Evaluation of MI2 (Melissa Kerrison work)

What is the film about?
Agent Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) has been sent on a mission to retrieve and destroy the supply of a genetically created disease called 'Chimera'. His mission is made impossible due to the fact that he is not the only person after samples of the disease. He must also contest with a gang of international terrorists headed by a turned bad former IMF agent who has already managed to steal the cure called 'Bellerophon' and now need 'Chimera' to complete their grand plan of infecting the whole world. In order to infiltrate and locate the terrorist group he relies on the help of an international thief Nyah of whom he quickly develops a love interest. Time is not only running out for Agent Hunt to find and destroy 'Chimera' before the terrorists get their hands on it, but he must also find 'Bellerophon' so as to save his love interest who has already become infected by the disease from a terrible and rapid death.


Mise En Scene
The setting when the extracts opens is a close up of the protagonist Ethan Hunt highlighting his importance within the film, in the background you can see a vast desert this could connote isolation and loneliness this is rienforces due to the fact that he is the only character we can see. Ethan then throws the message into the air and it immediately explodes we are the led onto the film titles itself which are written in the bright bold colours of orange,red and blue connoting the idea of fire and danger, this could be foreshadowing the events to come.

Sound
The diegetic soundtrack within the opening of Mission Impossible 2 is a very iconic and popular soundtrack as audiences will automatically recognise it. At the beginning of the opening we hear a voice coming from this glasses explaining what Ethan's next mission is, this is an example of non diegetic sound. As the title sequences start to roll you start to gain that sense of mystery, this creates suspension for the audience.

Editing
Ethan Hunt as the protagonist gets the most screen time, this is also because he is the only character presented to us in the opening. When Tom Cruise is in the frame the shots are slow paced but this is quickly juxtaposed when the titles are shown creating pace and a sense of urgency. The titles within the title sequences are held in the centre of the screens for around 3 seconds this is just about enough time for the audience watching to take in the actors, directors and producers.

Melissa's interpretation of Mission Impossible 2 is very detailed and crossed off the four sections we need to think about when creating our own; camera angles, mise en scene, sound, editing. I believe she has grasped the concept extremely well. From Melissa's work I have learn't that the pace of the diegetic soundtrack adds to the intesity and excitement of the film.

The Opening Of The Bourne Ultimatum

This is not my film I am using it for educational purposes
The Bourne films, are a popular series of  the genre thriller. Straight away we get the sense of tension because of the diegetic soundtrack gives the audience anticipation of whats to come foreshadowing the mystery, the music in the background almost sounds like a ticking clock this could be representative of the film as whole. The black background is very dark and reinforces that sense of mystery, when the title's start rolling they appear white and are placed in bottom right hand corner and are held for around 3 seconds this is long enough for the audience to read and take it in. We then see a document and with bold, red letters are the words 'TOP SECRET' by giving these little clues it gives the audience a little insight on what they are about the watch, keeping them interested. The use of close up shots on the document itself highlights the crime/mystery of the extract and what it will entail, the document symbolizes crime which is representative of police and agents. Then the background suddenly turns black again, the editing here is quite choppy, this could be significant of the film, when the camera is back on the document some of the writing is blurred out this could be so the audience focuses on these key clues in order to follow the film. The use of the map, signifies that they are looking for someone and with the tense music in the background gives it that sense of urgency. The title sequences are giving a series a clues just like if you were a policeman/woman yourself putting together the clues to catch the Villian giving the audience a sense of involvement. The title of the film is placed dead center highlighting the importance of it. When the title has dissapeared we are presented with a close of shot of a person walking in the snow, the noise from his shoes creates that tense atmosphere and it looks as though he trying to get away from someone, keeping the audience at the edge of their seats.
From this I have learnt that within a title sequence you can include clues and insights about what your film will entail, and by doing that you are creating the involvement between your film and the audience. The audience is very important when it comes down to creating a film as they will want those original expectations of the 'thriller genre'.

Evaluation of Jacob Smith's work

 Jacob has analysed the very famous thriller 'Taken' and has gone in to great detail about the film itself. This will be very helpful for people who have not watched it and are curious as to what it is about. Not only this but Jacob has written about the camera, mise en scene, editing and sound this will be very helpful when we are at the stage of planning and making as all of our research about film titles will give us an insight on what to do. If I was too suggest an improvement I would ask if he could put the embed code so we can all watch and maybe suggest some other key facts but other than that I believe Jacob has analysed 'Taken' very well.

