Preliminary Task: Creative Critical Reflection- Written format

Critical Reflection-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEJR3-DgLFU

Question 1-

How does your product engage with audiences?

This production is very relatable, especially to those who have siblings and are often competing in games. Many people will be able to relate to the competitiveness of the two characters shown, thus making the production humorous. This is highlighted through the intense suspenseful music playing throughout the first half of the short film as the moment is portrayed as extremely serious but it is not which mirrors how siblings can take games very seriously even though they are not.

Question 2-

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

My production skills were the lowest form of ammeter. During this creative project I learned how to correctly plan, direct and produce a short film. My eyes were opened to the extent of planning that must go into a film project. I learnt how to correctly set a scene complete with lighting. I grasped basic camera skills from setting up a camera tripod to remembering to press record when filming. I was able to put my leadership skills to the test when carefully explaining my team's vision to the actors and then directing them on what to do. The only facet that I was not able to at least dabble in was sound due to the lack of equipment.

Question 3-
How did you integrate technologies, software and hardwares in the project?

When editing this production Premier pro was used to edit all the cuts recorded on my groups camera. Due to the lack of sound equipment I had to be creative when adding sound to the production. I found that by layering different tracks (as seen is the last half of the production) the sound's quality improved and may seem more suitable then diegetic sound recorded on the day of filming.

Opening Sequences

Opening sequences-

How is it engaging and how does it conform to traditional codes and conventions?

Vertigo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdfJhxe5Ogc

From the very start of the film a menacing music begins to play, low and intense. This makes the film immediately engaging as the audience is pulled into the movie, questioning why such music is playing. It also highlights a traditional thriller convention of suspenseful music often used in this genre. The sequence opens with an extreme close up of a women's lips in black and white. Although it is in black and white the audience can still recognize the low lighting the shot employs which is also a common convention of the thriller genre. The extreme close up also draws the audience in even more as the intensity of the shot causes them to focus on the simple image of the women's lips, evoking a strong sense of curiosity to the mystery of why the image is so enlarged. A camera shot then tracks to the women's eyes before moving to an even more extreme close up of the left eye. This shot interests the audience even more as the constant zoom of the close up makes it seem as if the audience is literally being pulled into film or into the mind of the character shown. After, the image on screen goes red and the women's eye widens in panic. This then creates suspense as to why the women is suddenly so traumatised. The element of surprise creating suspense is an extremely traditional code of the thriller genre. This shot also engages the audience even more as the colour red has strong connotations with danger making the sequence suddenly seem life threatening and therefore intrigues the audience further. Lastly the film's title (Vertigo) appears before a constantly rotating swirl pattern consumes the screen. The swirl pattern captures the audience's attention as it is the first edited graphic to appear on screen apart from previous appearing titles. The swirl pattern also grabs the audience's attention in a similar way to the zooming of the extreme close ups. As the audience follows the swirl it creates an illusion like they are literally being pulled into the movie, as the swirl evolves the audience becomes even more engrossed in the graphic on screen and therefore the movie itself. The lack of setting throughout the sequence also conveys a strong sense of mystery, another common theme of the thriller genre.

Divergent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaSiHmbFXfQ

Divergent opens with a range of sharp non diegetic sound which occur with the opening titles. The sound then merges to create the beginning of the sound track which includes a low bass sound and a choir of some sort echoing 'os' . The building of the sound's features mirror the lighting and visuals shown in the sequence. The lighting beings quite low the proceeds to brighten especially when the movie's tile (Divergent) appears on screen. Once the Movie title clears the audience sees a grassy but empty landscape. The camera then pans along finding a ruined ship then skeletons of gate-like structures. Next the pan moves to an abandoned decaying city before a populated, cluttered city square appears. These three elements create an evolution feel, like the sound, lighting and visual are evolving themselves. This sense of evolving is further highlighted through the constant pan of the camera creating a long and slow but orderly shot, like evolution is explained to be. This causes the audience to be extremely intrigued because it can be related to their own life and how they themselves have 'evolved' since being a child to an adult. It also reflects society as a whole as it has also evolved in some shape and form, form the skeletons of the past a fuller more advanced future is formed. This sequence then conforms to traditional thriller sequences as in employs an aspect of low lighting, especially in the very beginning. It also employs another crucial convention of a thriller genre and that is the element of mystery which builds not only suspense and tension but a sense of danger. The constant show of decay through out the opening creates the mystery as there is no explanation to the decay. This is then highlighted when people are seen living next to and even in the inner city of decay because it causes the audience to question why much of the decay is left abandoned to rot, why people are seen normally living in these conditions and, furthermore, is it safe to live in such conditions.

North By Northwest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBxjwurp_04

The constant loop of music makes the opening sequence of North By Northwest conforms to the tension building style of thrillers. Also the building of the visual image in the movie from the cross hatching, gate-like graphics that grow into a gate overlooking a busy New York arena which then focus on the actual overly cluttered streets of New York. The sequence is strongly showing a mystery of directions that builds suspense- a common code in thrillers. The audience is drawn in by the repeating sound that makes the music resonate in their ears whilst the constant cross hatching and joining lines plauge their eyes forcing them to actively engage in the film as it is too busy to miss. Also the hectic amount of action that takes place during the sequence makes the audience almost dizzy as they try to take in all the action at once, this again reinforces the traditional tension building convention of thrillers. Another traditional element is that of danger, as the audience almost feels anxious for the constant streams of busy people clashing with each other with a change of physically crashing into each other. Also, the fact that the titles emerge from all directions makes the audience feel a sense of tension as they are uncertain of the direction of the title and therefore highlights the overwhelming sense of danger also.

