Friday, 11 December 2015

G321 Thriller Planning - Improved Introduction

It seems that the last title sequence didn't live up to our expectations so I made an updated version with an improved logo and displaying of our slogan. Enjoy!

Wednesday, 18 November 2015

G321 Thriller Research - Mad Max Review.

MadMazAus.jpg


Crazy bikers to desperation for fuel, in this review I will be talking about one of George Miller’s most popular movies and soon a series “Mad Max”.

Mad Max is a 1979 Dystopian action movie set in Australia directed by George Miller, produced by Byron Kennedy and starring Mel Gibson as the title role as “Max Rockatansky”. The movie is about a group of Australian officers trying to eradicate a bike gang led by “The Toecutter” (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne).

This may be different that Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill Vol. 1 which were my past reviews but Mad Max uses really visually pleasing effects, no computers and CGI were used, instead professionals and hand crafted effects were used, in the year 1979 computers were not capable of editing film but the film makers proved that computers are not needed to produce such a masterpiece feature. Due to the success of the movie, Miller went on to spawn three more movies the first two being direct sequels to the original story line the films were “Mad Max: The Road Warrior” and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdrome” and a reboot movie to the series and the fourth movie in the series titled “Mad Max Fury Road” which replaced Mel Gibson for Tom Hardy who took over the role of Max.


Mad Max mixes both action and thriller aspects for action it uses a character who can defy gravity and survive unlikely events, and for thriller taking place in a realistic setting and dangerous locations such as the hideout of the bike gang.

Mad Max is quite restricted and does not show much violence but that all changed in the sequels (not as bad as Kill Bill violence levels).

Overall the movie is too a must see and it is an absolute classic it cannot be missed, the sequels I will think will be great (I will review the rest of the Mad Max series in the future, stay alert for those).

Mad Max clips - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqoi2WmV2Ofa268glWf5mpXL
 

G321 Thriller Research - Once Upon a Time in America study.


Tuesday, 17 November 2015

G321 Thriller Research - Kill Bill Volume 1 Review.

Kill bill vol one ver.jpg



Quentin Tarantino PictureBadass martial arts to gory battles, in this review I will be talking about the fourth movie produced by Quentin Tarantino “Kill Bill Volume 1”.ll Bill Vol. 1 is a 2003 American Martial Arts movies which is written and directed by king of action and gore Quentin Tarantino who was most notable to have written directed and even star in his previous movie “Pulp Fiction” (Pulp Fiction Review - http://lukesyderasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/g321-thriller-research-pulp-fiction.html)
The movie is about a woman (played by Uma Thurman – Who last appeared in Pulp Fiction as “Mia”) as she seeks revenge on her cold blooded assassination squad led by Bill (Played by David Carradine) after they attempted to murder her during her wedding and in the process killing her unborn baby.
Similar to Pulp Fiction, the movie uses many professional and creative shots during the production, the constant change from colour to black and white filters brings out the personality and drama of each character and event, the most famous scene in the film being the fight against the crazy 88 with the black and white filter, the music played and the filter brings out a western and Chinese martial art movie tone.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 uses the elements of a thriller movie (like dangerous locations, a realistic setting which comes through events and locations, cramped locations such as Vernita Green’s house at the beginning of the movie, rooms and boot of vehicles).
Kill Bill Vol. 1 uses excessive gore and violent and is even more graphic than Pulp Fiction you think that was bad just wait until you watch Kill Bill there is literally blood spraying everywhere and limbs being taken away from the victims but I don’t want to go in greater detail unless you want your breakfast, lunch and dinner to come out.

Overall the movie is a must see as it contains a memorable cast, effective filters and gripping plots.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 Clips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgRlzeYc1nk&list=PL9D10D8B604D6B7EC&index=1




Friday, 13 November 2015

G321 Completed Projects Label.

Here is a new label where I will be putting my completed projects on.

G321 Thriller Research - Pulp Fiction Review.





Cold blooded killers to heavy drug use, in this review I will be talking about the most popular Quentin Tarantino movie “Pulp Fiction”.

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 movie that was directed, written and even starred Quentin Tarantino. The movie is about the lives of two hit men Vince (Played by John Travolta) and Jules (Played by Samuel L. Jackson), a boxer known as Butch (Played by Bruce Willis), a gangsters wife Mia (Played by Uma Thurman) and two diner bandits named Ringo and Yolanda (Played by Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer).

The movie uses many professional and creative camera shots in the movie the most notable being the shot from the boot of the hit men’s car in the first part of the movie, the constant use of close ups and focus shots makes us ‘focus’ on a certain character or event that is put on the screen. The locations of the film make it a top quality thriller film for example tight corridors in Butch’s old apartment, the basement in the gun store, and the busy streets.

Pulp Fiction uses the elements of a thriller movie (like dangerous locations, a realistic setting which comes through drug barons and locations, cramped locations such as corridors and rooms and boot of vehicles).

The film also mixes black comedy and dresses it within a thriller movie, the funny moments include the hit men (who are displayed as two laid back and sarcastic men) especially when Vince shoots Marvin the reactions of the two just make the situation worse which combines the genres together (the guns and violence promoting the thriller, and the reactions of the men which lastly promote black comedy).

Overall, the movie is ambitious, the use of professional and effective camera angles really empathise the power of the hit men (boot of the car scene when we look up the hit men connoting authority and power) and the black comedy which gives the movie a dynamic and ambitious feel.
 
Pulp Fiction "I shot Marvin in the face" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBBni_-tMNs
Pulp Fiction "Ezekial 25:17 (Brett's death scene) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2WK_eWihdU
Pulp Fiction "A Shot of Adrenaline" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOoJoTAXDPk
 

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

G321 Preliminary Task - Alternative Ending

We (Group 2) have produced the alternate ending to our Preliminary Task, the Final Cut of the task will be on here and YouTube in the near future, hope you enjoy this video!



