Source Code

Source Code

Director:
Duncan Jones

Writer
Ben Ripley

Starring
Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga


Plot:
This film is about a man is in a room and is put in the same situation numerous times to try and save a bomb from going off. The soldier wakes in the body of this man on the train and has to try and stop the bomb from going off and trying to find who planted the bomb as there is rumours that another bomb is going to go off in another part of America. His mission is to save the people on the train and to stop further explosions from going on.

The storyline also has humorous effects to it. This is a rate kind of thriller as it keeps you on the edge of your seat with all of the action scenes but can easily give you a laugh. One example of a humorous moment in the film is when Jake goes back into the scene and already knows what is going to happen as it has happened times before. For example, coffee gets spilled over him in every scene and he manages to stop this and this amazes Michelle. We can also see the chemistry between Jake and Michelle as the audience get a good laugh from them. There is a good use of romance, suspense, mystery and thrills in this film which makes it a well made film.

Cinematography is used well in this film as he shots are used consistently throughout the same scenes and there are a lot of close up scenes which show the emotions of the characters.

The ending is a good ending to the film as it answers a few questions but also leaves more questions to be answered. This is a good way to end a film because it makes the audience really think about the film even after it is finished so it would make the audience more interested in the film.






I think that this trailer is pretty effective as the storyline is made clear and the trailer isn't boring. The trailer isn't boring because there are a lot of action scenes within the trailer, Also,we get to know a lot about what is going to happen within the film. It has been edited well because the action scenes are edited really quickly and action scenes are supposed to be edited quickly to keep the audience interested in what is going on. The target audience is probably young male teenagers and young male adults because there are a lot of action scenes and explosions which would appeal to this target audience as this is what they would enjoy.





This is the opening 5 minutes of the film. The film starts with a man called Sean waking up on a train while Christina is talking to him. Sean gets confused when Christina calls him Sean because he doesn't go by that name. He says that his name is Captain Stevens but Christina laughs it off. Sean is seen to be looking around the train observing the surroundings which includes coffee being spilt on his shoe and being asked for his ticket. He doesn't really pay much attention to what she is saying. He says he feels sick and walks around the train looking around and asking random questions. He then goes into the bathroom and sees a different man in the mirror and gets confused. He goes back to sit with Christina and she gets worried about him. The train then explodes to end the scene killing everyone.




This is a video which describes how the train scenes were made. The director is talking about how he wanted to use techniques from Hitchcock films. This is made clear on the train scenes as the scenes from Source Code and Strangers On A Train are looked to be very similar. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal is wearing a suit much like the men in Strangers On A Train. They decided to film the train scenes on a set rather than an actual train because the event is revisited so that everything can stay the same which would include the backgrounds and so that the audience wouldn't get bored.




This is a scene from the film in which Sean calls a man called Donald Stevens and talks to him about how his son unfortunately died during war. Sean says how he knew his son well from the war and from working together. We then hear how Donald gets emotional and tells Sean that he loves his son. This scene is very emotional because of the background music is very soft and made to make the audience feel sorry for Sean and Donald. Also, the close up shots of Seans face show that he is emotional and that he is close to tears.




This is the last scene of the film and it opens up the possibility of a sequel. This is because that Sean finds out more about the Source Code which nobody else knew about and this knowledge could be used in a possible sequel film.

Collateral

Collateral  - 2004 A crime thriller

Directed by:
Michael Mann

Written by:
Stuart Beattie

Starring:
Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jade Pinkett Smith







This film was co produced by DreamWorks and Paramount Studios. DreamWorks handled the rights to this film in North America whereas Paramount handled the rights to this film internationally everywhere else. In 2006, when Paramount purchased DreamWorks and therefore aquired the North American rights to this film. Paramount released Collateral on blu ray on March 30th 2010.


The film opened August 6th 2004 in 3188 theatres across USA and Canada and grossed $24.7 million in the opening weekend and was number 1 at the box office. It eventually grossed $101,005,703 across USA and Canada and grossed a total of $116,758,588 across other countries for a total international gross of $217,764,291.




