Monday 2 May 2011
Thursday 7 April 2011
Textual Analysis 3 - Panic Room (David Fincher, 2002)
My last extract that I will be analysing is the opening ten minutes from Panic Room. This is a thriller but somewhat lighter and less eerie than the previous two.
The film does not go straight into the action; it has at least a minute of credits which was a lot longer than the other two. These credits were presented on a screen that had the background of New York where the movie is set and also has the same writing throughout the whole of the credits. The names were cleverly perched on the tops of building to make it look as if they were actually there. The people that are included in the beginning of this film seem to be typical New York inhabitants. Extremely posh and well dressed, and the neighbourhood that they were in seemed to go exactly with their characters. The house that they later arrived at was also extremely large and even though empty gave an air of elegance. The house is also extremely echoey.
The extract starts off with an establishing shot that sets the scene and shows you that it’s set in America, and it also has the credits rolling whilst this shot is happening. The establishing shot is longer than a normal shot is, and any shot that I have seen in the two previous extracts. There is an establishing shot following two women, showing where they are going and what they are dong before reaching a rather large house. When they reach the house there is a low angled shot directed up at a man that has previously told the two women off for their time keeping. This shows that he has the power over the situation, and that he is the important part of this scene. There is then a zoom shot of the people walking into the house, which shows that this is an important part of the movie and that it should be remembered. The scene changes in this extract are mainly sharp cuts to the next scene leaving you wondering what will happen next.
The sounds in this extract are no where near as spooky or eerie as that of the previous two. The first piece of music was a frantic sounding strings piece that played throughout the credits. One of the women was also speaking before the credits had actually finished which makes you wonder who she is, and why she is speaking before appearing on the screen. The sound in this piece is mainly diagetic, but has some music in the background. There is a lot of banging and clanking from the elevator when they get inside the house which shows it is quite an old house which is generally one of the locations for thriller movies.
The lighting is mostly medium darkness inside and bright outside, as it is set in the daytime. The panic room itself though is extremely light and has a bar style light. The kind of light that flickers whenever you turn it on and gives the sense of danger, as flickering lights generally symbolize times when something bad will happen in thriller and horror movies. This film is a lot lighter than most thriller movies that I have seen as they tend to be a lot darker and eerier, mostly set at night. Whereas this is set in the daytime in broad daylight.
The film does not go straight into the action; it has at least a minute of credits which was a lot longer than the other two. These credits were presented on a screen that had the background of New York where the movie is set and also has the same writing throughout the whole of the credits. The names were cleverly perched on the tops of building to make it look as if they were actually there. The people that are included in the beginning of this film seem to be typical New York inhabitants. Extremely posh and well dressed, and the neighbourhood that they were in seemed to go exactly with their characters. The house that they later arrived at was also extremely large and even though empty gave an air of elegance. The house is also extremely echoey.
The extract starts off with an establishing shot that sets the scene and shows you that it’s set in America, and it also has the credits rolling whilst this shot is happening. The establishing shot is longer than a normal shot is, and any shot that I have seen in the two previous extracts. There is an establishing shot following two women, showing where they are going and what they are dong before reaching a rather large house. When they reach the house there is a low angled shot directed up at a man that has previously told the two women off for their time keeping. This shows that he has the power over the situation, and that he is the important part of this scene. There is then a zoom shot of the people walking into the house, which shows that this is an important part of the movie and that it should be remembered. The scene changes in this extract are mainly sharp cuts to the next scene leaving you wondering what will happen next.
The sounds in this extract are no where near as spooky or eerie as that of the previous two. The first piece of music was a frantic sounding strings piece that played throughout the credits. One of the women was also speaking before the credits had actually finished which makes you wonder who she is, and why she is speaking before appearing on the screen. The sound in this piece is mainly diagetic, but has some music in the background. There is a lot of banging and clanking from the elevator when they get inside the house which shows it is quite an old house which is generally one of the locations for thriller movies.
The lighting is mostly medium darkness inside and bright outside, as it is set in the daytime. The panic room itself though is extremely light and has a bar style light. The kind of light that flickers whenever you turn it on and gives the sense of danger, as flickering lights generally symbolize times when something bad will happen in thriller and horror movies. This film is a lot lighter than most thriller movies that I have seen as they tend to be a lot darker and eerier, mostly set at night. Whereas this is set in the daytime in broad daylight.
Textual Analysis 2 - Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)
My second extract I have chosen as the opening 7 minutes of Se7en, which is again a dark thriller that is set out to confuse you right from the start.
The extract is set in an apartment to begin with, and then later goes outside. The two inspectors are at a crime scene, but you do not know any details of said crime scene, which is one thing that instantly makes you want to watch more to find out what happened. The next scene is set outside with the two inspectors talking, with them getting slightly angry with each other. The lighting does not change at all throughout these two scenes. The credits themselves are extremely strange, but if you pay close attention to them, you can see that they sort of follow a story. It shows a man cutting off his finger prints so as not to be caught by detectives after committing a crime. It also shows various other things like a book, and said man blacking out, and cutting out certain words in a copy of a book.
The camera work is mainly medium shots and high angles throughout the whole of the second scene, indicating that the two inspectors are in a place of power over the rest of the people in that scene. The whole of the conversation is made up of medium high angle shots and basically does not change. The first part of the extract shows Morgan Freeman’s character getting ready for the day ahead of him, then switches to the next scene via a straight cut. The camerawork on this part is just basically a tracking shot following him and watching him do what he does everyday.
The lighting in this extract does not vary much at all, which only accelerates the overall eeriness. It is mainly dark with slight bits of light. The scenes that are in daytime are also made dark with the rain that is constant while they’re outside. The lighting is all very dark and dense almost as if there is sun shining through a pair of curtains which is letting the light gradually filter through.
There are a lot of sounds during the extracts length, including background noises such as distant voice, sirens, thunder and dogs barking. This makes the setting seem more realistic and like it is set in the city. As those are things you would generally hear in cities. There is also a lot of diegetic sound during the extract with dialogue between Brad Pitt’s character and Morgan Freeman’s character. During the titles there is a music track in the background that gets faster paced, louder and more bassey as the titles go on. At any point in the extract there is always some kind of sounds to create suspense, as you never know what to expect. There is also a point in the extract where the only sound is that of a metronome and as it is so quiet that there is the expectation that something bad will happen.
