Analysis of previous students Thriller (Grade A)

Strengths and weaknesses of 'Torn.'

The film begins with a pan of a house, which leaves the audience curious.'Blue Moon Cinema' then appears on the screen, this makes the film look more professional.

Here is a screenshot of the Titles:

It then shows a male character opening the front door of the house, and then cuts from a close up of the character to a clip of a doll and then back to him. This fast editing helps to make the production look high quality and shows that they have used a range of editing. Title continue to appear whilst there are different shots of the character collecting his newspaper whilst he walks round to his garage. Throughout these shots the fast cuts to the shot of dolls continue to play. This is good because it helps to create tension, which is typical of a Thriller movie. As there is a close up of his hand opening the door the cuts to the doll begin to happen more frequently, this again shows a good variety of editing. The film uses a wide variety of shots and angles, for example: Close up, extreme close up, pan, over the shoulder shot and long shots.

Here is an example of a close up shot within the production:

'Torn' video:

Preliminary task- Evaluation

Now that the final version of the preliminary task has been uploaded to YouTube, I can now reflect on it. I am pleased with the final version of our premliminary task, the filming of it went smoothly and we weren't faces with any significant problems. However when we moved on to the editing stage we soon realised that the lighting during the filming was too dark for the camera, as a result of this if we were to film it again I would make sure that the lighting was light enough for the camera. The editing stage was the hardest as it was the first time I had used the software, but it allowed me to learn the basics so that I am prepared when we move on to other editing projects.

Analysis of previous students Thriller (Grade E)

Strengths and weaknesses of 'Ring of Trees'

The opening begins with a poorly lit shot of people running towards a camera, it seems that the only light used might be a torch that one of that one the actors are carrying. This shot makes the production seem poorly made. 

Here is a screenshot of the shot mentioned above:

The titles appear displayed using reverse block (white writing on a black background), the font used is a serif font which creates a sinister atmostphere, this is effective as it puts the audience on edge. 

Here is a screenshot of the Titles:

It then cuts to a shot of an empty field and then contiues to cut to different shots of the field. The shots then change from the field to a building, this is strength of the production as it shows good use of different shots and creates an eerie atmostphere. They use multiple jump cuts to slowly get closer to the building. A strenth of the film is the use of a tracking shot to slowly move down the corridor. However the film then becomes tedious because it is just multiple shots of people walking for about 50 seconds. Once the shots of people walking finish there is shot of people individually talking, the camera pans around to show each character. This is good because it shows each character talking individually without having to cut. The cosume throughout the film is basic and doesn't create any specific perona for any of the characters. Apart from the final character who has a white dress on and face paint which creates a scary persona for the character.

Here is a screenshot of the character in the white dress:

'Ring of trees' video: 

 

Preliminary task- Final Edit

Preliminary task- Filming and editing

Filming

On the day of filming myself and another member of the group acted in the short production, however we tried to film as much as possible when we had the chance to. We filmed more than enough shots so that we had many clips to choose from when it came to the editing stage. Because we only had a limited amount of time to film we made sure that we had made the big decisions regarding the short film before filming. However we did have to make decisions regarding the lighting and angle of the camera throughout the filming. All three of us decided that we should all direct as much as possible so that we were all involved. 

Image of me filming:

Editing

Once we had finished filming, we begin the editing stage. The program we used to edit the clips was Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. I had not used this programme before so I had to learn how to use it whilst I was editing. Because we had taken multiple shots it made it easier to decide which clips to use. We faced a problem when we imported the clips, because we realised that a few of them were too dark, so if we had the chance to re film the short film we would adjust the lighting.

Here is a screenshot of the shot which was too dark:

Image of me editing:

Preliminary task planning

Preliminary task planning

In the planning of our preliminary task we decided early on that we wanted our short film to fit the conventions of a Thriller. Once we had made this decision we then went on to brainstorm potential storylines for the film. However our initial idea was to have an anti climax in the film, so we would build tension throughout and then have a unexpected ending, however we came to the conclusion that this would over complicate the film and not be as effective as we initially thought. With this in mind we decided to stay with the idea of building tension throughout as this is a typical Thriller convention, but we came up with the idea of one of the characters ending up being killed. Our idea was for one of the characters to hand a package to the other and the package wold be used as a distraction in order for one character to kill the other. We decided to keep the dialogue short but intriguing. Our script is as follows: 

Character 1 (C1): You're late.

