Tuesday 27 March 2012

Thriller Evaluation - Harrison Twinn

IMDB and BBFC Certification



Paramount Pictures might want to distribute our film. Paramount distributes films with dynamic such as 'Top Gun'. 'Twice' has a dynamic feel to it and has a sort of uniqueness to it.

Software and Equipment


Final Cut Express helped me learn about how to create dynamic scenes using transitions such as cross-dissolve and to use quick cuts during the editing process. One of its drawbacks that we had to solve was its incompatibility with other cameras other than what we have been provided with.


GarageBand was useful for using loops that were provided that were appropriate for our footage. Changing the tones and reverbs for the instruments were also a very useful feature to have as a plus for our thriller. One drawback was that it was hard for us to synchronize the soundtrack in time with the film.
The HD camera and tripod that were provided for us were very easy to handle and operate. The quality is also a big plus. One problem with it maybe is that the tripod wouldn't be very useful in limited spaces.

Magazine and Review


Total Film Magazine might be one example that could include our film in a review. On the cover of this magazine is 'Inception' which has the subconscious as a key element in the film which is similar to ours. Like the cover of this magazine, our sequence is set in a dark setting but it uses ordinary things, such as a building, and turns it into something extraordinary, which is the title. This is one thriller convention and our sequence has this kind of level of supernaturalism. This magazine tends to have sub-genre films on the cover as well. 'Inception' is an Action/Thriller. 'Twice' can be considered both Thriller and Crime/Detective. And just like 'Inception' our sequence has some unique element to it which is also what this magazine might go for.
This magazine includes films within its contents that seem to fit within the age range from 12A-15. I would consider our sequence to be around the age range of 15.
Because this magazine likes films that are blockbusters or are very interesting and clever, such as 'Inception', they do tend to exaggerate them more than any other magazine (e.g. bad language etc). I would consider our film to have an interesting plot and an interesting enigma to be on the cover on this magazine.

Review - 'Twice' comes to cinemas with a thrilling twist that will have you asking for answers. Caesar is the main character in this story, or as we would see it, the protagonist...but for how long? Alongside him, is Cain, the antagonist, who is the manifestation of Caesar's darker side, and the one responsible for causing insanity to fill your wide-screen cinemas with a disturbance that will have you praying for no nightmares anytime soon. The reason for this you ask? The answer...the horrible turmoil that Caesar has been put through by his suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder. And because of this, Cain takes a full advantage on his host and pushes Caesar to do his immoral bidding. From quick cuts and static screens in editing to reverbs and echoes in sound to the symbolistic images of light and darkness (good and evil), 'Twice' will have you on the edge of your seat with enigmas and complicated webs that will have you baffled. So, for how long will our protagonist play his beliefs of peace and non-violence as the pacifist? Will he play his role the whole way through? Or will his true, hidden self bring out the evil thoughts into action by the knife that he carries? And also, what is Cain's goal and how long will he keep it up before the law catches up? So many questions...the answers? Well...see for yourself...

Representation of Social Group

Twice

In 'Twice', our thriller opening sequence includes the social group that relates to people with disorders such as Schizophrenia or hallucinations. We represented this by using a second actor to be the split-personality of the protagonist, who is the antagonist or the doppelgänger . The antagonist wears black clothing to represent the darker side of the protagonist. At the end of our sequence the antagonist drives the protagonist to insanity through harsh ways to force him into immoral decisions. We represented this particular social group, because it gave an insight into what people who had any of these symptoms of a particular disorder were feeling and experiencing.

Black Swan


Similar to our thriller opening sequence, 'Black Swan' also uses the idea of a doppelgänger to represent a split-personality in the main character, which in this film, like ours, is a darker side to the character. Also, it is similar to our sequence in the way that the main character is forced mentally by the other self.

Real Individual


The real individual who would have a disorder that was represented in our sequence would have these symptoms and would be driven to any path that the disorder leads the sufferer to. In our sequence, we only outlined one aspect of what schizophrenia can cause, but in reality, this kind of illness can give many outcomes.

Thriller and Opening Sequence Conventions

For the conventions of the opening sequence, we included the credits for each role that were given to a particular member of the group and we used them during fade outs throughout the sequence to give some suspense to it as it went along. Also, we placed the title at the end so that the audience can understand its purpose after seeing the sequence.


Also, we used images in the credits and sometimes the footage in the sequence to set up and develop the enigma for our narrative. We did this with flickering images so that we could give it a representation of the mind, which was represented as somewhat vivid, yet unclear at the same time. And because they were images that resembled scans or x-rays, the flickering could represent the flickering backlight that a hospital would traditionally use to show these images.


Normally, the antagonist would be carrying a weapon, such as a knife, to kill his victim. But instead, we made the protagonist to carry the knife in our sequence. So, in this case, we challenged this convention because we wanted to give a conversion to the protagonist so that at the end of the sequence he will become the antagonist, the same as his subconscious.


The unknown figure was also another thriller convention that we have used. The shot that best shows this, is this shot, because the darker spot in the carpet shop is where the antagonist is standing, and not only does it flesh his character out as being evil, it also contributes to hiding his identity away from the audience. This shot almost looks as if the darkness is creeping up to the protagonist, who is in the light.


And lastly, another key convention we used in our thriller opening was of the 'Achilles Heel' of the protagonist being exploited by the antagonist. In this shot, the subconscious (the antagonist) is seen in its insane state, which in this case belongs to the protagonist. This not only reveals the weakness of the protagonist, but it also fleshes it out with a different perspective, being a dark setting and a character that expresses the insanity within the protagonist.

Prezi - From Preliminary Task to Final Thriller Opening Sequence


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