We need to choose horror conventions as the one’s showed in the pitch will not all be included in our opening. Our horror conventions will be: Fear, blood, killing, Villain, Victims, weapons, darkness, chase sequences, screams and violence.
We have decided to use a villain and an innocent victim as our stock characters
We aren’t going to being using an anti hero even though this is a usual convention however more seen in a gangster genre. But we are toying with the audience and how they should feel towards our villain, this is done by showing the past life of the villain and how he had been treated and what he has now become due to being victimised.
For sound we have decided to go with diagetic sound which is reliant on the weather and whether the wind will be blowing if however the weather is no good or the sound isn’t clear enough then we will put in the sound manually and then put in non-diagetic sound to create ambiguity.
We have decided to stick with our idea of using the forest, park and playground.
Our treatment is staying the same:
• Set in modern day England,
• 20 year-old man who has been bullied throughout his life, and is now seeking revenge.
• He has been bullied because of his general appearance, interests and personality.
• He hunts and targets his victims using the computers, gets information to contact and stalk his victims.
• The people he targets are those who harmed and hurt him the most, emotionally and physically.
• The ways he tortures and kills his victims are in relation to the way in which they have harmed him.
We realised that our roles may clash for example as the producer I was also meant to be starring in the opening but then we realised that for me to do that I cannot for fill the expectations of a producer. However with that problem we have realised that we can work around that problem by either asking someone else to star in the film or star in the opening myself.
The props that were shown in the pitch will not all be used in the opening sequence. We have chosen to use a football, high heels,
We have changed the location as it will be easier for all members of the group to get to. It will now be at the back of the school on the fields and the forest. This could also come in handy when filming the football scene as other children may be on the field.
Thursday 4 December 2008
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Third shoot, 03.12.08 Joe Jackson
We hired camera for today's shoot for fourth period, we took the camera down to a near by alley way and shot Jess walking towards the camera and me walking behind her with my hood up. However we had t change the initial camera angle we wanted as the shot was too bright, so we changed the cameras position and edit the brightness when editing. We took several shoots and then took the camera back to Sam, the editor, but we decided we needed different shots for this scene so we took out the cameras again and we used the camera for a first person shot, using just the camera hand held. We then signed the camera out again to take it to a nearby field and tried to take an extreme long shot of the playing pitches but the sun was setting and we couldnt see anything and film anything, so we will have to take the cameras down again and try to film when the sun is behind us.
Tuesday 25 November 2008
These are photos of locations we were going to use for the bullying scene.Evaluation of first shoot
We decided to shoot the first few scenes in our school playing fields as in our location reckie we found the perfect place to shoot. We then took the camera and tripod down to the field and went to the trees where we wanted to shoot one of the scenes. We then asked Jess to lie down on her front with her face down in the leaves and mud. We then set up the camera behind her to so her legs were facing towards the camera. However we couldn't find the a good enough shot from where the camera was positioned. So we scouted around the tree line to look for better shots, we settled with two main positions where it was easy to position the tripod and camera. We then shot the scenes using our new positions we used different shots while taking shooting for variety incase we didnt want to use the shots or something went wrong in them while editing. It was the perfect day to shoot as it was overcast which is a typical convention for thriller/horror, and there were crows and children playing close by which are also typical diagetic sounds of horror/thriller films. After the shoot we captured the video on to Adobe Elements 3.0 then Sam started editing the shots we had taken.
Evaluation for shoot 24th November
Today we had to re-shoot for the 3rd time due to tape faults. We chose the bottom playground as our location and used 3 boys to star in our bully scene. On location we did have a large group of boys playing football behind us which gave the bully scene even more of an intense meaning. Because of an unpredictable football we did have to be careful of the camera at all times. We chose 2 larger boys and the other smaller we had to be wary of the fact that the larger boys did not hurt the smaller one. Also because of the diagetic sound behind where we had shot we’ve decided to cut out the sound and put non-diagetic sound in.
Friday 7 November 2008
Audience Research Evaluation
The Survey
We sent out our survey to 20 people via email, all of whose ages fell within our target audience bracket for our movie genre. We did this because it wouldn’t make sense to find out what people would like to see in a horror movie if they weren’t going to be the people who wanted to see a horror movie.
In our survey we used a variety of question structures which would give us the format of results intended. For example, when we asked the question, “What gender are you?” we had our answers as 1) Male or 2) Female. We chose these as our answers because if we had left the answer as an open one, there was a possibility that we may have has some very strange answers. It also helped, if there were people who didn’t know what the word gender meant, because the possible answers were Male, Female, therefore they would be able to work out the answer pretty quickly.
We also used a Semantic Differential, to help gain a better idea of how the audience would like their villain to be perceived. We offered them a list of characteristics, (Psychotic, Tall, Fat, Intelligent, Creepy, Confident, Old, Good looking, Violent) and with each characteristic, we offered them a worded scale (Very, Fairly, Moderately, Not Very, Not At All) to help them decided how much the villain should be like that characteristic. The rest of our survey was complied of short, easy to answer, closed questions.
The Results
How often do you watch horror movies? (Circle One.)
We found that the majority (65%) of the respondents watched horror movies about once a month. This told us we had asked the right people about horror movies as they are the sort of people who watch them regularly. Some of our more attentive respondants told us that this questions was slightly badly worded, Because if u fell in to the bracket of someone who watches horror movies "More than once a Week", then you would also fall into the other two brackets of "More than once a Month" and "More than once a Year". Because we were lucky enough to recieve this feedback, we now know that if we are to do questionnaires in the future, that we should think about our questions and responces more, or we should run pilot questionnaires, so that there aren't any confusions, or are kept to an absolute minimum.
How old are you? (Circle One.)
Because we sent the questionnaires out to school friends and friends outside of school, we found that most of the responses (80%) to this question were the 16-20 brackets. However there were a few responses in the older and younger age groups as to make up the numbers, as some questionnaires failed to return, we asked relatives and younger/older siblings.
What Gender are you? (Circle One.)
The majority (70%) of our responses were male, as I was made in charge of sending out the questionnaires, and most of my friends are male. This just helped us gain better knowledge of the people we sent our questionnaires to, so we could better understand why some or our respondants answered in the way they did.
Do you like male or female villains in a horror Movie? (Circle One.)
We found that most people (75%) wanted to have a male villain in the horror movie. This question was added to help with the casting, so we could know in advance before deciding a story line, which gender our villain should be. A female villain would have a much different feel and effect on the audience to a male one. Also, one of our generic expectations of a horror movie with a villain in it is that the villain is male.
Rank in order your favourite type of villain.
Looking back on it, this was quite a strange question to ask, because of our “budget” and our lack of experience and availability of CGI, would make creating some of the proposed villains be almost impossible to create without them looking silly or cheesy, which wasn’t the effect we would be looking for. Luckily, Most of our respondents (55%) returned Serial Killer as the preferred villain in a horror movie, which is a lot more manageable than a ghost or zombie character.
Where is your favourite horror location? (Circle One)
We found that our respondents (70%) preferred to have the movie shot in a forest. We were very pleased about this response, as filming in some of our other locations would have been quite hard to find and shoot at safely. We also have a forest fairly close to the school, so it is a very convenient response.
What do you look for in a horror movie? (Select one.)
We found that most of respondents (65%) wanted so see Violence and fear. This was a slightly bad question as we didn’t have a great variety of responses available to our respondents. However we do now know that our target audience want to be seeing scared people getting murdered in a savage way.
What should the villain in a horror film be like? (Tick the applicable box.)
We found that our audience would like a very psychotic, fairly tall, not very fat, moderately intelligent, moderately creepy, not very old, fairly good looking, fairly violent serial killer. This question was the semantic differential one, which gave us a great idea of how our audience would like their villain to be. It also gave the respondants the opportunity to fine tune their villain to just how they wanted him.
What is your preferred type of weather in a horror movie? (Circle maximum of two.)
The respondents said they would like to have a cloudy and rainy horror movie.
We used this question to help us with planning our shoots, because we would need to pick days when the weather was either cloudy or rainy or both. Luckily its winter at the moment, and with the typical English climate, we shouldn’t have much trouble finding a day when it is either cloudy or rainy.
What time of day should a horror movie be set? (Circle one.)
Our respondents said they would like to have the movie set at night. This is probably in accordance with the previous question with the weather; our audience would like to see cloudy rainy weather at night. In much the same way as the previous question, we needed to have this question in our survey to help us plan when our shoots would be.
What sort of sound set should be used in a horror movie? (Circle one.)
Our respondents said they would like to have quite mood setting music. We needed this question in our questionnaire because when it came to finding our soundtracks and sound-effects for our movie, we would need to know what our audience would want and expect to hear, otherwise we may waste a lot of time downloading and testing the wrong genres/types of music.
What type of music would you expect to hear in a horror movie?
We found that our audience would like to hear slow music, maybe consisting of a piano, maybe because of the cold sound it gives, linking in with the cold weather in the movie. We used this question for the same reason as the previous, so we didn’t waste time with the wrong genres/types of music. We left this question open, accepting various responses, so that we could gain as much information as possible about how our audience would like their music.
CONCLUSION
I believe that the survey served its purpose, giving us vital information about our audience and their generic expectations of the horror movie genre. It also saved us a lot of time in the editing process when we needed to find an appropriate soundtrack. On the whole, I think it will prove very useful as we progress through the production process of our horror movie, as it gives us a great deal of information about our audience and it helps us tailor and shape the horror movie around the audiences expectations of the horror movie genre; hence increasing the likelihood of our horror movie meeting the expectations and fulfilling the conventions of the horror movie genre.
We sent out our survey to 20 people via email, all of whose ages fell within our target audience bracket for our movie genre. We did this because it wouldn’t make sense to find out what people would like to see in a horror movie if they weren’t going to be the people who wanted to see a horror movie.
In our survey we used a variety of question structures which would give us the format of results intended. For example, when we asked the question, “What gender are you?” we had our answers as 1) Male or 2) Female. We chose these as our answers because if we had left the answer as an open one, there was a possibility that we may have has some very strange answers. It also helped, if there were people who didn’t know what the word gender meant, because the possible answers were Male, Female, therefore they would be able to work out the answer pretty quickly.
We also used a Semantic Differential, to help gain a better idea of how the audience would like their villain to be perceived. We offered them a list of characteristics, (Psychotic, Tall, Fat, Intelligent, Creepy, Confident, Old, Good looking, Violent) and with each characteristic, we offered them a worded scale (Very, Fairly, Moderately, Not Very, Not At All) to help them decided how much the villain should be like that characteristic. The rest of our survey was complied of short, easy to answer, closed questions.
The Results
How often do you watch horror movies? (Circle One.)
We found that the majority (65%) of the respondents watched horror movies about once a month. This told us we had asked the right people about horror movies as they are the sort of people who watch them regularly. Some of our more attentive respondants told us that this questions was slightly badly worded, Because if u fell in to the bracket of someone who watches horror movies "More than once a Week", then you would also fall into the other two brackets of "More than once a Month" and "More than once a Year". Because we were lucky enough to recieve this feedback, we now know that if we are to do questionnaires in the future, that we should think about our questions and responces more, or we should run pilot questionnaires, so that there aren't any confusions, or are kept to an absolute minimum.
How old are you? (Circle One.)
Because we sent the questionnaires out to school friends and friends outside of school, we found that most of the responses (80%) to this question were the 16-20 brackets. However there were a few responses in the older and younger age groups as to make up the numbers, as some questionnaires failed to return, we asked relatives and younger/older siblings.
What Gender are you? (Circle One.)
The majority (70%) of our responses were male, as I was made in charge of sending out the questionnaires, and most of my friends are male. This just helped us gain better knowledge of the people we sent our questionnaires to, so we could better understand why some or our respondants answered in the way they did.
Do you like male or female villains in a horror Movie? (Circle One.)
We found that most people (75%) wanted to have a male villain in the horror movie. This question was added to help with the casting, so we could know in advance before deciding a story line, which gender our villain should be. A female villain would have a much different feel and effect on the audience to a male one. Also, one of our generic expectations of a horror movie with a villain in it is that the villain is male.
Rank in order your favourite type of villain.
Looking back on it, this was quite a strange question to ask, because of our “budget” and our lack of experience and availability of CGI, would make creating some of the proposed villains be almost impossible to create without them looking silly or cheesy, which wasn’t the effect we would be looking for. Luckily, Most of our respondents (55%) returned Serial Killer as the preferred villain in a horror movie, which is a lot more manageable than a ghost or zombie character.
Where is your favourite horror location? (Circle One)
We found that our respondents (70%) preferred to have the movie shot in a forest. We were very pleased about this response, as filming in some of our other locations would have been quite hard to find and shoot at safely. We also have a forest fairly close to the school, so it is a very convenient response.
What do you look for in a horror movie? (Select one.)
We found that most of respondents (65%) wanted so see Violence and fear. This was a slightly bad question as we didn’t have a great variety of responses available to our respondents. However we do now know that our target audience want to be seeing scared people getting murdered in a savage way.
What should the villain in a horror film be like? (Tick the applicable box.)
We found that our audience would like a very psychotic, fairly tall, not very fat, moderately intelligent, moderately creepy, not very old, fairly good looking, fairly violent serial killer. This question was the semantic differential one, which gave us a great idea of how our audience would like their villain to be. It also gave the respondants the opportunity to fine tune their villain to just how they wanted him.
What is your preferred type of weather in a horror movie? (Circle maximum of two.)
The respondents said they would like to have a cloudy and rainy horror movie.
We used this question to help us with planning our shoots, because we would need to pick days when the weather was either cloudy or rainy or both. Luckily its winter at the moment, and with the typical English climate, we shouldn’t have much trouble finding a day when it is either cloudy or rainy.
What time of day should a horror movie be set? (Circle one.)
Our respondents said they would like to have the movie set at night. This is probably in accordance with the previous question with the weather; our audience would like to see cloudy rainy weather at night. In much the same way as the previous question, we needed to have this question in our survey to help us plan when our shoots would be.
What sort of sound set should be used in a horror movie? (Circle one.)
Our respondents said they would like to have quite mood setting music. We needed this question in our questionnaire because when it came to finding our soundtracks and sound-effects for our movie, we would need to know what our audience would want and expect to hear, otherwise we may waste a lot of time downloading and testing the wrong genres/types of music.
What type of music would you expect to hear in a horror movie?
We found that our audience would like to hear slow music, maybe consisting of a piano, maybe because of the cold sound it gives, linking in with the cold weather in the movie. We used this question for the same reason as the previous, so we didn’t waste time with the wrong genres/types of music. We left this question open, accepting various responses, so that we could gain as much information as possible about how our audience would like their music.
CONCLUSION
I believe that the survey served its purpose, giving us vital information about our audience and their generic expectations of the horror movie genre. It also saved us a lot of time in the editing process when we needed to find an appropriate soundtrack. On the whole, I think it will prove very useful as we progress through the production process of our horror movie, as it gives us a great deal of information about our audience and it helps us tailor and shape the horror movie around the audiences expectations of the horror movie genre; hence increasing the likelihood of our horror movie meeting the expectations and fulfilling the conventions of the horror movie genre.
Thursday 6 November 2008
Movie Opening Anamatic - Evaluation
I have learnt a lot from making an anamatic from our story board. It gives us a better idea of how our movie opening will be like when we film and edit it, therefore helping us decided whether or not we need to add in a greater variety of shots or variety of camera angles or effects for example. Making it into an anamatic gives us the ability to add music to the storyboard, in time with the shots and their timing. This helps us decided whether or not certain tracks are correctly appropriate for our sequence, and it helps us synchronize key sounds in the soundtrack with key actions in the movie opening. We can also add transitions and effects to our anamatic which helps us plan for the editing process. It also helps us visualise how our final piece will look and we will see whether or not any of our filming process will need to change.
Costume, props, lighting
Lighting
Lighting is not going to be a huge issue in other opening as we are going to be filming in daylight for a certain amount of shots. Because we are filming in quite an open area shadows won’t be a problem. When we are filming in the forest the trees will create darkness giving it a night time affect and also making it simpler to darken by editing.
Costume
The children in the school bullying scene will be in school uniform. The children in the park will be in casual weekend clothing of their own choice. The girl will be in evening wear which will then be ripped and covered in dirt. Our villain will be in dark clothing and a hoodie.
Mise-en scene
We will be using a football to create a normal day with children. The use of knives and blood are horror conventions that are always seen throughout a horror film it gives the audience an idea into whats happening and defines the genre.
Surroundings
The bullying denotes a boy being tormented by other children the connotation may be that the victim is mentally scarred causing mental problems and even the need for revenge. The fact that we don’t ever see the villain creates more suspense.
Children are usually seen as a convention because of their innocence and lack of knowledge. That is why we are going to use children on our opening. We chose to use the murder scene as the forest because the general tension a forest can create and also it can relate to the audience and how most people would not like to be in the forest alone in the dark.
The sound will be of a general whistling and the tree branches moving. This will be diagetic sound with maybe some non-diagetic sound put in to emphaise the creaking and moaning in the forest.
Lighting is not going to be a huge issue in other opening as we are going to be filming in daylight for a certain amount of shots. Because we are filming in quite an open area shadows won’t be a problem. When we are filming in the forest the trees will create darkness giving it a night time affect and also making it simpler to darken by editing.
Costume
The children in the school bullying scene will be in school uniform. The children in the park will be in casual weekend clothing of their own choice. The girl will be in evening wear which will then be ripped and covered in dirt. Our villain will be in dark clothing and a hoodie.
Mise-en scene
We will be using a football to create a normal day with children. The use of knives and blood are horror conventions that are always seen throughout a horror film it gives the audience an idea into whats happening and defines the genre.
Surroundings
The bullying denotes a boy being tormented by other children the connotation may be that the victim is mentally scarred causing mental problems and even the need for revenge. The fact that we don’t ever see the villain creates more suspense.
Children are usually seen as a convention because of their innocence and lack of knowledge. That is why we are going to use children on our opening. We chose to use the murder scene as the forest because the general tension a forest can create and also it can relate to the audience and how most people would not like to be in the forest alone in the dark.
The sound will be of a general whistling and the tree branches moving. This will be diagetic sound with maybe some non-diagetic sound put in to emphaise the creaking and moaning in the forest.
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Institutional Context
Procedure of making a movie.
The Idea
Development of script
The producer uses the treatment and pitch to get money to back the script. The producer approaches film production companies for development money. The producer offers the future sales and broadcasting in return for money.Packaging
The producer and director then find a cast this maybe from well known stars or new and up coming actors. They then work how much the film will cost to make. They then tell financers how much it tiwll cost to make and how they will pay them back.Script development
They then cast the actors, they then create a story board which is like a blue print for the film. They then create a minature of the film set and show it to designers. They then design special effects as they can take months. They then create the first ad.The shoot
The shoot begins as soon as funding begins, the actors, lighting and sound team and the camera teams start work and the actors are then filmed for special effects with minimal risk to to the actors. Film production teams must keep a tight schedule or funders may have to intervene.
Post Production
The rough cut is then edited and cut so that all the final shots are only used. The sound is then edited, and sound tracks and music is added. The colour is then perfected, digital effects and titels are then added. The final music and sounds are edited to fit perfectly with the final edit. Then the final cut is ready to be duplicated.
Post Production
The trailer is then made to be screened in cinemas and on T.V. The producer and selling agent then collect everything they will need to sell to distributors. The producer and director will then try to get the film screened at large film events this creates alot of heat about the film. The film is then distributed around the world.
Marketing
A marketing team is hired they then find the target audiance, the target audience then is targeted by advertisments the film is then covered by press and media. Then the internet is used for more advertisment. The distributors then sell the film to cinemas.
Exhibition
There is then a premiere and actors directors and celebrities come to see the film this includes press. The film is then screeened in the U.K there are more prints made and they then screen it in to other cinemas such as Odeon and more copies are sent to people across the world.
Tuesday 4 November 2008
Monday 3 November 2008
Tuesday 21 October 2008
Monday 20 October 2008
Product Analysis - Hills have eyes 2
Genre
Silent Hill 2 is a horror. We see the typical conventions of genre strait away a woman bound at the wrists and ankles panting and screaming, she is dirty and we see shots of her toe nails which are cracked, dirty and very long this shows how long she has been there for, we then see that she is giving birth without any medication. We then see a very gory shot of the babies head and the child’s hand and then we see the baby ripped from the woman’s womb. This is the start of a very good horror movie and a sequel to a very good horror film.
The audience’s generic expectations are fulfilled using typical conventions of horror such as masses of gore, monsters and death. We see the blood of the birth this is a strange convention of horror as birth is not normally connected with horror normally with romance. We then see the mutant baby being pulled out of the woman and then held by a huge mutant. Then we hear the mutant say “die” in a deep typical mutant voice whilst stabbing in her in the head. These conventions are typical of horror and fulfil the audience’s expectations.
The text conforms to the characteristics of horror it treats the characteristics with the up most respect to the genre. The only part that could be considered playful was the babies image, and how it looks it looked like something you would see in Alien and we see irony used when the soundtrack which is like a nursery song is played.
Film Language
The sequence is shot using dark lighting and washed out this makes the scene scarier as the mise-en-scene of horror films is darkness, as audiences are typically scared of the dark as they don't know what is in it. We don't see any clothes as the girl is naked in the scene, however her skin is dirty and her toenails are long and cracked, however this is still typical of the mise-en-scene. We see the hilt of a knife and ropes that are used to tie the woman down with. These are typical weapons used in horror films. These all add to the texts meaning and the horrific pain the woman is going through and the the fear the scene is meant to convey. The director has tried to make the audience feel the pain the woman is in and how difficult it is for her.
The close up of the woman's feet show how long she has been there and that she hasn't been washed in ages. This is also shown when we have a mid to close up of her face to see the agony and we see her greasy hair her discoloured teeth and her dirty sweaty face. We wee a close up of the baby coming out of her vagina this is to show the size of the baby and how gory the birth was without anaesthetic and medical assistant. All the shots are very close to the action as this shows how small the room is and to feel close to the character.
The use of sound in this scene is very effective as we see the credits with strange one note high pitched instruments over a very resonating deep sound this we then see the woman screaming and then the sounds very slowly fades up to hear her screaming and panting, starving the ear will bring the ear. This is very true of this scene as we we have more time to study her face whats going on and we do see more thing than we would if we had sound. The opening soundtrack is very spooky it is very much like a child's lullaby this adds to the tension and suspense of the scene. We hear panting and screaming which adds to the pain and pity the audience has towards this character and especially the female audience that have felt this pain. We also here the birth of the baby and the sounds of the squelching and squishing. Then the mutant killer says die in a deep resounding threatening way and then scene ends.
Narrative
The audience is always in the action this makes the audience feels closer to thee character and also is a bit like the first person of the killer.
We see the woman has been bound and kept there for a long time with shots of ropes her toenails and her skin, this shows that she has been raped which we see in the previous movie we then see a close up of her mouth which is chapped and bloody which also implies she has been there for a long time. We know that she has been there for at least nine months and find out why later on in the movie. Although we don't see the second character, the mutant, we see from the clip that he does not care for the girls feelings or her pain, he rips the child from her and shows it to her by grabbing the child by the neck he then kills her.
The tension is created using sounds dark lighting and violence. We know something is going to happen we know that the woman will die because of the dark lighting and violence. The major themes of this sequence is the horrific birth of a child this is ironical represented as child birth is usually shown as a beautiful thing but in this scene it is a horrible representation of birth.
Representation & Ideology
There are two social groups shown here the innocent and the murderer. The innocent pregnant rape victim and the huge looming deep voiced mutant is the badly.
Media Audiences
The target audience is 18 to 40 year old as the certificate is 18 as it contains explicit sexual content, heavy violent episodes, extremely bad language and gory scenes. The characters range up to the ages of 40. The most probable reading will be intended reading this is because the audience doesn't watch a horror to be amused or informed. I also read this text intently although as i am not a female and i have not gone through the pain of childbirth so i do not have a direct personal conection with the woman.
Silent Hill 2 is a horror. We see the typical conventions of genre strait away a woman bound at the wrists and ankles panting and screaming, she is dirty and we see shots of her toe nails which are cracked, dirty and very long this shows how long she has been there for, we then see that she is giving birth without any medication. We then see a very gory shot of the babies head and the child’s hand and then we see the baby ripped from the woman’s womb. This is the start of a very good horror movie and a sequel to a very good horror film.
The audience’s generic expectations are fulfilled using typical conventions of horror such as masses of gore, monsters and death. We see the blood of the birth this is a strange convention of horror as birth is not normally connected with horror normally with romance. We then see the mutant baby being pulled out of the woman and then held by a huge mutant. Then we hear the mutant say “die” in a deep typical mutant voice whilst stabbing in her in the head. These conventions are typical of horror and fulfil the audience’s expectations.
The text conforms to the characteristics of horror it treats the characteristics with the up most respect to the genre. The only part that could be considered playful was the babies image, and how it looks it looked like something you would see in Alien and we see irony used when the soundtrack which is like a nursery song is played.
Film Language
The sequence is shot using dark lighting and washed out this makes the scene scarier as the mise-en-scene of horror films is darkness, as audiences are typically scared of the dark as they don't know what is in it. We don't see any clothes as the girl is naked in the scene, however her skin is dirty and her toenails are long and cracked, however this is still typical of the mise-en-scene. We see the hilt of a knife and ropes that are used to tie the woman down with. These are typical weapons used in horror films. These all add to the texts meaning and the horrific pain the woman is going through and the the fear the scene is meant to convey. The director has tried to make the audience feel the pain the woman is in and how difficult it is for her.
The close up of the woman's feet show how long she has been there and that she hasn't been washed in ages. This is also shown when we have a mid to close up of her face to see the agony and we see her greasy hair her discoloured teeth and her dirty sweaty face. We wee a close up of the baby coming out of her vagina this is to show the size of the baby and how gory the birth was without anaesthetic and medical assistant. All the shots are very close to the action as this shows how small the room is and to feel close to the character.
The use of sound in this scene is very effective as we see the credits with strange one note high pitched instruments over a very resonating deep sound this we then see the woman screaming and then the sounds very slowly fades up to hear her screaming and panting, starving the ear will bring the ear. This is very true of this scene as we we have more time to study her face whats going on and we do see more thing than we would if we had sound. The opening soundtrack is very spooky it is very much like a child's lullaby this adds to the tension and suspense of the scene. We hear panting and screaming which adds to the pain and pity the audience has towards this character and especially the female audience that have felt this pain. We also here the birth of the baby and the sounds of the squelching and squishing. Then the mutant killer says die in a deep resounding threatening way and then scene ends.
Narrative
The audience is always in the action this makes the audience feels closer to thee character and also is a bit like the first person of the killer.
We see the woman has been bound and kept there for a long time with shots of ropes her toenails and her skin, this shows that she has been raped which we see in the previous movie we then see a close up of her mouth which is chapped and bloody which also implies she has been there for a long time. We know that she has been there for at least nine months and find out why later on in the movie. Although we don't see the second character, the mutant, we see from the clip that he does not care for the girls feelings or her pain, he rips the child from her and shows it to her by grabbing the child by the neck he then kills her.
The tension is created using sounds dark lighting and violence. We know something is going to happen we know that the woman will die because of the dark lighting and violence. The major themes of this sequence is the horrific birth of a child this is ironical represented as child birth is usually shown as a beautiful thing but in this scene it is a horrible representation of birth.
Representation & Ideology
There are two social groups shown here the innocent and the murderer. The innocent pregnant rape victim and the huge looming deep voiced mutant is the badly.
Media Audiences
The target audience is 18 to 40 year old as the certificate is 18 as it contains explicit sexual content, heavy violent episodes, extremely bad language and gory scenes. The characters range up to the ages of 40. The most probable reading will be intended reading this is because the audience doesn't watch a horror to be amused or informed. I also read this text intently although as i am not a female and i have not gone through the pain of childbirth so i do not have a direct personal conection with the woman.
Opening Analysis - Sleepy Hollow (Burton, 1999)
Genre
Sleepy Hollow is from the movie genre horror, and starts off in a fairly typical manor which we would expect from a movie of this genre. It starts with some fairly alarming shots of headless people and blood splatters, both gory things, and gore being one of the conventions of a horror movie. Also enigma is quickly created, when we find the carriage drivers head missing and the odd black figure speed past the carriage window, we are immediately put into the same position as the character inside the carriage, we don’t know what’s going on and we are utterly “horrified”. Enigma is also created when we see the red liquid being dropped onto a piece of paper. At first, because it is a horror film, we generally expect it to be blood, so we wonder what is dripping blood onto this piece of paper, however we later find out it is only wax.
Generally, as we would expect from a horror movie, there will be death, usually in a very raw form. Very early on in the opening sequence we are given this, with the shot of the carriage driver without his head. Then fairly quickly after this, we see the man in the carriage have his own head cut off. So therefore our generic expectations of a horror movie having raw gore in it are fulfilled.
Mainly, the characteristics of the genre are confirmed, however there is one instance I have seen where they have been treated playfully. As the character from inside the carriage is rushing through the tall grass, he bumps into the scarecrow, which has a pumpkin as a head. He is immediately alarmed by this, because of its human like figure and his current state of mind. He then realises it is only the scarecrow he saw earlier from inside the carriage and relaxes a little. But oh no, we then hear the sound of a horse, much like the one from the part where the carriage drivers head is cut off; the man slowly turns around, only to have his head cut off – unlucky, maybe next time.
There is evidence of a stock location, being the remote country road they are riding down in the carriage. This is fairly common to the horror genre and we expect to see it as it conveys ideas of remoteness and desertedness.
Film Language
In the opening sequence, the name “Van Garrett” appears very frequently. This leads us to think a lot about the name Van Garrett and to watch out for it later in the movie, as the chances are that there is something going on, and the Van Garrets have something to do with it. The shots also have a washed effect to them, this helps convey the sort of period the movie is set in, 18th century America. The weather in the opening sequence is fairly bleak and black, and with the death of the carriage driver and the passenger inside, it seems fairly evident that this weather may be an example of pathetic fallacy. The titles at the start also appear out of a mist at the start, which helps convey a spooky mood, which is very relevant to the movie, as it is about headless horsemen and curses and the such. We also see a shot of some writing on a piece of paper saying “The Last Will and Testament” which gives us the idea of someone is either planning or expecting to die.
In the earlier shots in the opening sequence, there are regular close ups of hands doing things. These close ups are used well in effect to draw attention to certain details and actions which need to be noticed by the audience. For example the stamping of the seal into the hot wax, with the name “Van Garrett”, if this shot was done in long shot, we wouldn’t have noticed the name on the seal, and vital information about what the paperwork was done for and by is lost. In the shots when the character from the carriage is running through the long grass, steady cam is used to put us in the position of the man, better helping us feel his emotions of fright and agitation. Also the jerkier movement of steady cam gives us the impression of confusion and desperation because of the quick changes in movement. These feelings of confusion and desperation are very likely to be felt by the man in the scene, so it is therefore helping us again feel what the man in the scene is feeling. We also see a shot from under the veil of the executioner, which I think is really effective when showing the expression on the now headless mans face right before he gets his head cut off. And because we see the decapitation from underneath a veil, we now know that the executioner hides his or her identity, adding extra suspicion and enigma.
Sound is used very well in the opening sequence, both diagetic and non-diagetic. There is the sound of thunder, which is typical of scary horror movies. We find it scary because generally, we found the idea of thunder and lightning scary when we were children. This therefore brings us back into the mind set of a child, making us feel vulnerable and defenceless, which is just what the director wants us to feel so the horrifying features of the movie have a greater effect on us. There is also the creepy music, almost sinister, which has connotations of evil and ill-intent.
We learn very quickly that the driver of the carriage is very uncomfortable about making this journey in these conditions of night and storm. We know this because, when he hears the crack of thunder, he immediately looks around, worries and snaps the leads on the horses to hurry them up.
Narrative
The audience is regularly positioned in with the action; this almost puts the audience in the same position as the character in the shot, therefore helping us as the audience feel what the character in the shot feels.
The man in the carriage seems very alienated, as he sits in the middle of the seat in the carriage and looks around as if there no one else to talk to and nothing to do. He is then further alienated when his “driver” has his head cut off, and he therefore has no one with him in, what seems to be, the middle of no where. He then bails from the carriage and flees into some tall grass and arrives at a scarecrow. He then looks around and there is nothing else much in the way of civilization, so he is therefore even more alienated now, then get loses his head…literally.
We generally identify the man in the carriage as a fairly wealthy man, as he can afford to be chauffeured around, and he has a quite elegant carriage. However we cannot assume this to be fact; analysing his body language, the man in the carriage seems quite scared, and in deep thought (before the change in circumstances), so he may be on his way to an important meeting of some sort, and the carriage may be paid for by someone else. In fact, we can almost assume it isn’t his carriage, as we se previously, before the sequence involving the carriage, the stamp with the name “Van Garret” and on the back of the carriage, we see the same image as on the stamp, also with the name “Van Garrett” below. So unless the man in the carriage was at the signing of the will in the earlier part of the opening, we can almost assume it isn’t his carriage.
There is the use of pathetic fallacy, which has indirectly been used to create tension. We see the bad weather and dark scene and know something bad is going to happen, but we don’t know when, so it has us o the edge of our seats. Tension is also created with the creation of enigma, whereby there is a small amount of information given to the audience. However we are not told enough so that we know what’s going on, so we feel like there is something going on which they don’t know about. This then causes us to conjure up our own thoughts in our head about what is going on, and then we think all sorts of strange scary things.
Media Audiences
I believe the target audience will be in the range of 15-30. I think this because the main characters are, I recon to be, between 15 and 30, so I think the target audience will be around this age because it will be easier of people that age to relate to the characters in the movie.
I think the most probable audience reading will be intended reading, because it is a horror movie, people aren’t generally in search of a movie which is factual and representational, they are seeking a movie which is there to entertain, and this movie does just that. I don’t suspect that there will be much oppositional reading because no one can really say that they have experienced anything like the plot in the movie. However there may be some in the props and costumes used which are meant to represent the era the movie was set in.
I think that my personal audience reading is one of intended reading, because I am too young really to be a movie critique and comment on all the small things which aren’t right, at the moment, I watch movies for fun and entertainment. As I said, I am too young to comment on any of the ideological representation in the movie because I don’t know enough about the era the movie is set in, nor headless horsemen…
Institutional Context
Johnny Depp is a very famous actor and he takes the lead role in the movie. This may have been done to bring attention to the movie as a sort of marketing strategy; however I think this unlikely because of how good the movie is, it doesn’t need an actor like Johnny Depp to make it good. The movie was filmed in various locations around the UK including one in New York. The studios used to produce the film were Leavesden Studios and Shepperton Studios. I believe it to be an industrial film, as the budget was a whopping $80,000,000. This sum of money is far too much to have been the budget of an independent film. I also think it to be an industrial film because of the stars used in the film, some of which are associated with other successful movie blockbusters.
The movies distributers were Paramount Pictures, who are a very well known powerful company. I think it was a good move that Paramount were used to distribute the movie, because they re very powerful and would have many contacts and knowledge about the market of movie and film, so the movie will have been released at the best time and places possible.
Sleepy Hollow is from the movie genre horror, and starts off in a fairly typical manor which we would expect from a movie of this genre. It starts with some fairly alarming shots of headless people and blood splatters, both gory things, and gore being one of the conventions of a horror movie. Also enigma is quickly created, when we find the carriage drivers head missing and the odd black figure speed past the carriage window, we are immediately put into the same position as the character inside the carriage, we don’t know what’s going on and we are utterly “horrified”. Enigma is also created when we see the red liquid being dropped onto a piece of paper. At first, because it is a horror film, we generally expect it to be blood, so we wonder what is dripping blood onto this piece of paper, however we later find out it is only wax.
Generally, as we would expect from a horror movie, there will be death, usually in a very raw form. Very early on in the opening sequence we are given this, with the shot of the carriage driver without his head. Then fairly quickly after this, we see the man in the carriage have his own head cut off. So therefore our generic expectations of a horror movie having raw gore in it are fulfilled.
