Lord of War Title Timeline Analysis

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Production Company and Ident

A production company is a company which helps to create the film. Things that a production company can help with when creating a film are budgeting which is essentially getting the money together for the production of the film. They also assist with casting and what this is is when people are casted to find the right actors for the characters of the film, they must be sure to find the best talent possible so that the film is the best it can be and the actors are as realistic and talented as possible in respect of things such as budget. They deal with scheduling which is simply scheduling the filming of the shots needed to make the film and this could be which shots are going to be filmed on each day and the timings of the filming of each shot as there are strict schedules when filming to create a film as they have a release date to work to which they have to get the film together and ready by. Scripting is also a thing that the production company deal with and this is what each character says and also at what times, this scripting will be given to all the cast members and they will have the lines which they have to learn. Not only this but they also have the responsibility of finding a director which both fits the film and also will want to actually be the director of the film.

A production company will oversee the film from start to finish and this is from when it is just an idea to the completion of the film. Having the production company oversee the film from idea to completion will mean that they can have a good input to the film and be able to provide things such as finance for the film even in its early days.

The production company also have liabilities which will fall on them and these are things which could go wrong with the film and the filming of the film. For example if an actor were to be doing some form of stunt and the equipment used wasn’t either set up correctly or just wasn’t safe and the actor became hurt due to the improper equipment then the production company would be responsible for anything that went wrong. This could make them legally liable and could cause them to face legal trouble.

Production company ident

An effective production company ident should have a number of different things and the first one being a soundtrack which makes it different to other idents and one that also attracts the viewers’ attention.  The animation should also have aspects which attract the viewers’ attention meaning it not just a still image and it should be moving in some way. Lighting is also essential in the production company ident being effective as it makes it stand out to the viewer and make it clearly seen making it more memorable for the viewer.

 

Lionsgate is an effective production company ident and the reason for this is due to the fact that. Firstly there is a moving animation within the ident and this is also effective as this can change depending on the film that it is at the start of. This therefore makes the ident more interesting for the viewer as it’s not just the same animation for every film they are Production Company for. The lighting for the ident is good as well which makes the animation well seen to the viewer and also helps to highlight the name of the production company which makes it stand out to the viewer.

The production company we would be using would be Lions Gate Entertainment. This production company’s headquarters is based in Santa Monica, California. The reason why we would use Lions Gate is due to the fact that this production company has made a number of good thrillers from “Inception” to “Lord of War” meaning that they have good experience in making thrillers and would be able to give us the right help and guidance we would need to make a good thriller. Having the production company based in the US could prove to be a problem however there is no problem with them coming to the UK in our eyes.  The way that the thriller would be funded is by having the Lions Gate get the funds together for our film and we would also invest some money ourselves.

 

Sound

Sound

When it comes to sound we will be using a soundtrack which we have found on YouTube which is royalty free which means that we can use this without any copyright issues. We will also use sound effects and recorded sounds within the thriller opening.

The first sound effect that we will use within our opening will be a match being struck as this and this match will be seen accompanied with the title ‘In Association with DMLN’. This will then be followed by an image match of a cigarette being lit by a match in the first shot of the opening titles. After this has been seen the soundtrack we have found will then start.

Our soundtrack is very stylistic of a thriller soundtrack and the reason for this is because it contains orchestral instruments which provide build up and in turn providing a tension and building up aspect to the soundtrack. There is also a heavy beat in the background of the soundtrack which really adds to the atmosphere of the soundtrack. The heavy beat in the background also helps to add to the pace of the soundtrack which helps to really gain the audience’s attention. Our inspiration for liking this soundtrack was from The Bourne franchise of films and especially Bourne Ultimatum where we found that our track was similar to a track which we really liked within the Bourne film. This soundtrack that we were inspired by contains the same elements as the soundtrack we will be using as it contains orchestral instruments which help to create tension and a heavy beat which creates pace and attracts the viewers’ attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkgr4Q2SXY0

Mad Max Fury Road Opening Title Analysis

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Thriller Pitch Notes

Thriller pitch

The pitch includes 8 slides and is a summary of the detailed tasks you complete.

Each slide in the pitch will link to a task.

Slide 1

·         Introduce yourself

·         Create a company logo

·         What are you doing (creating a thriller opening)

·         Who’s your target audience

·         Create a target audience profile

·         Level 4: create a company logo and compare to real companies

Slide 2

·         What is your concept and USP

·         What happens in the opening

·         Narrative and genre (and sub-genre)

·         What style are you going for?

