Analysis and Evaluation of Preliminary Task

The Preliminary Task: Toni was a moderate success. The clip followed the conventions of a thriller however the actual execution of the clip was poor. The clip follows the conventions as it has;

• Low key lighting throughout the scene
• Dramatic background music which gets more intense towards the end of the scene
• Plot twists, as "Toni" (Olivia) unexpectedly shoots  "Tommy" (Harry) without any real warning
• Violence, as "Tommy" is murdered
• Possibly some tension due to the low key lighting and background music

However apart from these conventions the Prelim clip is a shocking portrayal of a thriller. The narrative is very mediocre but that could just be from how short the clip is and had to be. The acting is probably the worst part of the clip, both actors speak with bland boring voice tones and lack any emotion. That being said they're not professional actors and couldn't do much better.

'Toni' - Preliminary Task

Toni is out for revenge!
Starring:
Toni: Olvia Whyley
Tommy: Harry Edwards


Directed and Edited by Ben Hall & Sam Weeks

Filming and editing the Preliminary Task

For filming the sequence we as a group decided to film the scenes chronologically as we thought we could speed through the easy scenes and have more time to film the harder end scenes. Our planned worked and we finished the filming after around an hour & 40 minutes. The first few scenes went perfectly as it only to a couple of takes to get them correct. However the scenes with dialogue were more tricky to get right as the actors couldn't get the right emotion into their lines, eventually after lots of takes we settled with the takes we had.


I had to be absent for some lesson time for family business, my group had technical difficulties copying the film to a computer from the camera taking up some time. Once I returned very little editing had been done accept from uploading the film to Adobe Premier Pro and cutting some scenes. This is what editing I did:

• Put the scenes in order,
• Compressed the clips,
• Removed unnecessary background sound,
• Made some scenes darker to provide more tension,
• Added a dramatic non-diegetic background music to also provide tension
• Finally added a diegetic gunshot sound effect to provide an ending to the sequence.

After these were completed we successfully uploaded the clip to YouTube.

Planning the Preliminary Task

For the Preliminary Task I was grouped with three other students; Sam, Olivia and Harry. We discussed what our 30 second clip would be, many ideas were though of and shared them, However we all agreed on a film sequence that would have s character walk down a corridor into a room, have a brief conversation with another character and shoot the other character. We chose this as we wanted to move onto filming the sequence as this would be the most time consuming part, also it shares a lot of the conventions of a thriller.


We decided as a group that Olivia would star in the title of role of 'Toni' and Harry would star as 'Tommy', while Sam would be cameraman plus co-direct with me, I would also edit the sequence.
The basic narrative would be: Toni walks down the corridor and enters the room, has a 4 line conversation with Tommy then shoots him.


The script is:
Tommy: "Toni?!"
Toni: "I've been away a while"
Tommy: "What are you doing here?"
Toni: "To finish what I started!"
*Gunshot*

Preliminary Task Portfolio

Film and edit a 30 second film sequence in which a character enters a room, sits opposite another character and they exchange at least four lines of dialogue. You should consider:

• Camera movement, focus, framing and shot type;
• Editing, including pace, transitions, eyeline match, 180° rule, 30° rule, graphic and action matching, cross cutting etc.;
• Sound, mixing scenes to ensure dialogue is clear and effective to the scene, selecting appropriate music and dialogue for diegetic and non-diegetic purposes.
• Mise en Scene including costume, lighting, your casting of actors and direction of action, make up and hair, props and setting.

Task E: Audience Research-Primary Research

Audience feedback from Hall98

Task E: Audience Research-Secondary Research

Task D: Research into a previous student's work

For task D, I had to analyse a media student's work from a previous year, I chose Sam Weeks' work.