The extract is set in an apartment to begin with, and then later goes outside. The two inspectors are at a crime scene, but you do not know any details of said crime scene, which is one thing that instantly makes you want to watch more to find out what happened. The next scene is set outside with the two inspectors talking, with them getting slightly angry with each other. The lighting does not change at all throughout these two scenes. The credits themselves are extremely strange, but if you pay close attention to them, you can see that they sort of follow a story. It shows a man cutting off his finger prints so as not to be caught by detectives after committing a crime. It also shows various other things like a book, and said man blacking out, and cutting out certain words in a copy of a book.
The camera work is mainly medium shots and high angles throughout the whole of the second scene, indicating that the two inspectors are in a place of power over the rest of the people in that scene. The whole of the conversation is made up of medium high angle shots and basically does not change. The first part of the extract shows Morgan Freeman’s character getting ready for the day ahead of him, then switches to the next scene via a straight cut. The camerawork on this part is just basically a tracking shot following him and watching him do what he does everyday.
The lighting in this extract does not vary much at all, which only accelerates the overall eeriness. It is mainly dark with slight bits of light. The scenes that are in daytime are also made dark with the rain that is constant while they’re outside. The lighting is all very dark and dense almost as if there is sun shining through a pair of curtains which is letting the light gradually filter through.
There are a lot of sounds during the extracts length, including background noises such as distant voice, sirens, thunder and dogs barking. This makes the setting seem more realistic and like it is set in the city. As those are things you would generally hear in cities. There is also a lot of diegetic sound during the extract with dialogue between Brad Pitt’s character and Morgan Freeman’s character. During the titles there is a music track in the background that gets faster paced, louder and more bassey as the titles go on. At any point in the extract there is always some kind of sounds to create suspense, as you never know what to expect. There is also a point in the extract where the only sound is that of a metronome and as it is so quiet that there is the expectation that something bad will happen.
Textual analysis 1 – Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
As my first extract I have chosen to analyse the first eleven minutes of Donnie Darko. The film itself is a dark thriller movie that seems quite confusing at first glance.
At the start of the movie, the title is written in a fancy script, but with no colours or movements, just a plain white font with the background as a freeze from the previous scene of the movie. There is a gleam of light and the scene then fades to a bright white screen, then to the next. It has quite a sudden start as after the credits, it fades straight into an establishing shot to set the scene of where it takes place, showing a body on the road. This extract is set half inside a house, and half outside a house in America. Later in the extract, more writing comes up on the screen in the same font, white writing on a black screen, saying a date. It is simple, yet sudden as you do not know what the date means as it just seems to be a random date.
The camera work in the extract includes at least two establishing shots, one of the house during the second scene and one right at the beginning showing the boy lying on the ground so you can get the gist of what each of the places looks like, so you can later relate back to the picture you have of where it is set to gather more information. There is a tracking shot at the beginning following Donnie home on his bicycle, and also another tracking shot of him walking into his house, so you can follow the action and see almost from his point of view. Whilst the family are sitting around the table there are a lot of cuts between shots of each family member, which are medium shots from the chest upwards. When Donnie’s mother is talking to his father later in the extract, she is shown with a high angle shot, showing that she is the one talking and she is the one with the power over the conversation. There is also a close up of Donnie’s face in the mirror which then turns to a close up of his pills when he opens the cabinet, which disputes the point that his sister made at the dinner table of him not taking the pills. There are a lot of plain cuts to other scenes, which makes the scene seem more intense. At midnight, the clock chimes and the camera slowly zooms to an extreme close up of the clock face. There is also a high angle shot of Donnie when he is walking outside, following the strange voice. Right at the end of the extract, a strange rabbit appears, and the shot of Donnie slowly fades into the rabbit and then back to Donnie again, which is strangely eerie.
The film opens with the sounds of heavy thundering, then slow piano music is added in, it creates suspense with the fact it is an establishing shot and that the music is so slow. The music slowly fades and gets quieter as Donnie nears the house. Whilst at the dinner table there are no sounds, no music or noise, other than the family speaking amongst themselves. Later in the extract a strange eerie voice suddenly starts talking almost as a voice over, then you realize that Donnie can actually hear the voice and it is talking to him saying things such as “Wake Up” and “I’ve been watching you” which are strange things to hear a voice saying. The clock suddenly chimes at midnight, which creates suspense as midnight is generally the most eerie time in thriller and horror movies; it is generally when the main action takes place. The extract then ended with interference on a television, which instantly made me want to watch more of the movie.
The lighting in the extract does not vary much, as it is either extremely dark and eerie, or it is light in the middle of the daytime. Most of the main action in the extract takes place in the dark as it seems to be the most eerie time as you cannot see all of what is going on so your mind wanders to what it may be. It is mainly set at night in dimly lit rooms, where people are most vulnerable as at least one of their senses is lowered. There is also a flash of light after the title comes up, which then fades into the next scene.
At the start of the movie, the title is written in a fancy script, but with no colours or movements, just a plain white font with the background as a freeze from the previous scene of the movie. There is a gleam of light and the scene then fades to a bright white screen, then to the next. It has quite a sudden start as after the credits, it fades straight into an establishing shot to set the scene of where it takes place, showing a body on the road. This extract is set half inside a house, and half outside a house in America. Later in the extract, more writing comes up on the screen in the same font, white writing on a black screen, saying a date. It is simple, yet sudden as you do not know what the date means as it just seems to be a random date.
The camera work in the extract includes at least two establishing shots, one of the house during the second scene and one right at the beginning showing the boy lying on the ground so you can get the gist of what each of the places looks like, so you can later relate back to the picture you have of where it is set to gather more information. There is a tracking shot at the beginning following Donnie home on his bicycle, and also another tracking shot of him walking into his house, so you can follow the action and see almost from his point of view. Whilst the family are sitting around the table there are a lot of cuts between shots of each family member, which are medium shots from the chest upwards. When Donnie’s mother is talking to his father later in the extract, she is shown with a high angle shot, showing that she is the one talking and she is the one with the power over the conversation. There is also a close up of Donnie’s face in the mirror which then turns to a close up of his pills when he opens the cabinet, which disputes the point that his sister made at the dinner table of him not taking the pills. There are a lot of plain cuts to other scenes, which makes the scene seem more intense. At midnight, the clock chimes and the camera slowly zooms to an extreme close up of the clock face. There is also a high angle shot of Donnie when he is walking outside, following the strange voice. Right at the end of the extract, a strange rabbit appears, and the shot of Donnie slowly fades into the rabbit and then back to Donnie again, which is strangely eerie.
