In the opening of Greenzone the Universal Ident which is usually accompanied by a loud piece of music appears silent. Instad all we can here is the sound of bombs and alarms. The same happens with the Studio Canal Ident.
The titles are withheld in this movie as well until after the film has been introduced. It starts with a scene of chaos and panic as the bombs start to drop over the city of Baghdad. The film there cuts to black and goes silent, and the word Greenzone appears. Then it cuts straight to the American soldiers entering the city and starting their operation. The names of the stars comes later.
Monday, 20 December 2010
Collateral Intro
At the beginning of Collateral the Paramount Ident was in black and white with no music. The black and white could suggest a cold atmosphere in the film, or seeing as the Paramount logo came out as silver in the black and white, it could symbolise technology and computers. In Collateral the name of the film is withheld for a very long time. The film pretty much starts without the name of the film being shown.
The antagonist is introduced very briefly at the beginning of the film. He bumps into a man and they exchange suitcases.
The protagonist is introduced afterwards, he's a taxi driver and we are gradually introduced to his character.
The antagonist is introduced very briefly at the beginning of the film. He bumps into a man and they exchange suitcases.
The protagonist is introduced afterwards, he's a taxi driver and we are gradually introduced to his character.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Preliminary Exercise - Drug Deal Gone Bad
In our preliminary exercise we decided to portray a drug deal. We used a range of shots, including; a pan, a static shot, longshot and a close up. At the end we were forced to do a handheld shot (a steadycam would have been useful here) to film the camera shot. Despite being a relative success there was one editing mistake after the the door, there was an accidental jump cut which is not part of continuity editing.
From this I have learnt that when making a movie, to make sure the editing is done to perfection, and to make sure that we don't cut different shots too short; such as the door handle shot in the video.
Another mistake is the drug dealer's head is cut off in some of the scenes.
The sound cannot be heard very clearly, as we did not have proper sound equipment. When we make our thriller, we will be sure to use proper sound equipment.
Also the Mise en Scene in this video is all wrong, why would a drug deal be taking place in a classroom in broad daylight? Also the drug addict does not look like a drug addict based on the clothes. When we film our thriller we will try harder to get the Mise en Scene perfect.
In conclusion, this video despite its flaws, has taught us from some of our mistakes, to make a better film.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
My Favourite Thriller
One of my favourite thrillers is Die Hard 3. I like it because it presents impossible situations, and a lot of action. It really keeps you sitting on the edge of your seat. Also the character played by Samuel Jackson (Zeus) is just a normal bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. He gets swept right into the middle of a massive terrorist plot hosted by the elusive 'Simon' (Jeremy Irons), who also bears a grudge against the main character John McClane (Bruce Willis).
One of the most helpless situations in the movie is the scene with the bomb on the Subway train. In a situation like that, any normal person would panic, and if the bomb went off almost certainly die. This makes us put ourselves in that situation mentally, and builds tension. Another thing in that scene that builds tension is when he is holding the bomb, the fact we don't know when it could go off. Also Simon said if someone interferes with the bomb, it would go off.
One of the most helpless situations in the movie is the scene with the bomb on the Subway train. In a situation like that, any normal person would panic, and if the bomb went off almost certainly die. This makes us put ourselves in that situation mentally, and builds tension. Another thing in that scene that builds tension is when he is holding the bomb, the fact we don't know when it could go off. Also Simon said if someone interferes with the bomb, it would go off.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
AS Media Studies Audience Research.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3bKpE_ibM8
To produce this video we went out with a video camera and interviewed some people. Then when we finished the interviews, we edited it on Final Cut Express. On Final Cut Express we edited out some mistakes, outtakes and we added a fade in fade out.
We asked people 3 questions:
What is your favourite thriller?
What do you like about the thriller genre?
What makes a good thriller?
We got a range of responses.
Technically this video is competent for a beginner. The sound works, the video is clear, however this is not the quality you would expect from the 6 'o' clock news. For example the camera is not steady in some sections, sometimes the camera man's voice is too quiet, and in one part of the video, one of the subjects stepped out of frame.
From the interviews we found out that most people are fond of twists, suspense and mystery. We also learnt to tell people to stay still when we're filming them.
To produce this video we went out with a video camera and interviewed some people. Then when we finished the interviews, we edited it on Final Cut Express. On Final Cut Express we edited out some mistakes, outtakes and we added a fade in fade out.
We asked people 3 questions:
What is your favourite thriller?
What do you like about the thriller genre?
What makes a good thriller?
We got a range of responses.
Technically this video is competent for a beginner. The sound works, the video is clear, however this is not the quality you would expect from the 6 'o' clock news. For example the camera is not steady in some sections, sometimes the camera man's voice is too quiet, and in one part of the video, one of the subjects stepped out of frame.
From the interviews we found out that most people are fond of twists, suspense and mystery. We also learnt to tell people to stay still when we're filming them.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Children of Men
In class we watched the intro to 'Children of Men' (2006) a thriller film by Alfonso Cuar on. The film is set in 2027 in the United Kingdom.
The intro creates a lot of mystery, the it starts with people standing in a cafe with the people acting as if they are completely horrified and cannot turn away from the TV. They are watching the news. The news tell the audience that the world's youngest person has died. He was 18 years old. This makes the audience wonder how or why the world's youngest person is 18. This creates an enigma.
We then follow the main character outside the cafe, and we watch him, expecting him to do something. Suddenly the cafe that he was in explodes, the fact that this was not expected by the audience, creates shock. Woman walks out in distress, holding her own arm.
