Thriller Plan

Opening of our thriller film

By Jake Bromley

A man lies on the ground soaked from the rain with a gunshot wound on his chest, hies eyes open and he begins to search his pockets whilst standing up, a series of flashbacks is shown, he hears gunshots, panics then runs to a bathroom and stares at himself with another flashback revealing how we was injured.

In this action/espionage thriller our editing is similar to that of the 'Bourne' films showing flashbacks visualy bold. The protagonist is inspired by the scene at the begining of the smallville season 10 premire showing 'Clark Kent' injured in the rain. The location is based on the gritty cityscape of 'Blade Runner'.

Essex Boys Opening Scene Analysis

Essex Boys Opening Scene Analysis

By Jake Bromley

In Essex Boys, the first thing we see is a lockup door being opened by the protagonist to reveal the inside of the lockup containing a car and various other objects hidden in the shadows. The only light source in this image is the street light on the wall opposite the lockup and high intensity of the light utilizes the concept of chiaroscura which is present in most thriller films.

In this shot we are first introduced to the character: Jason Locke and were given a brief background on his character by the voiceover, which is narrated by the protagonist. We see this character through a dirty car windscreen and he has half his face engulfed in the shadows implying that there may be sinister qualities to his character and as explained in the voiceover we learn that his character is involved with crime and has recently been released from prison.

This shot shows a car entering a dark tunnel, the same car we saw earlier that is now containing the two characters that we were previously introduced to. This long shot shows the car from a distance giving the effect that it is small and unimportant compared to the wide tunnel, this could imply the long journey that the two characters are embarking on.

In this shot we see the protagonist and Jason sitting in the car, the lights on the roof of the tunnel are reflected on to the windscreen of the car, this image is significant because it could be foreshadowing the fates of the two characters, implying that the characters are to be involved in life of crime.

This shot shows the car emerging from the dark tunnel out into a dull and mundane atmosphere representing typical British weather, this gives the audience the impression that the tone of the film is very gritty which is shown commonly in British gangster films.

The shot here shows the brutality of the character Jason, when he mercilessly beats a man to the ground in full view of many fish market workers and gives the audience more knowledge on his character and give them a negative opinion on his character. This image also gives the impression that the film is going to contain a lot of violence steeped in crime.

This image is the first shot taken from the point of view of the protagonist, which allows the audience to identify with his character. This shows the man Jason has just beaten on his knees whilst Jason opens a container of acid as he is about to throw it in the unsuspecting man’s face.

This shot is an extreme long shot, showing a vast landscape where Jason and the protagonist have left the severely injured man. The purpose of the extreme long shot shows the insignificancy of the events that just took place. The image focuses primarily on the location which relates back to earlier views on the atmosphere showing the dullness of the weather by the grey clouds. 

Men/Heroes in Film noir

Men/Heroes in Film noir

By Jake Bromley

The characteristics of men or heroes in film noir are usually conveyed in a dark way, they are usually portrayed as desperate characters trying to survive. These men are most often morally ambiguous, paranoid and involved with violent crime. Throughout the course of these films, most of the men undergo a huge character development starting off as conflicted, insecure loners and continuing down a path to ultimately become disillusioned, obsessive socio-paths. Morality is a key theme in film noir; most of the characters are morally corrupt and often find it difficult separating good from bad and do what needs to be done to survive. Their roles were essential to the progression of the story, storylines were usually twisted and complex, one of the techniques used to tell these stories were a series of flashbacks with background music to add to the suspense of the atmosphere. An Anti-hero is a protagonist that lacks the attributes or characteristics of a typical hero but with whom the audience can identify, they are often morally conflicted but the audience sympathizes for. Some examples of Males/heroes in film noir are as shown here: Private Detective Philip Marlowe (The Big Sleep), Sergeant Dave Bannion (The Big Heat), Aging Boxer, Stoker Thompson (The Set-Up), Harry Fabian (Night And The City), Frank Bigelow (D.O.A).

Websites that is useful for researching Film-noir:
http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html
http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/home.asp
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/filmnoir
http://www.filmsnoir.net/
http://www.filmnoir.com/

Thriller Film Audience Research - Proposal Form

Thriller Film Audience Research-Proposal form

By Jake Bromley

What I want to find out:

1. The audience expectations of Independent/mainstream film.
2. Popular actors in mainstream/unknown independent actors.
3. Different music.
4. Setting difference.
5. Different plotline.

How I am going to find out:

1. Interview.
2. Questionnaire.
3. Survey-favourite thriller films.
4. Reading film reviews.

What I expect to find out:

1. Key themes in thriller films.
2. The attraction.
3. The age range.



Cosmetic Advertisment Analysis

Cosmetic Advert Analysis

By Jake Bromley

My Product is called Unlimited, and it is a men’s deodorant cosmetic. The advertisement shows a picture of me standing in the fore ground wearing a white shirt and black trousers, standing with my left arm pointing to the floor away from me whilst holding the product in my hand. In the background of the advert it shows a dark alleyway and fog surrounding me. The image has been edited so that the whole image is in black in white for the purpose of the genre. The advert incorporates the use of chiaroscura, the way the whole image is a dark grey colour with the exception of the white shirt which shows the strong contrast between the colours. The positioning of the camera facing the character emphasises the boldness of the character and the importance of his presence in the advert. The tagline for this advert is; No Limits. No Fears. Just Unlimited, this tagline is similar to other taglines you may find on poster’s advertising action films; this is to create the effect that this product may give the customer the feeling that they are an action hero, playing on the ambition that every man wants to be an action hero. The character is represented as a mysterious character and because of the black and white effect, it links to the character showing signs of moral ambiguity, these elements give the audience the impression that the character is shrouded in mystery and may have a morally ambiguous quality. In order to appeal to the target audience I utilized the narrative by the use of the representation of action in the advert. In this advert I applied the concept of Intertextuality, this is because the advert is making references to espionage/action films such as; James Bond films, this was so that the audience could identify with the advert and the product and to appeal to the target audience relating to popular culture that is associated with action film genre and the audience.

The representation of this advert shows that it is targeted at young males aged 14-17 from the blue collar social class, it tries to communicate with the target audience trying to advertise a lifestyle filled with action that appeals to the target audiences values and beliefs that they have towards the action genre. The advert shows the ideology that young men wish to live the action filled, dangerous life and be a hero; this is reflected well by the use of lighting, costume and the simplistic nature of the image.
The advertisement is appropriate for the target audience because it primarily focuses on the target audience’s interests and aspirations, this because young males that are fans of the action film genre can identify with similar elements of the advertisement to that of the action film genre. The advertisement appeals to the aspirations that young males have, wanting to lead an adventurous and dangerous life, in doing this the target audience would be attracted to nature of the advertisement because they find aspire to be the character in the advertisement.

One of the strengths of this advertisement, is its simplicity, the visuals are very bold and eye catching and easier recognisable to the target audience seeing familiarities with the advertisement and action films due to the intertextual link between the advertisement and the already well known action film genre, however its weakness may also be the advertisements simplistic nature, not providing the target audience with enough information on the product.

