Friday 29 January 2010

Opening credits.



this a not a typical credit sequence as normally it is shot using real locations or people. but this film is different by using a cartoon style to use the credits. this style would take longer then normal as all shots would have to be drawn so it would take a couple of months. the use of music during the credits builds tension as it is an eerie type of music,using the same notes through out the credits just in different sounds making it simple yet effective as a thriller type soundtrack. when the writing is shown the words blend in the with the colour's and pictures already shown so nothing is out of place.

we were thinking of using this type of credit style within our video. As the clip is a two minute video the credits would have to been less then 30 seconds so this method would not take to long produce during our editing lessons. we were going to use a person on a bike going from one side to the other take the current screen behind them leading to another screen. this may take a while to make and not come out as planned so we have another idea of a credit sequence. we would take the wheel of a bike and spin it. Then take the video and edit on the credits on to the spokes of the wheel.

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Mise-en scene

We carefully chose are mise-en scene so it would suit the crime thriller conventions and therefore make are movie more realistic

We chose to film the end of our opening sequence in the car park because its a dark suspenseful setting which suited are genre well. Empty car parks have been used in many other thriller films because when empty they create a lonely, dark and creepy atmosphere.

We have chosen to have part of our chase scene on Luard road rather than Long road because its a more subsided street which will be more empty and then again create a feeling of emptiness and therefore no help for the protagonist character.

We have decided to film in the dark because it matches the thriller conventions and makes the mise-en scene a great deal better.

Specific editing will be used to make the scenes flow better. Transitions such as fade in and fade out shall be used.

Camera angles shall include a lot of reactions shots and long shots to establish locations. We will attempt to use hand held camera angles whilst in the chase to make the scene more thrilling however this effect may not work because the camera may be too jumpy on the bikes creating a too disorientated picture.

antaganist and protaginist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81LeooTiKI0

This clip shows the protagonist is chasing the antagonist like in our film. the protagonist is trying to catch are antagonist for revenge for certain crimes they committed. the protagonist starts the chase at knight like our film. this is similar as they have the chase down streets. the character of the joker is represented to be the antagonist as he has the evil clown face paint this suggest a slight sense of him being mental. also that he is being chased by the police is a a clear example that he is a bad guy.

the batman is represented to be the protagonist as he is a clear enemy of the joker. this is represented by the joker wondering where he is. unlike most thrillers where the protagonist is where different colour clothes to the antagonist. however this changes that as the protagonist and antagonist are both wearing black clothes.it sticks to the typical thriller conventions.

it has a lot of violence between the batman and other antagonist. most of the film is set in the dark which is a typical thriller conventions.the special effects used in this are used to create the antagonist and protagonist. like for batman it has him jumping from great heights and surviving also using explosions for the joker immediately realise hat he is the bad guy.

we will stick to the conventions of using several locations during the first few minutes. we will also stick to using a dark setting as it builds the suspense through not having proper vision of whats going on. the murder is going to be using full black clothes and the protagonist will be wearing normal clothes

Monday 25 January 2010

Thriller Opening Sequence idea

Our thriller opening, will be a crime orientated film.

Our film shall be called The Story Of Lies

Our plan for the narrative, will be; Murder commited at long road, then Matt will chase Andrew to the bikes', Andrew then bikes of down Luard road, Matt pursues, then they race to Cineworld then Andrew runs to lift to get to the top of the multistory carpark, so Matt has to chase him on his bike.

Our opening sequence will introduce the crime, the victim and both the Protagonist and Antagonist charcters. The begining of the plot will be introduced but the reaction and the response to the crime would be dealt with later in the film so it will not be shown in our opening sequence.

The crime genre will be reinforced through our portrayal of the conventions; our suspense will be shown during the chase scene, as this will help the audience be drawn in to the opening sequence, this scene will also help us show most conventions of a crime-thriller.

Our ideas have been based around the '007' films, we have chosen the bond series because they are a prime example of a crime/action thriller, we have also included crime into our film to give it an extra theme.

Characters in the opening two minutes shall be, Oli shall be the victim and will be killed off in the first scene of the film. Andrew will be the murderer who runs away from the scene, and Matt will be the witness of the crime and shall be the one chasing the murderer.

We have a number of suggested locations, the first shall be at Long Road on the balcony outside the main hall. The next shall be the multistory car park in the cineworld complex. In between these 2 locations we will have the chase scene where the characters go from Long road to the multistory car park.

Friday 22 January 2010

Companies Idents



We have used Paramount pictures as an example of a good company brand and logo.
They use distinctive music they play every time they play their advert so the public can instantly recognise the brand.
They also have an iconic feature in their advert which is the company name appearing above a mountain relating to the name para 'mount' name.

