Prelim task evaluation

Prelim Task - User 2 from BDC on Vimeo.

In our media lesson on the 30th September I used Final Cut Pro for the first time to edit my prelim task, filmed in the previous lesson. I found the prospect of using Final Pro Cut daunting as it seemed very professional and i don't have very much experience in editing aside from using IMovie. However, once we got into it i found the software easier and easier to use. When filming we tried to keep at simple as we could and therefore didn't have many shots so it wasn't hard choosing and uploading our clips. I found marking in and out incredibly easy and useful as it was very accurate and enjoyed cutting and fitting clips together.
I did find putting it together slightly challenging as our group constantly had to remember about continuity and to make sure our shots fitted together and the transitions looked smooth. Luckily as i said, we kept our shots very simple and we had previously agreed the shots we wanted to use, so even before entering the editing suit we had a pretty good idea of what bits we were fitting together. I think the outcome of our prelim task was to a pretty good standard as it was simple yet did include match on action and shot-reverse-shot and a mixture between medium shots and closeups.
After this prelim task it has made me more confident when it comes to planning the opening of our thriller films, i think the key is to keep it as simple as possible so the editing process will be easy and will allow us to spend more time on making it perfect.

Pre-Luminary Task

During our media lesson the 22nd of September we were set a pre-luminary task in small groups. This meant we had to film someone walking through a door, walking across the room, sit on a chair where a short piece of dialogue must take place, and then they must leave the room again. The main point of this task, as well as becoming familiar and comfortable with the cameras, was to look at continuity. In this task we had to use match on action,shot-reverse-shot and the 180 degree rule.
I found using the cameras daunting at first as they were very professional and clearly very expensive. However, after sometime i did manage to become more comfortable with it afterwards and found that the cameras in-fact were not that hard to use.
Our scene we decided to film (which we named 'Your Late') was designed to be a short and simple but with a few creative shots to try and make ours different to other groups scenes. We wrote a short script for the section of monologue which goes as follows:

(Ash enters through the door and walks over to Alice)
Ash: Hey, miss asked me to give this to you
Alice: Oh, Thanks
Ash: (sitting down) So did you watch Waterloo Road last night?
Alice: Oh no i didn't, was it good?
Ash: Ah you should have, it was crazy!
Alice: Oh, didn't your lesson start 5 minutes ago?
Ash: Oh yeah, i'll see you later
(Ash runs off)

We had planned to film this in the canteen as we thought it would be a realistic setting and we also wanted to get a close up of the clock on the wall of the canteen when i say to Ash about her being late for her lesson. However, when we got down to the canteen we found there were too many people walking in and out and so there would be bad continuity if when we edited it there would different people in the background in different places. Instead we decided to film in the main entrance area by the reception as this was a much quieter area.
We used an over the shoulder shot during the conversation as we thought it would make the section of dialogue more interesting and visually pleasing to watch. We also experimented with some shot-reverse-shots throughout the dialogue. We tried different shots whilst Ash entered and left through the door, we tried tracking and panning shots and also tried just focusing on the door, i enjoyed trying out different shots and seeing the difference by simply focusing the camera on something different each time. I didn't find that aspect of the filming (thinking of shots we could do) incredibly challenging but very enjoyable but the actual practicality of filming more difficult and more tiresome as it involved lots of repeating of shots.

Who watches thrillers, and why?

There are many sub genres when it comes to thrillers. There are horror, comedy, romance, action etc. I believe that thrillers, typically would attract mainly to males due to the fast paced action commonly shown in thrillers (although occasionally a female audience can be found depending on the attractiveness of the main character. e.g Bond) The romance element often presented in thrillers can also appeal to females.
Although the age group for thrillers (especially a horror thriller e.g. Seven) would target at mainly over 18's, Under 18's can find the film attractive as it is something they should not be watching and the violence can often appeal to them. Although the age can differ depending on the sub genre of the thriller. For instant, a legal thriller (e.g. Law Abiding Citizen) might attract a slightly older audience as the film may be more intellectually challenging, whereas a more accessibly comedic thriller could be aimed at a younger audience again, as everybody would understand the jokes made.


