Flight Plan Research

Flight Plan (2005) is a mystery thriller directed by Robert Schwentke. The film follows Kyle (Mother) and Julia Pratt (Daughter) as they are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet Julia vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plane. It's a mystery thriller which does not follow the conventional setting of a thriller (Suburbs and Cities). This is most probably because it's a hybrid film. There is no tagline for Flightplan, this makes the potential viewer wonder what it's about, doing the same thing as a tagline essentially. Getting them to watch it!

For further information visit:

• Flight Plan (Wikipedia)

• Flight Plan (IMDB)
• Robert Schwentke (Wikipedia)

• Robert Schwentke (IMDB)

Camera Work Task

We were given the task of experimenting with the equipment available to us, we used a variety of camera shots and angles to show what we could do. The main part of the task was to film someone walking down a corridor, entering a room then engaging in a meeting. This is practice and in preparation for our preliminary task. We had some shaky shots early on but we went back and re-filmed them until we were happy with them.

(View the clip in the window as opposed to full screen for best quality)

Thriller Sub-Genres Research

Action Thrillers contain :

• Suspense

• Conspiracies

• The plot revolves around fights, action and revenge

• Examples are 'Blade Runner', 'Déja Vu', 'Inglorious Basterds'

Political Thrillers contain:

• Plots that revolve around conspiracies

• The hero fights to ensure the stability of the government that employs him

• Tense power struggles and conflict

• Examples are 'The Contender', 'JFK', 'All The President's Men'

Crime Thrillers contain:

• Account of successful or failed crime or crimes with suspense

• Focus on criminal(s) point of view / criminal(s) narrative

• Serial killers, robberies, chases, shootouts and heists

• Examples are 'The Departed', 'The Usual Suspects'

Psychological Thrillers contain:

• Conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional

• Usually violent resolution
• Examples are 'Psycho', 'Memento', 'Rear Window'

Thriller Conventions Research

Typical Thriller Conventions are:

• Mystery
• Suspense
• Tension
• Plot Twists - which engages the audience and retains their interest, should it wander elsewhere.
• Atmosphere - Dark, Terror, Paranoia
• Heroes + Villains
• Some sort of 'happy ending'

Typical Thriller Characters are:

• Criminals • Stalkers
• Assassins
• Innocent Victims
• Characters with dark, mysterious past
• Mentally disturbed + Psychotic Individuals
• Terrorists
• Police
• People involved in twisted relationships

• Disillusioned individuals who want to take revenge on society
• Hero with a mysterious past or a point to prove to society

Typical Themes are:

• Terrorism

• Politics
• Conspiracy

• Pursuit
• Romantic triangles or dysfunctional relationships that lead to murder

Thriller Timeline Research

5 Thriller Films Reasearch

1) Psycho

• Fast jumpy music, gives a creepy effect

• Main character is a psychotic individual

• Marion Crane is the innocent victim (typical thriller convention)



• Quick paced action

• Hybrid film, psychological thriller

• Indirect violence when the viewer hears Marion in the car thinking about past events

• Bad Weather e.g. thunder and heavy rain gives a creepy/mysterious feel to the scene

• Tension is built up with slow paced scenes then followed by fast paced action scenes

• Creepy house Marion sees out her window cannot be seen fully due to shadows. This creates a mysterious feel and a sense of the unknown about the house



• Close ups of faces + expressions focus on reactions from characters and focus on what the character is saying

2) Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer

• Main character is once again a psychotic individual (typical thriller convention)



• The women he kills are innocent victims (typical thriller convention)

• Camera slowly zooms in on faces and expressions to build suspense

• The darkness creates tension and suspense

• The main theme of Perfume is pursuit, this is apparent when the main character pursues the girls for their scents

• Serial killing

• Focuses on the action not the surroundings

• Slow paced scenes, builds suspense

• Close-ups of important yet subtle events/actions



3) Collateral

• Dark / low lighting creates a sense of the unknown

• Green tint during some scenes creates a mysterious feel

• Sudden / dramatic events. Examples in the trailer below are when the dead man falls on the taxi and when Tom Cruise pulls his gun on Jamie Foxx:



• Fast paced music played when something important is going to happen

• Close-ups on faces and expressions

• Camera focuses on action in the foreground and background is out of focus. This can be seen in the trailer above at 0:59 seconds

• Cut-away shots used



4) Kill Bill Vol.1

• Split screen picture used



• Mysterious man whose identity is anonymous, all that the viewer sees is his legs and hand and all that the viewer hears is his voice

• Mixture of colour and black and white scenes

• Heavy breathing audible yet a solid black screen is all that’s visible

• Fast paced music played during the fight scenes



5) The Dark Knight

• Main character is a superhero

• It’s a hybrid, it’s a mixture of superhero and thriller

• Night scenes, so low lighting is used

• Fast paced

• Slow paced music apart from when in pursuit

• Zooms in on facing when talking to show reactions and expressions of characters (The Joker and Batman)



• Birds-eye camera shot



• Camera pans out to birds-eye camera shot of the city

Famous Thriller Directors

1) Christopher Nolan




• He has directed the post-2005 Batman films: 'Batman Begins' (2005) and 'The Dark Knight' (2008) which are superhero action thrillers



• Most of his films are hybrids, bringing together two genres. ‘Inception’ (2010), for example, is a cross between a thriller and a sci-fi film.



• Although it is tipped to do very well, ‘Inception’ (2010) hasn’t been able to win any awards as the Oscars, Golden Globes and Grammys are all scheduled for early 2011. AwardsDaily.com say, “With ten slots, you can bet the bank it will be one of them" regarding the Oscars.





2) Quentin Tarantino






• He is well known for writing the Kill Bill trilogy, which are action/thrillers.



• His most critically acclaimed film in the thriller genre was ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994), which won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his screenplay and writing. Two very prestigious awards in the film industry.







3) Martin Scorsese





• He has written ‘Shutter Island’ (2010), ‘The Departed’ (2006) and numerous other titles



• It’s also worth noting he received an Oscar for “Best Achievement in Directing” for ‘The Departed’ (2006)

Famous Thrillers

* Conventional Thrillers take place in the suburbs or a city; main characters are criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims and psychotic individuals to name a few. The themes of thrillers often include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit or relationships leading to murder.




1) The Godfather




• ‘The Godfather’ is a highly rated thriller, although it is a hybrid between a gangster/crime film and a thriller.



• The leading actors in ‘The Godfather’ were Al Pacino as Michael Corleone and Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone.


• Brief Synopsis:

The story of a New York Mafia family and their how they struggle protect their empire from rival families as the leadership is switched from the father to his youngest son.


• ‘The Godfather’s plot follows the conventions* of a thriller film as you can see below:


Main Characters - Gangsters (criminals)

Setting - New York (City)

Themes –Pursuit



2) Psycho




• ‘Psycho’ is considered to be one of the best thriller films made by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a hybrid between a horror and a thriller.



• The leading actors in the ‘Psycho’ are Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane.



• ‘Psycho’ is based on the crimes of the Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein.



• Brief Synopsis:

A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently meets a young motel owner under the domination of his mother.


• ‘Psycho’ follows the conventions* of a thriller film as you can see below:


Main Characters – Psychotic Individual

Setting – Suburbs

Themes – Pursuit, Victimisation and Voyeurism



3) Memento




• ‘Memento’ is the film Christopher Nolan was best known for before Inception was released in 2010. It’s a hybrid between a mystery film and a thriller.


• The leading actors in ‘Memento’ were Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby and Carrie-Anne Moss as Natalie.


• Brief Synopsis:

A man struggles with amnesia as he seeks vengeance on his wife's killers.


• ‘Memento’ follows the conventions* of a thriller film as you can see below:



Main Characters – Innocent Victim

Setting – Suburbs

Themes – Pursuit, Revenge, Self-deception and Grief


• ‘Memento’ unfolds in two separate, alternating narratives — one in colour, and the other in black and white. The one in black and white is in chronological order and the one in colour is in reverse chronological order as you can see in the official trailer below: