Preliminary Task Evaluation

Our preliminary task was to film a brief, one minute opening to a thriller film that consisted of somebody walking down a corridor into a room and having a short dialogue. The task was specifically to make an opening to a thriller and so this had to contain all the aspects that you would expect from a thriller. Our task had to demonstrate the 180 degree rule, match on action, shot reverse shot and continuity.

I believe our camera work was reasonably good for a first attempt however there were some aspects of it that could be improved. We had a range of shots throughout the film clip but there were still a few more that we could of used and if we has used them it could have made our clip a little more interesting and could have helped to build the tension a bit more. The composition and framing of our shots was pretty good as they clearly showed the most important objects and parts at all times but at the same time they were not empty (showing only one thing). We had a couple of shots where the camera was moving, these were quite good and had good effect of moving with the character but they were very difficult to keep steady and so the steadiness of the shots was greatly reduced. A camera dolly would have perhaps been ideal to shoot these shots however there was not one available at the time so we had to make do with the equipment we had.

After we had finished shooting our clip we put all the shots together on iMovie and began to edit them. The editing allowed us to add effects to the shots we had, delete parts that were of poor quality and allowed us to enhance the sound and music on our clip. We managed to stick to the 180 degree rule throughout, used match on action, shot reverse shot all the time and nearly managed to keep the continuity rate throughout however there was one occasion where this was not as smooth as it could have been. On iMovie we managed to add titles, credits and a production logo. This gave a good effect to our movie and made it look a lot more professional. The colour changes of some of the shots (colour to black and white) also added to the tension building and matched what we were trying to do. The transitions that we did also helped this.

We did not use lighting as much as we should have done throughout this task. The lighting that we did use was continuous though so it made it look like the clip was continuous shots throughout. This is definitely an area for improvement as lighting could really enhance our production and make it look a lot more professional if we use it in the correct way.

I have learnt a lot of things while creating this short video clip. I can now see the importance of good planning and being organised. I have learnt the best way to produce a number of different shots and some technical skills on the Macs through iMovie that will help me to produce an effective thriller film for the real task. Although there is still a lot to improve I thought that this preliminary task was very useful in showing me how to do things and developed some useful skills for me.

Shutter Island Opening Notes

Se7en

At the opening of seven we see a table with several objects on it. These objects consist of a notebook, badge, knife, pen and gun case. These items are very carefully placed and are very organised. This helps to show us that the person who owns these items does this a lot and is a very organised person. Despite this we still don’t know who it is and this adds some mystery to the close up shot of these items. This shot is very dark, as is the next of a dead body lying on the floor. We don’t understand what is going on and we are already starting to ask questions. The darkness and dreariness of it helps to add mystery and makes it spooky.

As the shot moves outside of the building it is still very dark despite being in the middle of the day. There is a very busy atmosphere and this is enhanced by the sound that we can here. There is a lot going on all at once in the picture but the noises that we can here are also very busy. The area looks quite run down and rough which helps to support the dead body that we saw in the previous shot as it may provide some sort of explanation but we are still asking questions constantly.

We get a mid-shot of one of the detectives. This detective is in the light and looks very young and inexperienced compared to the other detective. The other detective is always in the dark and is always serious which helps to give a view into the type of person he is and shows that he has probably done this job for a long period of time and knows more about it and how to deal with it better. This also makes it look like he is more careful and cares more about his job than the other detective. Whenever we see the two detectives together the younger of the two is always shown in more light and although that they are meant to be working as a team it gives the impression that there is not an awful lot of teamwork going on.

When we see the more experienced detective at home we are still finding out more about his character and are being helped by what we see to establish the character. We can see how he doesn't seem to like his job any more and the ticking of the clock that he has started helps him to clear his mind and helps him to get to sleep.

Throughout the rest of the opening scene the setting remains very dark and gloomy in an attempt to set the scene and set us up for the rest of the movie. The characters are still being established between the more inexperienced and the more experienced detective. 

