Film-Studies Blogs

RISK FADE IN: EXT. OPEN SETTING. MID DAY A teenage boy THROWS a DICE up in the air (Slow Motion) SHOW EMPTY ENVIRONMENT AND MAIN PROTAGONIST BOY V.O. LAYERED DIALOGUE I roll a one I live, I roll a two I die. The dice decides everything. It’s all a game. I live by the dice. The boy is SITTING down on a long grassy patch. He ROLLS the dice in his HAND while LOOKING around the empty setting. EXT. CUT TO THE BOY LISTENING TO MUSIC THROUGH EARPHONES, WHILE A BUSY ROAD CAN BE SEEN IN THE DISTANCE. A CAR SPEEDS PAST, CAUSING THE BOY TO QUICKLY TURN HIS HEAD TO LOOK. BOY V.O. Three and below I follow, four and above I don’t. EXT.THE DICE LANDS ON A ONE AND THE BOY BEGINS TO MOVE AFTER THE CAR-FOLLOWING IT HOME. HE PEERS ROUND A HEDGE AND LOOKS IN EVERY WINDOW OF THE HOUSE TO SEE IF ANYONE IS THERE. ONCE THE DRIVER HAS DISAPPEARED, HE IS READY TO STEAL THE CAR. The boy shifts towards the CAR and crouches down by the SIDE of it near the ...

Circular shot of dice on the floor to display the key theme of the film. Boy looks at the dice in his hand and slowly rolls it around showing the numbers 1-6. Tilt shot down to boy-We see a car driving past in the distance. This distracts him and he quickly stands up ready to go after it. With a roll of the dice, this decides whether he should follow the car or not. Tracking/Stationary shots of the boy walking toward the driveway. Short clips front and behind to display movement. Panning shot of the car pulling into the driveway and parking. Extreme close up of the wheel as it comes to a steady stop. After the boy steals the car, include many extreme close ups and long shots displaying the environment.  Boy gets out the car and walks over a wooden bridge (Over Camera) Boy shows the dice away after receiving multiple numbers of bad luck. Smooth transition between the boy and a new character walking in from out of frame. Final ...

Evaluation During the planning stages of our short film, we considered the ideas of gambling and risk as we wanted to try and create a thriller. We came up with the idea of using a dice to decide a person’s life choices and how lucky they are depending on what number they roll. This was perfect as a starting point as it gave us a lot of options and paths to go down during the filming to truly showcase the events that could occur in someone’s life if this was a reality.  As we had created the basic plot and style of the project, we began to think about locations. We wanted to stay away from usual locations that both of us had used before as we needed to create something unique and original. Therefore, we stayed close to my house and filmed within fields, large open areas, and by the sides of roads in order to make the film flow with other scenes involving a car. This was due to the fact that we filmed many shots showing the main character stealing a car because of rolls on...

Orson Welles Auteur Analysis Orson Welles is a classic Film Noir filmmaker who appears in most of the movies he creates. His signature style is extremely noticeable throughout his films as he often deals with death, crime, and includes a strong female character. To add to the theme of crime and mystery, Welles often uses low-key, high contrast lighting to distort to hide the faces of many of his characters. Due to most of his films being shot in black and white because of the restrictions at the time, this causes filmmakers at the time to focus more on shadows and low-key/high-key lighting to create the atmosphere for the films.  In addition, Orson Welles often shows the downfall of a main character, sometimes the 'detective'. He does this by incorporating themes of isolation and corruption. Welles also includes the concept of the  'right and wrong' or 'moral and immoral' in his films to show contrasting sides to the plot. Take 'The Lady from Shan...

Presentation Review From the feedback I was given from my presentation on Guillermo Del Toro, I know that I should attempt to use more images to demonstrate some of my points, especially linking with Del Toro's use of colour. Also, next time i could try to create a video essay to further show my points in more detail. I think that having dialogue behind my images and evidence would further display my point with some of the topics i chose to discuss.  In addition, my partners said that i included a lot of detailed information to explain the different auteur features in detail and that I included examples from other sources such as the real life ghost story that the director experienced, persuading him to create Crimson Peak. From the research I did into Guillermo Del Toro, i found out there was more evidence to suggest he was an auteur than i originally thought. He uses primary, tertiary, and contrasting colours on the colour wheel to convey character emotions and be...

How far does Inception and Blade Runner demonstrate a constant shift between passive and active spectatorship? Both Inception and Blade Runner were not created with the passive spectator in mind. These films throw twists and a large variety of information at the audience that some may not understand in one run through of the film. Because of these two different kinds of spectators, the films have an extremely diverse set of opinions. As an auteur, Christopher Nolan constantly bends time and uses a peculiar layout for storytelling. As some of his films do not pan out in the original ‘beginning, middle, end’ structure, ‘Inception’ follows this trend to a certain degree. The movie-epic spans across several different dream layers and tends to bounce back and forth. However, the film itself is a very ‘spoon-fed’ experience as details to this world are thrown at the audience from the beginning as the basic plot starts to emerge. The recognition of Nolan’s films has always been achie...

Approaching The Unknown What Makes it independent: It has a budget of $1.3 million and contains a simple selection of special effects. It was produced by Vertical Entertainment with co production for Paramount Pictures. What is the production cost: The films budget was $1.3 million but the movie only brought in £10,232 in the box office. The major star and main actor in the movie is Mark Strong who has starred in other films such as Kingsman and Sherlock Holmes.  It hasn't won any awards after mixed reviews, with many saying it wasn't satisfying to watch through its 90 minute run-time. However, Mark Strong gives a powerful performance but the poor for the Indie film needs more depth and interest.