Addam Morley - Apparition Evaluation

Task 1

Task 1

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Task 2

Task 2

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Task 3

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Task 4

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Task 5



Task 6

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Task 7

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Thriller Evaluation Tasks - Craig Macbeth-Hornett

Task 1 -6 Stills

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Task 2 -Social Groups

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Task 3 -IMDB Page

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Task 4 -Magazine

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Task 6 -Equipment

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Task 7 -Presentation

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Evaluation task

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation questions

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How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Task 2

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What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

media task

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Who would be the audience for your media product?

Review

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How did you attract/address your audience?



What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

equipment evaluation

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Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

preliminary task

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Thriller Evaluation Tasks

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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2) How does Apparition represent particular social groups

Appaition portrays the social group of youth as easily distracted and are easily startled. One scene where this is shown is when Craig walks from the kitchen into the living room, he hears a knocking above him and we see him jump back in shock and disbelief. We portrayed this social group in this way because it allowed there to be a shift in power which allowed use of higher camera angles, this managed to generate suspense which kept the veiwer on the edge of their seat.



Another film that gives a representation of the youth social group is Back To The Future Part III. Marty Mcfly played by Michael J. Fox represents the Youth social group as quick thinking, intelligent to some extent but needs the assistance of others in times of a crisis. This representation is very different to how we represent this social group. e.g. We portray this group as easily scared whereas in Back To The Future this group is portrayed as somewhat brave but in tough situations will tend to run and hide.



One real person that represents the social group of youth is Oliver Gibbs. He portrays the youth social group as hard working and well educated, this opposes the natural stereotype of the youth social group. This person does follow some of the characteristics of our portrayal of the youth social group e.g. can be frightened if caught by suprise. This representation of the youth social group is also quite similar to that portrayed in by Marty in Back To The Future, this is because they both seem to know what to do in bad situations.


3) IMDB Page

After alot of careful thought i decided that Warner Brothers Entertainment Incoporated would be most likely to distribute the film. This is because they have distributed films like Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter and Apparition is aimed at a similar audience so a distribution company with a reputation of distributing Thriller and science fiction film's would be an ideal distribution company.

Imdb page will rathlou

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4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

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5 ) How did you attract your audience
We attracted our audience by issuing a trailer that would be shown between the hours of 5pm and 8pm on Television as well as advertising it online with the same advert. The advert would question the veiwers existing knowledge of thriller films by suggesting to them that they have not seen anything like it before and stating that they will never see anything like it again.





6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

I have learnt how to use FL Studio and Garageband to create soundtracks. I have learnt the best camera angles to use when trying to create a suspensefull atmosphere through the use of canted angles.



screenshots of us using editing software and equiptment.



One thing i learnt about cameras is how effective camera angles can be on the audience. This camera allowed us to shoot in high definition which made the opening sequence seem profesional. One drawback is that it is quite complicated if you don't know how to use the camera and if you shoot in the wrong format or aspect ratio it could ruin the entire film.



One thing that i learnt about Sony Vegas Studios is how to fade the audio in and out and how to use it in general. Since i usually use Windows Live Movie Maker i had to learn most of the features of this software from the start. This software allowed us to make a profesional looking movie by using the effects. One disadvantage is that you have to learn how to use it like all software, which could take a long time

7. Question: Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

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Apparition - Final Cut

response from group S126

-The company logo animation looks very professional
-first establishing shot looks very professional
-The music really sets the atmosphere and it goes with the timing of the clip where the character is revealed.
-I really like the scene where the camera shows the empty grave and then tracks behind a tree to reveal the character standing over the grave.I also like how you've panned behind him making it look like a point of view shot as if someone is watching him.
-theres a shot where hes kneeling down to put some flowers on the grave where it jump cuts to a shot from over his shoulder where i think the scene would look better without this shot.

Apparition - Rough Cut

Challenges of Shooting Apparition - Craig

I personally had the problem of being the least available during the week. This meant that I wasn't able to go and help with the shooting of the first part of the sequence. I also had to take time off from a lesson to go and shoot for the other part of the sequence. The travelling to the locations themselves also took a lot of planning and certain back-up travel arrangements had to be made. The co-operation and separation into our individual roles in the production was a small challenge at first but was soon overcome. Because of time and unavailability, lots of work had to be done elsewhere and we had to rely on each other to get certain things done as a group. We did however all pull together as a group and get the work done, quickly and efficiently.