Evaluation of Melissa Kerrison's work section 2

Melissa decided to analyse Mission Impossible 2. The way she has given a little summary for people who have not watched the film is very beneficial, not only this but has shown her understanding that the film is 'action thriller'. By splitting her work up into section it shows she has understanding across all of the area's we will need to consider when creating our opening.

This is the clip Melissa has provided us with, and from watching and reading her analysis I now have a better understanding of how and what to include in a title sequence, this isn't just Melissa's work but from a number of title sequences that have been analysed within the group.

Overall I believe Melissa has a great understanding of the title sequences and has covered off all the area's we need to consider. I think her work will really benefit when it comes to the planning and making.

Responses for our survey

Our group gathered up our survey results and surprisingly got quite a few responses which I was not expecting. However some people responses were not very helpful and will not be used when summarizing the answers.

In the first question we asked 'What is your gender'?

 From this we can see that 64% were female and the remaining 38% were male. I'm glad however people took the time to help us out with our research.











The second question was ' How old are you?'

 We had a number of categories for people to choose for their age and surprisingly got a quite a variety not just the norm. 5% being under 16, 49% being between the age of 16-30 this was the highest percentage out of all 5 groups. 31-45 we got 26%, 46-60 was 13% and even 13% in 61+. This was quite a success as we have a number of people different views and opinions of all different ages.






'What things do you enjoy most about thrillers?' This was our third question and it got a number of different opinions ranging from blood and violence to psychological plot twists. Suspense was put in a number of people's answers so our group would be silly not to include that. Someone said car chases and intricate plots, although I think it would be hard for us to film a car chase it was a very good opinion and intricate plot will be very helpful for us.


We got another graph for this next question, ' What is your favourite sub-genre of thriller?'

A number of suggestions were made here;
Conspiracy Thriller = 5%
Political Thriller = 18%
Erotic Thriller = 3%
Supernatural Thriller = 5%
Psychological Thriller = 26%
Crime Thriller = 26%
Action Thriller = 10%
Other = 8%

To make this question better when people stated 'other' we should have asked what their preference was but other than that I believe we got a good range of results.


Our penultimate question was 'Based on your answer for the previous question, what is it about this sub genre that you like so much?' I think this was a really good question to ask and we got all kinds of responses such as; 'I chose crime thriller because you can try and solve the mystery throughout the film and it's not usually what you expect' and 'Sci fi, I like the use of special effects and that it can be anywhere that the film is made and that anything can really happen' Of course we will take the time to read each of your responses and take them all into consideration when deciding what to make our thriller.


Finally the last question we asked was 'What do you expect from the opening of a thriller?' Unfortunately some people wrote some unhelpful things but luckily it was only one or two responses. People suggested things like ' music to be dark and the opening to start the confusion of whats to come' and 'a scene that either develops the main characters or the crime itself - enough information to get me interested' most of the responses were really helpful and our group will certainly look at each of them when considering what to include in our opening


Thankyou for helping us with our research it was really helpful.

Evaluation of Melissa Kerrison section 2

Melissa's research on age classification was really helpful as I didn't actually know the difference from an 18 and 15. Not only that but the BBFC and how it puts films into the right classification.

A film classed as a 15

 It is split into 8 categories:

Discrimination- Work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs- Drug taking may be shown but film as a whole musn't encourage drug misuse. Misuse of easily accessible drugs such as aerosols and solvents is likely to be unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror-  Allowed unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable Behaviour- Dangerous behaviour is not permitted eg, suicide and self harming. Easily accesible weapons should not be encouraged.

Language- Frequent use of strong language is allowed. The strongest terms for example 'cunt' is only allowed if in context. Repeating the word or using it aggresively is unlikely to be allowed.

Nudity- Allowed but without strong detail. No constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex- Again, this is allowed but without strong detail, may be strong verbal references but strongest references are unlikely to be allowed unless justified by context

Violence- Strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong, sadistic or sexualised violenced is unliely to be acceptable, reference to sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

Melissa split her work up two sections the one above are the rules for a 15 rated film. From the films I have watched you can see that some if not all are included in a 15 film and you wouldn't see it in a lower rating film. 

A film classed as an 18

Adults should be free to choose their own entertainment, although exceptions are most likely in the following areas:

-Where material is in breach of criminal law.

