Month: December 2023

Thrill Us!

What is a thriller? How are they made? Why are they so enjoyable to watch? These are all questions that we answered through our latest project, Thrill Us.

In this project, we viewed many different types of thrillers in an attempt to better understand the vision of their creators. A thriller is a film style that builds suspense and anxiety for the viewer, and often has a climactic and mysterious ending. We used this medium of film to better understand how we can bring our own creative ideas to life through videography and storytelling.

We started off by practicing our photography skills through a number of activities, and worked on creating clear storyboards. Our first assignment was to create a storyboard for the short thriller Run! We were also asked to examine the shot styles, acting, and sound construction of the film.

Next we were put into groups and told to recreate the film Run! and try to match it shot for shot. This took a long time to do, as it was a lot of hands on work. If you want to learn all about this, you can visit my blog post on the subject:

Run: A remake

We spent the first portion of the project learning how to create a film, and our final task was just that! We got to pick a group to work with to write, direct, and act in our own short thrillers! My group’s film was called “the basketball,” and was a thriller with very little dialogue. It was meant to leave the viewer a little confused and disoriented while still being enjoyable. I created the storyboard, and did a large amount of editing on the final video. There was a lot of trial and error, and I learned a lot about using editing software, as well as working together to create something amazing! Here’s a link to my video:

The Contract, and Clock, and the Crucible. These are the three main factors that contribute to a thriller. We can find examples of all of these in the thriller Black Hole. The premise of this film was that human greed is an infinite black hole, and he practically signed a contract when he started using the power of the black hole. The more used it, the more greedy he became, and eventually it was his demise. The Clock can be seen in his impending doom, and as he keeps using it’s power for bigger things, it creates a ticking time-bomb for a climax in the viewer’s mind. The Crucible is apparent in the confined space that the main character is in, and how he ends up trapping himself in the safe. The crucible means a challenge or difficulty that the main character has to get out of, and it’s normally a result of their previous actions.

The film was meant to show what happens when a human gets too greedy. This is made very obvious when the man starts to take money out of the safe, and it sucks him in. Thrillers are meant to insight fear into everyday objects and settings, which makes a printer paper perfect for this concept. The film did a great job of showcasing this idea, but also making the viewer feel like they were really in the office with the man, alone. If I had created this film, I would have included more wide shots to show how truly alone the main character was, and include louder music to truly build up to the climax. I also would have given a bit more context to the character of the black hole. Altogether, there isn’t a lot that would change about this film, other than a few minor details. The production quality was amazing, and truly transported the viewer to another world.

Loon Lake Reflection

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I stepped out of the car onto the Loon Lake grounds… I didn’t know what I’d learn, who I’d meet, or that I’d leave a completely different person than I was before. 

I’m not completely sure how to describe the trip. I don’t remember everything, but I can recall the eye opening moments that impacted me and my class. Let me begin by explaining the purpose of our retreat. It was meant to give us a new perspective on the people around us, as well as ourselves. We were meant to gain leadership skills and bond as a class, and understand that our actions have impacts. We know that these are all important skills to have within school, but we were also asked to think about how we can apply these skills to our everyday lives. 

The one directing our activities was a man named Jono, who had years of experience teaching those of all ages to have a different perspective on many aspects of life. Jono himself was a very interesting guy with a lot of stories. Even though some of the activities may have made me very uncomfortable, Jono liked to say “get comfortable with the uncomfortable,” which is a controversial but important notion. After all, our trip was all about growth, which sometimes takes a leap of faith to accomplish. 

I believe that the activity that I grew the most with was the trust fall. We had been practicing trusting our classmates for the entire retreat, and it was finally time to put this trust to the test. For this activity, we had to climb on top of a chair that was on top of a table, close our eyes, and fall.

 I’ll admit that I even surprised myself when I confidently climbed up onto the chair. In that moment, I pushed my fear aside, which sparked something new inside me. However, by the time I was on top of the chair, I was genuinely shaking with fear. I just closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and fell. In the moment before my classmates caught me, I felt like I was never going to stop falling, and I screamed “oh my god!” I let my form go and hit someone into the face (sorry Neko), and felt terrible immediately after. She was okay (thank goodness), and I had gained a new experience. In the end, the ordeal was a good thing?

We did a lot of different exercises to build trust, and although I’m not going to to go super into depth about all of them, I will give a brief explanation of the activities we did. There was a rock climbing wall, on which we all cheered each other on. We did a low ropes course on which we had to work as a team to solve challenges, and we all bonded from it. The high ropes course was fun, and the milk crate stacking challenge took strategy and teamwork to achieve. The orienteering challenge took brainpower and stamina, and my teammates made it really fun. The fort building took teamwork and logic, as well as determination. Finally, all of Johno’s sessions took mental preparation and strength to accomplish. I believe that all of these activities have shaped me and my classmates for the better. 

In the end, this trip was a lot of fun because I got to experience it with my friends. The teachers and staff were very supportive, as well as all of our classmates. We got to wrap up our trip with an awesome dance party, where we could let all of our troubles go. I also feel like I have to include this, or the PLP teachers will be mad: The food was amazing. 

As I got back into the car and headed home, I reflected on my Loon Lake experience, and just how much I’d learned about my classmates and myself. Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!