The film opens with the sounds of heavy thundering, then slow piano music is added in, it creates suspense with the fact it is an establishing shot and that the music is so slow. The music slowly fades and gets quieter as Donnie nears the house. Whilst at the dinner table there are no sounds, no music or noise, other than the family speaking amongst themselves. Later in the extract a strange eerie voice suddenly starts talking almost as a voice over, then you realize that Donnie can actually hear the voice and it is talking to him saying things such as “Wake Up” and “I’ve been watching you” which are strange things to hear a voice saying. The clock suddenly chimes at midnight, which creates suspense as midnight is generally the most eerie time in thriller and horror movies; it is generally when the main action takes place. The extract then ended with interference on a television, which instantly made me want to watch more of the movie.
The lighting in the extract does not vary much, as it is either extremely dark and eerie, or it is light in the middle of the daytime. Most of the main action in the extract takes place in the dark as it seems to be the most eerie time as you cannot see all of what is going on so your mind wanders to what it may be. It is mainly set at night in dimly lit rooms, where people are most vulnerable as at least one of their senses is lowered. There is also a flash of light after the title comes up, which then fades into the next scene.
Thursday 10 March 2011
Fonts for the titles
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Automatica.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Pirulen.php
These are two of the fonts that we may use for the titles and credits during the film. These are both free fonts from the same site.
Later additions:
http://www.1001freefonts.com/WetPaint.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com/EarthsMightiest.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Kreeture.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Pirulen.php
These are two of the fonts that we may use for the titles and credits during the film. These are both free fonts from the same site.
Later additions:
http://www.1001freefonts.com/WetPaint.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com/EarthsMightiest.php
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Kreeture.php
Monday 28 February 2011
Costume & Props List
Costume & Props
Blood Splattered Book
A pond/Forrest
Phone
Knife
Mirrored Sunglasses
A Bench
Fake Blood
Man 1 Costume:
Jeans
T-Shirt
Jacket/Hoodie
Shoes
Bag
Man 2 Costume:
Jeans
T-Shirt
Jacket
Shirt
Shoes
Lady Costume 1:
Blood Splattered Shirt
Blood Splattered Jeans
Pumps
Messed Up Hair
Lady Costume 2:
Black Boots
Mirrored Glasses
Black Shirt/Corset
Black Leather Jacket
Black Skinnies/Shorts + Fishnets
Dark Make-Up
Man 1 Costume 2:
Jeans
Different T-Shirt to scene 1
Different Jacket/Hoodie to scene 1
Shoes
Blood Splattered Book
A pond/Forrest
Phone
Knife
Mirrored Sunglasses
A Bench
Fake Blood
Man 1 Costume:
Jeans
T-Shirt
Jacket/Hoodie
Shoes
Bag
Man 2 Costume:
Jeans
T-Shirt
Jacket
Shirt
Shoes
Lady Costume 1:
Blood Splattered Shirt
Blood Splattered Jeans
Pumps
Messed Up Hair
Lady Costume 2:
Black Boots
Mirrored Glasses
Black Shirt/Corset
Black Leather Jacket
Black Skinnies/Shorts + Fishnets
Dark Make-Up
Man 1 Costume 2:
Jeans
Different T-Shirt to scene 1
Different Jacket/Hoodie to scene 1
Shoes
Cast List & Location Report
Cast List
Man 1: Martin
Man 2: James
Lady: Beth
Location Report
Ideas:
Granville
Behind the Co-op
Trench Pool
In front of the Co-op
Martin’s street
No need for permissions or access as it is all open to the public, and most of the places aren’t too busy so other people won’t appear on the tape where they aren’t needed.
Man 1: Martin
Man 2: James
Lady: Beth
Location Report
Ideas:
Granville
Behind the Co-op
Trench Pool
In front of the Co-op
Martin’s street
No need for permissions or access as it is all open to the public, and most of the places aren’t too busy so other people won’t appear on the tape where they aren’t needed.
Friday 25 February 2011
Script
There are two people, both male, sitting at a bench in a clearing by a forest engaging in mindless chatter.
Male 1: So Chrissie is throwing a party on Saturday night, you planning on bringing your new bird?
Male 2: Na I’m having a night in with the parents, they’re insisting that I have at least one night in each week. So I’ve got too much of a life for them?
Male 1: Well you know parents, don’t you?
A woman stumbles out of the woods with blood splattered clothing and a book that is also splattered in blood, and then falls onto the floor a few yards in front of them. The boys get up and run to her.
Male 1: Hello, Miss? What’s wrong? Can we help you? To his friend. Call an ambulance!
His friend picks up the book without anyone noticing, then rushes a few yards away and calls an ambulance. He puts the book in his pocket.
2 WEEKS LATER
The first person is walking down the street, minding his own business. Out of nowhere a shadow of a woman appears and holds a knife to his throat.
Male 1: Who are you? Why are you doing this? He asks frantically
The camera gets very struggly and you cannot tell what is happening, until the camera stills and falls to the floor along with the body and a knife.
The woman bends down and picks up the knife, the shot fades away as she walks away.
Male 1: So Chrissie is throwing a party on Saturday night, you planning on bringing your new bird?
Male 2: Na I’m having a night in with the parents, they’re insisting that I have at least one night in each week. So I’ve got too much of a life for them?
Male 1: Well you know parents, don’t you?
A woman stumbles out of the woods with blood splattered clothing and a book that is also splattered in blood, and then falls onto the floor a few yards in front of them. The boys get up and run to her.
Male 1: Hello, Miss? What’s wrong? Can we help you? To his friend. Call an ambulance!