They have kept the same Idents for the duration of the company history making the Idents more recognisable to the public.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Thriller Garage band trial


Today we used garage band to try and come up with a sequence which came from the film identity. This was a test for us to see if we good get the right sort of music based on just images from the film opening. Part of the requirement was for it to link to the genre 'thriller' and its conventions.

Sound terminology:
Diegetic sound is when its clear to the audience where the sound is coming from. For example if the audience can see a t.v in a room.

Non-diegetic sound is when the audience can not see where the sounds are coming from. For example the soundtrack of the film.

Monday 18 January 2010

Analysis of previous Long Road thriller openings

http://www.youtube.com/longroadmediastudies#p/c/AA38FF5975A95FB3/4/m9Kx7ZDbEgk

There is no dialog used so marks would have been lost

They frames there shots well so the action was at the center of the screen and very clear

They use a variety of shot distances so Long shots are used for setting the scene and establishing the characters whilst medium shots are used for when the action happens, however more close ups could have been used possibly to show reaction shots when the girl got stabbed.

The mise on scene could have been better, the scene would have been far better if it was filmed in the dark. The imagination of the group did not reflect in the mise on scene, resulting in it being bland.

The editing was used well creating a thriller feeling in the clip

Titles were placed and timed very well however the style of text used was too cartoony and not appropriate to the thriller genre

The soundtrack used was very appropriate to the thriller genre and this clip. This meant it fitted in well.

No shot transitions are used meaning marks are lost, the use of transitions would have made the film opening much better. By using a variation of shot transitions the different shots blend in together much better so the film opening runs much smoother with less error.

This film opening meets much of the thriller conventions. It is thrilling, full of suspense, has a plot, has intense music, features binary opposite characters with the girl and the man who murders her, has thought out violence and crime which is the death of the girl (which you don't see). The film has an obvious Antagonist character which is the man in the hoodie, and a Protagonist character which is the girl.

However the film lacks in certain thriller conventions: It is not exhilarating and has no reaction shots which are very important after such a crime. It also lacks darkness which would have made the clip exhilarating.

Top marks Criteria

To achieve the top grade for our Thriller film opening we must achieve 48/60 marks

To get these marks, in our film we must demonstrate excellence in:

  • Recording voices clearly, on location + interior setting
  • Holding a shot steady
  • Framing a shot
  • Using a variety of shot distances
  • Shooting material appropriately to the task set
  • Selecting appropriate mise on scene
  • Editing so the meaning is appropriate to the task set
  • Using titles appropriately
  • Using sound with images
  • Using varied shot transitions

past thriller openings



during the clip there is no dialogue so there would be a loss of marks for not showing they can recorded voices well. they can hold a steady shot as at the start there is a zoom in of the persons face as the camera stays at the same point on his face.

they have a variety of shots including a blend of long medium and close as it zooms on there face.they also use short tracking shots for a brief moment to set the scene for the characters places.

the shot locations and mise en scene are used effectively to set the films type as a thriller. they stick to the thriller conventions as they use a dark setting and camera effect through out the clip.
the use of transitions is used through most of the scene but not to much that it makes the film look over the top. at the start a transition is used to blur the corners of the shots to make the focus on the character.

a sound track is used during the clip as a thriller has intense music. this clip had the intense music running through the clip to add suspense. the music fits the clip as it fits in with the change between different shots.

Friday 15 January 2010

Examples Of An Action Thriller



I am Legend is a good example of an action thriller, it follows all the conventions of an action thriller.

This film contains more general and less thought out violence than other sub genres. The fighting is between Will Smiths character and the zombie like creatures. When they do fight it's usually the zombies fighting in pure rage, compared to other thriller sub genres the fighting is much less thought out, e.g. in James Bond the fighting is more skilled as the characters are trained in combat.

There is an obvious Antagonist which is the zombies. They meet the criteria of an antagonistic: They live in the dark suggesting there evil, they want to kill the protagonist and there violent.

The film is a race against the clock meeting the general Action thriller conventions. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is trying to make an antidote to the disease which turned every other human into a zombie, he is in a race to make this before the zombies overthrow him and kill him.

The film is an obvious disturbance to general every day life. The disease turned every human into a zombie resulting in an almost alter world and a complete turnover in every day life for the character, the films events also differ from his general activities in this scenario as the audience are introduced to his daily activities at the beginning of the film before they change to make it more interesting for the audience.

The character is physically superior to the average person, this is highlighted in a scene where they show him working out, they also show this in the advert attracting a female audience.

