Equipment:
-camera
-tripod
-GoPro
-GoPro accessories
People present:
-Myself
-David
-Matt
Monday, 28 December 2015
Thriller opening scene- reshoot date
We are going back to our location to reshoot some scenes as the originals were not what we had aspired to create, therefore the date we are going back to reshoot is the 3rd of January and we are meeting in Old market Square at 10:30
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Thriller opening scene - production company title
We wanted to create a production company title that moved and looked similar to the ones you see before any movie like 20th Century Fox, Paramount and Dreamworks. Therefore we are going onto Adobe After Effects to try and create one by following a detailed tutorial off of YouTube, although we are trying to achieve this sort of creation to show our production company name we know that ours will not be as good as the proper companies employ designers to do this sort of thing but we think we can do an adequate job.
The theme that seems to occur throughout the production companies openings is that the name needs to be in bold to stand out to the audience when it comes up on screen, this is something we are going to does want the audience to remember the name when the openings sequence stops. They all also have a catchy theme tune which people know and remember and they can identify the production company just by the tune, we can try to create this effect with our but we might not be able to find a tune that fits our name and style therefore will try to put in either sound effects or a plain tune that sets the tone of the opening sequence.
The theme that seems to occur throughout the production companies openings is that the name needs to be in bold to stand out to the audience when it comes up on screen, this is something we are going to does want the audience to remember the name when the openings sequence stops. They all also have a catchy theme tune which people know and remember and they can identify the production company just by the tune, we can try to create this effect with our but we might not be able to find a tune that fits our name and style therefore will try to put in either sound effects or a plain tune that sets the tone of the opening sequence.
Monday, 14 December 2015
Thriller opening scene - update on the review
We have switched around the sleeves scene around so it matches the actions that the protagonist has just done. We have also added on a few more titles such as ' A Thomas Nicholson film' and 'Amanda Henvey' but we still need to add a few more actors onto the casting list, the reason we haven't put any on is because they are going to go on some inserts so once we have filmed them then we can start adding the rest on.
However we haven't fixed the insert problem as we are going to go and film some more on Friday as we don't have time after school due to lighting problems and we don't have time during school as we can't get time off.
However we haven't fixed the insert problem as we are going to go and film some more on Friday as we don't have time after school due to lighting problems and we don't have time during school as we can't get time off.
Thriller opening scene - sounds update
We needed a boom sound for the ending when the film title 'The Hunt.' comes up as it can create lots of feelings for the audience as the sound can make the scene more tense as it really makes the title stand out, it can also make the audience intrigued as they can infer that the protagonist has shot someone or has been shot as in the scene before he reaches around his body, this motion can be interpreted as grabbing for a weapon.
Thriller opening scene - first draft review
When we uploaded our first draft to YouTube and watched it many times to look for areas that we could improve on, we found that in our clip we placed the clips where the protagonist rolls up his sleeves the wrong way around so it doesn't match the actions that he has just completed. Therefore we are putting this problem as our main priority when it comes to editing the sequence further as we know this is an urgent mater that needs to be changed before we forget.
Another area we need to improve on which we found in the editing process is that we need more inserts of the location as the inserts we have apart from the window insert are either shaky or out of focus due to our poor filming, this means we are going back to the location to film some more inserts for our piece and making sure that we film it a number of times to make sure there is one that is correct.
We also need to add in more titles, the reason why there isn't any is due to us wanting to make sure the rest of the sequence was sorted and put in place and that was our last job, we are going to add in more titles next time we edit.
Another area we need to improve on which we found in the editing process is that we need more inserts of the location as the inserts we have apart from the window insert are either shaky or out of focus due to our poor filming, this means we are going back to the location to film some more inserts for our piece and making sure that we film it a number of times to make sure there is one that is correct.
We also need to add in more titles, the reason why there isn't any is due to us wanting to make sure the rest of the sequence was sorted and put in place and that was our last job, we are going to add in more titles next time we edit.
Friday, 11 December 2015
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Thriller opening scene - text GIF idea
In our opening sequence we have the protagonist on his phone texting his wife, however when shooting we couldn't get the camera to see what he was typing therefore I went onto the internet to try and find out how others had overcome this struggle, I came across a lot of shows such as Hollyoaks and Sherlock who use these GIFs to show the messages on the phone on the background. This kind of GIF is hard to find so I might not be able to find it to use it in my opening sequence, the only ones I can find or the ones used to make big bold glittery texts for websites and they don't have the professional look that I need for this piece. For example someone had tried to emulate what happens on Sherlock on this video:
Monday, 7 December 2015
Thriller opening scene - title background idea
For the backgrounds that I want my titles to be on I looked at a few different movies and what kinds of backgrounds they had at first. I came across a few of David Fincher's films and I really liked the types of backgrounds that he used at the start of many of his films as they really set the tone for his films. I want to use his title backgrounds as inspiration for my own opening sequence, one of the ones I liked is on the YouTube video down below where there is a city landscape in the dark. (Only watch up to 16 seconds of this clip as the rest isn't what I am trying to analyse as this is the only video where there are a lot of his openings on the same clip).