His friend picks up the book without anyone noticing, then rushes a few yards away and calls an ambulance. He puts the book in his pocket.
2 WEEKS LATER
The first person is walking down the street, minding his own business. Out of nowhere a shadow of a woman appears and holds a knife to his throat.
Male 1: Who are you? Why are you doing this? He asks frantically
The camera gets very struggly and you cannot tell what is happening, until the camera stills and falls to the floor along with the body and a knife.
The woman bends down and picks up the knife, the shot fades away as she walks away.
Certificate
Certificate
This film would be a 12 certificate. It does not have swearing, excessive blood and gore or sexually explicit scenes. The most mature content that it has is the killing of a few characters. These scenes of killing are only very minor, but include blood and weapons.
This film would be a 12 certificate. It does not have swearing, excessive blood and gore or sexually explicit scenes. The most mature content that it has is the killing of a few characters. These scenes of killing are only very minor, but include blood and weapons.
Who is the film aimed at?
Who is the film aimed at
The film would probably be aimed at men and women alike, there are no certain parts in the film that women or men would enjoy exclusively. It is aimed at teenagers both male and female. There are parts in the film that would appeal to both sexes.
The film would probably be aimed at men and women alike, there are no certain parts in the film that women or men would enjoy exclusively. It is aimed at teenagers both male and female. There are parts in the film that would appeal to both sexes.
Production Scheduale
Week Commencing:- 28th February
Lesson 1: Go over the details of the film and agree on everything
Lesson 2: Make the book and any props needed
Lesson 3: Film second part, bits walking, get a lot of footage
Week Commencing:- 7th March
Lesson 1: Get the murder scene bits
Lesson 2: Get the first people done
Lesson 3: Finish filming last bits of filming
Week Commencing:- 14th March
Lesson 1: Editing
Lesson 2: Editing
Lesson 3: Editing
Week Commencing:- 21st March
Lesson1: Editing
Lesson 2: Editing
Lesson 3: Editing
28th March Onwards - 7th April
Evaluation And Finishing the Paperwork
Lesson 1: Go over the details of the film and agree on everything
Lesson 2: Make the book and any props needed
Lesson 3: Film second part, bits walking, get a lot of footage
Week Commencing:- 7th March
Lesson 1: Get the murder scene bits
Lesson 2: Get the first people done
Lesson 3: Finish filming last bits of filming
Week Commencing:- 14th March
Lesson 1: Editing
Lesson 2: Editing
Lesson 3: Editing
Week Commencing:- 21st March
Lesson1: Editing
Lesson 2: Editing
Lesson 3: Editing
28th March Onwards - 7th April
Evaluation And Finishing the Paperwork
Synopsis
Synopsis
A dark Thriller about two men of whom stumble upon a dark secret that one day soon may cost them their lives. These two best friends find a woman in dire need of help carrying a strangely suspicious looking book. This book turns out to be the key to finding the body of a missing person in their very own neighbourhood. Unfortunately for the men, what they do not realize is that they will soon have to choose between their own life, and that of the person in the book. They will soon embark on a journey to save the individual, whilst trying to stop this mysterious woman from ruining theirs and many other people’s lives.
A dark Thriller about two men of whom stumble upon a dark secret that one day soon may cost them their lives. These two best friends find a woman in dire need of help carrying a strangely suspicious looking book. This book turns out to be the key to finding the body of a missing person in their very own neighbourhood. Unfortunately for the men, what they do not realize is that they will soon have to choose between their own life, and that of the person in the book. They will soon embark on a journey to save the individual, whilst trying to stop this mysterious woman from ruining theirs and many other people’s lives.
Summary of ideas
Summary of ideas
2 people (2 Males) are sitting on a bench near a forest/lake/something spooky.
A woman stumbles out of nowhere into the middle of their sight clutching a book.
The two people rush over to the woman’s aid and call an ambulance.
The first person sees the books and is intrigued; he takes it and puts it into his pocket.
- Two Weeks Later -
The second person (The one without the book) is walking down the street. At this point the names of cast members come up below the walking.
Out of nowhere a female figure with a knife and mirrored sunglasses holds the knife to his throat.
The camera is very wobbly and depicts a struggle.
The body falls to the floor and the bloody knife falls next to it in slow motion.
The camera is on the floor, so all you can see is the woman’s feet up to roughly her knees.
The woman bends down and picks up the knife.
She walks away.
As she walks away, the name of the film comes up.
The film itself as a whole is about two men who witness a woman in a bad state stumbling out of a forest. One of these men steals a book from her and tries to figure out what was going on with it. The book is actually a diary that is locked and covered in blood, but the stranger is not put off by this fact. The film follows the man trying to unlock the diary and find out why it is covered in blood, thus finding out that the woman is actually a murderer; alongside following the woman trying to track down the man because she doesn’t want him to find out her secret.
The first few minutes show the first person being killed and the woman initially being found with the book.
This fits in with the thriller genre theme because it follows the life of a murderer alongside a person whose friend has been murdered by this same person. It would fit in with the sub-genre of a ‘Moral confrontation Thriller’ as it is a struggle between the good (The male who initially steals the book, but later tries to solve the crime) and the bad (The woman who is a murderer).
385 Words.
2 people (2 Males) are sitting on a bench near a forest/lake/something spooky.
A woman stumbles out of nowhere into the middle of their sight clutching a book.
The two people rush over to the woman’s aid and call an ambulance.
The first person sees the books and is intrigued; he takes it and puts it into his pocket.
- Two Weeks Later -
The second person (The one without the book) is walking down the street. At this point the names of cast members come up below the walking.
Out of nowhere a female figure with a knife and mirrored sunglasses holds the knife to his throat.
The camera is very wobbly and depicts a struggle.
The body falls to the floor and the bloody knife falls next to it in slow motion.
The camera is on the floor, so all you can see is the woman’s feet up to roughly her knees.
The woman bends down and picks up the knife.
She walks away.
As she walks away, the name of the film comes up.
The film itself as a whole is about two men who witness a woman in a bad state stumbling out of a forest. One of these men steals a book from her and tries to figure out what was going on with it. The book is actually a diary that is locked and covered in blood, but the stranger is not put off by this fact. The film follows the man trying to unlock the diary and find out why it is covered in blood, thus finding out that the woman is actually a murderer; alongside following the woman trying to track down the man because she doesn’t want him to find out her secret.
