Friday, 30 November 2012
Monday, 26 November 2012
Recipe for a James Bond thriller
James Bond thrillers have been around for years and they all follow a certain chain of events and characters that signify them as what they are; Bond's character varies although he always has the same characteristics that make him the sexy, heroic, charming man he is with women falling at his feet. The role of James Bond is a secret agent or 'the good guy' helping to save people. Each Bond film includes one or more beautiful women with whom Bond would incur some sort of love affair with on his tough missions.
Each Bond film has some sort of exciting and exotic location, whether that be somewhere desireable like a beach or beautiful dessert, or even situated on top of arctic mountains - whatever the setting, they are always interesting and keep us intrigued and hooked on whats occuring with Bond.
As if all of this excitement wasn't enough in the Bond films, we cant not highlight the amazing stunts that Bond manages to pull off; jumping out of planes that fly thousands of feet above the ground and surviving, epic car chases and explosions and always managing to come out alive. Bond's unrealistic skills make him even more of an idol than what he is.
One last thing we cant forget - the bond song! Memorable songs such as 'live and let die', 'licence to kill', 'you only live twice', 'diamonds are forever' and the most recent 'sky fall' all help to make James Bond the iconic figure he is, helping to endure popularity in all of the Bond films we know.
Each Bond film has some sort of exciting and exotic location, whether that be somewhere desireable like a beach or beautiful dessert, or even situated on top of arctic mountains - whatever the setting, they are always interesting and keep us intrigued and hooked on whats occuring with Bond.
As if all of this excitement wasn't enough in the Bond films, we cant not highlight the amazing stunts that Bond manages to pull off; jumping out of planes that fly thousands of feet above the ground and surviving, epic car chases and explosions and always managing to come out alive. Bond's unrealistic skills make him even more of an idol than what he is.
One last thing we cant forget - the bond song! Memorable songs such as 'live and let die', 'licence to kill', 'you only live twice', 'diamonds are forever' and the most recent 'sky fall' all help to make James Bond the iconic figure he is, helping to endure popularity in all of the Bond films we know.
Friday, 23 November 2012
North by Northwest
Carry Grant is mistaken for someone who knows government secrets when in fact he is an innocent man. He is kidnapped before escaping and going on a fast paced mission to get away from these men and maintain survival. He meets a beautiful woman whom he begins to have an affair with, this is the macguffin, she fools us into forgetting about what is actually occuring in the film, keeping us hooked and intrigued into the film.
Birds
A young and beautiful Melanie Daniels meets Mitch Brenner by chance in a bird shop. She acts as if she works there in a bid to get to know him. She comes to a realistion that he is looking to purchase birds for his much younger sister. He knows all along that she is bluffing and is intrigued by her actions. When he leaves to visit his mother for the weekend, Melanie goes on a quest to find him and takes some lovebirds with her for his little sister. When she arrives we begin to see a romance blossom between the two of them, as she gets to know his mother and sister she also meets his ex girlfriend, a school teacher who points her in his direction.
Things begin to get strange as all types of birds start to attack, first individuals are left scarred, then the birds arrive in masses attacking large groups of people. An attack is made on Mitch's sisters parts, her school, inside his house and just all over the town in general. People begin to look to Melanie as a scapegoat because the attacks only started when she arrived. The film is fast paced with lots of quick cuts in parts that involve hightened action, to make the viewer feel uncomfortable, but at the same time drawn in.
Things begin to get strange as all types of birds start to attack, first individuals are left scarred, then the birds arrive in masses attacking large groups of people. An attack is made on Mitch's sisters parts, her school, inside his house and just all over the town in general. People begin to look to Melanie as a scapegoat because the attacks only started when she arrived. The film is fast paced with lots of quick cuts in parts that involve hightened action, to make the viewer feel uncomfortable, but at the same time drawn in.
Macguffin
Macguffin's are often used in thrillers to sidetrack the audience. It often makes us forget the reason as to why all of the events we see unfolding actually happen. An example of this occurs in the film 'Birds.' The Macguffin would be the romance that begins to blossom between Melanie and Mitch which makes us almost forget that the main theme of the film is the birds which are attacking the town.
The effect of this is that we are drawn into the film further and then surprised with the memory of what is actually happening. This automatically intrigues the audience and keeps them hanging on to what's going to happen as an outcome of these unpredictable events.