Research:
Strengths:

• The blogs in this section were well written with very small grammar or spelling mistakes.
• Good analysis of videos

Weaknesses:

• No other use of digital media apart from the blogs

Planning:
Strengths:

• Use of the of pictures in nearly all the blogs in this section

Weaknesses:

• A number of the blogs are considerable short
• Some pictures used on their blogs is not their own rather off the internet

Thriller:
Strengths:

• Fantastic editing
• Credits in time with the music is very good
• Nice twist at the end

Weaknesses:

• Lack of dialogue
• Music is a tad too light for the genre their portraying
• Ending seems rushed

Evaluation:
Strengths:

• Use of pictures
• Some evaluation of their work

Weaknesses:

• This section is very short
• No use of digital media

Task C: Analysis of Reservoir Dogs Titling Techniques

A Film By Quentin Taratino

Harvey Keitel
Michael Masden
Chris Penn
Steve Buscemi
Lawrence Tirney
Eddie Bunker
Quentin Taratino
And Tim Roth
Are
RESERVOIR DOGS

Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Rich Turner and the voice of Steven Wright

Casting Ronnie Yeskel, C.S.A.
Music Supervisor Karyn Rachtman
Costume Designer Besty Heimann
Editor Sally Menke
Production Designer David Wasco
Director of Photography Andrzej Sekula
Co-Producer Harvey Keitel
Executive Producers Richard N. Gladstein, Ronna B. Wallance and Monte Hellman
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Written and Diected by Quentin Tarantino

Task B: Analysis of The Usual Suspects Opening Scene

The Usual Suspects is 1995 crime thriller film from director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2), about an interrogation of a con-man about how him and 4 other criminals got involved with a mob boss and gunfight on a boat.

The film starts with the aftermath of a gun fight on a boat with an injured man lighting a gasoline trail but the flame stops after a mysterious man whose face is never shown, urinates on it. He then has a brief conversation with the injured man before relighting the trail and shooting him. The scene ends with the ship busting into flames and the sound of approaching police sirens.

The scene is has a very low key lighting making the scene very dark which is common in thrillers creating tension. Another classic convention in this scene is dramatic non-diagetic background music which increases the suspense of the scene, the music is also used as they're is a lack of dialogue or ambient sound in the scene. The mysterious man face is darkened and the camera never goes above his shoulders.

Task B: Analysis of The Purge Opening Scene

The Purge (James DeMonaco, 2013) The scene starts with black screen with text stating the setting for the film, the next shot is the same but with the text being a historical quote. The rest of the opening scene is a montage of violent crimes happening the POV of security cameras. These shots are accompanied by suspenseful non-diagetic background music and credits. This opening scene provides a preview of what the film is going to be like for the viewer.

Task B: Analysis of Reservoir Dogs Opening Titles

Reservoir Dogs ( Quentin Tarantino, 1992). The scene starts with a group of men leaving a café/diner, the screen slowly fades to black which is accompanied by a voiceover from a radio presenter talking about the background songs that are playing on the radio (Which continues throughout the whole film). The screen then refades after showing "A Film By Quentin Tarantino", into the group of men walking away from the diner while conversing, laughing and smoking with each other. The camera then focuses on each of the characters with credits appearing with the actors' name. Most of the men are dressed in black suits with sunglasses with 2 others in casual clothes. The next shot is long shot of the men approaching two cars, the title of the film then scrolls up the screen. This opening titles scene is unique as it really doesn't give away what the film is about, plus the non-diagetic background music of 70s music makes the viewer believe that this film is a light hearted one from the music. However as the credits end, a voice which is in pain, screams "I'm going to die", this contrasts the cheery music perfectly.

Task B: Analysis of Looper Opening Scene

The scene starts with a extreme close up of a pocket watch then cuts to a close up of Joe's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) face while he's repeating French phrases. The camera rotates and zooms out to reveal him kneeling in a field in front of a sheet; he checks his watch once more, stands up, takes out his headphones, holds his gun up. Suddenly a kneeled man appears out of nowhere and is immediately shot by Joe the scene then cuts to the credits.


The scene lacks any other sound then Joe's dialogue, ambient sound of the field and the gun shot. This creates a unique amount of sound that the use of background music would be able to replicate. The gun shot also creates suspense as the viewer will completely shocked and confused why this random guy appeared and the got shot. This links in with the Mise-en-Scene as the viewer ponders why Joe is in this field, after the man is shot the viewer understands that Joe was in this field as its discreet location is the perfect place for a murder. Apart from the cut from the watch to Joe this clip is cut-less again making it feel long longer than it is for the viewer.

