We were given a task in groups to make a short synopsis on the man-on-the-run thriller genre but with a spoof twist to the whole idea.
Synopsis:
We first see a bus carrying prisoners, travelling on a long stretch of road with the only light being the gaze of the moon. The drive is interrupted by a deer jumping onto the road resulting in the bus crashing and the driver being knocked out. Our protagonist is a prisoner on the bus and he tries to take advantage of the situation by trying to break the window to escape, but with no avail. He then sees the other prisoners taking the door and also takes that option. We then see our protagonist running into the night. We come back to him in a normal, everyday busy street although he is in a rather strange disguise. He is obviously the most suspicous one with the disguise he is wearing and the fake moustache he put on is falling off. He is speaking on a payphone calling a trusted friend about his innocence - we are then taken back to his past - a flashback where we see him stumbling upon a crime scene with him getting a good look at the criminal but was at that scene at the wrong time. The real criminal framed him and back in real time it is our protagonists target to catch that criminal.
Unaware, our main character has a sniper at his head but the split-second before he shots our 'hero' bends down to tie his shoelaces resulting in the sniper to miss - our protagonist is still oblivious that he is being targetted. The sniper tries to shot him a few more times but fails until one of the shots results in the fake moustache flying off - our character now panics and runs for his life, literally (whilst stumbling through the crowds making a whole load of mistakes), until finally the sniper loses him.
Man-On-The-Run
Theses type of movies usually have the protagonist running away from some authority, whether it be the government or mafia. The protagonist has usually been framed for something or blackmailed into doing something and runs to get justice, revenge, peace or the truth - with the authority chasing after him not wanting him to get any of those things.
The protagonist is usually smart and handy with weapons or making traps tricking his chaser and getting away multiple times. He can usually think ahead and is good with action - fights and shooting. Sometimes he does things without trying to get others nvolved and avoid deaths (Bourne Movies) although this might not always be the case.
Normal streets, houses, car parks, parks etc. are used as settings although places with many people are usually used to (subway) to emphasise the stealth of the character but it isn't used for the majority of the movie. Long establishing shots are used widely to show the settings of the character and to the audience what he's done or is planning to do sometimes - many other shots such as tracking and close-ups are also used to track the protagonist as he is moving a lot and to show his emotions to give the audience a better understanding of what he is going through. A lot of match on action shots also have to be used due to the excessive amount of character movement. The genre also includes action in many cases so the music can be fast paced and loud at times. This type of genre can use both a lot of light and barely any light, it can work both ways, although it is usually shot in the night or in places with low light intensity to show the stealth of the man on the run.
A few examples of man-on-the-run are;
The Bourne Trilogy
The Fugitive
Escape from Alcatraz
Psychological
The character's are usually life like characters where the audience can show empathy on some level. They are usually not physically gifted but usually need to rely more on their minds and mental resources usually being a battle of wits against an opponent or a problem. Some movies have a protagonist and an antogonist facing off with each each other playing deceptive mind games whilst other movies have the protagonist having to use his mental resources to tackle a difficult problem. They also come with a back story with these type of movies also carrying a narrative sense to it with the main character narrating the movie or the events he goes through.
Psychological thrillers usually tackle a theme or tow with the chracter facing or questioning something - these themes are usually questioning reality, his own perception, identity, existence or mind.
This genre can also represent itself within horror so the movies are usually dark and gloomy with the movie making the audience ask questions about what is going on in the movie and what is going to happen. Non-diegetic sounds usually entail low sounds with soft beats to create suspense with some scenes not having any non-diegetic sound and solely relying on the diegetic sound.
Settings used are usually normal setting but with a darker tone to it with the movie focusing mush of it's time on the plot of the story and in some cases it concentrates on the character and what effect he has on the story. This is why many close-up and extreme- close ups are used in this type of genre to show the character and his emotions. Mid-shots are also used a lot and so are long shots but compared to CU, ECU and Mid shots there is a lack of long establishing shots since movies of this genre concentrate on the character, the plot or what effectthe character has on the plot of the story.
Some examples of movies;
The Butterfly Effect
Memento
Psycho
Insomnia
Secret Window
