The document discusses lighting, camera angles, characters, and locations used in several thriller films that influenced the filmmakers. Key lighting was used to draw attention to characters in Once Upon a Time in America. Characters in Animal Kingdom and The Third Man were lit in shadows to highlight their dangerous nature. Camera tilts and angles from those films as well as Psycho were referenced. Costumes in Once Upon a Time in America and The Third Man helped characterize the leading men. Claustrophobic, dimly lit enclosed spaces from films like Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and Psycho were also influences.

1. Once Upon A Time
In America (1984)
Lighting
We used key lighting to create a
focused point, drawing the viewers
eye to a certain point for emphasis.
The character ‘Eve’ is established through
chiaroscuro lighting, a typical thriller
convention. The femme fatale character’s
lighting shows the contrast between light
and dark, with the tiffany lamp casting a
light on her face; this highlights her
vulnerability and lack of protection against
the three men in the room with her.
Animal Kingdom
(2010)
‘Pope’ is another character who is lit in the shadows,
highlighting his dangerous and twisted nature.
We used dark, shadow-filled shots
to create a dark atmosphere.
Essex Boys
(2000)
Spot-lighting, single light source,
similar to ‘Essex Boys’, contrasting
shadows and silhouettes.
Singe light behind Jason,
which creates a silhouette.
In ‘The Third Man’ Harry Lime is lit with
high contrast between lightness and dark.
We also chose to
combine ambient
lighting with a harsher
The Third Man
(1949)
contrast, creating the binary opposites
of light and dark for a dynamic effect.

2. Camera Angles
We’ve also created a tilted shot,
slightly disorientating the audience
for a second, referencing ‘The Third
Man’ as well as ‘Once Upon A Time
America’. The worms eye shot also
represents dominance and authority.
Use of the camera tilt; this is slightly
disorientating and creates
connotations of wrongdoing and
disorder, while creating a sense of
confusion for the audience.
Focus on important locations
and objects, like the recurring
image of the money in ‘Psycho’.
Close ups, camera
zoomed in on important
features. Transition from
plughole to eye.
Referencing the three men responsible
for Eve’s death, the tilt and worms-eye
shot both are slightly disorientating,
but show the action in a unique way.
Essex Boys
(2000)
Psycho
(1960)
Once Upon a Time
in America (1984)
The Third Man
(1949)
A vanishing point created
through the Dartford Tunnel,
much like in our film: the alley
way that we’re filming in,
continues behind the
character, creating a
vanishing point.

3. Characters
Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo (2011)
The female character we’ve created isn’t the same as the
classic femme fatale, although she is vulnerable in the
situation she’s trapped in, she isn’t completely helpless.
She tries to escape it, and the cliff-hanger ending leaves
it ambiguous to what occurs in their meeting. Having a
slight contemporary input with our female.
The uniformed costumes of the three men
in Eve’s apartment wearing suits give them
an authoritative and professional look.
We wanted to play on the idea of ‘Ordinary
people in extraordinary situations’ this is why
the male character ‘Victor’ is in a business-like
suit, seemingly coming home from work:
nothing un-ordinary or suspicious.
Jason Locke: suit and shirt, like
he’s dressed for the occasion.
Once Upon A Time
In America (1984)
Essex Boys
(2000)
The Third Man
(1949)
Harry Lime is effortlessly charming,
hiding the fact that he has a dark
past; he wears a long, dark coat
much like our lead ‘Victor’.

4. Location
A classic thriller convention, being the
claustrophobic space. It is seen in ‘Kill Bill 2’, in the
coffin, where the lighting is dim and there is limited
allowed movement. In our film, the character is also
in an enclosed space, attempting to escape.
Kill Bill: Vol.2
(2004)
Psycho
(1960)
Once Upon a Time
in America (1984)
Essex Boys
(2000)
The seemingly normal house, a place
where the characters should feel
comfortable and not threatened, the
exact opposite of what actually occur
in the scenes.
The idea of the camera being intrusive, and
perhaps looking where it shouldn’t is something
that can also be seen in our shots. Where the
audience realise that the trapped female is
something no one else knows about.
The dark and shadowy, enclosed
locations, single lighting and a dimly lit
generic location. It is something that
both our own film with the alleyway,
and ‘Essex Boys’ with the garage share.