The 180° Rule:

What is the 180° rule?
It is a rule stating that a camera should be placed somewhere inside 180° on a particular side of the invisible of a shot containing two people filmed in sequence. If the camera crosses the line, confusion results for the film viewer, because it makes it look like the people are switching places as one watches the film.

- Always keep the camera on one side of the action.

Here is an example of the 360° rule and how it can look when crossing the line.

Notes to make when filming:

White Balance: Blue & Yellow
Exposure: Light & Dark
Focus: Clear & Blurry 

What are the 7 most common mistakes that people make whilst filming?
- Back lighting: either too bright or too dark (not all the time)
- Head hunting: where only the persons head is seen
- Upstanding: extreme high up angles
- Jogging: Shaky camera
- Motor zooming: zooming whilst filming (Do not zoom!)
- Snap shooting
- Fire hosting/jumping the scene: jumpy camera movement 

Match on Action Example

What is match on action?

Match on action is an editing technique which allows the editor to use continuity in which it cuts from one shot to another removing the 'boring' aspects of the clip. Match on action often involves different camera angles, shots and heights to create more of an effect and keep the viewer intrigued the whole way through the shot. Match on action is used to avoid jump cutting from scene to scene; this makes the clip flow smoothly throughout.

Ideal location For A Thriller Film: (Location Recee)

For my thriller film location I have chosen to locate mine in quite a central, main aspect of London: Piccadilly circus. Unfortunately I have not been able to visit the location in person recently but I have various reasons as to why I have chosen this specific place.  

The reasons I feel as if Piccadilly Circus will be a good choice is because I have the idea of a main character running through the streets of London and Piccadilly Circus is a main busy environment plus it mimics New York Time Square. So as the main character is running through the streets he has to juggle the battle of busy London and weaving past everybody around.

The next scene would then cut into the character running into Piccadilly Tube Station, the tube station will be dark and cold and it sets up enigma codes making you think from the start. Why is he at the tube station? Will he get the tube? If so where? It sets the scene and keeps you intrigued throughout.

The Purge: Thriller Spoiler Review

Its 2022. Crime in the USA is at a very minimum amount of 1% thanks to the annual Purge that takes place over 12 hours from 7pm on the 21^st March until 7am the following morning. During the purge, people are allowed to commit any crime they wish without any form of consequence against anyone except Category 10 US government officials. Throughout the annual Purge no emergency services are available, meaning no ambulance, police or fire services are available to help those who are targeted throughout the 12 hours. Critics of the purge say that it is used by the rich to target and punish the poor as they are the only people who are unable to defend themselves.

The Purge is a great example of a thriller. The specific genres of the Purge are actually Thriller, Horror, Si-Fi and Fantasy however Thriller stands out the most. You get a real feel of suspense and mystery as you never know what’s going to happen next.

It starts off with a regular family preparing themselves for tonight’s arrival of the Purge. After lock down had started the family could continue with everyday things within the house however Charlie (the young boy) spots a man screaming for help in the neighbourhood. He looked as if he was in pain and was terrified for his life. When Charlie was alone in the basement you see him tempt forwards to unarm the house. Straight away, your first instinct is to scream at the TV “DON’T DO IT!”, ”DON’T LET THE MAN IN THE HOUSE”.  The story then begins to set up various enigma codes that you are just itching to know the answers too, for example why did Charlie let the stranger into his house?

Soon after the stranger had been let into the house, the gang of people after the ‘homeless’ man appeared at the doorstep of the family. How did they know he was in that specific house? Why was they after that specific man? Many questions begin to make you wonder and want to carry on watching building up suspense as you get further in. Soon before the gang broke into the house threatening to kill not only the ‘homeless’ man but the family themselves there was power cut. This itself increased the intensity of the suspense and mystery. You see the family walking around the house in the dark trying to avoid the gang, as well as the gang trying to harm the family, but because it is dark you never know what is going to pop out. Therefore, your mind is constantly going through what could happen, keeping you intrigued and on edge at all times.

Towards the end you discover a plot twist that you would never had expected. Why did the neighbours (friends of the family) come round to their house within the Purge hours save the family, but then want to kill them themselves?

The film itself is an intense film that will keep you intrigued the whole way through, with suspense, mystery and questions throughout. It is a very successful thriller film and even leaves you at the end with an enigma code that you want to know what happens next but you will never find out.  

   

I rate this film a 4.5/5 for the thriller genre due to the high volume of suspense kept throughout.

The purge film trailer:

Enigma Codes

Enigma codes pose questions to the audience which are then answered shortly after or later on in the film. Enigma codes start off towards the very beginning of the film this is a great technique as it entices the audience and keeps them intrigued throughout the whole film instead of giving it away straight away.

Example: Fight Club

Who is Tyler Durden?

Jack- This is possibly the name of the unnamed protagonist. He was once a slave of capitalism but was aware and suffered from insomnia because of it. Upon realising this, he formed an alternate personality and alter ego called Tyler Durden in order to live a more primitive and unpredictable life. What triggered this was likely his encounter with Marla whose philosophy about life was that she could die any time. “Like so many others I had become a slave,” (referring to slave of capitalism and conforming to pointless consumerist demands.)
Tyler Durden- Our unnamed protagonists alter ego and alternate personality. Tyler Durden represented everything Jack wasn’t, a non conformer to the dominant ideologies of society and primitive in form. He guides the protagonist who imagines his presence on the path to enlightenment or rather to a primitive state of mind and for his ambitions. At the films resolution we partially believe both personalities must have fused together. Tyler is charismatic, physically capable and has no fear which is what was needed for Jack’s hidden agenda to be achieved. “The things you own end up owning you”.

Thrillers

What 2 words define the mood & atmosphere of a thriller?
- Suspense
- Mystery

Why do we have title sequences?
We have title sequences at the beginning of films to introduce the main characters, directors, production companies ect also having big names or well known production companies at the beginning of films allows the film itself as well as the actor to earn and produce more money.

How many title slates should there roughly be in a title sequence?
30

Which name comes first in a title sequence (slate 1)?
The production companies

- Thrillers are most likely to be set in cities e.g. London, New York

Napoleon Dynamite Title Remake:

Napoleon Dynamite Title Remake:

We have been set the challenge of re-making the well known title/opening sequence to Napoleon Dynamite.

The reason behind re-making this sequence is to enable us to gather the correct informations we need about title sequences and in turn how to produce on which will come in handy later on in the course.

Here we learnt how many titles are roughly in one title sequence (20-30), how to edit each clip into the correct places with the correct timings, it tells us that a title sequence must include production companies, cast ect; overall it was put in place for us to create as it helped us learn what makes up a title sequence.