Collateral Film Analysis.

Collateral is a crime thriller film released in 2004 directed by Michael Mann. The film stars Tom Cruise as Vincent, a killer assassin and also stars Jamie Foxx as Max, a L.A taxi driver who picks up Vincent in his cab who offers him £600 to wait for him outside. As Max is waiting in the cab outside, a body that falls out the window lands on the cab, Vincent has to reveal that he killed him and is a assassin and forces Max to hide the body in the boot of the car. Vincent threatens Max to not run away and forces him to drive the cab. He becomes the hostage of Vincent.

Collateral was the first film ever to be film in Digital and shown is cinemas in Digital. By making films digital it means it is easier to distribute to other countries because the film can be sent by email. When films were shot in analog, the reel of film would have to be delivered to other countries by shipping it. This cuts distribution cost for the distribution companies. There is one scene in the film that is shot in standard definition. This is the club scene, although it is shot in standard definition you cannot tell the difference between the high definition and the standard definition.

This film is a high action film, in the action scenes they are editing together quickly to make the film faced paced. This makes the film very thrilling to the audience. There is also a lot of tension and suspense in the film. This is used to thriller films to put the viewer on the edge of their seat and feel thrilled. 

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Enigmas, Red Herrings and Cliffhangers.

Enigmas are used mostly in thriller films as problems that are needed to be resolved throughout the movie. They are meant to be puzzling, ambiguous or inexplicable. It can also be a riddle that needs to be solved. Most films will use enigmas to create problems that

The Maguffin.

The MaGuffin has been described as a plot device, or a gimmick. It is a technique used in a film to create the story of the film. The MaGuffin of a film does not really matter and the viewer does not really care about the MaGuffin in a film, but this is used as something that gets the film started. The MaGuffin was made popular by the great Alfred Hitchcock, who used a MaGuffins in many of his thriller films.

A Macguffin can play as a wild card in a film that is unexpected to the viewer as it progresses over the film. It is something that can also be irrelevant to the viewer but is used in the film to carry along and aid the reason for decisions made in the film.  The MaGuffin has been used in some of Hitchcock's most successful films e.g. North by NorthWest and Psycho. 

The Great Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock was a British film director and producer. He has often been named 'The Master of Suspense', because of his amazing techniques using suspense to thrill the audience in his thriller films. Alfred Hitchcock also had a few principles that he would normally follow in his thriller films. One of these principles is that there would be a attractive, blonde female in his films. This principle was followed in; North By Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963) and more. Another principle that Hitchcock would regularly follow is that he would appear in his own film, even if it was for a second or so. This was an iconic feature that made Alfred Hitchcock's films so recognizable.

Alfred Hitchcock died at the age of 80, at this point he had already began writing a script for a new thriller film, which was published after his death. His death was a result of a renal failure, a medical condition where the kidneys fail due to waste products in the blood.

Some of Alfred Hitchcock's famous films.

• The Birds is a suspense thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock which entails of Melanie Daniels, travelling to Bodgea Bay to deliver birds to a little girl, but really just travelled there to see her other brother Mitch Brenner. For some strange reason while she is there a series of violent bird attack happen causing widespread scare over the town.

• Psycho is a suspense/horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film features Marion Crane running away from her work with $40,000 after a dispute with her boss. She fleas to a out of town hotel where she tries to stay. Here she meets Norman Bates the hotel manager. A weird character that has a obsession with Marion Crane. 

Chuck Jones & The Rules.

Chuck Jones is a animator, director and producer. He is most greatly known for animating and directing some of Warner Bros Looney Tunes animated films including characters 'Road Runner', 'Bugs Bunny' and 'Sylvester'. After working for Warner Bros, chuck then began producing more famous animated shows for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, like 'Tom and Jerry.'  Chuck Jones is one of the most famous animators in the world.

Chuck Jones created and directed the animation shorts 'Road Runner'. Chuck Jones planned this show very carefully and had a set of rules that every episode of 'Road Runner' would follow.

The Rules for Road Runner

1.The Road Runner cannot hurt the coyote except by going 'MEEP MEEP'.
2. No outside force can hurt of injure the coyote. Only by its own failure of by the failure of Acme Products.
3. The coyote would never stop or give up trying to kill the road runner.
4. There is never any dialogue is episodes of Road Runner except the 'MEEP MEEP' made by the road runner.
5. The road runner can only ever stay on the road, hence the name.
6.The episodes will only contain the Road Runner and the Coyote, set in the South American desert.
7. Any product in the episodes must be made by Acme Corporation.
8. Gravity is the coyotes greatest enemy.
9. The coyote is humiliated more than harmed from his failures.
10. The audience sympathy will always remain with the Coyote.

Rules and Conventions of Thrillers.

Thrillers are include action and fast paced shots to 'thrill' the audience by using techniques such as a suspense and shock. But thriller films also include other techniques that are used to create a good film. As with Chuck Jones Roadrunner rules, directors of thriller films may also follow certain rules to create a thriller film. These are the rules of thriller films.

• The use of suspense.
• Tension.
• In action scenes use fast paced editing.
• The build up of music to add tension and suspense to a scene.
• The MaGuffin can be used to start the story of the thriller film.
• A red-herring can be used to shock the audience. This will be unexpected to the viewer.
• A dilemma where normally the main character will have to make a life or death choice.
• By set in big cities.
• Have an antagonist and a protagonist that try to kill or capture.