No Country for Old Men

No country for old men starts with an establishing shot of the setting and a narrator. This narrator and shot helps us to get an overview of the setting and sets the scene. There is a montage of several still shots during this scene allowing us to see the baron and deserted environment and making us start to ask questions such as how they are ever going to solve a crime here as there is no help or witnesses. The narrator is making us confused by asking these questions and making us want to go deeper into the detail in order to understand. The various panning shots that are in this scene help to back up this image that it is a very open and baron place which shows that whoever is there could be very vulnerable and left without any help. It ultimately comes down to it being a very difficult landscape to make anything of and to work with.

As some characters start to appear in the shot we can start to see the size of the landscape. It really helps to put it into perspective and shows that the characters are a long way from help. We can also see the road which looks like it is going to nowhere. We can’t see the characters very well in this shot and they are mainly shadows which helps add to the mystery and matches the setting. It continues to ask us questions, mainly what has he done? As the characters approach the car the police officer put a strange tank in the car. This turns out to be an oxygen tank and there is a close up of this which shows that it is an object of great significance and makes us wonder why he is carrying an oxygen tank. This adds to the mystery of the opening and makes us think that the police officer may potentially be in danger.

As the police officer gets in the car and begins to drive off the person that he has stopped is in shadow and the police officer in clear sunlight. This adds to the mystery of the villain as we still cannot see him but also gives us a sense that the police officer is very vulnerable. As they drive off we get a long shot of the car disappearing along a seemingly never ending road. This makes us ask where they are going and makes us wonder what significance this baron, deserted environment has in the long term.

When the two characters have arrived at the police station one of the first shots that we see is a mid-shot showing the dark, shadowing villain in the background behind the police officer. Again he is in darkness while the police officer is in the light, showing vulnerability. Not only this, but the police officer has his back turned from the villain making him completely unaware of what is going on. This helps to build the tension in the scene and before we know it the villain has struck and proceeds to kill the police officer. During the struggle there is a lot of focus on sound and close ups of the legs, showing panic. Top down views help show the expression on the faces here and how creepy looking the villain is. 

No Country For Old Men Trailer

This is the trailer for the film 'No Country For Old Men' which I will analyse. 

No Country For Old Men Notes

Se7en Opening Titles

These credits are from the film 'Se7en' and are a great example of effective titling. They draw in the audience's attention by the sound effects and the nature of which the are shown. They also help to reveal some of the story by showing items of significance and making the view wonder how they are important.

Se7en Opening Notes

Physco Assesement

Write a detailed analysis of the ‘Psycho’ shower scene

Overview

The shower scene in the film psycho really helps to make some dramatic tension for the viewer using various camera effects, editing techniques, sound and lighting. One of the first things that I notice is that the setting is a very open bathroom. The ‘openness’ of the room immediately makes me think that something is going to happen to the woman as it seems to space her out making her look more vulnerable than ever. To help add to the effect the camera pans across moving her from one side of the screen to the other, this helps us to see the scale of the space creating more tension.

The use of costume also helps to show that she is vulnerable. She wears a dress with high heeled shoes. This shows to me that she is quite feminine and this is something that is quite often related to vulnerability and helplessness in the thriller genre. The Villain in this film is also portrayed well by the use of clothing and costume. They are wearing dark clothing that also hides some of their face. This helps to keep a sense of the unknown and mystery adding to the tension and the suspense throughout the scene. This suits the lighting that is very light and really exposes her.

The use of props in any thriller film is very important and this film is no different. The knife is the main prop throughout the scene after it has been introduced. What makes this unique is that the knife is just a regular kitchen knife which makes us think and wonder as to whether the killing was a planned or opportunistic attack. The camera often cuts in to show the knife in more detail during the stabbing before cutting into the facial expressions of the victim and some of the killer to help show what they’re feeling. This helps to add to the tension especially with the diegetic classical high pitch music being played in the background alongside the violent stabbing sounds and the sound of screaming.

During the scene there are a lot of different shots including, each creating a different feeling for the viewer. For example at the start of the scene the camera angle is low and looking up at the woman as she has just walked into the bathroom. This helps to show her dominance but then throughout the scene the angle gradually changes and moves upwards to a high angle shot, eventually looking down at her in the shower. This now shows weakness and helps give us a sense of the timescale as she has gone from being a dominant figure to a very weak and vulnerable figure in the time it has taken her to get from the door to being in the shower. Another shot that was used well in this scene was the use of extreme close ups to show the fear, the expressions and the emotions of the characters during the stabbing. It worked well here and helped to build up a sense of fear and tension within the audience by showing what the victim and the villain were feeling at the time and what they were going through. High angled shots and weather shots were also used to give us a sense of the noise at the time. A high angled shot was used to look up at the shower which helped to show us that it was noisy for the victim and that she wouldn’t have heard the killer coming. To add to this shot the camera cut out to do a weather shot and showed us thunder and rain which helped add to our sense of the noise as well as adding to the stormy and aggressive atmosphere that was and had been build inside.

