Alfred Hitchcock was an English director, he lived between 1899-1980. Most of his films were thrillers, the reason they were so successful was because he captured the suspense and thrill of the movie. He was good at, making films in the psychological genre. Some of his famous movies are Psycho, Strangers on a train, Vertigo and The Birds.
Psycho has a famous soundtrack at the beginning of the trailer it also is famous for the shower scene in which the 'Psycho' kills the woman. I think that the soundtrack is quite effective because it is a high pitched sound like a scream repeated, this gives a sense of suspense, which Alfred Hitchcock was known for. In this trailer he describes almost the entire plot but doesn't give away how tense it is, the soundtrack is quite the opposite of the film genre. His trademark for his films are the shadows that we see just before something happens. This is included on the trailer with his shadows before he opens the shower curtain.
The most famous scene of one of his films is the shower scene in Psycho. In this scene we see his trademark of the shadow creeping up to the shower. Most of the shots here are extreme close ups, but before and after the murder they are medium shots. When the mysterious shadow opens the shower curtain we see only the silhouette, this is created by the light coming from behind the shadow to block out the appearances.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
DVD Cover Analysis
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Thriller Research
Thrillers use suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements in the genre. There are many different types of sub-genres of thrillers such as, mystery, crime and psychological thrillers, later on political thrillers and paranoid thrillers became more popular.
Some examples of mystery thrillers are Vertigo, Memento and The Big Sleep.
Vertigo is about a retired San Francisco police detective, 'Scottie' who suffers from acrophobia is asked by an old friend to follow his wife. His friend fears that she is going insane and believes that she may be possessed by a dead ancestor. During this investigation he becomes greatly obsessed with her.
Memento is about an ex-insurance investigator man who is suffering from short term memory loss, and the last thing he remembers is the murder of his wife. unable to build new memories he hunts for the man that killed his wife. He does this by using notes and tattoos.
The Big Sleep is about a private detective who is hired by a rich family and he is asked to deal with several problems that the family have. during the investigation he finds that all the problems centre around the dissapearance of a favoured employee who left with a mobsters wife. As he continues to investigate he finds that most of the problems are a cover for something else.
Some examples of crime thrillers are The Silence of the Lambs, Goodfelllas and Seven.
The Silence of the Lambs is about a young FBI agent who is given a case to try and find a missing woman and save her from a psychopathic serial killer. The agent tries to understand the case more, by talking to another psychopath who is powerful and manipulative, and which they believe can help them locate the woman. The agent must first gain the confidence of him before he gives away any information.
Goodfellas is about a man named Henry Hill, who has wanted to become a gangster since he was young. When he grew older he became a small time gangster and began taking part in a robbery with the high time gangsters. Watching his friends successes he becomes jealous, and wants to get to the top of the mob hierarchy.
Seven is about two homicide detectives who are on a case to find a serial killer who justifies his murders around the seven deadly sins. Each murder is connected with one of the seven deadly sins, the first one is gluttony and it continues, to show the worlds ignorance of the seven deadly sins.
One of the most well known psychological thrillers is Strangers on a Train directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film is about a psychotic man named Bruno who meets a stranger on a train, and tells him about how he wants to murder his father. He says he will get caught because he has motive, so he builds up a crazy scheme to exchange murders with the stranger on the train. The stranger on the train does not realise that Bruno is serious about this and takes things into his own hands.
All of these different sub-genres always include the main elements to a thriller, this is also shown in their trailers.
Some examples of mystery thrillers are Vertigo, Memento and The Big Sleep.
Vertigo is about a retired San Francisco police detective, 'Scottie' who suffers from acrophobia is asked by an old friend to follow his wife. His friend fears that she is going insane and believes that she may be possessed by a dead ancestor. During this investigation he becomes greatly obsessed with her.
Memento is about an ex-insurance investigator man who is suffering from short term memory loss, and the last thing he remembers is the murder of his wife. unable to build new memories he hunts for the man that killed his wife. He does this by using notes and tattoos.
The Big Sleep is about a private detective who is hired by a rich family and he is asked to deal with several problems that the family have. during the investigation he finds that all the problems centre around the dissapearance of a favoured employee who left with a mobsters wife. As he continues to investigate he finds that most of the problems are a cover for something else.
Some examples of crime thrillers are The Silence of the Lambs, Goodfelllas and Seven.
