TEA Essay-Component II-Question I

ESSAY
The authors/ directors vision, or simply the thought that they wanted to portray was, there is possibly
an impending issue, and they want the viewer to witness the severity of this , through the characters. 
The objective is to portray a mood/ tone, being serious, which is definitively seen through the ways the author/ director had filmed.

Firstly, the author is trying to convey the serious tone/ mood, in the first scene through a couple of
different mediums. One being a specific shot to set the tone. This was the medium closeups (which can
 also be considered a two shot) of the two focus characters (main characters in the extract), showing
 their facial expressions, to emphasize the severity of what they are doing. In this scene one can clearly
 see how focused they are at the destination ahead, not taking their gaze upon it away once. The other
medium the author uses to convey their theme was through the use of music. The authors’ use of
incidental music throughout this scene as a whole is also a definitive indicator to the tone. The score in
 general for this almost always compliments the scene, and is only used a tool to amplify certain moods,
 tones, or an atmosphere that the author/ directors want to have.
Moreover, the incidental music goes hand in hand with the establishing shot used to show where the
next scene would take place. This was done to build suspense and keep the viewer at the edge of their
 seat, wondering what is to come next. All in all, creating the notion that what is to come will be of high
importance. This can be seen, or rather heard as the music then intensifies as we are then shown a
zoom out shot of the destination the boat is arriving to.
Furthermore, when it comes to the scene with the three men, it can be seen that author wants to build
an atmosphere full of tension.  This is done through a few ways. One, being a lack of music – the lack
a soundtrack making the scene more eerie, and leaving room for a break in silence to capture the
viewers attention, which actually then happens as the door opens and the three men enter the room
from the other side. Another, method used to set up the tension was having the scene consist of
 multiple pauses —the pauses were stepping stones to other events to capture attention, bringing
awareness, forcing the viewer to think about what has happened, and what is possibly going to take
place shortly after. The author/ director also utilizes reaction shots to build tension. An example of this
is when the two men are in the room talking and then they pause (like previously stated) to see what
was going on, which was a reaction to the three men entering the room. This was to get the viewers
asking themselves ‘what is going on?’ or ‘what is about to happen?’ which is a very effective way of build
 that tension, to grab the viewer’ s attention. This all plays into the authors main goal of setting up a
 serious tone, especially with other things such as closeups on characters when they are angry to
emphasize this, an example being when the man (on the side of the two men, them being face forward)
on the left yelling at the speaker of the three men; and then, shortly after the speaker keeping his
 composure, which can be seen, enraging the man even more to an extent.

Ultimately, The authors vision, being expressed through various tactics such as specific shots, and the
choice of music, was to portray that there is an impending issue, and want the viewer to witness the
severity of this, through the characters. The mood/ tone being serious, being the actual objective when
it comes to setting an atmosphere, or having an impact on the viewer.

Sound & Mis en scene worksheet

Name: Preace Maxi K      M
Title of Extract:  Game of Thrones Period: 7

Just list what you observe, no explanation needed.
You may use the back if you see more then 10.

Sound

1. Incidental music

2. Ambient sound

3. Diegetic sound

4. Sound motif

5. Dialouge

6. Sound Bridge

7. Lack of sound

8. Non diegetic sound

9.

10

Mis En Scene

1. Archaic setting

2. Solemn tone

3. City of grandeur

4. Open seas

5. Captivating setting

6. Noble bank

7. Medival costumes/ make up

8. Dark lighting

9. Pauses in scene which sort of created tension

10. visible anger in shots

CAM worksheet

Name: Preace Maxi K      M
Title of Extract: Game of Thrones Period: 7

Just list what you observe, no explanation needed.
You may use the back if you see more then 10.

Camera Angles, Movement, Shots

1. Establishing shot

2. Wide shot

3. Two shot

4. Zoom out

5. High Angle

6. Medium Closeup

7. Overhead/ aerial shot

8. Closeup

9. Pan

10 Tilt

Editing

1. Cutaway

2. Cross Cutting

3. Eye line match

4. Shot reverse shot

5. Jump cut

6. Reaction shot

7. Sweetening

8. Focus in/out

9. Reference shot

10.

TEA worksheet

Name: Preace Maxi K      M
Title of Extract: Game of Thrones Extract Period:  7


1. Theme of Extract
As you watch the extract the first time (when you are not allowed to write) figure out the theme and meaning behind the extract. It should be summed up in 4-5 sentences.

The theme that the author was trying to convey, was the overall desperation of the two travelers. This was due to them meeting with the three people of importance. They had close ups on their faces, showing how serious they were; also, of the two traveling men, one was shown as impatient as well. This is seen by the pacing back and forth.







2. Pick 8 Terms from your list. 2 from each area. Write them down here.
1. Overhead shot.

2. Establishing shot

3. Two shot

4. Mid close up

5. Wide shot

6. Tracking shot

7. Close up

8. Incidental music

3. Write down the Example of how your Term was used in the Extract.

1. Overhead shot of the boat

2. Establishing shot of the place they arrived, on the boat.
3. Two shot of the two traveling men in the chamber (room area), before the three other men arrived.

4. Mid close up of the man in the middle of the three sitting down.

5. Wide shot of all the men gathered at the tabled.

6. The men walking out , was filmed with a tracking shot.

7. Close up of the (of the two travelers) man claimed to be a lord.

8. Incidental music on the boat.
4. Write down the Analysis of why the Term and the Example helps construct meaning within the theme that you came up with.
1. Overhead shot to show what to focus of the scene was, that being the boat.

2. This establishing shot was to show where the next scene would take place.

3. To focus in on the conversation that they are having

4.Mid closeup of the man to isolate him, and give attention to him as the speaker, of the three.

5.Showing, that they are having a discussion.

6.This tracking shot was used to introduce the three men.

7. This closeup of the mans face was to emphasize his emotion, or the severity he felt toward the situation.

8.The incidental music was used to set the mood, of “seriousness”.


5. Write a complete sentences using your T.E.A.. Put together your Term, Example and Analysis to make a complete sentence.
1. Using the overhead shot of the boat, in the beginning of the scene, its purpose was to put the viewers focus onto to as it gradually crept into the scene.


2. The use of the establishing shot of the place they arrived at while onboard the boat (with the large statue) was to set the grounds of the next scene, indicating where that scene would take place


3. The two shot of the two traveling men in the chamber, was used to bring the attention of the viewer to the conversation that they were having.


4. The mid closeup shot of the man sitting in the middle chair, of the three men, was used to signify him as the speaker of all three, or as the leader.


5. The wide shot off all the men wat once was used to capture the discussion amongst them.


6. The tracking shot of the three men entering the room was to introduce their presence.


7. Of the two men on the boat were we first introduced to, the one referred to as a lord, a closeup on his face was used to show his intense emotions.


8. The incidental music in the background, while the two men were on board the boat was used to set the mood/ tone / atmosphere, emphasizing the severity of what was to come at the place they were traveling to.

Music Video

If I were to speak truthfully, this project right here is our best work. My partner and I had gotten super lucky, as the store managers were nice enough to let us film. Especially for the thrift store, where the manager agreed to push me in the shopping cart. We actually like to go back and visit sometimes, just to chat with him, and personally for me, to see whether any decent hats turn up. The production was far better than anything else we shot,  and just looked better due to camera we used honestly.

Final: Trailer

Our trailer.
THIS PROJECTS POTENTIAL WAS HELD BACK SEVERELY.
Though its ok, and we managed to get things done, enough to the point where it is completed. Sadly, while a deadly virus dangers the world.
Even though this may be the case, due to the numerous times that i have rewatched this trailer, i always think about what could have been done better. Like what was filmed for example. We wanted to use a better quality camera; however, it was too late.

Gatorade Commercial

This was our Gatorade Commercial, one of our very first assignments in this journey.
When I look back, I see how things could've have been better... allot better.
If I were to be honest, we were using a subpar editing software, and barely knew how to use it as well. On top of that, I didn't really know how to handle a camera that well either at the time. ALONG WITH THE CAMERA ITS SELF, being one of those old, default school technology that they pass out to everyone.

CCR Questions

These here are the answers to the CCR questions. As you can see, I was not able to record my self four question #4, which I was assigned, as I actually did the job that would best formulate an a--when it comes to editing the video and using hardware, software, and online technologies, or resources. This was due to the unfortunate passing of a family member (not due to the virus).

