Second Post

Research Tasks;

Joyride Gillespie 1995

Joyride is a clear thriller based short film about a male electrician who is tricked and then held hostage by two male characters. The film shows this man’s battle against time and struggle for survival through a constant action filled tense encounter which keeps the audience in suspense and on edge right through until the end. The film uses lots of typical thriller conventions throughout, as from the establishing shot you can clearly already see it is set at night time in the middle of a secluded wooded area. As a result of the night time settings, It also uses very low key lighting. Furthermore, it uses pathetic fallacy to emphasise the anxious deserted atmosphere. This is also shown through the long shot of his car in the middle of the empty road. It uses iconography, with the sparks being a constant icon of danger and being a significant factor in the film. There are many conventions of characterisation through opposing contrasting elements between the characters, for example it is shown that the electrician man is the protagonist, as he is wearing a white shirt and the two other men are the antagonists as they are both in black. The music at the very beginning of the film set the mood with a unnerving yet subtle tone, setting the audience up and allowing them to anticipate the thriller action that’s about to occur.

This short film is extremely unique in how it constructs its storyline, as it is all based around irony. It goes in a huge circle, as he starts in the same place and ends in the same place, also shown through the same music being started at the identical scenes and the same two shots being used - birds and worms eye view of him looking at the electricity pole. As a result of being lazy/time constricted and not getting the job of fixing the electricity post done, it resulted in him being burnt to death, therefore maybe portraying unlucky karma. Many lines are used to reinforce this irony, such as the policeman at the end saying “You won’t be wanting that cigarette I was about to offer you then” after realising he was covered in petrol. Furthermore, when the police car was chasing the two antagonists, the passenger male says to the driver “I hope you have your license on you”, as if this is the biggest worry on their hands. If our group were to do a thriller, I hope we can somehow use a ironic twist, as I think this is a really clever and unique idea. Another thing this thriller seems to frequently do, is use numerous amounts of close up shots throughout, as these intensify and focus in more on the little details of actions. Especially throughout the scenes when he is in the boot of the car, focusing a lot of his hand movements and actions and also his facial expressions/reactions.
Through using this short film format, the characters are developed enough for the audience to realise their roles and whether we should sympathise or dislike them. With so much action and events happening constantly throughout the film, I could imagine this being made into a full length feature quite easily. But with the continuous quick shots from all ranges of perspectives it seems a lot longer than it actually is. Again, if our group do create a thriller, a lot of inspiration from the quick montages of close up action could be used.

On a small budget, this film made very good use of its sound and music. There is always some form of music or sound, either loud or quiet, throughout the whole film. The non digetic music used is connected well to the thriller, as it frequently connects a action, expression or movement with a note or pitch within the music. For example, when the protagonist is hit with the axe, a long deep dark note is played.
As mentioned before, the film is all linked to being a ironic situation. The film allows the audience to easily connect with the characters, especially the protagonist. Although you feel sympathetic towards him and his awful situation, at the same time you feel a sense of wanting to say to him “well you shouldn’t of been so stupid and cocky in the first place“. Furthermore, although a very remorseful end, you can’t help but feel a sense of hilarity at the outcome.