Plot:

Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) is a cab driver who dreams of having his own limo company one day. He's been a cab driver for the last 12 years and that's how he makes his living. He picks up a woman called Annie (Jade Pinkett Smith). He drives her downtown to her destination and then moves on. His next customer is a man called Vincent (Tom Cruise). Vincent offers Max $700 to make only 5 stops and then driving him to the airport. Max thinks this is a very good deal and can't refuse. Max takes Vincent to the first stop and waits in the car while Vincent goes into the building. Max sits in the car and sees a dead body fall out of the window. Max learns that Vincent is a calculating assassin and that these 5 stops will consist of Vincent killing people. Max hates the idea of driving Vincent round but is almost bullied into driving him round. Max tries to say no to Vincent but he is forced into driving him round because of the threat that Vincent makes when he says that he would kill him. The police learn of Vincent and Max's involvement in the killings and this creates a typical cat and mouse game which then delivers a surprise ending.


This film was Michael Manns' first feature film to be mostly shot using high definition cameras. Michael Mann decided to use the Viper Film Stream High - Definition Camera to film most of the scenes in this film. It was the first time this camera had been used in a major motion picture. However, there are some scenes where there is evidence that a digital camera is used. For example, in the scenes where the landscape is visible in the background.

A good use of camera technique is the scene where the coyotes are seen to be running across the road. The low light capability allowed Mann to be able film this scene without having to set up lighting.

This scene was shot using 35mm film.


Collateral was sat on DreamWorks development for 3 years. Mimi Leder was supposed to be the director but then he pulled out. Janusz Kaminski was then supposed to direct it but then he pulled out so it then went to Michael Mann. It was initially Russell Crowes' idea to get Michael Mann as the director but there was constant delays with the film so Russell Crow eventually left. Michael Mann then approached Tom Cruise with the idea of playing Vincent and also wanted Adam Sandler to be Max. Robert De Niro was also a contender to play Max but the studio refused as they wanted a younger actor.

Collateral started getting public attention when Russell Crowe said that he was interested in playing the role of Vincent. He didn't get this role and instead it went to Tom Cruise.

This scene is where the police make Max stop the taxi because he has a smashed windshield and blood on the windshield. The police question Max about why his windshield is smashed and why it has blood on it and why there is a food mess in the car. Cinematography is used well in this scene because there are plenty of close ups which show Max's face as he stutters a lot and has to think of excuses to why his windscreen is smashed. There is a body in the trunk of the car as the police want the trunk to be opened and Max has to do everything he can to stop the trunk from being opened.






This is a scene where Max and Vincent visit the hospital to visit Max's mum, Ida. Vincent buys his mum flowers because she is in hospital. Ida and Vincent have a conversation about Max while he is in the room with them. Vincent refers to himself as a friend of Max's rather than a client. The irony of this scene is when Ida says "You'd have to put a gun to his head to get him to do anything". This dialogue is ironic because when she says this, Vincent and Max exchange looks because Vincent actually does put a gun to Max's head earlier in the film and obviously Ida doesn't know about this.

Past Student Thriller Analysis

Before I start filming my own opening to a thriller, I am going to be analysing past thrillers which have been done by students of Robert Clack. By doing this, I should be able to get ideas on how to make my film look as good as possible, and how to avoid making mistakes. I am going to be analysing 3 different films and am going to be answering the following questions about them:

Does it look like the opening of a film?
Can you see any "thriller" conventions?
Have they made good use of mise-en-scene?
Is there a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound?
Have they made any technical mistakes (e.g. poor lighting, shaky camera)?
Is the quality of the performance at a high level?


After answering these questions, I shall be grading the film based on these numbers:

4- Excellent
3- Proficient
2- Minimal
1- Basic

Treachery

I think that this could be seen as the opening to a thriller but it could be also seen as a possible trailer.
One of the conventions of a thriller is a cliffhanger and that is seen in this thriller as the film ends with a cliffhanger of what's going to happen and who is actually going to die as two people are seen to be tied up. I think they have made good use of the mise-en-scene as there is alot of darkness in this thriller and darkness is a key point of a thriller because of the negative mood that it suggests. I think that they have made good use of the diegetic and non diegetic sound. For example, the diegetic sound is used well and you can hear it the boys voice that he doesn't want to kill anymore. An example of non-diegetic sound which is used well is the background music as it creates the mood of danger and that something bad is going to happen. When I watched this, I was able to spot a few technical mistakes that they made. One mistake that they made is at 0:33, when the girl is giving the picture to the boy. When she speaks, it is hard to hear what she is actually saying as the audio levels are really low. Another technical mistake that is made in this film is at 0:43 when there is a shot of the boy looking at the picture and thinking. We see a slight camera movement to the left which is a technical mistake. All things considered, I think this film is a good film but it could be improved.

