Research Task by Mark

Casino Royale:
Here is the link to the full opening clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epxYm3OouQA
Below is an edited version of the opening with some of my analysis notes linked to the specific shots.

Camerawork

• Close ups are used to show emotion and fear. 
• Long shots are used to show location (establishing shot) to bring the audience up to date.
• Low angle shots at the beginning are used to show the character has authority, but as he gets higher on the lift, and closer to danger and frightened to find out what's coming. Tracking shot to follow the character to see where he is going (it's a mystery).
• Two shot is used to show the distance between them, and that they will be related somehow.
• Depth of field is used to only make us concentrate on the characters only, but not used very often in the opening.

Mise en Scene

• The scene is very dark, with only key lighting shown from one side of the character when their in the office, which adds the effect of suspicion to both of the characters and creates the thriller mood.
• The setting is in an office and both of the characters are wearing office-like clothing - Suits and jackets.
• The two characters seem to be very relaxed, although the character who walked into the office, seemed very jumpy once he saw James Bond. The lighting is also a lot brighter in the flashback scenes. 

Sound

• Parallel sound is used throughout, it's very tense soundtrack music and creates the sense of a thriller because the music is dramatic, so the audience is expecting something to happen.

Editing

• A flashback is used to help the audience understand the story - the cuts are a lot faster in the flashback as more action is going on.

Taxi Driver:
This link is to the opening extract on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlILSt2ppO4
Below is an edited version of the opening with some of my analysis notes linked to the specific shots
.

Camerawork

• Big close ups are used on eyes to show emotion right at the beginning, creates tension as the audience are unsure why he is crying and creates the "thriller" mood as we are asking questions right from the beginning. 
• A lot of mid shots used to show body language and to show the audience who the characters are. 
• A tracking shot is also used as the character walks into the taxi firm to show we are following him and so the audience feel they are part of the film.

Mise en Scene

• Very low key lighting, no fill light used, made to look like natural light from the sun.
• In a traditional taxi office, with desk 
• Body language of the person on the desk is very relaxed and laid back, whereas the other character applying for the taxi job, is more serious. 

Sound

• Contrapuntal music at the beginning of the scene; the music is quite upbeat when the character is crying; walking into a taxi place and its very tense, dramatic music; the suspicious soundtrack suggests the character has something to hide but we don't know what it is yet.

Editing

• A graphic match is used in the opening sequence where the character has mist from crying and then the smoke from outside the taxi firm which works very well. 
• Additionally, match on action is used when the taxi employer passes the other character his papers back. 
• There is a lot of shot/reverse shot sequences used throughout so that the audience can follow the dialogue without any confusion on who is talking. 
• All the takes are long so the audience can understand the story line and get to know the character a bit better, but not too well so the character doesn't give away too much right at the beginning of the film.

Pulp Fiction:
This link is to the opening extract on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwusCDRiDwE
Below is an edited version of the opening with some of my analysis notes linked to the specific shots.

Camerawork

• Two shots are used a lot in the opening scene, lots of close ups and also over the shoulder which brings us closer to the characters which was done slowly from the beginning. 
• Also the shots seem to be point of view when they are facing the characters as the camerawork seems to be handheld.

Mise en Scene

• Body language of right hand side male character is very relaxed, but also very jumpy as if he has something to hide and laid back whereas the female character seems more sophisticated and more up-right. 
• It's a cafe, usually thrillers are based somewhere strange/out of the norm. 

Sound

• The only sound in this clip is mainly dialogue with some background noise of the cafe. 

Editing

• Shot/reverse shot is used quite often, other than that, the takes are quite long apart from when it is a shot/reverse shot then it follows the dialogue.

The Dark Knight:

This link is to the opening extract on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuaUcGr32SM

Below is an edited version of the opening with some of my analysis notes linked to the specific shots.

Camerawork

• Establishing shot to show the audience where the film will be taking place.
• Lots of close ups used , and additionally tracking shots to follow the character so the audience feels they are involved too.

