Title Research

I have recently looked at a number of films that incorporate title sequences at the start of films. I looked at these because were researching into the conventions of titles within relation to thriller films in general to see if there is a link between specific colours fonts or effects that are used within thriller films. Within our film we were thinking of using black writing in a white background or visa versa. We looked at these films with our idea in mind to see whether it would keep to conventions or break them.

Red Lights (2012)
Black Background with white writing.
Black and white images.
Images that are related to the film and could be iconic symbols within relation to the film.

The Shining (1980)
Lots of establishing shots to set the scene of the film.
Classical Music - could present and Erie feel to a horror/thriller

Zombieland (2009)
Fast paced aggressive music - This engages the audience instantly and the music reflects the editing pace.
Lots of action from the opening scene.

Max Payne (2008)
Explosions, glass breaking and fire includes lots of action.
Incorporates lots of danger and suspense from the off.

Vantage Point (2008)
Very Eerie
Slow paced editing, with a lot of fractured images so you only see little parts of images which creates and enigma for the audience.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Old fashioned television style with blood stains which set up an image for the film suggesting that this will be a key theme throughout the film.
News style voice over which emotes the seriousness of the film.

The island of Dr. moreau (1996)
Includes and i dent of the film company which fades in line after line.

After looking at these films it is clear to us that there are conventions of titles for specifically thriller films, conventions include establishing shots while tiltle sequences are on screen. Also the use of plain colours like black and white are used a lot which fits in with our film because these are the title colours that we intend to use at the beginning of our film. We will discuss the conventions of these films and decide whether we want to stick to the conventions of thriller titles or break these conventions, we will also look at other genres to see if these titles are only strict to thrillers or other genres use these conventions as well. The use of plain colours within thriller films in my view is used because they convey the thought of seriousness of the films. Also images are used that are either going to be significant or to convey a metaphor that is going to be key through the film.

Evaluation - Prezi

Here is the link to my evaluation which has been completed on prezi.com

http://prezi.com/npdmvuyrhqw_/main-task-evaluation/

Transitions

The majority of our transitions in our film are cuts, we used cuts to generate fast paced editing and the fast cuts allow us to get the viewer into the film as it links each shot well.

We included jump cuts in our film in an attempt to confuse and disorientate the viewer and hopefully we have achieved this. This will hopefully keep the audience interested and hooked to the film and will watch on.

Textual analysis

We have looked at the opening sequences for three films that fit into the category of genre “thriller”. After watching these three films we can draw comparisons from all three and also things that are different between the three. The three films that have been looked at are; Swordfish, Collateral and Face off. Thrillers on the whole have a certain routine to the film. At first there will be equilibrium and this will then get disrupted and then at the end everything will be resolved and the equilibrium will be restored.

Conventions of thrillers

The plot of most thriller films is to keep the audience as engaged with the film as possible. This is why the majority of thriller films all work up to a big climax towards the end of the film. This is called a convention of a thriller film. Many other things are conventions of thrillers however, things like the lighting or a certain location or a costume can all be a convention of a thriller. Plot stories to do with Robbery, Murder, drugs, most of these films would normally fall into a thriller category.

Locations are also a common thing that would outline that the film genre is a thriller. For example places set close to a big bank or suburban or derelict places.

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene of the characters at the start of Swordfish are very mismatched. There is one character that is obviously in control of the situation and this is john Travolta’s character. His character is wearing a suit that in the initial lighting of the scene looks black. The camera never moves from the face of this character and this is to show the power and importance of him at this particular time. His power gets emphasised by his calmness given the situation he is in. The audience however do not know the situation he is in however till the moment he stands up. This somehow makes the audience respect the character more now knowing what he is involved in. Also when the men are having the conversation around the table even when he is not talking the camera does not move from being fixed on his face. You would normally expect to see a shot/Reverse shot being used here but to emphasise the powerful mise-en-scene of this person the camera does not move.

The way in which this is filmed however shows the different mise-en-scene of the two characters perfectly. Tom Cruise’s character is in a grey suit looking very professional and in control. Jason Statham’s character however is just walking through the airport like a normal person. We then cut to a scene where these two bumps into each other and we get the back exchange this alerts to the audience that something is going on. But then after this scene it then cuts to Jamie Fox’s Character and we do not see the other two characters for a good while.

Sound

The sound is always a key feature in any film whether that be diegetic or non diegetic. Diegetic is the sound that can be heard by the actors and is actually being made at that moment in time. Non-diegetic sound is sound that has either been enhanced or added on after the final production of the film.

A lot of non-diegetic sound is used within thrillers as there are many explosions, gun shots and car sirens that need to be added in or enhanced. All three of these films contain both types of sound. Swordfish however contains the most interesting example of the sound being used in the opening sequence. At the moments of the explosion the action gets rapidly slowed down using editing but not only this all the small very quiet sounds get enhanced and this gives a very good effect and emphasises the destruction and chaos in the scene. This enhancement of sound can also be seen in the opening sequence of “Face Off”.

