Camera

We experimented using camera's we attempted to film a variety of different shots. These included longs shots, close ups, low angles and high angles. I found that panning with the camera's was harder than it looked and it took a steady hand and a few tries to get a steady pan. The tripod stands we used helped this process alot as you can adjust the holdings to let you keep a steady angle, pan or height.

Primary Research

For my primary research I will ask people to fill out my questionnaire which I created on Survey Monkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RXK25ZT
SurveyMonkey is a good site as it allows me to create a questionnaire easily and also lets me to create graphs with the results.

The BBFC

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is what regulates films in britain, the BBFC rates each film's content under its relevance to plot and how appropriate it is for what age group/audience.
The BBFC rates films into the following catorgories: U PG 12 12A 15 18 R18.

15:
15 rated certificate tend to allow moderate violence, gore and sexual activity. However not in explicit circumstances and it must be of relevance. Drug taking is not banned however it cannot be promoted to be seen in a positive way.

18:
18 rated certificates permit a wide range of gore, violence, sexual activity and drug taking (not to be promoted.) The difference between the two certificates lies not in context of themes; mainly in explicity.

Resources:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdf

Adobe Premiere Pro

We began to look at the editing programe, Adobe Premiere Pro. Due to previous experience on the mac computers at digital art GCSE level I had some knowledge of how they work. The interface and the feel of the program is very similar to Adobe After Affects, another program I became familiar with. During the lesson I did began to understand the process of piecing together and editing video clips. Firstly we imported the clips of a previous A-level coursework for the task; we began to order them chronologically and rename them for their relevance. Premiere Pro has a nice editing screen where the clips can be dragged and dropped into for quick and easy "cutting and cropping." Sound can also be implemented ontop of the clips.

The program also offers the features such as how to create titles for the sequence, these titles are then superimposed onto the film clip. We then learnt how to position and intergrate this with other features and transitions such as fades and dissolves. One of the great aspects about this program is the ability to edit the frames per second thus providing precise and accurate editing.

note: *record video of using premiere pro- upload.

Thrillers Overview

The thriller film genre revolves around creating suspense for the audience. The different sub genres begin to follow mixed codes and conventions however a thriller usually tries convey a deeper meaning to the plot.

The director of a thriller may try to interpret a combination of extreme long shots and longs shots to establish the location; or another convention is the use of alot of close ups. The use of this is to convey a sense of importance to the audience.
Furthermore from some of the thrillers ive analysed the directors use of mise en scene can be critical in establishing the genre or sub-genre for the audience. To do this the director may use iconic signifiers to create meaning; one example would be a black and white suit perhaps aligned with the James Bond figure. A director may choose to reinforce these signifiers with other props such as pistols, used to further link into the "james bond" icon.
Other aspects of mise en scene that are often explored in thrillers is the use of low key lighting, I have found that a some of these; specifically crime and pyschological thrillers use this to create a mysterious setting. Furthermore the uses of the colour red, black and white are predominant in thrillers, this is because they connote danger and mystery.

From what ive analysed, thriller films try to use sound to either establish an ambience for the location set in the film and to give a sense of verisimilatude for the audience. Or to create mood for the audience, the village for example used high pitched string instruments to implement an uncomfortable feeling for the viewers. The non diegetic music is often used to build suspense, so instruments such as drums can be used to raise the suspense in the scene.

Editing effects such as fades and dissolves are a common feature in thriller opening sequences. This is because it keeps the pace slow to build suspense. The titles in thrillers are generally superimposed onscreen and tend not to be "in your face." What I mean is that the titles arent usually exploding up into whole screen much like that of a typical action movie. The purpose of this is so that the attention of the audience is not diverted from whats happening in the film.

The feel I get from thriller films is that everything is kept subtle, nothing is over the top. Another thing is that the location does not change too much, if at all. The directors attempt to mix the various aspects of cinematography to help create suspense, interest or mystery.

Walk On The Wild Side

Walk on the Wild Side directed by Edward Dmytryk, opens with a slow zoom into a black cats face - the cats eyes central in the shot. The importance of this could possibly be connoting mystery; an aspect iconic to the thriller genre. The use of low key lighting creates a lot of shadows in the pipework, with the cat cautiously slinking out of the darkness could be semiotic of a devious crime thriller. Binary Opposition is a common feature during thriller openings, the camerawork often positions the black cat against white backgrounds. This could connote that there is a wild side to places and people. The title of the film itself could reflect this; furthermore as the camera is tracking the cats journey it passes past and through a fence, symbolic of someone in the film not restricted by boundaries.

Throughout the sequence the camera is slowly tracking the cats journey. With the non diegetic drumbeat slowly increasing it helps to creates a slow pace to enhance tension; this aspect has been reinforced with the editing, fades have been used to further slow the pace of the opening down. As the cresendo takes hold, and the two cats fight; the edits quicken and the whole sequence is a rush, the two cats fighting could dennote a territorial motive for the plot later in the film.

Casino Royale

Camera

The sequence opens with the iconic shot down the barrel of the gun with the blood slowly dripping down. The genre is established as an action - thriller hybrid when the protagonist (James Bond) turns and shoots at the camera, an effect of this is would be to engage the audience into the film quickly.

Editing

The editing helps to introduce Bond as a protagonist; the opening started in black and white which then turned into full colour after he shot the villain. This could connote that James Bond is dangerous yet mysterious. The use of CGI enhances the opening experience for the audience whilst still conveying meaning. For example the imagery of Bond beating up men and the graphic match of the playing card 7 into 007 shows he is a secret agent.

Mise En Scene


Throughout the extract this theme of violence is reinforced by the gun fights and combat. The director has also chosen to use iconogrophy to help the audience understand what will come later in the narrative, using hearts as bullets, playing cards and casino wheels. The iconogrophy also defines the genre of the film. Items such as guns and the black and white suit are often related to thrillers. To further reinforce the films genre and theme, dark toned colours and reds and blacks are used to symbolize danger and violence.


Sound

The sound in the extract is predominantly the song "You Know My Name" but sounds such as gunshots are used to reinforce the genre and onscreen action. The song itself is quite loud and builds up over the course of the opening, the song reflects the action - thriller genre in the sense that it gets quite explosive however remains meaningful. You know my Name - Bond reintroduced to the public.