-Where material appears to risk harm to individuals, or to their behaviour to society- for example, violent or dangerous acts which may cause harm to public health or morals. This also may include portrayals of sexualised violence, for example, eroticise or endorce sexual assalt.

-Where there are more explicit  images of sexual activity, which cannot be justified

Again there is a big jump between a 15 and an 18, as in a 18 there aren't really any limits they are free to put whatever context in they like, however there are a few exceptions. The BBFC have to take all this into consideration when rating a film and some are deemed to be violent or overly graphic and that film would not be allowed to be shown in cinema's

Melissa has included some really useful information which our group can really consider when making our own.

Evaluation of Melissa Kerrison's work

 As I have never seen this film before, Melissa overall summary about it was very helpful and she showed great understanding of what it was about. Not only has she reviewed the film itself but has gone into to detail about camera use, mise en scene, editing and sound.
The camera use in this film is very important within the thriller, in this film se7en it is seen that they have use a wide range of camera angles, however no long shots were used like Melissa said this was done to add to the mystery and that the audience will need to watch more to get a better understanding.
The Mise En Scene gives us an insight on what the film will entail. The use of 'dark' recurs a lot when when watching Thrillers, which links into my research.
Reading Melissa's work has helped me understand 'crime thrillers' a bit better as I have not watched many. This will certainly help us when considering what thriller for us to do.

Discuss the way in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following ways; • Camera shots, angles, movements and composition • Editing • Sound • Mise En Scene

In the opening of the extract there are contrasting representations of gender, we see an establishing shot of a JCB, as the camera gradually moves towards the machinery we see that it is a woman who is in control of such an angular, bulky piece of equipment this immediately would be seen as atypical representation of gender. We would normally associate a JCB with a builder or a man. While the female protagonist is controlling the machinery the male is on the floor, this could connote that at this point in the extract the woman is seen to be stronger and in control. In the background there is a tense diegetic soundtrack, this could be foreshadowing what’s to come or to create suspense. We see a man in in a pink top and scarf putting down a piece of meat. Him wearing pink could connote that he is a bit feminine this is because we automatically associate pink with women and his actions reinforce that assumption. The fact that the male on the ground is the first one to speak could convey that he is an important asset to the extract and what is follow.

As the roar of the sabre tooth is heard the male portrays a scared, tense look and decides to jump in the hole for protection, when doing this the camera is looking down on him, this connotes that he is feeling weak and vulnerable. When the sabre tooth comes running towards him trying to attack him from above the hole the camera is looking up at this vicious animal presenting a dominate character also we get it from the tigers point of view making the man look small and defenceless . The use of a shot reverse shot highlights the opposition between the male protagonist and the sabre tooth.  At this point the woman is still in the JCB and when she senses that her colleague is in danger decides to distract the tiger away from him. This conveys that they do not live up to their stereotypes as the man is shown as the weaker character and that woman is seen to be stronger. The diegetic dialogue has changed since the tiger made an appearance into the scene highlighting how tense the protagonist is when trying to fend the tiger away. However the roles are reversed and the male shows his masculinity by distracting the sabre tooth once more, this is contradicted though when he is seen running away and climbing up higher to get away from the tiger. When on the ground we get a bird’s eye view of his reaction when seeing the ladder. Two jump cuts accentuate Cutter’s preparation to slide down the zip wire; this could be seen as speedy and decisive. The shot reverse shot when the man is travelling down the zip wire shows his facial expressions as he is keeping a vigilante eye open for the tiger’s whereabouts and his next move.  As he is travelling the camera is following him down, this is called panning.  In spite of this when he lands he doesn’t land in a manly way; he almost falls to the ground and curls up in a ball. Once again the woman is portrayed through a long shot running into save her colleague. Not only this but the woman is always shown through long shots which connotes that she is aloof and distant, whereas the man is always shown through close ups. This allows the audience to connect to the man but they cannot connect as well as they can with the man. This reinforces the idea of the male protagonist not being a typical man as following from section one. Not only are men and woman portrayed through gender but the use of a cat is atypical because cats are associated with femininity, however this cat is shown to be the strongest, most overpowering character is this section.

As we move on further through the extract it seems as though the female protagonist is not as important as she was earlier on, as the extract continues with more traditional ideas of gender. The female is marginalized because it appears to have a male dominance; this is reinforced when she is positioned on the edge of our screens, whereas the men are positioned in the centre.  Another important factor in this scene is that the men get a lot more screen time which connotes that they have higher importance, this contradicts with previous parts of the extract, unlike Abby, the female protagonist who appears to get next to nothing. Abby dresses very masculine with her short, cropped hair and wears a leather jacket this is connoting that for a woman to appear strong they need to lose their femininity.