Mainly, the characteristics of the genre are confirmed, however there is one instance I have seen where they have been treated playfully. As the character from inside the carriage is rushing through the tall grass, he bumps into the scarecrow, which has a pumpkin as a head. He is immediately alarmed by this, because of its human like figure and his current state of mind. He then realises it is only the scarecrow he saw earlier from inside the carriage and relaxes a little. But oh no, we then hear the sound of a horse, much like the one from the part where the carriage drivers head is cut off; the man slowly turns around, only to have his head cut off – unlucky, maybe next time.
There is evidence of a stock location, being the remote country road they are riding down in the carriage. This is fairly common to the horror genre and we expect to see it as it conveys ideas of remoteness and desertedness.
Film Language
In the opening sequence, the name “Van Garrett” appears very frequently. This leads us to think a lot about the name Van Garrett and to watch out for it later in the movie, as the chances are that there is something going on, and the Van Garrets have something to do with it. The shots also have a washed effect to them, this helps convey the sort of period the movie is set in, 18th century America. The weather in the opening sequence is fairly bleak and black, and with the death of the carriage driver and the passenger inside, it seems fairly evident that this weather may be an example of pathetic fallacy. The titles at the start also appear out of a mist at the start, which helps convey a spooky mood, which is very relevant to the movie, as it is about headless horsemen and curses and the such. We also see a shot of some writing on a piece of paper saying “The Last Will and Testament” which gives us the idea of someone is either planning or expecting to die.
In the earlier shots in the opening sequence, there are regular close ups of hands doing things. These close ups are used well in effect to draw attention to certain details and actions which need to be noticed by the audience. For example the stamping of the seal into the hot wax, with the name “Van Garrett”, if this shot was done in long shot, we wouldn’t have noticed the name on the seal, and vital information about what the paperwork was done for and by is lost. In the shots when the character from the carriage is running through the long grass, steady cam is used to put us in the position of the man, better helping us feel his emotions of fright and agitation. Also the jerkier movement of steady cam gives us the impression of confusion and desperation because of the quick changes in movement. These feelings of confusion and desperation are very likely to be felt by the man in the scene, so it is therefore helping us again feel what the man in the scene is feeling. We also see a shot from under the veil of the executioner, which I think is really effective when showing the expression on the now headless mans face right before he gets his head cut off. And because we see the decapitation from underneath a veil, we now know that the executioner hides his or her identity, adding extra suspicion and enigma.
Sound is used very well in the opening sequence, both diagetic and non-diagetic. There is the sound of thunder, which is typical of scary horror movies. We find it scary because generally, we found the idea of thunder and lightning scary when we were children. This therefore brings us back into the mind set of a child, making us feel vulnerable and defenceless, which is just what the director wants us to feel so the horrifying features of the movie have a greater effect on us. There is also the creepy music, almost sinister, which has connotations of evil and ill-intent.
We learn very quickly that the driver of the carriage is very uncomfortable about making this journey in these conditions of night and storm. We know this because, when he hears the crack of thunder, he immediately looks around, worries and snaps the leads on the horses to hurry them up.
Narrative
The audience is regularly positioned in with the action; this almost puts the audience in the same position as the character in the shot, therefore helping us as the audience feel what the character in the shot feels.
The man in the carriage seems very alienated, as he sits in the middle of the seat in the carriage and looks around as if there no one else to talk to and nothing to do. He is then further alienated when his “driver” has his head cut off, and he therefore has no one with him in, what seems to be, the middle of no where. He then bails from the carriage and flees into some tall grass and arrives at a scarecrow. He then looks around and there is nothing else much in the way of civilization, so he is therefore even more alienated now, then get loses his head…literally.
We generally identify the man in the carriage as a fairly wealthy man, as he can afford to be chauffeured around, and he has a quite elegant carriage. However we cannot assume this to be fact; analysing his body language, the man in the carriage seems quite scared, and in deep thought (before the change in circumstances), so he may be on his way to an important meeting of some sort, and the carriage may be paid for by someone else. In fact, we can almost assume it isn’t his carriage, as we se previously, before the sequence involving the carriage, the stamp with the name “Van Garret” and on the back of the carriage, we see the same image as on the stamp, also with the name “Van Garrett” below. So unless the man in the carriage was at the signing of the will in the earlier part of the opening, we can almost assume it isn’t his carriage.
There is the use of pathetic fallacy, which has indirectly been used to create tension. We see the bad weather and dark scene and know something bad is going to happen, but we don’t know when, so it has us o the edge of our seats. Tension is also created with the creation of enigma, whereby there is a small amount of information given to the audience. However we are not told enough so that we know what’s going on, so we feel like there is something going on which they don’t know about. This then causes us to conjure up our own thoughts in our head about what is going on, and then we think all sorts of strange scary things.
Media Audiences
I believe the target audience will be in the range of 15-30. I think this because the main characters are, I recon to be, between 15 and 30, so I think the target audience will be around this age because it will be easier of people that age to relate to the characters in the movie.
I think the most probable audience reading will be intended reading, because it is a horror movie, people aren’t generally in search of a movie which is factual and representational, they are seeking a movie which is there to entertain, and this movie does just that. I don’t suspect that there will be much oppositional reading because no one can really say that they have experienced anything like the plot in the movie. However there may be some in the props and costumes used which are meant to represent the era the movie was set in.
I think that my personal audience reading is one of intended reading, because I am too young really to be a movie critique and comment on all the small things which aren’t right, at the moment, I watch movies for fun and entertainment. As I said, I am too young to comment on any of the ideological representation in the movie because I don’t know enough about the era the movie is set in, nor headless horsemen…
Institutional Context
Johnny Depp is a very famous actor and he takes the lead role in the movie. This may have been done to bring attention to the movie as a sort of marketing strategy; however I think this unlikely because of how good the movie is, it doesn’t need an actor like Johnny Depp to make it good. The movie was filmed in various locations around the UK including one in New York. The studios used to produce the film were Leavesden Studios and Shepperton Studios. I believe it to be an industrial film, as the budget was a whopping $80,000,000. This sum of money is far too much to have been the budget of an independent film. I also think it to be an industrial film because of the stars used in the film, some of which are associated with other successful movie blockbusters.
The movies distributers were Paramount Pictures, who are a very well known powerful company. I think it was a good move that Paramount were used to distribute the movie, because they re very powerful and would have many contacts and knowledge about the market of movie and film, so the movie will have been released at the best time and places possible.
Sunday 19 October 2008
Product Analysis - The Eye
The Eye
The Eye is a horror film because of its violence/terror and its disturbing content. The way in which they have set up the opening sequence is quite clever as you are given a minute of a clip which to the audience makes no sense at all, it is an enigma as you want to watch more to find out the meaning of the clip. However, after that minute clip you are then taken to the main character where now both clips are being juxtaposed at they are both of different genres. So what the audience may find puzzling is the layout of the opening sequence and what to expect further on. A typical convention of a horror film is tragedy which they have used in the opening sequence to entice the audience. I chose to analysis this film as I had watched it the week previous, so I knew as a horror hater that I would not be too scared to watch the opening sequence over and over again.
Mise en-scene is the composition of a shot which can be seen throughout props, positioning of characters, non verbal language, costumes, lighting, camera movements and credits. The opening minute gives the audience flashes of different scenes with a black interval to every next shot. You can hear footsteps in the grass which are put in by diagetic sound however you would not hear be able to hear the shuffling in the grass in real-life. They also emphasize the light bulb being turned on by a chain which clanks against the light bulb this making your ears more sensitive and aware. This scene is also done in another language which add’s to the confusion of the audience, when I first watched it I thought that I had the film in another language however being able to not understand what was being said made what I saw more effective creating a very ideal effect because it’s capturing the audiences attention. They give you clips of children throwing stones which you can then hear glass shattering however when taking you to another shot they keep the audio playing from the other scene which keeps you aware of what is happening. The scene is creating tension and panic by the distress of the character, they have chosen to show close-ups of her hands and then her feet and then when she is about to hang herself you get an extreme close-up of her face and then a shot reverse to a ghostly figure which jumps out at the camera which would defiantly make the audience jump. The ghostly figure makes the film un-realistic because it is not real this film could of quite easily have been more realistic without these ghostly figures taking the dead however ironically it makes you wonder about death. The next shot gives you such a different mood, the relaxing music in the background the slow motion of the character project’s a very summery feel which creates a connotation of happiness. They introduce that scene with also a blurry effect making your eyes try to visualize and sturdy the shot more this technique relates to the main character as she is blind. The wheels of a skateboard going across the pavement have been emphasized to show the audience how hearing has become more sensitive to hear because of her blindness. I really liked the way she saved the skateboarder from the on coming bus and the dialogue used is humorous to the audience. A voice over is used to talk to the audience and so that she can tell the audience of how she see’s things and her story and pain of not being able to see. Sound, diagetic and non-diagetic, is used frequently to change moods and interpretations of the shots.
The narrative has been organized in a particular way to attract the audience and to see more. If they were to have changed to the structure of the opening sequence the other way round it would have had a different meaning and make no sense also the enigma wouldn’t be there. Using the pretext of a psychological thriller and paranormal experiences, the film explores mental illness, and in particular, of the monothematic delusion known as Mirrored self-misidentification, referred to in the story as cellular memory. Other themes include the concept of precognition, or premonition, perhaps becoming a popular cultural crossover from Asian beliefs about the unknown- since this film was a remake of a Hong Kong horror flick, and still retains Asian themes in the 2008 version.
There aren’t many social groups in the beginning of the film as it doesn’t make that much sense. However the one that stands out the most is the blind main character. She is shown as a woman who is desperate to see which creates this sense of guilt for her and her not being able to see. I think what also may be a social group is of the girl killing herself this could relate to suicides.
I think the general audience rate is around 15-40. I say this because the film isn’t that scary, but yet however more intriguing as the storyline is investigating the past and future. I doubt most guys will like this as there is not enough blood and guts in this film but for people like me who jump at anything it’s a perfect film but maybe one that I could not watch over and over because it’s simple to remember. There is also the oppositional reading of nothing like this would ever happen in these circumstances i.e. someone would not be able to have visions of someone else’s past and the upcoming future.
They have used one major star in the film and that is Jessica Alba, she is known for beauty and actress qualities and I think is she was not to have starred in the film it may have not been such a big hit. The film was produced by Lionsgate and Paramount Vantage and was directed by David Moreau
Xavier Palud. The film opened in second place at the box office with $12.4 million, covering its $12 million budget. [3] As of October 5, 2008, the film has a domestic gross of $31,418,697 with a foreign gross of $25,367,775 totaling an international gross of $56,786,472. The film also did well in the International box office. In United Kingdom, it grossed $1,398,958 in its opening weekend at #2.
The Eye is a horror film because of its violence/terror and its disturbing content. The way in which they have set up the opening sequence is quite clever as you are given a minute of a clip which to the audience makes no sense at all, it is an enigma as you want to watch more to find out the meaning of the clip. However, after that minute clip you are then taken to the main character where now both clips are being juxtaposed at they are both of different genres. So what the audience may find puzzling is the layout of the opening sequence and what to expect further on. A typical convention of a horror film is tragedy which they have used in the opening sequence to entice the audience. I chose to analysis this film as I had watched it the week previous, so I knew as a horror hater that I would not be too scared to watch the opening sequence over and over again.
