Falling Down Opening Remake

I created through looking at the falling down opening sequence and wrote down and recorded all the sounds that were within it. . I watched the first 2 minutes and 30 seconds of the film and noted down all the different sounds that were featured and the duration of each sound. This is shown below.


Garage Band enabled us to insert the sounds that were featured in the opening of Falling Down and merge the different sounds together. Using Sound Bible which is a website that offers and stores different sound bites, I searched for different sounds that were similar and more realistic to the sounds used in the falling down opening sequence, then added them to my Garage Band project.

This task enhanced my knowledge on different sounds used in a thriller and I was able to develop my iconic sound knowledge and Garage Band skills.This task was very helpful for broadening my expertise in using Garage Band which is a necessity when making my Thriller Opening.

Below is my Falling Down Opening Remake

Match on Action

Here is my video showing Match on Action. I was successfully able to complete this Match on Action task with my partner and it was good practice as we will be including this skill in our Thriller openings.

Spoiler review of a Thriller: Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace was the first Bond movie to be a continuation of the previous film, instead of standing on its own. It is jam-packed with stunts and fast pace action in its 1 hour and 45 minutes time span, making it the shortest bond film ever made. Director Marc Foster, the German-Swiss film maker previously directed very 'non-Bond' films such as Monsters Ball, Finding Neverland and the Kite Runner. 

As for a quick plot summary: still angered by the death of Vesper Lynd, James Bond goes after the shadowy international organisation he hold greatly responsible, even when ordered to stand down. Bond clashes with Dominic Greene, who is cornering Bolivia's water supply, and teams with Camille, who has her own mission of vengeance.

I must say that compared to all the other Bond films, this one stood out the most and not for reasons expected. The movie was much scattered and didn't follow a linear sequence at all, leaving the audience and myself confused. The theme tune was not memorable and was not fitting to the film unlike all the others. The title of the film alone isn't even made referenced in the film at all and is totally unrelated to the premise of the film. The movie on a whole is just thrust into explosive action and doesn't follow through with the drama and story essence of it. This, I would put down to the Director who I don't think has much experience in directing films such as these.

Synopsis Thriller Sub-genres & Narratives By Chloe, Nana and India!

This presentation discusses the different sub-genres that are within thrillers e.g. Psychological, Crime etc.
It also includes information about different narratives that are used in different thrillers

End of Module Reports

Level 3 = 12 - 15 marks

C = 13/20

Biggest Priorities I need to do to get my blog up to a Level 4- 
Upload and Edit remaining tasks,  
make sure there are no gaps between the pictures 
use more clips/pictures from actual films instead of clipart ones

Se7en Titles Remake Edit + comments

Below is my Se7en Title Remake edit that I created using Final Cut pro to put the titles, imaged and overlay the music with. I enjoyed completing this task as it was good practice with using this type of editor. It also enhanced my visual skills as I was sequencing different types of pictures and video clips to make a complete opening which had to embody a Thriller essence.

The main purposes of making a title sequence

• give the audience a general feel of what the film will be about by looking at the director, actors/actresses and production companies
• feature everyone who was apart of the film e.g. director, producers, actors etc.
• draw in the viewers

Report on What Makes a Thriller

What is a Thriller?

It is difficult to state a clear definition of a thriller because thrillers cross over various genres of writing. Thrillers can be divided into countless categories: e.g. action, psychological, military, spy, sci-fi, romantic etc. It’s easier to recognize a thriller through watching it than actually describing it.

However there are some general characteristics that most thrillers have. These usually include a plot that concerns itself with life-and-death issues. Many thrillers involve murder mysteries.

Nearly all thrillers put the protagonist and other sympathetic characters in serious danger. Most thrillers have very devious antagonists. Thrillers usually have a great deal of action, cinematic landscapes or city-scapes and take place in major cities such as New York and London. Thrillers are very dramatic even when they focus on someone’s mind as in a psychological thriller like ‘Inception’

A good thriller presents intense excitement, building up suspense, tension and anticipation of things to come during the duration of the film. As a movie genre, it provides thrills from various circumstances presented in the story, where the protagonist or main character encounters certain types of mysterious or dangerous situations.

Thriller Film Openings Analysis

The Bourne Identity

• Non Linear
• Restricted
• Phycological Thriller

• ·         Heavy weather as background noise e.g. thunder
• ·         Dark/dim lighting
• ·         Fighting
• ·         Distress from character shown within the first scene
• -    Surgical equipment

    Crank

•     Non linear
•     Restricted
•     Phycological Thriller
•     Drug dosing scene

• ·         Fast pace camera angles
• ·         Dark/dim lighting
• ·         Mysterious entry from the characters
• ·         One of the characters lives in an urban apartment – most likely situated in a city e.g. New York
• ·         Explicit language used
• ·         A clear Antagonist and Protagonist
• ·         Drug syringes
• ·         Cars

• 
  

  The Machinist

•     Crime Thriller - character, most likely murderer/criminal carrying a dead body
• -   Restricted
•     Aftermath of a crime scene
•     Non-linear
•     Enigma code - Who is the person that has been murdered and thrown into the sea? Why does this man have a dead body?
•     Dark and gloomy
• 
  

  
  Insomnia

•     Crime and political thriller - murder has taken place, opening character is a professional/detective, references to murders in script
•     Restricted
•     Linear
•     Enigma code - Who is the person in the pictures that has been slaughtered and murdered
• 
  

A Thriller Location

This is my chosen suitable location (London) to shoot a thriller.

In my picture the Shard is featured which is one of the newest skyscrapers to the city of London and this would be a good location to shoot a thriller as it is in a urban area and many corporate jobs take place here.

Collage of Iconography

The following collage shows different aspects that a thriller must have in order for it to be categorized as a thriller such as crime and cities. These are all recognizable characteristics of thrillers because they help the audience differentiate a particular film from any other film genre.

Self Evaluation

21-28 Impressive. I am thinking around elements that we have discussed in class and have clearly been studying around the topic and applying my knowledge rather than just remembering.

Self evaluation
25/28

I think that I am meeting the expectations of an A Level student, however I need to still look through the checklist and make sure that I have completed all the tasks to my best ability. In class I take as many notes that I feel are necessary to my home study and that I can look at later on. We have done a variety of activities to help us remember different media aspects, however certain activities have stood out out the most. The "Se7en" edit was very helpful as it was more hands on and I was able to understand the editing processes/. My independent learning has been going well so far, as I have understood my tasks and have been working well with the tasks.