Preliminary Task

In the preliminary task i was working with Jack Fraser, Ayush Bhatt and Danny Canary.

The Preliminary task is that we had to use match on action, eye line match, reverse shot and 180 degree rule successfully.

Evaluation
we was filming in a classroom, where we had a clear view of the door so we could get the match on action easily. we moved some tables around in the classroom and made it look like a interrogation room as are short clip was based on a detective interrogating a murder trying to get the man to confess to it. The detective was played by Jack Fraser and the murder was played by Danny Canary, i was the camera man and Ayush was the sound man.
The eye line match was Danny looking at the clock watching time go by while he is waiting for the police officer to come into the room to question him, The match on action was jack walking through the door into the room and we keep the 180 degree rule as we stayed on the same side of the room. the shot, reverse shot was the conversation that was taken place by Danny and Jack.

i believe that i used all the techniques accurately, the only mistake we made was that we didn't finish filming in a day so when we come to finish it the next day we was wearing different clothes. so next time i would try to finish the exercise quicker.

overall i believe that the most positive element of my film was the match on action as it was timed perfectly. The only improvements that we would need to make is to try a finish the filming quicker.

Continuity Editing

What is Continuity Editing
This style of editing retains a sense of realistic chronology and generates the feeling that time is moving forward. the use of flashbacks or flash forwards maybe used but the narrative will still be seen to be progressing forward. within this style of editing there are many terms or ways of implementing the style. these affects can be used independently of each other to create desired affects

Eye-line match
in an eye-line match we see a character looking at something off screen and then wee cut to a shot of what they are looking at. This way the audience can see exactly what the character can see and what the director wants them to see. an example of an Eye-line match would be in Starwars when the stormtroppers are looking for princess Leia.


Match on action
in a match on action we see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next. all this tells the audience is that when one shot ends another will pick up where the other left off making the reality of the film fluid and continuous. There is an example of this in the TV show friends.


Graphic match
in a graphic match you see 2 shots linked with similar shape or composition of an image. there are many examples of this one is in 2001 a space odyssey.


180 degree rule
the 180 degree rule is a basic guid line that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other.

Opening Scene Of No Country For Old Men

No Country For Old Men

mise en scene opening scene
at the start of the scene it starts with a police officer escorting someone he has arrested to his police car. the setting is very deserted and with out any buildings in sight. he then places a gas canister into the front seat of the police car. it then shows the police officer on the phone looking at some papers on his desk. After he strangles the police officer he throws the hand cuffs into the sink. he picks up the gas tank that was taken away from him by the police officer. A police car then pulls a car over then we see that it is the guy with the gas canister. he then puts the end of it up to the guys head and fires gas through his head.

Sound of opening scene
at the start of the film there is a voice over, while the voice over is happening we hear the speeding of the police car. We then hear the police man speaking over the phone. the man that has been arrested then sneaks up on him to strangle him, you hear the guy gasping for air as he is being strangled. you then hear the banging of the hand cuffs falling into the sink we also hear the sound of the tap running washing all the blood away. it the cuts to the sound of the car following another car we then see its a police car, we hear the sirens of the police car he pulls the car he his following over he gets out to speak to the guy driving there is a bit of dialogue. he then raises the canister to the mans head where you hear the gas shooting from the canister.

editing of opening scene
the start of scene it starts with a black scene and white writing saying "No Country For Old Men".there is about 20 straight cuts throughout the whole film. there is not much editing

Opening Scene Of A History of Violence

A history of violence

Mise en scene of the opening scene.
at the start of the scene its starts with a view of 2 garden chairs sitting out side a house. the house looks very deserted and mysterious A man dressed very casual walks out of the door and directly after a guy dressed very formal walks out dressed in a shirt and trousers. they then both walk up to a blue car. man in formal clothes walks off while the other gets in the car and drives slowly towards where the other man walked to. after a few moments a man walks out from a building titled motel. the man in casual clothing walks into the motel to fill up his water. he walks in to find blood on the counter and 2 dead bodies laying on the floor. while he is filling up his water he here the door to the office start to open he looks up to see a little girl holding her doll crying. he tells her to be quite as he reaches for his gun.

