This is our preliminary task in which we have attempted to convey thriller stereotypes. Throughout the task, we encountered many filming/uploading failures. We had technology difficulties and ended filming four separate times and this meant we were rushed for editing of the task. To incorporate the conventions of the thriller genre, we used a variety of camera angles to represent power between the two characters. We created enigma by using this technique as the audience are unsure of which Propp's character types are represented by each character as the narrative unfolds. This alone intrigues the audience and creates a feeling of suspense and mystery, this is paired with the use of the non-diegetic sound to put emphasis on the tension represented in the clip.
Monday, 17 November 2014
Preliminary Task
This is our preliminary task in which we have attempted to convey thriller stereotypes. Throughout the task, we encountered many filming/uploading failures. We had technology difficulties and ended filming four separate times and this meant we were rushed for editing of the task. To incorporate the conventions of the thriller genre, we used a variety of camera angles to represent power between the two characters. We created enigma by using this technique as the audience are unsure of which Propp's character types are represented by each character as the narrative unfolds. This alone intrigues the audience and creates a feeling of suspense and mystery, this is paired with the use of the non-diegetic sound to put emphasis on the tension represented in the clip.
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Thriller Plan: Theo, Russell, Jake
Narrative/Plot
The thriller opening sequence follows a rave taking place in outside with a large group of teenagers with one main girl, strobe lights and music but a strange abnormal man is seen in the background wearing all black and a hood. The interweaving narrative cuts to the hooded figure dropping the girl into a car's boot and then driving to the coast where he drags her body along the sand to the sea. It carries on cutting back to the party through certain sounds and the same camera angles. Finally, the girl is thrown into the sea.
The thriller opening sequence follows a rave taking place in outside with a large group of teenagers with one main girl, strobe lights and music but a strange abnormal man is seen in the background wearing all black and a hood. The interweaving narrative cuts to the hooded figure dropping the girl into a car's boot and then driving to the coast where he drags her body along the sand to the sea. It carries on cutting back to the party through certain sounds and the same camera angles. Finally, the girl is thrown into the sea.
Camera angle examples
Long shots of the beach scene where the tracks are followed and time is skipped.
Close up of girl's face cutting between the party and her dead body being dragged.
Over the shoulder shot of the man dragging the girl.
Two shot of villian and victim at the party.
Canted angle of dragging along sand.
P.O.V of dragging and car but but also partying.
Birds eye view which rotates into other situation.
Costumes
The man is seen wearing all black clothes as this colour has connotations of evil, mystery and death.
The woman is seen wearing colourful party clothes which are mainly red.
Dress is covered in mud and blood because of the struggle which the audience do not see.
Props
- A car and the use of its boot.
- Strobe lighting.
- Alcohol and food for the party.
Setting
The party is to be filmed outside in a garden.
We shall specify the beach nearer the time but it will probably be Cromer.
Party scenes will be shot at night.
Sound
Non-digetic sound includes a tense whining sound of strings such as the Batman Dark Knight opening sequence.
There will be no digetic sound as it will look much cleaner and add tension with no dialogic either because this is stereotypical of thrillers.
Actors
- One large, scary man.
- The victim who is a teenage girl.
- 8 party extras who are teenagers.
We will mostly be using the GoPro to film as P.O.V shots will look very clean and it is very easy to move around and allows us not to borrow a school camera. Also, we can use it in the sea to get good angles and it can be put on a pole to get obscure angles.
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
Skyfall Opening Scene Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4gdhsVKTcs
In this opening sequence we see a lot of gender representation, most notably in the first few seconds we see Bond fall into the water being pulled down into the darkness by a woman's hand, in this shot we see that the hand is much bigger than him. This is a representation that classically in the bond films although the men have the power they are easily controlled by women and their desires. It suggests that women are the corruption of men, this is shown by him being taken into darkness. Although you could argue that since he is drowning the female hand is actually his saviour from death.