·         What is different about your thriller than any other out there

Slide 3

·         Shot list and storyboard – brief description for the shots in your thriller and how they engage the audience

·         Task – shot list and story board

·         Level 4: At least 40 shots prepared with a detailed story board

Slide 4

·         Thriller ideas – Mis-en-scene

·         What are your MeS

·         Props

·         Style

·         Genre and sub-genre

·         Actors

·         Locations

·         Task – MeS, location scouting and actor auditions

·         Level 4: Mis-en -scene and analysis of genre

Slide 5 and 6

·         Slide 5

·         Typography and ident – How are the titles going to be shown

·         Poll everywhere for finding the best font

·         Slide 6

·         Create an opening title timeline for your opening thriller of other thrillers

Slide 7

·         Sound and effects

·         What sound track have you chosen/going to make?

·         Give a small snippet of the track in the pitch

·         What thrillers has influenced your sound choice

Slide 8

·         Risk assessment

·         What are the potential hazards within the film and how will you overcome them?

What conventions do we expect in thriller sub genres?

What conventions do we expect in thriller sub genres?

Techno thriller

·         Sci-fi

·         Futuristic society

·         Element of thriller but also featuring science fiction

·         Example – District 9

This is usually set in a futuristic setting like can be seen in a District 9 and the reason why this is a futuristic setting is due to the fact that there are things such as spaceships which are included in the film which give it that sense of futuristic that is found in techno thrillers.

Action thriller

·         Violence

·         A quest

·         Chase/action sequences

·         Stunts

·         Example – The Bourne Ultimatum

This is where there is a quest when for example in Bourne Ultimatum Jason Bourne is still trying to uncover his dark past mean whilst there being the other conventions of an action thriller throughout as there are chases and fight scenes with the people who are trying to kill Bourne.

Conspiracy thriller

·         Investigation of something that stands in doubt

·         An investigator (historical investigator or someone in the present)

·         Example – Inception

This is where an investigation is taking place regarding something which has become apparent to the people acting within the film this usually something that stands in doubt to the characters within the film, in Inception the thing that stand in doubt is about how exactly Dom Cobb does what he does and whether he can achieve his task in planting an idea into someone's mind. Conspiracy thrillers can also include having a historic investigator which causes the film to have a sense of history to it.

Crime thriller

·         Crime or murder that has occurred

·         Pursuit of the criminal

·         Come upon multiple obstacles on the way

·         Example – Now you see me

This is a very common thriller that is found amongst all the sub genres of thrillers and what this thriller entails is usually a crime or murder and there is always someone who is in pursuit of these criminals who have committed whatever crime. Whilst the people who are in pursuit of the criminals are trying to catch them they always come upon obstacles which slow them down when trying to catch the criminals. In Now you see me the criminals are magicians and the people who are trying to catch them are part of the FBI which is another common part of thrillers having people with some form of status such as police or FBI. The people within the FBI working to try and catch these magicians come upon obstacles and diversions which slow them down in the time it takes to catch the magicians and these obstacles are all to do with magic tricks which are a nice link. Finally the criminals are caught at the end which is always seen in the end of the thriller.

Disaster thriller

·         A natural disaster which has occurred

·         Causes the film to focus on thing such as people relationships

·         Example - The day after tomorrow

This thriller entails a natural disaster occurring such as an earthquake or tsunami which causes huge problems within a large city for example which affects many people. The film then usually hones in a a small group of people or a relationship for example and goes through the motions of the natural disaster breaking up a relationship for example due to the disaster or the group of people working together to try and fix what's gone wrong. In the day after tomorrow there is a huge shift in weather and the world is entering a new ice age. Whilst this is happening a palaeontologist has to try and save his son and friends who have been stuck in New York and are surviving through the extreme conditions.  

Eco-thriller

·         Things such as disasters occur which can be linked with the earth

·         Example – Flight

This is where a disaster occurs and it is usually the earths doing say for example extreme whether. There is then someone who saves people for example from this disaster and then the film goes into the life of the this person and also looks into how they did what they did. In Flight Whip (the pilot of the plane) who is a pilot begins his flight and experiences turbulence at the start of his flight not long after this occurs the plane suddenly experiences mechanical issues and he forced to crash the plane in doing so he saves almost all the passengers on board. The film then gone through looking into his life and finding out he was intoxicated when this happened and looked to how he actually crashed the plane kea whilst saving so many lives.