Mise en Scene

• Masks to hide face, to hide identity from others.
• Lighting looks natural, but is both key and fill light used outside, but not in the bank where they are trying to take money the light is only on one part of their face to hide their identity and so the audience  realise they are the evil guys, it therefore creates tension as we don't know who they are as they are wearing the masks.

Sound

• Mainly dialogue but there is a little bit of background music, screams when they go into the bank too.

Editing

• Cuts are very quick after the establishing shot.
• Match on action where he shoots the glass.

Unstoppable:

Below is an edited version of the opening with some of my analysis notes linked to the specific shots.

Camerawork

• Establishing shot is used to show where the character just shown lives.
• Close ups used to see facial expressions and emotions on the characters
• Long shots to show where he works

Mise en Scene

• Body language shows he doesn't want to get up for work, could suggest something might happen there, then a link to the rail yard to show that's where he works.
• Facial expression of the character looking at his wife and his kids, looks upset as he can't see the kids.
• Facial expression of the wife when he is ringing shows that she wants to answer it but she can't possibly.

Sound

• Alarm going off (foley)
• TV in background, goes quieter when she knows its him calling

Editing

• Match on action with him ringing his wife and the phone going off in her house

Research Task by Chris

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

 This film is about scientist Dr. Bruce Banner, played by Edward Norton, who transforms into a green-skinned giant after a gamma ray experiment gone wrong. At the same time, a soldier undergoes the same procedure, becoming an evil version of the hulk. 


The Incredible Hulk - Clip Opening Title

Camerawork

• Extreme close ups on science equipment and reactions to give the viewer an idea of what is happening but not why, which in turn builds suspense. It also reinforces the imminent danger surrounding the events in the opening. e.g. The ECU of the danger warning.
• Shallow depth of field on the scientist when we first see him. As he is only on screen for a couple of seconds, this has been used to immediately draw the viewer to him. The shortness of the shot also creates enigma in the mood as the viewer feels like they missed something after seeing the shot. Also adds a dream like effect to the opening as its constant throughout.
• POV shots half way through the sequence when the subject transforms. The POV shots help make the scene make more sense to the viewer as they are put into the key role of the opening. It also adds a slight sense of fear as they feel as if they are the cause of the current destruction.

Mise en Scene

• Lost of high-tech science equipment, making the viewer ask themselves what is about to happen to the subject. Adds a sense of mystery to the mood of the sequence.
• Lab coats worn by some of the other people there show the seriousness of the situation. This makes the viewer confused about the meaning to the experiment as there is little to use in order to figure it out.

Sound

• Dieject sound used alongside strong non-diejetic. Diejectic sound limited to roars and mechanical sounds. The roars shock the viewer and almost release the suspense that has built up beforehand.
• No dialogue is used throughout the whole opening, damaging the meaning for the scene for the viewer. It also makes the viewer think hard about the events as they have to try and work out for themselves what the dialogue would be.

Editing 

• Very high number of cuts with little time between them. This creates suspense and pace within the sequence
• A possible jump cut has been used during the destruction to throw the viewer and make them feel disoriented.  It also, in some ways, makes the sequence seem to last longer as it seems to the viewer that it repeats itself.

Face/Off (1997)

 Face/Off is a film where an undercover police officer goes under a pioneering medical technique to change his physical appearance. He takes the identity of a major criminal in order to infiltrate their organization. The main stars of this film are John Travolta and Nicholas Cage.

Camerawork

• Shallow depth of field at sniper rifle reveal with the assassin as the target. Draws viewer attention directly to him.
• Viewer put in the sniper's position by showing viewpoint down the scope. Adds restricted narration by only allowing the viewer to see down it. Its also a POV shot making the viewer closer to the situation. Slightly disorientates the viewer, but brings them closer to the action.

Mise en Scene

• Sniper rifle - Suggests danger, and makes the viewer curious about the target. We don't know if the assassin is good or not. Sense of enigma
• Location is childish and appears to be safe. The roundabout links back to realism due to it being something in most people's memories
• The assassin's drink, possibly a milkshake, gives a sense of a childish nature to him as we associate that type of cup and straw with childhood. It helps to confuse the mood as its almost like he isn't taking it seriously. It also makes it difficult to tell who we should be siding with in some ways.

