Thriller Signifiers

The thriller 'Sin City' uses a variety of thriller signifiers. The one that stands out most to me is the use of light and dark (chiaroscuro lighting). The film is all in black and white; there is a strong contrast between light and dark throughout the film. Also, certain objects are in red, yellow and other bright colours. This is to help show different meanings and give different connotations to the shots. A thriller signifier that uses a bright colour in the film is a 'femme-fatal'/'lady in red'. This is common in thrillers, and in this particular film, the color red is used very well to show lust and danger.
A 'femme-fatal' is also used in other thrillers i have watched. Such as the film, China Town. There is a mysterious woman in the film that we do not know much about, which the hero falls in love with, and she could possible affect his actions.

The most common signifier I have noticed is 'twists' in the plot. This is true in Sin City, Vertigo, Chinatown, The Lucky Number Slevin and many others. Plot twists are used in all these films to shock people and make them confused and have to think about the story. Thrillers are all about mystery and twists. e.g. A plot twist in a film is when the main character in The Lucky Number Slevin turns out to have set a large trap for the other characters. The audience only finds this out at the end, which shocks people.

Another signifier is spirals. These represent how the plot can twist and turn back on its self. Spirals are used in the film 'Vertigo' in the credits, and also by using a spiral staircase.

There are also 'flawed heroes' in many thrillers. This is true in Vertigo where the hero has a fear of heights; in Chinatown where the hero smokes and drinks a lot; and in The Lucky Number Slevin where the hero seems to be unlucky and weak.

In some thrillers, the use small enclosed spaces and vast open areas is used to give the feeling of claustrophobia. This signifier and many others, are used to help build mystery and tension.

Thrillers commonly have quite a bit of tension building and making the audience think fast.

The narrative of thrillers, as well as having twists in the plot, is also told in most thrillers to be mysterious in different ways. One common way (which is used in Layer Cake and Sin City) of telling the story in thrillers is by using an internal monologue. In Sin City this is said well, as gives more than one characters views via an internal monologue. In the introduction in Sin City the internal monologue is poetic and mysterious and helps give the film a certain thriller 'feel' to it.

Watching other thrillers and learning about thriller signifiers has really helped me understand more about what thrillers are and how I could make my own thriller. I can use my knowledge on thriller signifiers to try and include them in my own film.

My Analysis of Calvin Klein's 'Escape' Perfume

The advert for the perfume ‘Escape’ by Calvin Klein is a very effective advert. It uses various methods to attract its audiences’ attention and persuade them to buy the perfume. The advert is successful in what it’s supposed to do.

The audience for the perfume is males from around 14 upwards. This is shown by the man in the advert who looks in his early 20’s. Although the man is in his 20’s it will attract males from around 14 upwards due to the image having the man getting close to an attractive girl; young boys may want to get close to girls, as do older males.

The first thing that catches your eye in the advert is the name of the perfume, ‘Escape’. This is written in capitals and is at the top of the image so it stands out, which gives the connotation of being important. The name also acts as an anchor in the advert. This is because of the word “escape” which gives the audience the impression that the perfume can help them ‘escape’ from their problems, daily routines or anything else they may want to escape from. As the couple are in a small enclosed space, the perfume can help them ‘escape’.

The advert shows a man and woman being intimate together. Their legs being linked, their hands brushing each others hair, their eyes being shut and the kissing gives the audience the impression that they are satisfied and pleasured. By doing this, it implies that if we buy the perfume it will help us be satisfied and pleasured. Also it shows the man being seduced by the woman, which suggests that if you used the perfume you could be seduced by an attractive woman.

The woman in the image may be appealing to some men, which means that it could help attract men’s attention and also persuade them to buy the perfume due to their being an attractive woman in the image. Some people may perceive the man as being attractive, and if they use the perfume it will help them be attractive and desirable. This would also make the audience feel as if they would be more confident with the opposite sex.

The picture is in black and white apart from the perfume bottle. This helps focus the attention on the perfume bottle and gives the perfume the connotation of being important and powerful.

Overall, the advert does well in attracting the attention of its target audience and also making the product appealing to them; appealing enough for some of them to buy the product.

My Target Audience For My Perfume Advertisement

We are creating our own perfume advertisements, so I thought it would be useful to find my desired target audience for my advertisement. This is useful as I can use the information on the target audience to make my advertisement attract them.

I would like my perfume advertisement to appeal to a wide range of people. I want it to appeal to as many people as possible. However, there will be some restrictions; for instance, gender may limit the perfume to either male or females.
I want my advertisement to be for men. This is because I think I understand more about what men want rather than what women want.
In the ‘Demographic Classification of Audience’ table I would like my perfume to appeal to the C1, C2 and B groups as the majority of men fall into these groups.
In the ‘Audience Segmentation’ table I would like the group ‘Mainstreamers’ to be attracted to my advertisement. Again, this is because many people fall into this category (40%).
I would fall into two groups in the ‘Social Value Group’ table. These two groups are ‘Strivers’ and ‘Innovators’. Due to this, I think I know how to attract other people in these groups and hope to aim my perfume advertisement towards them.
The top three groups of ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are ‘Self-actualisation’, ‘Esteem’ and ‘Love/Belonging’. These three groups make up around three-quarters of all people. Also, the characteristics of the people in these three groups are those I wish to try and put into my advertisement. This is why I hope to aim my perfume advertisement towards these groups.

My Own Examples of cropped, anchored and colour changed images (edited pictures)

Here I have used different editing techniques to show how they can be used to change the style and connotations of pictures.

Camera Shots/Angles

Here i have done my own examples of each shot/angle i can use in my work.
Each shot can be used for different affects and to give different connotations to each shot.
For example, an extreme long shot can be used to hide the identity of a character to add mystery.

Mid Shot

Over The Shoulder Shot

Tilted Down Shot

Tilted Up Shot

Worm's Eye Shot

Close Up Shot

Establishing Shot

Extreme Close Up

Extreme Long Shot

Long Shot

Bird's Eye Shot