11/11/2012- Research into Thriller Openings


Se7en




Se7en (1995) (Dir. David Fincher)

  As research for my thriller opening, I viewed the title sequence for the dark mystery/thriller Se7en. The opening sequence has a dark, grainy look and shows a seemingly random sequence of pages/drawings being read or scanned, as well as a mans hands piercing the fingertips with needles and the writing of a letter and other strange events.
These images give across the feel of a disturbed mystery with lots of puzzles and riddles to be solved and sets the tense thriller atmosphere perfectly.
The names are in a scrawly, handwriting style font which again gives an edgy feel.

Panic Room





Panic Room (2002) (Dir. David Fincher)

  I also viewed the opening to the 2002 thriller Panic Room. in the opening it shows panning shots of New York with the titles in capital, 3D letters that look like part of the buildings. The main thriller influence from the sequence is the tense orchestral music that foreshadows suspense- it is obvious that soundtrack plays a large part in the effect of an opening sequence.

The Shining





The Shining (1980) (Dir. Stanley Kubrick)

  The opening sequence for thriller/horror film The Shining is a series of long, sweeping birds eye view/high angle shots of massive lakes, mountains and forests, which then goes on to track a small yellow VW Beetle on the winding road. This isolated feeling as well as the foreboding brass/orchestral music creates suspense and tension. The titles are in very simple block fonts.

10/10/12 BBFC - British Board of Film Classification

  

The BBFC is the organisation that is responsible for the classification and rating of all film and games released in the UK. They base the rating upon content involving drugs, violence, gore, sex, horror etc to give an accurate measure of who should and shouldn't be allowed to view the media. 

9/10/12 RESEARCH INTO BRITISH FILM

As part of my research into British Film I have chosen 3 British films that were released within the last 18 months. (2011-2012)

Blitz

Blitz-2011 (Dir. Elliot Lester, source Google Images)

Blitz is an edgy British crime thriller set in the gritty backstreets of East London. This immediately attracts an London audience as it is relate-able in both place and that it is about a violent killers crime spree against the London Police (which it shows the inner workings of), with many real to life situations and scenes. 
Secondly, this film attracts a large audience mainly in part due to the fact that Jason Statham is the main character and is a very good and well known actor, and always appears in edgy or action films, therefore in the audiences' mind they can presume what the film will be like and many will go to see it because they are fans of Jason Statham. 
The crime genre also coincides with the first 2 points as London goes very well with gritty crime (e.g Layer Cake) as does Jason Statham. The main poster/image used for advertising the film shows Statham looking strong and brooding with the backdrop of a grey London (hence the crime) and holding a gun, immediately portraying action and violence.
Sources- Wikipedia, Google Images, Netflix

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-2011 (Dir. Tomas Alfredson)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a riveting spy thriller set during the Cold War, with MI6 and Russian spy's going head to head in international espionage. 
As it is a film based on Le Carre's novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy it immediately attracts those who have either read the novel or are Le Carre fans.
Also, the all star cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt and Tom Hardy brings a large audience as these revered actors are renowned for making riveting films- many will go because of the cast line up.
The scenario/genre itself is also very popular, both the Spy and espionage genre, as well as the Cold War era (as it is one of the most popular time periods from a film perspective, e.g Red Dawn) , and both go hand in hand. Spy films, especially those involving MI6 (James Bond) have always been popular and especially recently, and the Cold War drama has also been a stalwart setting for tense superpower standoffs and covert operations.
This means it can reach both a UK audience but also a much larger international audience with its array of actors as well as its storyline.
Sources-IMDB

It also has its own interactive website ( http://tinker-tailor-soldier-spy.com/paralax.htm#research ) with information about the film, as well as the ability to buy the film on Blu-ray and DVD from the site. 

The Inbetweeners Movie

The Inbetweeners Movie-2011 (Dir. Ben Palmer)

The Inbetweeners Movie is an addition to the largely popular coming-of-age comedy series The Inbetweeners. In it, four boys that we have been with through 3 series go to Malia for a summer of partying, drinking and frolicking, but not all goes as planned.
The large percentage of the audience who went will have gone because of the previous television series, which was very popular amongst teenagers and young adults as it dealt with the issues of growing up, school, parents, sex, booze & drugs, all in a light hearted and comedic fashion. 
As the audience will be mostly comprised of, if not all teenagers, and therefore the audience who hadnt seen the series will have gone because it is one of the typical teenage dreams, to go abroad to a hot country and party for  weeks on end, and this is almost like a real life tour. 
Sources-IMDB

5/10/12

Today we watched Chariots of Fire (1984) and examined how:
-Vangelis's music impacted on how the beach running scene is viewed as being heroic/angelic
-The two main characters, Liddell and Abrahams, are positioned as outsiders
-The British management/establishment of the time is represented, e.g Cambridge regimenting and tradition
-how cut outs are used to link between scenes

5/10/12 MY GADGETs

Today I started my media blog. We did a short task on our favourite media devices and gadgets.