Past Student Thriller Analysis

Past Student Thriller Analysis

The Catalyst - Michael Banahene, Connor Heather, Joe Glenister, Tom Cameron

The beginning of this thriller is effective as it begins with the studio Ident which is original to a certain production company so tells the viewer who produced the film. The studio Ident also fits the criteria of how a studio Ident should look as it is easy to remember and not overly complicated making it more easily recognidable. The viewer is also made aware of who produced the film at the beginning.

The use of sound is good as the music builds tension, the sudden silence and the sound of breathing before the gunshot goes off is effective to make the sound of the shot more dramatic. This is a good tequnique as most thrillers use it and a film without the use of music or music not suited to the film can prove to be quite unsucessfull. The sound used also fits what is going on on screen and works sucessfully. 

It then goes on to show one of a the characters breaking and entering into somebody else's house. To much is not given away at this point as we only see the characters hand and the face is not revealed completely. This is also effective as the viewer will want to keep watching as they ask themselves, what is going on? The lighting used as the character enters the house is effective as it gives a dark mysterious look to the character as they are kept in the shadows. As the film progresses towards the end the charachters identity is revealed more. 

There is also an interesting shot used from a point of view as the character looks through and aims a shotgun. For the viewers this is like seeing things from the charachters perspective. This is an interesting camera shot to use as it is different from the usual camera shots and takes the veiwer on a different journey in the film. Using this puts the viewer in the charachters shoes as if they are in the film themsleves.

Waking Up - By Connor Cahill-Hayes & Aaron Gaston

The studio ident is effective as it looks simple but is slightly hard to read. The beggining of the film grips the viewer as it gets straight into the action as one of the charachters is being chased. The costumes are effective as it tells the viewer who is the main charachter as they are wearing white and the other charachers are using black. This also helps to create a contrast, for example between good and evil. 

Viewers are also made aware of  the setting at the beggining. The fast cuts make the film more dramatic as well as the use of the point of view shot when the charachter wakes up with blood on his hands. This also adds to the mystery as the charachter wonders what happend and how the blood got on his hand as  the viwer was not shown.  Confusion is also caused as the viewer wonders who the victim in the film is. 

At the end the film, "Waking Up" title pops up as the last scene cuts of to a black screen. Where it was chosen to be cut is appropriate as it does not give too much away to the viewers as they wonder what is going to happen next. The chosen name for the film was also well picked as it suites the content of the film.