Film review - Se7en: David Fincher

Se7en- David Fincher

This film follows two detectives who are attempting to capture a serial killer, and sees the effect that it has on there personal lives as they become part of the serial killers game, as he commits murder according to the  seven deadly sins- gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy.

there is a texture to the film that I really liked, although the city that its set in is not specifically named, the relentless rain and dark atmosphere that is consistent throughout the film, with the exception of the end scenes, creates and effective and sometimes overpowering ominous feeling. This is heightened by the brightness of the last scenes, which could be argued to be the darkest of them all. this not only makes the viewer immensely uncomfortable, but when the viewer finds out what in the box, it also heightens the disgust as the scene is almost to bright and happy.

Furthermore the amazing cinematography of the film, by Darius Khondji, added to the intimate and eerie feel of the film.

Generally I would not watch a film like Se7en however, the way the film was made and executed generated the right atmosphere and left me wanting more afterwards.

Interesting Sound Transitions And Techniques

This is a clear example of how music can effect the atmosphere in the scene. the scene starts with quick paced repetitive music that increased the tension, this non-diegetic music continued all the way through the clip, varying in volume, this created a continuous tense atmosphere, which makes the viewer apprehensive.  The music then fades out to only diegetic music and slience again which builds the tension until the sound of shots being fired. The music then  becomes fast paced techno beat, which is synchronous to the images in the scene.

The use of sound in this way, builds tension and anticipation for the viewer as the constant dip and rise in volume implies danger.

Storyboard

 The clip will open on a close up of a alarm, and will pan over a girl who will turn off the alarm and roll over, it will then transition to a slip screen and we will see both the girls standing up and leaving shot, the title will then appears on the. Then there will be a close up of water running, which will pan up to the girls brushing there hair in the mirror.

The camera will the follow the character to the bedroom and wait outside the door, and the character will come back out dressed up. The camera will be at the bottom of the stairs and watch them walking down the stairs.

It will then follow the character into the kitchen where they will prepare there breakfast. Then we will follow the characters out of the kitchen where they will take there coats and leave the house.

it will cut to both the characters going into Starbucks and costa, and then they will comeing out  and walk of shot. this will then transition to both the characters walking on opposite sides of the pavement. it will then transition to a mid-shot of one character say she forgot something, which will lead her to turn around and run, this will be shot on a stedicam and the camera will track her until she bumps into the other character.

One of the characters will says "I am sorry", from a side mid-shot then walk off shot. It will then cut to a shot- reverse-shot of the characters looking at each other. Then it will fade to black.

Film Review - "Hunger Game - Mockingjay Part 2"

The Hunger Games- Mockingjay Part 2: Francis Lawrence (2015)

A few days ago I went to see 'The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 2". As a big Hunger games fan, of both the books and the films, I was quite disappointed by the prequel to the film , ' Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' as there wasn't much action as it was a build up to this film.

However in this film there was a lot of action sequences that where shot very well. Furthermore the tone of the film and the franchises was consistent throughout.

The music transitions and sound effects where really effective, and where appropriate to the scenes.

Overall the film was really enjoyable and the music transitions and sound effects where effective and had a impact in the scenes . 

Trip To The BFI

In November our class went to the BFI to learn more about the course we are taking, here are some pictures....

film location ideas

My film opening will be set in two different houses as well as on a street.

House 1

House 2

Initial film idea

Since i am no longer in a group, I have had to come up with a different film idea, therefore I came up with some thoughts. My main though is that I should do a split screen of two people who are going through there morning routine in the same way, they will then meet. If it was feature length film the characters would fall in love and a stereotypical romantic comedy. some of inspiration is from the john lewis advert from 2012.

Film Inspirations

Rules of Attraction- Roger Avary (2003)

In the Rules Of Attraction, the use of split screen was very smart in showing the audience the relationship between the two main characters, it also shows the personalities of theses characters, in the two minute opening i will attempt to show the similarities and differences between the two main characters.

500 Days Of Summer- Marc Webb (2009)

In 500 Days Of Summer the uses of split screen shows Tom's reality in comparison to his expectation. I liked this clip because the shots are very  and very different, showing the two sides of reality and imagination. I want to attempt to show my characters as very different people with similar shot types.

Changing plans

Due to some problems my group have now separated and I am working on my own.

I am now trying to think of some new film ideas.

Filming Timetable

We have established which days we will be filming on and they are as follows:

• Saturday 14th November- we will film some establishing shots of Central London
• Saturday 21st November- we will film all external Central London shots such as by St. Paul's Cathedral, Parliament, the Millenium Bridge, the London Eye and the Shard as well as the shot on the train into London. 
• Sunday 22nd November- we will film all internal shots from the start of the film opening as our protagonist gets ready for her job interview, the location for this will be my house.
• Monday 23rd November- we will film the final few shots including an external of Enfield Civic Centre to establish that the location of the interview is a professional building. We will also film inside our school on Monday for the final few internal shots.

Asda Storyboard

A few week ago Asda came to film at our school. we are looking at examples of storyboarding. This is Asda's storyboard for the advert.

Shot Ideas

My group and I discussed our ideas about shot composition, and ideas. We decided to write down our ideas.