Challenges of Shooting Apparition - Will

One of the biggest problems was  getting everyone in the camera shot that gave the right effect to the audience. One example is when Craig is acting in the scene and Addam appears.  Another challenge of shooting Apparition was agreeing on the camera shots.  One example of this was in the graveyard scene, i thought that a 5 second concentrated shot on the flowers then a slow fade into the home scene would be appropriate and effective, however my colleagues adapted a different camera shot.  They had a shot of Addam placing the flowers on the grave and walking out into the distance. This concentrates the camera on the man and not on the flowers which gives a similar effect.

Challenges of Shooting Apparition - Rebecca

The biggest problem was finding times when we are all there to shoot - there were a lot of times when only three of us could make it.
The other big challenge was getting there and back because we all live so far apart, which rules out shooting on weekends.

Challenges of Shooting Apparition - Addam

Personally with shooting our project I found that providing locations was an easy task as we only needed two locations which were easy to gain permission.   One huge challenge I think affects all of us is the time we can actually shoot this project as everyone has such difficult timetables and days where we all need to be at a location some of us cannot make it.   Travel arrangements was another challenge which we occurred as being in one place at a single time for everyone to be together and also to get someone to take us to a location was quite stressful.   Together we have managed to overcome these problems just in time and should be able to produce some great work.

Apparition - The Full Story

Augustus Harper begins appearing for Dave Jones, Patricia Smith, Sunny Day and Michael Smelton, the only thing connecting them being the death of the bus driver Pepe Rodriguez (who is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel). Harper tells the characters that he died in the bus crash, but this is not true.
Michael Smelton is investigating the death of Rodriguez, believing he was murdered. He is helped with the case by Augustus Harper, and eventually finds the killer. Sunny Day over comes her drug addiction and Patricia Smith deals with her depression. Dave Jones helps to mend his parents’ relationship.
At the end of the film, Augustus Harper asks Michael Smelton to look at the Rodriguez case files again. He sees his name listed, as well as Dave Jones, Patricia Smith and Sunny Day in the list of crash casualties. Augustus Harper is not listed.

How are you going to market the film? - Rebecca Gibson

Our target audience


Our target audience is anyone over the age of 12, as this is what we would aim to get as an age rating for our film, but our target audience is really young people (15 - 25) who enjoy watching thriller films.
I believe that thriller as a film genre is quite specific, in the sense that thriller movies can't be enjoyed by everyone - therefore they don't tend to have as wide a target audience.


How are we going to market our film?


We would market our film with promotional posters, trailers, and teaser trailers.


Possible Promotional Posters

Lesson by lesson plan

Wednesday 29th February - Filming Graveyard scene
Monday 27th February - Sound and Blog posts (logo blog post, imdb analysis)
Friday 24th February - Editing and arranging transport for Wednesday
Wednesday 22nd February- Filming the house scene
Tuesday 21st February - Arranging Transport for house shoot
Monday 20th February - Blog Posts (Shooting Schedule)
Friday 17th February - Garageband
Tuesday 14th February- Initial Gargeband testing/initial planning of filming location.
Friday 10th February - Blog Post. Writing Shot List
Tuesday  7th February - Editing the test shot.
Monday 6th February - Arranging Test shot and filming test shot.
Friday 3rd February - Blog posts (Conventions and camera shot examples, storyboard, different thriller titles)
Tuesday 31st January - Initial rough Apparition test shoot and initial thriller ideas.
Monday 30th January - Blog Posts. Logo designs.
Tuesday 24th January - 20th January - Blog Posts. Opening Sequence analysis'.
17th January - 14th January - Blog posts. Conventions posts.
January 6th - Thriller preliminary Task.

How are two elements of thriller films used in your film?

A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.

At the beginning of our film, we see Adam’s character place flowers on a grave without knowing who he is, or who the grave belongs to.

The enigma is further complicated when we see Adam’s character seemingly appear in the upstairs room of someone’s house.

Micro elements combine in a build up of suspense.

Sound is a large element of our thriller. We are first drawn attention to the fact that something is not quite right when a loud bang is heard for upstairs. Ambient noise is heard throughout, which helps to build up the tension.

Camera angles also help to build suspense. Close ups are used to distort some scenes, and a canted angle is used at one point, which helps to show that something bad is about to happen.

Editing helps build suspense because there are a lot of clips, which helps to prolong the suspense.

My Contributions

What my contribution has been so far.

Acting in the sequence.
Created a storyboard cut of the house sequence.
Non-diagetic ambient noise to go with soundtrack.
A production logo.
A poster.
Co-Directing with Addam and Rebecca.

Apparition Posters

Craig Macbeth-Hornett -

What social groups are you using in your thriller?