This makes us want to carry on watching because we want to find out more about this dystopic future.
The intro creates a lot of mystery, the it starts with people standing in a cafe with the people acting as if they are completely horrified and cannot turn away from the TV. They are watching the news. The news tell the audience that the world's youngest person has died. He was 18 years old. This makes the audience wonder how or why the world's youngest person is 18. This creates an enigma.
We then follow the main character outside the cafe, and we watch him, expecting him to do something. Suddenly the cafe that he was in explodes, the fact that this was not expected by the audience, creates shock. Woman walks out in distress, holding her own arm.
This makes us want to carry on watching because we want to find out more about this dystopic future.
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Aspects of the Thriller: Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock was born in 1899 in London, UK. He became one of the most well known film directors of all time, and pioneered the thriller genre.
Hitchcock used a number of devices in his films to create maximum suspense and mystery.
Hitchcock's Maguffin
Maguffins featured in a lot of Hitchcock's film, they were plot devices that motivates the characters, but has little to do with the actual story line, although it may seem like they do. A famous Maguffin is in the thriller psycho in which Marion Crane steals the money entrusted to her, and drives off into the sunset. At that point people might think the film is about her running from the police or whatnot, but it's actually about her being murdered.
Enigma:
An enigma is a puzzle or mystery that the protagonist must solve. It is usually solved at the end of the film, and by doing so the protagonist becomes victorious. A famous example of an enigma is in North by North West where the main protagonist must find out the mysterious identity of Mr Kaplan, to become free of his captors and all the trouble that has ensued because of this case of mistaken identity.
Red Herring: A red herring is something that diverts the audiences attention to what is really happening.
Hitchcock used a number of devices in his films to create maximum suspense and mystery.
Hitchcock's Maguffin
Maguffins featured in a lot of Hitchcock's film, they were plot devices that motivates the characters, but has little to do with the actual story line, although it may seem like they do. A famous Maguffin is in the thriller psycho in which Marion Crane steals the money entrusted to her, and drives off into the sunset. At that point people might think the film is about her running from the police or whatnot, but it's actually about her being murdered.
Enigma:
An enigma is a puzzle or mystery that the protagonist must solve. It is usually solved at the end of the film, and by doing so the protagonist becomes victorious. A famous example of an enigma is in North by North West where the main protagonist must find out the mysterious identity of Mr Kaplan, to become free of his captors and all the trouble that has ensued because of this case of mistaken identity.
Red Herring: A red herring is something that diverts the audiences attention to what is really happening.
No Country for Old Men opening scenes
In class I watched the opening scenes to No Country for Old Men. In these scenes we here dialogue from Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee-Jones) and we meet the main antagonist of the film Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), although at this point we are not aware of who is. He is shrouded in mystery, we do not see his face.
Anton (name is only revealed later on in the film) when we first see him is being arrested, he is dressed all in black. When he is put into the police car the back of the police car is shrouded in black, making the audience wander who this stranger person could be. Also, emphasis is put on a strange metal canister that he was found with, this again is to keep the audience wandering about what is going to happen.
When they arrive at the police station, the officer is on the phone, we see Anton behind him put his handcuffs in front of him, and walk confidently up to the officer and strangle him to death. Anton is calm, and knows exactly what he is doing. The look on Anton's face it the one of a psycho, as he kills the officer. This to make audience get to know the character, that he is psychotic and a merciless killer. Once the officer is dead, Anton casually washes his hands, picks up his canister and leaves.
The next scene begins with Anton driving the officer's police car, and he pulls over a car on the road. As Anton slowly and casually walks up to the car, the canister is shown, and it makes the audience feel suspense and wander what is about to happen. He causally asks the man to step out of the car, tells him to hold still, put the hose that is coming out from the canister up to the man's head. A pop/bang is heard and the man falls down dead, this causes shock to the audience as there was no warning for this.
Anton (name is only revealed later on in the film) when we first see him is being arrested, he is dressed all in black. When he is put into the police car the back of the police car is shrouded in black, making the audience wander who this stranger person could be. Also, emphasis is put on a strange metal canister that he was found with, this again is to keep the audience wandering about what is going to happen.
When they arrive at the police station, the officer is on the phone, we see Anton behind him put his handcuffs in front of him, and walk confidently up to the officer and strangle him to death. Anton is calm, and knows exactly what he is doing. The look on Anton's face it the one of a psycho, as he kills the officer. This to make audience get to know the character, that he is psychotic and a merciless killer. Once the officer is dead, Anton casually washes his hands, picks up his canister and leaves.
The next scene begins with Anton driving the officer's police car, and he pulls over a car on the road. As Anton slowly and casually walks up to the car, the canister is shown, and it makes the audience feel suspense and wander what is about to happen. He causally asks the man to step out of the car, tells him to hold still, put the hose that is coming out from the canister up to the man's head. A pop/bang is heard and the man falls down dead, this causes shock to the audience as there was no warning for this.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Welcome to my AS Media studies coursework blog.
Hello, in this blog I'll be detailing my progress in making my thriller film.
Brief:
This project will be an opening of a thriller, it will be 2 minutes long, we will be working in groups of 2 to 4 people, however this blog will be individual to me.
I will be using this blog to show my steps in planning and research, construction of my film, and i will be evaluating the finished result.
Brief:
This project will be an opening of a thriller, it will be 2 minutes long, we will be working in groups of 2 to 4 people, however this blog will be individual to me.
I will be using this blog to show my steps in planning and research, construction of my film, and i will be evaluating the finished result.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
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