I like this thriller opening especially because i think the idea of 'less is more' plays an essential role. With the shot of the polaroid developing in reverse taking up most of the opening time, yet it seems to make you want to keep watching to actually see what is going to happen next. It isn't till nearer the end of the shot you actually notice that its developing in reverse, then it eventually moves onto the next shot which then you understand a little more of what is happening in that particular scene. By the end of the opening, you get the impression that there has been a murder of some description and this character has taken a picture of it for unknown reasons. The opening is effective because it leaves alot to be worked out by the viewer without giving so little that there isn't anything to hook them in.
I thought that this opening was very well shot and looked very much professionally done aswell as setting the scene well. There isn't much i feel that could be improved since most, if not all, aspects have been covered to make it a successful opening. In particular, the first thing i noticed was the use of flashbacks to when the character was constructing the bomb which i feel is very effective. The music fitted very well, and the varied use of shots were executed very professionally. The acting also was good along with the props which made the clip seem very real. All in all, i think that with a decent budget, i feel this film potentionally could be quite successful.
I very much liked this student work from group P2-37 entitled "Delirium Tremens". I thought it was well shot, well paced and that the setting was excellent I also liked the way that the film wasn't very linear, seeing the opening has made me wish that there was a full length film. The group has portrayed a thriller film nicely and created a good sense of mystery with both the main character and the contents of the boot of his car. I think the titles blended well with both the video and audio of the project.
Having seen Memento I beleive that this opening scene is a good introduction to the film as it mirrors the general feeling of disorientation the film creates. The music throughout the scene creates a feeling of tragedy which is heightened by the graphic photograph being held by the protagonist. The fact that the sequence is actually in reverse interests the viewer, not only out of curiosity about what's happening in the story but also because it's an unorthadox way of filmaking. The fact that we don't get to see the protagonists face until the end of the scene adds to the mystery created by the rest of the scene.
The Student film I will be evaluating is "This Train terminates". Whilst the camera work for most of the shots was good, there were a couple of shots which I felt were there was tow much movement by the cameraman. Whilst for one or two shots it was appropriate, there were also one or two where it was not appropriate, e.g., the shot of someone preparing the detonator. On the shot of the two men getting on the train, you can see half of a pole on the train, which messed up the shot, as is the cameraman's finger was partly covering the screen. I cannot think of a shot which had things that was not appropriate, or a shot which needed something added. A variety of shots were used, i particularly thought that the shot of a chemical being poured into a beaker (the view point was the bottom of the beaker), it was an inventive shot. It set the scene well too; we know it is on London, not just any underground. We also clearly knew he was making a bomb. The Lighting was never so dark that we could not see what was going on, neither was it too bright, and the lighting in the lab where he was making the bomb gave an eerie effect. the editing was good, every shot was of a good length, and characters were always in the middle of the screen. The shots always moved into each other in the same way, never faded or flashed into it. Whilst this did not ruin the trailer, it may have been appropriate to have that at some of the bomb making scenes. The soundtrack was good, and overlapped with environmental sounds well, and the closing shot of the titles used the noise of a train which added a nice effect. The titles had a red dot and lines on them, which added a good effect, meaning they were not normal. I would give this trailer a 53 out of 60, as some of the camera work could have improved a little.
We had ideas for our opening from two sources: a video console game called "Max Payne"and a little bit from a film called "The Bourne Identity". Max Payne was an ex policeman who lost his family to a gang war, and decided to hunt them down and get revenged, he also wanted to rid his city of gangs. Jason Bourne (The Bourne Identity) was discovered in the Mediterranean south of France and was taken in by some fishermen. They then helped get to France and he set off to find out who he was, and avoid those who wanted to catch him. from max Payne we took the idea of a person who lost his family and wanted revenge, from The Bourne Identity we took the idea of someone searching for his identity. both characters are good fighters so we took that idea, and the ex-policemen idea from Max Payne. We also thought that our character should look like Max Payne, especially one in the picture at the top, this is a promo picture of the Max Payne Film.
The Film I will be reviewing is "four Brothers". This is a film set in Detroit, in the poorer parts. It starts with a car driving to a store, the scene is very dark, which shows the mood and part of the genre of the film. It also shows snow blowing accross a car windscreen (close-up of Windscreen) and of two die hanging from the car rear view mirror. To Me this seems like a continuity edit, showing the film sticks to basic camera editing techniques. During a conversation it also uses only three or four camera angles. When we see two armed robbers come into a store, we cannot see their masked faces, and the wind is howling, here costumes and sound tell us that something bad may happen in this film. we see the light produced by two gunshots from outside the store, then the robbers running, which also makes it seem spooky. It uses little lighting in the store, and the costumes are dark. the Camera work and sound during the gunshots make it seem more horrible, like the flashes of light from outside and the amplified noise of the guns.
'Escape' the student thriller i have been previewing was a high rated piece of filming. Firstly the main point i could pick up was it all ran smoothly and creates great atmosphere with effects of lighting and sound which really show the thrillers best features. The story 'Escape' was a great thriller title and creates a good storyboard with well worked camera shots, however in points the camera work sometimes was a bit confusing and some shots blured or wasnt the right shot for the job. but overall the trailer was good student work and had all the techniques boxes ticked, out of 60 i would give it a 52