Sound

• Contrapuntal Sound, confusing the viewer (Calm, triumphant music doesn't match the danger of the assassin)
•  Non-diejetic sound only up until gun shot. Breaks the calm/safe mood, throwing the viewer into a state of confusion. Gun shot signifies a complete change of mood in the scene.
• No dialogue during the sequence

Editing 

• Cross cutting throughout the build up for the gun firing. Builds up suspense up until the climax of the gun being fired.
• Multiple match on actions. (e.g Gun fire - Trigger being pulled and bullet leaving the gun, Police officer collapsing - Two different shots of the action have been linked together). This helps to create flow during the sequence and maintain continuity.

The Bourne Identity (TV 1988)

A man, Richard Chamberlain, is washed ashore, soon found by found by a french doctor who takes care of him. When he wakes, he cannot remember anything about who he is or how he got there. All he has is flashback memories of violence and a code of a Swiss bank on his thigh. His life soon becomes dangerous when he begins his search for his identity.

Camerawork

• The first shot of the opening is a long shot on a boat. This establishes a setting which is fairly common to the viewer, a boat, however the surrounding setting of a stormy sea is unusual. The combination of the usual with the unusual creates a sense of enigma to the mood.
• After the character is shot for the first time, the following shots are examples of restricted narration. The camera is dragged after the character as he attempts to escape the boat. The effect is then passed on to the viewer showing the severity of the situation and thus suggests meaning.

Mise en Scene

• Pathetic fallacy has been used alongside the storm in the opening. The storm sets shock into the meaning, causing the viewer to pay more attention and question what is going on.
• Due the nature of the weather, there is also very dark lighting present in the sequence. This makes is difficult for the viewer to fully identify the characters in the sequence. Creating enigma in the mood, also partially due to some events being difficult to fully understand.

Sound

• The music is very ominous and provides little meaning to the viewer. The only hint in  the music is the strong sounds of it, creating suspense to the viewer. It is parallel sound when compared to the action, causing it to enhance the vision the player gets from the opening.
• In the opening, there is only couple of lines of dialogue used, and even these are just groans mainly after the first character gets shot. This diejetic sound adds realism to the opening, as well as adding suspense to the mood.

Editing 

• In the opening, there is a rare example of discontinuity editing. The 180 degree rule has been broken during the shots as the victim crawls along the boat and the attacker comes out. During the shots between them, we see both characters almost face on meaning that it can't follow the rule. This mirrors the unsettling mood of the opening as well as fragmenting the meaning.
• At the point around where the victim falls in the water, there is a lot of quick cuts used. The keeps a fast pace to the sequence, making the thriller effect greater.

Blade Runner (1982)

 Blade Runner is a story following Rick Deckard, Harrison Ford, who is part of a team of Blade Runners. He is tasked to track down 4 replicants (genetically engineered organic robots)  who hijacked a space ship during its flight. The replicants have now returned to earth in order to find their maker.

Camerawork

• Close to the end of the opening, there is an extreme close-up of an eye with a reflection of the blazing world. This extreme close up usually distorts the viewer, but the effect of it has been reduced due to the reflection in the eye. This odd combination adds enigma due to it being hard to understand the meaning of it.
• The composition of the long shot has a very empty feel to it, due to there being no people present and the shot covering a very large area. This emptiness could suggest that the city is barren of life and completely industrialized. The viewer is then made to ask themselves why is it like this, giving no meaning at all to the opening.

Mise en Scene

• Opening the scene with lots of fire builds up pace. It also adds enigma, especially as there is a futuristic setting where the viewer will quickly feel lost.
• During the whole opening, there appears to be a red/orange hue to the shots as well as the fire which shows the same colour. The colour red is linked closely with danger meaning the pace is increased.

Sound

• Metallic, nondescript sound doesn't provide much information to the viewer so doesn't provide meaning. Its also eerie adding suspense and enigma to the opening
• Diejetic sound used consists of strong, common sounds. e.g. helicopter and thunder. This adds impact to the scene and shocks the viewer into paying attention. Also, as these strong sounds are common, there is an increased amount of realism to the scene making it fit traditional thriller more.

