Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Previous Student Example Analysis: Locked In

I found this AS Thriller opening on YouTube and decided to analyse it for strengths and weaknesses to see if there is anything we could use in our film.

Strengths of this Opening

  • I really like the camerawork in this film. One of the shots I like in particular is the close-up at the end of the opening of the phone ringing in the dead girl's hand. This is particularly effective and confirms to the audience that the girl is dead. I think we could potentially use a shot like this in our film for when the hit man's associate calls him to tell him that the other girl is dead. 
  • I also like the costumes. They are all very dark colours, at some points they are so dark that they blend in with the scenery but I quite like that. I think it is important that our characters (particularly the hit men) dress dark. 
  • The narrative is also very complex, which is very typical of Thrillers. I think it may have been a bit too complex to understand without having some kind of explanation; usually dialogue or a voiceover is a good way around that. 
  • The lighting in the film was excellent. Most of the film was shot at night and so it was very dark, which created a suspenseful atmosphere.
Weaknesses of this Opening
  • I wasn't too fond of how the titles appeared in the opening. I think they could have been 'embedded' with a little more care so they look a bit more natural when watching the film. However, this could just be my personal opinion. 
  • The music played during the opening isn't very typical of a thriller film. Although it relates to the narrative, it isn't very tense or suspenseful and so the opening feels like a bit of an underwhelming experience, especially when the two men are chasing someone. I think in our film it would be a good idea to use some slightly faster, more tense music to increase the tension. 
Overall, this is a really effective Thriller opening and I would really like to use some of their camerawork and lighting in our film. I have also learnt that titles are very important and that it may be worth us spending a lot of time on making sure that our titles 'flow' throughout the opening. 

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