Research Blog ( London Has Fallen )

Most people enjoy watching action thrillers because they’re able to experience being in danger without actually being in danger. I felt like the perfect movie to look into was “London Has Fallen,” 2016. It has the perfect amount of danger and thriller. Throughout the entire movie the audience is faced with continuous plot twist.

The camera angles, shots, and movement shots used in this film were high angle, low angle, eye-level, oblique, establishing shots, wide shots, long shots, medium shots, medium close ups, close ups, two shots, three shots, an aerial shot, a point of view shot, zoom, flash shot, tilt, and crane.

The costumes in this film were suit and ties, bullet proof vests, nike sweatsuits, casual everyday attire, military attire, police uniform, red tunics and bearskins, and trench coats. The types of lighting seen in the film is mainly key lighting which to highlight the characters or a specific subject, but they also use natural light, fill light, practical light, hard light, ambient light, and low-key light.The actors used in the film are mainly men, soldiers, secret service guards, common people, and Japanese terrorist.The makeup used in the film are prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques, to make the wombs and injuries look real. The props used are guns, helicopters, masks, cars, flags, computers, monitors, walkie talkies, statues, etc. London has Fallen film locations were London of course, Cutty Sark, Somerset House, Dunsfold Aerodrome, and Big Ben. Sound included in this movie are diegetic sound, sound bridge, dialogue, soundtrack, score, indental music, and pholey.

This film has multiple elements that we can all enjoy. It keeps views on their toes because they never know what is going to happen next. It has a  complex story line and it causes your heart to quicken and you become more alert. The film has a lot of high energy, surprises, physical stunts and activity, fighting scenes, rescues, battles, gunshots, explosions, and big crashes. There wasn’t any elements about the film that I disliked, I loved everything about it. It kept me interested the whole time, and I felt a sense of victory at the end.

Research Blog(Iron man 3)

               We decided to look more into the thriller film genre, by watching movies and listing the common element that associate with the thriller genre found in these movies. The first movie we decided to research was Iron Man 3 it’s a thriller film from 2013. Common Camera angels we noticed in the film Iron man 3 were wide shots, low angle shots,close-ups, chase shots, and zoom ins and outs. Lighting we seen used in this film was Key lighting to highlight the form of the actors.  costumes found in this movie consist of Iron Mans metal suit, men wearing casual black suits, a lot of regular clothing were in there, but Metal-like costumes for the heroes and villains. Common locations found in this movie were in the sky, on earth etc. it was like in between back-and-forth different locations. Set design found in this movie, throughout the movie I will see different sets, for example interior stark mansion, interior stank industries, the bed room, garage, and much more. The common elements of course found in this thriller film were story, plot, character, and setting of course action being included. South included in this film consist of soundtracks, diegetic and non diegetic sounds, incidental music, and scores. We like this movie because it was suspenseful but not too suspenseful, it was interesting and intriguing and it kept me at the end of my seat I wanted to see more. What we did not like about this movie was all the tension. Throughout  the movie it created for me personally, knots in my stomach.

We Decided!

               So far we've researched the 3 genres of musicals, action, and thrillers. Three very contrasting genres of film, all having different effects on their audience. The musical genre being the more family-friendly genre. Appealing to a wider range of people. The thriller, and action genre which have a few similar characteristics, attract viewers with their suspenseful plots. We decided to go with thriller genre. We feel like this genre's characteristics fit with the pitch of our film.

Continuing Genre Blog

The first genre we're going to explore is the Musical genre. A musical is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dancing. It uses humor, love, and anger. Common typed of lighting you would see in a musical consist of spotlights, PAR lights, strip lights, scoop lights, LED stage lights, and Fresnel lanterns. Common camera angles found in musicals are tracking shots, overhead shots, longe sequence shots, close up shots that keep only the full face in frame, and wide angles that let the audience see big group dances. Characteristics of common sounds found in musicals are pitch, loudness, waveform, tone, crecendo, and decrecendo. Movement found in musicals, sonata form which is really simple and enhances the appreciation of classical music. Slow and lyrical with a lilting song like them, and dance like movement. Common Mis En Scene in musicals are bright stage light on individuals, dancing and singing.Elements of u musical consist of timbre, pitch, texture, tempo, duration, structure, dynamics, and silence. Examples of musicals are Manna Mia, Grease, and Hamilton. Musicals are appealing because the represent an escape from everyday life, they are able to heighten passion and emotion through the display of songs and dance.