Rating: High 2/Low 3


Finders Keepers




I think that this opening to a thriller has been mad very well as it contains many elements of a thriller. For example, it has the MacGuffin in where the first man in the suit goes into his pocket to pull out what the audience might think is a gun but he actually pulls out a mobile phone. A cliffhanger is also used well at the end of the thriller as the audience will want to know what is going to happen next with the 3 men who end the scene. I also think they have made good use of the misc-en-scene as the men in the suits look very convincing and very business like. They also used the chase scene very well. There is good use of non diegetic sound with the music in the background which creates the suspense within the film. However, I feel that there should be more diegetic sounds in terms of speech etc. I wasn't able to find any technical mistakes. All things considered, I think that this is a very good opening.

Rating 4


Hidden




I think that this is a decent opening to a thriller. They have used a lot of darkness which signifies danger which is what a thriller is supposed to be. I also think they have mood use of the misc-en-scene as the villain is wearing dark clothes which shows that he is mysterious and the audience don't know anything about him. I also think the sound is used well as the background music in the opening parts of the scene gives off a calm mood but at the same time, still seems like something bad might happen. Also, the scream at the end of the film is a good use as it shows the fear of the girl in the film and gives the audience the impression that she is in trouble. Also, the film ends on a cliffhanger with this scene as the audience want to know what happens to the girl at the end of the film. There was no technical mistakes, but I feel that more use of a MacGuffin and more different shots would make this film better.

Rating 3

Preliminary Task - The Unsuspected

Plot

Our story is about John (Carl), who gets called into the room to have a chat with the head teacher (Freddie). John then gets paranoid because he thinks that the head teacher knows about his involvement with a year 7 who has died. The head teacher doesn't even know about this so he asks John about what happened. John starts to panic lots and tells the story of how the Year 7 kid tripped and how there was blood everywhere. John denies that he killed him and tells the head teacher that he wasn't sure what to do at the time of events. He says that he tried to help the little kid but was so in shock by the whole situation and that he didn't know what to do. John is heard stuttering his words and being a bit shaky with his hands. The head teacher then reveals that the only reason why he wanted to see John was because he had been bunking his classes but then takes an interest into the Year 7 situation. John then realises this and attempt to escape the classroom but the head teacher grabs his arm and attempts to find out more about the situation. John then quickly runs out of the classroom, almost tripping over, and then runs away from the classroom as the head teacher follows him. As John is running away, someone is walking along the corridor. John then bumps into him/her and quickly runs off again. The head teacher walks out and warns him/her to not say anything about what they have seen and then follows John again. The film ends with the mystery person walking off down the corridor as the camera fades to the credits.

In our film, we used a match on action right at the beginning of the film. The match on action happens when John is seen opening the door and entering the room where the camera is placed on the outside of the classroom. The camera is then placed inside the classroom and shows John entering the room in the same way as the previous scene. In both scenes, the first scene led on to the second scene.

We also used the shot reverse shot in our film. This happened in the dialogue scenes between John and the head teacher in where the camera would change sides depending on who was talking. For example, if the head teacher was talking, then there would be an over the shoulder shot showing John's head and shoulders and then we would see the head teacher talking. We feel that this made the film more interesting to watch instead of just using one camera angle for the whole conversation.

Also, in our film, we didn't break the 180 degree rule. We filmed the whole film from one side of the room which means that the head teacher always was on the left side of the screen and John was on the right side of the screen.

Unfortunately, we wasn't able to include an eye line match but we did try and do it but we felt that it wouldn't work very well. We tried filming a scene in where the camera was where the head teacher was sitting and then John was looking directly into the camera and talking to the camera (head teacher). After watching it back, we feel that it felt more like an interview then a film so we decided to cut that out.

Overall, we feel that we did this preliminary exercise pretty well as we included most of the techniques that we have learnt about. If we was to do this again, we would try and include an eye line match that would fit in with our story.

Style Of Editing

What is Style of Editing?

Style of Editing is the way in which two different shots are linked together. Style of editing is the transition from one shot to another. There are different types of transitions and these are:

1. The Straight Cut    -This is the most common type of transition in which the shots are linked together instantly. These shots are used to create the sense of realism. Even though the video above is an example of "Shot Reverse Shot", I find it to be a good example of the straight cut as straight cuts are used lots in this scene.

