Last weekend...

...I did something I've never done before in my life; I went out and purposely bought a thriller film - in fact I ended up buying two.

The first was Takers, which focussed on a group of L.A. criminals trying to score a huge amount of money, but there are twists and turns and eventually things don't turn out as they originally planned. Overall I thought the film was really good and had an interesting narrative. There are some really cool shots too in the film that I noticed were put to good use in the genre it falls under (there were blurry close-ups and large establishing shots throughout the picture) and it all helped to create suspense especially, for example, in the clip above.

The scond film was Awake, which centred on a young and rich business man who needs a heart transplant. His doctor friend is the surgeon so he thinks everything will be fine, but he falls under the rare condition of anesthetic awareness and hears and feels everything- including the fact that his friend and wife are planning to kill him for his money. I really liked this film, it was interesting and different and it made me laugh at myself when I had to cringe away from the screen. The narrative was also interesting as the main character goes back to certain times where he should've seen specific things that could've stopped what happens.

Self Evaluation!

After reflecting over all the work I've done over the last 5 weeks, I've evaluated my self and the way I work.

Areas in Level Criteria

(1) Complete - do we know who did what?
In this area I reckon I'm about a level three/four, somewhere in between. I've done quite a lot of research and a fair amount of planning and on some pieces, my work is a lot more detailed and full than other pieces.

(2) Useful research and demonstrate learning or just copying?
I think I'm probably just edging on level four in this area because I have done a lot of research into thrillers and audience. I've watched many more thriller films over the last month than I ever have in my life. I've also researched extensively about iconic thriller directors and typical synopsis' within the genre as well  as writing my own review of thriller film Like Minds.

(3) Care/Creativity in the Presentation
I think in this area, I'm somewhere between level three and four because I've tried really hard to present the information in a creative and different way, that stands out. I've used various medias such as video and voice overs to keep my work interesting to read and good to look at, particularly at first glance.

(4) Time Management 
I have tried my absolute best to put in at least four hours of independent studying and work each week but I have found it difficult which is why I think I'm only on a level two at this moment in time, but I plan to reach at least level three within the next few weeks/month.

6 Ways to Kill Your Husband - Final piece.

This is my group's final thriller sequence piece. 

The Planning Progress

To plan for this task, my group and I carried out a range of planning activities and pieces of work. Personally, I created the main idea of the script, but Chris Rizzi had a huge input into what material was actually used when filming. I also drew the storyboard out and helped look at what shots we were going to use. I think we were fairly organized but nowhere near enough as towards the end of the project, it became honestly quite a struggle. Although it proved difficult, I think I really benefitted, as did my group, from making mistakes and learning from them. There are some things I would change, for instance, we didn't have enough time to edit the piece into black and white, or get the exact shots we planned +/ wanted. 

The Video Production

Chris and I used a small room with low lights- which helped create extra shadow and therefore suspense- and few props. We had to include match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. I think our match on action shots worked pretty well and were edited to a good standard. Although we only used the shot/reverse shot once, I think that too worked effectively. I'm afraid to say we did break the 180 degree rule but I think we all learned from it. Abbie Hales and George Martin also, graciously helped out with the production of the piece. 

I think the piece looked pretty convincing and the conversation worked well, and although it wasn't essential, we tried hard to create a good, interesting script. There are many things I would do to improve it such as plan further in advance and think more clearly and effectively about the shots we planned to use, but as I said before, all the mistakes we make will eventually help us understand where we can go right. 

For more information on our piece, check out Chris Rizzi's blog.

This is mine and Chris's Directors Commentary...

Preliminary Task - Script (6 Ways to Kill your Husband)

This is our script we created for the film noir sequence...

Preliminary Task - Storyboard!

This is our storyboard for the preliminary task film noir sequence.

Composition, the rules of.

I learnt that composition is basically the frame in which the scene is shot, which makes it visually interesting to the audience. It's basic guidelines for filming and there are sub- ideas to it such as...

