Evidence for Filming - Construction

This is the evidence for my filming on the shoot.

And this is evidence for my foly and soundtrack

This is also evidence for my contribution to the titles

Amnesia - Individual Edit

Evaluation:

Clear shots and colour grading added correctly to our silhouette character however, I need to focus more of the colour grading to ensure the edit isn't too dark.
The driving sequence was filmed a little diagonal, however I think it adds to the effect of being from the driver's point of view.
We used strobe lighting from an iPhone to give the projector lighting effect to show our character is being brainwashed.

The lighting seems a little blurred as the colour grading is slightly darker than I wished for.

Analysis of Thriller (Part 3 of 3)

Limitless

 

Eddie Morra: A tablet a day and I was Limitless...

The movie starts at the end of the film with our character Eddie Morra standing on the ledge at the top a building in the city with people breaking in ater him, he is considering jumping however, we aren't shown the rest. So we are then brought to the start of the film.

Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is an unemployed writer who wears unkempt clothes, long scruffy hair and is close to looking homeless where he is unsuccessful at writing. He has a contract to write a book however, his writer's block is an obstacle to his success.  At lunch with his partner Lindy (Abby Cornish), even worse or Eddie decides to break off the relationship due to his lack of success in his writing career.

Walking down the New York St, he bumps into his ex-brother in law Vernon (Johnny Whitworth), after nine years. Vernon invites Eddie for a drink where he offers an unclassified brain drug for free as he is an old friend, after confessing to being being behind schedule on his book.

Ater taking the small pill, he arrives at the door of his apartment, bumping into his miserable land-lord's wife who immediately starts insulting him.  The drug begins to take effect and Eddie uses the intelligence given to him by the drug to sway her into a nice conversation, then later leading to a sex scene.

Eddie gets into his apartment and realises the state he has been living in, so through a long process of cleaning up he clears the space in order to keep his mind settled on the book. He then sits on his laptop, and immediately words come straight to his head, and minutes later he finishes the first few chapters of the book and immediately hands it into his contractors.

Eddie then visits Vern at his apartment where he has been beaten with bloody marks over his face, he then explains the drug is called NZT48 and asks Eddie to pick up his drycleaning and get some food. On returning the door lock was broken and Vern is on the sofa dead with a bullet in his head and the apartment raided for the drug. Eddie panics and calls 911 straight away, where he then, while waiting or the police, searches for the NZT48 stash, of which he finds under the oven with a load of money and passports.

He hides these from the police who then take him to the station where he is interviewed for a short time. At the police station he is contacted by Melissa, his ex-wife organising a meeting after the death of her brother. With this money and new intelligence from the pill, he appears as a fresh new man and finishes the book within four days. He learns piano, cards, fitness, new languages, new friends and talks like a know-it-all about everything. One of his listeners, Kevin Doyle (Darren Goldstein), gives him a business card showing people are fully interested in his intelligence and wish to work with him.  Long story short he is then invited to a jet-set beach party down south. Eddie then zooms around with a babe and a Maserati, then shows off by cliff diving from over 100 ft.
After this he realises that his intelligence is limitless and needs to use it to make money.

He slowly starts day trading from his laptop using websites such as Eay but needs to capitalize. A cafe owner sets him up with a Russian loanshark, Gennady (Andrew Howard). The Russian hands him $100,000 however, he is not a man to be messed around with, threatening his life if not payed back by deadline.

Eddie then starts stock trading where he impressively earns $2million within his first two weeks. Job offers and reporters come fighting for him as he earns massive amounts of money. Kevin Doyle offers a meeting with Carl Van Loon, and Eddie impresses his ex-partner Lindy, where they then get back together.

Eddie meets corporate raider Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro) who is a very successful business man in a restaurant. Carl, who is obviously impressed asks for his secret for success o which Eddie jokingly says he takes medication. In a limo Carl tests Eddie by asking him to review a file of different companies. Eddie guesses there is a major merger in the works impressing Carl, inviting him to another meeting.

He loses track of time as the pill starts to wear off showing the side effects, loss of time, sickness etc... The next morning was another important meeting with Carl, however where the pill has worn off, Eddie could not focus, did not understand the subject and was constantly distracted by the tv of a murder report for the woman he slept with the night before creating a mystery behind Eddie.

As Eddie starts to feel worse and worse, feeling nausious and exhausted he tries to contact Vernon's previous customers who had taken the pill, however, all of the contacts were either sick or dead. He tries one last number and realises the man sitting behind him is spying, as his phone rings. Eddie immediately leaves to meet his ex-wife Melissa.
Melissa (Anna Friel) admits to taking the NZT drug, she breathes heavily and is very weak. She tried to quit it, then found out from Vern other users have died. She then warns him of the side effects of quiting, however there is only one result... death.

The Russian investor then finds Eddie giving him the package of money for Eddie to start making alot of money in business. Eddie is then followed and then chased by the mysterious man who has been spying on him for the past couple of days, sick, exhausted and injured he runs into Lindy's office. Eddie admits he needs the drugs after explaining why he has been acting this way the whole time, and warns her without the drug, the results are fatal. His main stash is in Lindy's house, she recovers the plastic bag.

In the taxi on the way back to the office, she is chased and attacked by the mysterious man again, who is desperate to acquire the pills, killing two men in the park as she sprints for her life. On the phone she panics and asks Eddie for guidance and forces her to take the pill, from this boost of intelligence shes fights off the man and escapes.
She realises that the drug takes over Eddie's personality and leaves him again.

Eddie is then confronted by the Russian investor threatening him for money, however Eddie decides to provide him with the NZT, of which has a bad effect later on in the movie.He then hires two bodyguards to hold off the investor for a while, they have a tattoo on there middle finger which is significant later on.

Eddie then realises their won't be enough drugs to last, therefor he hires a chemist to modify the drug to take out it's side effects.

Eddie goes to buy an $8.5M secure condo, one of the most secure apartments in the city to hide from the investors, however he catches on when Eddie  receives a package with his bodyguards hands inside.

At the office Carl and Eddie meet Hank Attwood's wife, she tells him he is in the hospital but the deal will close when he gets better. On the street he notices Mrs.Attwood's limo driver is the mysterious man from the parkette and realizes Attwood must be an NZT user also.

Back at his new condo, Eddie has been found by the Russian investor who has brought his friends, armed and ready to kill him. Eddie goes to the balcony edge and is ready to kill himself again, back to the start of the film, as he is about to jump he suddenly remembers where one last NZT pill is and scavaenges through his boxes to retrieve it,  however the Russians break in. The Russian shoots up the last pill via needle and begins to threaten Eddie with slow painful torture. With one final thrust Eddie manages to turn the tables killing the Russian and grumsomely drinking the bloody to gain the pills effects, where he then kills the other two thugs.

At the hospital Hank Attwood dies. Eddie meets the parkette thug in the waiting room, who, now that his boss was dead, allows Eddie to search Brandt's safe where he finds his pills packet.

12 months later Eddie's book is published. He is running for office and meets Carl in his campaign office. Carl hints that he knows how Eddie has done it and has shut down his lab. Carl will guarantee a limitless supply in return for some future inside information. Eddie aggressively comes back, showing off his abilities he says he is off NZT and doesn't need it as he pushes Carl away. At an upscale Chinese restaurant Eddie and Lindy are together again.



Overall Rating:     4/5

End of Module 2 Review

Overall as a whole group:
L4 : A3

Most work has been completed to high standard.

Need to improve:
- upload work
- complete work by deadline

As an individual:

A3















- 2 or 3 tasks haven't been completed or uploaded such as:
- third spoiler review
- dexter

However, tasks completed are detailed, excellent research into thrillers from spoiler reviews, audience expectations, iconic directors.
Organisation of costumes and props.
Storyboards completed creatively.

Need to improve:
- ensure third spoiler review completed
- edit and upload Dexter

Research L2, L3 and L4 previous AS Film Openings

L2: Horror/Thriller


- Uncontrolled use of camera
- Sound is poor quality
- Low amount of title slides
- No clear editing, cutting between slides is rough
- Material isn't really appropriate for target audience
- No real clear genre



L3: Horror



- Material is appropriate for target audience
- Variety of camera shots used however, not many close ups which is key for building tension
- Sound is jumpy which is expected in a horror
- Clearly appropriate for horror genre
- Camera is focused and still
- Lighting is average quality and needs to be improved


L4: Romance/Thriller




- Material is appropriate for target audience, clear story-line for a romance/thriller
- Editing used effectively to create a fade or misty shot within the dream
- Camera shots are significant to the opening
- Title Slides are creative
- Closer to a trailer than a title sequence
-

Contribution to Group Tasks

In our group we have been given tasks to complete throughout the second module, our group have decided to split these tasks up instead of wasting time by doing each task together.

This is the work I contributed and completed for the group:

Week 1:
- Shot Reverse Shot Research

Week 2:
- Iconic Thriller Directors Research

Week 3:
- Group Pitch
- Individual Treatment


Week 4:
- Scene Walkthrough / Map
- Parity Remake Editing
- Parity Remake Sound Foley
- Costume Design List
- Asset List
- Shoot and Edit Schedule

Week 5:
- Colour Coding for Parity
- Storyboard for Animatic

Analysis of Thrillers (Part 2 of 3)

Dorian Gray

"Life is a moment. There is no hereafter. So make it burn always with the hardest flame." - Lord Henry Wotton


The film drops us straight into the dark secrets of Dorian Gray with the murderous scene of Dorian, in a dark and isolated attic; repeatedly plundering a shard from his mirror into his loyal friend, Basil.

The emotions on Dorian's (Ben Barnes) face show nothing but pure evil and corruption as he brutally murders Basil. The innocence and purity Dorian Gray has already been lost leading us to urge for the answers to his corruption.
What has he been through? Why has he done this?

The next scene shows us how Dorian has hidden the body, as he struggles to lift the leaking chest of Basil's blood and body parts into the carriage. A tense scene is created as a police officer offers to help Dorian lift the chest into the carriage as it shows the blood dripping from it. Dark orchestral music plays to also build the tension, however this music seems to be repeated often throughout the movie.

