Analysis of past student thrillers

The Catalyst

Introduction

The catalyst is a thriller about a man who looks like an assassin who is out to kill. the guy manages to kill 3 men leaving behind a young child. We are left clueless to why he assassinated the 3 men however kept in suspense. The main actor in this film is Michael Banahene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmPjL7k9y8Q

Camera

The film began with an extreme close up of the key hole. we witnessed the assassin opening the lock with a knife. after he entered the house the camera angle was low. we only saw his legs as he was walking up the stairs and into the room. we only then see his fully body when he kneels down and there was a close up op of him. there was a deep focus, allowing us to either look at him or the gun which he placed on the bed.

Then there was a close up of the gun, the camera then focused on him putting on the gloves showing us the importance of him wearing the gloves. as he holds the gun we have another extreme close up of him looking through the gun. then we get a camera view through the gun, this created effect as we felt like we were aiming at the guy. this made us feel guilty as the sad music came on making us think we were doing something wrong.

The camera then tracks the man who ran away, this creates effect as it felt as if we were chasing him however we were hoping he will be able to run fast enough to get away. we then experienced a point of view shot from the man and felt like we had to escape as we felt the fear he felt. then there was another close up in the car of the dead man, we then get a close up of the assassin killing the guy with a rope. the car scene ends with a close up of a frightened boy and him exiting the car. the film opening ended with a close up of a battery which the man picked up. this created effect as it enhanced the importance the battery could have.

Editing

The editing was very slow paced which created effect as this film was sad. we wasn't really on the assassins side as we didn't know why he was killing the men so we felt sorry for the men. The slow motion scene gave us a feel of the other characters as that moment was probably the longest moment in their life which the slow pace of the film was exaggerating.

Sound

The introduction music was calming as it wasn't scary and made us feel like we was watching a comedy or another happy genre film. after the introduction finished the sad music kicked in, this created suspense as at this moment we  knew something bad is going to happen. there was diegetic sounds which the man made as he entered the house, for example when he opened the door.

However the film is drowned in non diegetic music as we experienced the sad music. This is evident when the assassin killed the man. we heard a long high pitch sound which made it feel like they were at war. immediately we sympathized for the man as the sad music confused our mind to think the assassin is a bad guy. the sad music gave us a feel of being in a war zone as the music is slow and matched the death of the man. 

Mise-en-scene

We first see a man dressed in a smart attire, he wore a black suit. however was carrying a knife which contradicts the way he was dressed. we didn't expect him to be breaking and entering into a house. the scene was set in a quite neighborhood. there is no one around and it and the scenery is bright as this scene was shot during the day. this also opposes the use of the weapon as we wouldn't expect him to be breaking into someones house in bright daylight. when he enters the house everything is dark which compliments the bad things he is doing. As he is the only character we see we are forced to be on his side and hope that no one comes and finds him. we feel the urge to protect him as if we are in his position and don't want to be caught.

He then enters a room where it is much brighter and drops a bag to the bed. At this point we are confused to what is in the bag as there is no dialogue. He opens the bag and inside was another weapon, a gun and a pair of gloves. this creates suspense as we don't know what he is going to do with the gun. This then indicated that he could be an assassin as assassins usually wear black clothes which are smart. the gloves proved that he thought the crime out before doing it and was prepared to get out of trouble after he was done.

He kills a man in a field area. there was a long high pitched sound and everything went slow motion. this made us feel like they were in a war zone. this created effect as even though at first we were forced to be on the assassins side, now the sadness made us feel sorry for the men. when the other man ran we wanted him to get away as the feeling of the war zone made us feel sympathy for the men and showed us how innocent they looked. the men were dressed in casual clothes which enhanced our sorrow for the men as they looked like normal innocent people who wasn't ready for death. as the area was isolated we knew that there was no hope for the men as there was no one to save them.

The next scene was in the car. we felt as if there was hope however the man was dead. this created effect as we felt the anger and fear of the character who was running away. the car all of a sudden felt like a dead end as there was no way out and no where to go. the assassin used a rope to kill the man who was running. this created effect as it felt like that we lost the fight and didn't get away. we then see a little boy who looked innocent as he was very young and we hoped he wouldn't get hurt. the assassin then left the car a picked up a battery which made us wonder what it was and why he wanted it.