Final: Final Touches

Coming to an agreement, we decided that rewriting without refilming would be our best bet with the Coronavirus at large. We put some final touches, like fixing typos (for example , our first opening title said “GWAM Studios Presnets” instead of Presents, and most of the titles were not really centered the best aswell), and things of the like. Ultimately it was pretty uneventful, and I wish things could have been different as, it is being said that our school will be closed for the rest of the year. Which is kind of sad since we are all seniors, they said that we won’t be able to hold the annual traditional events like Prom, GradBash, and that we probably will not hold a Graduation (where people walk across the stage and are handed there diploma, we will still graduate though). It’s Truly disappointing, though we did show the film to people that we knew to see whether they approved of our trailer. It’s the best we could do. Sadly.... 

Final: Re-Film

Sadly, our production pace has been intercepted by the Impending Coranavirus outbreak. We were told to stay inside to protect our selves from sickness. This goes against our jobs of refilling and editing. Our group was supposed to go out and refill the scene we had to fix the lighting problems we came across when reviewing the final product of our film/ trailer; though, it seems we may not have the chance to act on this notion so to the national guidance given my president Donald Trump to quarantine. Due to this, are group came to the agreement that we would just have to cut our losses and re-edit the footage we have already and fix the lighting problems digitally.

Final: Planning

We’ve been talking as a group, though no plans of, or meeting in general have happened. This Corona virus has a big effect on what we’re doing. It alarming that there’s a possibility that we could catch it, Though, we  were told that us young folk shouldn’t have a single word in the world. Pretty uneventful  today, however we will get the ball rolling shortly!

Final: Music

For the music used in the trailer (since I was the one editing the film), I went on YouTube and found some free (royalty free) music. All I really had to do was search up " royalty free ominous music". In the description of the video, I remember seeing the creator saying that they didn't have to be contacted, or asked for permission to use the audio, and that anyone can do whatever they pleased with it.

Final: Another Uneventful day

Today we did nothing as a group; however we did brainstorm (when doing the peer review) when we would meet up together to do our next filming session. After that, we decided what we didn’t like about our first trailer, the parts we would take out, and things to consider when making the improved version. Those things being certain shots( and the specifics on how they will be taken), and possibly locations. Hardware was a thought aswell.

Final: Peer review

On the Tuesday that had just passed, my group members  reviewed another groups film. They had a really god idea (when it comes to story), though their portrayal need a little work. Ultimately, they did an nice job. It started off with a girl holding a donut to celebrate something ( I birthday I assume), then cut to her being chased by a masked man. The film trailer then cuts to a scene where she helps up a friend (which could have honestly been executed better), where they are chased and murdered. Though the thing is it is all a vision, she is then attacked by the same man though dragged away, as a sort of alternate version. I really liked this idea, and hope they could better their production.

Final: editing blog (post 1st successful film)

After our first successful filming day, we decided what were were to do in the future, today. We began slight editing on the  initial film we compiled; subsequently after reviewing what could and could not be used. The footage (what was put together) was compressed, and then shared among us all. Not to long after that we analyzed it as a team. There wasn't really much going on today since each group member had their own busy schedule; however, apart from this , we planned on meeting again on Sunday to get more filming accomplished.

Final: First successful filming

We finally managed to get past all our obstacles. It did not seem it were going to be executed today; but, it happened. Our group filmed. One of our memebers , who was the main one setting up the event for today, did not show up to school, suprisingly. We thought we were not going to get anything done again; however, this wasn’t the case as they texted us that we were in the green to come over to their house and film. We even recruited an actor. They’re name is Lucas. He help with the filming, aspects today. Thought we did not recorded any scenes with him as of yet, we are taking his presence into consideration. To be frank, he himself offered his help. We filmed the two date scenes from our storyboards. Us group members,  found ourself changing, or tweaking a few things within the storyboard in addition to that. Hopefully we will be able to get things done. Though more frequently. We plan on taking another filming day tomorrow to keep the momentum going.

A group memeber and I stopped by a local Wendy’s for some food before going to film.