Thriller opening scene - insert editing idea
We have filmed inserts of different aspects of the building that we thought were interesting and could create a creepy depiction of the location to intensify the opening scene. I think that the film Fight Club uses inserts very well as they have them throughout the film and they flick on and off the screen, however these inserts flash up a bit too quickly so sometimes you cannot see them so I think that we will use it like they do however they will last a lot longer on the screen. I want this change what Fight Club do with theirs as I feel that the tension will be better if they last longer as the audience can properly digest what the location is like.
Sunday, 6 December 2015
Thriller opening scene - filming schedule
Saturday 5th December: people present= David, Matt (actor), Andrea (guide) and me, arrive at Old Market Square at 1:15 to travel to the location.
Equipment needed - Camera, camera bag, tripod, tripod bag, rucksack, gloves, balaclava, duct tape, storyboard, mobile phones and flashlight.
Thriller opening scene - Risk assessment (equipment)
The equipment was one of the things that we made sure we had on us at all times and it too priority when moving anywhere about the building.
One of the down sides to our location which was that in some areas there was a lot of water about, this could have got onto the camera and damaged it therefore rendering it useless and causing David and I to pay a lot of money to the school for a new one. To combat this the camera was either always in its waterproof case or around our necks when we weren't filming, this way it meant that it would never touch the water or anything else that might break it.
Another risk was dropping the camera on the floor which would have broken it, to combat this David and I made sure that we always had the camera around our neck by the strap that was attached to the camera. By doing this we could make sure that we never lose the camera and be sure that the camera would never fall out of our grasp and break.
One of the down sides to our location which was that in some areas there was a lot of water about, this could have got onto the camera and damaged it therefore rendering it useless and causing David and I to pay a lot of money to the school for a new one. To combat this the camera was either always in its waterproof case or around our necks when we weren't filming, this way it meant that it would never touch the water or anything else that might break it.
Another risk was dropping the camera on the floor which would have broken it, to combat this David and I made sure that we always had the camera around our neck by the strap that was attached to the camera. By doing this we could make sure that we never lose the camera and be sure that the camera would never fall out of our grasp and break.
Thriller opening scene - Risk Assesment (crew)
Risk Assessment:
Risks to actors and crew:
In our location there is a lot of damaged furniture and windows, this is a danger to the actor and the crew as things could easily topple over on top of you or you could cut yourself on the glass on the floor or surfaces. To minimise the risk of this happening we have asked that every person present for the filming is to be covered with clothing apart from the face to minimise skin being exposed to cuts, we also stressed that no one is to touch anything that has lass on it with their hands and if they have to move it then they brush is away with our storyboard that we brought with us.
There are also a few holes in the floor that were about two foot deep, this is a major hazard towards the crew as if they were to fall down one then it would hurt them badly probably not enough to injure them. This also would be a hazard to the equipment as if the camera was dropped down there then it would surely break and would break also if it fell down with another person as the person would land on it breaking the camera and causing further injury to the crew member. To combat this and minimise the risk of any damage to a crew member or a piece of equipment we got a person who we know very well to guide us through the hallways as she has been before, we also lit up the whole place to make sure that we could see exactly where we were stepping and what was around us.
We took one of our shots on top of the roof, however the edges of the roof had no railings to stop people from falling off of it, this would have injured us badly and in some spots killed us. However, to combat this we sectioned off a part of the roof where there was nowhere to land if we fell off, we also went nowhere near the edge of the roof to stop the risk of us falling.
Risks to actors and crew:
In our location there is a lot of damaged furniture and windows, this is a danger to the actor and the crew as things could easily topple over on top of you or you could cut yourself on the glass on the floor or surfaces. To minimise the risk of this happening we have asked that every person present for the filming is to be covered with clothing apart from the face to minimise skin being exposed to cuts, we also stressed that no one is to touch anything that has lass on it with their hands and if they have to move it then they brush is away with our storyboard that we brought with us.
There are also a few holes in the floor that were about two foot deep, this is a major hazard towards the crew as if they were to fall down one then it would hurt them badly probably not enough to injure them. This also would be a hazard to the equipment as if the camera was dropped down there then it would surely break and would break also if it fell down with another person as the person would land on it breaking the camera and causing further injury to the crew member. To combat this and minimise the risk of any damage to a crew member or a piece of equipment we got a person who we know very well to guide us through the hallways as she has been before, we also lit up the whole place to make sure that we could see exactly where we were stepping and what was around us.
We took one of our shots on top of the roof, however the edges of the roof had no railings to stop people from falling off of it, this would have injured us badly and in some spots killed us. However, to combat this we sectioned off a part of the roof where there was nowhere to land if we fell off, we also went nowhere near the edge of the roof to stop the risk of us falling.