Detail of Three Shots

One of the most intriguing and tension building shots in the scene is that when we can see the killer approaching through the shower curtain and we cans see the victim completely unaware to the right of the camera. Before this shot the victim had been facing towards the camera but since she has slowly turned around and is completely submerged in the sound and the feel of the shower. She cannot see the killer approaching through the shower curtain but the audience can. This makes the audience generate quite a lot of tension between them and gives that classical thriller feeling of being on the edge of your seat as you don’t know what is going to happen to her. The sound of the shower is dominant over all things here and we can see that it is making her completely unaware. As the camera angle changes and pans across the left making the killer much more prominent and the victim much smaller it gives the sense that she is not as important anymore, like she has been knocked to the side and the killer is going to take centre stage. This helps to build up the tension as we know the killer is going to do something and that something dramatic is going to happen. The pace of the film during this shot has been edited to make it quite slow as this helps the audience to soak up all the action and really get a taste of what is happening. I also feel that sound effects have been added to add to the build-up in this shot because the shower seems very loud, but this effect has been used cleverly and helps to give us a sense of her unawareness and senselessness which is the meaning of this shot overall.

Another good shot in this scene is when the killer has just pounced on his victim and as stabbed her for the first time. In this shot the pace immediately picks up which gives the effect of panic in the room and a sense of urgency for the victim to get away. The camera angle here has changed to a high angle shot looking down on the two characters but more predominantly the victim. This gives the effect of weakness and helplessness which we saw in earlier shots when she looked very feminine and helpless. This shot is placed very carefully so that it doesn’t reveal the killers face and the use of water to help disguise it here is good. The hot water coming from the shower makes a steamy sort of atmosphere as well as the wig helping to hide his face from above. This shot has some clever positioning of the characters. The victim has turned around quickly in the panic and so has let her guard down. This means that she is even more vulnerable and the shot shows her slouching down the wall after she has been stabbed which adds to this effect. The use of lighting here is good too and the shadow of her slouching own against the wall gives great effect and helps to add to that feeling of darkness which could mean the end of life. I think some editing has taken place to the sound and some diegetic sound has been put in which helps to emphasis the scene and more imparticular the screams coming from the victim. This scene really helps to put the space and openness of the room into context and we can now see why it has made her so vulnerable and put into place with the fast pace editing it really helps add to the tension.

Another great piece of filming was when we saw the victims hand come around and try to grab onto the shower curtain after the killer had finished stabbing her. The camera work was very cleverly positioned to cut in and show just the hand which really helped to focus our attention and show that it was  a very, very weak attempt to save herself which helps to show us that almost all the energy has been drained out of her from the killer stabbing her. Her hand is also subtly wet from being in the shower which helps us to understand the setting a bit more. Her being in the shower is the perfect place for a murder, she is completely unaware and the water will wash the evidence of the murder away almost instantly. The camera angle changes back to a high angled shot here as the shower curtain falls down and she falls halfway out of the bath. This helps to add to the effect and emphasise to the audience that it is over and that all of the life from within her has drained away. She is also naked at this point from being in the shower which again shows up her vulnerability and shows how it had hindered her during the murder. At this point the editing has changed the pace of the scene back to the slow calm that is was before the climax which also helps to show to the viewer that it is all over now and that the life has been drained from her.

 

 

Psycho Shower Scene Video

This is the shower scene that I will be analysing from the film 'Psycho'.