Forensic thriller

·         To do forensics such as forensic investigators.

·         Murders being investigated.

·         Example – CSI

This type of sub genre involves people who are in forensics and the police department. The events which occur over this time are things such as murders for example and the forensic investigators and people investigating the crime are seen to be trying to work out who the killer is and then eventually catching the killer. An example of this is CSI which is in fact a TV series but a very good example of a forensic thriller as investigators who are part of the FBI investigate the crime and people witching their forensic department help to target the killer.

Medical thriller

·         Setting such as a hospital

·         Could link in with a natural disaster where a lot of people become injured and end up being within hospital.

·         Example - World war Z

This sub genre of thriller usually includes having a setting of a hospital. The reason for this is because here is usually a natural disaster which causes many people to be injured and cause them to have to be in the hospital being treated. In World War Z a mysterious infection causes many people to turn to zombies and lane who is one of the people who survived is then urged to go and investigate what's happened.

Mystery thriller

·         When a mystery is trying to be solved

·         An antagonist and protagonist are working against each other to try and solve a mystery

·         Example - The Da Vinci Code

This sub genre of thriller involves a mystery being solved such as a murder by an investigator. There is both an antagonist and a protagonist, the antagonist working against the protagonist when trying to solve the mystery. In the Da Vinci Code Robert Langdon is trying to solve a mysterious murder where clues can be found within Da Vinci’s Paintings. Along the way allies such as Silas cross paths with Robert Langdon to try and stop him solve the murder.

Political thriller

·         A thriller that picks up political elements say a political campaign for example.

·         Made against a political struggle.

·         Political corruption and warfare are main themes.

·         Example – John F Kennedy

A political thriller is a thriller that contains political elements within it this could be a political campaign ahead of an election for example. There is political struggle within the film showing the political figure to struggle through their campaign for example. There are two main themes within these films and these are political corruption which could be shown in films that are made looking at an African political figure. Another main theme is political warfare and this could be shown in films which relate to world wars. When John F Kennedy was killed New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison ad many doubts about the story which the FBI bought to the table. He then took it upon himself to investigate the killing of John F Kennedy and found some conspiracies which were never thought to be found.

Religious thriller

·         Cover religious beliefs

·         Religious objects

·         Institutions

·         Religious question

·         Example – End of Days

A religious thriller is one that covers religious beliefs. It can also include religious objects which are connected to different religious institutions for example. Things which can be included in the film are religious questions of the characters of example which are answered throughout the film. Am example of a religious thriller is End of Days. In this film Satan goes to New York and inhabits a mans body  to try and find a bride for himself but the cop Jericho Cane who is a turned atheist is the man who needs to find the woman satan is targeting and stop him getting to her.

Psychological thriller

·         Something exploring the conscious and subconscious

·         Confronting people’s fears and psych

·         Example – Se7en

A psychological thriller is a thriller that explores the psych and can look at both the conscious and subconscious. These films are in place to do things such as confront people's fears and not only this by psych which can make some of these films scary for the viewer. In Se7en there are two detectives who are in search of a serial killer. These murders are terrible and also shown graphically which could be seen as the part of confronting people's fears.

Romantic thriller

·         A romance which comes to a success

·         Example - Mr and Mrs Smith

Romantic thrillers usually include some sort of action to provide parts of the film to keep the viewers attention. A romance is squally in the balance but nothing is properly formed but by the end of the film the romance comes to a success. In Mr and Mrs Smith a married couple are both assassins whom neither partner is aware of until they find out they are assigned to kill each other as they work for different agencies. Along the way they learn a lot about each other and more than they have over the number of years they've been together.

Spy thriller

·         Mystery

·         Stunts and action scenes

·         Good working against evil

·         Example - James Bond

In a spy thriller there is a large sense of mystery regarding characters or a certain subject in the film. Despite all the mystery there are a lot of stunts and action scenes containing violence. There are usually two sides to this film and this is good vs evil who work against each other. In James Bond Skyfall James Bond is on a mission to keep a computer drive from being used against MI6 as it contains all the names of the agents in the organisation. He loses the computer drive when he is accidentally shot by his accomplice and is thought to be dead but is instead laying low. M the head of secret intelligence service is in the bad books of the government and is asked to leave MI6 but refuses. When she returns to her office there is an explosion which kills her. James Bond hears the news and looks to find who was behind all of this and it is both the person who has the hard drive and who killed M.