In our thriller, we are using young, middle-class, white teenagers. And ghosts.


There are two main characters within our thriller. 


One of them (the one that is not a ghost) is a middle class 16-17 year old teenager who lives a fairly average life. He lives in a fairly large house. He is a student at school and dresses fairly typically for his age/class/occupation.

The other character is a teenager, however, he wears a jacket and shirt (with jeans). This is our ghost character. He is unconventional of typical 'ghosts' within film, whether it be horror or thriller. This is what our aim was. We did not want to make the ghost typical of a horror genre ghost. 


The element of mystery towards this character is not brought out through obvious depiction of the character being a ghost. Instead, he is shown to suddenly appear at certain points, in a seemingly non-threatening way.

Apparition Logos

 We decided to use the logo which is all on one line as we felt it was more effective.

The other logo, we felt was too distracting as the focus of the logo was not on the entire word itself but rather the 'app' part.



[Rebecca made the logo graphics]

Imdb Analysis

The information given on the page contains details on both how the film was made and what is in the film.

The technical information that is on the page contains details on who made it (directors, camera crew, sound crew, editors) and who starred in the film (in the case of the film on this page the actors that starred in it are;  Leonardo Di Caprio and Ellen Page).

With the cast and crew, it also contains information about the companies that helped to produce and distribute the film. (In the case of the distributers, it contains information on who distributed the film in each country it was shown in)

It also contains information about the budget of the film and  how much profit was made of it in each country (with a gross profit as well and how many cinemas, in which countries it was shown at) what kind of equipment (cameras, sound recording equipment) were used in the production.

It contains information about the running time, year it was made and the aspect ratio with the certificate (age rating) alongside.

Near the bottom of the page, there is also trivia information about the film and information about continuity errors and goofs. It also contains reviews from members of the public (however, these are not necessarily accurate or complete)

Film magazines - What would Apparition appear in?

Empire Magazine

Empire Magazine is a wide spectrum article which include many review on a wide range of different film titles.   From the front cover we can see the different genres of films that this magazine can cover as it has a sci-fi comedy with Men in Black and an action film being GI Joe 2.   For Apparition we would believe that this film would easily feature in this magazine as Empire do cover a wide range of different films as the examples above from comedies to action films.

 Total Film

Total Film also looks like it covers a vast range of film genres. For example, the headline in the top left corner reads "Joss Whedon does horror", and the main feature of the cover is about the Hunger Games - a dystopia story.

The target audience of the magazine seems to be young people who are interesting in films as a whole, instead of a specific genre.

Our film Apparition could feature in this magaine because of the wide range of films they seem to cover.

Storyboard Cut

Pros & Cons of Equipment/New Skills Learnt

Equipment used

Equipment

• Canon 600d with 18-55mm lens
• Tripod
• Digital stills camera.

Software

• MPEG Streamclip (for converting video)
• Audacity (for creating ambient noise)
• GarageBand (for music)
• Final Cut Express (for video editing)
• Sony Vegas Movie stuido HD Platinum 10 (For the storyboard cut)
• Serif DrawPlus 8
• Adobe Flash CS5

Pros and Cons of using equipment/software

• Sony Vegas Movie studio HD Platinum 10 can use multiple file formats, whereas Final Cut only takes .mp4 and .MPEGs.
• The camera allows us to use depth of field, which is useful, as well as having an optical zoom as well as a digital zoom.
• The tripod allows for steady footage (without a tripod, the footage is shaky).
• The digital still camera is lower quality that the camera used to film with.
• Garageband is really only useful for creating simple ambient music (as the loops provided are repetitive and not reflective of the quality of the film.
• It takes much longer to make an ambient sound on audacity to match up with the music on Garageband than to add another ambient loop on Garageband.
• Audacity offers more control over the sound (editing and effects wise).
• Sony Vegas Movie Studio is more simplified in some areas than Final Cut Express is.

What new skills have you learnt?

• We learnt to plan things better and more efficiently, because we had to organize other people as well so there was little room for errors.
  
• Learnt the importance of doing practice cuts of the footage to see which is better when cut together, with cut down scene lengths, etc.
• Learnt to take more than one shot of the same scene to ensure that there are no problems when editing.
• To take shots of the location (using the digital stills camera) to help the editor match up the shots correctly as to ensure continuity of the film.
• Learnt how to match up audio created on Audacity with audio created on Garageband.