Dark and gloomy colours used in this shot are giving a sense that it in the past or a nightmare. The use of a dark blue connotates sadness and upset. The use of knives coming down from the sky shows the masculinity of the trilogy with each knife representing a past James Bond character which we then the shot pan over and zoom in where CGI is used to transform the daggers in to gravestones. These weapons are also naturally symbolic of betrayal deceit.
Later in the title sequence we see Bond in an abandoned warehouse shooting down his own shadow, this is symbolic of his mental state throughout the film, fragmented and unsure of what it true. This on the other hands could be interpreted as him shooting his former self, something which he has to do in the film in order to become stronger and be 'reborn' as a better secret agent.
The use of colour changes towards the end of the credits, this is going with the idea of tension mounting in the storyline. The colour goes from a dark blue to a red symbolising danger, aggression as well as passion. These are all things that fans and typical viewers would expect from a James Bond film.
In this opening sequence we see a lot of gender representation, most notably in the first few seconds we see Bond fall into the water being pulled down into the darkness by a woman's hand, in this shot we see that the hand is much bigger than him. This is a representation that classically in the bond films although the men have the power they are easily controlled by women and their desires. It suggests that women are the corruption of men, this is shown by him being taken into darkness. Although you could argue that since he is drowning the female hand is actually his saviour from death.
In this shot we see cardboard cut-outs of Daniel Craig in the style of a target, the target has a wound on his right shoulder which is significant to the film as it is the symbol of his struggle for ideal health and is represented through a new start for Bond. It is interesting that they show him as a target since this is how the villain considerer the character. The target comes towards the viewers making the sequence more interesting, it keeps their minds active as to what is going on as throughout the opening credits each mini scene is foreshadowing future events in the movie. The shot zooms in to the wound on the target, this is like we are seeing inside the hero's story. In the sequence the protagonist (James Bond) is dressed formally in a full suit and tie suggesting that this character has the capacity to make important decisions. In this case the fact that he is wearing a black suit (tuxedo) is typical for the hero (meaning Bond) to wear as he does in most films, it is the stereotypical looks for his character, the black for the protagonist is bold and dominant showing death to his enemies as well as confidence in his decisions.
Dark and gloomy colours used in this shot are giving a sense that it in the past or a nightmare. The use of a dark blue connotates sadness and upset. The use of knives coming down from the sky shows the masculinity of the trilogy with each knife representing a past James Bond character which we then the shot pan over and zoom in where CGI is used to transform the daggers in to gravestones. These weapons are also naturally symbolic of betrayal deceit.
The backing track to the scene is non-diegetic characters in the film wouldn't hear it, it is purely for audience reaction. The sound is the Skyfall theme song made especially for the film, the track acts as a narrator to what is going on the the film. This music gets much more intense as the credits come to an end awaking the audience for the rest of the film, it makes them want to see more of the film as it is immediately left on a cliffhanger. Additionally the increase in volume and intensity of the soundtrack suggests a disturbance in equilibrium since both the opening credits and music is representative
in foreshadowing the events in the film. Visually this is through featuring locations of the film in the opening sequence for example the Chinese dragon foreshadowing his journey to China as well as a scene of a mansion with two deer's outside, this is foreshadowing the finale in the mansion where he was born 'Skyfall'.On the initially seeing this it would not become clear to viewers that these are the locations they visit however it then makes it seem recognisable later on in the film.
Later in the title sequence we see Bond in an abandoned warehouse shooting down his own shadow, this is symbolic of his mental state throughout the film, fragmented and unsure of what it true. This on the other hands could be interpreted as him shooting his former self, something which he has to do in the film in order to become stronger and be 'reborn' as a better secret agent.
The use of props is significant also to this film, one example being, the pistol with a silencer is a representation of Bond himself, these weapons add to the masculine theme of the feature.
The use of colour changes towards the end of the credits, this is going with the idea of tension mounting in the storyline. The colour goes from a dark blue to a red symbolising danger, aggression as well as passion. These are all things that fans and typical viewers would expect from a James Bond film.
The fact that all these scenes are dark and blurred goes back to the idea of them being passed demons that have come back which Bond needs to deal with.
