I looked at Pulp fiction, a crime-thriller and analysed how the micro elements used represent the genre.
Below is a link to the clip i looked at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpwra1TJDY
The clip starts with the sound of a motor bike starting up as the definition of 'pulp' appears on a blank black screen with shite writing the contrasting simple colours immediately indicate the genre of the film, they have edited it so that the writing shakes slightly which is also very effective as it creates the mood of a thriller that the film is going to be somewhat dark.
The opening scene is of a couple discussing their plans of robbery, they appear to be a normal couple in a cafe fooling around, the sound is all diagetic in this with only the sound of speaking, background noise and cheerful music in the background being played in the cafe this works well as it contrasts with what you were expecting to happen. It follows the typical conventions of a thriller starting with a normal setting. The same Mid-shot of the couple is used for about a minute and then shot-reverse-shot, panning shots and over-shoulder shots are introduced as their conversation progresses which introduces the characters more and makes the audience aware of them being the antagonists. Suddenly the characters roles become apparent when the use of guns as props are used to threaten people in the cafe. Almost immediately as they have shouted the fast paced quirky music starts and the screen goes back to black with bright orange font appearing with the credits to the film, the title of which is animated. The music and colours used create a strong contrast to the dark and eerie effect you would normally find with a thriller but I feel it works very well to make it a little more light hearted and humorous for the audience in contrast to the previous scence of a shooting threat.
The characters in this first scene are dressed in casual wear and have normal make-up which works well in the film as they do not want attention drawn to them and wish to be under cover and discreet before they make their threat.
After the credits having finished a new scene is introduced of two new characters which are dressed smartly as gangsters in a posh car cruising down a road, background music can be heard as well as the dialogue between the two characters. A side on close-up shot is used of the two men throughout the car journey, this makes the audience focus on the conversation between the two. Shot-reverse-shot is used between the two men in their conversation but the shots are still very close-up, the genre of the film is apparent because of the dialogue between the first two characters and of course the following two men in the sceond scene, the sub-genre of crime is also very clear because of the two gansters and the immediate gun shooting threat in the first scene, which prepares the audience for what the rest of the film is going to entail.
When the two men have left the car a shot from below is used as they get their weapons from the boot of the car which indicates power on their behalf. Natural light and bright colours are used throughout the film clip which I viewed which again contrasts with your typical thriller as they normally use the opposite of this. However it works very well in this film due to the humorous side of it which is reflected in their casual conversation before going to attack people. Tracking shot is used as you watch the two men walk to the building and then a birds eye view which is a good establishing shot of the building they have entered.
The locations are all rather ironic in the opening to this film because they are not isolated and are all in a everyday situation which all viewers can relate to. The film is a twist on your typical thriller but certainly works very well doing it this way.
Friday 29 January 2010
15 Certificate Guidlines
The BBFC website states age certifications for films/TV; the 15 certification has many guidelines as to why only said person aged 15 or above can view films with this certificate and explains what aspects of the film make it classify as as 15, these guidelines are stated below:
Discrimination:
No endorsment of discriminatory language or behaviour will be present in the film.
Drugs:
In the film drugs are permitted to be viewed but in no way must they be promoted to the audience or make the audience want to experience the taking of these drugs. Also its unlikely to be acceptable to show dangerous substances that are accessible to the audience being used incorrectly, for example mis-use of aerosols or solvents.
Horror:
The audience are allowed to see strong threat and menace, however not if carried out in a sexualised or sadistic way.
Imitable Behaviour:
Any viewings of behaviour dangerous to the character (for example, hanging, suicide andself-harming) are not allowed to be shown in great detail to promote ideas to the audience of this behaviour.
Language:
Strong language is acceptable to be used frequently, (for example 'fuck') however the stongest terms (for example 'cunt') are only permitted to used if it fits the context and can be justified by this. However when the use of strong language is repeated in an aggresive way its unlikely to be acceptable for this certification.
Nudity:
Without strong detail nudity is permitted if used in sexual context, more so there are no constraints in non-sexual or educational context regarding nudity.
Sex:
Without strong detail sexual activity is permitted to be portrayed; strong verbal references to sexual behaviour are also allowed. However highly strong references are again unlikely to be permitted unless they can be justified by the context of the film. More so work that is solely purposful for sexual arousal or stimulation are again unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme:
There are no themes that are not allowed as long as provided with appropriate treatment for 15 year olds.
Violence:
No infliction of pain or injury are allowed to be dwelled on when strong violence is used. Strong gory images and strong sadistic or sexualised violence are unlikely to be acceptable. Detailed verbal refernences to sexual violence are allowed but it must be discreet and be highly justified by the context.
Unbreakable - Antagonsit and Protagonist
We looked at the ending of the film 'Unbreakable' to see how it represents the binary opposites.
We gathered that the difference between the two main characters even though it challenges the usual conventions of Antagonists and Protagonists.
This picture above shows the contradiction of a typical convention of the antagonist and protagonist in a thriller. As you can see in the picture the antagonist (Samuel L Jackson) it shows he doesn't have the usual and expected abilities of an antagonist because he's disabled therefore the protagonist who is indestructible which is ironic as it is usually him who the weaker one.
The one aspect which is a typical part of a binary opposite thriller is the audience see the antagonist in power between the two main characters as Sam L Jackson leads the protagonist.
This contrasts with our Thriller as our baddy has all the power while in this film it's the opposite way round. The antagonist's way of going against Bruce Willis is verbally rather than physically which is an unexpected way of the baddie winning. Also, Samuel L Jackson makes Bruce feel guilty and sorry for him which is an interesting way to try and defeat the protagonist.
Another unexpected part is the unusual camera angles because usually the antagonist has a high angle camera while the protagonist has the camera angle up high to make them look less powerful. therefore, it contradicts the typical way of how the angles portray a character.
From this small clip of the 30 seconds of the ending, viewers would assume that the antagonist and protagonist is the other way round as it looks like the protagonist is in power.
Furthermore, half wa
y through the clip you see the antagonist become in more power as you can see the worry in Bruce by the camera angles because we see the camera moving by Bruce's eyes and the music helps create the mood of him panicking.
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Email to Grande Arcade for Planning.
As we want our location to be a lift and car park, we would like to use a local shopping centre car park to film our thriller.
As we need permission to use the location we sent an email to the Grande Arcade email.
To whom ever this may concern,
We are students at Long Road Sixth Form college who are studying Media Studies at AS level.
Our project is to film an opening of a thriller and we would like to ask permission if we can use one of the Grande Arcade lifts in the car park to film a 30 second/one minute piece of footage.
Also, we would like to use a small section of your car park that leads out from the lift.
If this is possible, we would like to film on the 10th February which is a Wednesday. We would like to film from 5pm to a maximum of 7pm.
We will be aware of customers and be considerate of others around us.
Please reply as soon as possible and we will be grateful if this is possible.
If you have any concerns please feel free to contact our teacher Holly Taylor, at htaylor@longroad.ac.uk or on 01223 507400
Thank you
Yasmin Bean, Briarly Jeffrey-Mann, Tania Miah, Sian Bell.
As we need permission to use the location we sent an email to the Grande Arcade email.
To whom ever this may concern,
We are students at Long Road Sixth Form college who are studying Media Studies at AS level.
Our project is to film an opening of a thriller and we would like to ask permission if we can use one of the Grande Arcade lifts in the car park to film a 30 second/one minute piece of footage.
Also, we would like to use a small section of your car park that leads out from the lift.
If this is possible, we would like to film on the 10th February which is a Wednesday. We would like to film from 5pm to a maximum of 7pm.
We will be aware of customers and be considerate of others around us.
Please reply as soon as possible and we will be grateful if this is possible.