Pulp Fiction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI1yt38A9-E

Pulp Fiction's opening begins with an upbeat song which, compared to most of the films previously noted in this post, is traditional, especially because it follows a loop sort of effect. The starting music is accompanied by a sudden image of an aggressive women holding a gun with a man in the background mimicking the women's ready-to-fire action with the gun. This sudden image hits two major thriller conventions- tension and danger. Because the image was so surprising it instantly causes the audience to feel anxious and therefore creates tension. Also, because guns are being used as a weapon danger is too associated with the sequence. Although the image misses the thriller convention of low lighting, once the image is gone the background of the graphics remain pitch black which reinforced the traditional dark lighting feature of thriller movies. When the movie's title appears, it is shown in yellow and red- the colours of danger warnings and danger itself. This then engages the audience as many will subconsciously be more intrigued with the movie as it warns them to an element of danger, which is fascinating to many. The sudden change in music also intrigues the audience as it is unexpected and therefore evokes curiosity from the audience. This is also a common convention used by thrillers as surprises often help create more suspense which is a vital element to the thriller genre.

Thriller Sub-Genres: Codes and Conventions

Thriller Sub-Genres

Action Thriller:

Action Thrillers will often take thriller conventions and codes and add a substantial amount of physical action into the film. This physical action is used to create more tension between the protagonist and the antagonist therefore also creating more suspense. They contain a continuous motion of action like stunts, chases (e.g car chases), battles and races which in turn contribute to the sense of danger felt by the characters. Action thrillers use fast-pasted music and camera shots which makes the film itself more fast pasted and therefore creates greater tension. Also, the building of fast paced shots draws out the suspense, creating and highlighting the sense of relief once the tension has broken- this can be repeated many times through out the film, strengthening a sense of anxiety. 

Example movie: The Bourne Identity

Supernatural Thriller: 

In supernatural thrillers often an otherworldly force is introduced as character (usually the antagonist); also many characters in supernatural thrillers often have a super ability, for example being able to fly or read minds. These otherworldly elements can create tension and suspense as the extent of the power/force is unknown and the intentions of the force is unclear. The supernatural power will, in many instances, disrupt the peace and cause conflict. Lighting is a large factor in supernatural thrillers as it helps create the otherworldly effect. Supernatural thrillers can use fast flashes of light and lighting of all different colours to make the supernatural element more realistic hence building more tension. Supernatural thrillers can also fall into the category of or employ similar codes and conventions to religious thrillers, psychological thrillers and even horror thrillers.

Example movie: The Sixth Sense

Religious Thriller:

Religious thrillers can be similar to supernatural thrillers but they usually employ a religious element such as religious themes (e.g Bible stories), questions, and objects (e.g a holy relic). The addition of the religious element usually makes the film more realistic and therefore creates more tension as the audience becomes more engrossed in the story line. The religious element also helps the thriller sup-genre differ from that of a supernatural or psychological thriller. Story lines of a religious thriller frequently include a demon-possessed individual, a church cover-up, and/or a sacred artifact like a relic. A religious thriller can be based around historical events which also make the film more realistic and therefore builds more suspense.

Example movie: Angels and Demons

Psychological Thriller

Psychological thrillers involves plenty of conflict like a thriller only the conflict is mental rather than physical. The fact that the conflict occurs in the protagonist's mind helps the sub-genre vary from others. This conflict is used to create a similar tension like an action thriller where it creates more suspense only the danger isn't physical but rather threatens the protagonist's sanity. The conflict commonly occurs inside the protagonists head or is a battle of wits between the protagonist and the antagonist (e.g Now You See Me). Psychological thrillers use a range of tilted camera often to show the distorted state of mind a character may be experiencing at the time.

Example movie: Shutter Island

Mystery Thriller:

The element of mystery added to the thriller genre makes the film more dramatically tense because as the plot develops it is not only the protagonist who is trying to solve the mystery but, usually, the film also allows the audience themselves to attempt to solve the mystery alongside the protagonist. Another element that adds to the sense of danger is the fact that the protagonist is generally racing against the clock to save the day and prevent a crime or the antagonist getting away with the crime. This then shows how a mystery thriller can have similar codes and conventions to a crime thriller.  

Example movie: Inception

Crime thrillers usually have a large association with assassinations, terrorism, and serial/mass murdering which, like a mystery thriller, adds to the sense of lurking danger. The specific focus on crime rather than the protagonist issuing justice for the crime is often what sets a crime and a mystery thriller apart. Crime thrillers can also have similar aspects to psychological thrillers if the film is seen through the eyes of a character especially the killer.

Example movie: The Dark knight

Horror Thriller:

The use of horrific graphics and/or themes makes the thriller intensely suspenseful and heightens the fear of danger. Horror thrillers use of extreme close up camera shots of the protagonists face highlighting their fear and making the audience even more fearful whilst building suspense even more. Also the common use of the colour red adds to the sense of danger as red has connotations with blood, death and danger itself making the film seem even more frightening. Many horror thrillers also use depth of field to focus on important symbols or motifs while the blurred background can often cause a sense of anxiety for the audience as they can not see what is truly happening. Horror thrillers, very much like the thriller genre itself, use extremely low lighting to create tension like the depth of field effect where the audience can not see what is happening and so causing panic. Horror thrillers films can be edited to have many jump cuts during the time of danger or leading up to a major reveal, this creates a sense of uneasiness deepening the audiences awareness of fear already growing from other factors. Lastly horror thrillers can differ from psychological, as the two sub-genres are very similar, because horror thrillers do not have to include a supernatural element but rather just a horrific character like a serial killer.

Example movie: The Cabin in the Woods