In the last section, the female promotes a more traditional stereotype.  Although at the start the woman and the man appear to be equal as they are at the same eye level, this is portrayed through an over the shoulder shot. However this is juxtaposed when the male gets out a gun and points it towards the female leaving her stunned and helpless. The diegetic dialogue appears to have sped up quite a bit this highlights the woman’s vulnerability and conveys that he is dominant at this point. This is reinforced when he grabs her and pulls her to the ground leaving her looking up at him; the slow motion is used to show the detail of the motions going on around in the scene and create tension.  The use of shot reverse shot when our protagonists appear into the scene highlights how close the woman was to being in serious danger. Abby is again appearing masculine by having a gun and pointing it towards the antagonist, although the man behind her in the pink picks up a shovel, this connotes femininity. In the final shot, Abby saves the day; however the last shot is on Cutter signifying that the audience notices the male perception of the situation, not the female’s point of view.

Anaysis of Casino Royale

This is not my own work, it is being used for educational purposes.
Casino Royale, James Bond one of the most critically acclaimed Bond films. It starts with a very famous opening sequence which is seen throughout the whole Bond series this is very iconic as we would associate this James Bond. The use of the camera zooming out of perhaps someones eye shows that it is from their point of view showing the graphical detail of James Bond saving the day. The blood symbolises death and we would automtically associate it with dangers of working in the MI5 and the lengths James has to go to in order to save people lives. Straightaway shows you thename of the producer in white up against the deep red this is possibly done so you can see the name clearly as he is an important asset to the production of the film.
Hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades are spun round in the background linking it to the casino theme, The use of dark colours helps make the names stand out this is effective for the audience who wants to see the names of the producers and who is involved in the film. The diegetic soundtrack  is very intriguing and gives the sense of mysetery and suspense although it is quite fast paced increases the tension lurring the audience to want to watch on. The background then goes on to being the backs of a pack of cars again linking in with the 'casino' theme. This is very effective as it give the audience a sense of what the film is going to be about and the fact that James Bond is placed in all of the backdrops highlights that he is a very important character  amongst the film. The gun and the use of red  symbolises danger and foreshadow what is to come. The bright colours are vibrant which make it attractive towards the audience and foreshadow the themes of casino.
Overall the title sequence is very important when considering the themes of a film, just like James Bond as it gives the audiecne an insight on what the film will be about and also it is inconic as is it is intriguing and interacts with the audience.This is very important when making a film.

Evaluation Of Finley Harnett's Work Section 2

  From Finley's work on 'Requiem For A Dream' I have learnt that this is quite a dark,bleak depressing thriller because of it's pounding soundtrack and chopping, headache- inducing editing. The film is an example of 18 rated film this is because it has graphic sex scenes, drug use and mental breakdowns, this shows that it should not be seen for any viewers under the age of 18. I have never watched this film before so by reading Finley's work has given me a great insight on what the film is about and by adding the clip is really helpful for people who haven't seen it just like myself. In his analysis of the extract he has told us what codes and conventions have been used, the diegesis of the piece and a good analysis of the characters has shown he has taken in a great deal of interest into it. Like Finley has used the ending of the film for his analysis he believes its the best bit to help us with our understanding of the thriller genre for when we will have to create an opening ourselves. With Finley's great analysis we will be sure of what to include in our coursework to make it as good as other thriller films, programs etc if not better.

Evaluation of Finley Harnett's Research

:http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/putlocker.php?id=B4BA81363260C765



What have I learnt?
From Finley's work I have learnt that its not only films that help grasp the importance of the opening sequence but t.v shows too. Finley used the political thriller 'Homeland' to help him understand title sequences a bit more.
By providing a clip of Homeland it not only helped Finley but gave me a better understanding as well. The program is known as a unconventional thriller, we know this just by watching it and that it creates tension making us want to watch on. Homeland seems to be quite realistic with some of its story lines however they have been exaggerated out to make it more exciting and intriguing to watch. The use of fear within the opening contributes to the thriller and creating the 'audience on the edge of their seats'  Linking Finley's research with mine thrillers use similar codes and conventions such as quick, choppy editing which could connote vulnerability or tense scenes.
Overall Finley has done some great research and it has given me a much wider understanding of opening sequences and what to include within them. Also you don't necessarily have to create a conventional Thriller, just like Homeland.