The first few minutes show the first person being killed and the woman initially being found with the book.
This fits in with the thriller genre theme because it follows the life of a murderer alongside a person whose friend has been murdered by this same person. It would fit in with the sub-genre of a ‘Moral confrontation Thriller’ as it is a struggle between the good (The male who initially steals the book, but later tries to solve the crime) and the bad (The woman who is a murderer).
385 Words.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Questions 1-9 on sheet
The purpose of the opening of a film, is to give an insight of what the film may be about. It is the first few minutes of a film that generally keep the viewer inters ted.
Techniques that a director may use to create suspense include dark lighting, the hiding of a certain characters face, suspenseful music (Generally an orchestra or strings, shots of only various body parts, ensuring that the props, make up and costumes are all relevant to the type of film.
A thriller is defined as a film that generally contains some level of violence, a lot of suspense and a hero. Some of these films are psychological, meaning that due to the timings of certain scenes and musical cues the film will seem scarier than it actually is. Take for example 'Drag me to hell'. At one point in the film, a character is sitting in a car, and a handkerchief flies at the windscreen at fast pace. It is not something that would scare you normall, but in the circumstances surrounding, the scene is made a lot scarier than normal.
Films that fit into the thriller genre could include: Black Swan,Drag Me To Hell, Inception, se7en, The Silence Of The Lambs.
A thriller is split into sub genres, these genres are:
Involving ‘Murderous passions’
Political thriller
Change of identity thriller
Psycho-traumatic thriller
Moral confrontation thriller
Innocent on the run thriller
The characteristics and conventions of a thriller include Death and Destruction, A misunderstood character, Confusion, Cliff-hangers, Mainly male leads, Shocks and scares, Loud sounds, Dark Lighting.
The audience pleasure of a thriller film is the scares generally. People seem to enjoy being scared because the adrenaline in our body creates a positive reaction with the hormones that make us enjoy being scared. Another audience pleasure could be the storyline, some people enjoy the storyline of a film.
The differences between a horror and thriller movie are that horror films generally contain more horror and death. A lot of horror films contain lots of blood and gore. A horror movie is almost like a Thriller movie that has been overexaggerated.
I have honestly never seen about 95% of the current Top Thriller Movies, but it's mainly because i don't think of thriller movies as on of the immediate genres in the news. The films i generally watch tend to be the extremely mainstream genres, like Horror, Comedy, Romance, A Thriller film is not my immediate though when i want to watch a movie. I will in the near future watch some of the some of these films when i have the chance.
Movie Poster Analysis
Black Swan
- An extremely simple poster, but it perfectly symbolizes the content of the film
- The character looks perfect besides the crack on her face.
- Again, no rating is mentioned on the front. From the content in the film I’d say it’s either a 12 or a 15
- Innocent looking character
- The photo itself if incredibly mesmerizing. Although it is probably airbrushed, she is the first thing that you see when you look at the poster
- The title is big and bold, but in a fairly boring and mundane font
- Knowing what the film is about, I’d say the crack on her face symbolizes her fall from grace. How she used to be perfect, but now she’s not
- Only the name of the three most famous/main characters are mentioned on the picture.
- A dark poster t some extent, contrasted with Natalie Portman’s bright white skin tone.
- A good comment on the front of the poster makes the film look better.
Alien
- Again a very dark poster. This seems to be a trend within the thriller genre.
- Very spaced out, yet not very big writing.
- Very plain, only an egg and the title really on the poster
- The poster is a few years old now. It’s not an incredibly recent film. You can tell this from the poster.
- A slogan/ something catchy that you can associate with the film
- You can tell that the film is going to be a sci-fi film at least from obviously the title and the egg on the front
- The only other colour on the poster other than black is green (And some white)
- The font on the poster is very plain and mundane
- Not much colour
Silence Of the Lambs
- This is an extremely strange poster. It is quite plain aside from the fact that there is a strange moth on the face of the woman.
- Very plain, mainly the face of the woman taking up the page.
- The eyes of the woman are very prominent and jump out at you.
- A very strange moth on the mouth of the woman, symbolising the “Silence” as mentioned in the title.
- The face itself is very sketchy and colourless.
- There is no mention of a rating/ classification, but as it is a thriller i would generally say it would be a 15.
- Brighter than thriller posters generally are, but it's bright in such a way that it's a bit strange
Techniques that a director may use to create suspense include dark lighting, the hiding of a certain characters face, suspenseful music (Generally an orchestra or strings, shots of only various body parts, ensuring that the props, make up and costumes are all relevant to the type of film.
A thriller is defined as a film that generally contains some level of violence, a lot of suspense and a hero. Some of these films are psychological, meaning that due to the timings of certain scenes and musical cues the film will seem scarier than it actually is. Take for example 'Drag me to hell'. At one point in the film, a character is sitting in a car, and a handkerchief flies at the windscreen at fast pace. It is not something that would scare you normall, but in the circumstances surrounding, the scene is made a lot scarier than normal.
Films that fit into the thriller genre could include: Black Swan,Drag Me To Hell, Inception, se7en, The Silence Of The Lambs.
A thriller is split into sub genres, these genres are:
Involving ‘Murderous passions’
Political thriller
Change of identity thriller
Psycho-traumatic thriller
Moral confrontation thriller
Innocent on the run thriller
The characteristics and conventions of a thriller include Death and Destruction, A misunderstood character, Confusion, Cliff-hangers, Mainly male leads, Shocks and scares, Loud sounds, Dark Lighting.
The audience pleasure of a thriller film is the scares generally. People seem to enjoy being scared because the adrenaline in our body creates a positive reaction with the hormones that make us enjoy being scared. Another audience pleasure could be the storyline, some people enjoy the storyline of a film.
The differences between a horror and thriller movie are that horror films generally contain more horror and death. A lot of horror films contain lots of blood and gore. A horror movie is almost like a Thriller movie that has been overexaggerated.