Psycho Shower Scene Notes

Conventions for the Opening of a Thriller

There are multiple different conventions in the opening few minutes of every genre of film, however the opening elements of a thriller film tend to have great significance on the rest of the film, highlighting key objects and characters and asking the audience a lot of questions relating to how the story is going to unfold. From researching and watching a variety of different thriller openings I have found a variety of different conventions used very widely. These are:

·         Titles

Titles are one of the most important elements of any film but in particular a thriller film. They usually have a direct link to the storyline and the theme of the film and may give of some important clues for the audience to piece together. By styling the titles in the current way a movie producer could have the audience hooked on first site. Titles need to be interesting and appealing as they reflect on the rest of the film. Quite often titles will be places after the opening scene of a film allowing it to set the scene and therefore allowing the titles to add on to that effect, however titles can be placed different and another common method is to have the titles on one edge of the screen while the opening couple of scenes are playing.

The titles of the film Se7en are a great example of how effective they can be. The titles of this film reflect on the setting and the characters of the film showing the crime based subgenre and the dark and mysterious personalities of the characters involved. It immediately has the audience asking questions as to what the items and drawings are in the title sequence making them think that there must be some significance. Some screenshots of the titles for Se7en are shown below.

·         Storyline

The storyline within a thriller opening is just as important if not more so that the titles. It should ask a lot of questions but at the same time reveal enough to make sure that the viewer is interested. In other words the opening for a thriller needs to be exciting while building up suspense and tension and providing plenty of action but at the same time remaining mysterious and unique. The use of lighting and sounds are very important factors that go along with storyline as they can help to emphasise points and add to that action and suspense created by the storyline. The questions and mystery that is used within the opening sequence of a thriller should continue throughout the film but the storyline in the opening few minutes must be even better the this as it is the point when most people will decide whether they want to watch it or not. If no questions are asked throughout the remainder of the film then people may not turn it off providing the storyline was well set up during the opening.

·         Camerawork

Camerawork is particularly important throughout the opening of a thriller film as it can mean so many different things and can have such a variety of effects. Due to there being multiple different camera angles, shot types and heights it can show the whole setting of a place to help give a bit of background information or can be manipulated to show significant object by using extreme close up shots. Angles may also prove important as a low angle shot can help to show importance and dominance while a high angle shot may show vulnerability. The camera shots placed upon characters and objects within the opening of a thriller film can help to show a lot of information about them without any dialogue or narrative information. The variety of different shots can also add suspense within the opening as well as mystery. The use of lighting during specific shots can also help to emphasise what they are trying to show.

This high angled shot makes the person in the photo look very small and ‘vulnerable’. It makes it look as if someone is looking down on him and that the person looking down shows a lot more importance than the person in the picture.

·         Music and Sounds

A good use of music and sounds (diegetic and non-diegetic) can really help to highlight key points within the opening of a thriller. It helps to provide suspense and tension or can be used to signify the opposite – relief. By using tension building music the audience may become very interested in the film and by matching the music to the storyline and camera shots this can have great effect. Sounds can also help to emphasise points as make the audience sit on edge. Often subtlety works better and smaller sounds may work better by asking the audience “what is that sound”, especially if there is no obvious reason on screen. A great example of where sound has been used to add to the camera work is in the film No Country for Old Men where the villain is strangling the police officer. Here the camera work is showing just the feet and the sound is emphasising the camera work by providing screeching noises from the police officers shoes rubbing on the floor.

The four conventions listed above are the main ones that are used in the opening of a thriller to help get the audience gripped however there are a few more that may be used such as lighting, camera movement and character movement. Obviously the movie title will also have a lot of effect and may reveal a lot about what the film may be about and may include. 

Effects of Certain Narratives

Thriller Film Notes - Panic Room

§  Opening sequence established the location by showing a zoomed out shot of the town.

§  Lots of stairs and mirrors in the set as well as many blind and unknown corners.

§  Clever use of the camera to give shots as if the viewer was the security cameras. – masking

§  Good use of sound and lighting together to make lights flicker with ‘electric’ sound effects. – gives feeling of suspense and tension

§  Almost the whole movie is played out in a dark, enclosed atmosphere.

§  Focus of the film is on one thing, the safe which is in an enclosed room. The mystery is how the robbers intend to gain access.

§  Involves governmental forces, the police.

§  Involves violence, although not a lot, as well as the use of guns late on in the film.