Why do we watch Thrillers?
These are some reasons as to why people may watch films in general:
- Entertainment: Watching films can be used as escapism or relaxation or possibly an emotional release from a problem
- Integration & Social Interaction: People sometimes watch films to identify with others and finding a basis for social interaction (Did you watch this film? etc) It can provide a substitute for a companion
- Personal Identity: films can enable people to find reinforcement for personal values and gain an insight into ones self
- Information: People can gain an insight into the world through watching films and satisfy certain curiositys

But why watch thrillers?
Due to thrillers most commonly using lots of fast paced action, thrillers can very easily be used as escapism with viewers as it would be very easy to get caught up in all the action and forgetting about possible problems with their lives currently. If a thriller was perhaps themed around law then the films can be very informative as many thrillers include accurate 'law terms' and how the criminal justice system works. Due to the typical stereotyping of characters in thrillers, the films can often act as a lesson in morals and whats right and whats wrong shown through the clear 'Heroes' and 'Villains'. Certain popular thrillers such as Bond or The Bourne Ultimatum can offer a guaranteed social interaction, as many people talk about watching the films and their best bits etc as they are such popular films that everyone has at least heard of.

Analysis of the opening of Seven

In the opening credits of ‘Seven’ the first thing we see is Morgan Freeman sitting in bed, we can hear exaggerated non-diegetic sounds of an argument which, although could possibly be noises from next door, feels as though we can hear inside his head and are sharing his thoughts with him which establishes an immediate connection between Morgan Freeman and the audience,this makes us as an audience feel close the character and we now care for him, as we are listening to his thoughts. It then goes into a sequence of extreme close ups of, what we interpret to be the killer making a kind of record book documenting and planning his murders. There is an accompanying non-diegetic mechanical-like sound which set an unsettling atmosphere also helped by the dim lighting which is mainly black and white with hints of red which provide connotations of violence, as an audience this unsettles us and we know instantly this a villian. However, the contrast in this scene compared to the previous backs up our original impression that Morgan Freeman is a good character and one we can trust. We get the impression that the ‘killer’ is perhaps mentally ill due to an obsession in violence (shown with continuous extreme close ups of body parts having clearly enjured some kind of harm) yet he is also shown censoring out sexual references in passages of text, which presents some kind of disturbance in his mind. The extreme close ups of the killers hands whilst he attempts to remove his fingertips, creates a sense of filth and makes the whole title sequence seem unclean which can prove unsettling with the audience, as we too, feel dirty watching it. The song which plays throughout the opening, although has no lyrics has one line at the end which says: "you bring me closer to God" the reference to God and religion contrasts to the previous darker imagery of the bodies suggesting clashes in themes throughout the film.
The editing is cut to the beat and as the song builds up, the shots become faster. The overlapping and jumping of some shots reminds us of 'home cinema' and bad quality filming. This is also related to a few quick shots of the killer cutting up film.
The shots shown in the title sequence are very quick and range from things being stuck down, to quick flashes of pictures. There are a couple of shots showing passages of text which are too fast for us to read: creating enigmas within the audience as we want to know what the words say and why etc.
Although the overriding feel of the opening is that of filth and unsettlement and violence, the beginning does start off calmly as Morgan Freeman is sat in bed alone and peaceful. He puts on a metronome which adds a stable rhythm which although keeps with the calm feeling, does also hint at some element of tension mounting as we are waiting for Morgan Freeman to come to do something and the repeated beat from the metronome emphasises and exaggerates this.