Sound of opening scene
At the start of the scene you hear the sound of the gate of the door opening a closing when the 2 men exit the building. The next bit of sound you hear is one of the guys getting in the car and staring the engine. when then hear the radio being played. the men speak for a little while out side the motel before the man in the car goes into to fill in water bottle up as he walks in you get some none digetic music which makes the audience feel the tension and tells us something bad has happened or is going to happen. the last few bits of the sound in the opening scene is the man speaking to the little girl trying to keep her quite and then the sound of the gun going off and the little girl screaming.

Editing of opening scene
there is not much editing in this scene, it is very slow paced. there was only 11 or 12 cuts in this scene and they all happened at dramatic parts of the film

camera techniques of opening scene
at the very start of the scene there are 2 shots, first shot is a tracking shot followed by medium angle shot. they also made use of the steady cam when the man in casual clothing starts to walk towards the car.once again the tracking shot is used again when it is following the car. when he enters the building and is bending down to the little girl there is a close up shot on the gun behind his back.

Styles of editing

when editing there is different styles of editing.

straight cut

A straight cut is the most common style of editing and is an invisible form of transition. one shot moves instantaneously to the next scene without attracting the audience's attention. usually straight cuts help retain reality and not break the the belief of viewers.

Dissolves

A dissolve is when one shot is fading off the screen while another is fading on. this will allow the audience to see both shots on the screen at the mid-point of the dissolve. dissolves are used if the film maker wants to show a connection between two characters, a place or an object. a good example of this would be in Citizen Kane.

Fades

A fade is a gradual darkening or lightening of an image until it becomes completely black and white, one shot will fade until only a black or white screen can been seen. fades are used to indicate the end of a particular section of time within the narrative. also it can show the passing of time.

Wipes

A wipe is when on image is pushed off the screen by another, images can be pushed left or right. wipes are used to signal a movement between different locations. you will find a lot of examples of wipes in Star Wars.

Unknown

unknown
Unknown is a 2011 thriller staring Liam Neeson. Unknown is about a man who awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one ( not even his wife) believes him. Unknown was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the screen play was written by Oliver butcher and Stephen Cornwall. the main stars in this film was Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger and January Jones.

Unknown has essential characteristics of a good thriller such as moments of high tension for example the hospital scene when he is reaching for the scissors after the nurse was murdered. Also the sound track to the film it is very effective as it is a very disorientating sounds which causes suspense and tension.

                        

The car chase
this scene requently used close ups, mostly when liam neeson is in the car. another shot that is used is a tracking shot, this hsot follows the car while its being chased.

The Birds

The birds
"The birds" is a 1963 horror/thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film started rod Taylor, Trippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette. The story of the birds was written by Daphne Du Maurier and the screen play was written by Evan hunt. 

Thriller Conventions

the external threat of this thriller is from nature. A thriller convention characteristic is the fast pacing frequent action, this is shown throughout the film. for example the birds come in waves they will come then disappear for a little while then come back but why the birds were gone the people of Bodega bay argued so there was always frequent action. usually in thrillers there is a resourceful hero that must thwart the plans of the more powerful villain. You could argue that Mitch Brenner is the resourceful hero that is trying to thwart plans of the villain in this case the birds. suspense is used extensively throughout the film. They make good use of non-diegetic sound to cause suspense. for example when Mitch, Melanie, Lydia and Cathy are in the house trying to keep safe and they can hear the screeching of the birds. Dramatic irony is used in the birds when Tripi Hendren does not know that the birds have been gathering but the audience does. we have knowledge that the character doesn't. This builds suspense as we know the birds are going to attack but we don't know when.

did you know?
there is a scene where Trippi Hedren is ravaged by birds near the end of the movie took a week to film. the birds were attached to her clothes by long nylon threads so they could not get away.

Alfred Hitchcock is known as the "master of suspense", he always uses suspense and tension to show his audience.he does this by the way he uses the camera position, angles, movement and shots. He also uses scary music to create suspense in his films. there is a good example of this in The Birds, it is the scene when Trippi Hendren is sitting on a bench out side the school playground smoking, and in the background you can hear the children singing, the singing is a very unpleasant sound that builds tension and suspense. as the singing repeats you see a shot of 4 birds gathering on the climbing frame in the school playground. this builds more suspense as Trippi Hendren does not know that the birds are starting to gather. a few moments after Trippi Hendren notice the birds on the climbing frame but thinks nothing of it. Then she notices a bird in the air the camera follows the bird flying through the air to when it lands on the climbing frame. when it lands we see that the birds have gathered in large numbers, Trippi notices that the birds are about to attack and the children singing is attracting them so she goes to warn the school teacher. throughout all of this the singing is being repeated.