Things I have done so far:

• Created logo suggestions
• Storyboard
• First shot list
• Directed first shoot
• Filmed first shoot
• Created title graphic
• Define the movie plot futher

Two thriller conventions used in 'Aparition' through technical elements

One thriller element that was used during the opening sequence was creation of enigmas. This was created by The main character walking past the camera and in the backround there is a figure which can not be fully made out, but seems to resemble a person. This creates an enigma around the figures identity and relevance to the film.

Another thriller element that is used is ordinary settings in which extraordinary events occur. This is shown first by the noise on the top floor of the house when Craig's character transists from the kitchen to the living area. Also when we see the shadow above combined with the Point Of View shot of the window shows us that the main character is unable to see anything that is out of the ordinary and yet the audience can.

What my contribution has been so far

Apparition test shoot
Came up with the general plot of apparition
Non diagetic soundtrack
housing location
Production logo

Shooting Schedule - Wednesday 22nd of February

12:20 - Meet in the quad to find Craig to get to his lift
13:00 - Arrive at Will's house, and record
14:10 - Finish recording

Concerns: Addam, Rebecca, Will, Craig

Shooting Schedule - Wednesday 29th of February

Wednesday 29th

12:20 - Meet at reception for Addam's lift
12:45 - Arrive at Newmarket Road cemetery and start shooting
14:10 - Finish recording and get back to college

(Concerns: Addam, Rebecca, Will)

Shot list

Graveyard scene
1) Establishing shot of the graveyard.
2) Long shot of the person walking across the graveyard to the grave.
3) An over the shoulder shot of the person putting the flowers on the grave
4) low down shot of flowers being placed on the grave from the side - close up, so we just see part of the grave and then the flowers.


House scene
1) Mid shot of the boy opening the back gate (don’t close the gate)
2) mid shot of the boy walking to the door
3) When pulling the handle down on the door the camera is using a close shot of the boy and the camera is behind him.
4) When the boy opens the door the camera is in front of him at a mid shot.
5) Fixed mid shot of boy walking from door to kitchen
6) Close up of him putting the keys down
7) Doing cooking Tasks (range of close and mid shots)
8) When he hears the noise it’s a canted angle
9) Long shot of hallway from kitchen

Test Footage

Apparition - Conventions and Camera shot examples

Creating enigmas - extreme close ups of gravestone and flowers, and hands of person placing flowers, as not to show person or what they’re doing clearly.
Crime – the narrative will revolve around a death of a old woman which the main character has her apparition intruding his life.
Peril – Later in the film we will have the main character have to face some fears as he becomes weaker from losing his mind.  

Blocking – used on the suited character when walking up to the grave to place flowers.   We would try to block his face to create the mystery of identity which also creates another enigma within the sequence.
Close Ups – Using this technique we would use this on placing the flowers down and to show the confusion of the main character.
Establishing shot – this would be used to set the start of the sequence by introducing the graveyard scene.   We would also follow a character throughout this establishing shot.

Story Board - Apparition

Coresponding Shot list

Were information is in italics (such as "from the front") it is refering to the position of the camera in relation to the main focus of the scene.

SCENE 1: The Graveyard

1. Long shot of grave stone - from the front

2. Extreme close up shots of grave stone, showing different parts - from the front

3. Close up shot of grave stone. Hand comes down and places flowers on the grave. Shot is low two the ground - from the side

4. Long shot of graveyard. Camera between to rows of graves. Man in the far distances. - shot is low to the ground

SCENE 2: The House

1. Close up shot of hand opening the garden gate - from the front OR from the side

2. Long shot. Camera positioned slightly further back and slightly higher up than previous shot. The figure who opened the gate can be seen in the distance. Focus on gate (still open). - from the front

3. Close up of hand opening the door. - from the front

4. Matching shot. Mid shot of boy opening the door and walking in. Camera postioned on the indside looking out. - from the front

5. Boy enters kitchen, walks forward and places keys on table. Camera postioned on table/slightly to the side. Focus on table/were the keys will be. - from the front

6. High angle, over the shoulder shot of boy. Boy turns round and looks up when noise is heard. Canted angle - from the back