The beginning of Face Off uses some very interesting sound. The very first shot we get is of John Travolta’s character and his son on the carousel. While this is in the frame the music that is non-diegetic in the background is a high pitched slow song. Then when we get introduced to Nicholas Cage on the hill the music changes instantly to a much lower pitch of tune. Then when the shot is about to be made all of the sound from the clip is muted except from the sound of the trigger being pulled and then the bullet being fired. This provides a good contrast between the two sides, the protagonist and the antagonist.

Editing

The editing in all three of the films fits the conventions of thrillers, they are generally fast paced edited throughout action scenes and scenes of importance, this allows the director to change it up by changing the editing to that of something slower to create meaning or apply emphasis.

Swordfish

The opening sequence for this film is not as commonly used by film directors. This opening sequence throws the viewer in already half way down the line of the plot of the story. This shows the equilibrium being disrupted and then goes back to show you how and why this has occurred. Although not many other films do this it works because the introduction to the film then leaves the viewer wanting to know why that this has happened and how it will end. This type of gripping and engaging start to a film is what the many thrillers try to achieve.

The mise-en-scene if the characters at the start of this film are very mismatched. There is one character that is obviously in control of the situation and this is john Travolta’s character. His character is wearing a suit that in the initial lighting of the scene looks black. The camera never moves from the face of this character and this is to show the power and importance of him at this particular time. His power gets emphasised by his calmness given the situation he is in. The audience however do not know the situation he is in however till the moment he stands up. This somehow makes the audience respect the character more now knowing what he is involved in. Also when the men are having the conversation around the table even when he is not talking the camera does not move from being fixed on his face. You would normally expect to see a shot/Reverse shot being used here but to emphasise the powerful mise-en-scene of this person the camera does not move.

Collateral

This film too also uses a rather uncommon method of filming. Before the audience see any shots the sound that is played over the titles immediately lets the audience know there the first scene is going to be shot. The first shot we then get is a shot of Tom Cruise walking through the airport and then a shot of Jason Statham walking through the airport. The way in which this is filmed however shows the different mise-en-scene of the two characters perfectly. Tom Cruise’s character is in a grey suit looking very professional and in control. Jason Statham’s character however is just walking through the airport like a normal person. We then cut to a scene where these two bump intop each other and we get the back exchange this alerts to the audience that something is going on. But then after this scene it then cuts to Jamie Fox’s Character and we do not see the other two characters for a good while. This method works well because not only are the audience now suspicious of the two characters at the beginning they are now wondering how they are going to tie in with this side of the story and are inquisitive to the bag exchange although it has not been explained yet.

Face Off

Face off does follow this rule but the equilibrium and the destruction of the equilibrium all happens within the first three minutes of the film. The opening scene immediately throws you into the film and from then on the equilibrium is always trying to be restored. The mise-en-scene of Nick Cage’s character is seen as very powerful through; his clothes, his gold guns, and general behaviour as he seems like he is in control of every situation.

Roles and responsibilities

Tom Riley- Actor, Editor

Thomas Ryder- Actor, Editor

Mark Northcott- Director, Cameraman, Editor

Arthur Scholes-Furness- Actor, Editor

We are all going to be involved in the production of the film, as well as this we will all bring props, makeup, costumes we need. Each costume the actor is wearing is their own.

Adaptations to the Film

There were a few modifications that needed applying to our film. The major change that we have done is the close up of Arthur's eye that is about 20 seconds into the clip. The first cut that we had of this scene was quite poor. After having feedback from the other groups we changed this scene drastically. We played around with the effects on final cut and then we applied the dazzle and light rays effect as this was the best one that we all decided on.

We then reduced the length if the jump cuts in the clip. They were originally to long and did not give the effect that we wanted. We wanted to disorientate the viewer with the fast paced editing and the rapid cuts. The shots have now been reduced to 0.2 seconds for each shot and we have 10 shots that go together to make them, so all in all the jump cuts are lasting 2 seconds.

The heartbeat that was playing in the background was one of the things the questionaire at theshowed was not great, people said it was too loud and used too often throughout the film. After listening to this feedback we then re-edited the sound and made the first heartbeat lot quieter and deleted the part where it was used again to reduce the usage of the same clip.

The dialogue in the film was said top be too quiet and not quite clear enough. After listening to this we then went away re recorded the dialogue sound and then reapplied that to the film.

Originally whilst filming we had the setting a lot darker than was in the clip. We had to adapt this due to the fact that the cameras would not pick up the actors in such a dark light. We then changed the lighting situation and then when it came to editing made the background light a lot dimmer to get the same effect. Although we could not use the light that we originally wanted doing it this way still gave us the effect we were looking for.

Shooting Script

Shooting script

Scene 1- Interior, Interrogation, Night.