If you have any concerns please feel free to contact our teacher Holly Taylor, at htaylor@longroad.ac.uk or on 01223 507400
Thank you
Yasmin Bean, Briarly Jeffrey-Mann, Tania Miah, Sian Bell.
Mise-en-scene applied to our filming
We obviously will need to apply the conventions of misc-en-scene to our opening film these we have planned out and stated below:
Costumes:
we have put photos up on the blog of how we are going to dress our characters, with the antagonist wearing the typical outfit of all black (to make the character feel low-key and apparent that its the antagonist), the protagonist is going to wear formal wear (this shows they are just a normal person in a every day situation who's more busy and so time conscious) and lastly the victim in the film is wearing casual clothing (makes her look more vulnerable)
Sets:
The setting will hopefully be in the Grand Arcade for the beginning in the normal situation which ties in with that idea and then of course when the film introduces the antagonist it will be set in a empty room which we will enhance with minimize props in to make more scary; both of these settings tie in with the typical conventions of settings in a thriller film.
Lighting:
In the lift with the protagonist the lighting will be bright as its a normal situation and nothing bad has happened yet. However when the victim is tied up the lighting will change to dark to enhance to situation.
Make-up:
Make-up will be kept minimal and natural nothing dramatic will be added because both the antagonist is not trying to draw attention to herself but we may make it a bit more darker than usual to make it more clear of her role as the antagonist; both of the protagonists will have every day make-up on that they would normally wear to show that they are the normal innocent characters.
Props:
During our filming there are a few key props that we will be using firstly the two mobile phones which are what connects the protagonist with the antagonist; the chair, rope and masking tape which will all be used to keep the protagonist held hostage.
Costumes:
we have put photos up on the blog of how we are going to dress our characters, with the antagonist wearing the typical outfit of all black (to make the character feel low-key and apparent that its the antagonist), the protagonist is going to wear formal wear (this shows they are just a normal person in a every day situation who's more busy and so time conscious) and lastly the victim in the film is wearing casual clothing (makes her look more vulnerable)
Sets:
The setting will hopefully be in the Grand Arcade for the beginning in the normal situation which ties in with that idea and then of course when the film introduces the antagonist it will be set in a empty room which we will enhance with minimize props in to make more scary; both of these settings tie in with the typical conventions of settings in a thriller film.
Lighting:
In the lift with the protagonist the lighting will be bright as its a normal situation and nothing bad has happened yet. However when the victim is tied up the lighting will change to dark to enhance to situation.
Make-up:
Make-up will be kept minimal and natural nothing dramatic will be added because both the antagonist is not trying to draw attention to herself but we may make it a bit more darker than usual to make it more clear of her role as the antagonist; both of the protagonists will have every day make-up on that they would normally wear to show that they are the normal innocent characters.
Props:
During our filming there are a few key props that we will be using firstly the two mobile phones which are what connects the protagonist with the antagonist; the chair, rope and masking tape which will all be used to keep the protagonist held hostage.
Presentation Feedback
We have presented our idea to our class peers and teacher, below are the questions that they asked and our response:
Q - Are you all going to be seen in the same scene at once or will you all be able to have a go at filming each?
A - We wont all be seen together in a shot and so we will be able to all film parts of it each and help out in other aspects as well as acting in the film.
Q - Have you gained permission from the Grand Arcade to do your filming?
A - We have emailed the Grand Arcade asking for permission to use their premises and are awaiting for a reply, if they decline then we will find other whereabouts for permission for instance the Grafton Center.
Q - Where will the credits appear in your film?
A - We are going to make the credits appear in the opening scene of the protagonist in the lift, they will appear around her head as she looks around getting inpatient for the lift to arrive at her destination.
We thought these questions helped us think more thoroughly about details and helped us to plan our ideas. Also listening to other groups ideas made us think about key issues and problems that could happen during the process of filming and how to overcome these.
Q - Are you all going to be seen in the same scene at once or will you all be able to have a go at filming each?
A - We wont all be seen together in a shot and so we will be able to all film parts of it each and help out in other aspects as well as acting in the film.
Q - Have you gained permission from the Grand Arcade to do your filming?
A - We have emailed the Grand Arcade asking for permission to use their premises and are awaiting for a reply, if they decline then we will find other whereabouts for permission for instance the Grafton Center.
Q - Where will the credits appear in your film?
A - We are going to make the credits appear in the opening scene of the protagonist in the lift, they will appear around her head as she looks around getting inpatient for the lift to arrive at her destination.
We thought these questions helped us think more thoroughly about details and helped us to plan our ideas. Also listening to other groups ideas made us think about key issues and problems that could happen during the process of filming and how to overcome these.
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Planning for thriller :
We looked at the film "Phone Booth" which is a thriller that entails a similar idea of a phone call being received by the antagonist threatening the protagonist, below is an embedded clip of the trailer for this film.
We thought this would be a good basis for an opening to our thriller, many other films have used this same idea of a phone call introducing the characters/enigma and have done this successfully. So the narrative in our film will be a reference to this film which we looked at.
For the titles in our opening scene we're going to have the credits of each person involved in the film appear around the protagonist's head as her train of thought follows looking around the lift, which is the location for the first sequence. The credits will be animated and will have special effects (transitions); furthermore text will be in the same font we used for our ident which has a spooky effect and represents the thriller genre. With the help of music we believe that it will enhance the film and make it look more professional.
Music is a very important factor that we wish to use to our advantage in our film, we have experimented on garage band in a previous lesson and successfully created our own music for a film called "Identity" which was very successful. So we are planning on creating a soundtrack that will enhance our clip and create suspense for the audience of what is going to happen next in the film.
Shots we are going to use a variation of shots for example: over-shoulder shot to create mystery of who the characters are and what their roles are; mid-shots and close-up shots of the protagonist in the lift; a tracking shot for the opening scene where the protagonist is walking through the Grand Arcade (location) walking towards the lift; a panning shot at the end of the film for when the person who is tied up is being spoken to by a voice (non-diagetic) of the antagonist and then a panning shot will be used to finally introduce the antagonist to the audience, this will create more of a sinister feel to the clip. With the use of both music and shots in variation will help the film be suited to the genre of thriller.
Certification of the film will be done at 15
We believe that this certificate should be used to rate our film as
- A strong threat is being used but not in a sadistic or sexualised way
- There may be use of strong language later on in the film
- Violence may be strong later in the film but would not show loads of infliction of pain or injury but nothing more than that will be used.
We thought this would be a good basis for an opening to our thriller, many other films have used this same idea of a phone call introducing the characters/enigma and have done this successfully. So the narrative in our film will be a reference to this film which we looked at.
For the titles in our opening scene we're going to have the credits of each person involved in the film appear around the protagonist's head as her train of thought follows looking around the lift, which is the location for the first sequence. The credits will be animated and will have special effects (transitions); furthermore text will be in the same font we used for our ident which has a spooky effect and represents the thriller genre. With the help of music we believe that it will enhance the film and make it look more professional.
Music is a very important factor that we wish to use to our advantage in our film, we have experimented on garage band in a previous lesson and successfully created our own music for a film called "Identity" which was very successful. So we are planning on creating a soundtrack that will enhance our clip and create suspense for the audience of what is going to happen next in the film.
Shots we are going to use a variation of shots for example: over-shoulder shot to create mystery of who the characters are and what their roles are; mid-shots and close-up shots of the protagonist in the lift; a tracking shot for the opening scene where the protagonist is walking through the Grand Arcade (location) walking towards the lift; a panning shot at the end of the film for when the person who is tied up is being spoken to by a voice (non-diagetic) of the antagonist and then a panning shot will be used to finally introduce the antagonist to the audience, this will create more of a sinister feel to the clip. With the use of both music and shots in variation will help the film be suited to the genre of thriller.