Monday, 3 November 2014
Godzilla (2014) Opening Credits Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBQJjqnG1iI
In this thriller-opening scene for Godzilla it is unusual to conventional thriller credits. It shows what the movie is about however they way it does this is what makes it different. Instead of having actual people from the movie feature in the opening credits or in some cases CGI/ animation to make a scene this film used old styled footage and ancient anatomical drawings. By doing this it gives an ancient nostalgic feel to the film it is like the drawing are from a legend, drawings of what people thought they say thousands of years ago. This relates to the idea of it being Godzilla which has remained asleep underneath Tokyo for years. It also flicks through book titles, one of which is Charles Darwin's Origin of Species which of course those familiar with the film know that it is a mutant creature which would be unexplainable in regards to such as book. It also features news articles about submarines going missing and civil unrest all things which the creature causes. It is unusual that in this thriller the villain is actually a monster rather than a person or organisation, this for propp's character types could be considered unconventional. The hero's in this scene appear to be the military who are fighting to combat the 'villain' and save the city, which arguably could be regarded as the princess as the reward of it is the city being saved (as well as everyone living there).
Most shots used in this feature are standard mid-shots of the drawings however it also uses a birds-eye-view-shot to show the creature emerging from the ocean, this is used to give the viewers perspective of the size of Godzilla. Showing how everything else is insignificant compared to the enormity of the beast. By only showing the tail of the monster it adds mystery as it allows people to speculate as to what the creature actually is. It is also interesting looking at the camera style they have used in the scene all shots containing 'real' video is designed and edited to look as though it is old footage (like original setting of the film). You could say that the footage is similar to 'classified files' as though we as the viewers are seeing secret documentation.
In this thriller-opening scene for Godzilla it is unusual to conventional thriller credits. It shows what the movie is about however they way it does this is what makes it different. Instead of having actual people from the movie feature in the opening credits or in some cases CGI/ animation to make a scene this film used old styled footage and ancient anatomical drawings. By doing this it gives an ancient nostalgic feel to the film it is like the drawing are from a legend, drawings of what people thought they say thousands of years ago. This relates to the idea of it being Godzilla which has remained asleep underneath Tokyo for years. It also flicks through book titles, one of which is Charles Darwin's Origin of Species which of course those familiar with the film know that it is a mutant creature which would be unexplainable in regards to such as book. It also features news articles about submarines going missing and civil unrest all things which the creature causes. It is unusual that in this thriller the villain is actually a monster rather than a person or organisation, this for propp's character types could be considered unconventional. The hero's in this scene appear to be the military who are fighting to combat the 'villain' and save the city, which arguably could be regarded as the princess as the reward of it is the city being saved (as well as everyone living there).
Most shots used in this feature are standard mid-shots of the drawings however it also uses a birds-eye-view-shot to show the creature emerging from the ocean, this is used to give the viewers perspective of the size of Godzilla. Showing how everything else is insignificant compared to the enormity of the beast. By only showing the tail of the monster it adds mystery as it allows people to speculate as to what the creature actually is. It is also interesting looking at the camera style they have used in the scene all shots containing 'real' video is designed and edited to look as though it is old footage (like original setting of the film). You could say that the footage is similar to 'classified files' as though we as the viewers are seeing secret documentation.
This is a long shot used to show all of the weapon (bomb). It is again used to show the entire thing, at first glance it is a nuclear weapon however it features a logo of Godzilla with a red cross around suggesting that it is specifically for defeating the monster. The colour of the bomb symbolises energy, caution, warning and most significantly decay which links in with the idea of it being a nuclear weapon.
The music in the opening credits of Godzilla start off so quiet it is hard to hear any background noise what so ever. Although as you go through the sequence the music intensifies and becomes more dramatic with loud noises and towards the end of the sequence we hear a man sounding a countdown (relating to the bomb) then we see the bomb being deployed, hearing it donate and go into the surroundings it then goes silent (with a slight ringing) and fades to white.
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