Thriller opening scene - other clip research 2
The Ring of Trees:
This piece got the lowest grade available for me to look at as it received grade E (25 marks), this is a piece that I should analyse what not to do as I wish to get a high mark for my thriller opening sequence.The first thing that I found I should not do is that the title sequences were on blank backgrounds, this is poor as the thrillers that I have analysed have all had theirs appear somewhere in the background while continuing their opening sequence on. The font for it was poor as it looked like a very childish font and didn't match the theme of the opening sequence at all, this amateurish look to the film carried on throughout the piece.
At the start they had people running past the camera screaming "oh my god" this was a poor opening to their work as again it was very amateurish and one some occasions you couldn't see everyone's faces when running past as the lighting was so poor. This scene would have probably been better placed at the end of the opening sequence if they had to include it as it contradicted the narrative as at this point they hadn't entered the wood yet therefore should not have been running out of there screaming at the start.
In conclusion what I should learn not to do for this piece of work is not to contradict and mix up the narrative and I must keep it fluent throughout, making the lighting of my piece a big priority so people can see what is happening, the font should not be childish like I have copied and pasted it off of the internet and the titles should be on a background of the thriller not on top of a blank screen.
Thriller opening scene - Actual location reece shots
These are a few shots from the location where we are going to shoot our opening scene as in the earlier post we used pictures from someone else's blog who went there two years prior to us. In the time between then and now location has changed quite a bit as people have obviously come in and vandalised it even more as there is more graffiti and a lot of the furniture has been destroyed. We looked around the building to familiarize ourselves and search for the perfect shots and rooms to film in, I took a few shots like picture one where in the room at the back of the picture where we filmed lot of our piece. We will also film on the roof like in the second picture where we could capture the Nottingham city centre and drag it down to reveal the protagonist. Picture four was one of our insert shots, however it will be took from a different angle as it was a better shot through the window, these inserts can show the audience different aspects of the building that you wouldn't have been able to see if we didn't include them.
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Thriller opening scene - Sounds
Thriller Opening Scene - narrative changes
Our narrative idea scored very well so we are sticking with this idea and we had one
helpful piece of criticism as they said to get rid of the captive idea
as it would make the protagonist more mysterious which fits well with
the feeling that our audience wants to experience.
Thriller Opening scene - Titles
These are the types of titles that we might want to include in our opening we put them on a storyboard so we could show them like our storyboard shows the other scenes that will be in our opening scene. There is also a number at the top left to show which scene it was so you can match it up to the scenes on our storyboard to conclude where they are going to go and in which order.
Titles: (in order of appearance)
Rogue Legend Entertainment presents....
A Thomas Nicholson production
A film by David Thomas & Guy Nicholson
Starring.....
Matt Fisher
Amanda Henvey
Fecky O'Lewin
Lloyd Kobaiashi
THE HUNT.
Titles: (in order of appearance)
Rogue Legend Entertainment presents....
A Thomas Nicholson production
A film by David Thomas & Guy Nicholson
Starring.....
Matt Fisher
Amanda Henvey
Fecky O'Lewin
Lloyd Kobaiashi
THE HUNT.
Monday, 30 November 2015
Thriller opening scene - actor
We feel that Matt Fisher would be the best candidate for the protagonist in our opening scene as he may look young but we are not going to show the protagonists face so how he looks does not matter. However, we need someone who could act like a powerful figure so to do this he needs to be tall and have broad shoulders, Matt is 6"3 which is the kind of height that we wanted and his shoulders are quite broad to pass for someone who is much older than him. Another reason why we chose him is because he is our friend and lives close to both of us which means he can get into town easily for our shoot, this means that he is available and ready for filming whenever we need him which is an important aspect of our actor.
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
Thriller opening scene - Audience research
We asked the age ranges of our audience as we wanted to know the opinions of thrillers amongst a different range of ages therefore getting a more reliable opinion on our story and what we want to base our story around. The answers were that we asked 8 16-21 year olds, 1 22-30 year old and 2 31-49 year olds. We thought this was a good range but we could have extended it towards the 0-15 and 50+ year olds, however if we extended it too far towards the 0-15 year olds some of the people might not be old enough to watch certain thrillers and won't have a good view of all genres of thriller.
Question 2:
We then asked what sub-genre of thriller that they liked the options were: horror, mystery, crime, comedy and supernatural. The horror sub-genre got 4 votes, mystery got 6 and crime got 1, this means that we can do our original idea as it mainly has a mystery theme throughout.
Question 3:
Our next question was about how thrillers make them feel, we chose this as when we are designing our storyboard and filming our shots we can try to change camera shots, angles and ideas to suit what they like to feel. Our data showed that two person liked nervous, six liked being intrigued and three people liked to be tense, this means that we are going to have to make sure that we make our shots to be as intriguing as possible by not giving too much information about the protagonist and showing inserts of the location that would be considered to be interesting yet scary.
Question 4:
Our next question was about peoples opinions on our narrative for our opening scene, this question is crucial as we can get their opinions to see if our idea is any good and if they want to they can tell us some helpful suggestions as to how we can change our narrative to make it better. Overall they seemed to like the story as there was no votes under 3 out of five (1= terrible and 5= very good), we got two votes for 3 out of 5, six votes for 4 out of 5 and three votes for 5 out of 5.