The Usual Suspects Opening Scene

I haven't seen The Usual Suspect before, however it is  highly critically acclaimed. At first I didn't understand the opening, which could be a credit to the film as it left me asking questions about what was happening. However the film opening did not capture any of my emotion and make me like or dislike any characters. Overall I believe the film opening was effective as it left the audience asking questions.

Coursework Task and Assessment Criteria

Assessment:

 Blog:

Evaluation:

Gogglebox

Our group did a Gogglebox, analysing clips from British T.V shows, this helped are group hone our editing skills.

Setting Ideas

currently my group are planning where we where going to film, and these are some of the ideas:

we are planning to start in one of our group members houses, and then we plan on filming some scenes on the tube or underground.

After that we plan on filming our main protagonist walking through London, and see some of London's major landmarks.

Furthermore we are planning to film in Enfield, and in particular outside the civic Center.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E review

The Man From U.N.C.L.E review

Last week I saw The Man From U.N.C.L.E, a film directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, and Hugh Grant. The film displays a CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin, in early 1960's participating in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

I found the film quite predictable at moments and it was a classic take on the a spy and action film. The beginning of the film is a high speed car chase, which was full of quick shots that kept the pace of the movie going. This fast pace travels all the way through the film with all the action packed fight scenes. There where some negative aspects such as the story line was quite predictable and some of the subplots didn't make sense.  However overall it was a good film that delivered what the title and trailer promised.

Mac 5 Update Vlog

Research Questionnaire

Research Questionnaire

I asked a few people to take part in a video questionnaire to give me a better understanding of what genre people prefer and might want to see as the opening from my group.

In conclusion the most popular movie genre was horror, which is not the genre we have chosen to do, however there was a question asking about the thriller genre , the response was positive, with most people saying that they would watch a thriller film.

Film Making Techniques

Film Making Techniques

This video should be helpful to me, by giving me techniques in regards to film making

Mac 5 Film Opening Idea

Mac 5 Film Opening Idea

Our Prelim

Our Prelim

This video will be used in the future as a comparison, to display how far we have come with the whole film making process. Moreover the making of this short clip was a chance for my group to practice film making techniques as well as editing.

Editing Techniques

1) UP

The benefit of having a montage scene is compacting a length of time into a few short minutes, this can progress the story without waisting much time. Furthermore it can give significant information that might be pivotal to the plot and to the the viewers understanding.

2) X-men Days Of Future Past

Slow motion can add emphasis, and ramp up anticipation. It can be used to build up emotional intensity and tension in a scene. In this scene there is a element of comedy, that is intensified by the use of slow motion.

3) 500 days of summer

Split screen editing techniques can be used to force audiences to concentrate, making the choice on which side to commit the most attention to. It can also be used to tell stories in different points of views, or to show the emotions of different characters. The use of a split screen, that makes the audience become the view, who in this case is Tom, makes us feel sympathy and empathy for Tom. The expectation vs reality shows how Tom imagined the day to be, and the audience feels disappointment when it does not turn out like that.

5 Films With Interesting Openings

1) Birdman Or (The unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance)

I think that Birdman has one of the most interesting openings of a movie, not only because of the sound that plays in the background, that builds suspense, but  also the unexpected establishing shot that make the viewer anticipate the coming film. 

2) Gone Girl
(gone girl opening scenes)

I really love the opening to Gone Girl because it quickly foreshadows the twisted nature of this film, also the voice over of Nick Dunn, which is cold and clause, before the credits have finished makes the view antiseptic the film. Furthermore the close up of Amy Dunn's face make a very shocking and and quite creepy opening, which gives it a scary feel.

3) Whiplash

The beginning of Whiplash is interesting, because it builds suspense with the simple credits and the monotonous beat of the drum that slowly picks up. The establishing first shot which was a long shot of Miles Teller playing the drums that slowly comes closer adds to the tension of the scene, which also foreshadows the rest of the high tension film.

4) The Social Network

The Social Network's opening scene is very interesting, because of the simplicity of the scene, which is a over the shoulder two shot. the quick pace at which the characters speak adds a new element to the simplicity of the shot and makes the viewer have to keep up with the conversation.

5) Lion King

The Lion King is an iconic opening that has a rousing musical number that starts the montage called the circle of life, it shows all the animals in the animal kingdom, and foreshadows the magnitude of the movie.  

Our First Vlog

Our first vlog

My Media Experience So Far

My favourite Actor Tom Hardy, because he's really great in action movies 

My favourite memorable line from a film, is the Jokers line in the 'Dark Night', directed my Christopher Nolan. I like the line because, it is the moment that you realise that the joker is truly insane.

My favourite movie is Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher, adapted from a book of the same name by Gillian Flynn.

My favrourtie opening to a movie is gone girl because it forshaodws the darkness that will be in the rest of the movie. Also the opening and ending to the movie are the same but they are shot in diffrent brightnesses.

The film location that I would love to live in is Narnia, because it is full of magical creatures and I think I would fit right in.

A gadget I would like to have from a movie is a transporter from Star Trek, beacuse it would get me places quickly.