7. Shot from bottom on stairs, looking up. Boy walks upstair, only his legs/ feet visible on camera - from the back

8. Over the shoulder shot. Boy walks in room. - from the back

9. POV shot of boy, looking around the room. Using tripod NOT handheld.

10. Same as shot 8. Boy turns around and moves to walk away.

Different Thriller Titles

The Dark Knight – Within this film you have the whole story revolving around different crimes created by the antagonist, which is The Joker.   In the opening sequence you are put in the middle of a robbery where all characters expect the staff in the bank are in masks that shows that there is an element of identity.   The Dark Knight does have some aspects of a thriller but also incorporates action scenes making it a hybrid title.
Inception – Beginning is filled with enigmas, which aren’t answered until the end of the film. The narrative centres around a crime, which is complex and riddled with enigmas.    This film is a thriller genre.
LA Confidential – Narrative centres around a crime. Main characters are constantly being misled. Strong theme of mistaken identity. Protagonist has a fatal flaw – his anger. Protagonist is in peril several times during the film.
Vertigo – Within the opening sequence we can establish the protagonist and the protagonist’s weakness. Like conventional thriller films the protagonist evolves over the course of the film and eventually overcomes his weakness. The main antagonist of the film exploits his weakness, also conventional of other thrillers. The opening sequence constructs for the audience a series of enigmas that are prominent in the latter half of the film.

Aparition Thriller Opening Sequence Test Shoot

Initial Idea : Apparition

Apparition focuses on the death of an elderly woman who dies in a car crash before the time period in which the film is set.

An unknown person laying flowers on to the old woman's grave sets the scene The film continues with a teenage boy aged 17 walking through a back gate, opening and then closing it. The boy then goes to unlock the door goes to open it, walks through the door into the conservatory then closing the door behind him. He walks into the kitchen and hears noises upstairs. Flashing images of graves and the old woman can be seen. He goes upstairs and nothing can be seen.

Thriller idea - Rebecca Gibson

A man is sitting on a chair in a kitchen, staring vacantly into the distance. This one shoot is inter-cut with shots of different people's faces, family photographs, and news paper headlines.
People seem to appear behind the man in the chair and reach out to touch him (they would be slightly opaque).

Another man walks into the room behind the man in the chair and touches his shoulder - as he walks past, the "ghosts" disappear. The man in the chair continues to stare vacantly until the other man, slams his coffee cup onto the kitchen counter - the sharp noise "wakes him up".
POV shot of man sitting in chair looking forward at the other man, standing up and leaning against the counter. The man standing up asks "You okay?".

Production logo ideas

Addam's Idea (Hexic Cinema)


Rebecca's Idea (25 Films)

Will's production idea (Melting Time Studios)

Craig's idea 25 productions

Case 342 Sound Analysis

Case 342 uses non diegetic (however diegetic when in the police station) sound through a sound bridge (between the beginning scene in which they are in a police station and the scene where he is in the house) The non diegetic narration is contrapuntal to the visual aspect.

Case 342 also has ambient sound as it's background soundtrack to build tension and suspense. There is no music and is instead replaced with this ambient sound to build the atmosphere. The ambient sound stops when the door is answered at the end of the clip.

The diegetic sound can be heard aswell but is quieter than the narration. This is more apparent when ambient track finishes and the door knocking can be heard.

The Adjustment Buearu - Opening Sequence Analysis

In the opening sequence of The Adjustment Burearu, the Universal logo is shown telling us that it is a Universal production. The Media Rights Capital logo is shown also, telling the viewer that they had involvement in the film as well. The Adjustment Bureau is written on a black background which tells us the title of the film. After these opening logos, the main protagonist of the film is shown with non-diegetic sound in the background, giving us information as to who the character is (a senator). There are various shots of the main character, David Norris, in New York. (This is is also apparent that he's in New York by the diegetic sound. These shots suggest that he is an important character. It also gives the viewer the impression that he has a successful life.

These opening shots are unconventional of a thriller as there isn't much of an apparent construction of enigmas. However, there is a close-up shot of a man (with a contrasting facial expression to the people around him, making him seem mysterious). The next shot is of a newspaper article reading 'David Norris' exposed. This makes us, the viewer interested and want to know more, thus creating an enigma. The sound changes after this scene from rock music to a mysterious ambient soundtrack and the man shown in the previous scene answering a phone without mentioning anything specific (as though he is talking in the middle of a conversation). This also makes us want to know more and creates another enigma, increasing the mystery around this character. The room in which he is in, is dark and there is nothing recognisable about the location that he is in, creating another mysterious element to the character.

The pace of the cuts from scene to scene also changes at this point. Before the scene with the man in the dark room answering the phone, the pace of the cuts was fairly fast paced giving the impression that David had become successful in a short amount of time. (Establishing a character that we can sympathise with when we find out his career may be in danger, and then later on in the film when the real peril is established) to a much slower pace with the introduction of the non-diegetic ambient music in the background when the newpaper article about David Norris. This changes the atmosphere of the film from fairly relaxed and optimistic to that of suspenseful and serious.