I have honestly never seen about 95% of the current Top Thriller Movies, but it's mainly because i don't think of thriller movies as on of the immediate genres in the news. The films i generally watch tend to be the extremely mainstream genres, like Horror, Comedy, Romance, A Thriller film is not my immediate though when i want to watch a movie. I will in the near future watch some of the some of these films when i have the chance.
Movie Poster Analysis
Black Swan
- An extremely simple poster, but it perfectly symbolizes the content of the film
- The character looks perfect besides the crack on her face.
- Again, no rating is mentioned on the front. From the content in the film I’d say it’s either a 12 or a 15
- Innocent looking character
- The photo itself if incredibly mesmerizing. Although it is probably airbrushed, she is the first thing that you see when you look at the poster
- The title is big and bold, but in a fairly boring and mundane font
- Knowing what the film is about, I’d say the crack on her face symbolizes her fall from grace. How she used to be perfect, but now she’s not
- Only the name of the three most famous/main characters are mentioned on the picture.
- A dark poster t some extent, contrasted with Natalie Portman’s bright white skin tone.
- A good comment on the front of the poster makes the film look better.
Alien
- Again a very dark poster. This seems to be a trend within the thriller genre.
- Very spaced out, yet not very big writing.
- Very plain, only an egg and the title really on the poster
- The poster is a few years old now. It’s not an incredibly recent film. You can tell this from the poster.
- A slogan/ something catchy that you can associate with the film
- You can tell that the film is going to be a sci-fi film at least from obviously the title and the egg on the front
- The only other colour on the poster other than black is green (And some white)
- The font on the poster is very plain and mundane
- Not much colour
Silence Of the Lambs
- This is an extremely strange poster. It is quite plain aside from the fact that there is a strange moth on the face of the woman.
- Very plain, mainly the face of the woman taking up the page.
- The eyes of the woman are very prominent and jump out at you.
- A very strange moth on the mouth of the woman, symbolising the “Silence” as mentioned in the title.
- The face itself is very sketchy and colourless.
- There is no mention of a rating/ classification, but as it is a thriller i would generally say it would be a 15.
- Brighter than thriller posters generally are, but it's bright in such a way that it's a bit strange
Tuesday 15 February 2011
Equipment Needed
The main equipment that we will need is:
- A camera to film with
- A tripod to film steady shots on
- A tape to record onto
- A Mac to use to edit the film and create pieces of music on using Final Cut and Garage band
- A camera to film with
- A tripod to film steady shots on
- A tape to record onto
- A Mac to use to edit the film and create pieces of music on using Final Cut and Garage band
Sunday 13 February 2011
Audience Pleasures
I have carried out a number of questionnaires, and from reading back and analysing what i have collected i have found that:
The males that have taken the survey seem to enjoy action movies more than any other genre. And a lot of people didn't really pay much attention to the thriller genre or know of many films within this genre.
The most common genre's within the questionnaires, are either action or comedy. People seemed to enjoy these more than other genres.
Most people did enjoy thriller films, but did not specify their reasons why.
People had many reasons as of why they liked the films they favoured, but most like a good, easy to follow storyline.
Most people enjoyed both 18 and 15 certificate films.
A lot of people also enjoy fantasy films, mainly because of the surrealism and and magic elements.
The males that have taken the survey seem to enjoy action movies more than any other genre. And a lot of people didn't really pay much attention to the thriller genre or know of many films within this genre.
The most common genre's within the questionnaires, are either action or comedy. People seemed to enjoy these more than other genres.
Most people did enjoy thriller films, but did not specify their reasons why.
People had many reasons as of why they liked the films they favoured, but most like a good, easy to follow storyline.
Most people enjoyed both 18 and 15 certificate films.
A lot of people also enjoy fantasy films, mainly because of the surrealism and and magic elements.
Thursday 10 February 2011
Poster Analysis 2 - Inception
- The title of the film ‘Inception’ is in red, whereas the rest of the poster is in hues of blue and black. This makes it stand out from the rest of the poster. The writing is also a clear readable font.
- The release date is at the bottom in the same size font as the name of the director.
- A picture of the main character gives you an insight of what may happen in the film. The fact that he is holding a gun makes you wonder why.
- The name of the most famous actor in the movie is in bold letters that stretch the width of the poster. This ensures that you cannot miss the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the movie.
- The background is a very intense scene from New York (Assumingly) It emphasizes the drama of the film
- The colours of the poster are very plain and almost bland. They are dark which emphasizes the moody darkness of the film.
- The light behind Leonardo DiCaprio is incredibly bright and emphasizes the point that he is the main character.
Poster Analysis 1 - Se7en
- There is no mention of an age certificate, but considering that fact that the movie contains murder, I would expect it to be at least a 15. There is also no mention of a release date.
- The details that are needed or wanted are bigger so you can see them
- A very dark poster, reflecting the general mood of the movie.
- Although the movie is called ‘Se7en’ it actually says ‘Seven on the poster. On IMDB (Internet movie database) It is also referred to as se7en.
- The poster itself with the list of the seven deadly sins, gives an insight into what the movie is about. The slogan also does this.
- A catchy slogan that you can associate with the movie.
- It very briefly mentions the director, directly above the title.
- Bright colours mixed with darker colours to catch the eye
- It shows the two main stars of the movie. Who are also the most well known.
- The fancy red marks decorating the sins could either be just for decoration, or could symbolize each murder.
- Similar font all the way through the poster
- A bright pop of colour (Orange) which makes the poster more colourful
Conventions of the thriller genre
The above picture (Providing you can see it) shows the conventions of a thriller movie.
Target Audience
The genre of thriller is mainly aimed at people over the age of 15, due to some intense scenes that make the movie what it is. I have noticed that thriller films are generally either a 15 or an 18 certificate. Depending on the characters of the film, thrillers are generally aimed at the male population, as they tend to contain lots of guns, crime and dead. Girls don’t tend to be as easily amused by these things as guys are. Women tend to enjoy genres such as romance and comedy as the content is not as gruesome, as a lot milder than thriller films are. The women in thriller films tend to be either weak, innocent people of scantily clad badasses. This is to entice men more into wanting to watch them. The film ‘Sucker Punch’ (Out sometime this year) appeals in ways to both the male and female audience. The male side being the robots and barely dressed women, and the female side being the female role is either played by a very famous woman, or the character themselves act like men, but without loosing their feminine touch.
