Film: Seven (1995)
Lead actor(s): Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Director: David Fincher
Titles: The titles look extremely creepy and eerie, combined with the sounds of screaming and the flickering of images. The font of the titles looks scratched and hand written. Seems as if it’s through the eyes of the murderer, obsessive collection of clippings and drawn over pictures of children. Presents a psychotic and disturbing feeling after such a normal and naturalistic beginning. The titles look really constructed in contrast to the slow and still first scene.
Shots: Fade into medium shot of the main character in his kitchen. Shows him getting ready from work, he’s wearing a suit. It switches to the dead body/crime scene after such a normal start. There are lots of two shots so you can see the characters reactions. It’s quite claustrophobic, lots of close ups. Gives a feeling of intensity. As they walk down the road, the camera follows the two characters. Makes you feel as if you are walking with them, part of the scene.
Movement: There aren’t any dramatic camera movements, it’s quite still and slow. There is quite a lot of slow zooming onto characters.
Generic themes: The rain reflects the mood of the film, and of the theme of the film – murder. Rain – constantly trying to clean out the city, like the police officers. As the two characters walk down the street, Morgan Freeman has a hat, walks dominantly. Brad Pitt is out of his comfort zone; he gets knocked by someone walking and is trying to shelter himself from the rain. When Morgan Freeman asks about the children involved in the murder, the other officer gets angry and accuses him of always asking those questions. This suggests Morgan Freeman is compassionate towards the feelings of the people involved, rather than just getting on with his job. In the opening sequence, Morgan Freeman appears to be very neat and independent. He has the sounds of the world around him, but within his own space his world is very different. This gives us an insight into the kind of character he is playing.
Sound: You immediately hear sirens in the distance before you see a picture. Gives us an idea of location and a feeling of mystery. The opening scene is quiet, empty and hollow, there is no music playing.
Mise-en-scene: The shots are quite dark and normal. Wearing a suit, and the way he dresses shows he takes care in his appearance. Prophetic fallacy, it is raining as the come out of the crime scene. The rain creates an ominous feeling about the city. The rain gives us an idea of the urban city location. A linear sequence, they don’t play with the narrative. Very naturalistic and gritty look.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Looking at the opening sequence to 'Memento'
Film: Memento (2002)
Lead actor: Guy Pearce
Director: Christopher Nolan
Titles: The titles are in a light blue font, all in capitals. They fade from one too the next slowly, fitting with the music in the background. The blue font helps to emit a cold feeling. The darkening of the font as it fades makes us sense a dark storyline. Colour connotations.
Shots: Close-up of the Polaroid, allows us too get a clear view of the picture. The shot makes us wonder who is holding the photo, builds suspense as the clip lasts a long time. Quick editing of the bullet and change in colour makes us realise the beginning is a flashback.There are lots of close ups to replicate the feeling of intensity, disorientating as you can’t see the full room. The high angle shot allows us to feel that we are watching/spying on him. Makes the audience feel powerful, as we have the ability to watch a murderer. The high angle makes him appear vulnerable, as does the black and white…the colour has gone from his life and so on.
Movement: The camera stays still for the first shot of the Polaroid, but is at a canted angle so we feel disorientated. It moves smoothly, zooms slowly and follows the character.
Generic themes: The film plays with narrative order, the end at the beginning. The first scene goes backwards inside of forwards. Introduces a sub genre of action with the gunshot, introduces a sub genre of horror as you see the blood. You only see the corpse partly, presenting a feeling of mystery. The beginning offers a range of narratives for the film, it could be a dream, a flashback, what happens in the future. The lead male doesn’t seem panicked as he waits for the Polaroid to develop, despite the fact he just killed somebody. Makes you wonder what his job is. You know the beginning scene is the end of the film because the man he kills is alive in the next scene.
Sound: Diegetic sounds such as the Polaroid being shaken, the gunshot, the bullet hitting the ground. Non-diegetic sounds such as the music in the background. Tense and sad music, rises to a climax as the first clip of the Polaroid is shown. Realistic in terms of sounds and small details, traffic outside, Polaroid being shaken. This introduces the main male character, as you see what he sees and hear what he hears. Creates a set up of the story.
Mise-en-scene:The beginning scene is gritty and grey. The costumes are… He appears in a grotty hotel room, appears anonymous and quite poor. Props such as guns and cameras present us with a feeling of mystery.
Lead actor: Guy Pearce
Director: Christopher Nolan
Titles: The titles are in a light blue font, all in capitals. They fade from one too the next slowly, fitting with the music in the background. The blue font helps to emit a cold feeling. The darkening of the font as it fades makes us sense a dark storyline. Colour connotations.
