Coursework Storyboard - Kye, Jack, Maryam and Klevis

 Tonight, I made the storyboard for our opening credits. This is the first stage of preparing for the filming process so it goes smooth. I made brief sketches of what the sequence will look like. I got the order of the credits form The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I also made a tester images with photoshop of what I want the credits to look like. 

Our Coursework Update - Kye, Maryam, Jack and Klevis

 In the lesson, we have started planning our thriller opening sequence. We want to you double exposure effects, like in the True Detective opening credits. This allows extra narrative and looks stylish as well. Kye did some sketches for the storyboard and supervised the project. Klevis is making a tester footage, which is going really well on After Effects. Jack is making a prezi of our opening sequence for our pitch, as well as a powtoon storyboard so he is doing a lot and Maryam is making physical models of some of the scenes. 

Media Trip - Kye, Jack and Maryam

 Yesterday, we went on a media trip to River Side Cafe in Southbank.  We looked at various opening title sequences and got some tips on how to get more marks in our coursework. There was a session with director Corin Hardy, who had a new film that just came out called The Hallow. He talked about it and about some of the things he did in pre production. We pitched our idea for our coursework and were then given some tips. The day was very useful and we learnt a lot of valuable things on that day. It's also pretty cool how Corin Hardy is going to direct The Crow remake, which has a pretty big budget. 

Female Objection in Hollywood ThingLink - Kye

The Man From U.N.C.L.E Film Analysis - Kye

 Tonight, I watched The Man From U.N.C.L.E, which is directed by Guy Ritchie. I thought the film was very entertaining. Ritchie captures a 60's feel by doing various things. 
 Firstly, the cinematography is very 60's. He uses quick zooms from far away places and weird camera angles. The film captures that tackiness of 60's tv shows. 
 Secondly, it uses various editing techniques. I don't the name of this but it uses a lot of lines. 

Thirdly, the mise-en-scene is very 60's as the costumes and various objects are from that era. Ritchie has this comic feel with this film. 
 On a side note, Henry Cavill would make a very good James Bond. He actually came very close to getting the role for Casino Royale and it was between him and Daniel Craig, but the producers felt that he was too young at the time and went for Craig. 

Amy Film Analysis - Kye

 This film is a documentary about Amy Winehouse's career. It's made by the same people who did Senna, which is about Ayrton Senna. I quite like documentaries. You learn a lot about the subject. I learned a lot of Winehouse and her songs. It gave her songs more depth. 
 There were a lot of things I liked about the documentary. I like it when one of her songs would play, the lyrics would come up on the screen in a stylistic manner. Same with when the names of people would come up. Titles are really important in films in my opinion. They can really set the atmosphere. E.g Tarantino always uses yellow fonts because it gives out a comic feel. 

There Will Be Blood Film Analysis - Kye

 Tonight, I watched There Will Be Blood, which is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film was extremely well acted by Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano. 
 The film has no shaky cam at all. The scenes are all still. Anderson usually places the camera and zooms in slowly. When that happens the object of attention is usually placed in the middle of the frame. 
 You can tell that for this film, Anderson was inspired by Stanley Kubrick. That spin chilling rising sound at the start of the film is very Kubrick-esque. 
 I really liked the theme of this film. It deals with people's morals and goodness. At the start of the film, Lewis' character seems like a really good person, but when the time jump happens he turns into a horrible monster as evident in the clip. 

I rate this film 8/10.

Lesson Update - Kye

Scriptwriting Essentials - Maryam

 In todays lesson I did some research about an ideal script and what would drive an audience into thinking that it is a good script. I found most of this information on BBC Writers room and it was very useful.

Reading Extracts - Jack

Today I was given a small extract to read out of the book called INTO the WOODS by John Yorke. The chapter is called 'Exposition' and outlines the use of prologues and how they have changed and developed over the years into different things. It talks of the film development into more realistic situations and male and female prologue roles.

Thoughts On What Makes a Good Thriller Part 1 - Kye

  I think the most crucial thing to make a good thriller is character's. It is so important in my opinion. Thriller's are so tense and engaging because we connect with the protagonists on the screen. David Fincher once said that he likes to push his characters over the edge. This is true, in all of his films, the protagonists suffer a lot of pain and tragedy. My favourite example of character in a thriller is the film Zodiac which is directed by David Fincher. The character who i'm talking about is Robert Graysmith who is played wonderfully by Jake Gyllenhaal. This character is a cartoonist, who gradually becomes obsessed with the Zodiac killer. We connect with this character because the viewers also become obsessed with the Zodiac killer because it is such an interesting and horrifying case. 

Bond Sequence - Group Task

Today we were given the task to re create an opening sequence. The opening that we chose was a James Bond style gun barrel sequence. We filmed it during the lesson and it is currently being edited and will be uploaded in due course. 

Today's Lesson - Kye

 In today's lesson I made a concept for our ident.

Legally Blonde film analysis - Maryam

Tonight,I watched legally Blonde. Elle Woods who is the protagonist  (Reese Witherspoon) has it all. She wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III. But there is one thing stopping him (Matthew Davis) from proposing: She is too blond. Elle rallies all of her resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win him back. I would definitely recommend this film. 

                                                                                                                                                             This scene in particular was very effective and tense. The use of cinematography I.e extreme close ups to emphasise how the young lady being questioned felt at that moment in time. You can see in the clip below the fear and guilt on her face which suggests she is guilty. Also the determination on the protagonists face to  win the case. Also the short cuts build up tension as they are sharp and slick.                

