My AS Thriller Opening Evaluation

Evaluating your own Foundation Portfolio Thriller Opening.

Assessment Criteria	What went well	What did not go quite so well
Shooting material appropriate to the task set;	The material clearly fits the opening of a thriller film.	The thriller opening doesn’t really convey a back-story, which leaves the audience with a sense of enigma as to the why the protagonist is chasing the antagonist. This could be useful when creating a thriller opening though as enigma plays a big part in this genre.
Controlled use of the camera	Good use of the tripod in parts of the thriller opening that it is justified. Good use of handheld camera when the criminal was running away from the detective. This gives the audience an uneasy feeling. Good use of zooming into the pictures on the police board to clearly show the audience the murdered characters. This also shows the audience a closer look of what the protagonist’s gaze is directed upon.	In the first scene there is too much space around the detective when the camera pans behind him. The camera is also handheld here so it seems to be slightly shaky and not a perfect pan around the protagonist. When zooming into the photographs on the corkboard the camera is again handheld which causes the camerawork to be shaky and unprofessional; however, this could cause the audience to feel anxious which works for a thriller opening.
Attention to framing	Good use of framing when both characters are running up the stairs and through the woods. At first the characters don’t seem as if they fit the frame but as they both come up the stairs they end up filling the frame effectively.	When the criminal is running away from the detective after running up the stairs I feel that there is too much space as you can see too much un-necessary woodland. The mobile phone is not perfectly framed with the top and bottom edges out of the frame but we did this as otherwise the text on the phone was illegible.
Variety of shot sizes	A jump cut was apparent when the criminal was running away from the detective. This shows a slight movement in time. Good use of close-ups, medium shots and long shots.	We should have included different angled shots, for example, a canted angle, to give a more diverse thriller opening.
Close attention to mise en scene	Good use of creating a room to look like a police investigation was taking place. Good use of natural lighting outside. Both the protagonist and antagonist were not of Caucasian descent, which could create the feeling that they can beat the stereotype of being perceived as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depending on their skin colour. Good composition of props used in the detective room.	Our use of costume was not official looking, the protagonist was wearing modern clothing and the antagonist’s clothing looked too middle-class for him to perceived as a stereotypical criminal. The antagonist seems to be too well kept (as in, his hairstyle) which makes him seem like he’s not the criminal type. In the first scene the police badge is obviously made out of paper, which could have been enhanced to look more realistic. In the first scene it looks like the White Balance has not been taken care of; however, we used blue lighting, which made it look that way. When the text comes up on the phone it is quite difficult to read and seems a little on the blurry side.
Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer	The shots are clearly set out so that you can immediately understand what is happening when the detective is chasing the criminal.	I feel that when the detective left the room there was not enough filler material to explain the sudden change from him being inside to the outside world. When the antagonist jumps down from the ledge there is a slight pause where he stops for a millisecond, which makes him seem like he’s not trying to run away from anyone, and prevents the action from starting straight away.
Making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects	The credits use an appropriate font for a thriller opening, which is legible. The end title is effective for a thriller because it is almost animated to seem like it has been broken, hence, being parallel to the title ‘Knock Out’. Good use of slow motion impact when the protagonist ‘knocks out’ the antagonist. This causes a break in pace from fast action to a slow pace, which can give the audience a better perception of what’s happening on screen.	I feel that the credit that takes place when the text goes off could divert the attention of the audience to read that instead of the text.
Recording and editing sound with images appropriately.	The music is good because it is quite eerie and would suit that of a thriller opening. The music features sudden beats and the pace becomes quicker as the thriller opening goes on.	There was no dialogue used by any of the characters. The sound jumps a little during the chase scene through the woods, which could put off the audience.