The Shawshank Redemption Camera Shots

The first shot is a high angle wide shot in a Court house. A man is in the centre who I believe to be the prosecutor, this shows that he is very significant throughout the film and it draws the audience right into the centre of the action. The camera is very high and steady which makes me believe that a crane could of been used, there is no establishing shot which I find interesting as it just goes into the story.
The camera shot then changes to a medium close up of the opposition holding a gun, the dialogue also is very dramatic. The use of medium close up brings the audience into the story and draws the audience closer into whats happening. In this shot I love how dramatic it is from the dialogue, props and the camera shot and it makes the scene intense and makes the audience asking questions, what has the prosecuted done? and why has he done it?.
The shot then changes to a mid shot which keeps zooming in and the camera is very steady which makes me believe that it is on a tripod. With the use of dialogue the shot seems like a flashback of a couple kissing, the shot then changes to a close up over shoulder shot of the couple but only the woman face is shown. I love this scene as before the shot it was very intense ' I summit this was not a crime of hot blooded passion ' shows more of an insight to the story, and draws the audience in because they have seen the victim who they believe has been murdered.
The camera shot then changes back to the opposition mid shot, which could represent the present date.
A cut in close up has then been added to show bullets being put in the gun, this scene is very intense as we know apart of the story already that a gun was used and I also like how it seems like a flashback.
The camera shot then changes to a mid, wide shot of the prosecutor in the centre showing he is the person who the dialogue which is in view of the opposition is aimed at. The camera slowly zooms into the prosecutor face as he is told the verdict. The use of a close up is to observe his reaction to the verdict which is shock and fear. I love the use of close up as you can see his reactions and after he closes his eyes, which could represent vulnerability, fear or regret.
The shot then follows through where the prosecutor closed his eyes to a black shot this could represent two possibilities if it was a dream or a flashback which I find very interesting.
A high angle camera establishing shot is used as it shows the prison and the equipment used for the high angle may of been a dolly shot as the camera is very smooth and steady or a plane as it is very high and goes around the prison. The use of a high angle shot represents how powerless the prisoners are and the vulnerability the prosecutor is going to feel.
A cut away side mid shot is used of Morgan Freeman the narrator and the dialogue then changes to him narrating and it also could represent he is a significant character.

Thriller Research- The Godfather

I have researched the genre Thriller and I found a worldwide poll in which the public chose the best and worst of thriller films. I then chose to look at the opening of the top best thriller film to see what what makes a good thriller opening. The Godfather reached number one with 365,190 votes.
The opening is intreging as the screen is blacked out, then the dialogue starts with 'I believe in America' which is intense as it makes the audience want to know the impact of what he just said and it sounds like he is defending himself.
The camera shot is a close up of a man talking about his daughter and as he talking the camera is in reverse zoom, which is a simple technique but effective in making the opening tense and already the audience are sitting on the edge of there seat.
I love how the opening is so dramatic and it adds tension to the atmosphere especially the dialogue as it talks about how his daughter was assaulted by her boyfriend and his friend, the audience gets a clear image that the man is the father and you get a sense of love he loves his daughter and the hatred he has for these men who attacked his daughter, this is easily told by the emotions in his face and his voice which has sunk the audience in to the film.
As the speech reaches to the most emotional part 'she was a beautiful girl (long pause) now she will never be beautiful again' and the father begins to cry and that line and acting is so dramatic and the audience gets emotional as well, and the camera begins to zoom out and the audience can see a shadowed head resting on a hand in the left hand corner, this makes the film more dramatic as the audience wonder who the man is and why is the father telling him this and it also gives a sense of the father seeing a councillor as the men are sitting opposite from each other.
As the camera is zooming out and the man figure is becoming clearer, then the other men immediately starts with 'Why didn't you come to me first' this gets the audience really wondering who the man is and how much power does he have to be saying that he is better than the law system.
In the opening my favourite part is when the second man asks what the other man wants done and the father whispers in his ear even though the camera is in extreme zoom between the two men the main focus is the mouth to ear, they are both blacked out which adds tension, mystery and a interest in the conversation between the two men.
As the father walks away the camera is medium zoom on the second man, he looks like he is thinking but his expression is blank which makes it seem he has heard worse things.
The opening is so dramatic and I think that's what makes a brilliant thriller opening.