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Film Classifications
U Rated Films
A film that is rated as ‘U’ generally means that it is suitable for all audiences and ages. This classification is generally applied to films that are for very young children, for example Disney cartoons are generally classed as a ‘U’ rating.
Violence: A mild threat here and there, generally things like an evil characters threatening to punch someone.
Sex: Only sexual content is kissing which is even then kept to a minimum
Language: Very mild language, not extremely present in the movie.
Nudity: Tasteful mild nudity, generally underwear shots of characters.
Horror: Some scary scenes that are portrayed in a sensitive manner so as not to scare their audience.
Drugs: No reference to any illegal substances that can be classed as a drug, unless it is for a purely educational purpose which in this case must be shown clearly.
Discrimination: No discriminatory behaviour
PG Rated Films
A film rated as ‘PG’ (Parental guidance), must not disturb a child of 8 years or younger. The child does not have to accompanied by an adult.
Violence: Mild violence may be used, but only if the context is justified by the movie.
Sex: Any sexual activity must be discreet and not happen too often. Mainly innuendo.
Language: Mild bad language, mainly the same as a ‘U’ rated film.
Nudity: Natural nudity.
Horror: Must be short and not too intense so as to scare a child.
Drugs: Mainly for educational purposes.
Discrimination: Must be shown in a manner that the child knows that is unacceptable, again generally for educational purposes.
12A/12 Rated Films
The specification of 12A is used only in cinemas. If a child wants to see a movie rated as a 12A they must be accompanied by an adult. ‘12’ is used only in terms of video/DVD sales.
Violence: Generally no sexual violence. Shots cannot last too long or be too graphic.
Sex: Slight usage of sex to show a certain point can be used but nothing that is not suitable for young teenagers.
Language: Moderate language can be used, but the more obvious words cannot be used too frequently.
Nudity: Nudity can be used but sexually portrayed nudity must be used discreetly.
Horror: Moderate horror can be used, but nothing too disturbing
Drugs: Drugs cannot be glamorized, but can be used
Discrimination: Minor amounts, nothing major.
15 Rated Films
A film rated as a 15 generally contains sex, violence and almost anything. Nobody under the age of 15 can be admitted into the cinema to watch a 15 rated film, and nobody under the age of 15 can also buy them.
Violence: A lot can be included, but it should not linger on infliction of pain
Sex: No constraints as to how much can be used, just cannot have strong detail
Theme: All themes are generally acceptable
Language: Frequent usage of strong language can be used
Nudity: No constraints on how or where shown. Cannot be too detailed
Horror: No sadistic or sexual material, otherwise allowed
Drugs: Cannot glamorize or promote them but can be shown and used.
Discrimination: Cannot approve of or promote language or behaviour but can be portrayed.
18 Rated Films
There are essentially no limits on what you can include in an 18 rated film. Themes and content are the most detailed, and drugs are generally glamorized and portrayed in positive ways. No-one younger than 18 can be admitted into a movie rated as 18 or buy a movie rated as 18.
R18 Rated Films
Whilst doing research for the classifications task, i also discovered that there is also another classification of film that is higher than an 18. This classification is an R18, and can only be shown in licenced sex shops or cinemas. This material generally contains material that is associated with fetish, things in breach of criminal laws, and other things that are generally associated with sex.
A film that is rated as ‘U’ generally means that it is suitable for all audiences and ages. This classification is generally applied to films that are for very young children, for example Disney cartoons are generally classed as a ‘U’ rating.
Violence: A mild threat here and there, generally things like an evil characters threatening to punch someone.
Sex: Only sexual content is kissing which is even then kept to a minimum
Language: Very mild language, not extremely present in the movie.
Nudity: Tasteful mild nudity, generally underwear shots of characters.
Horror: Some scary scenes that are portrayed in a sensitive manner so as not to scare their audience.
Drugs: No reference to any illegal substances that can be classed as a drug, unless it is for a purely educational purpose which in this case must be shown clearly.
Discrimination: No discriminatory behaviour
PG Rated Films
A film rated as ‘PG’ (Parental guidance), must not disturb a child of 8 years or younger. The child does not have to accompanied by an adult.
Violence: Mild violence may be used, but only if the context is justified by the movie.
Sex: Any sexual activity must be discreet and not happen too often. Mainly innuendo.
Language: Mild bad language, mainly the same as a ‘U’ rated film.
Nudity: Natural nudity.
Horror: Must be short and not too intense so as to scare a child.
Drugs: Mainly for educational purposes.
Discrimination: Must be shown in a manner that the child knows that is unacceptable, again generally for educational purposes.
12A/12 Rated Films
The specification of 12A is used only in cinemas. If a child wants to see a movie rated as a 12A they must be accompanied by an adult. ‘12’ is used only in terms of video/DVD sales.
Violence: Generally no sexual violence. Shots cannot last too long or be too graphic.
Sex: Slight usage of sex to show a certain point can be used but nothing that is not suitable for young teenagers.
Language: Moderate language can be used, but the more obvious words cannot be used too frequently.
Nudity: Nudity can be used but sexually portrayed nudity must be used discreetly.
Horror: Moderate horror can be used, but nothing too disturbing
Drugs: Drugs cannot be glamorized, but can be used
Discrimination: Minor amounts, nothing major.
15 Rated Films
A film rated as a 15 generally contains sex, violence and almost anything. Nobody under the age of 15 can be admitted into the cinema to watch a 15 rated film, and nobody under the age of 15 can also buy them.
Violence: A lot can be included, but it should not linger on infliction of pain
Sex: No constraints as to how much can be used, just cannot have strong detail
Theme: All themes are generally acceptable
Language: Frequent usage of strong language can be used
Nudity: No constraints on how or where shown. Cannot be too detailed
Horror: No sadistic or sexual material, otherwise allowed
Drugs: Cannot glamorize or promote them but can be shown and used.
Discrimination: Cannot approve of or promote language or behaviour but can be portrayed.