Alfred Hitchcock didn't finish the film with his usual "The End" title because Alfred Hitchcock wanted to give the impression of unending terror. There was a number of ending suggested for the film. one that was highly considered was that the scene would have shown the Golden Gate Bridge completely covered by birds.

in this interview Alfred Hitchcock talks about the making of "The Birds" and why he made the film. He also talks about how the birds were trained and how dangerous some of the birds were. Trippi Hendren talks about how excited she was to star in her first film and to be working with Alfred Hitchcock and how scared she was for 2 weeks but after was fine. she also talks about the scene when all the birds fly at her when shes in the attic. she was scratched and bitten a few times one that was very close to her eye at the end of the scene she passed out and was sent to bed for 5 days by the doctor.

Sound Exercise

Sound Exercise Evaluation
this sequence is about 2 men named Wayne and Wes. Wes losses £25,000 on a night out with his girlfriend, after Wes explains what has happened Wayne is stressed and doesn't know what to do. Thankfully Wes has a plan, his plan is to rob a bank, they construct a plan.




the first shot i used was a pan shot. the first bit of sound that is heard is diegetic as someone is talking within the world of the film. i chose this technique as it sets the story and explains the problem wayne and Wes are in. i believe this technique was successful as it set the story and what there problem is. The second shot you see is a over the shoulder shot, this is also diegetic, this shot shows how annoyed

Rope

About Rope:
rope is a thriller made in 1948 directed by alfred hitchcock. Rope was first a play written by patrick hamilton, based on the grimly story of leopold and loeb, but was adapted by Hume Cronyn when it was made into a film. The film stars James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger. The film is about two young men that believe they are superior so they strangle their inferior classmate to death. they then hide the dead body in their apartment and then invite their friends and family over for a dinner party to challenge the perfection of their murder.








thriller conventions:
rope does not follow the normal fast pacing, frequent action convention, but has a lot of suspense. For example when the maid decides she wants to put the books back in the trunk the body is in she lifts up the lid but brandon gets there to stop her. there is also dramatic irony as the audience knows a murder has been committed and that the dead body and murder weapon is in the room but the individual characters don't.

camera

North By Northwest The Perfect Thriller

What is North By Northwest about?
North by Northwest was written by a man called Ernest Lehman and was directed by one of the most famous thriller directors ever Alfred Hitchcock in 1959. the main characters in North By Northwest are cary grant who was the most famous actor at the time of when the film was made, Eva Marie Saint and  James Mason. North By Northwest is about an ordinary called Roger O. Thornhill, who was played by Cary Grant, a cross agent played by Eva Marie Saint who has been sent on a mission to get vandam out of the country but why doing this she falls in love with cary grant. Cary Grant was mistaken for a fake spy called George Kaplan, once he was mistaken he was kidnapped by two of Mr vandam's henchmen.





Devices used:
devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively. For example Hitchcock builds suspense at the crop duster scene. Cary Grant is dropped at the side of the road waiting to meet the Mr Kaplan. why he is waiting several cars pass this builds suspense as you do not know what car Mr Kaplan is going to get out of. finally a car stops and a man gets out. Cary Grant approaches the guy and realises that he is not Mr Kaplan and that hes just a guy waiting for the bus. while he is speaking to this guy the guy points out a plan dusting crops where there is no crops. This is when the suspense increases as he crop duster plan flew directly towards him. This also follows one of the main conventions of a thriller fast frequent action.

Resourceful Hero:
This Thriller follows one of the most common thriller conventions, the resourceful hero who must thwart the plans of the more powerful and better equipped villain. For example in the auction scene Rodger Thornhill out smarts vandam as he sends his henchmen to block the exists so that thornhill cant escape the room but thornhill gets him self in trouble on purpose by making stupid bids and disrupting the auction. by doing that the police was called as the police entered the auction room thornhill punched someone so the police arrested him and he was escorted out of the building and taken by he police. this way vandam couldn't get hold of him.

