Using the Dolly and Trombone Shot

I used a dolly to move forwards and backwards on a specific object whilst keeping the camera in a steady position on a tripod. The dolly is used to make smooth camera movements and can also be used to make shots such as the trombone shot. This shot consists of the camera moving towards an object and when the camera gets closer, you zoom outwards to create a vertigo effect or optical illusion. 

           

Titles and Fonts

The first font I looked at was from the film 'The Poker Club' by Dan Savage. The closest font I could acquire to the one used in The Poker Club, is called 'Pasta Palazzo' and was found on the website Dafont. The font is also sans because it doesn't have little serifs on the letters. In addition the font is very easy to read and also the font and colour used goes well with the background of playing cards.

The font used in the opening credits of the film Manhunt, uses quite a lot of different features. For instance kerning is used to separate the final few letters making it look inconsistent and out of place. The font colour or red connotes death and blood and so an enigma has already been put into the film so early on. Furthermore the font is large bold letters and also in sans serif which makes it stand out clearly to the viewers. The closest font I could find to the font used in Manhunt, was called 'Twofold' and was acquired from the website Dafont.

The font used in the film "Dr. No" is quite a basic and block like type possibly because of the time the film was made but is however very easily readable to the audience and it is in the sans serif style. The colour green that is used makes the words on the screen stand out with the dull black background, clearly showing the name of the film. The font that matched the one in Dr. No was located on Dafont and it was called "Basic". 

The font in the film "Seven" is sans serif and has a quite distorted texture to it as it looks like the words have been scratched away a bit making it more difficult to read. Furthermore they have used a slight shadow on the title to add effect as it makes it look as if it is shaking as well as using plain black and white colours to convey a sinister mood. Kerning is used between the E and 7 to place more emphasis on the middle letter which happens to be a number. The closest font to the one used in the film was found on Dafont and is called "Appleberry".

The Final Destination uses a quite basic font that is in serif form as the letters flick up at the end. The white typeface against the blood stained background makes it stand out and also makes it very clear to read. In the title the word "The" uses a different kerning space to the one used in "Final Destination" as it is a lot more spaced out. The closest font to the one used in The Final Destination was found on Dafont and goes by the name "Assassin". 

The final font that I looked at was from the film "The Dead Zone" and this font was also in serif form as the corners of each letter flicked up. The font is quite basic and easily readable with a black background, however the words have some sort of moving visual image which adds a different effect to the opening. The kerning is very consistent throughout with the same spacing between each letter. The font that was most like the one used in The Dead Zone was acquired from Dafont and is called 'Fling'.

The Dark Knight Opening Analysis

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero/thriller film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan, based on the DC Comics character Batman. 

0.00-0.46: The opening where the film companies are shown, is in a very dark blue colour which could suggest that the film is going to be quite sinister and also contain a lot of violence. Furthermore there is very little sound at the start which could make the audience tense and anxious.

0.54-1.20: From this point in the film, we see an establishing shot of a city, unknown to the viewers yet. The camera then zooms into one particular building. They then see that one of the many windows in the building gets smashed through to which two men wearing clown masks, are standing with some sort of rappel gun. This part of the film is already getting the audience guessing on why they are wearing those hideous masks and also what they are planning to do.

1.21-1.35: The next part uses a medium shot to reveal another man carrying a large bag and also a clown mask which suggests that he is associated with the characters in the first scene. We also see a closeup shot of the clown mask which implies that it plays an important part in the opening of the movie.

1.37-1.54: It now becomes apparent that the rappel line is for the two masked men to slide down and land on the adjacent building. An aerial shot is used to show the men going between buildings and this is effective as you can see the huge drop beneath them if they go wrong. In addition dramatic music is used to create suspense and excitement for the viewers.

1.55-2.10: In the next scene we have a closeup of the occupants in the car and they are having a conversation about money. Seeing as they have weapons on them it could be suggesting that they are going to be conducting a robbery or something alike. 

2.12-2.43: It is revealed in the next scene that they are going to be robbing a bank. We see the criminals being ruthless and violent towards individuals present in the bank. The camera pans right to follow the men moving through the bank. Diegetic sound is used in this part as the sounds of gunshots can be heard.

2.43-2.53: The scene then cuts to the two men on the top of the building and we see them sabotaging a box that appears to be an alarm. Next the man behind shoots the first man in the back which could mean that he is a traitor to his team. An unconventional over the shoulder shot is used as the subject is facing the over way but it is effective as you can see everything the man behind is doing.

3.28-3.57: Next we see a man who appears to be some sort of manager, retaliate to the intruders by attacking them with a shotgun. During this the music is quite fast and makes the viewers tense and on edge and we can see the man walking towards the camera making him seem threatening and imposing. 

3.59-4.05: We then see the defiant manager be shot by one of the intruders. We get a closeup of the mans face to show the horror and fright of the mask that he is wearing.

4.23-4.35: The man previously on the rooftop then makes he way down to ground level and breaks into the safe after shooting another one of his team, reinforcing the fact of him being a traitor. He starts to fill the bags up with the huge supply of money and then leaves. The music in this part is fast paced and exciting, hinting that something else is going to happen later on.

4.38-4.56: The opening ends with the last two men dragging a handful of bags filled with money out to the main hall of the bank. The traitor puts his gun up to the last remaining member of the team. However he doesn't get shot because a bus drives in through the door and this could possibly be their escape vehicle.

Continuity Exercise

Our task was too create a short film that consisted of someone opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down at a table to have a small conversation with another person. We used many different shots including the two shot, over the shoulder shot and the closeup shot. We encountered a problem when we had a jump cut and so we filmed it again and managed to get it right the next time around.

Source Code Opening Scene Analysis

Source Code is a thriller/ sci-fi movie starring Jack Gylenhaal and Michelle Monaghan about a soldier who wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find a bomber on a train. A task in which he has 8 minutes to complete.