The Silence of the Lambs is about a young FBI agent who is given a case to try and find a missing woman and save her from a psychopathic serial killer. The agent tries to understand the case more, by talking to another psychopath who is powerful and manipulative, and which they believe can help them locate the woman. The agent must first gain the confidence of him before he gives away any information.
Goodfellas is about a man named Henry Hill, who has wanted to become a gangster since he was young. When he grew older he became a small time gangster and began taking part in a robbery with the high time gangsters. Watching his friends successes he becomes jealous, and wants to get to the top of the mob hierarchy.
Seven is about two homicide detectives who are on a case to find a serial killer who justifies his murders around the seven deadly sins. Each murder is connected with one of the seven deadly sins, the first one is gluttony and it continues, to show the worlds ignorance of the seven deadly sins.
One of the most well known psychological thrillers is Strangers on a Train directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film is about a psychotic man named Bruno who meets a stranger on a train, and tells him about how he wants to murder his father. He says he will get caught because he has motive, so he builds up a crazy scheme to exchange murders with the stranger on the train. The stranger on the train does not realise that Bruno is serious about this and takes things into his own hands.
All of these different sub-genres always include the main elements to a thriller, this is also shown in their trailers.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
'Man on the Run'
For this task we worked in groups to come up with a whole scenario of the genre 'man on the run' spoof. We had to come up with the setting for our movie and the plot. We used two movies for inspiration 'The fugitive' and 'The Bourne Trilogy' we tried to re-create main parts from each of them.
The Plot:
The first scene is a prison bus travelling down a long stretch of road at night, then the bus crashes because of a deer in the road. Our main character is one of the prisoners, he manages to escape from prison and is now on the run. In the next scene we see he man now in normal clothes, he is wearing a disguise, a fake moustache, which is clearly seen as it is hanging of a little. He is walking down a street on the phone to one of his friends, explaining to him how he was wrongly convicted of the crime, this is where the audience find out he is not a real criminal. As he is walking down the street a sniper has targeted him and is aiming to shoot at him, although he does not know. He then realises that his shoe is untied and he bends down to tie it, as he bends down the sniper take a shot and misses. He is still totally oblivious to the fact that someone is trying to kill him. He stands up and continues walking along the street, the sniper then takes multiple shots at him and fails again. Now he is aware that someone is trying to kill him, he begins to run for his life. The sniper then begins to chase him through a crowded place and whilst they are running they mess up the whole place and he trips up a number of times creating humour. Towards the end he stumbles into a circus and finds a clown outfit, he puts it on to blend in with the others, and the sniper then looses him, for the time being.
We tried to incorporate some main parts of 'the fugitive' and 'The Bourne Trilogy' so that it would make it more obvious to the audience that it is a spoof. The beginning with the prison bus and crash was from The Fugitive. The part with the sniper we tried to match with The Bourne Trilogy as in that film there are a lot of snipers and he himself is a trained to use one.
The Plot:
The first scene is a prison bus travelling down a long stretch of road at night, then the bus crashes because of a deer in the road. Our main character is one of the prisoners, he manages to escape from prison and is now on the run. In the next scene we see he man now in normal clothes, he is wearing a disguise, a fake moustache, which is clearly seen as it is hanging of a little. He is walking down a street on the phone to one of his friends, explaining to him how he was wrongly convicted of the crime, this is where the audience find out he is not a real criminal. As he is walking down the street a sniper has targeted him and is aiming to shoot at him, although he does not know. He then realises that his shoe is untied and he bends down to tie it, as he bends down the sniper take a shot and misses. He is still totally oblivious to the fact that someone is trying to kill him. He stands up and continues walking along the street, the sniper then takes multiple shots at him and fails again. Now he is aware that someone is trying to kill him, he begins to run for his life. The sniper then begins to chase him through a crowded place and whilst they are running they mess up the whole place and he trips up a number of times creating humour. Towards the end he stumbles into a circus and finds a clown outfit, he puts it on to blend in with the others, and the sniper then looses him, for the time being.
We tried to incorporate some main parts of 'the fugitive' and 'The Bourne Trilogy' so that it would make it more obvious to the audience that it is a spoof. The beginning with the prison bus and crash was from The Fugitive. The part with the sniper we tried to match with The Bourne Trilogy as in that film there are a lot of snipers and he himself is a trained to use one.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
'The Birds' Analysing Continuity
What principles of continuity are used here? How successfully?
The continuity in this scene is used very well and is extremely successfully.