Character 2 (C2): I got held up.

C1: Thats not what we agreed.

C2: Do you want it or not?

We decided on this dialogue as we all agreed that it would allow the audience to think for themselves about what the characters are speaking about and we thought that it was intriguing. Whilst this dialogue is spoken we decided that the male character who is already sat down would be lit as a silhouette as this creates a mysterious and scary atmosphere. The lighting for the rest of the room will be low key and dimly lit as we thought this would help to create tension. For the props we decided that we would need; a table, a black table cloth, files (for the desk), a box and a bottle or fake gun.

A picture of our brainstorm planning:

Preliminary task planning

A picture of our first draft storyboard:

A picture of our final more detailed storyboard:

'Leave' opening scene analysis

'Leave' opening scene analysis:

The film starts with a white screen and the movie title 'Leave' slowly fades in on the bottom right corner. Non diegetic deep eery sounds play from the beginning and as the white begins to fade to an extreme close up of the characters eyes, a deep, slow drum rhythm begins to play and builds to create a short lived crescendo, as the music stops when the character suddenly opens his eyes. But two beeping sounds are heard, and then stop. This crescendo is used to build tension. It then cuts to a birds eye view shot of a male and female character in bed together. The female is lay on her side, asleep and the male is awake and begins to carefully sit up and get out of bed. It cuts to a long shot of the entire room and the bed with the male character out of bed. It cuts to a long shot of a different room- perhaps the living room where we see the male character walk down the stairs. The lighting is dark which suggests that it is night time.The beeping sound then continues but at a very slow pace.It cuts to a mid shot of the male character at the bottom of the stairs with a confused look on his face. It cuts to a high angle of an empty room with a red glare in the top left corner and shows the male character walk into the room towards the glare, it the pans round to reveal that the beep was nothing but an alarm and the character types in a code to stop the beeping. The beeping sound was used to create tension. When the character walks away a different male character runs into shot and is seen attacking the character. It was silent up until then so it takes the audience by surprise and shocks them- this is typical of the Thriller genre. It cuts to a low angles long shot of the man repeatedly hitting the other character and the only sound is of the hits and them both struggling. It cuts to a close up the man on the floor with blood on his face and the back to a long shot, the cut happens when he is hit again. The character hitting the man holds up a lamp which reveals the extent of the characters injuries and then the light from the light bulb is used to fade into the next scene.

'Casino Royale' opening scene analysis

Although Casino Royale is predominantly Action Adventure, it also falls into the Thriller genre. The scene begins in black and white and has 'Prague Czech Republic' on screen in the bottom left corner. These are both features of editing and they are used to inform the audience and also create atmosphere. The first shot is a long shot of a car pulling up to a building which is dimly lit, this creates suspicion and tension. It then cuts to a low angle, close up shot of a man getting out of the car and looking around. The man thens shuts the door and walks off.
Throughout this scene there is non diegetic eery sounds playing, this helps to build tension- this is typical of a Thriller movie. There is then a low angle shot off the lift going up and it cuts to inside the lift and uses a high angle shot to show the same man we saw previously. A point of view shot is then used as it shows the man looking up and then cuts to the lift levels. Along with the eery non diegetic music playing in the background we hear the characters footsteps as he walks across the empty corridor. This helps to suggest that he could be alone in the building and that something is about to happen. It then cuts to inside a room and the character opens the door and walks in. The camera the follows the character as he walks to the other side of the room, this gives the effect that someone is potentially watching him. As the camera follows the character is moves behind a chair which then confirms the suspicion that someone is watching him. It cuts to a high angle close up of the characters face which reveals his worried and apprehensive expression as he stares in front of him. A point of view shot reveals what he is looking at as it cuts to an open door and then back to his face. The first bit of dialogue takes place as we hear a voice say 'M really doesn't mind us making a little money on the side, Dryden. She would just prefer it wasn't by secrets.' This is spoken in a calm, yet confident tone and then moves to reveal the protagonist- Bond, sitting on a chair behind him. As Bond says this the camera switches to a low angle of him, which suggests that he is in charge and has authority. The camera the cuts to the other character and follows him to his desk, it the cuts to a close up of him opening his desk draw revealing a gun, this creates tension and implies that he is prepared for danger. As he begins to speak it focuses on him in a low angle shot but the changes to a wide angle to show both Bond and himself. The scene is still in black and white which adds to the mysterious atmosphere. Speaking to Bond the character says 'Your file shows no kills. And it takes-' The camera changes to low angle shot of Bond as he finishes his sentences saying 'Two.' A quick cut is used to show a fast paced flashback of a fight between Bond and a un known character. The fast paced editing is effective in the fight scene as it helps to emphasise James Bond's fighting skills and the severity of the fight. It then cuts back to the present and the character holds a gun up to James, it cuts to Bond is is seen un phased by this threatening act. It cuts to a close up of Dryden holding the gun and as he goes to shoot it, nothing happens. A cut to James reveals him holding up the gun magazine. This represents bond as a informed and professional character but also makes him interesting because it shows he knows what he's doing yet the audience are always unaware of what he will do next.