Certification of the film will be done at 15
We believe that this certificate should be used to rate our film as
- A strong threat is being used but not in a sadistic or sexualised way
- There may be use of strong language later on in the film
- Violence may be strong later in the film but would not show loads of infliction of pain or injury but nothing more than that will be used.
Planning for Thriller
Which sub genre is it and how is it shown - Conventions.
Our thriller will be a Crime thriller as the character which has tied the character to the chair. As we won't be doing the whole story line we won't need to show why the antagonist has tied the character up but it will be shown as a crime reason.
It will feature some sort of crime from the antagonist but it won't be shown in the opening.
A convention of a crime thriller is: Rivalry between opposites character is strong. Our characters will show an obvious contrast between each other as we can see one is innocent and the other is the 'baddie'.
Suggested locations and why:
As our opening is only two minutes it won't have many locations yet the two minutes will show two locations (
- lift. This will be where it begins, one of the characters will be inside the lift.
- car park. This could change depending on what location we can find when we film.
- Room for Tania and Sian will be a room in college which has an empty corner in the room for Tania to be tied up.
Description of narrative:
There isn't much dialogue until the end of the opening but music and credits will be the main concentration until someone talks.
- Yasmin will be on the phone saying she's in a rush saying she'll get there as soon as she can (business reasons)
- Starts in a lift, whilst Yasmin is inside looking at her watch conscious of time.
(credits appear around Yasmin while music is playing in the background)
- Yasmin walks out of the lift and checks for phone. She sees a miss call but text back to say she's in a rush and will ring back later. Then walks away.
- It goes to a new frame shot of tania tied up with rope and duct tape on her mouth.
- Then the camera will slowly move (pan shot) from tania on to the antagonist (Sian) while the camera is moving to Sian you will hear her talking on the phone leaving a voice message to Yasmin saying:
Sian (sarcastic/sneery tone) : 'It's a shame you can't come to the phone right now but your friend is in a bit of a pickle.'
We copied the idea of the film reservoir dogs as in one of the scenes has a jokey feel to it. They use the music 'stuck in the middle with you' Which changes the atmosphere of what the antagonist is doing.
When sian says her line on the phone voicemail we want it to have a jokey yet serious tone which is similar to what happens in this film.
The joker is an antagonist which jokes about all the trouble he causes, we want out antagonist to give a similar sense (except for the joker's costume) but our character to not be too humourous or it will ruin the mood of the thriller.
- The ending will be a black ground with the credits in the middle.
Who's acting - Description of the characters:
Yasmin Bean:
Business woman, career focuses, organised, friends with Tania (protagonist)
Costume: Work outfit.
Sian Bell:
Antagonist, twisted, selfish (for tieing up Tania)
Costume: All black. Colour represents her trying to be low key as she is doing something wrong (tieing up Tania)
Tania Miah:
Innocent, friendly, doesn't deserve to be punished.
Costume: casual, daily clothing.
Show All
Our thriller will be a Crime thriller as the character which has tied the character to the chair. As we won't be doing the whole story line we won't need to show why the antagonist has tied the character up but it will be shown as a crime reason.
It will feature some sort of crime from the antagonist but it won't be shown in the opening.
A convention of a crime thriller is: Rivalry between opposites character is strong. Our characters will show an obvious contrast between each other as we can see one is innocent and the other is the 'baddie'.
Suggested locations and why:
As our opening is only two minutes it won't have many locations yet the two minutes will show two locations (
- lift. This will be where it begins, one of the characters will be inside the lift.
- car park. This could change depending on what location we can find when we film.
- Room for Tania and Sian will be a room in college which has an empty corner in the room for Tania to be tied up.
Description of narrative:
There isn't much dialogue until the end of the opening but music and credits will be the main concentration until someone talks.
- Yasmin will be on the phone saying she's in a rush saying she'll get there as soon as she can (business reasons)
- Starts in a lift, whilst Yasmin is inside looking at her watch conscious of time.
(credits appear around Yasmin while music is playing in the background)
- Yasmin walks out of the lift and checks for phone. She sees a miss call but text back to say she's in a rush and will ring back later. Then walks away.
- It goes to a new frame shot of tania tied up with rope and duct tape on her mouth.
- Then the camera will slowly move (pan shot) from tania on to the antagonist (Sian) while the camera is moving to Sian you will hear her talking on the phone leaving a voice message to Yasmin saying:
Sian (sarcastic/sneery tone) : 'It's a shame you can't come to the phone right now but your friend is in a bit of a pickle.'
We copied the idea of the film reservoir dogs as in one of the scenes has a jokey feel to it. They use the music 'stuck in the middle with you' Which changes the atmosphere of what the antagonist is doing.
When sian says her line on the phone voicemail we want it to have a jokey yet serious tone which is similar to what happens in this film.
The joker is an antagonist which jokes about all the trouble he causes, we want out antagonist to give a similar sense (except for the joker's costume) but our character to not be too humourous or it will ruin the mood of the thriller.
- The ending will be a black ground with the credits in the middle.
Who's acting - Description of the characters:
Yasmin Bean:
Business woman, career focuses, organised, friends with Tania (protagonist)
Costume: Work outfit.
Sian Bell:
Antagonist, twisted, selfish (for tieing up Tania)
Costume: All black. Colour represents her trying to be low key as she is doing something wrong (tieing up Tania)
Tania Miah:
Innocent, friendly, doesn't deserve to be punished.
Costume: casual, daily clothing.
Show All
Monday 25 January 2010
Genre of 'The Last Breath'
- Genre
From the opening section we throught that the sub genre would be a crime thriller. It meets many of the conventions such as it features a crime ie a murder. Also there is obvoius rivialry between the opposite characters. Also the setting is quite seedy as it is set inside and outside of one particular house.Saturday 23 January 2010
18 Certificate Guidelines....
18 certificate is only suitable for people age 18 and above. No one younger than 18 may see an '18' film in the cinema and also people under 18 can not rent or buy '18' films.
At '18' the guidelines corcerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be allowed to watch and choose their own entertainment. But there are some exceptions and these are most likely in these areas:
- where the material is in breach of the criminal law or has been made through the commission of a criminal offence
- where the material appears risk or harm to individuals or through their behaviour to society such as a detailed portrayal of violence or dangerous ages, or illegal drug use which may cause harm to the public health or morals. This also includes portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might include eroticise or endorse sexual violence.
- where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by the context. Such images may be appropriate in 'R18' works and in 'sex works' which would normally beconfined to that category.
18 films are suitable only for adults, no one younger than 18 may see an '18' film in the cinema. Also no one younger than 18 can rent or buy an '18' rated video.
At '18' the guidelines corcerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be allowed to watch and choose their own entertainment. But there are some exceptions and these are most likely in these areas:
- where the material is in breach of the criminal law or has been made through the commission of a criminal offence
- where the material appears risk or harm to individuals or through their behaviour to society such as a detailed portrayal of violence or dangerous ages, or illegal drug use which may cause harm to the public health or morals. This also includes portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might include eroticise or endorse sexual violence.
- where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by the context. Such images may be appropriate in 'R18' works and in 'sex works' which would normally beconfined to that category.
18 films are suitable only for adults, no one younger than 18 may see an '18' film in the cinema. Also no one younger than 18 can rent or buy an '18' rated video.
Friday 22 January 2010
Ident,
This is the ident we have created using the software photoshop, we used the tools on this program to montage a image we found on google image for the background of the ident combined with the text which we created using a website called www.dafont.com. This website helped use to create the perfect font for our ident as it fitted the thriller genre and looked professional against the background photo. The background photo reflects the name of our production company "Silhouette Productions" as it has the spooky setting with the silhouette of a tree.
Before making our own ident we looked at some other companies which have done thrillers to get a basic idea of what had worked well for them below is a the opening scene to "Sin City" which has the companies ident within the clip. The company is called Dimension films:
The logo uses dark, basic colours which relates to the genre of the film and fits the thriller element to it; by using a ident which is spooky for this genre of film it works well because it enables to audience to be prepared for what the film is going to entail.
More so the animation added to the ident when the picture zooms in on the ident makes it look more professional and exciting. Reflecting back on this ident it has inspired us to add animation our own ident which we think will be successful, we hope this will also enhance our film and make it better than our childrens film opening.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
12 rated films.
The same criteria and rules are applied to the 12 A and 12 rated films. These films are judged upon their materials included, to see if they are suitable or not, these films are generally for children 12 years and over. Children under the age of 12 may find these materials disturbing and their parents may not approve, therefore it is classified as a 12 certificate.
The 12A certificate only exists for films at the cinema. Children below the age of 12 are not allowed to go watch a 12A film unless they are accompanied by an adult. It is the adult’s choice whether they think the film is suitable for that particular child and it is their responsibility.
The 12 category only exists in video works. No one below the age of 12 is not permitted to buy or rent a 12 rated video.
Discrimination:
Discriminatory language or behaviour has to be given support to go ahead with by the work. Aggressive and violent language or behaviour would not be approved of, unless clearly condemned.
Drugs:
Any misuse of drug in not acceptable and should not be shown clearly or given any instructional advice or description.
Horror:
Reasonable physical and psychological threat is permitted, however disturbing sequences are not allowed.
Imitable behaviour:
Dangerous, harmful behaviour is not allowed to be shown in detail, as it could be easily copied and cause harm. Also accessible weapons should not be shown in clear detail.
Language:
Moderate language is allowed, however there should not be a lot of frequent use of words like “fuck”.
Nudity:
Nudity is allowed to be shown in a 12/12A rated film, however in a sexual content it must be shown briefly and quickly.
Sex:
Any sexual activity taking place in the sequence must be very brief. Any sort of sexual actions which are not suitable for children of 12 age of under is not allowed to be shown. Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme:
Some mature themes are acceptable but it must be suitable to show to young children.
Violence:
Moderate violence is acceptable to show, it should not be shown in detail or frequently. There should not be any emphasis on blood, death or crude injuries. However some gory scenes are permitted if justified by the context. Sexual violence may be shown very briefly in no specific detail and must have a valid reason to include this.
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Certificate Guildlines.
The BBFC’s public
- where material could cause risk through their behaviour to society such as detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use,
- where they are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified for example images may be appropriate in 'R18' and in 'sex'works'.
Sex Education at '18'
Where films that contain sex material are wanting to show and educate the viewers such as by showing them about human sexuality, safer sex. Explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted.
Conventions of 'Last Breath' Last years thriller.
I looked at the conventions of a Thriller and looked at this video from students from last year to see if they used conventions to tell it is a thriller.
Conventions of a Thriller:
- Binary opposites (protagonists & antagonists)
They have used a protagonist (the girl) and an antagonist (the character in the mask)
- Establishing shot to show location at the beginning
they have used an establishing shot to show the audience where they are very well by showing the area they are in and the house.
- Isolated setting (not always common)
The village does have an isolated feel because its night time and looks like a lonely village therefore the audience get a wary atmosphere from it.
- Music: slow beat/pitch
The music style used is a typical convention in a thriller as it has a slow beat and gives the audience a wary feel by the rhythm.
- Camera: Hand held/canted
This group hasn't used these style of cinematography but it didn't change what the audience would think the genre would be.
- Problem that must be solved
Usually, openings to thrillers show the beginning of the storyline that has a situation that would probably be solved by the end. This group starts the film with a problem therefore they have used a common convention in a thriller.
- Jump shots
This group hasn't used jump shots however jump shots are usually used during a film at the most dramatic part and not in the beginning.
- Dramatic situations
This group makes the whole opening give the feel that there will be a dramatic situation very well by the antagonist shown first before the girl therefore the audience know the character in the mask will be involved later to make it dramatic.
- Dark lighting
They have used night time lighting to give the film a thrilling feel but most of the filming is done inside with diegetic lighting.
Long Road thriller analysis- Kidnapped
Looking at the marking criteria we thought this group overall achieved well. They held a shot steady for several moments in most of the scenes. They also used a variety of shit distances, for example at the end they showed the close up of they boy who was kidnapped and crying in fear. There was also a lot of long shots when they boy left his house and drove off in his moped. There was also a use of mid-shots , throughout the filming in the house, a combination of all three of these shots enhance the filming and made it look more professional.
The material they shot for this task was appropriate to the convention to a typical thriller, as they built up suspense by using an isolated setting of the boys house , as his family had gone on holiday and he was on his own. Lighting used was limited, they used as little as possible to build up the suspense to make it appear very dark and gloomy. The use of jump cuts and music were effective in this clip as it helped create the mood of the dramatic enigma. Also they used a normal character as the protagonist , and the kidnapper as the antagonist , this clearly showed that the situation could happen to anyone , therefore it was more thrilling.
The editing was effective , with the use of jump-cuts, which made it apparent to the viewer of what was going on and what roles the characters played. We found that although they met the rest of their criteria , they did not really use any shot transitions and effects to enhance their film, this could have improved their grade if thy had done so. The sound and music could also have been improved as it was continuos throughout the entire film, and it would have worked better if they had changed in the different shots. However, they did use their opening credits very well, as it made the clip look professional and showed their creative skills.
Overall we enjoyed watching their opening clip, and thought they met most of their criteria's with a few improvements they could have achieved better.
Longroad thriller analysis...
Marking Criteria - Level 4 48-60
- Holding a shot steady
- Framing a shot including/excluding elements appropriate
- Using a variety of shots distances
- Shooting material appropriate to the task.
- Selecting mise-en-scene appropriately
- Editing so meaning is appropriate to the viewer
- Using varied shot transitions and effects
- Using sound with images
- Using titles appropriately.
The Last Breath
- Mark criteria
This group held several shots steady.
This group did frame shots including/excluding elements as appropriate as we see one of the main characters at the very beginning so we know he's in the storyline. Also, when the lady is lying in the bath you see the knife next to her so it gives the audience clues and understanding.
This group used a variety of shots including long shots, close-ups, etc.
This group used materials appropriate to the task but we thought it was more horror based as we felt it gave a more scary feel than thrilling.
This group did the mise-en-scene well because we thought we saw the setting was shown very well through the different shots such as when we saw her open the door and walking around.
The costumes allowed us to tell that antagonist was going to be the baddie by his mask.
The lighting was well used as the lighting varied depending on what was happening and related to the action.
This group didn't use lots of editing but they stopped the music the same time the lights went out which adds impact to the event.
This group didn't use many effects such as fades which could have helped make the opening run more smoothly.
This group used lots of sound with images such as when she screams there is no music which allows the scream to be heard better and its the only noise you hear so the audience focus on it.
The main piece of music they use through out the opening matches with the overall theme they have.
The titles used could have been a bit more interesting in font to match the theme however we thought the white writing against the dark background contrasted well so it was easy to read.
- Holding a shot steady
- Framing a shot including/excluding elements appropriate
- Using a variety of shots distances
- Shooting material appropriate to the task.
- Selecting mise-en-scene appropriately
- Editing so meaning is appropriate to the viewer
- Using varied shot transitions and effects
- Using sound with images
- Using titles appropriately.
The Last Breath
- Mark criteria
This group held several shots steady.