The effect of this is that we are drawn into the film further and then surprised with the memory of what is actually happening. This automatically intrigues the audience and keeps them hanging on to what's going to happen as an outcome of these unpredictable events.
The Manchurian Candidate
This film is a modernised version of the previous Manchurian Candidate made in 1962. The film shows Denzel Washington playing the role of Captain Major Ben Marco. He goes through a tough time as he begins to reminisce what really happened in the Kuwait war that he and his men fought in. Dreams unfold the past and he recalls being hypnotised with his fellow soldiers and then being forced to murder someone. As the story furthers in, we see that a plot had been formed to hypnotise one of Marco's men, Raymond Shaw and make him the first mind controlled president of the US.
Raymond's mother is also in on the scheme as she convinces him that there was no hypnotising involved and that Marco is crazy in thinking so; all the while she is controlling him and getting him to do exactly what she wants.
The film is fast paced and exciting whilst we follow Marco's agonising journey to let everyone know that Raymond Shaw isn't the man everybody thinks he is. We feel frustration for him when everyone looks upon him as crazy and often begin to wonder if he is in fact a little deluded. The film ends with Raymond and his mother being murdered by Marco, through Raymond's choice. We are left feeling slightly baffled and somewhat overwhelmed with all the turns that occur.
Raymond's mother is also in on the scheme as she convinces him that there was no hypnotising involved and that Marco is crazy in thinking so; all the while she is controlling him and getting him to do exactly what she wants.
The film is fast paced and exciting whilst we follow Marco's agonising journey to let everyone know that Raymond Shaw isn't the man everybody thinks he is. We feel frustration for him when everyone looks upon him as crazy and often begin to wonder if he is in fact a little deluded. The film ends with Raymond and his mother being murdered by Marco, through Raymond's choice. We are left feeling slightly baffled and somewhat overwhelmed with all the turns that occur.
Sound
Sound can either be diegetic or non diegetic.
Diegetic - this is sound that we see happening on the screen of the film. Example - people talking, musical instruments/radio we see being played, doors we see being closed.
Non diegetic - sound effects used that aren' actually happening on screen. Example - gun shots - guns wouldn't really be shot, so therefore the sound has to be non diegetic.
There are also on screen or off screen sounds.
On screen - sounds we see happening in front of us.
Off screen - sounds we hear but don't see happening, for example hearing people shouting off screen.
Diegetic - this is sound that we see happening on the screen of the film. Example - people talking, musical instruments/radio we see being played, doors we see being closed.
Non diegetic - sound effects used that aren' actually happening on screen. Example - gun shots - guns wouldn't really be shot, so therefore the sound has to be non diegetic.
There are also on screen or off screen sounds.
On screen - sounds we see happening in front of us.
Off screen - sounds we hear but don't see happening, for example hearing people shouting off screen.
Lighting
There are several different forms of lighting techniques used in filming to create different effects depending on the genre and scene of the film. Different atmospheres and tensions are conjured because of simple lighting changes and techniques.
The camera is usually aimed at the subject who often has a backlight behind them, a reflector/fill light to their right and a key light to their left. The key light is the brightest light and adds brightness. The back light can be used to create silhouettes or counteracts the key light; the filler light softens harsh shadows.
Techniques:
Under lighting - this is often used in horror films to create an eerie effect.
Top lighting - this is used to create a glamorous effect, making the face seem slimmer and softens the skin.
Back lighting - this is used to create silhouettes.
Low key lighting - this forms lots of shadows possibly adding an element of mystery. This is created using only key and back lights.
high key lighting - This is created using more filler lights making things seem more realistic.
The camera is usually aimed at the subject who often has a backlight behind them, a reflector/fill light to their right and a key light to their left. The key light is the brightest light and adds brightness. The back light can be used to create silhouettes or counteracts the key light; the filler light softens harsh shadows.
Techniques:
Under lighting - this is often used in horror films to create an eerie effect.
Top lighting - this is used to create a glamorous effect, making the face seem slimmer and softens the skin.
Back lighting - this is used to create silhouettes.
Low key lighting - this forms lots of shadows possibly adding an element of mystery. This is created using only key and back lights.
high key lighting - This is created using more filler lights making things seem more realistic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)