The second genre we’re going to explore is the thriller genre. A thriller is a suspense film the evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. Lightings used in thriller movies are key lighting, under lighting, and filler light. Common camera angles and shots in thrillers are high angle shots, low angle shots, canted angles, wide shots, and panning shots. Characteristics of common sounds found in the thriller genre, is dark and eerie sounds. The music starts in a slow pace at first whilst gradually speeding up the pace helping to create the tension and build climax.  Common Mis En Scene in thriller, weapons art the common props in fight scenes, which are commonly used to create tension. The thriller genre uses the elements of story(action), plot, character and setting. The story in thrillers uses tension and excitement to stimulate the viewers moods. Examples of this genre consist of Get Out, Taken, Seven, and Unknown. Thriller films are enjoyed because it keeps the audience at the end of their seats and build suspense and tension, it entertains the audience and engages them through the film.

Genre Research

This is a power point, created by my group mates and I explaining the action genre. Including, what components a action movie consists of, example films, and etc. This power point gives a general explanation of the action genre, so that a person learning would be able to understand. After reading our power point you'll be able to spot an action film from a mile away. This sets up the platform of how we will research the other genres. We have decided to research thrillers, and musicals. Two very contrasting genres of movies. 

Choosing Pitch

    Today my group mates and I are going to choose a pitch. There are 3 pitches, but we’ve narrowed them down to two. Hopefully the final decision is an obvious choice. I already have my mind set on one of the pitches. The one I want to do I feel is the best but of course every plan had pros and cons. One of the pitches out of the two we narrowed them down to is “ walking to Walmart with her sister, she has lost while someone is following her, then she gets kidnapped.” The other “ empty parking lot on warehouse, 2-3 girls are robbing a man. With a gun to his head there’s someone in a hidden corner a gunshot go off.” I’m interested to see who votes for what in our final decision. I know it’s going to be a big discussion, since it takes everyone in my group a while to agree.
     So while discussing the first pitch with my group we decided a few things. I personally thought this was a great pitch and that this which should be the one we choose. But my group me pointed out of course some cons about the pitch. This is the scenario in Walmart my group mate pointed out what if Walmart does not allow us to film in their store. Also she pointed out that kidnapping is so cliché, but I recommended we do something to spice it up a little bit. In addition to these cons, we listed the process of doing this pitch. We had the right amount of actors to act out the scene we wanted to do, and we all lived in exact area of the Walmart we were going to shoot at. Moreover, I thought we could do a creative twist on this kidnapping film. I didn’t want to film a cliché and call it day. I wanted to bring something new to the table.
     The second pitch, about the empty parking lot with the warehouse and 2 to 3 girls  I felt was all wrong for a group. I feel really strongly about this decision and I didn’t want to do this pitch. I started to list a whole bunch of cons with this pitch. For example, where are we going to find a warehouse that’s going to let us film, and how are we going to portray us robbing someone. I felt like this page was incomplete. I didn’t see how this could be a whole movie and how the movie was started like this. Then I thought how are we going to get the props for this film if we were to choose this idea, no one had a response. In that moment, I thought it pretty clear what our decision had to be. We had to choose the first pitch idea, since it made more sense than the second one and we could do it more sufficiently. I for one think we made the best choice in choosing the first.

Starting The Final Task

        Hey, it’s me again Jasmine .. the one from September ! Remember? My first blog was about myself and how i’d be interested in media studies. Well, it’s been half a year and I’ve learned a whole lot of new things. I’ve learned about filming, editing, and dumping. A lot of which i’ve improved on since our first project. My filming skills have improved tremendously, and my use of the camera. In these 4 months i’d say i’ve earned the title of director. Not to say i’m the best, but my skills show I really know what i’m doing. Now it’s time to start our final project. I can’t say i’m thrilled, i’m more nervous than anything. This is a big deal, especially since cambridge will be watching out videos. For my final project I will be working in a group with Jalil, Dwana, and Jushe my beautiful classmates.

           I learned how to shoot many different angles since the first project we’ve done. For example high angles. medium shots, close-ups and point of view shots. All of which are used in previous projects. I also was educated on the process of editing. At first I used iMovie to edit, I eventually learned that iMovie was not a good place to edit. The video will come out blurry when I exported it, so I decided to stick to the original, pinnacle studios. Although pinnacle studios takes a long time to load up it is very reliable. I now know how to use pinnacle studios to the best of my abilities. Another skill I did not have the first time I  started taking this class. All in all my film making skills has improved a great extent.
 
           A pitch is an idea where a film is encapsulated in 25 words or less. Usually one sentence. So for the final test my Group mates and I came up with a few pitches for our film. Our first pitch, goes as the following “ walking to Walmart with her sister, she has lost while someone is following her, then she gets kidnapped “ . Our second pitch “ empty parking lot on warehouse, 2-3 girls are robbing a man. With a gun to his head there’s someone in a hidden corner a gunshot go off “ . Our third pitch “ he’s in the bathroom texting his friends that he’s gay and he accidentally copies the whole school on it” .  These  are our three pictures for our film, I personally like the first pitch and hope that’s the one we choose.