Final: Blog (filming)

My group and I were not able to get anything done today sadly. Though we had taken this into consideration; that being, whenever we were not able to link up. This time for our lack of assembly, we were hindered by the bad weather. That can be seen with the picture provided below. It started to rain. This was a frequent annoyance. It was also apart of the reason why we could not film last time either, apart from ourr group memebers having busy schedules. The weather was a major setback for our filming plans. Especially since it was on a school day/ night. To make up for this delay in our plan, we schedule to film next week. Hopefully we will not have to face anymore road blocks. We did, however, manage to compile a list of supplies we would need for our filming purposes. In this list, we wrote down what things we need. That being the props , and general items need to actually film as well, and also what costumes we were to wear. Although, in our case, the “costumes” are just regular clothing anyone would wear normally.

Final: Storyboard

My Partners and I came to the conclusion on what would actually take place with in the film, resulting in the final draft of our storyboard. We had various versions , though decided to go with this one. Our theme is thriller so we focused on scenes that would create a mysterious tone, to uphold the suspense that most thriller movies have. Though we have a specific structure for how we want to film, based off the storyboard, there is he possibility of us changing a few scenes to our liking. Or to better the film as a whole.

4th thriller movie blog

CAMS: The film itself, states that there’s been an apocalypse.  Thus, throughout the movie there’s a variety of tilts, and pans not only to show the scenery, but to emphasize the extent of the movie itself that there is no one present beside the one family.  There are close ups as well so the audience may see the emotions the actors are portraying when the monsters are coming or are already there.  There’s a cross cutting to boost the intensity of the scene alongside jumpcut.  There are a plethora of reaction shots, when something drastic happens; reason being the three monsters that have taken over have severe hearing and thus the smallest sound attracts them. 

CLAMPS: The costumes are your typical everyday clothing, minus shoes because they have to be extremely quiet.  Where shoes will create unnecessary noise that could possibly put their lives at risk.  In the beginning of the movie there were basic lighting to compliment the scenery.  The basics being if it were morning then there was the sun, and when night fell it was dark.  When inside of a store there was natural lighting from the sun while in the house when night fell the family used candles and flashlights when necessary.  Towards the middle to the end of the movie, the lighting was increased.  There were lights in areas so that if a member was in danger the lights will turn red. To notify everyone else about the danger that lurked about.  Every actor is unique in their own way thus they all hold that fear and caution inside of them for no one knows when the creatures will strike nor their exact locations.  The makeup was natural for the majority, except when the actors had tears streaming down or sweat across their faces.  The props that were mainly used were those of survival.  Everything they came in contact with was to ensure their safety for however long they have to be there. The setting took place in a town post-apocalypse. 

Final: Title Design

Our group decided on what our Opening titles would look like. We did not spend too much time figuring out what we wanted as we all had , basically, the same idea as to what we envisioned. We looked at different fonts, and contrast. Went over the spacing, and the working titles. Currently everything is set in motion to continue; though, there may be the chance that something may need to be augmented to keep hings on track, or to adjust to our liking more.

Final: Location, Participants, Health, Schedule

For our final assignment, we started to brainstorm the next set of things to actually initiate the creation of our film. Those things being the key components that make up a film.  The location(s), people who are participating (actors, or people behind the scenes), safety precautions that uphold the health and well being of everyone onset, or that is simply involved, and the creation of the schedule to set dates for doing what needs to be done. We're on firm standing ground when it comes to the things we want to do; however, when it comes to the execution for somethings( for example filming), taking in consideration, that some individual group members may not be free while the others are, we have a dilemma. Hopefully, this will not hinder our group work.

Final: Shooting script

When trying to create suspense, one has to take into account what take makes people anxious, or jumpy , as one would say. My team came up with certain actions that create the suspense needed for a thriller. Or most thrillers, as not all contain what we put in ours. We included things like  prolonged murder; this, along with dragging dead bodies to dispose of them, creates a sense of impatience , that keeps the viewer at he edge of their seat dying to know what happens next. Scenes like covering an unsuspecting persons mouth by surprise also does a good job of creating suspense, through quick little jump scares as well. Ultimately, when the sound is added to what will be filmed based of the actions in the script, it will do a great job of  embodying the "Thriller" genre.

Final: Sound Script

My group mates and had finally came up with, the basis for how the film would carry out. Within this sound script, there isn't much talking. However this okay, due to our genre: Thriller. We are focused on building suspense. Luckily that does not require much dialogue to execute. We plan on doing this with certain sounds. Things like, ominous music, and incidental music. When this comes into play with the visuals we have so far, it comes together quite nicely; of course, despite the low quality of our storyboard. We are sure the end result will be nothing short of amazing; or, at least good.