Mise en-scene is the composition of a shot which can be seen throughout props, positioning of characters, non verbal language, costumes, lighting, camera movements and credits. The opening minute gives the audience flashes of different scenes with a black interval to every next shot. You can hear footsteps in the grass which are put in by diagetic sound however you would not hear be able to hear the shuffling in the grass in real-life. They also emphasize the light bulb being turned on by a chain which clanks against the light bulb this making your ears more sensitive and aware. This scene is also done in another language which add’s to the confusion of the audience, when I first watched it I thought that I had the film in another language however being able to not understand what was being said made what I saw more effective creating a very ideal effect because it’s capturing the audiences attention. They give you clips of children throwing stones which you can then hear glass shattering however when taking you to another shot they keep the audio playing from the other scene which keeps you aware of what is happening. The scene is creating tension and panic by the distress of the character, they have chosen to show close-ups of her hands and then her feet and then when she is about to hang herself you get an extreme close-up of her face and then a shot reverse to a ghostly figure which jumps out at the camera which would defiantly make the audience jump. The ghostly figure makes the film un-realistic because it is not real this film could of quite easily have been more realistic without these ghostly figures taking the dead however ironically it makes you wonder about death. The next shot gives you such a different mood, the relaxing music in the background the slow motion of the character project’s a very summery feel which creates a connotation of happiness. They introduce that scene with also a blurry effect making your eyes try to visualize and sturdy the shot more this technique relates to the main character as she is blind. The wheels of a skateboard going across the pavement have been emphasized to show the audience how hearing has become more sensitive to hear because of her blindness. I really liked the way she saved the skateboarder from the on coming bus and the dialogue used is humorous to the audience. A voice over is used to talk to the audience and so that she can tell the audience of how she see’s things and her story and pain of not being able to see. Sound, diagetic and non-diagetic, is used frequently to change moods and interpretations of the shots.
The narrative has been organized in a particular way to attract the audience and to see more. If they were to have changed to the structure of the opening sequence the other way round it would have had a different meaning and make no sense also the enigma wouldn’t be there. Using the pretext of a psychological thriller and paranormal experiences, the film explores mental illness, and in particular, of the monothematic delusion known as Mirrored self-misidentification, referred to in the story as cellular memory. Other themes include the concept of precognition, or premonition, perhaps becoming a popular cultural crossover from Asian beliefs about the unknown- since this film was a remake of a Hong Kong horror flick, and still retains Asian themes in the 2008 version.
There aren’t many social groups in the beginning of the film as it doesn’t make that much sense. However the one that stands out the most is the blind main character. She is shown as a woman who is desperate to see which creates this sense of guilt for her and her not being able to see. I think what also may be a social group is of the girl killing herself this could relate to suicides.
I think the general audience rate is around 15-40. I say this because the film isn’t that scary, but yet however more intriguing as the storyline is investigating the past and future. I doubt most guys will like this as there is not enough blood and guts in this film but for people like me who jump at anything it’s a perfect film but maybe one that I could not watch over and over because it’s simple to remember. There is also the oppositional reading of nothing like this would ever happen in these circumstances i.e. someone would not be able to have visions of someone else’s past and the upcoming future.
They have used one major star in the film and that is Jessica Alba, she is known for beauty and actress qualities and I think is she was not to have starred in the film it may have not been such a big hit. The film was produced by Lionsgate and Paramount Vantage and was directed by David Moreau
Xavier Palud. The film opened in second place at the box office with $12.4 million, covering its $12 million budget. [3] As of October 5, 2008, the film has a domestic gross of $31,418,697 with a foreign gross of $25,367,775 totaling an international gross of $56,786,472. The film also did well in the International box office. In United Kingdom, it grossed $1,398,958 in its opening weekend at #2.
Friday 17 October 2008
Producer
Hey i am Jess,
I will be taking on the role of the producer in this shoot. As the producer of the group I overlook the conditions for making the film.
The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as hiring key personnel. The producer is involved throughout all phases of the film-making process from development to completion of a project. I will help with tecnical design and picking the location of the shoot. It is my job to oversee the work of the actors and directors.
I will be taking on the role of the producer in this shoot. As the producer of the group I overlook the conditions for making the film.
The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as hiring key personnel. The producer is involved throughout all phases of the film-making process from development to completion of a project. I will help with tecnical design and picking the location of the shoot. It is my job to oversee the work of the actors and directors.
Thursday 16 October 2008
Evaluation Preliminary Task - Editing
I found the task of editing a very fun and exciting one; using new effects and tools i had never used before. I was also using a new editing program, Adobe Premier Elements 3.0. The program i usually use to edit videos and other relevant media at home is Windows movie maker. That program is a lot more basic, so using this new program, Premier Elements 3.0 was a brilliant experience, using a much more advanced, professional program, which gave a more advanced, professional finish, which is just what we wanted. We wanted, as much as possible, to use continuity editing, whereby our transisitions and effects were subtle and un-noticed but added diversity and variance to our sqeuence. In the process of filming we used a technique know as "Shooting for the edit" whereby we just shot loads and loads of footage, using different camera angles and techniques. This meant it made editing a lot easier because we had a lot of material to work with. Because we had a lot of footage of the same things, it meant we would ecperiment with what we had, adding zooms, pans, fades etc. to find the best, most effective finish. In our editing, although i actually "did" the editing, there wa a lot of group input to see if what i had done and if we, as a group, liked it. we then gave feedback on what we had seen and then thought about different ideas and how things could be changed to give a better effect. As a group we made the following changes:-
>We had a cut which seemed very sharp and abrupt which we didn't like. We then added a fade to make it more smooth, and flow better. The sequence was a very relaxed one without much tension, so adding choppy, sharp cuts wouldn't have worked as well as a smooth flowing cut.
>The final clip in the sequence was Jess leaving the meeting, and the sequence being over. We thought that instead of having an aburpt ending, we would fade it out, therefore signifying the end of the sequence.
>At points, there were long sections with very little in the way of things to view. For example, at the start when Joe enters the shot through the door and sits down. We thought that this was quite long and boring as there was nothing really happening. We decided that we would cut to a shot of Jess greeting him. This therefore broke up a boring, pointlessly long clip, into one which introduced Jess. We also thought that this would be a good idea because if we were to see Joe walk in and sit down, we wouldn't have seen if anyone else was there yet. therefore confusing the audience some what, possibly making them thing "where did she come from?".
>We also thought it would be a good idea to add some background noise to our clip. To do this, we had a nice clip, which we hadn't used for some reason, which had some background noise of some people in a class room some distance away. we thought it would be quite good to have this noise in the background as a diegetic sound as, although it may not be imediately apparent to the audience, the sequence has been shot in a school corridor, so the audiences generic expectations of a sequence shot in a schools corridor would be some banterful noise of young people in the background.
>We had a cut which seemed very sharp and abrupt which we didn't like. We then added a fade to make it more smooth, and flow better. The sequence was a very relaxed one without much tension, so adding choppy, sharp cuts wouldn't have worked as well as a smooth flowing cut.
>The final clip in the sequence was Jess leaving the meeting, and the sequence being over. We thought that instead of having an aburpt ending, we would fade it out, therefore signifying the end of the sequence.
>At points, there were long sections with very little in the way of things to view. For example, at the start when Joe enters the shot through the door and sits down. We thought that this was quite long and boring as there was nothing really happening. We decided that we would cut to a shot of Jess greeting him. This therefore broke up a boring, pointlessly long clip, into one which introduced Jess. We also thought that this would be a good idea because if we were to see Joe walk in and sit down, we wouldn't have seen if anyone else was there yet. therefore confusing the audience some what, possibly making them thing "where did she come from?".
>We also thought it would be a good idea to add some background noise to our clip. To do this, we had a nice clip, which we hadn't used for some reason, which had some background noise of some people in a class room some distance away. we thought it would be quite good to have this noise in the background as a diegetic sound as, although it may not be imediately apparent to the audience, the sequence has been shot in a school corridor, so the audiences generic expectations of a sequence shot in a schools corridor would be some banterful noise of young people in the background.
Evaluate: Preliminary Task
Filming
As a group we found it difficult to film. Our main concerns were location, avoiding the 180 degree rule and avoiding diagetic sounds to interfere with the editing. We needed to avoid light changes and diagetic sound interfering with the editing. When selecting a location we were rushed for time and did not look for other locations for the sequence. I think this has changed the way the audience interprets the scene, i think if we had picked a "comfier" location the audience would have seen the conversation less threatning and imposing.
I think we should have used more camera shots and camera techniques. I think that if we had used more camera shots and angles we could have made the scene look less like a documentry and more like watching a conversation between two school children.
As a group we found it difficult to film. Our main concerns were location, avoiding the 180 degree rule and avoiding diagetic sounds to interfere with the editing. We needed to avoid light changes and diagetic sound interfering with the editing. When selecting a location we were rushed for time and did not look for other locations for the sequence. I think this has changed the way the audience interprets the scene, i think if we had picked a "comfier" location the audience would have seen the conversation less threatning and imposing.
I think we should have used more camera shots and camera techniques. I think that if we had used more camera shots and angles we could have made the scene look less like a documentry and more like watching a conversation between two school children.
Severance Film opening
Severance Opening Analysis
Genre
Severance (Christopher Smith, 2006) is classified a horror film, the audiences generic expectations are fulfilled by the text, the director uses conventions that are typical to all horror films such as blood, gore and violence. The text does not use the typical characteristics of horror it uses them playfully and ironically the text could be considered a comedy/horror but the film uses too many true horror conventions and themes however the ironic music at the start of the film shows how the text uses the conventions playfully.
Film language
The mise-en-scene conveys the meaning by using dark lighting, conventional props such as the knife and rope, the black shots between shots, the costumes are generic to the genre they are tattered, dirty and some clothes missing. The director has used dark lighting to convey the sense of fear.
The use of camera angles are greatly used to convey the meaning, the dark shots are a great way to show a typical convention of horror, the 1st person shot is used twice in the sequence this shot is great because it creates suspense. The director uses different angles as well, in the shot when the man is hanging from his feet we see a shot from what he would be seeing this shows suspense and fear of the character. We later see a bus full of the main characters we see close ups of all the characters and meet them all and the audience is introduced to all the characters at the beginning the man is running and the camera is tracking along side the character and we then hear a thud and he disappears from shot the camera tracks back to find him getting up after hitting a tree this shows the irony of the scene.
The beginning sequence shows two women running and with a man from behind them, the girls fall in to a hole and the man is taken by a noose round the foot and hung upside down but all the while this is happening we hear the relaxing music. There is both non-diagetic and diagetic sounds such as the atmospheric music when the man is stabbed and the gargling sounds when the man is pumping out blood. When the man gets stabbed the music changes to an even happier theme song this shows the irony of the scene, the music then changes to another happy song when we meet the main characters. We then see behind another man with a knife that approaches the hanging man he then stabs the man in the stomach and we see a lot of blood.
Representation & Ideology
In the first scene we see the women running and when they fall in to the hole they are screaming at the man to help them but we can not understand them as they are speaking in a foreign language and the man does not help so we presume that he said no.
We only meet three characters in the opening sequence two Russian strippers and a large English 35 year old man and we briefly see the killer. The Russian girls are panicked and look behind them running from someone they are then showed as proactive when they try to climb there way out and the man is showed as a coward and selfish. The scene does not have enough in it to show any semiotics.
Genre
Severance (Christopher Smith, 2006) is classified a horror film, the audiences generic expectations are fulfilled by the text, the director uses conventions that are typical to all horror films such as blood, gore and violence. The text does not use the typical characteristics of horror it uses them playfully and ironically the text could be considered a comedy/horror but the film uses too many true horror conventions and themes however the ironic music at the start of the film shows how the text uses the conventions playfully.
Film language
The mise-en-scene conveys the meaning by using dark lighting, conventional props such as the knife and rope, the black shots between shots, the costumes are generic to the genre they are tattered, dirty and some clothes missing. The director has used dark lighting to convey the sense of fear.
The use of camera angles are greatly used to convey the meaning, the dark shots are a great way to show a typical convention of horror, the 1st person shot is used twice in the sequence this shot is great because it creates suspense. The director uses different angles as well, in the shot when the man is hanging from his feet we see a shot from what he would be seeing this shows suspense and fear of the character. We later see a bus full of the main characters we see close ups of all the characters and meet them all and the audience is introduced to all the characters at the beginning the man is running and the camera is tracking along side the character and we then hear a thud and he disappears from shot the camera tracks back to find him getting up after hitting a tree this shows the irony of the scene.
The beginning sequence shows two women running and with a man from behind them, the girls fall in to a hole and the man is taken by a noose round the foot and hung upside down but all the while this is happening we hear the relaxing music. There is both non-diagetic and diagetic sounds such as the atmospheric music when the man is stabbed and the gargling sounds when the man is pumping out blood. When the man gets stabbed the music changes to an even happier theme song this shows the irony of the scene, the music then changes to another happy song when we meet the main characters. We then see behind another man with a knife that approaches the hanging man he then stabs the man in the stomach and we see a lot of blood.