0.06- 0.13: In the first part of the opening scene we see a closeup shot of a man wake up with his head pressed against a window. When the sound comes in we can hear the voice of a distant speaking person and a train going past suggesting that he is travelling on a train. When the man wakes up, he looks bewildered and confused to where he is. 

0.21-0.31: The next thing the audience see is a women sitting across from the man hinting that they could perhaps know each other. The over the shoulder angle is used in this scene so that the viewer gets a clear point of view of the other character. In addition we find out that the mans name is Shaun and it is repeated twice so that the audience are sure of his name and possibly for emphasis. Throughout this part he is still very edgy and confused as to his whereabouts. 

0.33-0.58: In this scene one of the passengers spills some of their coffee onto Shaun's foot making him even more uneasy than he already was and leads to suspicions of what is going to happen later on. A two shot is used here to show the two characters to which we can see that Shaun appears to be holding himself up on the table in front of him. This shows his uncertainty of what and where he is doing. Furthermore when the women is speaking to him he is not really listening to her speak but instead to the surrounding noises and actions made by the other passengers.

1.37-1.50: In this screenshot, the audience find out something crucial about the character we know to be Shaun. He says to the women that his name is "Captain Coulter Stevens" and that he has been flying helicopters in Afghanistan. This makes the viewers a bit confused into who this man really is and why he has a different name. Music is also used to show that this is an important detail for the rest of the film. 

1.53-2.33: The man decides to go for a walk because he is feeling sick and you can see that he is constantly looking for something in the train itself; possibly a bag or maybe a person. He then looks down the side of the train and sees a skyscraper in the distance to which he asks the other man in the screenshot, where is that, to which he replies "Chicago". Music starts to play again which could be implying that something is going to happen in Chicago.

2.51: The first thing we see in this next bit is an overhead shot of the train he is on heading towards Chicago. Cautious music is being used again to make the viewers sense that something bad is going to happen.

3.01-3.14: We then see a closeup angle of Shaun's face again of him staring out of the window. This closeup is repeated twice and both times he gives a strange confused look as if he has seen something that he didn't want to. The women across from him is now getting puzzled because she can't see what he is seeing outside. The look of bewilderment on Shaun's face combined with the tense music puts the audience on edge and perhaps worried.

3.20-4.00: Next he gets up again and bundles into the toilets on the train in a sort of frantic panic. He then looks into the mirror and see's himself looking like an entirely different person. He also checks his wallet and see's that same mans face on a teacher ID card. Throughout the film, confusion has been one of the main themes and this just adds to it, making the viewers even more baffled and perplexed to where this film is going.

4.07: We then get an establishing shot of the city of Chicago which could be the final destination of the train. 

4.18-4.31: The ending to the opening scene ends quite ironically because the women says to Shaun that "everything will be alright" and then the train blows up. Throughout the opening of the film, confusion and bewilderment have been common themes, keeping the audience on edge throughout, with this crucial part at the end of it. 

Marnie Analysis

The first part of the film opens up to the credits. They use the animation of a book to show the cast and producers possibly due to the film deriving from a book. They use triumphant, undulating music during this scene that adds tension and suspense to the film.

From the very start of this scene we see a closeup shot of a yellow bag being carried by someone. A closeup shot of the bag could be suggesting that it has some sort of significance in the film and that something important could be inside it.

From this we are now able to see that the person carrying the yellow bag is a women who is at a train station which suggests that she is going to be travelling somewhere. Something else that grabs the viewers attention is the bland colours used on the women and also at the station with this yellow bag that stands out, possibly to show its relevance in the film. The establishing shot is used in this part as it gives the viewer information about where the scene is set.

The scene after the train station reveals to the audience that a robbery has taken place as the safe shown on screen is completely empty. It then goes on to show the police interviewing someone who appears to be a successful businessmen. During the conversation the audience hear the culprits name repeated twice by the businessman (MARIAN HOLLAND) purely so that the audience are clear of her name. In addition, the audience are made aware that a women is present in the room and by the way she stands and the way the other men speak to and about her it leads us to believe she is a secretary or receptionist.

Sean Connery appears later on in the scene and when he does it appears to the viewers as if the businessman loses all power that he had. This is depicted in the film by Sean Connery being noticeably taller than the other man and also by the way that the businessman is having to look up to him to speak suggesting that he is his superior. It also reveals that the thief was hired without a reference implying that she is an attractive women and so easily employable. The two shot is used here as it shows two characters engaging in a conversation

There is yet again another closeup shot in the following setting which provides more evidence to how significant this bag could be and also backs up the viewers earlier suspicions about why the bag could be so meaningful.

In this scene we see the woman being escorted to her room by the porter who is carrying one of her many suitcases. Furthermore the director of the film Alfred Hitchcock appears from one of the other rooms in the hotel.

It is then revealed that in the yellow bag was in fact the money that had been stolen from the safe and that she did infact commit the crime. During this scene we also see that she dumps all of her old clothes into one case and she has all her new ones pristinely folded into the other case.

Next we see that she reveals a gold tin with 3 different named ID's in. This raises suspicions about the women even after the crime has been committed, showing that she is trying to hide herself from something or someone.

In this scene you finally get to see the women in question's face after she rinses the black hair dye out of her hair to reveal her natural flawless blond hair. This also links to the fact that she is attempting to change her identity along with the fake identification and new clothes. When you see her face for the first time, the victorious music starts again as this is an important time in the film. A closeup shot is used in this seen because it draws the audience's attention to the woman only and nothing else.

Thriller Definition

Thriller Definition 

A thriller is a novel, play or film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage. They use suspense, tension and excitement to fill the viewer with uncertainty, surprise and terror.