The clothes that David is wearing in the opening sequence are typical of his job (senator). He wears a suit and a formal looking coat. The mysterious character wears a suit also, giving the impression that he is an important character and maybe has high status. However, the mysterious character also wears a flat cap, not usually associated with someone of this high status and seems somewhat unfitting of his suit, raising questions.

When David is in his apartment watching the television the non-diegetic music in the background is suspenseful and creates the impression that David is waiting for something. (This is because there is nothing that seems obviously suspenseful so the viewer makes assumptions as to what the character is doing.)

David is watching a news report on the television about a photo of him that was found pulling a prank when he was at college (this is what the newspaper was about in a previous scene). There is an element of mystery created by this as we are not shown what the photo is of.

The next scene contains four men all dressed similarly (in formal looking coats, with suits and formal looking hats). The mysterious looking character that was in the previous scenes is in this scene also. He is carrying the book that he had in the previous scene and because of this, gives us the suggestion that the book is important, and makes us want to know what it is for. The men are watching something from a rooftop, but what they are looking at is not shown, creating yet another enigma.

The camera angles used in the opening sequence show a lot of high angle establishing shots showing the location in a way that the audience would associate with stereotypical New York. The filming style at the beginning is similar to how a new programme may film a political piece (it still has clear cinematic filming conventions however). This changes when the newspaper article is shown to a much more typically cinematic style. Helping to change the pace and help enhance the enigmas being created within the opening sequence.

In conclusion, the opening sequence isn't entirely conventional of the thriller genre. It constructs various enigmas and mysteries throughout, but it does not give an insight to the main enigma of the film that is revealed later on. The music is conventional of the thriller genre, helping to add suspense as well as the filming style, with the main subjects in each shot being well lit (as opposed to an example of another genre, such as horror in which there would be various close-up shots of character's expressions). The introduction of characters is however conventional of the thriller genre, creating something that the main antagonist must overcome in the film.

Thriller Opening Sequence - No Country for Old Men by Addam Morley

The information in the opening sequence is conveyed mainly through a characters monologue. You know that he became sheriff at 25, there is also a killer who had killed a 14 year old girl. Images in the background also set the scene in this opening sequence which is somewhere in the United states.

Main secrets which are in this opening sequence are: Why did this man kill this girl, what does the sheriff do. These may unfold why this killing happened and why the title suggest that there is no country for old men.

Through sound they was the diegetic monologue of the main character explaining some of the story and how he became a sheriff (Protagonist possibly. The atmosphere made it seem that it was an alright place to be in as he did not talk about the crime to much but it seemed a calm opening to a film.

Mise en scene helped set the scene by the arid landscapes in the background setting the film in a more sandy desert area of the USA and also the sheriffs car was of typical nature by having the lights and the paint work of what would be expected for a police in this area. Also uniform where you can see the sheriff which shows authority o he may be the main character and also the dominance in his body language as he is taking a citizen into the car.

Throughout the opening sequence the editing was very basic by using ordinary cuts to set the location of where this production is set. There were no inappropriate editing which made it lose its feeling of a thriller.

Again cinematography was very basic in the sense that there was mainly establishing shots to set the scene and aslo the long shot as the two characters walk away and you think where exactly is this set and what has that man done to be taken away.

No graphics were used in this opening sequence.

T1-22 2011 Thriller Opening Sequence Analysis

Throughout this opening sequence, the film conformed to thriller genre conventions and constructed through a variety of close-up shots, the construction of enigmas well. The shots chosen for the thriller film feel close-up and claustrophobic.

T1-22 portrays a clear theme of sight and seeing, this is because the movie flashes to the camera, pictures are hung on the wall and photos are being developed. These three factors link in with the thriller convention of sight.

T1-22 has a consistent editing style, where it cuts from scene to scene without transition. This helps to build tension and suspense. The way in which the the credits transition in through a fade is not intrusive and does not distract from the action.

The sound for T1-22 builds suspense as it is a typical thriller non diagetic soundtrack. It seems to build up the scene in order to support the construction of enigmas through the use of cinematography. The soundtrack fits the imagery being shown and doesn't distract from the visual footage.

There isn't much of a variety in the types of shots. The majority of these are close-ups. However these are appropriately used and fit the genre well and feels more professional as they match the feeling of claustrophobia and unease.

U1-25 Thriller Opening analysis

This was a more of a lesser thriller opening.

Firstly camera angles and shots. The shots were not steady making it lose its genre of a thriller. The lack of different camera shots and what i would believe would be relevant in this would be more close up shots to convey what the characters feeling. To keep with thriller conventions they should of used close ups instead of a continuous use of mid shots.