Editing 

• The opening of the film mainly features one long shot which is slowly getting closer into the city. However, there are a few points where it suddenly cuts away to another shot for a few seconds. e.g. to the eye. These quick cuts make the viewer feel even more unconformable then they already are due to the unfamiliar setting. These seem to hold little purpose, but the viewer is almost forced to remember them due to the mysterious nature they have.
• These random cuts are also an example of parallel cutting. Even though the viewer doesn't know what they mean, the use of parallel cutting has told them that there is a link between the two in some way. This gives greater meaning to the scene, whilst the viewer still has to think about how each one is relevant to each other.

The Transporter

The film transporter is about a man, Jason Statham, is tasked to deliver packages to various locations whenever he is told. Things go bad when he chooses to break the rules.

Camerawork

• Extreme Close Ups on his watch and parts of the car. These confuse the viewer, as well as add emphasis to the specified sections. A close up of his watch adds meaning as it suggests that he is under a time limit or is very specific with details.
• There are a lot of shots that have been created as if they are POV shots from a person, this has been done by shooting them at eye level. This creates a sense of realism for the viewer and pulls them more into the action.

Mise en Scene

• The featured character is wearing a tidy black suit. This suggest the seriousness of his situation and that he knows what he is doing. It could also suggest that he is used to the type of situation. Also, this is normal clothing for this type of person and matches with the other aspects of mise en scene. e.g. his watch and car. This also enhances the realism of the opening making the viewer feel closer to the action.
• One feature of the mise en scene is the low key lighting of the sequence. This resulting dark lighting effects the mood of the opening giving it the serious nature. It also suggests the character of the person we see, suggesting that he is not to be messed with and that he is in control.

Sound

• The high number of beats matches the high number of cuts found during the opening , but especially the car section. This high beat further increases the pacing of the opening. The drum beat also adds to this effect
• Whilst there is no dialogue present, the diejetic sound is very unique and stands by itself very well. Distinctive sounds such as the watch beeping and the keypad convey a lot of meaning to the audience due to them being so recognizable.

Editing 

• Very fast cutting during each of the individual actions, include minor ones such as closing a case, creating a very fast pace. It also seems to throw the viewer around a bit due to them having to keep remembering what they were just shown.
•  During the fast paced shots from inside the car there is various examples of continuity editing, mainly a large amount of match on actions. This help to maintain the flow of the sequence and helps the viewer to see and maintain all of the details that are given during the sequence.

Research Task by Megan.

Devil

• Sound
• Soundtrack creates the thriller mood at this point - fast paced and a beat which reoccurs, building tension
• Voiceover which mentions death and carries on from quote shown; fits in with thriller mood - also most likely foreshadows the events of the film
• Mise en Scene
• Initial setting appears to be in some sort of office building - we can tell from the tiled floors, huge windows and metallic-looking walls.
• We are only introduced visibly to one character: 

• appears to be a cleaner of some description, his overalls and actions would suggest this
• I don't think we are supposed to assume that he is the person giving us the voiceover as otherwise we would most likely see a clear connection between the two 
• The setting is an everyday scene which creates a sense of normality with the viewer, until we see a second character who has presumably jumped, land on the top of the truck in the background. This is almost humorous as the cleaner appears to have no idea what is going on, but if you listened to the voiceover at the start this is quite a chilling moment as you understand that this is probably the suicide which would lead to the appearance of the devil.
• Editing
• Right at the very beginning, there is a quote which fades in and out. This quote is supposed to give the viewer some indication of what they are about to see in the rest of the film, and as this quote mentions the devil - this is certainly the case.
• One long take from the end of the credits where we start to track across the floor - no cuts, creates suspense and restricts our knowledge of the setting.
• Camera Work

• The film starts with the credits panning over the whole of Philadelphia from upside-down
• confusing & disorientating for the viewer - sets thriller mood
• We start by being taken inside a building - tracking across the floor, panning upwards with a voiceover. The panning is quite slow which adds to the disorientation we feel having tracked across the floor.