The first bit of continuity is when she opens the front door. We see her on the outside of the door, and then when she is about to walk in, the camera has changed the angle and we see her from inside the house. Another good bit of continuity that I saw was when she was about to walk into the corridor. The camera follows behind her, up until she is at the entrance of the corridor, then the camera changes to a long shot of the corridor and we see her walk down to the last room. Continuity is also used when she walks into the room, and when she walks out. When she comes out of the room the camera angle changes back to the long shot. This is so we can see her expression when she runs out after what she saw. These are all successfully edited pieces of continuity within the scene.
What is the effect on the editing on the viewer? What are we meant to feel a different stages?
When she knocks on the door and nobody answers the viewer feels anxious to what will happen next. When the she opens the door the viewer may feel surprised and suspicious to why the door was open. Also another sequence that makes the atmosphere ambiguous for the viewer is when she sees the broken glasses. Here we see her reaction quite closely, when it zooms into her reaction this creates an intense and dramatic feeling. This is because when it zooms in it is quite quick and makes the viewer also think what might happen next. In the corridor we see her walk in quite cautiously, this is a good piece of editing to create suspense. As it is a long shot we can see all the way down if anything does happen also we can see her reaction and movements. When she is in the room and slowly sees what has happened they show her reaction to all of the things she looks at it. Here the viewer is meant to feel suspense, nervous and maybe anxiety when they see the dead man with no eyes. I think that the most effective shot is when she is running down the corridor out of the house, because we can see her running aimlessly whilst dropping some of her belongings. I think that this shows her reaction the best.
What is the best bit for you in this sequence in terms of learning new techniques?
The best bit for me in this sequence is when she is running out of the room/house. This is because good continuity is displayed when she walks out the room, and then the long shot of her reaction because as the viewer you see how she feels and that effects how you would feel as well. Also the long shot lets you see her whole body, whereas most of the reactions before were just of her face.
The continuity in this scene is used very well and is extremely successfully.
The first bit of continuity is when she opens the front door. We see her on the outside of the door, and then when she is about to walk in, the camera has changed the angle and we see her from inside the house. Another good bit of continuity that I saw was when she was about to walk into the corridor. The camera follows behind her, up until she is at the entrance of the corridor, then the camera changes to a long shot of the corridor and we see her walk down to the last room. Continuity is also used when she walks into the room, and when she walks out. When she comes out of the room the camera angle changes back to the long shot. This is so we can see her expression when she runs out after what she saw. These are all successfully edited pieces of continuity within the scene.
What is the effect on the editing on the viewer? What are we meant to feel a different stages?
When she knocks on the door and nobody answers the viewer feels anxious to what will happen next. When the she opens the door the viewer may feel surprised and suspicious to why the door was open. Also another sequence that makes the atmosphere ambiguous for the viewer is when she sees the broken glasses. Here we see her reaction quite closely, when it zooms into her reaction this creates an intense and dramatic feeling. This is because when it zooms in it is quite quick and makes the viewer also think what might happen next. In the corridor we see her walk in quite cautiously, this is a good piece of editing to create suspense. As it is a long shot we can see all the way down if anything does happen also we can see her reaction and movements. When she is in the room and slowly sees what has happened they show her reaction to all of the things she looks at it. Here the viewer is meant to feel suspense, nervous and maybe anxiety when they see the dead man with no eyes. I think that the most effective shot is when she is running down the corridor out of the house, because we can see her running aimlessly whilst dropping some of her belongings. I think that this shows her reaction the best.
What is the best bit for you in this sequence in terms of learning new techniques?
The best bit for me in this sequence is when she is running out of the room/house. This is because good continuity is displayed when she walks out the room, and then the long shot of her reaction because as the viewer you see how she feels and that effects how you would feel as well. Also the long shot lets you see her whole body, whereas most of the reactions before were just of her face.
Door Opening Sequence Self Assessment
What do you think was the point to the activity?
I think the point of the activity was to practice our camera techniques that we have learnt so far that are used in the actual film industry. I think the main point of the task was to create a good flowing movie clip, also known as continuity. The editing part was how we made it flow, we learnt how to use a programme called final cut express. In this programme, in our groups, we edited the movie so that it flowed smoothly from one part to the next. This made it look more professional.
In regard to the finished sequence, what do you think worked well?
I think that overall the finished sequence turned out quite good. All of the different shots we took flowed really well, also the actual videoing of the sequence looked excellent in the finished version. The part of the sequence that worked extremely well was when he was opening the door and it went into a close up of his hand. I think that looked professional, and it was achieved using final cut express.
What would you aim to improve about your sequence? What continuity mistakes can you see?