Macguffin:
The Macguffin of this thriller is that the FIB or the spies care about the micro tapes but the audience only cares about what is going to happen to thornhill and if him and eve are going to be together at the end of the film.

Genre

 What is a genre?
A genre is a type, style or category of film. For example thriller, horror, Sci-fi, romance and action are some of the genres.

GUESS THE GENRE!!!

 















What is a narrative?
a narrative is the way the film is set out. you can get linear narratives which is when the story is in order and non linear is when it's not in order it starts later in the story line at the begging then it goes back to the begging.

Type of genre
probably the most watched genre in film is thrillers. thrillers normally contain a resourceful hero, a villain that is better equipped, a macguffin, cliffhangers, redherrings and a very interesting plot. editing is also a very big part of thriller, they are usually faced paced and with unusual music that matches the film. a very well known directed that is very good at making thrillers is Alfred Hitchcock. he has made some of the best thrillers ever made such as, psycho, north by northwest, birds and vertigo. because of these films Alfred is known as the "Master" of thrillers. below is a trailer of one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest Movies.

Thriller Conventions

Thrillers is one of the most popular genres. a thriller doesn't just have to be a film it can be a book or a play.

what do thrillers have?
thrillers are very fast pacing, for example its always exciting something is always happening. also action is very frequent. thrillers contain a resourceful hero who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains, the hero is usually accompanied by a very attractive women who is younger than them. Furthermore a thriller is a villain driven plot.

Thriller uses devices such as:
thrillers use devices such as suspense, this grabs the audiences attention and draws them in because they want to know whats going to happen. Thrillers also use red herrings which are when the audience is fooled as well as the characters in the thriller. cliffhangers are very popular in thrillers as well as they put the audience on edge. Thrillers are often take place in exotic  settings such as foreign cities.

The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger e.g policemen. sometimes ordinary citizens are dragged into the problems. Traditionally its known to be men heroes but recently women have become increasingly popular for example Sigourney  weaver stared as the main hero in alien

how thrillers differ to mystery stories
thrillers differ from mystery stories, they are distinguished by the structure of their plots, for example in a thriller the hero must thwart the future plan of the enemy rather than uncover a crime that has already happened like in a mystery

Thrillers are also on a much larger scale for example someone may try to blow up america where as in a mystery someone may just killed 1 person. danger and violent confrontations are standard pot elements of a thriller.

 thrillers and mystery's have 2 different climaxes. a thrillers climax is the hero defeating the villain where as in a mystery the climax is when the mystery is solved.

there are all different types of thrillers legal, police, horror, political, high-tech, action-adventure, military, romantic, spy.

Media Theory

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes was born November 12th 1915 in Cherbourg-Octeville, Normandy, France. he worked as a french literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic and a semiotician. Roland discovered the "enigma code" that applies to all thrillers. the enigma code is a mystery in the film. the main aim of the enigma code is to make the audience ask themselves question for example " who is she?".

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Tzvetan Todorov was born March 1st 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is a Franco-Bulgarian historian, philosopher, literary critic, sociologist and essayist. In 1969 todorov produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. There are 5 stages of Todorov' theory.

1- A state of equilibrium ( everything is normal).

2- A disruption of that order by an event.

3- A recognition that the disorder has occurred.

4- an attempt to repair the damage of disruption 

5- a return of restoration of a new equilibrium.

Welcome Post

about me:

My name is James Casal and i am16 years old. i am currently studying at Robert Clack 6th form. i study BTEC Sport, business studies, ICT and Media also i am apart of the Rugby Academy. One of my favourite films is "The Conjuring". i am a big fan of the horror genre, i also watch "The Walking Dead" TV series.

The Brief 

 You have been asked to produce the titles and opening sequence of a new fiction film in the thriller genre

The sequence should last a maximum of two minutes.

You may work in a group of 2 - 4 students.

As acting is not assessed you are free to use actors that are not members of your group.

The film is worth 60% of your coursework grade.

The accompanying blog is worth 40% of your coursework grade

Together the Foundation Portfolio is worth 50% of the overall AS Level.