G321 Preliminary Task - Trailer

I have produced a trailer based upon our Preliminary Task, the final cut and alternative ending will be put on the blog in the very near future!

Trailer:

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

G321 Preliminary Task - Gag Reel.

We have finished recording our Preliminary Task, but we are still in the editing phase. But we have produced a gag reel containing all our mishaps and accidents that happened during our recording process over the past few days, enjoy!

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

PhotoPeach presentation.

This is a re-do of my photo shoot presentation, this time I am using the website PhotoPeach.
Enjoy my PhotoPeach presentation!

Photo Shoot - PhotoPeach Presentation. on PhotoPeach

Introduction to new 'label' - Evaluation

In this new label, I will be posting my evaluation in the near future.

Prezi Version of Summer Task

http://prezi.com/41ijfmfdav80/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

The link above is my Prezi version of my summer task based upon Noire films.

G321 Thriller Research - The Seventh Seal

I have chosen to upload this clip because it uses a black and white filter and many ambitious shots that I could use for my Final Thriller Film.
I can use the shots and the filters in my movie to add tension and drama, these are the key items of a thriller film, and most successful films like "Casino Royale" and "Kill Bill" Movies use these to add a dramatic and dark tone.

The Seventh Seal: The knight's first meeting with death:

G321 Thriller Research - Kill Bill Volume 1 Clip

I chose to post this video clip from "Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)", because it includes many uses of different shots that I could use in my Final Thriller Film.
I can use the type of shots in order to achieve a higher grade by using ambitious shots, and to add tension and panic, this movie uses these shots to add tension and to make the audience be "on the edge of their seats" by using tight and claustrophobic spaces and shots.

At the beginning of the clip, it uses a type of effective shot this is "Shot Reverse Shot", the use of this reflects the past relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist known as "Vernita" and shows how the protagonist has grown to hate Vernita, the use of the black and white filter within the shot connotes sadness and despair to past events and the flip back to colour then shows the audience that the clip has gone back to the present and to display how much hate she has towards the antagonist.

The use of the worms eye shot in the clip gives the character vulnerability and displays a chance that the character may meet a gruesome and horrible end to their lives, many other action movies like it's sequel / follow up to Tarantino's classic "Kill Bill Vol. 2" and in Frank Miller's "300" use this to achieve the same purpose, to make the audience feel that the character is vulnerable and in danger, the character its looking up at makes them seem powerful and in current control

The use of zooms and close ups gives the clip a tight and claustrophobic atmosphere which will thrill the audience and create tension within the clip.
The use of zoom also focuses on the hate between the two characters (which is achieved in the beginning of the clip and during the fight).

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (1/12) Movie CLIP - Hello Vernita (2003) HD:

Current Status of Preliminary Task.

We have currently filmed for 4 hours, we have completed a draft.
We are half way through our final Preliminary Task film, we need to finish this off and edit our movie to add features and music.
We have also captured footage for our gag-reel, which we will be posting on each of our blogs.

Introduction to new 'label'.

This is my first post on "My Extra Curricular work".
On this page, I will be posting extra footage from my Preliminary task.

Thursday, 17 September 2015

G322B Film industry - Media Studies Film Essay.

I have just completed my essay based upon the film industry and how new technologies are affecting them.


Wednesday, 16 September 2015

G321 Preliminary task Planning - Photo shots.

During the lesson, we took some photos to get used to how to shoot some certain scenes for our preliminary task that we will be commencing next lesson.
Here is a slideshow, showing our work / photos that is going towards our preliminary task.


Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Post Preliminary task idea.

Group 2:
Actor (Victim / Main) - Luke Syder.
Actor (Thief / Secondary) - Cameron Owen.
Camera Work - Rahim Rahat.

Name of Production - "Missing".

Plot :
The protagonist is looking for his missing flash drive, including all of his files, the antagonist says he has not seen it and will let the protagonist know if he sees it, turns out the antagonist has had it all along!
But we produced an alternative ending, the protagonist leaves the room, the antagonist feels bad that he took the flash drive, he runs after the protagonist and gives it back, the two then become friends.

*During our shooting, we can across some funny situations like actors tripping over hazards, break downs, and awkward and hilarious moments, so we will also do a "gag reel", this will be posted on the blog, along with the original Preliminary task and alternative ending.*
Prop ->

Studied Movies for Summer task images.

Here is the movies that I studied for my summer task:
Casino Royale, L.A. Noire and L.A. Confidential.



G321 Thriller Research - YouTube clips (Summer Gap Task Research).

Here is a embed of three YouTube videos, the first clip is the pre-title opening of "Casino Royale". The second clip is the opening of "L.A. Confidential, and the final clip is the opening of Rockstar Games "L.A. Noire. I chose this as it includes many similar features to a classic thriller film, such features like the black and white filter, a fight scene and a confrontation. I also studied these clips as part of my Media Summer Gap Task. Enjoy!
In the first clip, I can use its black and white filter in my movie because it can add a darker and eerie tone.
In the second clip, I can include the shots to produce ambition and to add variety to my film.
In the third and final clip, I can use the location and shots in my movie, I could use streets and alleyways to shoot my movie as most thriller film scenes take place in the street or in dark and treacherous alleyways, also I can use the shots to add tension and tone.
Once again, enjoy the clips!

Video 1:


Video 2:


Video 3:

G321 Thriller research - Media Studies Summer task.

Wednesday, 9 September 2015

Introduction - All about me!

Hello everybody, my name is "Luke Syder", and this is my 'AS Levels Media Studies Blog'!