Inception

• Inception is very different to Devil in that it doesn't start out being immediately obvious that it is a thriller film. 

Watch the Opening Here

• Sound
• In the opening sequence, the sound is mainly diegetic - sound of the waves, children playing
• There is also non-diegetic sound with a subtle soundtrack 

• Mise en Scene
• Cobb's facial expression tells us that he appears to be somewhat dazed; suggests there is something not quite right in the scene
• Children appear suitably dressed for the beach, with the young girl wearing a dress and the boy in casual shorts and a t-shirt, however the man appears to be wearing a heavy jacket - suggests to us that he is perhaps not as prepared for this setting
• These screen grabs show the difference in costume between the three characters we have been introduced to at this point:

• When the setting changes, we get a sort of establishing shot to show us the new setting.
• Once inside:

• we see the backs of three men - almost silhouetted, adds to the suspense of the new location 
• lanterns on the ceiling and subtitles on screen - action/adventure connotations but builds the suspense we would expect from a thriller

• Camera Work
• Many close ups used, particularly on man's face, this suggests that we're not getting the whole picture: restricted narrative. (see above screen grab)
• Children are also shown using close up shots, screen grab above shows the furthest point we see them from

• distorting for viewer - don't fully understand the scene
• Point of View shot - first hint that we are watching a thriller, low angle shot with a downward tilt showing a gun
• helps further our understanding of the situation - the man is in danger
• A lot of the camera work looks as if it has been filmed on a handheld camera rather than using a tripod. This adds to the sense of confusion we feel during the scene.
• Close up of the gun and the spinning top - latter will become prominent in the film, used as foreshadowing

• Editing

• When we see the boy for the fist time, he starts off in focus and then goes out of focus before returning to focus again. This could suggest to us that the man is dreaming, or that the boy isn't actually real
• Upon entering the new room and location - track slowly forwards as if we are walking through the doors. Speed creates tension.

The Da Vinci Code

• Sound
• Non-diegetic
• The soundtrack is soft and slow but has a menacing quality about it, implying something bad is going to happen to the male character we see
• Diegetic
• We hear his footsteps as he's running away
• His heavy breathing
• Dialogue between two characters
• Never hear any diegetic sound from the cloaked man except from his dialogue. Suggests he is moving in a stealthy nature, adding to the threat of his character - contrasts with the other man as he is incredibly loud in comparison 
• Soundtrack becomes silent at the confrontation - only dialogue.
• Mise en Scene


• Long shot introducing male character to us - running

• low key lighting used throughout sequence, blue glow from the background where he begins to run from
• Shadow of a person - we understand that the man we have seen running is being chased by this character
• only seeing the cloaked shadow creates suspense, and makes us question who the person is, why he is cloaked.
• Close up of the man's face as he is running away, shows us his facial expression clearly - scared, makes us empathise with him as we want to help him escape from the cloaked figure.
• His body language is also important here as he is constantly looking around him trying to escape. Sense of enclosure, grabs the attention of the audience.
• Editing
• Quickly cut shots during the chase sequence, builds tension for the viewer.
• Each cut seems to show the characters from a different angle/distance, distorts the action slightly allowing us to empathise with the confusion of the male character
• Pace of cutting slows at the confrontation allowing focus to be put on the action.
• Camera Work
• Fast paced shots, close up of different paintings.

• Assume we are in an art gallery 
• Skim quickly over paintings - distortion, confusing for the viewer
• Close ups of paintings with faces - as if they are watching him run through the gallery
• Bird's Eye View shot shows the male character's vulnerability in his current situation. Makes him look tiny in comparison to the building around him. 
• Focus pulling is used to draw attention from the man to the gun. Makes his impending death seem more immediate to the viewer as it reinforces the danger of the gun

Black Swan

• Sound
• Starts as Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake quietly in the background
• No dialogue throughout the whole sequence
• As is common with dance, the music seems to increase in tempo as the more dramatic events start to take place, for example with the entrance of the man, the music becomes much more dramatic and quickens in pace
• Mise en Scene

• Low key lighting is very prominent in this scene. 
• We are supposed to understand that there is a spotlight on the dancer which is lighting the scene in this way. The effect is quite sinister as we can only see one side of her body highlighted, and we do not actually see her face properly for the whole of this beginning routine.