Question 5:
Question 5 which was our final question was to do with font, we included three types of font which we quite liked for our thriller, however these are not definite choices as we are still looking for fonts. Font 1 got five votes, font 2 got two votes and font 3 got four votes, if we do not find another font that we want to use then font 1/3 will be what we will use, in addition if we find a new font then we will compare the new font to the winner of the questionnaire font to see what people like best.
Monday, 23 November 2015
Thriller opening scene - Locations
Location one - abandoned school
^^ link to the website these pictures are off, we had to get these pictures off of this blog as we havent been there yet but once we have I will post another blog post of the recce shots.
Location one is an abandoned school on the outskirts of the town centre, it would fit the theme of our thriller as it is meant to be quite mysterious and is meant to make people feel uneasy as they the atmosphere is creepy. However, the place is very far away as we would have to take a 30 minute tram journey and 10 minutes of walking to get to the location so reshooting would be more of a hassle than somewhere nearby.
Location two - fields by George Spencer
Location two is a 2 minute walk from our college or a 20 minute walk from our houses, this location is very close and easy to get to if we need to reshoot some scenes or if we want to add more scenes into our thriller opening. However, it isn't as good as the school as the atmosphere isn't as creepy or mysterious but would be an okay area to 'hold/kill' a captive if this shoot was to be logical.
^^ link to the website these pictures are off, we had to get these pictures off of this blog as we havent been there yet but once we have I will post another blog post of the recce shots.
Location one is an abandoned school on the outskirts of the town centre, it would fit the theme of our thriller as it is meant to be quite mysterious and is meant to make people feel uneasy as they the atmosphere is creepy. However, the place is very far away as we would have to take a 30 minute tram journey and 10 minutes of walking to get to the location so reshooting would be more of a hassle than somewhere nearby.
Location two - fields by George Spencer
Thriller opening scene - Narrative
Storyline: A man in scary place and walking down a corridor and whilst texting his woman saying something like, ‘be home soon honey bringing dinner’ then walk towards captive and draws knife out then the camera cuts.
Lines:
H=killer
W=wife
W - (Texting)Hey honey will you be home soon?
H - (Texting) Sure babe I've just left work
W - (Texting) okay please be quick, I'm starving
H - (Texting) Of course Hun, let me just grab dinner x…..
Thriller opening scene - Other clip research
To get good ideas about what I should and shouldn't do when filming and designing my storyboard I believe that some research on some other A level clips that have been done in the past that range from the highest to one of the lowest grades you can get for your piece.
The costume that the main character was in was really good in my opinion because it gave the character a sense of normality as he's a man in his dressing gown going into his shed to start working or read his paper, however this juxtaposes his actual intentions as they would be considered to be not normal and creates the sense of insanity about the man. This creates tension as we do not know anything about this man or why he is doing this therefore creating mystery about what the future of this narrative holds which keeps us watching it.
The narrative in this opening sequence is perfect for a thriller piece as it creates tension without telling any story or giving away the plot of the rest of the film therefore creating mystery and suspicion about the character.
In conclusion this piece is a good reference point for when we come to design and make our thriller piece as it was an almost perfect piece as it was close to full marks, tips I need to take away from this piece is that: quick cuts create tension and can give the audience another view of the setting or what the character is doing that he might not be able to see, the costume is a key part in a mystery thriller so try and make the costume look as normal as possible and not to include anything unrealistic or ridiculous and finally the narrative is another key part and cannot reveal the story in any way.
Torn.
This thriller piece received 56 marks which is an A so this means this is one of the pieces I really need to take notes from on what to do in my piece as the person who made this did it very well. One of the things I really liked in this piece that made it tenser and like thriller film such as fight club where they have inserts that flash up using quick cuts of creepy images that fitted well with the narrative of the opening sequence.The costume that the main character was in was really good in my opinion because it gave the character a sense of normality as he's a man in his dressing gown going into his shed to start working or read his paper, however this juxtaposes his actual intentions as they would be considered to be not normal and creates the sense of insanity about the man. This creates tension as we do not know anything about this man or why he is doing this therefore creating mystery about what the future of this narrative holds which keeps us watching it.
The narrative in this opening sequence is perfect for a thriller piece as it creates tension without telling any story or giving away the plot of the rest of the film therefore creating mystery and suspicion about the character.
In conclusion this piece is a good reference point for when we come to design and make our thriller piece as it was an almost perfect piece as it was close to full marks, tips I need to take away from this piece is that: quick cuts create tension and can give the audience another view of the setting or what the character is doing that he might not be able to see, the costume is a key part in a mystery thriller so try and make the costume look as normal as possible and not to include anything unrealistic or ridiculous and finally the narrative is another key part and cannot reveal the story in any way.
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
Preliminary Task - Evaluation
The strengths of our preliminary task is that it covers everything that we needed to have on our task such as the four lines of dialogue, a character opening a door, crossing a room, sitting down in a chair opposite another character, a match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. I think that our strongest area was definitely editing as we managed to make the clip look very professional and the continuity was very good on the finished product, however that was due to the amount of the clips that we cut if we were to do it again then we would have strived to get the continuity more accurate. I also feel like we used the equipment well when filming to make our shots look smoother and look less shaky, examples of these pieces of equipment like a spider mount, tripod with a weighted anchor and a normal tripod.