Representation & Ideology
In the first scene we see the women running and when they fall in to the hole they are screaming at the man to help them but we can not understand them as they are speaking in a foreign language and the man does not help so we presume that he said no.
We only meet three characters in the opening sequence two Russian strippers and a large English 35 year old man and we briefly see the killer. The Russian girls are panicked and look behind them running from someone they are then showed as proactive when they try to climb there way out and the man is showed as a coward and selfish. The scene does not have enough in it to show any semiotics.
Product Analysis Severance (Christopher Smith, 2006)
Severance Opening Analysis
Genre
Severance (Christopher Smith, 2006) is classified a horror film, the audiences generic expectations are fulfilled by the text, the director uses conventions that are typical to all horror films such as blood, gore and violence however the text could be interpreted differently to what the director wanted, the comic is not obvious in the scene without knowing the rest of the film. The text does not use the typical characteristics of horror it uses them playfully and ironically the text could be considered a comedy/horror, this is not shown very well at the start of the film, we only see this irony in the music at the start of the film. This shows how the text uses the conventions playfully.
Film language
The mise-en-scene conveys the meaning by using dark lighting, conventional props such as the knife and rope, the black shots between shots, the costumes are generic to the genre they are tattered, dirty and some clothes missing. The director has used dark lighting to convey the sense of fear.
The use of camera angles are greatly used to convey the meaning, the dark shots are a great way to show a typical convention of horror, the 1st person shot is used twice in the sequence this shot is great because it creates suspense. The director uses different angles as well, in the shot when the man is hanging from his feet we see a shot from what he would be seeing this shows suspense and fear of the character. We later see a bus full of the main characters we see close ups of all the characters and meet them all and the audience is introduced to all the characters at the beginning the man is running and the camera is tracking along side the character and we then hear a thud and he disappears from shot the camera tracks back to find him getting up after hitting a tree this shows the irony of the scene.
The beginning sequence shows two women running and with a man from behind them, the girls fall in to a hole and the man is taken by a noose round the foot and hung upside down but all the while this is happening we hear the relaxing music. There is both non-diagetic and diagetic sounds such as the atmospheric music when the man is stabbed and the gargling sounds when the man is pumping out blood. When the man gets stabbed the music changes to an even happier theme song this shows the irony of the scene, the music then changes to another happy song when we meet the main characters. We then see behind another man with a knife that approaches the hanging man he then stabs the man in the stomach and we see a lot of blood.
Narrative
The killer is alienated within the text; we do not see his face or much of his body. The two women are also alienated by the language barrier so we do not understand there cries and dialogue together when they are trapped down the hole. They are also alienated by there clothing and then the lack of it in the last thirty seconds of the scene.
The characters posture is very retreated and closed; this is clear when the man is running from what we think is the killer and then when he stops and speaks to the girls he is hunched this closes off the audience from him and we see him apologise and keep running.
Representation & Ideology
In the first scene we see the women running and when they fall in to the hole they are screaming at the man to help them but we can not understand them as they are speaking in a foreign language and the man does not help so we presume that he said no.
We only meet three characters in the opening sequence two Russian strippers and a large English 35 year old man and we briefly see the killer. The Russian girls are panicked and look behind them running from someone they are then showed as proactive when they try to climb there way out and the man is showed as a coward and selfish. The scene does not have enough in it to show any semiotics.
Media audiences
The film is targeted at 15 – 30 year olds as the characters are of this age, and the certificate is 15. The film is targeted at males as the text conforms to themes that interest males however this does not mean that females will not like the film. The probable audience reading will be intended reading as the audience is looking to be entertained by horror movies rather than informed with factual evidence. However there maybe representation in the props or costumes used to show the time or place of the scene.
I do not have the experience of films to comment or criticise the text I purely watch films for entertainment and for amusement which this film provides. I can not relate to this situation as I have never been to Russia or been chased by a murderous villain.
Institutional Context
The film has big stars such as Andy Nyman and Tim McInnerny big stars help the film sell as when the audience see that the film has big stars starring in the film they want to see it as they like the actor or they think he/she is good. It is an independent film. They used posters trailers and tag lines to advertise the film.
Genre
Severance (Christopher Smith, 2006) is classified a horror film, the audiences generic expectations are fulfilled by the text, the director uses conventions that are typical to all horror films such as blood, gore and violence however the text could be interpreted differently to what the director wanted, the comic is not obvious in the scene without knowing the rest of the film. The text does not use the typical characteristics of horror it uses them playfully and ironically the text could be considered a comedy/horror, this is not shown very well at the start of the film, we only see this irony in the music at the start of the film. This shows how the text uses the conventions playfully.
Film language
The mise-en-scene conveys the meaning by using dark lighting, conventional props such as the knife and rope, the black shots between shots, the costumes are generic to the genre they are tattered, dirty and some clothes missing. The director has used dark lighting to convey the sense of fear.
The use of camera angles are greatly used to convey the meaning, the dark shots are a great way to show a typical convention of horror, the 1st person shot is used twice in the sequence this shot is great because it creates suspense. The director uses different angles as well, in the shot when the man is hanging from his feet we see a shot from what he would be seeing this shows suspense and fear of the character. We later see a bus full of the main characters we see close ups of all the characters and meet them all and the audience is introduced to all the characters at the beginning the man is running and the camera is tracking along side the character and we then hear a thud and he disappears from shot the camera tracks back to find him getting up after hitting a tree this shows the irony of the scene.
The beginning sequence shows two women running and with a man from behind them, the girls fall in to a hole and the man is taken by a noose round the foot and hung upside down but all the while this is happening we hear the relaxing music. There is both non-diagetic and diagetic sounds such as the atmospheric music when the man is stabbed and the gargling sounds when the man is pumping out blood. When the man gets stabbed the music changes to an even happier theme song this shows the irony of the scene, the music then changes to another happy song when we meet the main characters. We then see behind another man with a knife that approaches the hanging man he then stabs the man in the stomach and we see a lot of blood.
Narrative
The killer is alienated within the text; we do not see his face or much of his body. The two women are also alienated by the language barrier so we do not understand there cries and dialogue together when they are trapped down the hole. They are also alienated by there clothing and then the lack of it in the last thirty seconds of the scene.
The characters posture is very retreated and closed; this is clear when the man is running from what we think is the killer and then when he stops and speaks to the girls he is hunched this closes off the audience from him and we see him apologise and keep running.
Representation & Ideology
In the first scene we see the women running and when they fall in to the hole they are screaming at the man to help them but we can not understand them as they are speaking in a foreign language and the man does not help so we presume that he said no.
We only meet three characters in the opening sequence two Russian strippers and a large English 35 year old man and we briefly see the killer. The Russian girls are panicked and look behind them running from someone they are then showed as proactive when they try to climb there way out and the man is showed as a coward and selfish. The scene does not have enough in it to show any semiotics.
Media audiences
The film is targeted at 15 – 30 year olds as the characters are of this age, and the certificate is 15. The film is targeted at males as the text conforms to themes that interest males however this does not mean that females will not like the film. The probable audience reading will be intended reading as the audience is looking to be entertained by horror movies rather than informed with factual evidence. However there maybe representation in the props or costumes used to show the time or place of the scene.
I do not have the experience of films to comment or criticise the text I purely watch films for entertainment and for amusement which this film provides. I can not relate to this situation as I have never been to Russia or been chased by a murderous villain.
Institutional Context
The film has big stars such as Andy Nyman and Tim McInnerny big stars help the film sell as when the audience see that the film has big stars starring in the film they want to see it as they like the actor or they think he/she is good. It is an independent film. They used posters trailers and tag lines to advertise the film.
Monday 13 October 2008
Product Analysis - The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror, (Douglas, 2005)
The Amityville Horror is as stated a horror film. It was a remake of the original Amityville horror in1979. Both films are based on the novel by Jay Anson 1977. He was inspired by the real life murder case in Long Island 1974.
The Genre of the film is enhanced even more so when knowing it has been based on a real story; it gives the ability to create a documentary however with just more special effects and a more modernised effect to the film. Also simple things like the old clock and the old Tv create a un-modernised effect which contrasts with the modern outlook of the camera techniques and lighting.
Mise en-scene is the composition of a shot which can be seen throughout props, positioning of characters, non verbal language, costumes, lighting, camera movements and credits. At the beginning of the first scene you have the words “Based on the true story” which appears to be in a typed white font with a black background (black usually symbolizing death and the unknown) also it has diagetic sound in the background. The true murder occurred in November 1974 however, the 2005 film has used November 13th 1974, this has created a sense of irony as 13 is usually deemed as unlucky, so what could be said is that 13 is a denotation for a date however the connotation would be that 13 is an unlucky number. The weather has been used as a theme because lightening is usually associated with fear and danger. The lightening sepia effect throughout the first 3 minutes creates this daunting feeling and intensifies the scenes also; right after the murder has been committed you get a medium long shot view of the house which has a negative effect to it giving the image of evil. The director has used a very good visual technique of the evil symbol reflected in the murderer’s eye’s giving the audience thoughts of him being possessed. When you get a blurry extra close-up image of his face you have non-diagetic sounds of whispering and evil voices this effect creates more of a possessed feel and actually emphasises the genre. The use of props in the opening is used to convey a deeper meaning i.e. the photo of the murderer as a passing graduate show’s and tells the audience he must be possessed. They have also used a convention which is of the little girl and her role in the film. They have used her because children symbolize innocence.
The narrative of The Amityville horror starts off by showing the audience what has happened and then taking them a year forward it kind of gives the effect that they are behind present time and that they are seeing the past. The audience are not able to be part of the film such as Layer cake because this film is more in-depth meaning the audience have to watch more intensely this also get’s the audience to be “on the edge of their seats” more which is the whole point of a horror film. The major themes in this film would have to be the violence and the weather. They both play a large part in this film and the violence is associated with the weather which is usually lightening. Tension is created by the music and the slow beats which may be emphasising a heart beat.
The social groups represented in the opening sequence are; the possessed murderer and the innocent little sister. A horror film always has a bad-guy and in this case it was ironically the older graduated brother living in the basement, who has been possessed by the house. The younger little sister gives the audience a sense of vulnerability and the need to help the little girl. The Characteristics of the genre are used to the full extent; it keeps the audience on edge and uses the theme of violence and weather throughout the opening.
The film has a certificate of 15 however this is not representative of the entire nation. Horror films do not appeal to everyone and if so then they are usually associated with boys and daring girls. I myself as a 16year old have no interest in horror films what so ever and especially as it is based on a true story scares me even more so. I see no thrill in being scared and on edge for an hour and a half however, I dare to see more.
The Amityville Horror is as stated a horror film. It was a remake of the original Amityville horror in1979. Both films are based on the novel by Jay Anson 1977. He was inspired by the real life murder case in Long Island 1974.
The Genre of the film is enhanced even more so when knowing it has been based on a real story; it gives the ability to create a documentary however with just more special effects and a more modernised effect to the film. Also simple things like the old clock and the old Tv create a un-modernised effect which contrasts with the modern outlook of the camera techniques and lighting.
Mise en-scene is the composition of a shot which can be seen throughout props, positioning of characters, non verbal language, costumes, lighting, camera movements and credits. At the beginning of the first scene you have the words “Based on the true story” which appears to be in a typed white font with a black background (black usually symbolizing death and the unknown) also it has diagetic sound in the background. The true murder occurred in November 1974 however, the 2005 film has used November 13th 1974, this has created a sense of irony as 13 is usually deemed as unlucky, so what could be said is that 13 is a denotation for a date however the connotation would be that 13 is an unlucky number. The weather has been used as a theme because lightening is usually associated with fear and danger. The lightening sepia effect throughout the first 3 minutes creates this daunting feeling and intensifies the scenes also; right after the murder has been committed you get a medium long shot view of the house which has a negative effect to it giving the image of evil. The director has used a very good visual technique of the evil symbol reflected in the murderer’s eye’s giving the audience thoughts of him being possessed. When you get a blurry extra close-up image of his face you have non-diagetic sounds of whispering and evil voices this effect creates more of a possessed feel and actually emphasises the genre. The use of props in the opening is used to convey a deeper meaning i.e. the photo of the murderer as a passing graduate show’s and tells the audience he must be possessed. They have also used a convention which is of the little girl and her role in the film. They have used her because children symbolize innocence.