This group did frame shots including/excluding elements as appropriate as we see one of the main characters at the very beginning so we know he's in the storyline. Also, when the lady is lying in the bath you see the knife next to her so it gives the audience clues and understanding.
This group used a variety of shots including long shots, close-ups, etc.
This group used materials appropriate to the task but we thought it was more horror based as we felt it gave a more scary feel than thrilling.
This group did the mise-en-scene well because we thought we saw the setting was shown very well through the different shots such as when we saw her open the door and walking around.
The costumes allowed us to tell that antagonist was going to be the baddie by his mask.
The lighting was well used as the lighting varied depending on what was happening and related to the action.
This group didn't use lots of editing but they stopped the music the same time the lights went out which adds impact to the event.
This group didn't use many effects such as fades which could have helped make the opening run more smoothly.
This group used lots of sound with images such as when she screams there is no music which allows the scream to be heard better and its the only noise you hear so the audience focus on it.
The main piece of music they use through out the opening matches with the overall theme they have.
The titles used could have been a bit more interesting in font to match the theme however we thought the white writing against the dark background contrasted well so it was easy to read.
Friday 15 January 2010
Crime- thriller conventions
The conventions of a crime thriller are:
- suspenseful account of failed or successful crimes
- features - murder/robbery/shoot outs/double cross/scenarios
- can glorify the rise & fall of a criminal - often based on real people
- set in a large crowded cities to provide the viewer with an insight into a secret world
- characters have an ambitious desire for success or recognition
- rivalry between binary opposite characters is strong
- many locations - seedy & interior settings
We looked at an example of a crime-thriller called the Fugitive below is a trailer for the film
In the clip there is a suspenseful account of the successful crime of the murderer who killed the mans wife however he fails to prove his innocence and so gets sent to prison for committing a crime he did not do. It follows the conventions as it includes murder features within the film.
It glorifies the rise of the murderer as he got away with killing someone however also shows the fall as a innocent normal person doesn't get their justice.
This film challenges the conventions of a typical thriller as it isn't set in a crowded city and is set in a isolated area, which is all dark and gloomy, this insights the audience into what can still happen out of the city in a quiet place with normal people.
The man who has been imprisoned for the murder becomes a fugitive in the fight for justice for his wife.
There is a rivalry between the fugitive and the police force as they do not believe him that he did not kill his wife; also with the antagonist as he wants him to get punished for killing his wife.
Again this film challenges the typical conventions of the setting as it stays in one location and is not in a seedy interior location.
Transporter: Conventions of an action Thriller.
We looked at Transporter to see how it contains action thriller conventions.
- Obvious antagonist
- race against the clock scenario
- Features more violence than other sub genres
- Disruption to Equilitorium requires the protagonist to use action to solve it (must be physically fit)
- Usually involves characters of the opposite sex to drive the narrative - their loyalty will be questions.
Features more violence than other sub genres:
Seeing as this film is an action filmed, it is based around violence and the story relys on physical scenes. We know this film is an action film almost straight away due to the violence. Usually, action films use more violence and a small ammount of narrative as violience most viewers of action films find violience entertaining.
Opposite sex:
The main characters can be brought together by their genders. She uses her feminine qualities to get her way however her plan fails so her gender didn't help.
Physically fit:
The protagonist is skilled in combat and is shown by his power and dominance in the fight we see in the beginning therefore we know that the protagonist will be skilled during the film. Protagonist are usually stronger than average.
Disruption toEquilitorium requires the protagonist to use action to solve it:
The protagonist solves the problem with action in the early beginning which shows the audience the film is action based because the characters try to solve the storyline issues physically unlike some thrillers such as pyschological thrillers solve problems usually mentally without violence.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Psychological Thriller: Fight Club...
We looked at the trailer of Fight Club to see how it has psychological conventions.
Conventions:
-drama/mystery
-danger is on a mental level rather than a physical level
-2 or more characters preying on each others minds to create conflict,or, one solitary character in mental conflict
-characters try and discover their purpose
-characters often have a fear or fascination with death
-narrative-confusion over what is real
Characters trying to discover their purpose:
Edward Norton is trying to find a purpose in his life. He believes being Brad Pitt is what he needs to do as he idolises him. However Brad Pitt is not a real person but he is in Edward's mind. Edward suffers from insomnia which could have triggered his belief in trying to discover his purpose.
2 or more character preying on each others mind:
Brad Pitt is always on Edwards mind as he is his main focus which then leads to Edward conflicting with himself which turns into conflicting with others such as Brad Pitt tells edward to beat up a stranger which will obviously show Edward is in a mental state.
Confusion over what is real:
The audience can find it slightly hard to understand the narrative side of the conversation and storyline between the two main characters. As the film continues the audience realise how Brad Pitt is a psycholoigcal character.
Suffering mental conflict with himself:
This creates Helena Bonham Carter character because it creates conflict with Brad Pitt. Edward thinks that Brad Pitt has got the girl but it actually is himself. This creates more conflict between Edward and Brad as he keeps all his emotions for her locked up.
Conventions:
-drama/mystery
-danger is on a mental level rather than a physical level
-2 or more characters preying on each others minds to create conflict,or, one solitary character in mental conflict
-characters try and discover their purpose
-characters often have a fear or fascination with death
-narrative-confusion over what is real
Characters trying to discover their purpose:
Edward Norton is trying to find a purpose in his life. He believes being Brad Pitt is what he needs to do as he idolises him. However Brad Pitt is not a real person but he is in Edward's mind. Edward suffers from insomnia which could have triggered his belief in trying to discover his purpose.
2 or more character preying on each others mind:
Brad Pitt is always on Edwards mind as he is his main focus which then leads to Edward conflicting with himself which turns into conflicting with others such as Brad Pitt tells edward to beat up a stranger which will obviously show Edward is in a mental state.
Confusion over what is real:
The audience can find it slightly hard to understand the narrative side of the conversation and storyline between the two main characters. As the film continues the audience realise how Brad Pitt is a psycholoigcal character.
Suffering mental conflict with himself:
This creates Helena Bonham Carter character because it creates conflict with Brad Pitt. Edward thinks that Brad Pitt has got the girl but it actually is himself. This creates more conflict between Edward and Brad as he keeps all his emotions for her locked up.
Political Thriller - Conventions
The conventions of a political thriller :
- threat is set against a back drop of political power struggle
- plots are designed to give political power to someone
- opponent characters are set up to try and prevent people receiving power
- two sets of characters - ranked in authority.
An example of a political-thriller that we looked at was "the interpreter".
The typical conventions that we recognised throughout this trailer of a political-thriller, were immediately noticed through the dialogue used where the characters where talking about the political threat of someone planning to kill the president and the protagonist who was trying to prevent this from happening. Furthermore the enigma at the beginning was the threat which again follows the typical conventions that you find in this sub-genre.
In the trailer it becomes apparent that the antagonist is the person trying to gain political power by killing the president and then taking over the country, another typical convention.
Nicole Kidman, the protagonist was the character in the film who was trying to prevent the opponent characters of receiving the power of ruling the country by informing the government of the phone call she received.
It was clearly shown the ranked authority of the two characters in the film because the government did not believe Nicole Kidman's theory of the president going to be assassinated in the future purely because she was their employee and had no importance in their eyes.
Anaylising sound in Se7en.