§  Camera shots that go through the various floors of the house to give an overall view of the house. – almost like making cross-sections of the house

§  The characters are wearing dark clothing adding to the darkness of the house. One of the robbers also has his face covered for most of the film. These factors add to the mystery therefore creating more tension in the film.

Conventions of a Thriller

There are lots of conventions (common elements) that can help separate and identify a thriller film against any other genre of film. After researching the thriller genre I have found that these are the conventions:

• The aim of the thriller genre is to create suspense as well as excitement for the audience.

• Thrillers often use busy environments such as high streets in busy cities like New York to create a rushed and exciting setting and environment. This gives the film a feeling of being very action-based.

• Tends to revolve around the investigation of an enigma creating a sense of mystery and the unknown throughout the film.

• The thriller genre tends to contain a lot of violence ad as a result a lot of thriller films are rated 15 and above however, this is not always the case.

• Often thrillers films revolve around governmental organisations such as the police or army.

• There is more likely to be a rational explanation to any mystery as oppose to a supernatural solution.

• Often the hero and the villain share similar characteristics in thriller films and often has the same or very similar aims.

• Tends to centre attention on injustice in society and seems to solve this in a lot of cases.

• Quick cutting camera work and camera angle changes are used in thriller films more often than not.

• Sound is inserted in places where the unknown is very prominent giving a sense of tension.

• Shadows, mirrors and stairs are often used in thriller films but not always. These give the films a spooky feeling but also create tension.

• Often characters are dark, ‘shadowy’ characters that are quite secretive.

• Props are used a lot to give added effect and the use of guns may be prominent in thriller films. 

The thriller genre can work well with many other genres to create joint genres such as comedy thrillers and drama thrillers. Depending on what the thriller genre is paired or grouped with can alter the conventions as they will be used to create different effects and therefore be used more or less. The settings that thriller films are set in can also alter things like lighting because it would be different depending on the environment and location. The thriller genre is fantastic and the different uses for the common elements can really help emphasise point within the films and improve them.

ISL 3 - Five Analysed Shots

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Enemy of the State – Analysed Shots

This is one of the first frames in the film Enemy of the State. This is a long range shot that introduces the first setting to us although we cannot see any close ups of any characters. We can see that the car park surface is wet and the overall feel of the shot is dark and grey due to the sun set giving an effect of secrecy and mystery. There are two cars in the picture, the cars are of black colour and look quite posh, like something the governmental forces would use such as the FBI or CIA. There is also a character sat on the bench to the right. As this character is there from the beginning it makes it look like he may be waiting for someone, possibly the cars and what they may contain. As the shot continues the camera gets closer to the cars revealing more to us and focusing our attention. The river in the background also gives a feeling of danger as it would be an obvious place for disposal of important things/people.

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This shot is after the camera has been focused in on the cars and the person sitting on the bench. It starts by the lowering of the window that this character is sat behind. The window is shaded before it is wound down and so we do not know what is behind it to start with. When it is wound down we get a very darkly dressed character. He is dressed as if he is a part of governmental forces or a secretive group such as a spy. As he uses the prop of a mobile phone we know he is up to something and as the camera rotates we can see more due to the view from behind the car being made visible. This means we can see the people he is talking to and the tension builds due to this because we can tell they are obviously on some sort of surveillance task. Everything is very quiet at this moment which begins to add to the suspension eventually. As these shots progress the lighting seems to get darker creating more of an eerie feeling and giving the impression <!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->that something serious is about to happen.

The next setting is set to reveal some new characters to the film and the main character played by Will Smith. This shot is at the very start of this scene and you can immediately tell that any characters introduced to us here are of high importance. This can be worked out by the size and complexion of the building as well as all the secret agent style cars parked up outside. The sun is just beginning to shine on the building which adds to the effect of the previous scene being at night time and helps to emphasise the darkness created in that. The is a Christmas tree attached to the middle of the building so we can tell which time of year the film is supposed to be set in. As the shot continues we get to see many characters sat around what appears to be a meeting table which helps to show their importance.