The narrative of The Amityville horror starts off by showing the audience what has happened and then taking them a year forward it kind of gives the effect that they are behind present time and that they are seeing the past. The audience are not able to be part of the film such as Layer cake because this film is more in-depth meaning the audience have to watch more intensely this also get’s the audience to be “on the edge of their seats” more which is the whole point of a horror film. The major themes in this film would have to be the violence and the weather. They both play a large part in this film and the violence is associated with the weather which is usually lightening. Tension is created by the music and the slow beats which may be emphasising a heart beat.
The social groups represented in the opening sequence are; the possessed murderer and the innocent little sister. A horror film always has a bad-guy and in this case it was ironically the older graduated brother living in the basement, who has been possessed by the house. The younger little sister gives the audience a sense of vulnerability and the need to help the little girl. The Characteristics of the genre are used to the full extent; it keeps the audience on edge and uses the theme of violence and weather throughout the opening.
The film has a certificate of 15 however this is not representative of the entire nation. Horror films do not appeal to everyone and if so then they are usually associated with boys and daring girls. I myself as a 16year old have no interest in horror films what so ever and especially as it is based on a true story scares me even more so. I see no thrill in being scared and on edge for an hour and a half however, I dare to see more.
Sunday 12 October 2008
Technical Analysis - Texas Chainsaw Massacre
| Shot Number | Shot Length (Seconds) | Shot Style | Mise-en-scene |
| 1 | 3 | Close Up | Photo of a baby, Fades Out |
| 2 | 4 | Close Up | Fades in, Photo of a baby, possibly viewed by candle light, Fades Out |
| 3 | 2 | Mid Shot | Fades in, Chalk Drawing of body, with some anotations, Fades out |
| 4 | 2 | - | Black |
| 5 | 2 | Mid Shot | Photo of a child, face covered by a womans hands |
| 6 | 1 | - | Black |
| 7 | 4 | Mid Shot | Shot of name writen in white on black background "Thomas Hewitt" |
| 8 | 1 | Close Up | Photo of child, covering his own face. |
| 9 | 3 | Extreme Close Up | Documents slapped down, main words "Facial Disease" |
| 10 | 3 | Close Up | Chalk Writing, focused on "Mutilation" |
| 11 | 2 | Big Close Up | Something Being wrapped in a dirty looking material |
| 12 | 5 | Extreme Close Up | A Person feeling their face wrapped up in dirty material |
| 13 | 3 | Close Up | A Person feeling their face wrapped up in dirty material (different angle) |
| 14 | 2 | Extreme Close Up | The wrapped up persons eyes |
| 15 | 2 | - | Black |
| 16 | 2 | Extreme Long Shot | Windmill Thing, "Age 9" writen ghosts over the second second of the shot |
| 17 | 2 | Medium Close Up | Boy in grass, shrubs in negative layed over the shot. Sun shining from behind the boy |
| 18 | 2 | Close Up | The Boy |
| 19 | 2 | Close Up | Fury animal being dragged by its tail. |
| 20 | 2 | - | Black |
| 21 | 2 | Extreme Long Shot | House |
| 22 | 5 | Extreme Close Up | variety of objects shown in extreame close up, some may be blood and meat. |
| 23 | 3 | Mid Shot | "12 Yrs Old" writen |
| 24 | 1 | Medium Long Shot | A Metal frame/contraption |
| 25 | 2 | Close Up | Hand running over (given the name of the movie) chain of a chainsaw |
| 26 | 1 | - | Black |
| 27 | 3 | Medium Long Shot | two hands come in to shot, and two long, cased items are picked up and taken away |
| 28 | 0.5 | Close Up | Date "Friday, June 6, 1967" |
| 29 | 2.5 | Mid Shot | Largeish stone building "Meats" tilts up to reveal "Lee Bros." |
| 30 | 2 | Medium Close Up | Slow Zoom. Newspaper article, picture is building from previous shot "Meat Pland Condemned, Hundreds left Jobless" |
| 31 | 2 | Medium Close Up | Slow Zoom. Newspaper article, "Texas Town Dies" |
| 32 | 0.5 | Long Shot | bunch of (suposedly) broken, worn out, useless vehicles. |
| 33 | 0.5 | Close Up | News Story "Draft More Troops" |
| 34 | 0.5 | Close Up | News Story "Reinstated For Vietnam Conflict" |
| 35 | 1 | Close Up | Photo from shot 8, Fist slams down on it |
| 36 | 2 | Long Shot | Desk with sewing machine and various other realted equipment. Words "Mental Determination" ghosted over the shot. |
| 37 | 2 | Close Up | Lit match burning a piece of paper |
| 38 | 3 | Close Up | Photo of a young man, burning |
| 39 | 2 | Extreme Close Up | Unlit face of a person, light shining through some curly hair |
| 40 | 1 | Close Up | Hand Drops burning photo from shot 38. |
| 41 | 1 | Close Up | Photo (from shot 5) being burnt |
| 42 | 3 | Mid Shot | photo of baby from shot 1 being defaced. Fist slams down with failure. |
| 43 | 0.5 | Mid Shot | photo being swept clean. |
| 44 | 1 | Close Up | Various items |
| 45 | 2 | Mid Shot | Network of linked chains. Flashes negative at the end of the shot. |
| 46 | 7 | Mid Shot | Photo of baby from shot 42 burning. Shot 47 fades in |
| 47 | 7 | - | Whisps of fire on a black background |
Opening Analysis - The Decent (Marshall, 2005)
Genre
The Genre of the film “The Descent” is Horror, however it doesn’t start off like a typical horror. It starts off with immediate suspicious activity and gory, dramatic, tragedy. These are two key conventions of horror movies, suspicion – to entice the consumer in to watching on to see the outcome of this. Also gore, it is a definite distinctive characteristic of a horror movie which will add to the consumers fright and “horror” of what they have seen, which is their desire as an audience of a horror movie.
I suspect that generally, the generic expectations of the text are challenged. I immediately found this when watching the opening. I found the movie on a website under the category of “horror”, but I had never heard of or seen the movie. The name of the movie sounded exciting so I decided that this would be the film I would study. However in the opening sequences of the movie, I wasn’t sure if I was watching a horror movie, or more of a thriller. This therefore, instead of me just watching the opening and analysing it for this piece of work, I found I had to watch on to see whether or not this was, as I had been informed, a horror movie. However there are certain characteristics which are fulfilled of this genre. Continually through the opening there are frequent times and moments where there could be a climatic feature or action which will make the audience jump or scream. However there when the moments arise nothing happens; then later on, when the audience expects, “it didn’t happen any of the other times, it wont happen here” it actually happens there and gives them a really big shock.
The text does confirm some of the characteristics of the genre; however some aren’t introduced until later. For example, there is clear evidence of gore, in the earlier scenes, when there is the car crash and the man and child are impaled with the spikes. There is also the build up of suspicion with use of sound, mainly non-diagetic, with the use of suspicious and eerie music. There is a slight bit of irony in the early scene in the car, where the man says “I’m fine” then is very suddenly impaled and killed…
Film Language
The women in the water raft are seen to be safe and sensible, as they are wearing the correct equipment and apparatus when doing their sport. They also seem like a very friendly bunch whose friendship has been existent for many years. We know this because once they have finished their run down the river; they can jokingly push each other into the water and take it as a joke instead of a harmful act. One of them is also a family sort of person, because as soon as she gets out of the raft, she rushes up to her daughter and gives her a big hug. One of the women however is acting very suspicious, the look in her eyes, and the fact she is wearing a different coloured outfit to the other two may suggest that she isn’t as “one of the group” as the other two are. Also, the woman who is wearing the other coloured outfit is greeted out of the water by what I can see as one of the other woman’s partner. Therefore in my mind, I can for see some sort of controversy happening later on in the movie. This all works to create early foundations to a plot, so the consumer is enticed into watching further to find answers to these actions and features which conjure up thoughts and suspicions.
There are a variety of camera shots and angles used in the opening sequence. The one which had the greatest effect on me was the pan, where it showed the women in the raft in a long shot, it then panned round to show the rocky, white water of the river ahead. This then conjured up ideas and connotations that this river wasn’t just a river; it was a representation of the time ahead for these three women, and the rocks and white water being tough thing which as a group they will have to overcome. As we watch on, there is the horrific crash at the start, where one of the women loses what may be her partner, and her daughter. In the river, at the very top of the river, the obstacle closest to them was a huge rock. This huge rock may represent this early, tragic event, which as a group, they will need to work as a team and over come it. There was also, the very first opening shot, an extreme long shot of one of the mountains around where they were rafting. There are regular close ups on the women’s faces to show their expression and excitement.
Sound, diagetic and non-diagetic, is used frequently to change moods and interpretations of the shots. At different points through the opening there is the same sort of slow, eerie music used which gives the consumer an idea that something may happen at this point. There is also the use of non-diagetic sound; in the hospital scene, where the woman wakes up, the heart rate beep is constant and slow, but as she wakes up, the rate of the beeping increases, showing a change in mood of the lady, and this then influences a mood in us, a feeling of panic and distress.
We learn very early on that the oriental looking lady has some secret or is hiding something from the group. On the raft down the river, the look on her face is very serious, where as the other two have expressions of excitement and elation. This continues through this sequence at the river, when the man retrieves her from the water, she looks at him in a funny, suspicious way. We also learn that the group in general are very friendly, as they push each other in the water and laugh and joke together.
There is evidence of slow motion used in the editing. When the group fly over the edge on their way down the river at the start, there is slow motion used there. Although we know the drop is the same, and the action is the same, whether in slow motion or not, it gives the impression that the raft is in the air for longer, even though it isn’t. This makes the action seem more spectacular and awe inspiring than if it was just cut regularly without this added effect.
Narrative
The oriental lady has been alienated by the use of clothing. In the scene with the raft, she can be seen to be wearing a different coloured outfit to the others in the raft. She is also alienated through the use of body language; the other two in the raft are having a great time, screaming and having fun, where as it seems that the oriental lady is taking things very seriously.
Using and maintaining tension is a very useful technique to use, and has to be used well to take have a great effect. Tension is usually created by putting the audience in a vulnerable position. This may be done by making the audience seem alone, where if they get into any trouble; there will be no one around to help them. This effect could either be achieved by using connotations (using a remote location to make the audience seem remote and alone), or using music, which has a lonely, remote feeling to it. an alternative method would be to keep information from the audience, using shadow and/or darkness to obscure or hide objects or parts of object, giving the audience a sense of unknowing and insecurity. These techniques should then be used frequently, so the audience then believes that the next time one of these instances arises, that nothing will happen like all the other times, but it actually does. In the movie, music has been used to create tension as mentioned previously, and there is the use of remote location to make the audience seem remote. This all build up to the climax in the car, when the man and daughter die.
Representation and Ideology
There aren’t many social groups in the opening, as it seems that is it set far away from anywhere inhabited. However there are a few social groups; firstly the small group of thrill seeking women who are rafting down the river. They are shown as a fun group of women, who are very close and are all about having fun. There is also the little girl who is spoken to about her up coming birthday party, and if she is going to invite and boys this time. This gives us, as consumers, the impression that she is quite girly and young, as she laughs at the mention of boys.
Media Audiences
I think the movie is generally targeted at 18-30 year olds as this is the age group of the people in the movie. I think this because I believe it would be easier for people of the same age group as those in the movie to relate to their feelings. Also, it is the sort of age group who are into horrors, as they are the people who are likely to be out all week working at (boring) jobs and want a bit of excitement and thrill to bring their lives alive.