If I had to improve the sequence, then I would include things such as, a title, soundtrack and maybe opening or closing credits. This would make it look more professional and would hopefully flow with the actual sequence. I would also improve the shooting, some of the clips are a bit short, at the end of each shot we could have waited a bit longer before cutting it. This would help so the audience can get more of a feel of the sequence, and it wouldn't seem rushed. I can't spot any continuity mistakes in the sequence as we had quite basic, straight forward camera shots.
What did you learn from doing this activity?
I learnt how to use the new programme, final cut express, I didn't enjoy using this programme very much. I learnt how to trim and overlap certain shots, although I wasn't successful every time. I also learnt how to take different shots like, close up's, long shots and side shots.
I think the point of the activity was to practice our camera techniques that we have learnt so far that are used in the actual film industry. I think the main point of the task was to create a good flowing movie clip, also known as continuity. The editing part was how we made it flow, we learnt how to use a programme called final cut express. In this programme, in our groups, we edited the movie so that it flowed smoothly from one part to the next. This made it look more professional.
In regard to the finished sequence, what do you think worked well?
I think that overall the finished sequence turned out quite good. All of the different shots we took flowed really well, also the actual videoing of the sequence looked excellent in the finished version. The part of the sequence that worked extremely well was when he was opening the door and it went into a close up of his hand. I think that looked professional, and it was achieved using final cut express.
What would you aim to improve about your sequence? What continuity mistakes can you see?
If I had to improve the sequence, then I would include things such as, a title, soundtrack and maybe opening or closing credits. This would make it look more professional and would hopefully flow with the actual sequence. I would also improve the shooting, some of the clips are a bit short, at the end of each shot we could have waited a bit longer before cutting it. This would help so the audience can get more of a feel of the sequence, and it wouldn't seem rushed. I can't spot any continuity mistakes in the sequence as we had quite basic, straight forward camera shots.
What did you learn from doing this activity?
I learnt how to use the new programme, final cut express, I didn't enjoy using this programme very much. I learnt how to trim and overlap certain shots, although I wasn't successful every time. I also learnt how to take different shots like, close up's, long shots and side shots.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Analysing 9-frame Opening Sequence
- The first frame tell us who the distributors are for this film, which are capitol films and ascendant pictures. The name is in a spot light and the rest is shadowy, this tells us that this film could be quite a mystery. The background has lines going across, this could suggest that it is paper.
- The second frame is the same, capitol films and ascendant pictures are both distributors for lucky number Slevin. Capitol films are interested in production, post production, library management and foreign sales. Capitol films has handled the worldwide sales and distributed over 100 films, most of which they have financed or co-financed. Ascendant pictures are an independent film development, production, finance and foreign distribution company. They have helped many films over the years especially since 2003. They formed the group Rising Star to work closely with VIP Medienfonds Film and Entertainment in the production and distribution of motion pictures.
- The next frame shows one of the main characters name in the film. In the background is the opening to the film, during the credits they have a scene going on. Through the whole opening sequence there is a scene going on in the background. There is only music and no dialogue. In this frame we a man in a car park walking, we have no idea what is going on.
- In the fourth frame we see a close up of what he is holding which appears to be a small briefcase. This indicates to the audience that there is something valuable inside it. By the side of it there is a name of one of the other actors, this introduces possibly another main character in the film.
- The fifth frame continues the scene and now shows that the man is dead next to his car. This is a medium close up of it to show the unknown person in the shot who is taking the briefcase which belonged to the man. Then by the side of the dead man we can see another actors name which could be a main character. It stands out as it is in white.
- In the sixth frame it introduces the main title, the films name. Lucky Number Slevin. The name of the film is on some sort of paper. We can tell this because of the ruled lines and the numbers in the different columns. This could suggest to the audience that this has something to do with the film.
- The seventh frame shows us what looks to be another piece of paper with the director of photography's name by the side, and again numbers in the separate columns. This time the difference is that it is not the same paper and it has blood on it. The audience is now getting more clues about what the film could be about.
- The eighth frame it set in a totally different place, it shows a close up of a man who looks to be very tired. It looks as it he is sitting in an empty place by himself, on the left side it tells us who has written the film. We become curious about who this man is and if he is one of the main characters.
- Finally the ninth frame is the most unique of all. This is because there is no scene in the background, or a picture like the paper. It is just a blank black background telling the viewer who the director for this film is. This indicates that the film is about to start and the opening credits have finished as it usually ends with the director.
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