The weaknesses of our preliminary task were that some of our shots that we recorded were out of focus, shaky or had some of the lens in the shots, therefore we had to reshoot some shots and wasted time trying to get each shot perfect for the editing stage if we could go back then we would try to make sure that everything is perfect to reduce the time wasted. If I could reshoot one scene again then I would reshoot the shot where it shows the feet of the insane man walking into the room, I would have also had a shot of Kai walking in through the other side of the door to make the continuity better when he comes into the room.
Unlike this task, in the proper piece of work that I am going to film for my thriller opening scene I am going to think more carefully about costume, background and diegetic sound as they were lacking in my preliminary task due to having to film my piece as soon as I got told about it so didn't have much time to get all of the things that we wanted prepared.
The weaknesses of our preliminary task were that some of our shots that we recorded were out of focus, shaky or had some of the lens in the shots, therefore we had to reshoot some shots and wasted time trying to get each shot perfect for the editing stage if we could go back then we would try to make sure that everything is perfect to reduce the time wasted. If I could reshoot one scene again then I would reshoot the shot where it shows the feet of the insane man walking into the room, I would have also had a shot of Kai walking in through the other side of the door to make the continuity better when he comes into the room.
Unlike this task, in the proper piece of work that I am going to film for my thriller opening scene I am going to think more carefully about costume, background and diegetic sound as they were lacking in my preliminary task due to having to film my piece as soon as I got told about it so didn't have much time to get all of the things that we wanted prepared.
Preliminary Task - Filming
When filming the preliminary task we learnt a lot of skills that we could use when it comes to filming our final piece on our thriller opening scene, we had a lot of continuity errors when we filmed and we had to go back and reshoot some scenes to make sure that they flowed nicely and didn't look out of place. A couple of the shots that we filmed when holding the camera using our hands were a very shaky and we had to go back and re-film these scenes, the only difference was that we used the spider mount to rest the camera on when walking towards the table as a POV shot this made the shot stable and looked more professional. To film our over the shoulder shots to get our shot reverse shot scene we had to use a tripod with a weighted axel to film our shots as there were only two of us in the group, we had to place the tripod carefully around the room so we didn't break the 180 degree rule.
Preliminary Task - Editing
Kai and I edited our preliminary
task on Adobe Premiere Pro, it was an easy program to use once you got
used to it after some teaching of the controls from the teacher it was
simple and we got our editing of the scenes done in no time at all. In
our editing we added in effects in-between scenes to create a smoother
flowing interchange so it wasn't all amateurish quick cuts, however we
did include some quick cuts as this can add more tension to a scene as
it makes the pace of the scene increases. To make the shots flow nicely
to create a good scene we made cuts to the shots we had filmed, this was
to make our continuity better and to make sure our scenes didn't have
any things in it that looked bad or that we didn't want such as us
standing still or talking out of shot. We also included back ground
music in the end credits where 'Insanity.' comes up to create tension as
the music is quite quiet and relaxing which when in contrast with the
scenes themselves creates and eerie and mysterious feel about as to what
is going to happen next.
Preliminary Task - Dialogue
Walking guy - Kai Gilchrist
Sitting
man - Guy Nicholson
Camera man - Kai Gilchrist, Guy Nicholson
Camera man - Kai Gilchrist, Guy Nicholson
-Hello,
how are after your little ermmm….episode
-I’m fine I don’t know what really
happened that night
-It’s okay
that is why we're here, to help you to help yourself
-To help myself?!? What do you think I am insane!!!!!
-Actually
you are (hands sheet)
Monday, 9 November 2015
Preliminary task - Storyboard
Saturday, 7 November 2015
Inception
Inception.
Camera:
There is a close up of the back of the bald man's head who is in the Chinese style board room, we can't see his face but we know that he is talking to his henchmen and that he is the leader as they went to his with the man's belongings that they found on his when he washed up on their beach. this makes it tense as we don't know who this character is and we are still clueless as to which character the bald man or the guy who washed up on the beach is the good or bad character so we still don't trust either of them, we are drawn in by this scene due to the tense atmosphere it creates as we don't know what he is going to do with the intruder or how the intruder got to where he is.
Sound:
The music in the opening scene is very orchestral and the distinct violin sounds make the scene sound tense and scary as there is a lot of violence and Leonardo the obvious main character in the film is being chased and shot at this makes us fear for him, therefore our eyes glued to the screen as we need to know what is going to happen to him. The diegetic sound of the waves crashing against the rocks gives mystery and a sense of the unknown to the scene, it makes the scene tense as we worry for the character who has washed up on the beach as we don't know who he is and if he is in trouble or not as washing up on an island is associated with danger as he might be stranded.