               

Opening title blog: Down With love

It's 1962, and feminist Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) pens a best-selling book that details the drawbacks of love. She encourages women to forgo serious relationships with men in favor of independence, workplace achievements and satisfying sex. Despite her success, many men are taken aback by her progressive views, including slick writer Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), who decides to expose Barbara as a fraud by making her fall in love with him. However, his plan has unexpected consequences. This opening has 15 titles.

Opening title blog: The Final Destination

Consisting of  only 14 titles (when bunching up the actors as a singes title, if not it were to be around 21, the final destination is a film about the most unlucky people who find themselves in situations of certain death. This films main title sequence (opening titles) prioritizes the suspense, or even horror that is given off by the movie by showing , x-ray clips of people dying in various , and not to mention, horrible ways such as getting stabbed in the bead by nails or a ladder falling and crushing someone in the head, or a pipe piercing through the back of someones head. They create an enigma with the characters of the film as this could be the foreshadowing of people who may day in the film later on, showing how they will die. since this is a more sensitive, its safe t say the target audience would be he more mature, and not for the little ones. The technology used to create the 3d models for this sequence was used really well in capturing the suspense and loss of comfort one would get from viewing such gory images.

Opening title blog: X-Men First Class

This title sequence was very clever, when taking in consideration what the film is about. having around 21 tittles (production companies, roles people played (actor, ex lead in sound) The movie x-men is about  mutated humans who have unique body capabilities allowing then supernatural abilities no one could imagine, Since the main characters are mutated, the opening title sequence showcases Human chromosomes going under weird changes symbolizing those of the x-men. This also creates an enigma for those apart of the x-men , who are also referred  to as mutants. There was an excellent use of editing software technology to created the reoccurring glitches and transitions which kept the title sequence engaging. This is to prioritize the mysterious sense of what they x-men are.

Opening title blog: Are we done yet

Within the title sequence for Are we done yet, there were a total of 30 titles ( when only taking into consideration the unique headings of specific roles that were played when it comes to the production of the movie. The technology used to create a eye capturing animation , which would most likely be targeted towards the younger generations, prioritizing a comedic sense, through the enigma of the character played by Ice Cube, Nick Persons, as he is a conflicting character. One who had ill intentions for the other characters close them , then acquiring a relation with them.

Watch the titles! website blog

Sadly, Art of the Title did not work for me anymore; moreover, an error page now pops up when ever I search it up or type the URL in. Thankfully, it wasn't the only website our instructors had referenced us to. The next website we were given was Watch the titles; and by the looks of it, its safe to say that it is more visually pleasing then the short lived glory shown by Art of the Title. Just like Art of the Title, Watch the Titles is a website that allows the user to view a vast collection of main titles/ opening title sequences, with varying impacts on film culture.

Art of the tile website blog

Upon the completion of the thriller movie blogs of A quiet place, Bird Box, Parasite, and A fall from grace, we were  told that out next objective would be to observe the opening sequences to movies, and analyze the titles that are within them; As to why were were given this website "Art of the title". Art of the title is a website that has a collection of opening title sequences , one can watch, to a plethora of movies. Within the website, one can skim through the selection of movie thumbnail one can watch, or even read up on articles. Its a very quick, and efficient way to find the title sequence of movies. Especially for the recent assignment my classmates and I have received not to long ago.

3rd thriller movie blog

A Fall From Grace



CAMS
The premise of this movie is  to get a woman who was viewed as guilty of a crime, with overwhelming evidence against her , to be seen as innocent. So much that the woman who was accused of the crime ,at first, wanted to confess about the crime, and  plea guilty for the deal of a lesser punishment. The camera angles, or rather the camera work in general, isn’t anything special, and the quality of the film could honestly be better. The film looks like, based on the quality, a youtube video  rather than a film. There are a few establishing shots, eyeline matches though, but overall, one can   see the overwhelming low quality for a film at this caliber. 