Task B: Analysis of Se7en Opening Credits

The opening credits of Se7en is showing John Doe (Kevin Spacey) preparing for his murders. Doe is seen doing many activities in relation to the murders; he removes the skin from his finger with a razor so he cannot leave finger prints, he also writes in his many notepads about how his murders are redeeming the world of sin, he is next scene developing photos to leave as clues for the detectives, he is finally seen highlighting parts of a pregnancy book which relates to him killing Mills' pregnant wife. Doe's face is never revealed to keep his identity secret, all we see are his hands.

The scene is accompanied by a distorted non-diagetic background music which is used to create suspense for viewer. Along with the mentioned imagery, the credits are highly stylized as they are assumed to be in Doe's handwriting in relation to him writing his books. The font of the titles is the previously mentioned Doe's handwriting and are black in colour. Each time the background music glitches, so does the credits which presents a sense of dark unity which in turn sets the tone for the rest of the film.

Task A: Summary of Se7en

Se7en is a 1995 crime thriller film from director David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) about 2 Detectives solving the murders of a serial killer who kills due to the belief of the 7 deadly sins. The film was a commercial (grossing $327.3 million at the box office) and critical success.

New York City, Homicide Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is retiring in the next week is partnered with the rookie Detective Mills (Brad Pitt). They find a massively overweight man who died after being forced to eat himself to death, without any leads they get a call the next day to a defence lawyer who died after being forced cutting off 7 pounds of his flesh.
The 2 Detective believe the murders relate to the 7 deadly sins; Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy and Wrath.
The detectives find a paedophile barely clinging to life after being strapped to a bed for a year. After the Detectives follow a lead and have a shootout with the killer at his apartment, in which the killer spared Mills' life after holding him at gunpoint. They find the victims of Lust; prostitute is killed after a man is forced to rape her with a modified BDSM suit, and Pride; the killer cuts off the model's nose and she commits suicide after deciding she cannot live with her disfigurement. The killer-John Doe (revealed to be Kevin Spacey) hands himself in at the police station, through his lawyer Doe will show the only the Detectives the bodies of his next 2 victims if they accompany him there or he will plead insanity.
Doe takes them on a long trip into a desert in which he makes cryptic comments towards Mills and also says he only killed to prove the world is full of sin. Doe makes them stop in a remote area, Somerset stops an approaching van which contains the head of Mills' pregnant wife, Tracy. Doe himself represents Envy as he was jealous of Mills' life, Mills breaks into a rage and repeatedly shoots Doe making him represent Wrath. The film ends with Mills being escorted away and Somerset quoting "'The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for'...I agree with the second part."

Task A: Thriller Sub-genre

Thrillers is one of the most popular genres of film, because of this directors include elements from other genres to make their film more original this has led to many different sub-genres within the genre.

Comedy thriller: combines elements of comedies and thrillers, humour mixed with suspense e.g. In Bruges
Conspiracy thriller:  the protagonist comes up against a group of enemies that only they know the true extent of it e.g. The Bourne Trilogy
Crime thriller: the most popular sub-genre of thrillers, usually from the point of view of the detectives or criminals. Topics include murders, robberies etc. e.g. Se7en
Legal thriller: revolves around a court case with the protagonist being a lawyer e.g. The Lincoln Lawyer
Political thriller: can be either the protagonist protecting or destroying a government e.g. The Ideas of March
Spy thriller: the second most popular sub-genre, the protagonist being an agent who's fighting against a rival government/terrorists e.g. Skyfall

Task A: Conventions of Opening Scenes

The majority of film openings start with certain codes and conventions regardless of their genre. These consist of:

• Production/distrubutingcompany logo
• Titles of the cast and crew
• Themes and topics
• Establishing the genre
• Introduction of characters
• Action
• Narrations and text

Task A: Conventions of Thrillers

The definition of a thriller by Wikipedia is : "Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced."


Conventions:

• The storyline is either a quest/objective/mystery that the protagonist must complete/solve
• The antagonist (or their forces) must be initially more powerful then the protagonist's
• Suspense/tension must be created
• Plot twists
• Dark/low key lighting and shadows
• Dramatic music to build up the tension
• Quick edits during a tense scene
• Violence
• Flashbacks