To begin within in Se7en the sound is diegetic with the background noises of the radio, traffic noises from the surrounding area, water running in the protagonist's flat. Further on dialogue is introduced between two characters explaining the situation so that the audience gets more of an understanding of the circumstances. Again more diegetic sounds are introduced of rain, cars, everyday street noises, after this police sirens are clearly heard which suggests what the film is going to entail. When the scene goes back into the bedroom the sound of the outside is suppressed until completely dimmed out. The sound of a metronome is now becoming the main sound being used which builds up the suspense and tension in the scene and leaves the audience in anticipation. Finally when the opening credits come on a non-diegetic soundtrack of electronic industrial sounds and the beat of the drums, which creates an eery atmosphere for the beginning of the film.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Analysis of the film Seven - Mise - en -scene.
Throughout the film Seven, I focused on the micro element of the Mise-en-scene.
At the beginning of the clip it starts off with a shot off Morgan Freeman in his house. This opening clip is a clear view of his clean, tidy and decorated house, showing him dressing up. His clothing is off a stereotypical detective costume smartly dressed with a trench coat and hat; this is showing us his career immediately and that the film will be based around solving murder mysteries and other crimes.
We meet the other detective within the scene, Brad Pitt, who is a contrast to Morgan Freeman, as he is young, a lot more relaxed, and has a cheeky attitude, whilst Morgan is a lot more serious about the situation.
Brad Pitt has an individual detective costume this is a leather jacket and more casual clothes.
Seven uses mise-en-scene to suggest different characteristics for the two different characters. Through the mise-en-scene you can tell that the two policemen are binary opposites. As Brad Pitt is the trendy cop with the unique costume and attitude and chewing gum. Pairing these two characters together creates conflict between the two characters adding an element of drama to the film. One could be referred to a protagonist and the other as an antagonist. These contrasting characters at the beginning create an enigma, to interest the audiences to see the further complications.
The setting starts off with Morgan Freeman’s house, which comes across as a very neat tidy organised house; this is a complete contrast to the typical thriller which starts off with dark gloomy settings. Then we see a complete different setting of the house where the crime is located. The house the crime took place is in immediately all Smokey, undecorated and has a dull, gloomy aspect towards it. This suggests that something terrible happened there.
The detectives then leave the house and walk into the typical urban city. This gives the audience an idea of the location. That it is based around the poorer areas of a city in America, with heavy rain pouring down in a very low class, untidy city.
Editing In Se7en...
I looked at the editing of the thriller Se7en. Throughout the opening sequence there are lots of jump cuts to show the fast pace of the film. This also gives a straight sense of time and it's easy for the audience to follow.
There is a long take when Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are walking down the street. This makes all the attention of the audience focus on the actors and the conversation they are having. In the scenes with two actors the 180 degree rule is used. Shot reverse shot is used frequently when the actors are talking to one another. Also the editing is done in a way that Morgan Freeman has more screen time than Brad Pitt to show his dominance.
After this section there is a montage sequence with credits. The credits are written in white, craved writing to add to the genre of the film. The montage is of the killer but you don't actually see him/her. You can tell this by the action happening bu also becasue the montage is fast paced and automaticly creates suspense for the audience.
There is a long take when Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are walking down the street. This makes all the attention of the audience focus on the actors and the conversation they are having. In the scenes with two actors the 180 degree rule is used. Shot reverse shot is used frequently when the actors are talking to one another. Also the editing is done in a way that Morgan Freeman has more screen time than Brad Pitt to show his dominance.
After this section there is a montage sequence with credits. The credits are written in white, craved writing to add to the genre of the film. The montage is of the killer but you don't actually see him/her. You can tell this by the action happening bu also becasue the montage is fast paced and automaticly creates suspense for the audience.
Camera angles and movements in Se7en.
I look at the camera angles and movements to analyise in the film Se7en.
The very first shot is a Mid shot which shows a man from behind. This is an unusual way to start a movie as it doesn't show very much detail however it allows
the audience to see the setting and costume which can indicate the genre and engages the viewers to see what is going to happen.
There are several pan shots used during the opening which is a clever way to reveal different aspects in the movie as it slowly shows the audience an object, character, etc in an intriging way to
make them want to watch more.
There is a tracking shot on Morgan freeman which allows the audience to focus on his movements and watch carefully every step he is doing. It emphasises how he has a strong role as we see his power in how his bady language is. This is a common aspect if a thriller as it shows how the protagonist in a position of power at the beginning which may change during the movie for entertainment.
When Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are walking down the street together the camera is at a low angle which shows that they are equal people and suggests they are a team between them. Also, it shows that they are in power because a low angle gives the impression of dominance which can tell the audience that they are the goodies of the film as the angle reinforces what position they are in in the movie.
There is a zoom while Morgan Freeman is in bed. The movevment creates tension as the zoom is slow and gives a wary feel and the speed of the zoom engages the audience for longer as they want to know something crucial is going to happen. This is a very popular way of adding an atmosphere to a thriller as several micro elements work together to add a thrilling mood.
There are many close-ups during the opening on different objects such as the metronome. Close-ups allow the audience to focus on one thing and for them to realise that object is in their view for a reason so it allows them to continue watching. This is often used in thrillers for the same reason it was used in Se7en.
During the credits, there are lots of close-ups of objects without any meaning to the audience at the beginning however they will probably relate to the story during the film therefore the viewers will watch as they want to know what the meaning to the objects are.
The very first shot is a Mid shot which shows a man from behind. This is an unusual way to start a movie as it doesn't show very much detail however it allows
the audience to see the setting and costume which can indicate the genre and engages the viewers to see what is going to happen.There are several pan shots used during the opening which is a clever way to reveal different aspects in the movie as it slowly shows the audience an object, character, etc in an intriging way to
make them want to watch more.
There is a tracking shot on Morgan freeman which allows the audience to focus on his movements and watch carefully every step he is doing. It emphasises how he has a strong role as we see his power in how his bady language is. This is a common aspect if a thriller as it shows how the protagonist in a position of power at the beginning which may change during the movie for entertainment.
When Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are walking down the street together the camera is at a low angle which shows that they are equal people and suggests they are a team between them. Also, it shows that they are in power because a low angle gives the impression of dominance which can tell the audience that they are the goodies of the film as the angle reinforces what position they are in in the movie.
There is a zoom while Morgan Freeman is in bed. The movevment creates tension as the zoom is slow and gives a wary feel and the speed of the zoom engages the audience for longer as they want to know something crucial is going to happen. This is a very popular way of adding an atmosphere to a thriller as several micro elements work together to add a thrilling mood.
There are many close-ups during the opening on different objects such as the metronome. Close-ups allow the audience to focus on one thing and for them to realise that object is in their view for a reason so it allows them to continue watching. This is often used in thrillers for the same reason it was used in Se7en.
During the credits, there are lots of close-ups of objects without any meaning to the audience at the beginning however they will probably relate to the story during the film therefore the viewers will watch as they want to know what the meaning to the objects are.
Micro elements on Se7en. - How it represents the genre.
We looked at Se7en and the four of us looked at an micro element to see how they represent the genre thriller.
Yasmin looked at Editing
Sian looked at music
Tania looked at mise-en-scene
Briarly looked at camera angles and movements
How Vertigo is a classic thriller and how it meets conventions.
We looked at the opening of vertigo to study how the film contains conventions.
From the very beginning, there is fast beat music which is a typical convention in a thriller as it adds drama and creates the atmosphere from the introduction.
Straight away the first characters we see you can instantly tell they are binary opposites. There was two goodies (policemen and detective) who are protagonists and the baddie is the antagonists who is running away from the goodies. This is a classic convention which is commonly used in thrillers as they usually give a good storyline.
The audience can immediately see there is a situation at the beginning which is an enigma and it engages the audience from the introduction which is a popular convention so they can see how there will be further complications in the film.
Another convention is a complication (e.g a fear) in the storyline which in this case as vertigo (The fear of falling and heights) This prevents the protagonist from solving in this storyline which adds to the convention.