P.s please try to ignore the bad quality.

No Country For Old Men Film Analysis - Kye

 Tonight I watched No Country For Old Men, which is directed by the Coen Brothers.  This is honestly one of the most stupid, boring and pointless films I've ever seen. That image literally describes how I felt at the end of the film. This a typical pretentious art house film that claims to have some sort of philosophical message. It even won best pictures at the oscars. Absolute madness. There are so many things wrong with the film. First of all, the protagonist dies off screen in the most underwhelming way possible. Secondly, the character development was so so bad. I didn't feel or understand any of the characters motives. I thought Josh Brolin's character was just a horrible person that treated his wife like garbage. The only thing that was good about this film was the antagonist who is played by Javier Bardem. He is really really scary. A scary antagonist is essential to make a good thriller. You need strong characters that you relate with, which this film didn't have. Also the film had some pretty tense scenes, because the antagonist was genuinely scary. Why was Tommy Lee Jones in this movie!? He literally served no purpose to the plot. I have deeply lost faith in the Coen brothers, but their next movie does look pretty solid.  

Film Rating - 4/10

12 Years a Slave Film Analysis - Maryam

Another heart-felt movie I watched for the second time was 12 years a slave. This film is about a young black man who gets married  and 'is born free'. However once his freedom is stolen from him he becomes a young black man fighting for his life and his freedom back. This film was written by Mr. John Ridley.

Disregarding slavery,the use of mise-en-scene is very significant as it is shown very clearly in the film what time period that it is set in. Also the scars that are shown in the film are very realistic and emphasise pain and discomfort to the audience. Foley sound is also used quite a lot in the film to emphasise the slaves whilst walking long distances,seeing as they are itinerant workers as well as slaves. Overall, i would most definitely recommend this film.

Lucy Film Analysis - Maryam

Over the weekend I watched a variety of different movies and 'Lucy' happened to be one of them. The plot as a whole is very interesting however in my opinion I feel that the ending could have been much stronger as it was a gradual build up through out the movie. However I still recommend this movie.

The use of mise-en-scene [props,costume,setting] is key in this film. This is because it makes the film stand out and brings it together as a whole. Cinematography was also most effective in the scene whereby the protagonist brutally batters one of the 'lookouts'. This is effective mainly because we as an audience are able to visualise the beat down from both angles/sides. Also there were close ups, extreme close ups,long shots and short shots,this made the audience able to identify emotion from both characters and pick up on what was happening. I.e when she uses the chair to hit the man. 

Drive Film Analysis - Kye

 Tonight I watched Drive, which is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. This film has many elements that I really liked. The synth soundtrack and whole setting have the film a 80's feel. During the opening scene, the camera films from inside the car, so it puts you in the shoes of the driver, and it feels unique as it isn't like Fast and Furious for example. I liked what Ryan Gosling's character was wearing because it looked very retro, and also it has a symbolic meaning to it, which fit into the film's story. In this film mise-en-scene was very important because there were so many aspects of the protagonist that stood out. 

Layer Cake Film Analysis - Kye

 Tonight, I watched Layer Cake, which is directed by Matthew Vaughn. Many people say that this film got Daniel Craig the James Bond role. There is a scene where he resembles a classic James Bond a lot. 

 My favourite scene in this movie was when Craig's associate beats up a man in a cafe. This scene is really well directed. Duran Duran's Ordinary World plays over it, changing from non-diegetic to diegetic and become disjunct in the cafe scenes. The scene also cuts from POV shots to steady shots. These all achieve a very nauseous, chaotic look. 
 This film has a lot and I mean a lot of match cuts and jump cut shots. 

Southpaw Film Analysis - Jack

Last week I watched South Paw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and I loved it. I enjoy movies to do with sports and someone who is trying to achieve a goal in their life, in this film becoming World Champion. Lots of film critics say that the film is very clichéd but I disagree. I disagree because this has a different aura about it as it brings his personal life into it when his wife dies, which really brings out the inner emotions that he is feeling and allows him to strive for his greatness in the boxing world once again. This film also brings about getting revenge on the ones who he blames for his wife's death, and so adds a bitterness to the storyline. My favourite thing about the film was how close we were able to come to the main character and really understand what he is going through.
 The film has some interesting cinematography. During the fight scenes, the director would show the point of view of the protagonist dodging and receiving punches. This puts the viewers in the protagonists shoes, which is very effective. 

Film Rating 7.5/10  

End of Watch Film Analysis - Kye

 Tonight, I watched End of Watch, which is directed by David Ayer. I really liked this movie. This movie is filmed in a documentary style. Different types of cameras are used such as the POV camera's attached to the protagonists, the camcorder that Jake Gyllenhaal's character holds and the police camera that is attached to the police car. I really like found footage films, one of my favourite found footage films is Project X. It allows you to do natural things with the camera, which gives the film an unplanned, documented feel. 
 At the start of the film, there is a locked down shot.  A locked down shot is a shot where the camera is fixed in one position while the action continues off-screen. It shows that life is messy and can not be contained by a camera. I really really like this shot, if I ever become a director and I will, I will use this shot a lot. It will be my signature shot. For our coursework, I actually have something in mind that uses a locked down shot.