Evaluation module 1 research portfolio

1- Complete - do we know who did what?
I think I achieved a level 3. I knew who was doing what in each task as we decided this and then wrote it on the blog, there is a bit more to be included.

2- Useful research and demonstrate learning or just copying? (researched what was asked?)
For the research i think a level 2 was achieved. There was some research we understood but it wasn't very detailed.

3- Care/creativity in the presentation.
I think that I have a level 2 for the presentation as it was clear but didn't have much originality it was just a block of writing instead of a video or poster.

4- Time management - does it look like 4hrs per student per week for 5 weeks?
A level 2 was achieved for the time management as it was mostly completed except for a few minor parts. But looking at the blog it doesn't look like 4hrs a week.

Improvements to be made?
To improve to get to the next level I think that i could make sure that my time management is better and make sure that I include clear presentations and have them more creative.

What have I done well?
I think that the preliminary task that we produced was good as it included everything that needed to be in the task and also the fact that before we started we didn't know much about using cameras or thriller films and then to be able to produce one ourselves is an achievement.

Overall i think that i achieved a high level 2 mark, this being 11/20.

Surveillance film

This film is a remake of how we interpreted seven. We created this on final cut pro. Dark lighting, scratchy films and shaky camera movements were used. All of these help to create suspense and mystery at the beginning of a film making it perfect for the thriller genre.

Thriller Plot

What was about to happen was far beyond what the girls would have expected. Four girls were just hanging around the park, when a  man in a long dark jacket approached them slowly, turning this way and that as if he was admiring each of them. One of the girls had recognised him from earlier on that night but not thought anything of it. He was stalking them! The mystery and suspense rises as the girls suddenly realise that this is not only a one off but in actual fact a life time disaster.

6 ways to kill your husband

Deeply in love a newly wed husband and wife, with things are soon about to change. Her world is turned upside down when she realises that he is having an affair with her best friend. She teams up with her best friends husband to plot a revenge. They plan 6 ways in which to get him back for what he has done, each of them should result in death. 5 of the plans they came up with destroy him emotionally but do not go as far as killing him, but the 6th and final is the best yet.

Enemy of the state

The theme of this film is thriller and the opening of the film creates mystery. In the beginning you see CCTV of a blurred car chase, as well as the setting of monuments and secret surveillance. The audience knows that it is to do with surveillance as you can see a lot of telephones and themes of tracking. The characters are wearing dark costumes which brings threat and mystery. There is a contrast between the people is shown depending on the costumes they wear. The 'bad men' were wearing black and had gloves as they were meaning to kill the good people who were wearing white. Once they had killed him though they put him back in his car and made it look like suicide by using props such as pills and the dog. The car was then pushed into the lake, the music used throughout is strong and upbeat to create the thriller theme.

Lock Stock Poker Game Storyboard

This is the storyboard we created for the lock stock poker games. After we watched the first 1 minute 53 seconds of the opening we chose the most important parts to help tell the story about what was going on in the film. Below is the sequence of images we chose to keep the film in the correct order.

The first shot we chose was the cards that would determine the end of the game. At this point though the audience don't know whether these are the winning cards or not.

The second shot we chose was an extreme close up of one of the players eyes. We did this so we can feel what the character is feeling whilst playing the game.

Then we had a close up shot of the characters face showing is emotions and expressions.

We the had a close up of the other play so people can see how different the expressions of each were, this helps us to see who the more confident player is.

This next shot is the older man laying his final cards on the table, and suspense is caused waiting for the outcome.

An extreme close up of the younger man's eye is the next shot as he sees the first card being laid.

This shot is a close up of the older man's final cards on the table.

The next shot we had was a set of cards the younger man had drawing an end to the poker game.

This last close up is of the younger man's expression when he realises that he hasn't won.

History of Thiller

                                     

Group Blog

There are three of us in my group, this includes:

Alexandra Ryder and Iesha Mclean.

Below is the link to our blog.

http://laifmediawork.blogspot.com/

Thriller Films

Three major film makers during the 1920's to 1940's in the thriller genre were; Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and George Cukor.

Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock had a silent film 'The Lodger' which was in 1926. He used this to be able to help shape the modern day thriller genre. This was a Jack the ripper film which caused a lot of suspense. He always continued to make his recognisable brand of suspension with thrillers to a good standard throughout the early thriller time. Releasing many films during that time.

Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang was known for directing the German film 'M' in 1931. This was based on a serial killer, including the main character being a criminal deviant using the genre of thriller to create the suspense and the intense shock throughout the film.

George Cukor
George Cukor was known for his psychological thrillers. In 1941 he made a thriller 'Women's face'. This film is about a female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar who meets a plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.The genre always helps to create suspense as you are never too sure of the outcome.

Thriller Sub-genres

Thriller Moodboard

Fight Club

Looking at the opening title sequence it isn't clear as to what all the abstract images are at first, but as it gets further into it you can see that it is his brain. The titles are in white writing but have a flash of blue lighting over them as if electricity is passing through him. There is a bold font which seems serious so we can tell that it is going to be a serious film. The music is fast and upbeat which makes us think that something big is going to happen even though we are not completely sure what it is. There is a lot of black which symbolises mystery and is associated with thrillers. When it zooms out of the brain we see a gun inside the man's mouth which makes us think that he is going to get shot. You don't actually see the man with the gun just hear his deep voice. This causes suspense because we are not sure what he looks like we only know that his voice is mysterious. Each shot is led into another and is continuous because it is just flowing through his brain. Even when it gets to the end you can still see that it flows as it follows all the way up the gun right to the shot of the man with the gun in his mouth.

Taxi Driver

The opening of Taxi Driver introduces the main character/setting. It sets the mood of the film and tells you something about the story. The city seems distorted and so when the taxi driver stops at the red light it suggests anger, danger and warning. Close up camera shots are used to create the sense of mystery. During the opening scenes we are able to see the city through his eyes explaining how the taxi driver sees the city as bleak and blurry. The taxi driver appears through sewer fog which means that he doesn't just appear he is basically part of the environment. He seems like he is searching the streets looking for his next victim, this can create the thought of threat.

The Usual Suspects

There is not much happening in the opening titles of The Usual Suspects. There is a shot of water with a flicker of light after every few shots. This gives the mystery and suspense a thriller film needs, by leaving the audience not knowing what is happening. The water is continuous and the light flickers are all blue with a change in colour every now and then. This could show that things can change quicker then you think. The dark lighting is part of the mis-en-scene which helps to create the thriller in the film.

Narrative techniques

Linear 
A linear film is a film which is set out in the order of beginning, middle and end. This means that it is easy for the audience to understand and follow. An example of this is starting with an opening line for the beginning and finishing with a good closing line like in fairy tales. Once upon a time and they lived happily ever after. The middle is the actual story but is in the correct order. This makes it easier for people to understand.

Non-linear
A non-linear film is when the film does not go in order but instead it could start at the end and be in reverse order of just starting in the middle before explaining the beginning. This could be confusing for the audience but is a good way to create mystery. By using this technique it makes the audience want to watch more to find out what is going to happen. 

Omniscient
Omniscient gives the audience a 'god' like perspective about the film. This is because they may have seen the end of the film at the beginning, meaning they know how it will end. Also they then know why it ended that way. The audience can then come up with there own conclusion about how it will happen before they see it on the film. 

Restricted
Restricted is when the audience are kept in the dark about what is going on. This means they may know a lot about what is happening but they are being kept out of a major part of the film. By using this technique the audience will be shocked once it does happen as they are not expecting it.