Intro to prelim task

For our preliminary task we had to create a video which had continuity (for example if we had a shot of someone knocking on a door, the next shoot couldn't then just be them in the room, it'd have to be them opening the door) and that also included

- match on match action

- shot-reverse-shot

- the 180 degree rule.



We went through a range of ideas but decided on a video about an "obese" man who finds out that he is actually pregnant. To make sure our piece was still interesting and not a total joke we made sure that we included shots that would add to the intensity of this situation.



*Low angle shot from the floor (Jake steps over the camera, wobble affect)

*Long shot from side-on (show him walking towards the door)

*Ped, to slowly reveal Jake (ending in a close up of him eating)*Point-of-view shot (him knocking on the door)

*Medium shot (Samson turning, 'come in')

*Close up (of Jake opening the door, hand on handle)

*Over-the-shoulder shot (from Samson, looking at door opening and Jake entering)

*Two shot of the desk (Samson is in shot, Jake walks into frame and sits down)

*Switch between over-the-shoulder shots of both characters (dialogue)

*Close up (Jake's reaction the the news)*Extreme Close up (Jake's darting eyes)


We had some trouble getting the setting right of our prelim task, for example making our setting look like a doctors office and not a computer room in the Brit school, and editing our piece also seemed to have problems.

Analysing Valentine

Valentine is a thriller, which I found had particularly effective way to engage the audience. I particularly enjoyed the storyline and the symbolic qualities the film possessed.





The opening to the thriller is very effective, setting that sweet quiet scene allows the audience to become comfortable and are then shocked by the blackness that swifts across the screen. This transistion to the valentine's dance works very well and the fading in and out during this flash back allows us to know this is maybe a flash back and in the past.


On Valentine's Day, best friends Kate, Paige, Dorothy and Lily are terrified when they begin receiving violent anonymous threats. They soon learn that the stalker is Jeremy Melton -- a nerdy boy they mercilessly tormented years ago in junior high. Since then Jeremy has really come into his own. Now that he's a hunk with magnetic sex appeal, he devises a deadly and bloody plot for revenge against his teenage tormentors.
Also Known As:
Mortelle Saint-Valentin
Valentine's Day
Production Status:
Released
Logline:
Ten years after a nerd is humiliated by several women in college he seeks dark revenge.
Genres:
Comedy, Romance, Suspense/Horror, Thriller and Adaptation
Running Time:
1 hr. 36 min.
Release Date:
February 2, 2001 Nationwide
MPAA Rating:
R for strong horror violence, some sexuality and language.
Distributors:
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Production Co.:
NPV Entertainment
Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment
Studios:
(USA): Warner Bros. Pictures
U.S. Box Office:
$20,384,136
Filming Locations:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Produced in:
United States

Analyzing memento.

Next lesson we analyzed Memento directed by Guy Pearce and again talked about it and what we found effective.





Titles:They were presented firstly with the credits against a black background with suspenseful music, the black background fades into the first scene .
It also begins with a close up of a Polaroid picture which close ups then fades out, again this adds intensity and maked reference to maybe a loss of memory or knowledge.
Shots:Medium close up shots of a bullet, gun and wall, this again creates that intense atmosphere. Voyeristic shot makes u feel like you are invading the privacy of this character and that you shouldn't be there, which makes the audience uncomfortable.
The narrative was disordered to allow us to go back where we the story began, and from this the audience can infer that the story is not going to be in chronological order and maybe reflect on what the characters mind is like.
Mise-en-scene:Just a hand and a photo in the shot creates intensity. Black and white shot shows he's confused and disorientated.

Opening to Seven

In class we then watched the opening to the thriller Seven, directed by David Fincher
and analyzed and talked about what we found effective and how it made us as an audience feel.
The main actors in the film are Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyenth Paltrow.

Title: They we presented with a mans hand turning pages , and doing disturbing things like shaving off his finger tips and sewing pages together which show behavior quite similar to somebody who may have Ocd, this again makes the audience quite uncomfortable and gives us a look into what this character maybe like, and again keeps us interested as we questions why he is doing this. The actors names are shown on a black background as if they had been scratched on a wall with screams in the background, this already thrills the audience who are watching something quite psychotic and highly edited with quick flashing shots which keep them engaged.

Shots: The unfocused shot of the camera when on the person writing and sewing again reveals to the audience how the character himself may be confused and unsure of himself or what he's doing, or can show how psychotic he actually is.
Close up: This adds intensity to the atmosphere the opening has set, and just shows us the character getting ready.
Low angle shot: This indicates the power Morgan freeman has and foreshadows what his status maybe throughout the film.

Movement: Panning slowly reveals the identity of the character, this can display to the audience of maybe revealed as the plot moves on in the film , which keeps us engaged and thrilled.

Generic themes: Characters such as Morgan Freeman show us that he is the type of character who is prepared as he is ready for the rain as he has an umbrella whereas Brad Pitt doesn't, Brad Pitt is also bumped and stumbly and unsure showing the difference in their characters and status. Earlier on in the opening Morgan Freeman doesn't respond to the rudeness of the police officer, showing his dis attachment to people and how he is a lone figure showing that this maybe a theme that may grow throughout the film.

Mise-en-scene: Rain reflects the theme of the film, the rain always coming down to show the police are constantly trying to clean out the city.

Passion Productions from BDC on Vimeo.

The opening to this film is very interesting again they use very effective music which sets the scene and mise-en-scene of the rain again really foreshadows what may happen .

Introduction to thrillers, using past examples.

The next lesson we looked at past thrillers to help us establish common themes and things that come up in thrillers. We always looked at effective shot angles and sounds and mise-en-scene and ones which werent so effective. We also talked about the fact that a thriller is a wide genre with different sub genres which can overlap. Action, Horror, Crime, Medical, Physcological, spy. Thrillers are known to thrill and suspend the audience and often have people who are:
Spies
Lone figures aganist the systema
ssasination
conspiracy etc

Taken from BDC on Vimeo.

I thought this opening to a thriller was very effective, the music immeadiately helped created the chilling atmosphere and suspended us to believe something was building up to happen. I also found the quick shots very effectively, they changed from different shots always keep your attention and focus on what was going on.

Introduction to shot types

In our first lesson we looked at the different shot types and camera angles used to empower us to use them when we make our thrillers and also to be able to recognise them when analysing thrillers.

Extreme long shot = ELS
Long shot =LS
Medium long shot =MLS
Medium shot =MS
Medium close up =MCU
Close up =CU

LOW ANGLE HIGH ANGLE
WORMS EYE BIRDS EYE
CANTED EYE LEVEL


TWO SHOT
OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT
POINT OF VIEW


MOVEMENTS
PAN= Panning is the horizontal movement or rotation of a video camera or the scanning horizontally on a display device.
CRAB =left to right or right to left and lens stays where it is as if staying passed it
TRACKING =when you follow something (a physical track is laid down where the camera person follows using the track i. e. used in car chases
ZOOMING =lens zoom in and the camera stays the same
PED =where the whole camera moves up or down however it stays at eye level Difference between hand held and steady cam Steady cam is when a camera is on a harness Hand held is literally of the tripod and filmed in your hand