Directed by Renny Harlin, Deep Blue Sea is a skillfully thrilling shark movie that stands apart from other films in its genre. Film critic, Robert Ebert, wrote that he “admired the sheer professionalism of this one as it doesn’t transcend its genre, but at least honors it.” Having also directed Die Hard 2 and Cutthroat Island, Harlin constructs a tasteful package of sharks, suspense, and special effects in this 1999 film.

In an attempt to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, a scientist (Saffron Burrows) develops a way to use shark brain tissue to regenerate the human brain. Underwriting the research, a large corporation conserves a deep-sea laboratory that includes underwater living and research areas, not to mention vast shark corrals. In the opening scene, one of the sharks escapes the research center and tries to attack a boat inhabited by two young couples. During the first experience of watching this film, one would assume that it’s a classic shark-movie situation: “Jaws-like” nineties music, isolated teenagers in the middle of the ocean, accidentally spilling a bottle of wine in the ocean to foreshadow what’s to come next. The head of the corporation (Samuel L. Jackson) meets the rest of the key characters when he pays a visit to the laboratory. The cast includes a shark wrangler (Thomas Jane), a religious cook (LL Cool J), and other crew members: Jacqueline McKenzie, Aida Turturro, Stellan Skarsgard, and Michael Rapaport.

While some of these characters do not make it through the end of the film, the timing and manner of their attacks are perfectly interlaced throughout the distressed plot of attempted escape. Between storms, explosions, and numerous floods, the characters are forced to find their way out of the underwater lab, endangered by water pressure and sharks, along with an increasing flood line.

Deep Blue Sea takes a scientific spin on this classic genre. As experiments go wrong, the sharks become five times smarter as a result. Instead of behaving in typical ways, the sharks become increasingly smarter, forcing the characters to creatively scheme if they want to survive.

While the film’s special effects are advanced for the time period, unexpected moments are bountiful and executed with quickness and precision – leaving the audience pleasantly surprised. Whether viewing this film for the first time or your tenth, you will find hat the pace of the film is so incredibly ceaseless that it seems there is never a lull in the storyline. The non-diegetic score is compelling and effectively adds to the suspense, and even includes two tracks by LL Cool J himself. Written by Duncan Kenedy, Donna Power, and Wayne Powers, the screenplay is quick, clever, and includes just the right amount of memorable, quotable lines.

Powered by exceptional displays of physical cinematography, Deep Blue Sea is a must-see for audiences who appreciate a well-staged Spielbergian masterpiece. For those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of viewing this film, my parting advice is to sit back, relax, and enjoy it for what it is: an entertaining big-fish thriller that still has the power to surprise.

Each spring, the Cinema Pacific Film Festival hosts a special event called the Adrenaline Film Project (AFP). Working in teams, students and local filmmakers are given just seventy-two hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film from start to finish. During this intensive film production workshop, visiting industry professionals (such as Jeff Wadlow, Leigh Kilton-Smith, and Omar Naim) monitor the participants over the three-day extravaganza.

At the end of last month, I had the opportunity to attend the final screening of the 2014 Adrenaline Film Project. Every year, Cinema Pacific chooses a region (or two) around the world as the focus of the festival. Required props for AFP are connected in some way to the specific region, as well as the required line of dialogue that each team must incorporate. This year, AFP focused on Taiwan and Chile. For the Taiwanese prop, each team was required to incorporate a red teapot into each of their films. The Chilean line of dialogue was “So, you think you’re death?” meaning, “you think you’re all that.”

Within the twelve films produced by teams of three participants, each of the following genres was represented (assigned randomly to each team): workplace comedy, dark comedy, B-movie, coming of age, horror, drama, noir, revenge, psychological thriller, sci-fi, heist, and romantic comedy.

After each film was shown, the audience voted for their favorite film. I appreciated the creativity of the voting process, as you actually use the program handed to you upon entrance as your ballot. The winner of the Audience Award was the dark comedy, “Kill for Her” directed by Will Cuddy, Zachary Feiner, and Tommy Pittenger.

Other awards given throughout the night were the Mentor Award and the Best Actor Award. The mentor award is awarded by the mentors, of course, and was given to the revenge film, “Get Your Fill” by Elijah Sprints, Colin Zeal, and Talon Isak Sherer. The Best Actor Award went to Kim Fairbairn from the psychological thriller, “Bottom Line.”

The last award, The Ben Kalb Jury Award, is given to the team who demonstrates the strongest overall production and the most faithful and accurate execution of their assigned genre. Every year, the awarding of this prize honors the contributions of Ben Kalb, whose generous sponsorship makes the UO AFP possible. During this screening, Ben Kalb was in attendance and gave a speech, announcing that he plans on donating his financial support for at least five more years. The winner of the Ben Kalb Jury Award was the heist film, “Taking Tibet” by Derek Brown, Jacob Salzberg, and Noah Phillips-Edwards.

I first heard about AFP in the same room where our class now meets, Mackenzie 214, during an English 260 course that I took in my freshman year. I was able to pull a few friends together to participate in both the 2012 and 2013 projects. This grueling, challenging, and satisfying endeavor has taught me that the final product on the big screen is only a small portion of the entire production. Sadly, they created new rule where you can only participate two years overall, but I definitely plan on attending the screening next year as well!

After our brief discussion in class about movie trailers, I wanted to delve deeper into the subject and learn more about the artistry and technical construction behind these previews.

For years, movie trailers have followed a remarkably consistent format. Often, these teasers are made before the film’s final cut, compiled by someone completely independent from the movie’s core production staff. Trailers conventionally include the use of montage editing, voiceover narration, “cast run” and stars, non-diegetic music, and genre cues. They follow a three-act structure starting with exposition, introducing conflict, and finally conclude by bringing in supporting characters to help solve the problem at hand, or end in a way that simply leaves the audience guessing. Under the regulations of the Motion Picture Association of America, no movie trailer can be longer than two minutes and thirty seconds. Of course, the trailers often highlight any awards the film has already won, and feature quotes of critics’ praise. These elements are all strategies carefully assembled to compel and entice the viewer, ensuring that he or she will return to the movie theater and purchase a ticket to the promoted film.

As a journalism major, I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how my passion for film and cinema will mesh with my learned skills in the world of public relations. Our brief overview in class helped me to come across the realization that it is in trailers that the film industry and the business of PR most closely intersect. This realization, and this course, has helped me to look at movie trailers in a completely new way.

I like to think of movie trailers as a mix between a headline and a press release. Its purpose is to spark interest and ensure a large audience for the final production, (or event, if we’re speaking in terms of public relations). Another purpose of trailers is to make viewers want to see the movie, which is similar to the aim of public relations, where we want to portray a good image of our client. Also called “previews,” trailers provide information on what the film is all about, and convincingly advertises the feature film that will be shown throughout theaters. A film trailer is used for promoting and previewing a movie, just as public relations professionals promote and showcase their clients.

Much like commercials, movie trailers are not just press. Instead, they are visual press releases for the masses.