• The lighting here is extremely cleverly constructed. It allows us to see merely the outline of a figure walking towards the female character in a way that would suggest she is in danger due to the fact that we cannot see his face.
• Her costume, hair and makeup are typical for what we would expect of a ballet dancer, both on screen and off screen. This helps the audience establish what is going on in this scene.
• The setting is also somewhat what we would expect, with the couple appearing to be dancing on a stage, though much of the setting is too dark for us to properly see their surroundings.
• Editing

• There are only two cuts in this sequence, with quite long gaps in between each one. I think this creates fluidity in the dance and allows us to concentrate on the dancing without distraction.
• Camera Work
• Where the male enters, the camera seems to track their movement as the characters twirl around each other - the camera moves round them at the same time, adding drama to the scene as it makes it difficult to understand what is going on.
• Mostly long shots are used in this sequence, which allows us to fully watch the way the characters move around each other. Close ups are also used when showing the feet of the female character.

As far as this opening goes, the lighting and the dramatic dance would suggest that this could be a thriller film. The action is quite fast paced, and sets the scene for the rest of the film. 

Shutter Island

• Sound
• There is a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound at the start of Shutter Island
• There is a soundtrack which is quite slow in tempo and seems to suggest something threatening because of this
• This threatening music carries on throughout most of the first two minutes of the film, which builds tension for the viewer
• There is also the sound of waves, which we assume is diegetic sound as a boat emerges from the fog during the scene
• Mise en Scene



• The setting appears to be a boat, as this is what the establishing shot suggests. We then cut to a man standing in a dull blue room with a circular window, typically like what we would connote with boat interiors. The room appears to be quite dirty, and the walls rusty which further supports the idea that he is on a boat.
• The man himself is wearing a suit and tie, which contrasts with his surroundings as he looks out of place in the dirty room.
• When we meet a second character, he is also similarly dressed and we understand from the dialogue combined with their costume that they are probably detectives of some kind.
• When we see the man exit the first room, he enters a similarly decorated room with handcuffs hanging from the ceiling. This location reflects the thriller mood as it comes across with quite a chilling mood & makes the audience think about what they are being presented with.
• Editing
• This sequence is mainly put together by cutting from shot to shot. The shots are quite evenly spaced out from each other, and seems to go with the speed of the soundtrack.
• Camera Work


• The first shot we see is an establishing shot, with a boat emerging from the fog. This is quite sinister as it appears out of nowhere.
• An over the shoulder style close up is used to introduce us to the lead character for the first time. This is interesting as we see how vulnerable he is having previously established he is seasick. This shot allows us to focus on his facial expression and body language.

Research Task by Robert

What is this about?

This is a quick evaluation of movies of the "thriller" genre. I will compile 5 different titles (all being thriller movies) and link them up with trailers/exerpts of the film (mostly on YouTube).

Psycho (1960)


This is considered a "classic" thriller film however it does border on the horror side of films. It features classic "thriller" sound tracks (non-diegetic sounds) and has a lot of suspense, emotional depth and gore/blood. The latter characteristics is what makes this film slightly "horror like". Never the less it is considered one of the best films of all time (not just in the thriller/horror genre). Directer: HITCHCOCK; Alfred.
Release date: June 16th 1960 (US, EU, Worldwide)

LINK: (YouTube refused to allow embedding)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzkIaD6QGQw

The above is a good example of the classic "violin thriller soundtrack" that eventually became instantly recognisable.