18 Rated Films
There are essentially no limits on what you can include in an 18 rated film. Themes and content are the most detailed, and drugs are generally glamorized and portrayed in positive ways. No-one younger than 18 can be admitted into a movie rated as 18 or buy a movie rated as 18.
R18 Rated Films
Whilst doing research for the classifications task, i also discovered that there is also another classification of film that is higher than an 18. This classification is an R18, and can only be shown in licenced sex shops or cinemas. This material generally contains material that is associated with fetish, things in breach of criminal laws, and other things that are generally associated with sex.
Research into the history of the Thriller genre
Research into the history of the thriller genre
The Thriller genre is set up into a series of six different sub-categories of thriller:
Thriller involving ‘Murderous passions’ Husband/Wife/Lover, one gets murdered. Motive: Passion/Greed
Political thriller: Assassination of leaders or government conspiracy. Motive for crime: Power and domination over people
Change of identity thriller: Character changes or conceals identity and deals with the consequences. Motive: Hiding crime
Psycho-traumatic thriller: The main character is traumatized by past events causing him or her to commit a crime. Motive: Trying to deal with traumatic events from past
Moral confrontation thriller: Good vs. evil. Motive: Evil wants to defeat good
Innocent on the run thriller: Hero is falsely accused and has to escape and prove innocence. Motive: The hero’s bosses want him/her out of the way.
The thriller movie tends to includes lots of mysteries and puzzles, cliff hangers, crime and victims, familiar objects such as a photograph (Used in One Hour Photo), places (Like someone’s home) or activities (Again, in one hour photo the use of the everyday normal activity of getting your photographs developed) are made to become dangerous or menacing. This is done by using dark, moody and impressionistic lighting to make these familiar items and places seem a lot more sinister.
The lighting also helps to portray different people as a good or bad person in the movie. In Shutter Island you are lead to believe that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is an inspector of whom is solving a crime, this is through the use of voiceovers. But in actual fact his character is living in the mental institution but the voiceover leads you to believe otherwise. Hybrid Genre’s also exist; in the way that two or more thriller genre’s can be mixed to make a completely different genre.
Some memorable directors include Alfred Hitchcock (Director of well known thrillers such as The Birds, and Psycho), David Fincher (Director of Se7en, Panic Room, Fight Club and The Social Network) and Orson Welles (Most commonly known for War of the worlds). The ‘Top 50 Greatest Thriller Movies’¹ still include such classics as ‘Alien’, ‘Se7en’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’. Many of these thrillers are not from the 21st Century, but from the previous Century, showing that the best directors were those from several years ago. Thriller films are made with the intent to scare and shock the viewer, most of this is done by the use of suspenseful music and dark and atmospheric lighting.
Many films with the use of ‘Creatures’ such as ‘Cloverfield’ ‘The Mothman Prophecies and ‘The Blair Witch Project’ generally tend to either not show the ‘Creature’ or only show specific parts of the creature to hold the interest of the viewer and keep them in suspense. When you imagine a creature such as the ‘Mothman’ your imagination can conjure up all sorts of images of hideous creatures crossed between man and moth, but the real thing is never as scary as your version. This is why this convention is used in Thriller Movies
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The Thriller genre is set up into a series of six different sub-categories of thriller:
Thriller involving ‘Murderous passions’ Husband/Wife/Lover, one gets murdered. Motive: Passion/Greed
Political thriller: Assassination of leaders or government conspiracy. Motive for crime: Power and domination over people
Change of identity thriller: Character changes or conceals identity and deals with the consequences. Motive: Hiding crime
Psycho-traumatic thriller: The main character is traumatized by past events causing him or her to commit a crime. Motive: Trying to deal with traumatic events from past
Moral confrontation thriller: Good vs. evil. Motive: Evil wants to defeat good
Innocent on the run thriller: Hero is falsely accused and has to escape and prove innocence. Motive: The hero’s bosses want him/her out of the way.
The thriller movie tends to includes lots of mysteries and puzzles, cliff hangers, crime and victims, familiar objects such as a photograph (Used in One Hour Photo), places (Like someone’s home) or activities (Again, in one hour photo the use of the everyday normal activity of getting your photographs developed) are made to become dangerous or menacing. This is done by using dark, moody and impressionistic lighting to make these familiar items and places seem a lot more sinister.
The lighting also helps to portray different people as a good or bad person in the movie. In Shutter Island you are lead to believe that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is an inspector of whom is solving a crime, this is through the use of voiceovers. But in actual fact his character is living in the mental institution but the voiceover leads you to believe otherwise. Hybrid Genre’s also exist; in the way that two or more thriller genre’s can be mixed to make a completely different genre.
Some memorable directors include Alfred Hitchcock (Director of well known thrillers such as The Birds, and Psycho), David Fincher (Director of Se7en, Panic Room, Fight Club and The Social Network) and Orson Welles (Most commonly known for War of the worlds). The ‘Top 50 Greatest Thriller Movies’¹ still include such classics as ‘Alien’, ‘Se7en’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’. Many of these thrillers are not from the 21st Century, but from the previous Century, showing that the best directors were those from several years ago. Thriller films are made with the intent to scare and shock the viewer, most of this is done by the use of suspenseful music and dark and atmospheric lighting.
Many films with the use of ‘Creatures’ such as ‘Cloverfield’ ‘The Mothman Prophecies and ‘The Blair Witch Project’ generally tend to either not show the ‘Creature’ or only show specific parts of the creature to hold the interest of the viewer and keep them in suspense. When you imagine a creature such as the ‘Mothman’ your imagination can conjure up all sorts of images of hideous creatures crossed between man and moth, but the real thing is never as scary as your version. This is why this convention is used in Thriller Movies
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Preliminary Task
Evaluation:
The 180 degree rule is used during the conversation between Martin and James, as you can see in the footage, Martin is always on the left hand side of the shot and James on the right. We stayed at the front of the classroom, so as not to go over the 180 degree distance.
Shot reverse shot was again used in the conversation between James and Martin. As each of the people talked the shots flicked between who was talking.
Match on match action was used between all of the scenes to make them flow smoothly.
During the filming of this sequence i learned how to follow and enforce the 360 degree rule, and also how to ensure that the shot reverse shot was positioned in roughly the same place so as to make it look continuous.
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