The differences between a mainstream and independent film

The differences between a mainstream and independent film
By Jake Bromley

Mainstream films are described as films that are widely released in cinemas, examples of this would be Hollywood movies and blockbuster movies. Typical Mainstream movies are released in cinemas for a short period of time and are commercialized to attract customers and are then released for home use and sold in usually popular stores.
Independent films are described as films that a produced outside a major film studio, independent films are usually distinguished both by the style and the artistic way the director chooses to show them. Independent films have a considerably lower budget than Mainstream films. Independent films tend to have a limited release and are heard of by word of mouth usually and reach out to specific audiences.
There are many key differences from a Mainstream film to an Independent film; these differences are easily noticeable when watching the film paying attention to certain aspects of the way in which it was shot. These elements are decided early on in production such as; Actors, most independent films tend to use unknown actors whereas mainstream films often use A-list actors to appeal to an audience. The location, where the film is shot, this is usually a huge indication if the film is independent or mainstream, Independent films due to their budget cannot afford to film in expensive locations but mainstream are known for filming in expensive locations that their audience can recognize, like famous cities. Mainstream films are well known for using extravagant special effects, but Independent films use the least amount if not no special effects at all. These examples show us that the main differences between mainstream and independent is the budget, Mainstream films usually have a high budget allowing them to buy the rights make a film adaption of an already bestselling novel, they can afford to cast A-list actors that are sure to bring in an audience, however Independent films have a lower budget and therefore restrict them on location preventing them from filming in expensive locations and also gives known actors the opportunity to be in a film.
Mainstream films utilize their marketing strategies, they use trailers on television and DVDs, they advertise on the internet, magazines, posters and the radio. Marketing is one of the biggest things to consider when a film is in development, it is a way of communicating with the general public and trying to persuade them to come and see the film and the way mainstream films utilize this is by making sure their film is known by the majority of the public, they do this by buying advertisement slots on television so that when people are watching their favourite television programmes they will then see an advertisement for a film that they are unfamiliar with and in that moment the audience already have an opinion on the trailer and usually wish to learn more so they therefore decide to look up the film. The internet in recent years has been one of the most successful ways for mainstream films to advertise their films, with such easily accessible and popular websites such as: YouTube, which to this day has made a name for itself as being the world’s largest worldwide video sharing community allowing a vast audience of people to view trailers, clips and interviews of films online. Independent films however are marketed a lot differently, a resultant of independent films low budget, they often rely on word of mouth to market their films or alternatively the enter into a film festival in hope to have their work recognized and possibly win an award which can also boost the films popularity and increase the public’s knowledge of the film.
A difference between mainstream and independent is the distribution of the films, mainstream films are usually released internationally in various different cinemas, whereas independent films are sometimes direct to DVD releases, which means that the film is not released in a cinema, that after the film has been made it is put on sale in stores on a DVD, this sometimes means that independent films are not usually well known and are sometimes only discovered on a self in a store.
The exhibition of mainstream and independent differs, mainstream films are released on a wide scale in different cinemas internationally therefore it is very easy to see a mainstream film of your choice in a nearby mainstream cinema, whereas independent do not commonly get shown in mainstream cinemas and therefore are either not shown in cinemas or are shown in local cinemas which offer the viewings of independent films, a prime example of this would be: Cinema city, a cinema dedicated to the showings of independent films but also offer a mainstream film sometimes, this local cinema allows members of the general public a chance to view an independent film, when in other circumstances it would be difficult to view an independent film.

Opening Scene Of Sin City

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What is Neo-noir ?

Neo-noir

By Jake Bromley

Neo-noir is a style used in modern films that utilizes the themes, visual element of film noir but are more up to date, the term neo-noir comes from the Greek word neo, meaning: New and the French word noir which means: Black. Film noir which was popular during the 1940’s and 1950’s that typically show morally conflicted characters trapped in difficult scenarios. Visual elements contain low key lighting, unusual camera angles and use of chiaroscuro which involves; the strong contrasts between black and white. In the 1960’s very few film noir style films were as major as the classic film noir films therefore a new style of film that was similar to film noir but had updated methods and styles, this was Neo-noir. Until the 1970’s film critics refused to acknowledge Neo-noir as its own independent genre. The differences between neo-noir and film noir are significant, where film noir gave the audience the impression that they were involved with the story and could relate, neo-noir constantly would remind their audience that they were watching a film and were not actually involved with the events of the film this was shown by; new and unconventional shots. Neo-noir unlike film noir was the first to show an awareness of modern situations and recent technology. An example of Neo-noir would be Blade Runner (1982) which is a futuristic science fiction film that is a prime example of Neo-noir due to its style; Blade Runner contains all the elements of a film noir, but has been updated this shown through the lighting which is all very dark except with the use of harsh lighting to add to the scene, the protagonist follows the same characteristics as film noir anti-heroes, such as mixing the brutal violence and a down and out detective to give a new feeling but also give the audience the impression that they can familiarize this new style with style they are already familiar with.

Sin City Opening Scene Analysis

Sin City Opening Scene Analysis

By Jake Bromley

This image displays the unimportance of the female character we are first introduced to; this is because she appears to be smaller than the buildings in the background it shows her insignificance with the building towering over her.

In this image we are introduced to the male character that the audience heard in the voice over, he steps out of the shadows and in this image his face is shadowed representing the moral ambiguity of his character. The female character stands tense with her arms holding herself this shows the vulnerability of her character and emphasizes her loneliness.

This is the first close up shot that we are shown, this image shows the male characters power when he offers the female character a cigarette therefore showing that is in control during this scene.

This image shows that the female character is mysterious and hides a sinister quality about her, we see this by the way the colour of her eyes turn to a harsh green implying that there is something lurking beneath the surface of her character.

This shot is taken over the shoulder of the male character leaving him partially shadowed implying a sinister attribute about him, this shows that the male character is significantly much more taller than the female character which also relates to him being in control.

This image displays the sudden colour change, from the black to white emphasizing the two characters as they come together, the image is similar to a comic book picture, which adds a surrealistic layer to the scene.

In this shot, we see the sinister side of the male character but it also shows the remorse of the character after just killing the female character; we see that from the expression on the male character’s face that he seems guilty for killing her.