There is a variety of locations used in the movie. The film is set in new york however there is rarely a location used more than once (apart from Will Smiths home) meeting the conventions of a n action thriller, it keeps the audience interested because they are constantly introduced to new surroundings.

Halfway through the film a female character is introduced and Will Smiths wife is used in flash back clips to help with the narrative.

crime thiller

a crime thriller has multiple conventions:
  1. suspense of successful or failed crimes
  2. features a wide variety of crimes like, robbery, murder, drugs
  3. can glorify the rise and fall of the criminal
  4. set in large ares with a lot of people yet it is well hidden and the film is an insight into the criminal mind.
  5. obvious set of binary opposites


The Film Public Enemies sticks to the typical conventions of a crime thriller as the whole point of the film is about a famous criminal and his life. the whole film is about bank robbing and murder.

it glorifies his life as he starts quite big and then starts doing bigger jobs and people start hearing of him as the film follows his life until the end where he dies. the film is full of suspense as the film is set from the prospective of the criminal as well as the police. during the film the main criminal is changing his locations a lot but the police are always on his back and during the film are catching up.

Conventions of an action thriller

Action thriller Conventions

  • Contains more violence than other sub genres
  • Obvious Antagonist
  • Race against the clock scenario, usually a disturbance to every day life, requires protagonist to use action to solve it.
  • Characters are Physically superior
  • Many locations used
  • Characters of the opposite sex are usually the driving force of the narrative, however loyalty may swap

Tuesday 12 January 2010

memento


psychological conventions
  1. normally a drama/mystery film
  2. the main danger is mainly targeted at the mind
  3. it is normally 2 or more characters using mind games between the two or one main character in solitary losing there mind
  4. characters will have fear or a fetish with death
  5. characters discover there own purpose during the film
  6. the narrative is confusion over what is real and what is fake
Memento uses typical conventions of a thriller using a dark setting through the first scene. It starts with a murder which is a typical psychological.
The start is different to pretty much all films as the murder is in reverse which is confusing to the audience. the whole film is set out to prove that he is insane as he keeps taking photos of things and getting tattoos on his body to remember what happened yesterday as he has short term memory loss. the films sticks to typical conventions as the main character has an clear weakness as he can't remember what has happened.

the film is about the main character looking for the killer of his wife this is a thriller convention as it is a single murder with the main character trying to find what happened.the start is confusing for the audience as the start is what happens at the end,meaning the audience will know what the main character is going to kill someone but the start is not showing the victims face so the victim is not clear until the end

Vantage Point



Typically, a political thriller is a threat against a backdrop of a political power struggle, they try and exploit the danger which could effect that party. The plot is also designed to give political power to someone whilst the opponents try and prevent it. Two main types of people; the high appearance type, the ones who have smart dress which work in offices, these generally give orders to the lower type of people.

seven miseen scene


seven uses mise-en-scene to suggest different characteristics for the two different characters. Through the mise-en-scene you can tell that the two policeman are binary opposites. As Brad Pitt is the trendy cop with the leather jacket and chews gum. Not much is known about His character during the opening scene as only his appearance is seen for a brief moment.

However with Morgan freeman he is seen in his apartment. The apartment is clean and white which is a complete contrast to typical thriller of darkness. Also a chess board is in sight showing wisdom and is smart. his brown suit is a typical plain policeman's suit which the audience would expect to see. At the end of the scene he is seen to be alone in the room showing hes alone meaning he keeps the apartment clean and tidy but also means that the chessboard is a bit weird.

Seven

Sound Evaluation of 'Se7en'

Sound is an important part of the film Seven, because without it, it would be difficult to sense the mood.

When Morgan Freeman is shown in the establishing shot, there is a lot of noise in the background, which suggests that he a very busy person during the film, it gives the feeling that a lot will, and has gone on in his life. Also the sound is from the street, which is a busy environment to live in, adding to the effect.

Before he meets Brad Pitts character, he has a forceful conversation with another policeman, which was a debate. This shows us that he is very important, and that he has authority.

Monday 11 January 2010

classic thriller



As the film starts it has a close up of a face. This is used to produce an intense moment as all that can be seen is the bottom of the face with the names over the top. This keeps it simple as its in black and white so all focus is on the names and the face.

intense music is used to build suspense through the start, its slow music with long and deep notes.. then as the action starts the music pace picks up meaning a action packed scene. This builds suspense as you know the characters are in a chase. the music then changes again to fit into a different situation.

the characters are in different colors then what we have come to expect. as in typical films it is the good characters are normally in white and bad guys in black. This is reversed in this film as the start it is the opposite of typical films. This is confusing to the audience as the start has no hints on who the good guy is. This scene creates a sense of the good guy being framed and trying to get away from the police. The start of the next scene starts with the cop on the roof, this shows us that he is the main character, the main character in the next few minutes has at least 70% of the screen time.