He arrives at a dockyard, another classic thriller location, an isolated dockyard. Here he hides away his secrets, casting them along with the dead body of Basil to the bottom of the sea.

The opening of the film is a basically, summarized version of the scene later on in the movie. This creating the mystery and causes us to ask the main question.Who is this Dorian Gray?

One Year Earlier...


The young, handsome and elegant Dorian appears from the train, the purity and innocent look on his face also contributes to the mystery, making us wonder what is to come that will corrupt the life of Dorian Gray. Oliver Parker decides to show the chest to create a mystery using a prop, however we already know the part in which the chest plays in his corruption later on in the movie.


His old fashioned dress sense, the horse carriage and the buildings of London sets the story in or around the Victorian age.

Oliver Parker decides to show a small view of London with the Thames in the background, he uses the Thames to show a clear line of segregation between the rich and the poor. The camera shows the carriage arriving in the rich part of London; defining Dorian's wealth-fare, besides his elegant attire and a horse carriage, also a clear sign of his wealth.




Dorian has returned to his home city after inheriting his wealth and new manor from the death of his father. We are brought to a locked attic, where we witness a flashback of Dorian's childhood, another classic scene for a thriller. His harsh and brutal upbringing is shown to us through a flashback of Dorian being beaten as a little boy by his father, of which explains the scars, merely shown on his back later in the film. This could also be a reason for Dorian's ease of being manipulated into corruption.

We are then introduced to the beloved and friendly Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), a well known painter who ironically painted the portrait of Dorian's father. Dorian is then persuaded to meet the Lord's and Ladies where he performs his musical skills on the piano, here Basil sketches him as he plays.
The Ladies are flattered by the charms and looks of Dorian of which draws attention from Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth), who drops straight into offering Dorian a cigarette, first of all a classic thriller prop and secondly the first signs corruption.

After the performance, we are brought back to the portrait of Dorian being painted. At this moment, Wotton pays a visit insisting that he and Dorian should have a drink.

We are then brought into the dark streets of London, the poor district where they visit the pub for a drink, an old, dark, broken down and gloomy shack for the drunken workers. Basil leaves to finish off the painting as Wotton corrupts the mind of Dorian; the beginning of the end, of which Wotton quotes 'burn always with the hardest flame' as Dorian gazes upon Sibyl, his future bride.

The next scene is an important part to the movie, here Basil has completed the perfection of his portrait of Dorian Gray. However, as glorious as the portrait is, Wotton continues to corrupt the Dorian into binding his soul to the devil for immortality.

With a flicker of flames as Dorian accepts to sell his soul, a glow from the eyes of the portrait appears to show he has been gifted with everlasting life.
The key to the story of Dorian Gray.


We are then brought back to the old and rotten part of London, where we find Dorian in search for Sibyl, though she was not hard to find being the lead role at a small theatre, playing the role of Aphelia in Hamlet. The young Dorian immediately falls for her, and decides to marry her at the first chance he gets, the boring part of the thriller, long story short after a few meetings and a sex scene, they get engaged. However, he cuts his hand on a please of glass of which he bandages up, which is significant to later on in the film where the cut appears on the painting and vanishes from his hand.

A little celebration/bachelor party occurs a few days later, here we see Dorian with his guardian angel, Basil and his devil, Henry. In one ear we hear Basil congratulating Dorian on his engagement and in the other, Henry pointing out the other beautiful women that Dorian could take.

The young Dorian is easily persuaded and falls to corruption, of which brings us to our next scene where Henry takes Dorian to a brothel. The tension builds as they expected to be at Sibyl's performance as they are smothered by prostitutes; although at first Dorian shows hesitation leading us to think, finally he is going to control himself. However; it is obvious and yet again Dorian falls to Henry's persuasion, resulting in drug-taking and cheating.

They arrive at the theatre back in time for the end of Sibyl's show, where Dorian, Sibyl and Henry propose a toast for their engagement. The scene is tense between Dorian and Sibyl due to the mentioning of children and the change of personality in Dorian; this leads to the accusation of cheating on of which Dorian denies and charges out of the theatre. We see Henry overseeing the drama, looking entertained as if his "plan" is taking action.

He arrives back at his humble abode with a party of friends and women, however there is an unexpected appearance of Sibyl's brother James. Dorian is confused of his arrival and is completely oblivious to the spiteful looks and grieving of James; of which leads us to know a  catastrophe has occurred... Sibyl has committed suicide, drowning herself in the river, quite ironic as she plays the role of Aphelia in Hamlet.

Through a series of emotional and violent shots, James is left unconscious after trying to strangle Dorian to death. Here Dorian is left grieving, frightened and weak, of which Wotton immediately lectures him into believing that the death of Sibyl is the start of Dorian's freedom. Leading to the next morning where Dorian is greeted by Basil; however he shows no signs of grieving or any emotions towards the death of Sibyl in any way.
This is the start of Dorian being lost within the corruption of Henry Wotton.


Dorian's corruption - sex, drugs, murder.

Years later
Wotton's daughter
Death of Dorian


To be completed.....