The Birds (1963)

Another classic thriller film which was directed by alfred hitchcock in his so called "golden years" or the "golden era of films". The film consists of a city/town being overtaken by a stampede of birds (notably large, and made especially to be sinister). These birds attack humans and in general cause havoc. The image of hitchcock's giant seagulls is one of the most famous too and scared many even today. The soundtrack is scarse however the sound of the birds flying around is enough to classify it as a thriller. The opening is unusual in todays perspective but this was the norm back in the 60s when films where peaking. The 1930s-1940s




Dressed to kill (1980s)


I decided not to type this in pink. hold on your seat for some avant-garde ass explanation of how to over-analyze a film. just watch it and let it be but thats not the job here. This movie features the best actor in the world (my view), being Michael CAINE! infact i once met the guy as i once lived in a town where he currently resided. interesting tales!

A bit of a copy cat of psycho but nothing in the arts is truly original, well nothing but the concepts and the manner in which they are done in might be original but every musician takes elements from others just as film makes do. This clip has good use of close up and extreme close up shots to show emotion more-so than the other thrillers on this post. It is to show the emotion (and to bring out those lovely wrinkles).


The Zodiac Killer


This films is a weird choice. While it is listed as a "documentary" it is based on a true story and for me, and countless other peoples sight of line; is a thriller. It describes the plot of a genius serial killer (with all due respect he is a baddie yet you will admire him for his intelligence) just like the man who jumped out of a plane with $40,000 and a parachute and was never found, oh yes his name was DB cooper. Anyway the famous action movie "Dirty harry 1971" is half based on this plot. Excuse my throught-train method to analyze but i am very shocked by this movie so much so i heard a shot.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbR2w5VOVDg


[EDIT; greedy selfish user made it impossible to embed yet he uploaded copyright me-trial in the first place, what a mustard!]






No country for old men 


This is a modern day classic. after watching it myself and being in awe i googled "top 10 thriller movies" and found two that i reviewed on there! this is excellent what more to say, the mise en scene, the sound (i love that desert wind flowing with the classic texas hayball rolling down). It has a somewhat surreal plot but is strictly a thriller. regards!

Prelim Evaluation

	Strengths	Weaknesses
Mark	Gave clear direction Contributed to set up of shots Contribution to script	Check shot composition more Sometimes critical - unnecessary attention to detail
Megan	Assisted Mark well Contributed to set up of shots	Not fully involved in planning process - joined group late Forgot shot number
Chris	Storyboard design Co-operation Contribution to script	Forgot lines occasionally
Robert	Co-operation Willing to help and give ideas to do with setting/script	Forgot lines occasionally Distraction - occasional laughter
Overall	Storyboard worked well Incorporated continuity techniques well Well-organized	Continuity errors, consider composition more Poor location choice in some ways - noisy environment

Lighting Homework Task

	How we managed to pull off this photo, was by having the key light only to Robert's left, as seen in my diagram.
	This photo is an example of key light only for image C on the task sheet, just by having light on one side of the face creates the effect of evil and creates tension.
	The silhouette effect here was created by having the two lights behind Robert, which therefore creates the silhouette effect. .
	key light only - Megan Using only the key light illuminates the whole of the subject, though has slightly more light on the left hand side in this case as the key light is placed to the left hand side.
	key light and fill - Megan The combination of the key light and the fill light illuminates both sides of the face, creating quite natural-looking lighting.
	lighting from below - Megan Lighting a subject from below can create a quiet eerie mood. It appears to highlight one side of a character's face while leaving the other one in complete shadow.
	Top lighting only(Chris). In some ways, this type of lighting imitates mid-day natural light.  A lot of the subject is comfortably  lit whist small shadows remain in certain areas.
	Side light only(Chris). This lighting setup causes only half the subject to be lit whilst  the rest mainly remains in shadow. This effect can suggest control issues on the subject in some cases as well be useful in other situations.
	Backlight only(Chris). This creates almost a silhouette effect onto the subject, making it difficult to see all features of the subject.

Mark:

What difficulties have I experienced?
An experience we had that was difficult was knowing how bright the light was and what way to position the light, at some points the background had light when it wasn't intended. Also the camera we had was enhancing the amount of light compared to real life so that was an issue but think we got around it as the photos above are at a high quality.