This image shows the male character holding the lifeless body of the female character and stares up into the sky; this could imply that the male character is looking to a higher power to be judged after feeling very remorseful for murdering the female character.

Media Studies Questionnaire

Year 12 Media Studies Student Questionnaire

My name is Jake Bromley, and this is my year 12 media studies student questionnaire, my GCSE’s were as shown below:

·        History: D

·        Drama: C

·        Graphics: C

·        English Language: C

·        English Literature: D

·        Science: D

·        Additional Science: C

·        Maths: C

·        Additional Maths: C

My hobbies consist of playing videogames, watching television, attending my drama group, watching films and socializing with my friends. I sometimes read a newspaper or magazine if I find one, I usually read articles if they have an appealing headline or is familiar to my own interests. My interest in newspapers and magazines are usually reviews on films, music or television programmes and to check the news of recent events. I prefer to access news and other information on the internet, mainly because I find it to be more accessible and because I spend a lot of my time on the internet making it more practical. I tend to listen to Kiss Fm, which is a popular radio station for teenagers, which plays music that is popular at the time, music that is in the charts, Kiss also gives news and travel updates on the hour. I have a wide taste in music I like rock and punk rock sort of music, some of my favourite artists include: Linkin Park, Green Day and Eminem. I access my music via internet most of the time, by going on websites where you can listen to it or watch the music video for free, websites such as; YouTube or We7.com. I personally believe that person should be able to download music off of music websites on internet legally; I believe this because some music is overly priced for what it is, and more people can enjoy it if they are able to access it. The music industry has a huge influence on the way people dress because they may have seen a favourite artist dressed like that, or their attitudes to certain things e.g. a song with anti-government lyrics could influence an individual to lose faith in their government or politics. My favourite video game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it is a first-person shooter in which you can play as a member of the military that goes on missions and engages others in battle. It is a popular game that allows the player to utilize the militaries tactics and resources to accomplish missions. Videogames can also have a negative impact on their audience giving them the wrong impression of how to resolve conflicts and the attitudes towards different genders, an example of this would be that most videogames are aimed at male audience and that there aren’t many female exclusive videogames. New Technology has defiantly had a huge effect on my life; it has mage communicating with people so much easier, with new breakthroughs such as social networking websites and the ability to call or text anyone from your mobile. Thanks to the internet it has made it easier for people to access their favourite films, television programmes or music, to consume it or purchase it. The internet has also given people the chance to upload their own personal entries on blogs or social networking websites, giving us a better understanding of how to access information easier. My favourite Television channels are BBC one and Sky one because they provide both high class of entertainment but also provide a good source of news and recent events. My favourite television programmes that I find to be most memorable are: Lost, The Simpsons, Top gear and Mock the week, the reason I picked these, is because they memorable for what they are, Lost was a huge Sci-Fi Drama that has had a huge cultural impact on television, The Simpsons because it is the longest running American sitcom and also the longest running American animated show and is known all around the world,  Top gear because whilst being factual television programme about cars it is also entertaining to watch, Mock the week because it’s a topical news programme aimed at a teenage - young adult audience whilst being very comical it also addresses issues in the news. My favourite Film Genre is Action, because it keeps you interested and it’s enjoyable following the action at the same pace. 3 films that I find outstanding are The Shawshank Redemption, avatar and the dark knight because the actors have made the experience amazing and the storylines are all themselves brilliant pieces of work. I prefer to watch films on my own at home, that way I can enjoy a film without being distracted. My favourite cinema is Odeon, because even though it is more expensive you get your money’s worth, the seats there are comfy and they have air conditioning for when it gets hot. A piece of media text that I find offensive would be sexist articles on the internet that make men out to be insensitive people lacking compassion to women’s feelings, claiming that men do not have feelings and imply that they cannot empathize for women, I find this offensive because it is a lie and a stereotype that all men do not have emotions. The most interesting media text I have read recently was about the first limbless man swimming the English Channel, I found this interesting because it was a heart warming story of a man who overcame his challenge despite the difficulties he faced, this article changed my opinion and showed me that a person can overcome near enough any obstacle when they are determined. If I was asked to construct a media text concerning England’s condition I would choose to show that in the form of a short film, this is because I feel films is the most effective way of getting a point across. I have chosen Media Studies as an option because I find the concept of how we as the public will believe anything we read in the news or see on TV or hear on the radio when all of them can be influenced or changed, I also have a passion for films in the way they are made and the time put in to make them.