CLAMPS

The Costumes were basic clothing , normal everyday people would wear; nothing that stood out, same goes for the characters in the film, except for one who seemed to be a little psychotic. The lighting was for the most part the same throughout the movie, even when  there where darker parts, like when it became night time, overall no significant lighting effects, apart from this one scene where fireflies were edited in; which, goes hand in hand with the acting. In this particular scene the second main character, was supposed to act as if the fireflies were around them, and that they were grabbing one which did not look believable. The acting as a whole seemed forced, and unnatural  in some scenes, where you could tell the actors were not good at presenting certain emotions. Also, there was a background character who made their pretend eating to noticeable. Furthermore, there was no makeup that seemed out of the ordinary. the only makeup that was seen was what normal women would wear to “enhance” their looks in the real world, and (in the movie) it was most likely used to make one of the characters look a certain way , as they went from a beautiful woman , to a prisoner. The props in the movie were mainly items one would expect to see in a certain area, or on a person, for example, the 2nd main character wearing handcuffs in jail, and her husband who was a photographer that would have a camera with them. The scenery, was almost  ALWAYS, constricted, and felt as if there was no freedom to roam, like a play. For more than half of the movie, they were always in a small room , or building.



SOUND: The sound in this movie played a big role and eased the lack of essence in the characters/ actors. The non-diegetic sound, which was music, helped set the tone, or mood for certain scenes, and at some points saved certain scenes, like when Shanon/ Maurice acts angrily towards his wife Grace, though he does a good job of acting tender or friendly, which was amplified by the non-diegetic sound. The diegetic sound was incorporated into the non diegetic to TRY and make things suspenseful; which, this movie did not execute well for the first hour.



EDITING: The editing was honestly average to subpar, and looked low quality, along some frequent parts in the movie. The cuts, sound bridges , and things of the like were okay, Though when it came to special effects, like the firefly scene with Grace and Shanon/Maurice, it did not look like professional work, though it could be due to a low budget.



ELEMENTS OF GENRE: Elements of the thriller genre mainly focus on building suspense. The wonder of “what happens next” to a character keeps the audience hooked on the story. To effectively have thriller, the audience must have to know a possible end goal of what the protagonist is journeying up towards. The addition of time sensitivity helps push the pace and anticipation of the film. Finally, the story must progress in difficulty for the protagonist. Increase antagonistic forces must be presented for the audience to stay intrigued in the plot.



Positives:

The movie’s message resonated with a lot of women, and could be used as a sort of, source of empowerment.




Negatives:

The acting felt unnatural at times


Some effects were low quality


The scenery changed frequently, though felt like being in a box.


The plot was predictable.


This movie takes way too long to get interesting.


A fall from Grace, did not do a very good job of portraying a Thriller.

2nd thriller movie blog

CLAMPS: The costumes for this movie is fairly basic. The characters wear regular, age appropriate clothing and give off the perfect suburban city vibe. Obviously, the park family dresses in more expensive clothing than the Kim family, whose clothes are slightly ragged. Lighting in this movie is discriminatory, here’s why. The Kim family is portrayed to be living in the slums of South Korea, so the lighting has a hue of mustard yellow to truly encapsulate the dirty and mangy environment they live in. The Park family, however lives in a mansion who lighting directly deifies the Park family. The actors in this movie are all Korean and the movie is subtitled in Korean and directed by a Korean director. All in all, the acting in this movie is pretty spot on as the characters perfectly embody their character’s quirks and social normalities. No absurd amount of makeup is used unless it is used for blood or damage effects. Props in the movie mainly shows the wealth and poverty of the two families. The Park family’s porcelain and Range Rover are used to show their immense wealth, whereas the Kim family uses disposable and fairly second hand items and eat junk food. Scenery in the movie is the most impressive when displaying the Park family mansion. All the extravagant items and architecture accurately presents what the 1% would own. The Kim family, however, lives in a basement in direct line to fumigations, floods, and drunk urinators, all of which are used to paint the decrepit environment of the Kim’s.



Sound: The non-diegetic sound used in this movie are mainly eerie. In one scene where the Kim family discovers a couple living in the Park family basement, the scene is blanketed with anticipatory music before the reveal of the couple. In chase scenes, the score is upbeat and meant to parallel the distress the characters are feeling, with the audience. As for diegetic sound, it is interlaced with non-diegetic to further build the suspense of the scene. Sound is also essential in the story telling of this movie and events are preceded by a confirmatory sound effect.