My Analysis of Sin City

The thriller i've chosen to analyse is Sin City



Sin City is filmed in a very different way from any other film i've seen, mainly being that its filmed primarily in black and white, apart from the first character we meet who is wearing a red dress and red lipstick. The use of slight colour in this woman makes her seem more attractive (as the colour red is related to sex and is a very feminine colour) it also makes the audience register her as a main character and someone we feel we should focus on. It also immediately creates an enigma as we wonder who she is and why she is wearing a coloured dress whilst everything else is in black and white. Furthermore, when we are first introduced to her it is a shot from behind, so we cant see her face, this sets the character up to be mysterious and we are intrigued to find out more about her. During the shots of behind the mysterious woman we can hear slow jazz music in the background, this adds class to the film and a soothed atmosphere. However, contrasting to this we can also hear sirens in the distant, hinting that the theme of violence and crime could play a big part in the film, as could class and sex shown through the colours red and slow jazz music. The sirens also allows us to understand the setting is most likely to be in a busy city, as this is the most likely place to hear lots of sirens.
 After the music we can hear the voice of a narrator, its a soft voice which carries over the soothing feel already set up, however it does also seem slightly unnerving as it feels as if the narrator is watching the woman without her knowing.  A short while after this we see the woman's face for the first time and we see a man walking up behind her, we are unaware as to whether or not the man shown and the narrator are the same person - creating yet more enigmas. Although the narrator then says "i let her hear my footsteps" so the audience could take a pretty educated guess at saying that they are in face the same person. The minute he approaches the woman there is immediate sexual tension as he stands quite close behind her, and when she turns around the immediately engage in eye contact. There is an extreme close up as he offers her a cigarette which forces the audience to focus on the small details in the scene. She begins to smoke whilst still staring at him - heightening the sexual tension further. He also then begins to talk to her and tells her that she is everything he has ever wanted - destroying any previous perceptions of him being a dodgy character when watching the woman.
In an extreme close up of the woman's face when the man lights the cigarette for her, her eyes appear to quickly flash green, a visual flourish, it draws our attention in further to her and sets her aside from any other character as the man and the surrounding setting have no colour in them and yet she has shown moments of both red and green. The green could also signal a response to the the man being close to her and we can now establish an emotional connection between these two characters.
The camera focuses on both the characters when the woman turns her back on the man, and we as an audience feel as if we have an upper hand as we can see both facial expressions whilst each character can not see each other. When she turns around again and embraces the man with a kiss the effect of the camera suddenly turns the silhouettes of both characters into white and turn their shape into 2D. The effect of this is to remind and/or introduce to the audience the fact that the idea of the film originated from a comic book and that will continuously run as a theme through the film.
After switching back to just plain black and white and the characters carry on hugging the narrator/male comes back in explaining what he says to the woman, without the audience actually seeing the male physically saying it to the woman. The narrator says that he "tells her i love her" and just as the audience begin to warm further to the male character there is a sudden yet unnervingly quite gun shot as he shoots her. This catches the audience by surprise as we had no idea this was to happen. As she dies the narrator says that he "i'll never find out what she was running from" which immediately hooks the audience as it suggests a back story to the character and we are eager to figure out what she was running from and why she has just been shot. The camera then pans out and zooms further and further away from the character and we see that this film is set in New York City. The surprising twist at the end of the opening throws enigmas at the audience (why has she been shot? who is she/he? what happened before this? etc) which we are now desperate to have answered.

Analysis of 'I Am Legend' Opening

Camera Shots/Angles (chronological order)

• Begins with an establishing shot of New York City so the audience are immediately aware of the location of the film, the camera then begins tilting down, so whilst also creating an enigma as we begin to realise this city looks completely deserted, it makes the city seem bigger and bigger and makes the audience feel intimidated by this massively deserted city.
• It then goes on to show different shots of around New York City, shots of famous places so that people instantly recognises it but also adds shock as the shots are to show how deserted everywhere is and people aren't used to seeing a city like this. The shots show grass growing through cracks in the roads and the buildings looking run down and dirty which suggests to the audience that the city has been deserted for a while. The main point of these shots is to show that no human activity has taken place in this city for a long time. 
• One of the shots that they focus on is some abandoned army cars which have signs stuck on them saying 'GOD STILL LOVES US' which they focus on just long enough for us to able to read it. The way the poster says 'STILL' suggests to us that something bad has happened as a result of human activity and that perhaps that could be the reason as to why the city has been deserted. 
• The camera then switches to a birds eye shot of the city and suddenly we see a fast driving car, this immediately draws the audience's attention to the car as we realise that there is in fact what we to believe a 'survivor'. This also creates yet another enigma as not only do we question who he is but also is he a 'goodie' or a 'baddie'. 
• The camera then goes within the car and we see that there is a gun on the seat next to him which makes the audience question whether he is good or bad and he also is wearing sunglasses which makes him seem mysterious and intriguing yet also quite dangerous. 
• However, we then see a shot of the dog in the car with him and he opens the window to allow his dog to put his head out, the majority of the audience will now immediately make the decision that he is most likely to be a hero rather then a villain as he is caring and looking after his dog, therefore if he loves animals then he must also love humans
• The camera then switches between tracking shots and POV's of him in the car and the camera following the car so during the POV shots we see whats it like to be him driving around the deserted city and the tracking shots allow us to see he is adventurous due to his reckless and fast driving - this not only suggests to the audience that he is fearless and brave but also makes us think he is in a rush to get somewhere and so something, creating yet more enigmas and engaging the audience. 
• During another POV shot of in the car a deer suddenly jumps across the car, shocking the audience as it is a sudden and unexpected flash of action, the angles of the camera then suddenly begins to change switching between POV's and shots of the deers running away, the car is shown to be driving erratically and this creates intense action and chaos. 
• After more shots of the deers running away and the car still driving erratically we see the car suddenly halt in front of a serious of cars left abandoned in the middle of the road, reminding the audience that the city has been abandoned but we also then watch the deers run through the cars and off into the distance 
• The camera now shows the character outside the car about to enter into some long grass in times square, at a high-angle shot he looks vulnerable and the audience worry for his as anything could be in the grass
• We see a shot through the gun, targeted on the deer. This is a tense moment as we wait for either the deer to run off or for it to get shot yet neither happens and there is an unnerving yet peaceful moment as we watch the deer, however a lion suddenly appears and leaps on the deer ruining the previous innocent image. This also reassures the audience on the decision that the character is good rather then bad as he didn't shoot the deer.
• We then see an extreme close up of the characters watch as some sort of alarm beeps. This brings suspense back in as the audience now wonder what the alarm is for as it suggests something is about to happen. The character looks to his dog and tells him it is time to go, which now suggests that perhaps the alarm is in fact a warning and we are now worried that something bad is coming/going to happen. 