Reflection and Planning

This is what me and my group have completed and still need to complete so far, i believe that we are on track and will hopefully have it all completed by the deadline given (19th October)

Draft Of Our Survey

Finley, Melissa, Jacob and I have created a survey to give us an insight on what we want to include when we have to create an opening of a thriller ourselves.
Obviously we will be making some changes to the questions, making it more reliable for our benefits for example we could create tick boxes for the first two questions. We could add bigger spaces for comments in this would help us find out what everyone else thinks of the opening of thrillers and what we could use to help us with ours. Also if you have any other suggestions as to more questions we could add then please feel free to comment on this post. This would be really beneficial for us so please feel free to comment and add your own input in to it.

Our Survey

If people don't mind would you please take a few moments to answer our survey,
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&formkey=dHdsVlBCZEZIaDJuc1VlNng1RjNicWc6MQ#gid=0

Codes And Conventions Of A Thriller

Thriller are types of films that are known to promote intense excitement, great suspense and high levels of anticipation. A genuine Thriller is a film is a film that provides thrills and keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats'. The tensions often arise when the protagonists are placed in frightening situations, or an escape or dangerous mission from which seems impossible. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or outside forces.

Codes and Conventions

Here are a few things most Thriller films will include to give the extra effect ;mirrors, low key lighting, shadows, obtrusive editing, quick cuts, use of different camera angles, high tensions music, flashbacks, use of photographs, black and white, montage editing, disorientation.

• Mirrors are used to portray the reflection of one's soul and inner self it could also foreshadow the darkness within certain characters.
• Shadows add darkness within inner beings and can create tension and eeriness, this connotes the idea of unknown circumstances and unknown answers.
• Obtrusive editing are used frequently in thrillers to create the feeling of suspense and tension, they are often used in a particular 'thrilling scene' sometimes creating a disorientation of space and time.
• Flashbacks often display what has happened in the past to give the audience and insight into the protagonists lives.
• Black and white is often used to accentuate the use of shadows and often makes the thriller eerie and dark.
• Twist is a common factor of a thriller by adding the element of surprise the audience can recognise the film as thriller this connotes fear playing on uncommon fears for example 'being afraid of the unknown'

Mise-en-scene

Thrillers are normally located in dark and eerie places, mainly in dark alleys and dark, neglected buildings. This is done to create suspense and tensions so the audience does not know what could happen. The props within a thriller play into the scene very well as they can change the mood and story line, depending on what it is and how it is used. A good example of this would be 'Halloween 2' as the killer picks up various items to kill people with. Not only is it props that play a good role in a film but costumes too, they are normally dark this could be because the killer doesn't want to be seen so they hide in the dark shadows. Chases are good for a thriller as it creates tensions a good example of this would be the car chase in Bourne Supremacy.

Hopefully this has given my group and insight on what we should include in our thriller opening and that we will take even the tinniest details into considerations.

Our Presentation

Group 2 2012 AS from Media @ CCC on Vimeo.

What do we research?

• Thriller genre
• Sub genre/hybrids
• Codes
• Analyse atleast 5 opening of thrillers
• Title Sequence
• Target Audience 
• Survey for the audience
• Character/plot/themes

Deadlines

Deadlines

• Research-19th October
• Continuity Task-19th November
• Planning/Animatic-19th December

Glossary

Diegesis: The diegesis includes objects, events, spaces and the characters that surround them, including things, actions, and attitudes not necessarily presented in the film but inferred by the audience. The audience constructs a diegetic world from the material that is presented within a narrative film.

Editing: The joining together of clips of film into a single shot. The cut is a simple edit but there are many other ways to transition one shot to another.

Focus: It refers to the degree to which light rays coming from any part of an object pass through the lens and reconverge at the same point on the frame. This creates sharp outlines and distinct texture that match the original.

Mise En Scene: All the things that are put into a frame; the setting, the decor, the lighting, the costumes, the performance etc. 

Three Point Lighting: The standard lighting scheme for classical narrative cinema. In order to model an actor's face with a sense of depth, light from three directions is used just like in the diagram below.

The back light picks out the subject from its background, a bright key light highlights the object and the fill light from the opposite side helps make sure that the key light only casts faint shadows.

Shot Reverse Shot: Two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation. In continuity editing. Over the shoulder framing are common in shot reverse shot editing.