he must be carrying items/objects in the back of the van; although once again it is left a mystery to the audience. The Ford Transit is also a type of van that is commonly used by workmen around Britain and various other places in the world. The van we used wasnt a Ford Transit but we felt that we could make this link as they look incredibly similar and serve the same purpose. Another film where a van is used to create building suspense is in Essex Boys when they are travelling to the marshes. Using a title that gives a sense of foreboding is quite common within the thriller genre and within the film industry altogether. Thrillers such as Se7en and Drive utilise such words as to begin to already explore the main themes of the film. Drive is about a stunt driver moonlighting as a getaway driver and Se7en is about a series of murders based upon the seven deadly sins.

Enigma
We felt that it was important to use enigma in our thriller because it allows the film to take an interesting turn that the audience were not expecting or were unable to predict. The use of enigma also helps to create tension amongst the audience because the fear of the unknown is a powerful agent when it comes to engaging the audience. The bag that John is carrying serves as an enigma because it is never revealed to the audience what is inside, nor is he ever able to deliver it to Hanna. This idea came from a similar situation in the film Pulp Fiction in which there is a briefcase that is reoccurringly seen throughout the film, even the characters open and look what's inside; however the audience are never shown what is inside, causing much speculation. This is the effect that we were trying to achieve with Transit because it would help to engage the audience by giving them something to think about; therefore the opening would captivate them. The character of Bill is an enigma himself because the only shots of him are close ups of his eyes and his feet; therefore the audience havent really got an informed image of what the supposed killer looks like, much like V from V for Vendetta. An important enigma is the card that John takes from the dead body of Hanna because it is not focused on at the time. It makes the audience question who left it there? and more importantly whats on the card?. These questions would allow for the film to be developed and take many different turns.

Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction looking inside the briefcase.

John picking up the card from Hannas dead body.

Character Types
When deciding on our three characters we had to make sure that they either used, developed or challenged generic conventions of the thriller genre. Although we had limited options with who we could cast I think we managed to use and challenge the generic conventions of characters through the use of John and Hanna. Johns character seems to both use the generic stereotype of ethnic minorities in film but challenge them at the same time. This is because John is caught up in a bad situation in a rough area, which seems very stereotypical of the black male youth but in contrast to this he seems quite innocent; thus challenging the feared hoody stereotype that is so commonly used when referring to the youth of today. This is similar to the character of Sam in Adulthood who realises that he has made mistakes and needs to change his ways. We also used generic conventions by deciding that Johns costume should be similar to that of the youth and gangs seen in Top Boy and other such British gritty thrillers. Hanna is killed off quickly within the opening scenes; therefore we are using the generic convention of female stereotypes within film. However we tried to challenge this representation by showing her to be of a higher status that John (through the use of low camera angles and lighting). We also challenged the representation of women in film by Hannas costume; her red jumper connotes themes of power, blood and anger whereas the rest of her costume juxtaposes with the femme fatale representation that is so commonly seen in thrillers, much like Lisnbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. A good comparison to Hannas role would be that of Eve from Once Upon a Time in America who is killed very early on in the film but is then developed later through the use of flashbacks; an idea that we had thought to use if the film was to be made longer thus we would be able to reveal more of Hannas background.

Hanna in Transit

Lisbeth Salander Sam from Adulthood