Shots: Close-up of the Polaroid, allows us too get a clear view of the picture. The shot makes us wonder who is holding the photo, builds suspense as the clip lasts a long time. Quick editing of the bullet and change in colour makes us realise the beginning is a flashback.There are lots of close ups to replicate the feeling of intensity, disorientating as you can’t see the full room. The high angle shot allows us to feel that we are watching/spying on him. Makes the audience feel powerful, as we have the ability to watch a murderer. The high angle makes him appear vulnerable, as does the black and white…the colour has gone from his life and so on.
Movement: The camera stays still for the first shot of the Polaroid, but is at a canted angle so we feel disorientated. It moves smoothly, zooms slowly and follows the character.
Generic themes: The film plays with narrative order, the end at the beginning. The first scene goes backwards inside of forwards. Introduces a sub genre of action with the gunshot, introduces a sub genre of horror as you see the blood. You only see the corpse partly, presenting a feeling of mystery. The beginning offers a range of narratives for the film, it could be a dream, a flashback, what happens in the future. The lead male doesn’t seem panicked as he waits for the Polaroid to develop, despite the fact he just killed somebody. Makes you wonder what his job is. You know the beginning scene is the end of the film because the man he kills is alive in the next scene.
Sound: Diegetic sounds such as the Polaroid being shaken, the gunshot, the bullet hitting the ground. Non-diegetic sounds such as the music in the background. Tense and sad music, rises to a climax as the first clip of the Polaroid is shown. Realistic in terms of sounds and small details, traffic outside, Polaroid being shaken. This introduces the main male character, as you see what he sees and hear what he hears. Creates a set up of the story.
Mise-en-scene:The beginning scene is gritty and grey. The costumes are… He appears in a grotty hotel room, appears anonymous and quite poor. Props such as guns and cameras present us with a feeling of mystery.
An introduction to thriller films (Codes and Conventions)
We discussed as a class what we thought a thriller was, and what codes and conventions should be included in the so called thriller genre. We also discussed the fine line between thriller, and horror films. We decided that a thriller film should/could/would include:
- Supernatural themes
- A plot twist
- Tense atmosphere
- Suspense
- Dark lighting
- Jumpy/suspenseful music
- Heroes
- Villains
- Unusual angle shots to add to the tension
- P.O.V of the villain
- Flashbacks
- Fast paced sequences
- Mystery (slow revealing plot)
- Puzzles
- Cliff hangers
- Climaxes
- More naturalistic themes than horrors
- In realistic situations, based on a true story
- Sub genres – psychological, action, drama
- Hybrid
- Quests
To back up this judgement we watched last years thriller film openings, and discussed which we liked and why we liked them. A favourite among most people seemed to be 'Passion Productions' because it used lots of different shot types and had a provoking storyline.
We were also shown 'End of the Line' as a class and analysed it together. It used many codes and conventions, and many points of view such as a low angle looking up at the london eye, and a birds eye view of the characters walking through london. The group also used speed effectively, slowing down and speeding up the London Eye.
- Supernatural themes
- A plot twist
- Tense atmosphere
- Suspense
- Dark lighting
- Jumpy/suspenseful music
- Heroes
- Villains
- Unusual angle shots to add to the tension
- P.O.V of the villain
- Flashbacks
- Fast paced sequences
- Mystery (slow revealing plot)
- Puzzles
- Cliff hangers
- Climaxes
- More naturalistic themes than horrors
- In realistic situations, based on a true story
- Sub genres – psychological, action, drama
- Hybrid
- Quests
To back up this judgement we watched last years thriller film openings, and discussed which we liked and why we liked them. A favourite among most people seemed to be 'Passion Productions' because it used lots of different shot types and had a provoking storyline.
We were also shown 'End of the Line' as a class and analysed it together. It used many codes and conventions, and many points of view such as a low angle looking up at the london eye, and a birds eye view of the characters walking through london. The group also used speed effectively, slowing down and speeding up the London Eye.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
An introduction to me
First things first, my name's Laura. Though you probably already knew that. I'm reasonably experienced with media because I did it for GCSE and got an A. I liked the course, especially because a large percentage of it was practical, which is the part that I enjoy and therefore find the easiest. I edit films on the video software Sony Vegas 7.0 at home in my spare time, so media appealed to me because I like seeing the backstage side to my strand which is theatre. I also thought it accompanied alongside theatre nicely, and gave me another string to add to my bow in terms of experience.
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