The lighting was really dark which is non-diegetic which is a convention often used to add a feel to the storyline and give a wary mood.
The sound effects are apart of a typical convention because in vertigo they use exaggerated sounds on crucial moments to add a thrilling element.
From the very beginning, there is fast beat music which is a typical convention in a thriller as it adds drama and creates the atmosphere from the introduction.
Straight away the first characters we see you can instantly tell they are binary opposites. There was two goodies (policemen and detective) who are protagonists and the baddie is the antagonists who is running away from the goodies. This is a classic convention which is commonly used in thrillers as they usually give a good storyline.
The audience can immediately see there is a situation at the beginning which is an enigma and it engages the audience from the introduction which is a popular convention so they can see how there will be further complications in the film.
Another convention is a complication (e.g a fear) in the storyline which in this case as vertigo (The fear of falling and heights) This prevents the protagonist from solving in this storyline which adds to the convention.
The lighting was really dark which is non-diegetic which is a convention often used to add a feel to the storyline and give a wary mood.
The sound effects are apart of a typical convention because in vertigo they use exaggerated sounds on crucial moments to add a thrilling element.
Sunday 10 January 2010
What specific conventions do you expect to find in a thriller?
Characters:
Like most films, thrillers do still commonly use binary opposites (Goodies vs. Baddies)
Usually, there is a hero and villain.
The heroes in most thrillers are often "hard men" drawn to danger such as law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. The Heroes have traditionally been men but women lead characters have become increasingly common.
Location:
Thrillers often take place in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or high seas. At the beginning of Thriller's they occasionally show clips of settings that look wary, creepy, isolated, etc to give the audience a feel of something is going to happen. Sometimes, the location is a normal area which is busy with people so the audience will be surprised by the thrilling event when they least expect it.
Props:
Props are usually weapons used by the villian to establish who is the 'baddie'. The props are usually harmful weapons to give a thrilling effect to the audience such as axes, guns, knives, chemicals, etc.
Narrative structure: (what the storyline is)
The storylines are often shown by the hero's point of view of what is happening to him, what he feels about it, etc but sometimes it is shown by the villain's view as the audience will be able to see what the baddie has planned but the good character(s) won't.
Like most films, thrillers do still commonly use binary opposites (Goodies vs. Baddies)
Usually, there is a hero and villain.
The heroes in most thrillers are often "hard men" drawn to danger such as law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. The Heroes have traditionally been men but women lead characters have become increasingly common.
Location:
Thrillers often take place in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or high seas. At the beginning of Thriller's they occasionally show clips of settings that look wary, creepy, isolated, etc to give the audience a feel of something is going to happen. Sometimes, the location is a normal area which is busy with people so the audience will be surprised by the thrilling event when they least expect it.
Props:
Props are usually weapons used by the villian to establish who is the 'baddie'. The props are usually harmful weapons to give a thrilling effect to the audience such as axes, guns, knives, chemicals, etc.
Narrative structure: (what the storyline is)
The storylines are often shown by the hero's point of view of what is happening to him, what he feels about it, etc but sometimes it is shown by the villain's view as the audience will be able to see what the baddie has planned but the good character(s) won't.
Saturday 9 January 2010
The Dark Knight - Thriller Analysis
I analysed the film The Dark Knight , as it came up as one of the several succesfull thriller films.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usIyEL7ut5A
The lighting in this movie is quite dark, this makes it quite creepy and the suspence on the audience quite high.The only place in the moive that is brightly lit is batmans place, this signifies that he is the good character therefore thr bright lighting represents his personality. This makes the audience feel more comfortable when watching this part of the movie as it shows them the different characters and their roles.
The cinematography in this film is effective as it includes a lot of establishing shots of high buldings to create the atmosphere, it also includes a lot of close ups so we can visiualise the facial expressions of the characters. In this clip there is a use of tracking shots so the audience can feel the tension build up. The shots duration are very short this builds up more suspense as it shows everything happening very quickly and rapidly. Their is a lot of high angle shots which shows the view from above this makes the audience feel like they are present and can feel the same emotions as the characters.
The majority of colours used in this clip are black or white or very dull colours, this connotes that the film includes a lot of suspense and not very positive moments.
In some shorts it shows the bad character placed in the middle of the mise en scene this shows his isolation and that many people do not support him as he is the bad character.
The characters are represented very clearly through their costumes and props. The bad characters face is painted in white with a bright red smile across, he looks like a clown and his makeup is all smudged and his eyes look daunting.This clearly shows his evil personality and that his role is to be bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usIyEL7ut5A
The lighting in this movie is quite dark, this makes it quite creepy and the suspence on the audience quite high.The only place in the moive that is brightly lit is batmans place, this signifies that he is the good character therefore thr bright lighting represents his personality. This makes the audience feel more comfortable when watching this part of the movie as it shows them the different characters and their roles.
The cinematography in this film is effective as it includes a lot of establishing shots of high buldings to create the atmosphere, it also includes a lot of close ups so we can visiualise the facial expressions of the characters. In this clip there is a use of tracking shots so the audience can feel the tension build up. The shots duration are very short this builds up more suspense as it shows everything happening very quickly and rapidly. Their is a lot of high angle shots which shows the view from above this makes the audience feel like they are present and can feel the same emotions as the characters.
The majority of colours used in this clip are black or white or very dull colours, this connotes that the film includes a lot of suspense and not very positive moments.
In some shorts it shows the bad character placed in the middle of the mise en scene this shows his isolation and that many people do not support him as he is the bad character.
The characters are represented very clearly through their costumes and props. The bad characters face is painted in white with a bright red smile across, he looks like a clown and his makeup is all smudged and his eyes look daunting.This clearly shows his evil personality and that his role is to be bad.
Friday 8 January 2010
Sin City Anaylsis...
For my anaylsis I choose to do the opening scene to Sin City, released in 2005.
www.youtube.com/watch/?v=M17kHj-TNOc
The colour of this opening scene is very unusual and catches your eye straight away. Using the plain colours of black and white is very effective as it gives a dark and sinister feeling. The woman's dress is accented in red and this draws the audiences attention straight to her as she is one of the main charcaters in the scene. Red is the colour of love and sometimes can been seen as sexy so it shows a lot about her character before she even speaks.
The lighting also shows the genre like the colour does. The lighting is very dark and dull but in places there are very bright lights to accent the characters and the buildings around them. This helps the audience understand the genre(thriller) and adds a mysterious feel to the scene.
The setting is quite simple as it a balcony on a building but this adds effect as the characters are accented and all the attention is focused on them. The film looks like it could be based in New York or somewhere simliar because there are lots of tall and dark buildings. When the actors kiss for the first time it is really accented as the whole screen changes into a comic strip type picture and the bodies are in white against a black background to add more focus on them. This is the first time the audience's attention is drawn to the fact that it is raining.
The costumes are again quite simple so all the attention is focused on the actors. The man's costume and make up is very simple as he is wearing a smart black suit and tie with a white shirt. This ties in with the black and white theme running through our the scene. Also you can tell that he is a very handsome man as his face is accented by the lighting. The woman is wearing a simple long evening dress but it looks more detailed because it is in red and this makes her stand out. Her eye make up is very heavy and smoky which contrasts with her shocking red lipstick which adds to her sex appeal. The dress and the lips are the only colour used in the whole scene.
There are minimal props as the scene concentrates on the conversation the two actors are having. The first time a prop is introduced is when the actress takes out a cigarette and the actor flicks a lighter. Both the flame from the lighter and the burning cigarette are shown as burning white and inkeeping the scene. As the actor holds the actress in his arms it is then that you see the actor is holding a gun. The camera then zooms in to show the audience what weapon had been used to commit the crime. The camera angle then changes and you are looking down on the couple and the raindrops are really emphasized.
