Evaluation Questions Task 1

Stacey Simonova

IntroductionWe have created an opening sequence for an action-thriller movie.In order to make our sequence look like a thriller we have used a range of thriller conventions such as:

- tension within a film

- elements of violence

- male characters

- workings of particularinstitutions such as the police, the army or the government (snipers in our case)

Now I am going to compare our sequence to other similar media products which already exist. I will look at another action thriller film Sniper (1993), a video game Ghost Sniper Warrior 3 and a TV series Shooter (2016)

Following the conventions

- Realistic environment: our thriller is set in countryside which makes the audience feel like it could happen to them;

- Diegetic sound of gun loading;

- close up shots showing emotions of the characters.

We have also used thriller conventions such as:

Sniper (1993)Action Thriller movie

• Directed by Luis Llosa• Produced by Robert L.

Rosen• Starring Tom Berenger,

Billy Zane, J. T. Walsh• Edited by M. Scott

Smith• Box office $18,994,653

The storyline comparisonStoryline of the Sniper:

The storyline is set within the heavy Panamanian jungles and centers upon two Marine Corps marksmen who have been assigned to kill a Colombian drug-lord. Tom Beckett is the professional and well-experienced sniper who has had a minimum of 74 confirmed kills, however he’s lost several partners. His last partner, Corporal Papich was unfortunately killed on the mission. His replacement is young, SWAT member, Richard Miller who hasn't earned any confirmed skills which Beckett immediately realizes. And now working together they have to assassinate one of the most powerful Columbian drug-lord financier.

The Recruitment storyline:

Mike is a high-skilled professional sniper who’s lost many partners and is looking now for a new young worthy partner. He’s being very authoritarian and quite tyrannical in terms of selection and kills the ones who hesitate. However as time passes and Mike is teaming up with a young unskilled teenage boy he’s getting attached to the teen and realizes that he is not able to kill him and trains him to become a professional sniper and take his place afterwards.

While filming the shot of the sniper’s target both The Recruitment and Sniper have the sniper scope when they’re focusing on the man they are going to kill.

Shots comparison

Shot of killing

We also have a shot when the target’s been shot filmed through the sniper scope focusing on the body with a blood splash on the jacket.

Sniper has a shot of the moment of shooting down a man filmed through a scope which on the bloody stain on his military jacket.

Close up Shots

These two films are also similar in terms of close ups of a finger on a trigger and a shot of the facial expressions of the snipers when they’re focusing on their target.

A middle shot when they are leaving their positions after the shot has been taken followed by the long shot of them coming out of the forest, which reveals the location. So is our sequence as straight after the snipers leave the bush the shot cuts to a long shot of them walking out of a forest.

Transition from one shot to another

Font Comparison

Although the Sniper style of font is different from ours, both are white, are kept simplistic and military like.

Sound Comparison

In both thrillers a pleonastic sound of loading a sniper rifle is used to highlight the importance of the action.

Differences Although a range of similarities Sniper has many differences to out thriller.

In terms of storyline:

Tom Beckett needs to work with an inexperienced partner which he does and train him to get more skilled whereas Mike kills the teenage guy because he wasn’t string enough to be his teammate .

In terms of shots :

In Sniper there are lots of shots of both snipers lying on the ground a they’re working together as a team whereas Mike is in charge of the teen and the shots do not show them as they are on the same rights.

In terms of sound:

Sniper has a non -diegetic sound of music in the very beginning of the opening sequence whereas The Recruitment does not have any non-diegetic sounds at all.

Sniper :Ghost Warrior 3•Publishers: CI Games

•Director: Paul B. Robinson  

• Designers: Jess Lebow, Alek Sajnach,  Tomasz Pruski

•Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One

•Release Date: WW April 4, 2017

•Model: Single-player, multiplayer

Setting Comparison The settings of the game are quite realistic as it’s a today world and so is our thriller. The game also focuses on realism as there is a dynamic weather system and day-night cycle which may create a tactical advantage for a player.

Differences

The main difference is that the mission of the sniper players is to prevent a III World War whereas the snipers from The Recruitment have various missions to assassinate particular people .

TV series Shooter (2016)• Genre: Action/Drama

• Developed by: John Hlavin

• Producer: Ryan Phillippe

• Country of origin: USA

• Original language: English

• Release date: November 15, 2016 - present

Storyline comparison Shooter The storyline follows the

journey of Bob Lee Swagger who’s highly-decorated veteran and is coaxed back into action to prevent a plot to kill the President. When his former commanding officer I. Johnson solicits his expertise in a secret operation, Swagger realizes that he’s been framed and must now protect his family and clear his name.

The main similarities to our thriller are that both main characters used to lose their partners in the past, they both working nowadays and in dangerous environment.

Sound Comparison

Shooter has a pleonastic sound of the gunshot when the man is pulling the trigger to shot the target as well as The Recruitment does when th sniper is taking the shot.

Shots comparison

Both films have close up shots of a finger on a trigger and a shot of a target through a sniper scope.

Titles comparison

Although the title style of Shooter is a bit different, the font is still simplistic as well as The Recruitment title font.

Differences One of the main differences is that according to the storyline of the series the main character has a family which is under the threat when he returns to his sniping work in order to kill the Chechen sniper, so he has someone to care about , whereas Mike does not have family and the only one person he’s getting attached to afterwards is his new young partner.