Editing: The editing in this film primarily is meant to show the class division of the two families. There are parallel shots of the two families essentially doing the same things, but split in between to further emphasize the divide. Not until the two families converge, does the shots begin to distort as the two’s polarity starts to clash and is shown by frantic cuts and dramatic zoom ins.



Elements of the genre:  Elements of the thriller genre mainly focus on building suspense. The wonder of “what happens next” to a character keeps the audience hooked on the story. To effectively have thriller, the audience must have to know a possible end goal of what the protagonist is journeying up towards. The addition of time sensitivity helps push the pace and anticipation of the film. Finally, the story must progress in difficulty for the protagonist. Increase antagonistic forces must be presented for the audience to stay intrigued in the plot.



Positives:

The movie had an extremely interesting plot and theme of class diversity.


The cast was completely Korean and this is good for international cinema.


Almost all the scenes have symbolic meaning to them.


Acting was convincing and moving.


Structure of the story progression was unique.


The ending was truly impressive.




Negatives:



No real negatives except that one needs to understand Korean or read subtitles to understand the movie.

1st thriller movie blog

Genre Research: Bird Box

CAMS: The movie features many pans to show scenery.
Bird Box also likes to use close-ups and extreme close-ups to show the morphing of the character's eyes when they see the "monster".
This movie also uses wide shots to show the aftermath of the "monster" hitting initially.
Then it is followed by low angles to show bodies on the ground and how lifeless the scene is after disaster hits.
Medium close-ups and close-ups are used to show reaction, especially fear.
Throughout the film, they use a POV shot where the camera is covered with a blindfold.
Over the shoulder, shots were also prevalent throughout to show vulnerable conversations between people.
Lastly, throughout the film, they cut back to the river with an aerial shot to show how long the journey is on the river. 

CLAMPS: Costumes are normal everyday clothing.
Some people are highlighted in a more blue-toned outfit to show the significance of their characters.
Lighting is very bright because the outside is very important to highlight as it accounts for all the deaths in the movie.
Actors are all very diverse with different personalities to show the end of the world unlikely opportunity that these people would ever meet.
Makeup is very natural or in the later scenes they emphasize how dirty the people are from being out on their own for so long.
Props include blindfolds as they hold a deep significance to the plot.
Additionally, there are other normal survival props for the plight they face in the movie.
The setting is barren California with some post-apocalyptic houses and other infrastructure.

Sound: This movie featured many examples of diegetic sound in outside scenes like wind, leaves rustling and water rushing down a river.
Non-diegetic sounds are also featured like a whispering noise that is supposed to represent the presence of the "monster" in the film.
In addition, birds chirping are also a significant part of the plot where if the birds go crazy with shrieks then the "monster" is present.
The dialogue was used throughout this movie to illustrate the disagreements, pain, and spread of ideas in the midst of a disaster. 

Editing: Bird Box is full of many abrupt cuts between shots to add suspense and speed in scenes of action.
This movie also features added text during the river shots to show how much time has passed.
In the middle of the plot, they used a cross cut-in to show what's happening on the river and related activities in the past.
Cut-aways show the build-up during the rapids scene. 

Elements of the genre:  This movie is considered a thriller because it displays scenes of action, drama, and fear.
This movie shows characters to you and makes you close to them as they face the perils of this unknown "monster".
Bird Box gives the audience a sense of uncertainty as the plot unfolds.

There are aspects of terror and tension with certain scenes that are compensated by sweeter and more vulnerable scenes,
for character development. 

Things I liked: I enjoyed this movie very much as I felt it was unconventionally quaint.
As horrible as some of the scenes were with graphic tragedies the movie stilled ended with a happy and hopeful ending.
Even though the main character truly went through it all and lost so much.
I also enjoyed the cinematography of some of the shots with how beautiful they were.
No shot was too over the top as it was simple but showed the truth to the characters shown.
Finally, I enjoyed that they never showed the “monster” ,
which added to its mystery and terror because you can never fully understand it’s capabilities. 

Things I didn't like: I did not enjoy some of the decisions the character's made in the plot.
I felt they would've learned their lesson with some of the previous tragedies experienced.
In the end, I feel that this was more of a personal issue and the directors added things like this to frustrate the audience,
in the spirit of a true Thriller.