Mise-en-scene:
When the protagonist wakes up we can tell that he has washed up on a beach due to the waves crashing against the rock, sandy beach and sand castles that the children have made, this doesn't make us uneasy at first and not tense in any kind of way, however once we start to realise that the children are a figure of his imagination we started to feel uneasy and the scene becomes more tense as we wonder where he is or if the whole setting is actually real or not.
Editing:
There is an insert of the spinning top that is found on the man who washed up on the beach and the bald Asian man recognises it from someone he used to know, this makes the scene tense as we think that the man who washed up on the beach might be the same man or had something to do with the man who used to own the spinning top. Another aspect that makes us feel uneasy is the fact that the spinning top keeps spinning in the insert, whereas usually the spinning top would start to wobble and shake this spinning top is remarkably still, this leads us to believe that this place isn't real and that something bad is about to happen between these two characters.
Camera:
There is a close up of the back of the bald man's head who is in the Chinese style board room, we can't see his face but we know that he is talking to his henchmen and that he is the leader as they went to his with the man's belongings that they found on his when he washed up on their beach. this makes it tense as we don't know who this character is and we are still clueless as to which character the bald man or the guy who washed up on the beach is the good or bad character so we still don't trust either of them, we are drawn in by this scene due to the tense atmosphere it creates as we don't know what he is going to do with the intruder or how the intruder got to where he is.
Sound:
The music in the opening scene is very orchestral and the distinct violin sounds make the scene sound tense and scary as there is a lot of violence and Leonardo the obvious main character in the film is being chased and shot at this makes us fear for him, therefore our eyes glued to the screen as we need to know what is going to happen to him. The diegetic sound of the waves crashing against the rocks gives mystery and a sense of the unknown to the scene, it makes the scene tense as we worry for the character who has washed up on the beach as we don't know who he is and if he is in trouble or not as washing up on an island is associated with danger as he might be stranded.
Mise-en-scene:
When the protagonist wakes up we can tell that he has washed up on a beach due to the waves crashing against the rock, sandy beach and sand castles that the children have made, this doesn't make us uneasy at first and not tense in any kind of way, however once we start to realise that the children are a figure of his imagination we started to feel uneasy and the scene becomes more tense as we wonder where he is or if the whole setting is actually real or not.
There is an insert of the spinning top that is found on the man who washed up on the beach and the bald Asian man recognises it from someone he used to know, this makes the scene tense as we think that the man who washed up on the beach might be the same man or had something to do with the man who used to own the spinning top. Another aspect that makes us feel uneasy is the fact that the spinning top keeps spinning in the insert, whereas usually the spinning top would start to wobble and shake this spinning top is remarkably still, this leads us to believe that this place isn't real and that something bad is about to happen between these two characters.
Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace.
Camera:
There was a long shot in the construction yard which shows a small man-made cliff edge where they have done some mining, James Bond drives very close to it and makes the scene tense as it is another situation where James Bond has almost fell off of a height that would have either killed him or got him captured by the pursuers. There was also a mid-shot when James Bond is in the car and has just got hit by the truck driver and the broken bumper has took the door off, this mid shot creates tension in this scene as we are scared for James Bond as he is in a dangerous situation as he is more vulnerable to the spike and bullets than the chasers as they have the door to act as protective armour for them.
Sound:
The music in the first few seconds of the scene the music starts to pick up and it is mostly orchestral, this creates a lot of tension as it is quite fast and mimics the car in the tunnel and the speed of the car chase, it makes us tense by building up our emotions and eager to see this car chase which the James Bond series is known for. The diegetic sound in the opening scene of the gun shots and the car engine roaring makes us concentrated fully on the film as we know that there is a violent chase going on between the three cars and that the chase is even more dangerous than just having two cars racing each other, it makes us tense as we recognise Daniel Craig from the last James Bond and we know that he is the good guy in the film so it makes us sweat as we want him to survive this.
Mise-en-scene:
James Bond is driving an Aston Martin and wearing a very posh suit even though he is in a dangerous car chase which is very violent, this suggests that he is a very either rich or important character as he has very nice things it creates tension as because he is important we want to know why these people are chasing him and whether this important character is going to make it out alive from this. The high mountain motorway that the cars are chasing each other on is very perilous as any of the cars could easily fall off into the water or the mountain passes down below probably killing them, it creates tension as we don't want James Bond to die and he gets into and escapes from many potential crashes which could have sent him over the edge of the road.
Editing:
At the start of the scene there are fast cuts on different aspects of James Bond's car, this creates tension as the fast paced cuts tells us that a chase is happening as this is the classic way a car chase is usually shown by using these types of cuts. As it is fast paced it goes hand in hand with the cars pace that it is travelling at and keeps us on the edge of our seats as we are waiting to know who's winning. The dark tunnel that James Bond drives through is very dim and made like this through editing to make the tunnel seem scary and mysterious, it makes the scene tense as we don't know where he is entering and what's going to happen to him it also makes us wonder why those men were chasing him which is later revealed when he empties his trunk of his hostage which was obviously what they were after.
Titles:
Sienna, Italy - quite fancy and posh writing which suits the location of where James Bond is as Sienna is a very nice area due to its Italian origin.