Editing was basic as they made only basic cuts and the use of the polaroid pictures was not in the convention of a thriller. The editing was not appropriate to the genre again as the cuts came across as a montage edit when it seemed to be a continual edit.

Mise en Scene was relevant to the story as the character was a school student who had the feeling of being followed. With the idea of the photographs enhanced this aspect of the thriller making it easy to understand through mise en scene.

The sound in the sequence did not fit in with the genre convention. The sound seemed quite random and did not enhance any aspect of the sequence. What I found disappointing is that they did not manage to mute out any background noise which made the thriller become less effective.

Finally the opening credits were very basic as they used a font which was appropriate but the way they were used by introducing the title at the beginning removed any potential enigmas you may have from this opening sequence.

Analysis of "Gamer"

Gamer is a 2009 science fiction thriller movie, directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and distributed by Lionsgate.
The story follows John "Kable" Tillman who is being controlled by Simon, a 17-year-old gamer. It’s set in a future where people are able to control other human beings through videogames. The film received poor reception.

In the opening sequence, there are no opening credits to speak of but we do learn who produced/distributed the movie – Lionsgate and Lakeshore entertainment.
We are also shown things about the location and various things about the main character. We can gather from the opening that the movie is set in a relatively similar time period, and in the city.
As for the character, we are mislead very early on. Kable starts out looking like a normal soldier but it becomes obvious quickly that this isn’t quite true. As far as the audience is concerned, Kable is in a warzone. He is carrying a gun and is seemingly shooting at “the enemy”, but the clever editing makes us question this. The screen flickers and experiences static, and the framerate is messed around with so that some parts appear jerky.

At the very beginning of the movie, we see multiple long shots of buildings and cities, each having the word “Kable” on it as well as advertisements for something. One of the buildings has “Four battles to Freedom” written on it. All of this makes us question the plot of the movie, which hasn’t yet been revealed.

Non-diegetic sound is used at the beginning of the film in the form of a metal song, which helps to create the gritty, real tone of the movie and sets the atmosphere.
The moment the long shots of the buildings end and the main action begins, the music stops.
There is also lots of diegetic sound – mainly gunfire and explosions which help to set the location and make everything seem more real, but also the amplified sound of the breathing which could show the emotion state of the character and their physical exertion. There are also sci-fi sounds that may or may not be diegetic.

Mise en scene is definitely key in the movie. In terms of costumes, all of the characters are dressed in military/solider type cloths (grunge coloured tops and trousers, boots, ect.), carrying weapons. This instantly gives the audience the idea of war and killing which is a main point of the movie.
The set also shows the atmosphere of the movie. They are in some kind of abandoned/broken warehouse, with a lot of scrap metal and broken things lying around – some of which is on fire.
Dead bodies are also scattered across the floor, showing the audience how much danger the main character is in, and again showing the theme/atmosphere of war/killing.

The opening sequence is first edited as a montage, before becoming continuative. Editing is largely short, fast pace shots, showing the quickness of the battle and how much is going on at once. There are also some interesting graphical effects that have been added. For example, the first person shot of when the save point is being targeted.

The cinematography is interesting. Apart from the opening long shots of the cities, the rest of the shots are hand held shots, which makes the movie feel jerky, fast pace and real. There are also several point of view shots that which make the audience feel as if they are playing the “game” as well.
Kable is mostly filmed from a low angle, making him seem powerful and dominant through out the sequence.

Thriller Opening Sequence Evaluation for The Dark Knight

In the opening sequence for the Dark Knight many of the antagonists are wearing clown masks, this creates an enigma to their real identity as well as giving us a clue as to what the main antagonist is (in this case the clown masks are clues to the joker as he is associated with clowns and circus related instruments). The masks are also trying to represent evil as only the evil characters in the film are wearing masks. When the man is standing on the street waiting for a car the camera zooms in slowly onto the mask in his hand until he puts it on, this shows us that the masks are in fact more important in this scene than the bank robbers itself.

Another part of the opening sequence that is important is mise en scene. One way in which this is shown is the school bus. This is an important part of the scene as it shows us what type of criminal the joker is, we can derive from this scene that he is a very organised criminal. This is because his getaway car is a school bus which he uses when school buses are taking children home. It also allows the Joker to become invisible to the police as shown in the scene when they race straight past the bus in which all the stolen money is held.