Supernatural thriller

·         A disturbing thriller

·         Example - Predator

This sub genre is usually seen to be disturbing for the viewer and this therefore can make the film full of tension and also scary for the viewer. This could therefore put it into a category which could make it a type of horror film. In Predator a team of special force operatives are sent on a mission to find potential survivors but little do they know there is a lot more in the jungle than they think. The predator picks off one by one of the operatives but is never seen until the leader of the team Dutch is the only one left.

Vox Pop Analysis

Vox pop analysis

1.       What have I learnt?

2.       What do audiences like in an opening/thriller

3.       How has the information influenced my opening? (Ideas and examples)

1.       I have learnt a few things from doing this vox pop and the first thing is that planning is essential when it comes to making the vox pop and what I mean by this is that to have everything go smoothly you have to have everything planned out and this goes from knowing the people you’re going to interview to the place where you’re going to film the vox pop. If these things aren’t planned out then you can find yourself taking a lot of time to get the footage that you need. When it comes to actually talking about thrillers in relation to what I have learnt I would say that people have a number of opinions on what thriller films they like the most as people like thrillers which span from Shutter Island which is a mystery thriller to liking James Bond Skyfall which is an action thriller.  I have also learnt that gender doesn't necessarily play a role in what type of thrillers people like as a female can like Mission Impossible just as much as a male does.

2.       People have different views on what they like in opening thrillers and this just depends on what people like. However similarities can be seen within what people do like. One thing which was highlighted by one of the people we asked was having music in a thriller opening and this is very key as it sets the scene and can help to create things such as tension. Action was another thing which people liked to see in a thriller and I think the reason behind this is because it helps to keep the viewer engaged with the film and keep them on the edge of their seat which makes the viewing experience enjoyable.The people when doing our box pop also felt that location was something which should be intriguing and be apparent in a thriller and this is in the way that it is interesting and not just dull and boring. Having an interesting setting/location helps to keep the viewer engaged and also could create enigmas for them if the location of the film has not been revealed in the opening which will keep them engaged when they are trying to work out where the film is set. Finally a large part which audiences like to see in thrillers and their openings are enigmas. The reason why it is good to use these is because it keeps the viewer asking themselves questions in relation to film as they are intrigued about some things which they want to work out. All of this helps to keep the viewer engaged and watching the film. A method that can be used to create these is by using suggestive shots which was highlighted by one of the people we asked our questions too. What is meant by this is shots are used which help to suggest what's going on and gives the viewer a vague idea of what's happening but not a clear cut idea. This again helps to create the enigmas that the viewer likes to be included.

3.       Seeing what viewers of thrillers like to see has helped us greatly in knowing what to select when making our thriller opening. The first example is that we know that we should include some form of enigmas in the opening and this could for example be in relation to characters as we could have a sequence where there is a murder and we could not have the victim or killers face in any of the shots. This will in turn help to keep the viewer engaged with the opening as they will be wondering who both the killer and victim are. We could make the opening sequence even more mysterious by only using suggestive shots and this could be done by not showing any shots of the murder taking place but in fact just having shots of say a pool of blood, a knife and a poster for someone being wanted which creates enigmas for the viewer as they will want to know whether a murder has been committed and whether all the shots are linked. Music will be a big part in our opening thriller and the reason for this is because it helps to set the scene for the opening. Depending on which route we go down we will either use a very high tempos do loud orchestrated piece of music if we start the opening with a lot of action but if we go down the route of a mystery to the opening of the thriller we will use a slow and quiet orchestrated piece of music to give a sense of mystery to the opening sequence. Action is another thing that we can look to use in our opening sequence and the reason for this is because it helps to engage the viewer in the film straight from the start. A way in which we could use action in our opening sequence is by having a car chase for example which puts the viewer straight in the action causes them to be in the thick of the film and engaged straight away. Having a car chase would help to give the viewer the enigmas we want them to think up and these could be who's being chased and why?. Finally we should look to use CGI in our opening and the reason for this is because it is aesthetically pleasing and this helps the viewer to enjoy what they are seeing one the screen. A way that we could use CGI is by implementing it within our typography and this could be done by for example having the title of our film come a light which would attract the viewers attention and make the typohpgrayphy more interesting again helping to attract more of the viewers attention.