What have I learnt from this task?
In this task I have learnt how the lights can manipulate the mood of the character and create tension just from the way the lights are on the character, also I have added to my vocabulary the lighting terms that I will be needing for the exam and also for the Thriller opening sequence.

Megan:

What difficulties have I experienced?
This task was difficult as it was sometimes difficult to manipulate the light to get it to do what you wanted it to do in terms of how much of the face was lit compared with the background. We found that the surroundings were often lit a lot more than we intended them to be, but got around this issue somewhat by taking more time to precisely set up the lighting.

What have I learnt from this task?

I have learnt that lighting not only plays a huge part in the way a scene can look and the effect that can be achieved, but also can be incredibly difficult to get right. Because of this, I think we are going to need to think very carefully about the lighting that we decide to use for the thriller opening, and possibly plan more for it than we would have done without this task.

Chris:

What difficulties have I experienced?
The main difficulty I discovered was during the set up period for each of the shots. In most cases,  it took a while to understand how to set up the lights in order to achieve the desired shot.  Due to the  lighting behaving differently than expected, and the surrounding area being largely white, the light was being reflected around a lot causing the shots to look differently than expected. We got around this by altering the light setup various times as well as standing in the way of the light to block it.

What have I learnt from this task?
From this task, I have learnt how difficult it can be to achieve precise lighting setups without bouncing light damaging the result. I now take more account of  the lighting used and how the lighting setup has been achieved. It has also given me experience on the various types of lighting setups available for use during my thriller and ideas on what they can convey to the audience.

Robert:

What difficulties have I experienced?

The problems that I found most impacting upon our work out was that it took a bit of time to get the equipment ready and co-operation was slightly bad (my fault). The others did a great job in setting up the equipment but like I said it took a long time. We had issues with backlight coming from the corridor so we kindly asked Megan to put a harry potter statue and stand behind it! what an idea! We also kindly asked a student who was working in the room if it was ok to pull the blinds down, he had no objections. All in all this exercise gives a good practice for the setting up of the thriller. We followed the instructions and finally it was done.

What have I learnt from this task?

The main thing i learnt is that lighting is just so important in a indoor setting. It is so hard to recreate natural light and it, too is hard to get the right balance so it does not look "too artifical". The excercise also gave a good lesson on the set up of the equipment and the differences between the reflector umbrellas,. Something that I have never known about before but only seen! It just goes to show how much time is put in if it takes a good 30mins to set up for a few shots. Like i said the lack of my co-operation slowed the whole process down but the others worked well. Peace!

Shot/Reverse Shot - How we did it.

How we implemented the shot/reverse shot into our film, was we filmed 3 shots all at once one side then 3 on the other side and just edited them together. We found this a lot easier to do than moving the camera every time, so we wouldn't have to have to find the right place to put it. Once we had the clips onto the computer we found it much easier to edit this way and kept consistency, as you can see in the screen shots below.

Our Final Film!

Here is our final video, after a few checks through we finally produced it today and completed our final film!

Match On Action; How we did it

Having done a match on action post already this post is showing how we used it in our filming procedure.


We first set up the camera, zoomed and focused on the peice of paper featured in the match on action. This shot was the main part of the match on action due to it showing the actual pass of the paper. The other shot comes before, and shows the first character getting the paper out their pocket and the start of the pass. The second part of the match on action was significantly more difficult to get right compared to first bit. Getting the angle and speed of the pass made this difficult but we eventually managed to achieve a good pass shot. From here, we edited the two together at the exact frames to create flow. It took many takes to get it right but when we managed it, you can see the paper as part of a smooth transition of passing it to the second character and this is in the main frame. Its short but gives an interesting effect to the viewer..

Using the 180 degree rule.

Using the 180 degree rule was easier than we expected it to be. We filmed on one side of the actors to ensure that we did not cross the line.
Before we started filming we made sure that none of our shots would involve us crossing the 180 degree line which we had decided to be through the middle of the two characters.

These screen grabs show the side of the line that we filmed on. Both characters stayed in the same positions to avoid confusion.


This diagram shows the positioning of the characters, where the line was, and where abouts in relation to the characters and the line we placed the camera.