Short film research: Jet by Jordan Chesney (thriller mystery)

     For one of our films of research we did a thriller mystery called 'Jet.' Overall the film starts off with a man in a car about to shoot himself in the head,  but before he does anything he sees a little girl which stops him. He sits in silence allowing him to see the girl get abducted by a man in a van, he then follows the van to end up at the house she has been taken to. The man then walks up to the house with the gun he planned on using on himself. Two other men come out which results in them being shot. Then the man walks into the house to save the girl just to find her sitting unharmed. Though what happened isn't clear one could assume that she was safe and those people he shot were her family of some sort. 

    However, to get a sense of feeling instead of just a storyline, angles, costumes, props, and editing were key factors. The directors of this film used many wide shots, hidden angles like in a bush, point-of-view shots, close-up shots, tracking shots, and over-the-shoulder shots. Most of these were done to give the audience a sense of actually being there. For example, when the man was hiding, to save the girl, he hid behind a bush which the camera showed him actually doing it and a shot of the house from behind said bush. This was done for us to feel/see what he was. The tracking shot of him running was to show adrenaline or suspense. Close-ups were used to demonstrate his heavy breathing- and nervousness. 

    Angles weren't the only factor in emphasizing his emotions. Editing used a gloomy blue undertoned filter to emphasize the mood. In sound suspenseful music played and when necessary crickets when he was outside, gun shots, the sound of driving, and of course his breathing.

    Costumes played a big role in demonstrating the status of everyone. The man in the beginning seemed to have some sort of uniform or work outfit which consisted of a bright blue shirt and khaki long pants. This would explain him having a routine life, one that possibly bores or infuriates him, which explains his desire to end his life. The man in the house had a black suit which makes sense due to his house being bigger than regular. The little girl had a dress with pigtails to show her innocence. All of these outfits help us learn more about the story, by understanding who everyone is. 

Overall the genre is confusing, and to actually have it make sense in the end is hard. Though this film wasn't the best it definitely showed us different techniques to include in our film. How the little things of props or costumes to sounds and filters can cause a major difference in the story. Explaining our idea by just filming it isn't the same as how we see it in our mind. For example, in this film the ending was a bit confusing, they focused too much on the other factors to realize the story was blurry. The film, however, kept one intrigued throughout the film because the story started off strong by showing two major events happening at once. Having the camera angles mostly be point-of-views of some sort allowed the audience to be in the same confusion and shock as the main character. The lack of words showed how quick everything happened- how impulsive the main character is. Though I liked all of the techniques used in this film which is common in the mystery thriller genre, I did not like the story due to it not being clear enough which is a common issue in this genre. Figuring out how to clear up the ending is definitely a part I am not excited in doing with our film.