Definition of Suspence/Shock.

What is the definition of suspense/shock? Give examples from scenes in North by Northwest/The Birds.

Suspense is where the viewer is uncertain about the next thing that may occur, this is a very powerful technique to use in a film due to it drawing in the viewer because this makes the film look mysterious and makes the viewer anticipate what will happen next so they are more likely to carry on watching if this technique is used well. There are lots of use of shock and suspense in North by Northwest when Roger O. Thornhill is shot by Eve Kendall and we do not know what happens until the next scene where we find out it was a fake shooting and it was all setup. This is a good use of suspense because once the scene of the shooting happens you do not expect it to happen at first and then you are in suspense till the next scene reveals that he is fine. Another example of suspense is also in North by Northwest when Roger Thornhill is waiting at the bus stop to meet the person that he is being excused of being and there is suspense building up by the crop duster when another man arrives where he is and then mentions about how the crop duster is dusting parts where there are no crops building up the suspense on whether the crop duster is meant to be there, later into that scene the crop duster attacts Roger and keeps trying and trying. During this scene there is no other music or dialog but the sound of the crop duster getting closer and further away while the piolet attempts to hit the main character Roger Thornhill.

AS Media Studies Written Assignment.

AS Media Studies -Written Assignment.

This 'story' we did was about 2 friends meeting up with each-other then meeting a friend named "George". They meet up and then go to lesson, but they don't know where the lesson is and decide to just guess what classroom they are in. We tried to put in every camera shot possible with the equipment available for our use and the expertise in the camera working industry. We did all the camera shots that we were capable of doing, as we can't do a crane shot due to that needing either a crane or helicopter for a big long shot of an area.

Thinking behind each shot.

Each shot we did we tried to make every shot look as professional as the camera quality is not that high. We used partially shots for each moment because they fitted the scene well. For example the close up on Wesley asking "What lesson have we got next?" and thats the main line of the whole project due to it being the main reason they are meeting and walking together. As this is the main line this shows that they are so lost they do not even know what classroom they have to be in. A moving shot was the three friends walking to the room they think they need to be so we decided to do a tracking shot of them walking up to the class.

Our choices of shots were quite successful as we did not have a problem with recording, the only problem was that we had to take quite a few shots as we kept laughing at the close up and the communication at 'rolling' and 'action; because we spoke to quick after we said action so we had to be careful with that or you could hear action before they speak. I was the camera man for this project and I think I held the camera quite well when i was recording when the tripod was not set down as all I had to hold it with is the tripod on the camera, and the only time I wasn't holding onto the camera is when George was doing his POV shot when it was quite hard to hold steady as he could only hold it with one hand so there may be some noticeable movements.

When shooting each frame we did not come with a problem but the only thing that went wrong is the end of the short film is the extreme close up on the door handle being opened as we used 2 shots for that and in one shot we used the left arm to open the door and in the other shot it was the right arm that opened it, it isn't that noticeable but when looked in closely it was. When we did a high angle shot of all 3 of the friends speaking that made it look like there was a sense of them being lost because they were as they did not know where to go when they were looking for the classroom. We used this twice from the long shot of them walking towards the classroom and it made everything look big around them so they look like just a small spec on the camera to show even a more sense of them being lost. The reason we didn't do some of the shots needed was the time span we had to do this and the planning of it and even for the first lesson we didn't have one of the people that had to be in the short film so we had to make do with that for the first time shooting the scene.

Editing.

When it came to editing, we had only some problems in how we could do things as this was a new program to learn but we took it in quick and got used it quick, we learned how to use the fade effect, not only on a film but on audio as well, we also used audio buffing so some audio could be louder then others. If I could edit it again or do some editing then I would of made some of the dialog louder as the audio on the camera is not very strong and when outside it is hard to hear what they are saying to each-other. For when we do the proper coarse work we will make sure you can hear each shot well and the quality of editing is at a higher standard because this is only the beginning of getting used to a new program and camera work. Once we learn some more complicated editing skills in the program, I will try and make the editing look better.

Overall.

One of the most positive elements was the long shot of all 3 friends walking to lesson because it looks very natural and not put on when they were walking, another shot will be the tracking shot of them walking to door as the tracking shot is quite steady for what we could use equipment wise for it. In this short film I would of like to of made an improvement on the extreme close up of the door handle as we should of took note of what arm he used to open it in the other shot so it looked better, that was the only part that went wrong in the whole short film. Overall I think for a first time project it went pretty well and there is not a lot of moments of the film where it just looks terrible, but I would of liked to of had more time to film scenes so it looks better at the end product. 

Meeting George. (VIDEO)

Thriller Blog Project.

Meeting George.

This is the first project we did for Media Studies.

Introduction to Thrillers.

Introduction to Thrillers.

What is a Thriller?

Thrillers are a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The main goal of a Thriller is to keep the audience unaware of what is about to occur and keep them at the edge of their seats. In most thrillers the protagonist in this genre are set against a problem, an escape, a mission or a mystery. The tension with the main problem at hand is built up through out the film and leads to a highly stressful climax. 

Examples of Thrillers.

The Great Escape
North By Northwest 
The Silence of the Lambs 

These Thrillers are classics and are known as being one of the best ever being produced.

What is a Cliffhanger?

A Cliffhanger is a plot device used in films, stories, novels, poems etc. It is normally found at the end of a story, or in a Television episode where it leaves the viewer or reader not knowing what is going to happen after which attracted the viewer into wanting to read more of the story, or watch the next episode of a series because it is used to make the story of either a book or film look very interesting that you will want to carry on reading or watching.

What is a Red-herring?

A red-herring is a device used in films and novels that at first appears to be giving you a clue but in fact you find out sooner that it does not. Using this in a film can give it a big twist to it and change what you thought of one character and change your opinion on the character to something else. For example this is used well in "North By Northwest" where we think a character is doing something horrible and deceiving, but in fact they are the complete opposite.