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This shot is taken after the focus of the film has been zoomed into the inside of the building. You get the same sense of importance as outside as it looks like an important meeting. The building is grand and you can sense the size of it as the camera has been places fairly low down looking up. There are some characters in the background through the doorway showing that it is probably quite a busy area and they are walking quite fast giving a sense of urgency and rush. The fact the a secretary interrupts the meeting to give some important information shows that this must be some sort of official place although nothing is revealed as of yet. The lighting is made shadowy and there are some candles in the background that flicker and add to this effect. You can hear sounds in the background that suggest a very busied atmosphere with phones ringing and people talking.

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In this shot we again get some information presented on the screen of the location and the time. The fact that this information is given to us in such a straight forward way suggests to us that it is of high importance and it is something that we have to know. Again the shot begins in a zoomed out way and increases in focus over time. This gives the setting an overview and helps us to imagine the environment that the characters are in. The sounds in this shot are quite noisy, busy traffic can be heard through engines and car horns and this can also be seen on screen. This shows that the environment around is quite busy and we can also see that the environment is not as glamorous as in the last shot, there are no grand buildings, in fact it looks rather untidy. 

ISL 2 - Glossary Of Terms

Glossary of Terms

Editing Techniques

Editing - The work of selecting and joining together shots to create a finished film.

Cut - A visual transition created in editing in which one shot is instantaneously replaced on screen by another.

Continuity editing - Editing that creates action that flows smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring visual inconsistencies. This establishes a sense of story for the viewer.

Cross cutting - Cutting back and forth quickly between two or more lines of action, indicating they are happening simultaneously.

Dissolve - A gradual scene transition whereby the editor overlaps the end of one shot with the beginning of the next one.

Eye line match - The matching of eye lines between two or more characters. For example, if one person looks to the right in shot A, the other will look to the left in shot B. This establishes a relationship of proximity and continuity.

Fade - A visual transition between shots or scenes that appears on screen as a brief interval with no picture. The editor fades one shot to black and then fades in the next. This is often used to indicate a change in time and place.

Final cut - The finished edit of a film, approved by the director and the producer. This is what the audience sees.

Iris/Masking - Visible on screen as a circle closing down over or opening up on a shot. Seldom used in contemporary film, but common during the silent era of Hollywood films.

Montage - Scenes whose emotional impact and visual design are achieved through the editing together of many brief shots. The shower scene from Psycho is an example of montage editing.

Wipe - Visible on screen as a bar travelling across the frame pushing one shot off and pulling the next shot into place. Rarely used in contemporary film, but common in films from the 1930s and 1940s.

ISL 1 - Glossary Of Terms

Glossary of Terms

Camera Shots, Composition, Framing and Angles

Aerial shot - A camera shot filmed from an airplane, helicopter, blimp, balloon, kite or high building (higher than a crane).

Arc shot - A shot in which a moving camera circles round the subject being photographed.

Bridging shot - A shot that connects one scene to another by showing a change in time or location. A bridging shot can also be used to connect two shots from the same scene by using a close-up, distant pan or different camera angle thus relating the shots via content.

Close-up - A shot in which a smallish object (e.g. the human head) fits easily within the frame.

Crane shot - A shot in which the camera rises above the ground on a mobile support.

Establishing shot - A long shot, often the first in a sequence, this establishes the positions of elements relative to each other and identifies the setting.

Extreme close-up - A shot in which a small object (e.g. a part of the body) fits easily within the frame.

Frontality - The placing of the camera at a 90º angle to the action.

Long shot - A shot in which a large object (e.g. a complete human figure) fits easily within the frame.

Medium shot - A shot in which a medium-size object (e.g. the top half of a human figure) fits easily within the frame.

Overhead shot - A shot looking down vertically on the action from above.

Passing shot - A shot producing a projected image that travels quickly across the screen, either by moving the subject past a stationary camera or by panning the camera past a stationary subject.

Reaction shot - A close-up in which an actor or group is seen to respond to an event, often accomplished with a cut away from the primary action to someone viewing the occurrence.

Two shot - A shot in which two actors appear within the frame.

Composition - The complete arrangement of a scene by the director. The process includes camera angles, lighting, properties, characters, and the movement of the actors.

Framing - The size and position of objects relative to the edges of the screen; the arrangement of objects so that they fit within the actual boundaries of the film.

180º rule - The convention that the camera can be placed in any position as long as it remains on one side of the action.

Crossing the line - Breaking the 180º rule typical of continuity editing.