Sound 

0ne of the main things which makes the I Am Legend opening so effective is there use of no music. The opening begins with exaggerated nature sounds (birds, grasshoppers etc) which contrasts with the sounds that you would perhaps find in a forest or jungle yet with an image of a city usually full of human activity and little nature. However, the no music also adds a strong sense of realism which can unsettle the audience as it feels as if it could be real and could actually happen. When we see the birds eye view of the car there is a load and aggressive engine sound, the angry human sound ruining the calming sound of the nature suggesting that even though there seems to be only one survivor he is still able to take control over nature by being louder. 

Setting

We can tell the setting instantly as it opens with an establishing shot of the famous New York City skyline however as the camera goes closer into the city we see that it looks different to how it should do normally. The use of the filming of familiar places around New York City such as Times Square etc and posters of recent theatre shows such as Wicked and sign for McDonalds unsettle the audience as all the familiar images and surroundings are incredibly close to home and it now seems like a real thing that could happen, whole cities being abandoned. 

Themes

The over-riding theme throughout the entire opening of I Am Legends appears to be isolation, this is due to the focus just being on one character and his dog which shows he is alone and only has his dog for company. The themes of aggression and violence are also hinted at with the images of the gun and lion eating the deer. The theme of nature is also very strong with the over-powering sounds of nature and also animals such as deer and lions. I believe that the opening hints that fear is going to be a strong theme in the film as an alarm sound goes of which warms him to leave, obviously in fear of something. 

Conventions of a Thriller

There are many conventions within a thriller film, such as:

• Mood - A good thriller always includes the moods of suspense, tension, a level of seriousness and thrillers can often also have elements of horror 
• Stock Characters - Very obvious and recognisable characters such as The Villain, The Hero, The Lover, Helpers (sidekick) and many thrillers also usually include either Detectives, The FBI or the Police. If there is a Villain and a Hero then they can tend to have a back story, previous to the film, and the film is then about the Villain to try and take revenge. The Villain often has a reason for turning bad which is revealed in the film and sometimes then opens an opportunity for him to reverse and turn good again. The Hero often has a lover who he has to save from some sort of danger. 
• Music - To be able to gain the tense atmosphere used in thrillers then the music is key. To be able to achieve the right mood the music tends to be climactic, which builds up and gradually increases, Music like this can heighten the action and give it a faster pace and tells the audience that something big is about to happen. However, the use of no music can also work effectively in a thriller to give it a slightly scarier atmosphere and gives it an air of mystery. 
• Lighting/Setting - The lighting in thrillers is usually dark, shot at night, with usually a mist and dingy atmosphere as this sets a mysterious and spooky atmosphere as people associate the dark with it being scary. The lighting is also quite dark and dingy which also adds to the spooky atmosphere. The setting usually happens in urban areas 
• Narrative - This includes things like either a happy or sad ending, climax's and cliffhangers, and twists. A good narrative that will keep the audience engaged the whole way through would usually use a storyline that will allow for unexpected twists so the audience can't guess what is going to happen as this keeps them watching and guessing the whole way through. 
• An Enigma - All thrillers must have (and usually start with) and enigma. An enigma is something which will create unanswered questions within the audience. Opening a thriller film with an enigma such as 'who are they?', 'whats happened?', 'why is that like that?' etc effectively engages the audience straight away as they are then hooked and want to watch the rest of the film to be able to answer the questions that the film has presented us with.