1. Dissolve - This transition is used when one scene fades out while one scene fades in. This transition is used to create fluidity within the shots. When a dissolve transition is used, there is a time where you can see both scenes at the same. The transition can be used to show a passing of time or to link two characters, objects or places.

 

 1. Fade - This transition is used to show a longer passing of time. This transition is also used lots to show the end of films/tv shows. A transition is only considered to be a fade when you can see a clear black or white screen as seen in the video above.

 

Speed Of Editing

Speed of Editing

The speed of editing can have a great impact on the mood that a film is trying to present. For example, if each shot is 3+seconds long, this is done to show character development and for the audience can learn about the characters and their ways of life. We learn about the characters characteristics and their personalities. On the other hand, if there are shots which are a second or maybe even less, they would be used to show fast paced action scenes as it shows the struggle of the characters that would be fighting. It is designed to give the audience the “on the edge of your seat” experience as everything is happening so quickly and the audience have to take it all in very quickly. 

Casino Royale Example

This scene starts off with a few long shots of the building which is designed to build the mood. These shots are pretty long in length and build the mood pretty well. The audience can tell that it is dark and that something doesn’t seem right. We also get shots of Bond which are edited slowly. This is designed so the audience can learn as much about Bond as possible. The audience do learn that he is a very calm and organized spy. He always seems to know what he is doing. Later on in this video, we see a flashback of Bond and a man fighting inside a bathroom. This scene is edited really fast because it shows fast paced action and shows the struggle of both characters. It is designed to put the audience on the edge of their seat and make them wonder about what is going to happen next. We can also tell that Bond can be very violent when needed and knows how to protect himself from potential attacks.

 

Russian Ark Example

 

This video is a trailer to the film “Russian Ark”. The extraordinary thing about this film is that it was shot using one steady camera using only one take. The film lasted 96 minutes and was filmed in one go using no editing at all. The whole film was shot displaying 33 rooms of the museum, which where all filled with over 2,000 actors and 3 orchestras. While this is a very good achievement to film an entire film in one go, the lack of editing in this film is a downfall as the mood stays the same throughout the film and nothing really makes it that amazing. Due to the lack of editing, some people would find this to be boring because of the lack of action.

Continuity Editing

In Class, we have recently learned about Continuity Editing and the different types of editing that are used in film making.


Shot Reverse Shot



This video shows an example of a shot reverse shot. This type of continuity editing is usually used when people are having conversations. This editing uses the same two over the shoulder shots and are used to show when people are speaking and are alternately changed depending on who is speaking. For example, in the video above, when the woman is speaking, the camera is placed over the shoulder of the man. When the man is speaking, the camera is placed over the shoulder of the woman.


Eyeline Match





This video shows an example of an eyeline match. An eyeline match is when you see one shot of a character where you see they are looking at something, and then in the next shot, you get to see what they are looking at. For example, in the video we see that the woman is looking at something and the next shot is a shot of the people in the white suits which prove that, that was what she was looking at.


Graphic Match





A graphic match is two shots which provide a transition from one object to another. For this to work, the two objects must be similar in size, shape and colour. In the example video above, the graphic match is when the bone transitions into the spaceship as they are the similar shape. This graphic match shows the passing of time.


Match on action




Match on action shot is when there are two shots and we see a character perform the same task in both shots but from different examples. For example, in the video above, we see the people running into the building with the camera on the outside. The next shot shows the people running into the building but this time with the camera inside the building.



180 Degree Rule




The 180 degree rule is a rule in which once a shot has been made, the positioning of the characters within the scene should not change. For example, in the above scene, the woman is on the left and the man is on the right. Throughout the whole scene, this relationship must be the same as the camera isn't allowed to "cross the line". If the rule was broken, the man and woman would swap sides which would cause confusing for the viewers.

Mise-en-Scene

Mise-en-scene 

Mise-en-Scene is a simple French term which means in the scene or frame

There are 5 main elements to the Mise-en-Scene 

1. Settings and Props
2. Costume, Hair and Make Up
3. Facial expressions and Body language
4. Lighting and Colour
5. Positioning of characters and objects within the frame.

These elements can often tell the audience what kind of personality a certain character has. It can also foreshadow future events. 