Another important micro element in the opening sequence of The Dark Knight is sound. This is because the non diagetic soundtrack at the beginning of the scene is typically used in most 'big screen' films. This is because it creates tension and suspense which normally makes the viewing experience more enjoyable, and because it was used at an establishing shot it gave the audience an opportunity to lose themselves in the scene as it makes them feel part of the story.

One thing that is important for the opening sequence of this film is that the first scene takes place in the busy town of Gotham City which is where you would expect to see a crime. So it's using the normal aspect of a busy town and then placing the scene into an extra ordinary situation. This shows that the film itself could be considered to be irregular from the norm.

Written by Will Rathlou

Hidden Evaluation

Notes -

Information is in establishing shot. Credits are displayed over the top of the intro in an unconventional way. The first shot of the opening sequence is an establishing shot of a building and there is no clear information about the narrative or the characters. There is also no non-diegetic sound to give an idea of what to feel or expect, the viewer is kept in suspense because they expect something to happen or something to give them a jump/shock.
The viewer starts to assume things about the film in the opening sequence due to the little information given.

Thriller Opening Sequence Evaluation - Hanna

Information contained in the opening sequence. (Character, Location, Institution)

From the opening credits we could understand is that this is a Focus Feature presentation and also directed by John Wright from the opening credits. Next thing we noticed where from the establishing shots which set the location in a snowy secluded environment. From this opening sequence it also introduces the main character Hanna through tracking shots especially through the woods where we see a tracking shot going left to right and is blocked out by a tree and disappears. This shot can suggest that the main character is a fast, quiet and stealthy when following the deer as she is about to kill it. When Hanna returns to her home we see her with a male character (supposedly her father) and is speaking to her in many languages showing that Hanna is also and intelligent character.\

Construct of Enigmas

Within the opening sequence there are many questions to be asked as there is very little information given away. The main enigmas of this sequence were; what are they doing in such a remote area away from civilisation?, who are these people? This a great opening sequence as there are so many questions the audience can ask and hopefully keep them interested in what is happening.

Use of sound to create atmosphere, tone, genre.

Throughout the opening sequence we can quickly notice that there is only diegetic sound present and with some sound amplified to make the atmosphere seem even more realistic to the audience. Examples of sound which were amplifies was Hanna breathing to show her focus on killing the deer and she was calm and not panicking and the deer in pain when hit by the arrow. With the sounds of the deer in pain and dying we can see that this will be a higher rated film due to the goriness of the scenes shown and amplified with sound.

Use of Mise en Scene to create atmosphere, tone, genre.

From the use of Mise en Scene we can see that both of the characters introduce were wearing animal pelt and skins which shows that they live off and from the land being independent within this unusual human environment.

Use of editing to create atmosphere, tone, genre.

There are very little editing aspects to comment on but to start with where very little is happening there are regular cuts every 5 to 7 seconds until Hanna shoots the arrow into the deer. Once the deer has been hit there are many quick cuts making the scene move very quickly which gives the audience the feeling that they are caught in the action. The editing eventually goes back to being regular cuts once has been shot in the head. With the opening sequence including an action scene we can tell that this is a hybrid film being a Action/Thriller genre of film.

Use of cinematography to create atmosphere, tone, genre.

As before we have explained that when we see the main character we see her being tracked through a snow dusted wood. Through the use of tracking and blocking we can see that Hanna is a stealthy, fast and quiet character with her quickly disappearing. We watch her from another tracking shot after she has hit the deer with an arrow. As she is chasing the deer she can keep up with the wounded animal again re-enforcing that she is a fast/quick character. Again from the explanations above we can re-enforce the fact that this is a Action driven film.

Use of graphics. (What do they symbolise?)

There are no graphics within the opening sequence so we cant comment on this aspect.

Vertigo -Opening Sequence Evaluation

Notes -

The opening shot of the eye, the shapes, the high up establishing shot, looking down and watching the policeman fall all create a theme of 'sight'.

The filter of on the eye is red. This ma symbolises danger.

The non diegetic soundtrack creates suspense as it fits the theme with rising and falling. (The music goes raises tension and lowers it). This suspenseful music is typical of the thriller genre.

The credits are shown in the opening, giving information as to who made the film. This convention of thriller films.

The main part of the opening sequence consists of a series of graphics which form various shapes and vortexes. These may symbolise dizziness and directly relate to the feeling of vertigo (which is the title of the film). It also contains the credits in this part of the opening sequence and is a good way of getting information across to the viewer while keeping them entertained and wanting to know more. The music also helps to build a sense of suspense and unease. It does so because the music rises and falls making the viewer thinking there will be some sort of explanation or resolution however it doesn't have one.