ALBERT R. BROCCOLI'S
EON PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
DANIEL CRAIG
as IAN FLEMING'S JAMES BOND 007 in
Quantum of Solace
- these texts are in bold and very plain writing which contrast to the video in the background which is complex and full of action, it matches the neatness of James Bond as he is always in nice, neat and clean suits.
Camera:
There was a long shot in the construction yard which shows a small man-made cliff edge where they have done some mining, James Bond drives very close to it and makes the scene tense as it is another situation where James Bond has almost fell off of a height that would have either killed him or got him captured by the pursuers. There was also a mid-shot when James Bond is in the car and has just got hit by the truck driver and the broken bumper has took the door off, this mid shot creates tension in this scene as we are scared for James Bond as he is in a dangerous situation as he is more vulnerable to the spike and bullets than the chasers as they have the door to act as protective armour for them. 
Sound:
The music in the first few seconds of the scene the music starts to pick up and it is mostly orchestral, this creates a lot of tension as it is quite fast and mimics the car in the tunnel and the speed of the car chase, it makes us tense by building up our emotions and eager to see this car chase which the James Bond series is known for. The diegetic sound in the opening scene of the gun shots and the car engine roaring makes us concentrated fully on the film as we know that there is a violent chase going on between the three cars and that the chase is even more dangerous than just having two cars racing each other, it makes us tense as we recognise Daniel Craig from the last James Bond and we know that he is the good guy in the film so it makes us sweat as we want him to survive this.
Mise-en-scene:
James Bond is driving an Aston Martin and wearing a very posh suit even though he is in a dangerous car chase which is very violent, this suggests that he is a very either rich or important character as he has very nice things it creates tension as because he is important we want to know why these people are chasing him and whether this important character is going to make it out alive from this. The high mountain motorway that the cars are chasing each other on is very perilous as any of the cars could easily fall off into the water or the mountain passes down below probably killing them, it creates tension as we don't want James Bond to die and he gets into and escapes from many potential crashes which could have sent him over the edge of the road.
Editing:
At the start of the scene there are fast cuts on different aspects of James Bond's car, this creates tension as the fast paced cuts tells us that a chase is happening as this is the classic way a car chase is usually shown by using these types of cuts. As it is fast paced it goes hand in hand with the cars pace that it is travelling at and keeps us on the edge of our seats as we are waiting to know who's winning. The dark tunnel that James Bond drives through is very dim and made like this through editing to make the tunnel seem scary and mysterious, it makes the scene tense as we don't know where he is entering and what's going to happen to him it also makes us wonder why those men were chasing him which is later revealed when he empties his trunk of his hostage which was obviously what they were after.
Titles:
Sienna, Italy - quite fancy and posh writing which suits the location of where James Bond is as Sienna is a very nice area due to its Italian origin.
ALBERT R. BROCCOLI'S
EON PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
DANIEL CRAIG
as IAN FLEMING'S JAMES BOND 007 in
Quantum of Solace
- these texts are in bold and very plain writing which contrast to the video in the background which is complex and full of action, it matches the neatness of James Bond as he is always in nice, neat and clean suits.
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises.
Camera:
In the opening scene there is a five shot where you see the back of the main man with the gun and on army soldier guarding the captives, we see the captives with black bags over their heads this makes us question them and wonder what they have done to be able to have this kind of security on them and thought makes us keep watching as we are eager to know who these characters are. This adds tension to the opening sequence as they are unknown and we don't know what is going to happen to them and whether they might escape or not. There's a lot of over the shoulder shots and there is on that creates enough tension for the opening to this thriller when the main guy that runs the aircraft is taking the hostage mask off of Bane, we cannot see Bane's face at this point but it creates tension as we don't know what kind of human being the man is about to unmask and the fact that the hostage is the only one talking shows he is the leader and therefore is the most dangerous creating even more tension for the audience. all of these techniques keep us watching as we are eager to learn more about this dominant character called Bane and are excited to see what he will do next.
Sounds:
The music in the background of the opening scene when they are on the aircraft is very fast and has lots of deep base sounds in random places, this creates tension for the audience cause the music is stereotypically associated with something bad that is going to happen and we continue watching as we want to see what is going to happen. The music is very similar to the Jaws theme which had lots of base sounds in it which link our minds to the tension we felt in that film when we hear the soundtrack. The dialogue in the scene is very hostile and threatening especially by the main army man as he says things like "first person to talk won't be thrown out of this plane", this is a clear threat to the hostages to try and get them to talk about the man Bane which they are hunting for. The dialogue creates tension because the army man would not have had to make threats if these hostages weren't dangerous therefore keeping us on the edge of our seat and hungry to now more.
Mise-en-scene:
There are a number of soldiers on the plane with the hostages; we know this due to their camouflaged bullet-proof vests and lethal weapons. This creates tension for us as by looking at these soldiers we know that their hostages are high profile and extremely dangerous or they would be escorted by normal police officers, now we realise these are dangerous men we start to wonder what they are capable of and whether they might escape or not. Near the end of the scene another plane comes into view and is controlled by Bane's men, this shows that he is a powerful force as not only is his plane bigger he also has men with army gear and weaponry to take out the other army men that are his captors. This creates tension as it makes Bane seem more powerful and almost unstoppable.