There is the possibility of intended reading being that it is a horror movie, it’s meant to be really scary, I know nothing like this is very likely to happen in real life, but it is a movie and it’s meant to excite me and it serves its purpose. There is also the oppositional reading of nothing like this would ever happen in these circumstances, it is so improbable that someone would take their eyes off the road for that long knowing there is a child in the back of the car; or a white water rafter in real life may see the stance and attitude of the women in the raft while going down the rapids, and having a knowledge of the sport, may point out things which they are doing, and reject the idea. And then there is negotiated reading, where by the audience may accept some aspects of the movie and reject others. For example, they may disagree with the way the women are doing their white water rafting, but may accept other features of the movie, like the man taking his eyes of the road for a long time, he ay do this because he isn’t really concentrating and has things on his mind, like the lady suggests. I believe the probable audience reading will be mainly as intended, to be a horror movie which people view for thrills and excitement, instead of to gain actual representations of information or experiences.
I am not a great fan of horror movies, stop me sleeping and what not, I generally have to watch them in day light with curtains open, which kind of spoils the atmosphere. However I found this more bearable as it isn’t full or gore, blood and savage deaths etc. like some other horror movies (namely the Saw series). I found the sequence in the car quite alarming when the man has blatant disregard for safety and takes his eyes off the road for such a long time. Therefore my reading is negotiated, as I agree with some of the features and disagree with others. I think this may be because of my young age and not having experience in a car, I am probably not the best to comment on ones driving, however it just seemed odd to me that he would have his partner (supposedly) and a young girl in the back seat, and have such disregard for safety.
Institutional context
They seem to not have used any stars as far as I can see. I am not a great “movie buff” however I am interested in entertainment news and other related things and haven’t heard anything major about these actors and actresses. I did searches on the actors and actresses and didn’t find them to feature major parts in and major films. This may have been done because of trying to keep costs low, which I think is most likely, as the budget was (only) £3.5M.
Pinewood Studios produced the film, and are very acclaimed producers; producing great movie block busters such as “Casino Royale” and “The Dark Knight”.
I would expect it to be more likely an independent film than an industrial due to the low budget, and being English, therefore unlikely to have ties with Hollywood and other major film producers.
There were posters and advertisements on London buses and trains, including the underground. These advertisements were in circulation around the times of the London bombings in 2005, and feature the slogan “Outright terror... bold and brilliant”. After discussions, it was decided that all the posters and advertisement should be recalled and reworked to remove the word terror. This may be a reason why it didn’t receive the publicity and acclamation that it may deserve.
The Genre of the film “The Descent” is Horror, however it doesn’t start off like a typical horror. It starts off with immediate suspicious activity and gory, dramatic, tragedy. These are two key conventions of horror movies, suspicion – to entice the consumer in to watching on to see the outcome of this. Also gore, it is a definite distinctive characteristic of a horror movie which will add to the consumers fright and “horror” of what they have seen, which is their desire as an audience of a horror movie.
I suspect that generally, the generic expectations of the text are challenged. I immediately found this when watching the opening. I found the movie on a website under the category of “horror”, but I had never heard of or seen the movie. The name of the movie sounded exciting so I decided that this would be the film I would study. However in the opening sequences of the movie, I wasn’t sure if I was watching a horror movie, or more of a thriller. This therefore, instead of me just watching the opening and analysing it for this piece of work, I found I had to watch on to see whether or not this was, as I had been informed, a horror movie. However there are certain characteristics which are fulfilled of this genre. Continually through the opening there are frequent times and moments where there could be a climatic feature or action which will make the audience jump or scream. However there when the moments arise nothing happens; then later on, when the audience expects, “it didn’t happen any of the other times, it wont happen here” it actually happens there and gives them a really big shock.
The text does confirm some of the characteristics of the genre; however some aren’t introduced until later. For example, there is clear evidence of gore, in the earlier scenes, when there is the car crash and the man and child are impaled with the spikes. There is also the build up of suspicion with use of sound, mainly non-diagetic, with the use of suspicious and eerie music. There is a slight bit of irony in the early scene in the car, where the man says “I’m fine” then is very suddenly impaled and killed…
Film Language
The women in the water raft are seen to be safe and sensible, as they are wearing the correct equipment and apparatus when doing their sport. They also seem like a very friendly bunch whose friendship has been existent for many years. We know this because once they have finished their run down the river; they can jokingly push each other into the water and take it as a joke instead of a harmful act. One of them is also a family sort of person, because as soon as she gets out of the raft, she rushes up to her daughter and gives her a big hug. One of the women however is acting very suspicious, the look in her eyes, and the fact she is wearing a different coloured outfit to the other two may suggest that she isn’t as “one of the group” as the other two are. Also, the woman who is wearing the other coloured outfit is greeted out of the water by what I can see as one of the other woman’s partner. Therefore in my mind, I can for see some sort of controversy happening later on in the movie. This all works to create early foundations to a plot, so the consumer is enticed into watching further to find answers to these actions and features which conjure up thoughts and suspicions.
There are a variety of camera shots and angles used in the opening sequence. The one which had the greatest effect on me was the pan, where it showed the women in the raft in a long shot, it then panned round to show the rocky, white water of the river ahead. This then conjured up ideas and connotations that this river wasn’t just a river; it was a representation of the time ahead for these three women, and the rocks and white water being tough thing which as a group they will have to overcome. As we watch on, there is the horrific crash at the start, where one of the women loses what may be her partner, and her daughter. In the river, at the very top of the river, the obstacle closest to them was a huge rock. This huge rock may represent this early, tragic event, which as a group, they will need to work as a team and over come it. There was also, the very first opening shot, an extreme long shot of one of the mountains around where they were rafting. There are regular close ups on the women’s faces to show their expression and excitement.
Sound, diagetic and non-diagetic, is used frequently to change moods and interpretations of the shots. At different points through the opening there is the same sort of slow, eerie music used which gives the consumer an idea that something may happen at this point. There is also the use of non-diagetic sound; in the hospital scene, where the woman wakes up, the heart rate beep is constant and slow, but as she wakes up, the rate of the beeping increases, showing a change in mood of the lady, and this then influences a mood in us, a feeling of panic and distress.
We learn very early on that the oriental looking lady has some secret or is hiding something from the group. On the raft down the river, the look on her face is very serious, where as the other two have expressions of excitement and elation. This continues through this sequence at the river, when the man retrieves her from the water, she looks at him in a funny, suspicious way. We also learn that the group in general are very friendly, as they push each other in the water and laugh and joke together.
There is evidence of slow motion used in the editing. When the group fly over the edge on their way down the river at the start, there is slow motion used there. Although we know the drop is the same, and the action is the same, whether in slow motion or not, it gives the impression that the raft is in the air for longer, even though it isn’t. This makes the action seem more spectacular and awe inspiring than if it was just cut regularly without this added effect.
Narrative
The oriental lady has been alienated by the use of clothing. In the scene with the raft, she can be seen to be wearing a different coloured outfit to the others in the raft. She is also alienated through the use of body language; the other two in the raft are having a great time, screaming and having fun, where as it seems that the oriental lady is taking things very seriously.
Using and maintaining tension is a very useful technique to use, and has to be used well to take have a great effect. Tension is usually created by putting the audience in a vulnerable position. This may be done by making the audience seem alone, where if they get into any trouble; there will be no one around to help them. This effect could either be achieved by using connotations (using a remote location to make the audience seem remote and alone), or using music, which has a lonely, remote feeling to it. an alternative method would be to keep information from the audience, using shadow and/or darkness to obscure or hide objects or parts of object, giving the audience a sense of unknowing and insecurity. These techniques should then be used frequently, so the audience then believes that the next time one of these instances arises, that nothing will happen like all the other times, but it actually does. In the movie, music has been used to create tension as mentioned previously, and there is the use of remote location to make the audience seem remote. This all build up to the climax in the car, when the man and daughter die.
Representation and Ideology
There aren’t many social groups in the opening, as it seems that is it set far away from anywhere inhabited. However there are a few social groups; firstly the small group of thrill seeking women who are rafting down the river. They are shown as a fun group of women, who are very close and are all about having fun. There is also the little girl who is spoken to about her up coming birthday party, and if she is going to invite and boys this time. This gives us, as consumers, the impression that she is quite girly and young, as she laughs at the mention of boys.
Media Audiences
I think the movie is generally targeted at 18-30 year olds as this is the age group of the people in the movie. I think this because I believe it would be easier for people of the same age group as those in the movie to relate to their feelings. Also, it is the sort of age group who are into horrors, as they are the people who are likely to be out all week working at (boring) jobs and want a bit of excitement and thrill to bring their lives alive.
There is the possibility of intended reading being that it is a horror movie, it’s meant to be really scary, I know nothing like this is very likely to happen in real life, but it is a movie and it’s meant to excite me and it serves its purpose. There is also the oppositional reading of nothing like this would ever happen in these circumstances, it is so improbable that someone would take their eyes off the road for that long knowing there is a child in the back of the car; or a white water rafter in real life may see the stance and attitude of the women in the raft while going down the rapids, and having a knowledge of the sport, may point out things which they are doing, and reject the idea. And then there is negotiated reading, where by the audience may accept some aspects of the movie and reject others. For example, they may disagree with the way the women are doing their white water rafting, but may accept other features of the movie, like the man taking his eyes of the road for a long time, he ay do this because he isn’t really concentrating and has things on his mind, like the lady suggests. I believe the probable audience reading will be mainly as intended, to be a horror movie which people view for thrills and excitement, instead of to gain actual representations of information or experiences.
I am not a great fan of horror movies, stop me sleeping and what not, I generally have to watch them in day light with curtains open, which kind of spoils the atmosphere. However I found this more bearable as it isn’t full or gore, blood and savage deaths etc. like some other horror movies (namely the Saw series). I found the sequence in the car quite alarming when the man has blatant disregard for safety and takes his eyes off the road for such a long time. Therefore my reading is negotiated, as I agree with some of the features and disagree with others. I think this may be because of my young age and not having experience in a car, I am probably not the best to comment on ones driving, however it just seemed odd to me that he would have his partner (supposedly) and a young girl in the back seat, and have such disregard for safety.
Institutional context
They seem to not have used any stars as far as I can see. I am not a great “movie buff” however I am interested in entertainment news and other related things and haven’t heard anything major about these actors and actresses. I did searches on the actors and actresses and didn’t find them to feature major parts in and major films. This may have been done because of trying to keep costs low, which I think is most likely, as the budget was (only) £3.5M.
Pinewood Studios produced the film, and are very acclaimed producers; producing great movie block busters such as “Casino Royale” and “The Dark Knight”.
I would expect it to be more likely an independent film than an industrial due to the low budget, and being English, therefore unlikely to have ties with Hollywood and other major film producers.
There were posters and advertisements on London buses and trains, including the underground. These advertisements were in circulation around the times of the London bombings in 2005, and feature the slogan “Outright terror... bold and brilliant”. After discussions, it was decided that all the posters and advertisement should be recalled and reworked to remove the word terror. This may be a reason why it didn’t receive the publicity and acclamation that it may deserve.
Action mood board
Action movies are a film genre where action sequences, such as fights, shootouts, stunts, car chases or explosions either take precedence or, in finer examples of the genre, are used as a form of exposition and character development. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. The genre is closely linked with the thriller and adventure film genres.
Thursday 9 October 2008
Hai there, I'm Joe Jackson
I am the director in the group. As director it is my duty to visualize the script and to control the artistic and dramatic aspects. I help guide the technical team and the actors. As director it is important to oversee every creative aspect of a film. I co-ordinate every move the actors make and camera shots to perfect our piece.
I am the director in the group. As director it is my duty to visualize the script and to control the artistic and dramatic aspects. I help guide the technical team and the actors. As director it is important to oversee every creative aspect of a film. I co-ordinate every move the actors make and camera shots to perfect our piece.
Friday 3 October 2008
Horror Mood Board (CHOSEN GENRE)
Horror films are films that strive to inflict fear, horror and terror reactions from viewers. In horror film plots, evil forces, events, or characters, sometimes of a supernaural origin, intrude into the everyday world. Horror movies usually include a central villain.
Thursday 2 October 2008
Teen Comedy mood board
A comedy is a genre of film that relies on the emphasision of humour, the teen part is the target audience which in this case is teens. This mood board gives examples of teen comedies that have been created in the past.
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