JR 6245: Initial Ideas on: Location, treatment, props, sound and characters

Location:

• Woodland Areas
• Abandoned Areas
• Rural Areas
• Nursery

Props:

• To-do-list
• Red pen
• Dolls
• Knife

Characters:

• Various victims
• Murdering antagonist
• Deceased victims

Sound:

• Scared screams of victims
• Evil laugh from killer
• Stabbing noises
• Panting
• Panicky dialogue

Treatment:


Opening shows what the audience presumes is a derranged killer, they never get to see his face. The killer is seen going through a list ticking off names, but the motives behind his behaviour is not known. It connotes that he has killed the people due to the screams and music, as well as the mise en scene. Various cuts vary from the acts being done and his list. As the final task is carried out, the name is not ticked off. The scene cuts to the victim with parallel editing which implies this is the person who is being targeted.

3 main lines of action will hopefully be used, one for the shots positioned with the antagonist ticking the list and wealding other things, one for the location of slaughter house where flashbacks of previous murders occur and another line of action to show the final person on the list being hunted and chased by the murderer. The cutting rate of these lines of action will give these main scenes longer establishing time and other short shots of other things such as shots of weapons or blood will be cut quickly and sharply to give a razer like effect, possibly with high pitched, sharp music sounds over the top. Also as the scenes inter cut at a faster rate the music has to compliment this by speeding up at a louder and faster tempo.

JR 6245: Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task, 27 Jan 2012.

JR 6245: Lesson Review 23rd January

In todays lesson we used the camera and some equipment for the first time. After setting up the tripod a couple of times it became easy to understand for future use. We used the camera by capturing some basic shots which seemed harder than expected however the tripod is a very useful tool.

JR 6245: Film Opening Analysis 3

Saw 1 (Wan, 2004)

Genre:

• The tension begins in this with the silence and with the introduction of small, quiet diagetic sounds the audience can detect an echo which involves generic conventions of the Horror genre.
• Again the panicy tone of the initial character is understood by the audience as there is a great sense of tension in the room, it is dark, it is echoed, there are other eary sounds in the distance then there are questions that are unanswered: Why is he chained up? Why is he there? Who is holding him captive?

Film Language:

• As the lights come on the man squints and looks in shock from the light which shows the audience just how dark it was before and to reinforce this point the camera shows a POV shot in the position of the character and the screen appears blurred and dissorientated.
• The mise-en-scene of the set also has generic conventions as it is a tiled room with very basic features and it's facilities look very dirty and disgusting, it resembles a slaughter house which is quite ironic and perfect for its purpose.
• When the camera tilts down and raises up over the body in the middle to give a full shot of the dead body the camera quickly rasises up higher and spins at the same time which connotes the characters trying to comprehend what is happening in this situation.
• The camera shots then consecutively cut to quick still shots of the important features which the audience are supposed to note; the blooded head, the cassette recorder in his hand, the gun in his other hand.

JR 6245:Film Opening Analysis 2

Friday 13th (Nispel, 2009)

Narrative:

• The generic conventions of the film are shown in the opening clip by the use of darkness, night time. And also the classic Horror film effect of using bad weather, heavy rain with thunder and lightening to create tension and to scare the audience.
• The introduction of the first character shows the audience streight away that there is something wrong, for starters the question looms: Why is there a half naked girl scrammbling around in the woods at this time and in this weather? And the panic in her half screaming voice reinforces the sense of tension to the audience.

Representation and Ideology:

• As the camera goes through the archway slowly, the camera tilts upwards from a worms eye view to show the sign above the arch.
• The introduction of a second character creates a small binary oposition as the two converse, one is a panicy young girl who appears traumatised whereas the other is an old lady who looks fairly odd, a stereotypical 'crazy murderer' in a Horror film.
• The fact that the girl is positioned in front of a what appears to be a lake, or some kind of fresh water source, complimented by the dialogue of the old woman "You let him drown" can create unease in the audience as they can interperet the water as being dangerous.
• The camera is positioned very low on the ground after the shot of the old woman being sliced across the neck area, and as the shot cuts to the low ground image it views her head hit and land in a puddle, this continuity editing.

JR 6245: Film Opening Analysis 1

I Am Legend (Lawrence, 2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFSp0GYuCxI

Media Audiences:

• The film is a Thriller Horror (Mainly thriller but has a sense of Horror from the scary creatures)
• The establishing shots immediatley reinforce the audiences generic expectations due to the still shots showing how the city, once great and alive, has now become a wasteland.
• The soft, sad piano music in the background of the begginign still shots conveys to the audience that although something monsterous has occurred, it is also tragically sad and devistating. Also this non-diagetic music is played with diagetic sounds of wind and birds which emphasises the fact that there is no, or appears to be no, human life.

Institutional Context:

• The sound plays a huge part in this sequence as it dramtically shows the implication of having no life on earth to the audience. The fact that the sound of the birds can be heard is unusual as in the city, normally it would be to loud and busy to even notice a bird. This is a good effect to notify the audience subcontiously.
• A shot from a birds-eye view see the single car of Will Smith, the protagonist, driving through the empty streets of the city, reinforcing the idea that he is alone. The first shot of him is positioned in his car, the camera is tilted down facing his gun and as he lifts it up to put on his lap and hold closer, the camera pans across to follow his movement then shows him in the shot. This is a very good effect as it connotes a sense of danger in him having to carry a weapon with him and a sense of unease is created as he holds it close to him.
• As he drives round the corner of a street the camera is positoned as to watch the car turn to the right and drive off, as it does so the camera pans to right to follow the car then moves up slightly, possibly on a crane, to the height and direction, and zooming or closing in on the half warn away posters. The posters read 'God Still Loves Us' which is a good effect as it shows without saying or explaing the fact that the inhabitants of this place had done something wrong, they needed to rely on God's love, possibly a last hope as they knew it was the end.

JR 6245: What Generic Conventions are in the Clip?

Se7en (Fincher 1995)


Jump cuts are used in this in particular places such as when the person is highlighting out the eyes of the person in the picture it jumps to the picture then being completely highlighted out. This shows the possibility to the audience that this person in the picture is going to be or has been killed, possibly by this obscured person that is highlighting the picture.

The sound used over the top of this is a drum beat but with some high pitched scraping noises in particular places to coinside with actions taking place in the scene. Such as with this highlighting of the eyes a high pitched scraping noise is heard as if to represnt pain and unease, something more edgey about the situation.