The scene starts with a sexy masucline voice telling the audience about the woman in the scene. His voice then carries on into dialogue which continues throughout the scene. The woman's voice is also quite sexy which adds to the sultry feel of the scene. There is also soft jazz music in the background which adds to the mood of the scene. The music and the narrator stop so all you can hear is the single gun shot. This makes it very dramatic. The music then changes and goes into a load and sinister piece. While this is going on the camera zooms out and you can see all the tops of the buildings in the stormy night sky. These buildings then create the title of the film "Sin City" which then the lettering goes into blood red which ties in with the actresses dress.
www.youtube.com/watch/?v=M17kHj-TNOc
The colour of this opening scene is very unusual and catches your eye straight away. Using the plain colours of black and white is very effective as it gives a dark and sinister feeling. The woman's dress is accented in red and this draws the audiences attention straight to her as she is one of the main charcaters in the scene. Red is the colour of love and sometimes can been seen as sexy so it shows a lot about her character before she even speaks.
The lighting also shows the genre like the colour does. The lighting is very dark and dull but in places there are very bright lights to accent the characters and the buildings around them. This helps the audience understand the genre(thriller) and adds a mysterious feel to the scene.
The setting is quite simple as it a balcony on a building but this adds effect as the characters are accented and all the attention is focused on them. The film looks like it could be based in New York or somewhere simliar because there are lots of tall and dark buildings. When the actors kiss for the first time it is really accented as the whole screen changes into a comic strip type picture and the bodies are in white against a black background to add more focus on them. This is the first time the audience's attention is drawn to the fact that it is raining.
The costumes are again quite simple so all the attention is focused on the actors. The man's costume and make up is very simple as he is wearing a smart black suit and tie with a white shirt. This ties in with the black and white theme running through our the scene. Also you can tell that he is a very handsome man as his face is accented by the lighting. The woman is wearing a simple long evening dress but it looks more detailed because it is in red and this makes her stand out. Her eye make up is very heavy and smoky which contrasts with her shocking red lipstick which adds to her sex appeal. The dress and the lips are the only colour used in the whole scene.
There are minimal props as the scene concentrates on the conversation the two actors are having. The first time a prop is introduced is when the actress takes out a cigarette and the actor flicks a lighter. Both the flame from the lighter and the burning cigarette are shown as burning white and inkeeping the scene. As the actor holds the actress in his arms it is then that you see the actor is holding a gun. The camera then zooms in to show the audience what weapon had been used to commit the crime. The camera angle then changes and you are looking down on the couple and the raindrops are really emphasized.
The scene starts with a sexy masucline voice telling the audience about the woman in the scene. His voice then carries on into dialogue which continues throughout the scene. The woman's voice is also quite sexy which adds to the sultry feel of the scene. There is also soft jazz music in the background which adds to the mood of the scene. The music and the narrator stop so all you can hear is the single gun shot. This makes it very dramatic. The music then changes and goes into a load and sinister piece. While this is going on the camera zooms out and you can see all the tops of the buildings in the stormy night sky. These buildings then create the title of the film "Sin City" which then the lettering goes into blood red which ties in with the actresses dress.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
To get an idea and understanding of thrillers I looked at the introduction to The shining (1980)
I looked at the micro elements to see how the genre (thriller) uses them.
From the very beginning, the music straight away is slow and gives a wary atmosphere to the action the audience can see. The music is low pitch which gives it a daunting feel. This reveals the genre as it sets the feeling for the audience to be thrilled.
Music is used in thrillers to work in rhythm with the action to give a more powerful effect.
The overall colours the audience can see from the introduction are dull and dreary which reflects how the movie will be possibly be sad, scary, etc.
The establishing shots at the very beginning are all similar which indicates the genre will be thriller by the lonely, isolated areas. Establishing shots a commonly used at the beginning of Thrillers to show the location clearly therefore the audience can see where the movie will be set.
When the car appears in the crane shot it allows the audience to have a big view of the surroundings of the car. The music changes slightly when the car appears which reinforces the audience to take knowledge of the car. The sound effects became louder and stronger when the camera gets closer to the car which emphasises to the viewers that the story will involve the car.
Overtime, the tracking shot following the car becomes faster which builds up the tension because from the micro elements we can tell something is going to happen to the car which therefore represents the genre.
A pan shot is used in this part of the film to show the location more closely for the audience. Also, the pan shot is slow which reinforces the creepy feel they want to achieve and also gives time for the audience to study the area. A pan shot can represent the genre of thriller as it can be a way of revealing a object, character, etc cleverly to give a thrilling effect.
There are dissolves used to change between each establishing shot. A dissolve is useful as it helps the clip run more smoothly other than a harsh change between two pictures. They are used in thrillers to help represent the genre as it keeps to the slow, wary mood the audience can see with the rest of the clip so everything is in a slow rhythm and it matches with the other micro elements.
The lighting in the beginning is diegetic as the audience can see the natural light shadow on the trees. This makes the movie feel even more isolated and give the location a lonely look as there is no extra elements added. Non-diegetic lighting is more popular in thrillers as it emphasises a certain aspect in the clip for the audience. However, weak lighting is common aswell as it hides areas and gives it a wary, eerie atmosphere.
Half way through the beginning, the location and sound change to lead onto the main storyline.
This is used in Thrillers to move onto to explain the story of what will happen. The original beginning shows the audience of the main location of where the main scenes will be and they will know that that location will be back during the movie.
I looked at the micro elements to see how the genre (thriller) uses them.
From the very beginning, the music straight away is slow and gives a wary atmosphere to the action the audience can see. The music is low pitch which gives it a daunting feel. This reveals the genre as it sets the feeling for the audience to be thrilled.
Music is used in thrillers to work in rhythm with the action to give a more powerful effect.
The overall colours the audience can see from the introduction are dull and dreary which reflects how the movie will be possibly be sad, scary, etc.
The establishing shots at the very beginning are all similar which indicates the genre will be thriller by the lonely, isolated areas. Establishing shots a commonly used at the beginning of Thrillers to show the location clearly therefore the audience can see where the movie will be set.
When the car appears in the crane shot it allows the audience to have a big view of the surroundings of the car. The music changes slightly when the car appears which reinforces the audience to take knowledge of the car. The sound effects became louder and stronger when the camera gets closer to the car which emphasises to the viewers that the story will involve the car.
Overtime, the tracking shot following the car becomes faster which builds up the tension because from the micro elements we can tell something is going to happen to the car which therefore represents the genre.
A pan shot is used in this part of the film to show the location more closely for the audience. Also, the pan shot is slow which reinforces the creepy feel they want to achieve and also gives time for the audience to study the area. A pan shot can represent the genre of thriller as it can be a way of revealing a object, character, etc cleverly to give a thrilling effect.
There are dissolves used to change between each establishing shot. A dissolve is useful as it helps the clip run more smoothly other than a harsh change between two pictures. They are used in thrillers to help represent the genre as it keeps to the slow, wary mood the audience can see with the rest of the clip so everything is in a slow rhythm and it matches with the other micro elements.
The lighting in the beginning is diegetic as the audience can see the natural light shadow on the trees. This makes the movie feel even more isolated and give the location a lonely look as there is no extra elements added. Non-diegetic lighting is more popular in thrillers as it emphasises a certain aspect in the clip for the audience. However, weak lighting is common aswell as it hides areas and gives it a wary, eerie atmosphere.
Half way through the beginning, the location and sound change to lead onto the main storyline.
This is used in Thrillers to move onto to explain the story of what will happen. The original beginning shows the audience of the main location of where the main scenes will be and they will know that that location will be back during the movie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)