Preliminary Task Evaluation

     We attempted to explain the story of David and Tayo interacting in conversation which interrupted a conversation Denis and David were having earlier. Denis then got jealous and threw a bottle at David so Tayo called Nadine (me) for help and the two girls saved the day by catching Denis. Denis felt so bad and jumped out of the window because he couldn't deal with the consequences of putting David into a coma, unfortunately Denis didn't survive.

                   Match on Action

The cut that connected two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement. We carefully matched the movement across the two shots, to make it seem that the motion continues uninterrupted. The action began with the first shot of Denis walking through the door and ended in the second shot.

   Eye line Match

We created the eye line match with a logical coherence between the shots and made the storytelling smooth, logical and continuous by beginning the scene with Denis looking at something off-screen.  It was then followed by a cut to the object or person at which he is looking.

  

Shot, Reverse Shot and 180 degree rule

When you are a constructing a shot reverse shot edit you must ensure that during filming the shots you abide by the 180 degree rule. This ensures that the two characters retain the same left right relationship during the scene.

Overall we used each technique accurately because we stuck to the 180 degree rule and re-did the shots until they were to the best possible standard although we couldn't avoid the fact that the camera was shaking at some points e.g the high angle shot making the project seem a bit unprofessional. The most positive elements of the project were the reverse shots as showed the understanding of this skill at two different points, it was used during both conversations.

    

Preliminary Task

Studio Idents

'The Birds' (1963)

Psycho

Past Student Thrillers

I knew this was a thriller due to the non-diegetic sinister music, the low key lighting, the prop of a gun gave a thriller effect because you would associate it with death and danger. There were also quick cuts and changes in the angles of shots. I would give this thriller a 4/4 because it held suspense, engaged the audience and had a good use of camera shots and thriller conventions.




This thriller opening shared the same qualities to the previous thriller but rather than having tension music at the beginning, it started off with happy non-diegetic music. It was only towards the middle of the opening that things started to build suspense which actually created more effect because at one point it was so cheerful and all of a sudden tension started to grow which catches the audience off-guard. I would give this thriller a 4/4, it could've been better if there was a little bit of dialogue just to engage the audience a bit more.




This thriller was not as effective as the other two because there was no depth, the same location was used throughout and the quality was not good enough to engage the audience. It is very basic so I would give this a 2/4 although techniques were used effectively like the close up when the girl was on her phone and the jump cuts when she was walking.

Modern Thriller Openings

No Country for Old Men
We experience dramatic irony when a wide shot is shown because when the police officer gets strangled he doesn't know what he is in for but the audience do so it creates hypertension for people that watch. This is why it is called a thriller because it gives us a 'thrill'.

A History of Violence
This movie also starts with an establishing/pan shot which shows the audience that the films opening is shot in a house. It starts very normal so it's a surprise when the child gets shot. This shot is a complete contradiction to what we see later in the thriller opening.

When the little girl walked in the room we see a point of view shot from the man, so it makes her look really small and vulnerable. When the man pulls out the gun, we see it before the victim does so this builds up tension for the audience and we are fearful of what might happen. This is similar to 'No Country for Old Men' because we experience dramatic irony.

Zodiac
The movie opens with diegetic music playing out of a car, the scene lasted long and didn't change frequently so the director created a relaxed mood for the audience. The scene was also long enough for the audience to understand where the movie is set which is in the 60s and what was going on. Up until this point everything is calm and peaceful. A girl in a car picks up a boy and while she is driving they have a common conversation, then they stop to talk some more and someone pulls up behind them.

Someone comes out of the car and from the way the boy and girl in the car greet him/her it tells the audience that this is someone they know but suddenly a gun is pulled out and he assassinates them both. By the director doing this he created somewhat a cliffhanger at the beginning of the film so it makes the audience want to carry on watching and solve the mystery of this sequence.

Brick
Blue is the colour of the sky and the water. Blue is symbolized trust, intelligence and wisdom. Also blue is associated with health, as it has a calming effect. Blue is a masculine colour. Dark blue is associated with knowledge, power , light blue is associated with health and healing.