Vertigo

Vertigo - Classic Thriller

In 'Vertigo', John 'Scottie' Ferguson (James Stewart), develops a fear of heights when he witnesses a police officer fall to his death when he is trying to save him. This thriller is different from modern day thrillers because it isn't as fast paced as they are nowadays.

There are traits of a thriller when we see the chase across the roof, the person fleeing is the antagonist, as he is running away from the officer, the officer is seen as the good guy, these represent binary opposites. It is shown in a dull environment which shows the audience the nature of the film.

The death of the police officer is thought out quite cleverly, because it links with the rest of the film because that's when 'Scottie' develops his fear of heights. This represents the thriller genre well. It also makes the audience feel sympathy for the police officer, instead of going after the criminal and receiving the glory when he caught him; he went back for his colleague because he was good hearted.

Friday 8 January 2010

Thriller Evaluation

We decided to evaluate Avatar as one of our Thriller evaluations



Sound:
Diagetic sound is used in the trailer a soundtrack to show the audience how intense, action packed and exciting the movie is.
Non-Diagetic sound is also used why the soundtrack is playing so the audience can relate to the characters and the Avatars.

Camera:
A lot of close ups are used in this thriller, they are used for different purposes; Close ups of the Avatars are used so the audience can fully see the great special effects used to create the avatars. Close ups of the humans are used to show their general angry faces so the audience can see they are in fact the bad guys. For both of these they are aso used for character reaction shots, a large majority being in vain and anger which represents the genre. Long shots are used so plenty of the special effect scenes of the alien world can be seen. This makes the audience appreciate the effects more.

Special effects:
These are used in these movie on a very larger scale. They are made in a way which makes makes the audience feel more suspense because the majority of the scenes are designed to be more compact so the audience cannot see what is round the corner, this fits with the thriller genre.

Editing:
In the 'Extended HD Trailer' it is edited in a non-linear, montage sequence. which are used in trailers to create effect, it is generally the best way to get the audience interested in the film. The trailer sgives the main character more screen time

Preliminary task

thriller


For our clip we chose Batman The Dark Knight. during the clip there is a sound track creating the suspense. the music is not too load as talking and explosion's can still be heard. this way there is still the music running during the clip building the suspense but the audience doesn't need to try hard to here the talking and sound effects. the use a mixture of diagetic and non-diagetic sound to create a more intense clip for the audience to watch.









The special effects are a big part in this film for creating the thriller effect. This means that normal things of a car crashing turns into huge explosions where the characters are nearly killed creating the thriller genre as its scare as the hero may die. also having the guns are used to create a more intense action scene as people are being held up and at rick of dying. the fist fights are intense as they are well coordinated well with the characters being thrown through windows and other objects creating a more exciting film to watch.


This character is composed to be off mental problems. This is shown by the make-up off a clown which he has on his face for the whole film. the person playing the character creates traits for him for example licking his lips which is freaky as he keeps doing it. At 0:40 to 0:50 it is enforced as it is said that all he has is his pockets are knifes. at 0:55 seconds the joker is hanging out the car window like a dog while he is being arrested. this shows a more of a funny side to him showing he doesn't take things seriously even if they are.

Batman is shown by the title as obviously the Knight which is none to be heroic. so its clear that hes going to be the good from the film. however as its the Dark Knight its clear hes going to be a good guy who's slightly bad.

Monday 4 January 2010

Our roles in the Preliminary task


In our preliminary task Andrew will be filming, Oli and Matt shall be the actors in our short film sequence.

It will start in a Chemistry classroom in C block and continue into the C block corridor.

We will use only one prop which shall be a pencil

Preliminary Task



We chose this film because it shows all the shots we will use in our preliminary task: establishing shot, close up shot, match on action, reaction shot, long shot and shot reverse shot.

Mr Bean is established at the beginning of the clip which shows the audience he is the main character. A close up is used on the man pretending to be a baby whilst he is stealing fruit. Match on action is used well when Mr Bean realizes the man is stealing. The reaction shot is cleverly used when Mr Bean realizes his teddy is missing, this created sympathy from the audience and triggered the action in the clip. A long shot is used in the car chase to show the audience the surroundings. And shot reverse shot is used earlier on from the car chase whilst Mr Bean is still in the supermarket, this is used well for Mr Bean having a confrontation with the man.