Shot number	Shot description	Audio and dialogue
1.	C.U Arthur’s head facing down	No sound or dialogue
2.	M.S of Arthur in the chair	Arthur gasping for air
3.	Zoom into X.C.U of Arthur’s eye	No sound or dialogue
4.	Numbers flying around his eye	Sound similar to internet dial up.

Scene 2, Interior, In car, night

5.	P.O.V Looking out front of car.	Car engine sound of it driving
6.	P.O.V pan to look round at Arthur	“ ”
7.	P.O.V (Tom Ryder) seeing Tom Riley hit Arthur	Sound of a punch connecting
8.	Black out as if he has been knocked out.	Emphasised heartbeat

Scene 3, Interior, Interrogation room, Night

9.	P.O.V of Arthur’s eyes blinking	Heartbeat emphasised
10.	Arthur P.O.V hears Ryder talking	Ryder: tell us where he is?
11.	Over shoulder shot of Ryder looking at Arthur who looks around	Arthur: Who are you? What am I doing here?
12.	M.S Arthur in chair (High angle)	Riley: You know why you are here, now tell us EVERYTHING!
13.	High angle pans down to Arthur’s into M.S	A: I don’t know anything!
14.	Pans to low angle of Arthur, Riley steps from darkness into scene and in front of Arthur	Footsteps (emphasise each step)
15.	S.R.S 1st shot C.U of Arthur (high angle on him)	A: What do you want from me?
16.	2nd S.R.S (low angle on Riley) C.U	Ri: Where is he Mason?
17.	3rd S.R.S (high angle) C.U on Arthur	A: I don’t know where he is!!!!
18.	Cuts to 2 shot of Riley hitting Arthur round the face	Emphasised sound of punching
19.	Similar to flash bang, white wash screen	Ringing sound of flash
20.	Fade dissolve from white screen to C.U of Arthur	“ “

Scene 4, Interior, Car, Night

21.	C.U. to M.S. Arthur back of the car looking around	Mumbling voices with internet dial up and excess ringing
22.	Jump cut 30 degree to the left	“ ”
23.	Jump cut 15 deg to right	“ ”
24.	Jump cut 30 deg to right	“ ”
25.	Jump cut 15 deg to left	“ ”
26.	Camera focuses (depth of field) on Arthur	Muffling voices return to normal
27.	Zoom out to 2 shot of Riley and Arthur in the car	Sound- car engine
28.	Cut to Ryder	Ryder “how much longer?”
29.	S.R.S C.U. of Adrian behind passenger seat	Adrian “no longer than 10”
30.	White flash after Adrian’s dialogue	Suction sound

Scene 5, interior, Interrogation room, Night

31.	White flash fades into P.O.V (Arthur)	Suction ends
32.	Riley is in scene- seen from over shoulder shot and grabs Arthur by scruff of his neck.	“You’re not taking this seriously are you? Do you know the consequences of your actions?”
33.	Cut to Arthur P.O.V	Background noise breathing etc.
34.	P.O.V (Arthur), Riley hits Arthur	Connection of punch
35.	Canted angle P.O.V, Arthur spits out blood	Hear coughing and blood hitting floor
36.	Camera pans right, P.O.V cuts to M.S of Riley	Coughing and grunting
37.	P.O.V Arthur shouts	Arthur “What do you want from me?”
38.	S.R.S, Riley over shoulder, see Riley punching him	Riley “Just tell us where he is!”
39.	C.U Arthur gets up and falls back in chair	Breathing heavily
40.	Black screen- same as earlier blackout	“ ”

Scene 6, Interior and Exterior, Car and Interrogation room, Night

41.	C.U of Adrian, turns to camera	Adrian: “We are here now”
42.	Camera pans left to look out of the car, establishes the location	Car holts to stop and engine cuts out.
43.	Cuts to outside, establishing shot (H.A)	Mumbling and shouting from Arthur
44.	Jump cut 40 deg to right. Into high angle of Arthur been dragged into interrogation room	Ryder “keep him quiet”
45.	Tracking shot inside the interrogation room right side	Dragging along ground “possibly music in background
46.	Cut to tilted shot of Arthur been pushed into chair	Silence

Scene 7, Interior, Interrogation room, Night

47.	X.C.U Arthur’s eyes	“ ”
48.	Numbers flying round his eyes.	Internet dial up
49.	zoom out away from his eye	Suction sound
50.	M.S of Arthur sat in chair	Gasping for air
51.	Zoom in to Arthur’s eyes X.C.U to show him blink	No sound
52.	When Arthur look up, it jump cuts 30 deg to left	“I know where he is, he’s a the shipyard”
53.	Cuts to Ryder’s finger pressing stop on tape recorder (X.C.U)	Ryder “we’ve got him”
54.	Two shot Arthur and Riley	Riley “We’re done here
55.	Zoom to C.U of door knob turning	Sound match
56.	Cut back to Arthur, M.S of him sitting in chair	Breathing
57.	Ryder walks into scene, two shot of him and Arthur, Ryder pulls out a gun and puts it to Arthur’s head	Cocking of the gun
58.	Blackout	Gun shot