For example, in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, this scene here is a use of Mise-en-Scene. From this screenshot, we can see a use of foreshadowing on the character of Norman Bates. From the screenshot below, we can see that behind him, there is stuffed wild birds and pictures of naked women. This is a use of foreshadowing because later in the film we learn that Norman actually attacks Melanie while she is naked in the shower. This is foreshadowed as there is a naked woman in the screenshot below, and the birds on the wall look wild and are predators. This foreshadows and proves that Norman Bates is a sexual predator. The element of Mise-en-Scene that is used most effectively is the, positioning of characters and objects within the frame as the positioning of Norman and the props behind, prove that he is a sexual predator. 

In Mise-en-Scene, colour is split up into two different categories: Denotation and Connotation

Denotation - The literal description of an concept or object
Connotation - The description that we associate with a concept or object.

Colour is used specifically to create a specific mood.

For example, the colour red can be use to create certain moods. It could be used to create a mood of love and romance. People could associate this because a lot of things to do with love are usually red. For example, hearts, roses etc. On the other hand, the colour red could also create the mood of danger and violence. People could associate this because blood is red and people could think that there could be violence about to happen because there is usually blood when violence happens.

Birds

Birds 1963

 119 min  -  Horror | Thriller

 Director:

 Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

 Daphne Du Maurier (story), 

 Evan Hunter (screenplay)

 Stars:

 Rod Taylor, 

 Tippi Hedren 

 Suzanne Pleshette

         Birds is about a woman called Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) who travels to San Francisco to find a man called Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). They start to develop a relationship. However, as time goes on, they start to notice a lot of weird things that are going on particularly to do with birds. It starts off with a seagull killing itself by crashing itself against a front door of which Melanie notices, and then at a childrens party the next day, a flock of seagulls attack the children. After that, the birds start to attack just about everyone and anyone. The seagulls begin to turn incredibly violent and start killing people in more numbers. 

         Birds is an archetypal thriller as it contains many aspects of what a thriller film should be. For example, in the film, there is a lot of suspense, excitement and tension through the film. The birds create the tension and suspense during the film as you never know who or when they are gonna attack and if they are going to kill anyone or not. Also, a common feature of Alfred Hitchcock's films, there is nowhere to hide, and this is apparent in Birds which also creates more suspense. Thrillers also keep the viewers on the edge of the seat about what it is about to happen next and Birds achieves this. The threat of this film is from nature (birds) and not human.  It is also a fast paced film as the birds attack really fast and fly down really fast as seen in this scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D15HPy4x73g&list=PL46FB178E8BEABAB8

         Also, in most films, the story ends with resourceful heroes who  thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. This is not true in this case because there isn't really a hero as such and the villains (the birds) never go away. The "heroes"never thwart the plans of the birds. 

         Also, in Birds, Alfred Hitchcock uses the use of dramatic irony to build up the suspense and tension. In this scene, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydLJtKlVVZw&list=PL46FB178E8BEABAB8  Hitchcock uses dramatic irony. Dramatic Irony is when the audience knows something that the character does not know. In this scene, Melanie is having a cigarette while sitting down, and behind her, birds are flying and grouping together on a railing and Melanie is unaware of this. The viewers see that the birds are gaining in numbers while Melanie is unaware. This creates suspense as the audience know that something bad is going to happen while the character has no idea what is going on. Hitchcock also doesn't use the traditional "The End" slide to signify the end of the movie as he wants to give off the idea that there is no end to the terrifying terror that the birds provide.

         A Macguffin is a plot element is a storyline which is not the main storyline and often doesn't get finished and doesn't get a definite answer. Sometimes, the first storyline in a film is the Macguffin. For example, in Birds the Macguffin in the film is the first storyline. The storyline starts off with the audience wondering if Melanie and Mitch are going to get into a romantic relationship together, but that obviously isn't the main storyline of this film. By the time of the end of the film, the Macguffin storyline between Melanie and Mitch is left unanswered and just left alone.

          At the film's premiere date, as people made their way out of the theaters  Hitchcock had speakers which were put in trees, and he played birds noises out of them to give the audience quite a scare.

         Hitchcock says thrillers allow the audience, "to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like." He achieves this in this movie as nothing like this was ever seen before and the people who watched the film were genuinely terrified of it, so they was almost going through the same emotions as what the characters in the film were feeling.