The Rule of Thirds - This is where you imagine a grid of nine squares covering the shot. Sometimes, the grid is already over the camera so it can help when filming. The object of interest in the piece should be situated where the lines overlap. Below, I've drawn a picture to remind myself of this rule, when needed.

There are other factors of composition such as...

Head Room - this is where you need to have a good enough distance between the top of the person's head and the top of the frame. 

Look Room - It's sometimes called Nose Room and it basically is the distance between the side edge of the frame and the person's nose. 

Lead Room - This is when the camera follows (pans) the moving object in the scene. 

There are other shots that are used in composition like eye level shots, low and high angle shots etc.

An important factor of composition is simplicity - meaning not too much happening in the background so the audience can focus their attention on the main object and balance - meaning if there is an object on the left hand side of the frame, something needs to be placed on the right to balance out the shot, and vice versa. 

Recently in class...

I learnt about 3 different techniques used in film which make the piece interesting and are also fundamental guidelines to follow when filming.
I studied Match on Action. Match on Action is basically where you film various shots of the same movement so it follows through naturally to show the scene. Jeni Hatt, Chris Rizzi and myself all had a go at editing these sequences which show the idea of Match on Action...

We also studied the 180 degree rule and Shot reverse/ shot. To see information on these, check out:

Chris Rizzi's blog: http://chris-rizzi-media.blogspot.com/

and

Jeni Hatt's.

Film Production Companies

After surfing the web researching film production companies I found a specific example.

Hammer Film Productions is a British film company that was started in 1934. It's famous for it's more 'gothic' pieces of work but is well known for thriller productions and also film noir.

This production company is suitable for making a Thriller film because it's what they specialize in - dark, tense, sometimes scary pieces of work.

Hammer Film Productions have made films such as The Phantom of the Opera and series of films under the varied titles of Dracula and Frankenstein. The company was at its most successful peak from the late 50's to the mid 70's.

http://www.hammerfilms.com/ 

For more information on film production companies, check out my group member Chris Rizzi's blog: 

http://chris-rizzi-media.blogspot.com/ 

Lock, Stock Sequence

Jeni, Chris and I took a scene from the film Lock, Stock and recreated it because it showed pretty well various types of angles and shots - such as close-ups, side views, extreme close-ups and panning shots. Above are the 9 frames we initially print screened.

After studying the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot, here is our finished, edited piece of film...

Preliminary Task Soundtrack

For my group's preliminary task, I've been thinking about suitable songs that we could use, here's what I've found and thought were good for the task so far......

This is a really great song by 30 Seconds To Mars but I just think this string rendition of it, is amazing! It fits in well with a thriller film - being orchestral and jmupy but also melodic at the same time, which helps to support the drama of the piece.

I think this piano piece is brilliant and the quick sharp notes really add a tense, atmospheric aspect to it.

BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) Film Certificates - With Chris and Joe.

Iconic Sounds Connected with Thrillers

There are some sounds that are iconic and completely define a thriller film.

Like the
   sound of footsteps getting
           louder and louder
                     even though you can't
                            see the person who's walking.

Or the drip drip drip drip of a tap. 

Music is a big part of any film, but it's especially crucial for a thriller film. The soundtrack is usually full of classical music and it makes a real impact on the tone and atmosphere of the film. Here are a few iconic soundtracks from thriller films:

Psycho

Requiem for a Dream's soundtrack is very iconic in the genre of thriller as is the theme song for Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder and perhaps the most iconic sound of all, the Jaws theme tune:

Most music/sounds connected with thrillers are usually edgy, dark sometimes a bit sinister depending on the subject and generally classical. Soundtracks and sounds can sometimes give information to the audience about whatever character is on screen, for instance: a murderer will have a dark, tense piece of music following them, so that when the music starts playing, the audience are familiar with and know it's that specific character.