Genres

In class we was discussing what genre we are interested in for our two minute film we will be creating.
The genres were thriller, romantic comedy, comedy, chick flick, horror and action all of the genres are different and have different aspects to the story lines and filming for example in a horror the camera may be shaky and zoomed into peoples faces to add tension and fear but in a comedy the camera is usually not zoomed in as many things may be going on in the background and to add a focus to the characters but also to become aware of the set.
I am very interested in thriller as i have been watching many thriller films and there are so camera shots and story lines you can add to create more drama and tension.
However, I am also interested in comedy films as not many people film them but I think it will be hard to try to be funny that it will end up being cheesy and idiotic.

The Shawshank Redemption

I have chosen The Shawshank Redemption as it is a brilliant film.
Already in the beginning it sets the characters to the film as the main character is the narrator and everything is told from his point of view which I find so interesting as you already feel like you know the character.
As the narrator introduces himself and the story in the opening 'Their must be a con like me in every prison in America I'm the guy who can get it for you, so when Andy Defrane came to me in 1949 and asked me to smuggle him to Hayven in to the prison there I told him no problem' shows he is judgemental and Andy is significant throughout the film and like the famous phrase 'Never judge a book by its cover'.
I also like the camera shots as it goes around the prison with dramatic music which shows the setting and it can represent the genre crime and drama. I find interesting how the camera focuses on to the two main characters Ray the narrator and Andy the person who Ray was talking about, and what I found most interesting is that the narrator tells Andy's story as to why he is in prison 'killed his wife and others' the quotation shows that he seems really violent but then the narrator says 'he was Vice President of a large cooperate bank' shows that he was successful but then the contrast between him being a murder and the vulnerability in Andy's face as all of the prisoners are cheerful and banging the fence like a parade.
It makes the audience wonder what will happen in the story as Andy luxuriates will be taken away and he seems like a lamb being fed to lions as he looks petrified, he seems like a child as he looks up to the prison building and its so tall and it makes the prison seem like a metaphor as it is intimidating and patronising, which could represent him going in to prison and his journey which is shown through his facial emotions.
What I love the most about the opening is how it is narrated as it seems like the narrator is remembering it 'I never thought a lot about him the first time I saw him' I think this gives more heart to the film and it also shows that Andy's journey is significant throughout the film, and the narrator and then the character talks and there is no pause between the swap.
I would recommend The Shawshank Redemption as it will have you sitting on the edge of your seat as there are themes of revenge, murder, prison and friendship and it is a brilliant and memorable film as well as the lines 'Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free'.

Which film makes the biggest impact to the audience?

I think that 'Ghost Ship' has a huge impact on the audience, as your initial feeling about the film is that it is going to be romantic and a chick flick with the woman singing a calm and relaxing song, the setting is set in a ball where people are dancing and dressed formally and the camera zooms out and it shows everyone dancing which gives a 'warm traditional' feeling in which you do not expect something bad to happen.
Then the audience is introduced to the setting which is set on a cruise which makes the audience think of 'debutante', which is a daughter of an upper class family who is a newly adult and shes introduced to a formal society to show her 'new' image.
The camera keeps on zooming on to couples and the singer. The camera is also reverse zoom to show the couples dancing for no longer than five seconds. The camera shot then is a close up onto a young girl who does not seem to be enjoying herself, the audience wonder why she is not enjoying her self and why does she seem to be the only young person there.
One of the crew then asked the girl to dance but the music is still playing and you do not hear them talk which I think keeps the audience more interested as you can interpret there conversation however you want.
This is when the audience become alert as the shot changes into an extreme close up of a poll which hold the light wires together and it becomes loose and cuts off then suddenly the lights explode and the camera shot is pan shot follow.
The camera then zooms out which I think keeps the audience alert as the audience gets disorientated, as the camera zooms out and everyone gets slit in half and fall to the floor except the girl who the man she was dancing who protected her, this makes the audience know that this is not the film that they expected and that it is gruesome and a horror film.
This will stick into the audience minds throughout the film as it was a huge twist and makes the film more interesting when it changes onto the present day where the 'Arctic Warrior' ship needs to be repaired which gives the impression of a thriller film and keeps the audience on edge as they wonder what happened to that girl and will they survive but they do and a man in a pub tells them about the boat with a girl and it is of the radar everyone around the table looks worried, interested and tense and the audience are already glued to the film as it is so intense.
Ghost ship is memorable to the audience as there was a twist already and the sudden gap between the two different time periods make the audience interested.