Clip used for opening scene analysis (first 2 minutes 30 seconds):

Titles (In order of appearance):

• Albert R. Brocolli's EON Productions LTD. presents
• Daniel Craig as Ian Flemmings James Bond 007 in Casino Royale
• Starring- Eva Green
• Mads Mikkelsen
• Giancarlo Giannini
• Caterina Murino
• Simon Abkarian
• Isaach De Bankole
• Jesper Christensen 
• Ivana Milicevic 
• Tobias Menzies
• Claudio Santamaria
• Free running stunts by Sebastien Foucan
• With Jeffery Wright
• and Judy Dench as M
• Associate producer- Andrew Noakes
• Production executive- David Pope
• Camera operator- Roger Pearce
• Second unit assistant director- Terry Madden
• Script supervisor- Jean Bourne
• Publicity and Marketing- Anne Bennett
• Promotions- Keith Snelgrove
• Assistant producer- David G Willson
• Sound recordist- Christ Munro
• Electrical supervisor- Eddie Knight
• Stills photographer- Jay Maidment
• Make up supervisor- Paul Engelen
• Hairdressing supervisor- Christine blundell
• Wardrobe supervisor- Dan Grace
• Visual effects and miniature supervisor- Steve Begg
• Supervising Art director- Simon Lamont
• Property master- Ty Teiger
• Construction manager- Stephen Bohan
• Post production supervisor- Michael Solinger
• Unit production manager- Jeremy Johns
• Second unit production manager- Terry Bamber
• First assistant director- Bruce Moriarty
• Casting Debbie- McWilliams
• Stunt coordinator- Gary Powell
• Special effects and miniature effects supervisor- Chris Corbould
• Main Title designed by Daniel Kleinman
• Second unit director- Alexander Witt
• Costume designer- Lindy Flemming
• Editor- Stuart Baird A.C.E
• Director of Photography- Phil Meheux B.S.C
• Production designer- Peter Lamont
• Music by David Arnold
• 'You know my name' performed by Chris Cornell, written and produced by Chris Cornell and David Arnold
• Executive producers- Anthony Waye and Callum McDougall
• Based on the Novel by Ian Flemming
• Screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis
• Produced by Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
• Directed by Martin Campbell

 Analysis of Titles:

 

The title sequence begins with the classic James Bond composition of 'James' turning round holding a gun, he is framed in what looks like someone aiming through a gun. This scene changes using a transition of blood dripping over the screen. The titles then begin to appear on a red background with the card symbols.

 

Here are two screenshots fro the frames mentioned above:

 

Card symbols are featured throughout the title sequence which links to the title of the film 'Casino Royale', there is also a silhouette of James Bond holding a gun and then shooting it. There is a close up of a gun shooting a bullet which has been developed on the computer. These features help to create a general feel for the film. Guns and fighting are both featured in the title sequence which adds excitment to the clip and emphasises thrilling aspects of the film. The entire sequence doesnt use real people but it shown through sophisticated cartoon like animations.