Editing:
Right before the hood is going to be taken off of Bane there is a sudden cut to where you face Bane but the hood is still on, this creates tension as we are now coming face to face with the man behind the hood and see who he is and what he wants. There are also fast paced cuts between different angles and people when Bane's men drop from their plane, this creates tension as it is building a climactic atmosphere and is reaching the crescendo before the main army guy realises Bane's master plan which then, once it is revealed, makes us realise that these men are in trouble and therefore we are biting our nails with anticipation.
Camera:
In the opening scene there is a five shot where you see the back of the main man with the gun and on army soldier guarding the captives, we see the captives with black bags over their heads this makes us question them and wonder what they have done to be able to have this kind of security on them and thought makes us keep watching as we are eager to know who these characters are. This adds tension to the opening sequence as they are unknown and we don't know what is going to happen to them and whether they might escape or not. There's a lot of over the shoulder shots and there is on that creates enough tension for the opening to this thriller when the main guy that runs the aircraft is taking the hostage mask off of Bane, we cannot see Bane's face at this point but it creates tension as we don't know what kind of human being the man is about to unmask and the fact that the hostage is the only one talking shows he is the leader and therefore is the most dangerous creating even more tension for the audience. all of these techniques keep us watching as we are eager to learn more about this dominant character called Bane and are excited to see what he will do next.
Sounds:
The music in the background of the opening scene when they are on the aircraft is very fast and has lots of deep base sounds in random places, this creates tension for the audience cause the music is stereotypically associated with something bad that is going to happen and we continue watching as we want to see what is going to happen. The music is very similar to the Jaws theme which had lots of base sounds in it which link our minds to the tension we felt in that film when we hear the soundtrack. The dialogue in the scene is very hostile and threatening especially by the main army man as he says things like "first person to talk won't be thrown out of this plane", this is a clear threat to the hostages to try and get them to talk about the man Bane which they are hunting for. The dialogue creates tension because the army man would not have had to make threats if these hostages weren't dangerous therefore keeping us on the edge of our seat and hungry to now more.
Mise-en-scene:
There are a number of soldiers on the plane with the hostages; we know this due to their camouflaged bullet-proof vests and lethal weapons. This creates tension for us as by looking at these soldiers we know that their hostages are high profile and extremely dangerous or they would be escorted by normal police officers, now we realise these are dangerous men we start to wonder what they are capable of and whether they might escape or not. Near the end of the scene another plane comes into view and is controlled by Bane's men, this shows that he is a powerful force as not only is his plane bigger he also has men with army gear and weaponry to take out the other army men that are his captors. This creates tension as it makes Bane seem more powerful and almost unstoppable.
Editing:
Right before the hood is going to be taken off of Bane there is a sudden cut to where you face Bane but the hood is still on, this creates tension as we are now coming face to face with the man behind the hood and see who he is and what he wants. There are also fast paced cuts between different angles and people when Bane's men drop from their plane, this creates tension as it is building a climactic atmosphere and is reaching the crescendo before the main army guy realises Bane's master plan which then, once it is revealed, makes us realise that these men are in trouble and therefore we are biting our nails with anticipation.
Tuesday, 20 October 2015
Lost Highway example - analysis
Example opening title - Lost Highway
-Sound: dialogue is one sentence, creates suspense due to lack of detail, also the main doesn't speak which adds suspense as we don't know why he isn't talking.
: non-diegetic music - loud and was filled with tension.
-Camera: long take moving around the flat, creates tension as no cuts to relieve the tension.
: extreme close up to buzzer, we wait for him to press the buzzer and hear the other man talk which makes it tense as we wait with anticipation for the buzzer to be pressed.
-Lighting: dark and shows the shadows really well and the light of the cigarette creates a sinister feel to main character.
-Sound: dialogue is one sentence, creates suspense due to lack of detail, also the main doesn't speak which adds suspense as we don't know why he isn't talking.
: non-diegetic music - loud and was filled with tension.
-Camera: long take moving around the flat, creates tension as no cuts to relieve the tension.
: extreme close up to buzzer, we wait for him to press the buzzer and hear the other man talk which makes it tense as we wait with anticipation for the buzzer to be pressed.
-Lighting: dark and shows the shadows really well and the light of the cigarette creates a sinister feel to main character.
Thriller conventions
What is a thriller?
A thriller is a tense piece of film, suspenseful, it makes you think and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Usually a crime/ mystery theme
What is the main aim of opening titles?
Barthes says that they are a narrative enigma - where the opening titles don't give away any information about what is happening which causes the viewer to ask questions and keep watching.
A thriller is a tense piece of film, suspenseful, it makes you think and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Usually a crime/ mystery theme
What is the main aim of opening titles?
Barthes says that they are a narrative enigma - where the opening titles don't give away any information about what is happening which causes the viewer to ask questions and keep watching.
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