Here is a screenshot of the fight featured in the sequence: 

 

 

 

Clip used for Titles:

'Dark Knight Rises' opening scene and titles analysis

Titles (In order of appearance)

• Warner Bros Logo
• Legendary pictures logo
• DC Comics Logo
• Warner Bros pictures presentation
• A sync copy production
• A film by Christopher Nolan
• Christian Bale
• Michael Caine
• Gary Oldman
• Anne Hathaway
• Tom Hardy
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Marion Cotillard
• Morgan Freeman
• Based up Batman characters created by Bob Kane                                        
• Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
• Story by Christopher Nolan and David S.Goyer
• Executive producers Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Ulsan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull
• Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Analysis of title sequence:
Throughout the title sequence there is intense non diegetic music, there is heavy percusion which is effective in causing tension. There is use of different transitions to get them on screen, such as fading on to the screen and moving on to the screen. The background of the titles then change to a scientifc scene of water and smoke, and it is soon revealed to the audience that it is a photo developing room and somone is soaking photographs of a male character in the developing soloution, this builds tension. The titles appear on the screen as if a camera is trying to focus on something/someone from a far. The developed images seem to be ones that have been taken without them realising so allows the audience to be curious about the purpose of these images. A mixture of strings and percusion is used in the music this helps to build tension.

Clip used for Titles:

Opening scene analysis:

The scene starts with full body shot of a man stood in a confident pose. He is stood with his shoulders back, arm wide but with his hands in his pockets, this stance suggests authority and power. He is stood in front of a plane with army men stood in front of it with guns. This further emphasises the mans power. The guards are wearing typical army camouflage clothing and are both holding large guns, this sets the scene and suggests that they are equipped to handle dangerous situations. This shot is accompanied by non diegetic music of quiet strings, this helps to build tension. 
Here is a screenshot from the scene mentioned above:

The scene then cuts to a mid shot of three men sat in the back of a car with their hands behind their backs and bags over their heads, this clearly shows that they have been taken and are in danger. The mid shot also reveals a gun faces towards them in the bottom left corner, this further emphasises that they are not there out of choice.
Here is a screenshot of the scene mentioned above:

 The scene then cuts to the man who we were introduced to at the beginning introducing himself two men and allowing them on to his plane. The first bit of dialogue we hear is between him and these two men, the protagonist says 'I'm CIA', this is interesting because it reveals to the audience that he thinks highly of himself as he doesn't say 'I'm from the CIA' he introduces himself as the CIA, this suggests that he is powerful. The initial 40 seconds of the opening helps to build tension which fit the Thriller genre. The military officials are featured throughout the first 2 minutes of the opening, they are represented as powerful and professional.
 Here is a screenshot of the scene mentioned above:

 They follow all orders given to them by the protagonist. There is a long shot of the protagonist, which also reveals the three men on their knees still with bags over their heads. The protagonist uses his gun to signal to one of the army officials to open the door and the men follow immediately. It cuts to a mid shot/close up of the protagonist threatening the suspect with a gun whilst holding his head out of the plane, this is used to build the suspense and emphasise his authority. However this act is broken when a deep voice comes from behind them. The protagonist removes the bag from his head in a close up shot and it is revealed to the audience that it is Bane.
 Here are screenshots of the scene mentioned above:

Clip used for opening scene (first 2 minutes):

'Lost Highway' opening scene analysis

The scene begins silently, which helps to build tension. The silence is followed by eery non diegetic music which adds to the uneasy atmosphere. The silence is broken by a loud diegetic sound of the buzzer at the door. The focus is on the only character featured in the opening scene, this suggests to the audience that he is the protagonist. There is minimal dialogue in the scene, which helps to create tension and suspicion. The dialogue is simple, but effective. 'Dick Laurent is dead' is spoken through the speaker in a low and mysterious tone.

Low key lighting is used throughout the scene. The lighting in the apartment specifically is dark, however is it light outside, so in contrast it creates a mysterious atmosphere in the building where the man is. 

There is a long point of view shot of the street which allows us to experience the situation from the protagonists point of view. When the doorbell buzzes there is an extreme close up of the protagonists eyes as it shows him calm but suggests some anxiety which adds to the tension.

Clip used for opening scene: