This is the questionnaire that Elliot and myself have made to help us with our audience research. The responses we get will help us when it comes to making decisions in a leter stage of our production such as choosing the name of our final piece and deciding on the costumes for the characters that feature in our film.
Wednesday 30 November 2016
Analysis of a student's thriller project opening sequence
Candidate: Daniel Bowers
Date published: Tuesday, 26th January 2016
The project 'Young Killer' was produced by Daniel Bowers and was given an E grade. This film is not an example of what I hope my final piece turns out like since there are many clear errors in the film and the plot of the movie isn't creative at all. The theme of a child killer is very commonly used which gives an indication of the lack of thought put into this film and the title 'Young Killer' leaves absolutely no mystery, it is also clear that there was barely any thought put into this title since it is just exactly what the movie is about put into two words, maybe if the vocabulary was different in the title but still meant the same thing, it would be more effective but the title 'Young Killer' doesn't excite an audience or make them expect anything good to happen throughout the film.
The candidate has created his own design for a production company, this is something I shall be doing in my final piece. However, I hope to create a logo to a higher quality that this since all that has been done to create it is that he has cropped the image of the eyes and put the title 'Insanity Entertainment' running along the bottom of the screen.
The candidate has also created a logo for the movie title which once again lacks any imagination or thought put into it. This time it is just the title 'Young Killer' in a red font over a black background which would've taken around 5 minutes to make at maximum. However, I will be attempting to create my own logo for the title of my final piece but mine will hopefully incorporate a higher level of imagination when it comes to designing it.
The film begins wi
th the 'Young Killer' waking up and looking directly into the camera lens. Usually the killer looking into the camera lens is meant to put the audience on edge and make them feel uneasy but in this case it doesn't have that effect since as the child sits up it is clear that he is attempting not to laugh which takes all edge off this scene. Also there is a major mistake in this shot, in the bottom left corner a female is visible through the bed frame. This shows that this candidate didn't carefully watch his film back to check for any mistakes during the editing stage.
A close up is used on the child tying up his dressing gown which doesn't have any major effect on the film and doesn't really make the audience feel any different. The close up may have been intended to build up a dark atmosphere but unfortunately that hasn't worked.
On many occasions throughout this opening scene the camera is out of focus which makes the film look rather unprofessional and makes it clear that it wasn't a very high quality scene. I also feel as though the background music used is not copyright free since I have heard it on many other videos before.
The child once again looks into the camera lens here but once again it isn't effective since a high angle is used which makes it clear that the child is looking up to face the lens. This makes it seem unrealistic and takes all the edge off the scene once again since it is unimaginable that a child would walk around his house looking up.
In this shot the camera is focused on the background rather than the child which is once again another mistake with the camera focus. Also when the child speaks the sound isn't very clear since a radio/TV is heard in the background as he speaks.
In the final shot of the opening scene, the 'Young Killer' reveals that he has hidden the dead body of a girl in a bin liner. However, the dead girl visible here is actually the same girl who I noticed in the bottom left corner of the opening shot. This is a huge mistake that I will be sure to prevent myself from making when I come to producing my own final piece.
Date published: Tuesday, 26th January 2016
The project 'Young Killer' was produced by Daniel Bowers and was given an E grade. This film is not an example of what I hope my final piece turns out like since there are many clear errors in the film and the plot of the movie isn't creative at all. The theme of a child killer is very commonly used which gives an indication of the lack of thought put into this film and the title 'Young Killer' leaves absolutely no mystery, it is also clear that there was barely any thought put into this title since it is just exactly what the movie is about put into two words, maybe if the vocabulary was different in the title but still meant the same thing, it would be more effective but the title 'Young Killer' doesn't excite an audience or make them expect anything good to happen throughout the film.
The film begins wi
A close up is used on the child tying up his dressing gown which doesn't have any major effect on the film and doesn't really make the audience feel any different. The close up may have been intended to build up a dark atmosphere but unfortunately that hasn't worked.
The child once again looks into the camera lens here but once again it isn't effective since a high angle is used which makes it clear that the child is looking up to face the lens. This makes it seem unrealistic and takes all the edge off the scene once again since it is unimaginable that a child would walk around his house looking up.
In this shot the camera is focused on the background rather than the child which is once again another mistake with the camera focus. Also when the child speaks the sound isn't very clear since a radio/TV is heard in the background as he speaks.In the final shot of the opening scene, the 'Young Killer' reveals that he has hidden the dead body of a girl in a bin liner. However, the dead girl visible here is actually the same girl who I noticed in the bottom left corner of the opening shot. This is a huge mistake that I will be sure to prevent myself from making when I come to producing my own final piece.
Tuesday 29 November 2016
Preliminary Task- Final Edit: The Stuff
The final edit of our short film 'The Stuff' can be found on YouTube via Megan's channel 'MegsMedia':
Preliminary Task- Evaluation
After the film was finished, we uploaded it to Megan's YouTube channel so that it was able to be viewed by anyone and can be easily embedded into our blogs.
Now that the entire production of our preliminary film has been completed, I can reflect on how I felt the production of the film has gone. Altogether, I believe that it was a very successful production to say that we planned, filmed and edited it all in the space of a week. I think that one of the reasons that our group worked well together was because before we were put together we all knew each other which made it easy to communicate between one-another and get all of our ideas across to each other wasn't a problem.
I felt that our planning for the preliminary task went very well because we had many ideas for how the film was going to be which made it easy to produce a mind map with some initial ideas for the film. The storyboard was illustrated by myself and Edward and I feel that it went very well because we were able to finish it in a short space of time and it gave a clear idea of the plot to the film. The one thing that I felt was wrong with the storyboard was that it lacked any writing to tell the viewer what the characters are saying which makes it fairly difficult to interpret the storyboard.
I was extremely happy with how the filming went for the film since we were very efficient with time and manged to get everything we needed filmed in the space of approximately an hour. The only problem with the filming was that mine and Edwards acting was not up to a high standard but thats's not what we were expecting in our preliminary task so it isn't much of a problem. This is noticed in some stages of the film such as near the beginning where for a slight moment it is noticeable that Ed is looking directly into the camera lens and when I pull my gun out of my pocket it is obvious that I am struggling to pull it out.
The stage that I was most unhappy with during the production of the short film was the editing stage. As a group we thought it would be a good idea to split off into pairs, Edward and I were in control of finding music and sound effects that we could use in the film on the internet whereas Hannah and Megan were in charge of editing the movie. Because of this I feel that Edward and I had a much smaller role in the editing stage of the film which wasn't what either of us really wanted since we felt as though we were relying on Megan and Hannah to do the majority of the work.
Now that the entire production of our preliminary film has been completed, I can reflect on how I felt the production of the film has gone. Altogether, I believe that it was a very successful production to say that we planned, filmed and edited it all in the space of a week. I think that one of the reasons that our group worked well together was because before we were put together we all knew each other which made it easy to communicate between one-another and get all of our ideas across to each other wasn't a problem.
I felt that our planning for the preliminary task went very well because we had many ideas for how the film was going to be which made it easy to produce a mind map with some initial ideas for the film. The storyboard was illustrated by myself and Edward and I feel that it went very well because we were able to finish it in a short space of time and it gave a clear idea of the plot to the film. The one thing that I felt was wrong with the storyboard was that it lacked any writing to tell the viewer what the characters are saying which makes it fairly difficult to interpret the storyboard.
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| Mine and Edwards storyboard |
I was extremely happy with how the filming went for the film since we were very efficient with time and manged to get everything we needed filmed in the space of approximately an hour. The only problem with the filming was that mine and Edwards acting was not up to a high standard but thats's not what we were expecting in our preliminary task so it isn't much of a problem. This is noticed in some stages of the film such as near the beginning where for a slight moment it is noticeable that Ed is looking directly into the camera lens and when I pull my gun out of my pocket it is obvious that I am struggling to pull it out.
The stage that I was most unhappy with during the production of the short film was the editing stage. As a group we thought it would be a good idea to split off into pairs, Edward and I were in control of finding music and sound effects that we could use in the film on the internet whereas Hannah and Megan were in charge of editing the movie. Because of this I feel that Edward and I had a much smaller role in the editing stage of the film which wasn't what either of us really wanted since we felt as though we were relying on Megan and Hannah to do the majority of the work.Preliminary Task- Editing
After we had finished recording all of the shots that we needed to produce our short film, we decided to move on to editing the movie and finishing off our preliminary task.
Edward and myself used the website 'FreeSound' to source the background music that we needed for the film. We used 'FreeSound' because it has thousands of different sound clips uploaded by many different people and musicians, it is also free to download all of the sounds on 'FreeSound' and all of the sound clips are copyright free which meant that we were free to use them in our film without breaking any of the copyright laws.
As a group we decided to split into pairs for the post-filming production of our film which meant that Ed and myself were in charge of finding different sounds for the movie whereas Hannah and Megan were in charge of editing the film. If I were to do this again, I wouldn't have had the group split up because I felt that myself and Ed had a lot less input in the final production of the movie as we would have liked to, I will take this into account when it comes to producing my final piece so that I make sure that I have as much input on the editing as I can so that I don't feel as though I am letting someone else do the work for me. This seperation of tasks also meant that I was unable to learn any new things and improve my editing skills which will hinder my progress when it comes to editing my final piece.
For the editing of the movie, we used Adobe Premiere Pro because it has many different features and effects that would be good for our movie and it is also fairly simple to use compared to other editing softwares such as 'Sony Vegas Pro'. Also Megan was familiar with the software which meant that she found it easy when editing the clips.
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| Edward and myself sourcing music of 'FreeSound' |
As a group we decided to split into pairs for the post-filming production of our film which meant that Ed and myself were in charge of finding different sounds for the movie whereas Hannah and Megan were in charge of editing the film. If I were to do this again, I wouldn't have had the group split up because I felt that myself and Ed had a lot less input in the final production of the movie as we would have liked to, I will take this into account when it comes to producing my final piece so that I make sure that I have as much input on the editing as I can so that I don't feel as though I am letting someone else do the work for me. This seperation of tasks also meant that I was unable to learn any new things and improve my editing skills which will hinder my progress when it comes to editing my final piece.
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| Megan editing the movie on Adobe Premiere Pro |
For the editing of the movie, we used Adobe Premiere Pro because it has many different features and effects that would be good for our movie and it is also fairly simple to use compared to other editing softwares such as 'Sony Vegas Pro'. Also Megan was familiar with the software which meant that she found it easy when editing the clips.
Preliminary Task- Filming
On the 4th November, Megan, Edward, Hannah and myself began to film our preliminary film and completed it all within one day since there was only around 2 minutes worth of footage that needed to be captured.
As a group we decided that the best location that we could use for filming would be in our schools 'studio' because the low light in the room would help to create a darker atmosphere and it is less crowded with tables, chairs and computers than the rest of the rooms around the school.
Before we began to film the preliminary film, we decided that Megan should be in charge of filming every shot in the clip since we all agreed that she is the most capable with a camera and Edward and myself weren't able to record the shots since we featured in the majority of the shots.
We attempted to use as many camera angles as possible, such as a POV shot, an over the shoulder shot, and a two shot.
Since we finished all of our filming in one day, we allowed ourselves more time to edit the film and correct any mistakes that were made.
As a group we decided that the best location that we could use for filming would be in our schools 'studio' because the low light in the room would help to create a darker atmosphere and it is less crowded with tables, chairs and computers than the rest of the rooms around the school.
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| Myself checking that the lighting in the room was ok through the camera's perspective |
Before we began to film the preliminary film, we decided that Megan should be in charge of filming every shot in the clip since we all agreed that she is the most capable with a camera and Edward and myself weren't able to record the shots since we featured in the majority of the shots.
We attempted to use as many camera angles as possible, such as a POV shot, an over the shoulder shot, and a two shot.
Since we finished all of our filming in one day, we allowed ourselves more time to edit the film and correct any mistakes that were made.
Preliminary Task- Planning
For our preliminary task, we were assigned into groups of four by our teachers, my group consisted of Edward Barker, Megan Russell, Hannah Jarvis and myself. To begin our preliminary task, we created a mind map to give us a basic idea of what our short clip would be like. On our mind map, we wrote down some basic ideas for different shots, what types of editing we would be using, the props we would need for the clip and the names and costumes that our characters would be wearing.
We went with the first title for a film we thought of, 'The Stuff'. The movie title wasn't very creative but left some mystery in the plot of the film, also we didn't want to spend a lot of time on the title of the film since it wasn't our final piece of work. To summarise the plot for this short film, it is about two people played by Edward and myself who's roles in the clip remain ambiguous and it is never revealed which one of the two is the protagonist and antagonist. I played the role of Tony Zagrafos whereas Edward played 'Mr G'. The plot of the clip was that Tony Zagrafos had been sent to Mr G to collect an ambiguous object (The Stuff), but the plan doesn't succeed and ends with Mr G killing Tony Zagrafos. We also wrote a short script and produced a storyboard to make it easier to make the clip when it comes to recording it. The script and the storyboard are shown below.
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| Our mind map we made to write down some initial ideas for our short clip |
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| Our script for 'The Stuff' |
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| Our storyboard we created for 'The Stuff' |
Monday 28 November 2016
Shutter Island (2010) opening sequence analysis
Shutter Island (2010): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Writer:
Laeta Kalogridis (Screenplay)
Dennis Lehane (Novel)
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Emily Mortimer
Mark Ruffalo
Shutter Island is a thriller set in 1954 about an up and coming US marshal, Teddy Daniels, who is assigned to investigate the dissapearance of a patient from the isolated Shutter Island psychiatric hospital. Teddy Daniels becomes suspicious of the hospital when they deny him access to their medical records which he believes will help him solve the case. All communications from the island are then cut off after a hurricane which leads to more dangerous criminals escaping from their cells as more clues into the case begin to appear. After a while on the island, Teddy begins to question everything in his life and begins to lose his sanity.
.
The movie commences with a dark black background, and the words 'BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS 1954'. This immediately sets the period of time the movie is set in and the location of where the events take place. This gives the audience a better idea of what to expect throughout the course of the movie. The sound of water swashing is heard in the background which gives the impression that the movie begins somewhere at sea.
At 0:12, the scene cuts to a foggy/misty area. The sound of a ships horn is heard which further indicates that the opening setting is located somewhere at sea. The fog adds mystery and leaves the audience in a state of confusion since nothing is visible and you can not see what is coming next, this could be a trend throughout the movie since the theme of mystery and not knowing what is going to happen next is a common theme throughout many of Martin Scorcese's movies.
At 0:19, a ship becomes visible breaking through the fogand the sea becomes more visible. This confirms that the first scene takes place at sea and gives the audience a better idea of what is going on at the beginning of this movie.
At 0:30, a man is shown being sick in his bathroom on the ship. It is clear to the audience that he will be the main character throughout the movie since he is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is an extremely recognisable actor to many people. The man says to himiself in the mirror in a rather distressed manor "pull yourself together Teddy". This reveals that the mans name is Teddy and implies that he is seasick and is attempting to get himself sorted so that he doesn't look a fool to others on the ship. The low lighting in the room adds a dark atmosphere and foreshadows that the storyline to this movie is going to be a rather dark one.
In the next shot Teddy is shown stumbling out of his room, he is dressed in a formal way which gives the impression that he is some sort of detective. He looks extremely unwell which suggests that he dislikes travelling on boats and hates the sea.
At 1:16,a new character is introduced to the movie who greets Teddy with the phrase "you okay boss?". This shows that Teddy is in charge of whatever is happening and that he is a powerful person. Teddy then states that "he can't stomach the water" which confirms that he doesn't like travelling across water and is prone to becoming seasick.
The man then refers to Teddy as a "legend" from what he'd heard in Seattle. Teddy replies with "What the hell you boys been smoking", this shows that Teddy is a modest man who doesn't boast about himself but also has a very good reputation amongst others.
At 2:01, Teddy is asked by the man if he "has a girl" which triggers a flashback to a shot of Teddy and his girlfriend. Teddy reveals that she died min a fire, this makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the protagonist in this movie and makes hima more popular character. In this shot Teddy looks much healthier and younger, this could be showing that since his girlfriend passed away, his health has declined and the stress he's been under has led to him ageing at a much faster rate.
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Writer:
Laeta Kalogridis (Screenplay)
Dennis Lehane (Novel)
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Emily Mortimer
Mark Ruffalo
Shutter Island is a thriller set in 1954 about an up and coming US marshal, Teddy Daniels, who is assigned to investigate the dissapearance of a patient from the isolated Shutter Island psychiatric hospital. Teddy Daniels becomes suspicious of the hospital when they deny him access to their medical records which he believes will help him solve the case. All communications from the island are then cut off after a hurricane which leads to more dangerous criminals escaping from their cells as more clues into the case begin to appear. After a while on the island, Teddy begins to question everything in his life and begins to lose his sanity.
.
The movie commences with a dark black background, and the words 'BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS 1954'. This immediately sets the period of time the movie is set in and the location of where the events take place. This gives the audience a better idea of what to expect throughout the course of the movie. The sound of water swashing is heard in the background which gives the impression that the movie begins somewhere at sea.
At 0:12, the scene cuts to a foggy/misty area. The sound of a ships horn is heard which further indicates that the opening setting is located somewhere at sea. The fog adds mystery and leaves the audience in a state of confusion since nothing is visible and you can not see what is coming next, this could be a trend throughout the movie since the theme of mystery and not knowing what is going to happen next is a common theme throughout many of Martin Scorcese's movies.
At 0:19, a ship becomes visible breaking through the fogand the sea becomes more visible. This confirms that the first scene takes place at sea and gives the audience a better idea of what is going on at the beginning of this movie.
At 0:30, a man is shown being sick in his bathroom on the ship. It is clear to the audience that he will be the main character throughout the movie since he is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is an extremely recognisable actor to many people. The man says to himiself in the mirror in a rather distressed manor "pull yourself together Teddy". This reveals that the mans name is Teddy and implies that he is seasick and is attempting to get himself sorted so that he doesn't look a fool to others on the ship. The low lighting in the room adds a dark atmosphere and foreshadows that the storyline to this movie is going to be a rather dark one.
In the next shot Teddy is shown stumbling out of his room, he is dressed in a formal way which gives the impression that he is some sort of detective. He looks extremely unwell which suggests that he dislikes travelling on boats and hates the sea.
At 1:16,a new character is introduced to the movie who greets Teddy with the phrase "you okay boss?". This shows that Teddy is in charge of whatever is happening and that he is a powerful person. Teddy then states that "he can't stomach the water" which confirms that he doesn't like travelling across water and is prone to becoming seasick.
The man then refers to Teddy as a "legend" from what he'd heard in Seattle. Teddy replies with "What the hell you boys been smoking", this shows that Teddy is a modest man who doesn't boast about himself but also has a very good reputation amongst others.
Friday 25 November 2016
I, Robot (2004) Opening Sequence analysis
I, Robot (2004): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/?ref_=nv_sr_2
Director:
Alex Proyas
Writer:
Jeff Vintar(Screenplay)
Akiva Goldsman (Screenplay)
Jeff Vintar (Screenstory)
Isaac Asimov (Suggested by book)
Cast:
Will Smith
Bridget Moynahan
Alex Tudyk
James Cromwell
I, Robot is set in the year 2035 where humans have become heavily reliant on robots. Homicide detective Del Spooner is in charge of an investigation of the apparent suicide of robotics professor Alfred Lenning. Spooner's investigation leads to him uncovering that robots are a great threat to humanity.
The movie begins in an unkown dark location as the opening credits start to appear, The ambient noise of bubbling gives the viewer the impression that the location is somewhere underwater but there is no clear indication of whether that is true or not.
At 0:23, a red light starts to glow at the bottom of the screen as the movie title appears in the centre of the screen.The title is in a smooth, metallic font that fits in with the theme of the movie, robots and the red light glowing on it gives the audience the feeling that someone bad is going to happen since the colour red symbolises danger.
At 0:38, 'Law 1' appears on the screen which states that 'A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human a human being come to harm' . This shows that the robots are seen as members of society since they have their own set of laws and that they have full inteligence. The writing then dissolves into bubbles which furthermore adds to the idea that the opening scene is set underwater.
As the writing dissapears, there is a quick cut to a girl trapped in a car underwater which reveals that the location of the opening scene is underwater.
At 0:58, the scene reverts back to the woman stuck underwater in the car, in this shot, what seems to be a pair of robot legs are shown jumping over the car. A male is now shown also stuck in a car underwater adjacent to the car where the female is. The third law then appears which says that 'a robot must protect its own existence as long as it does not conflict with the first or second law'. This shows that the robots still must defend themselves as long as they don't bring any harm to a human.
At 1:14, a robot smashes through the car window and pulls the human out, this shows that the robots are used to protect humans and save them when in desperate circumstances. The opening sequence then comes to a close and never gives confirmation of what happens to the male and female in the end which leaves the audience confused and eager to see what happens to the two.
Director:
Alex Proyas
Writer:
Jeff Vintar(Screenplay)
Akiva Goldsman (Screenplay)
Jeff Vintar (Screenstory)
Isaac Asimov (Suggested by book)
Cast:
Will Smith
Bridget Moynahan
Alex Tudyk
James Cromwell
I, Robot is set in the year 2035 where humans have become heavily reliant on robots. Homicide detective Del Spooner is in charge of an investigation of the apparent suicide of robotics professor Alfred Lenning. Spooner's investigation leads to him uncovering that robots are a great threat to humanity.
The movie begins in an unkown dark location as the opening credits start to appear, The ambient noise of bubbling gives the viewer the impression that the location is somewhere underwater but there is no clear indication of whether that is true or not.
The strangely shaped objects flying past alongside the dark background and echoed bubbling give the audience a feeling of uncertainty and confusion and make them wonder whereabouts the opening scene takes place.
At 0:23, a red light starts to glow at the bottom of the screen as the movie title appears in the centre of the screen.The title is in a smooth, metallic font that fits in with the theme of the movie, robots and the red light glowing on it gives the audience the feeling that someone bad is going to happen since the colour red symbolises danger.
At 0:38, 'Law 1' appears on the screen which states that 'A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human a human being come to harm' . This shows that the robots are seen as members of society since they have their own set of laws and that they have full inteligence. The writing then dissolves into bubbles which furthermore adds to the idea that the opening scene is set underwater.
As the writing dissapears, there is a quick cut to a girl trapped in a car underwater which reveals that the location of the opening scene is underwater.
At 0:48, 'Law 2' appears on the screen in the same font as the previous law shown and states that ' a robot must obey orders given it by human beings'. The word 'it' describes a robot as an object and not a living thing which shows that they have not yet developed higher place in the social hierachy and are still under humans command in every task they carry out.
At 0:58, the scene reverts back to the woman stuck underwater in the car, in this shot, what seems to be a pair of robot legs are shown jumping over the car. A male is now shown also stuck in a car underwater adjacent to the car where the female is. The third law then appears which says that 'a robot must protect its own existence as long as it does not conflict with the first or second law'. This shows that the robots still must defend themselves as long as they don't bring any harm to a human.
At 1:14, a robot smashes through the car window and pulls the human out, this shows that the robots are used to protect humans and save them when in desperate circumstances. The opening sequence then comes to a close and never gives confirmation of what happens to the male and female in the end which leaves the audience confused and eager to see what happens to the two.
Tuesday 22 November 2016
North by Northwest (1959) Analysis
North by Northwest (1959): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Writer:
Ernest Lehman
Cast:
Cary Grant
James Mason
Eva Marie Saint
North by Northwest is a timeless classic about a New York advertising executive Roger Thornhill is thrown into the world of spies when he is mistaken to be a CIA agent that goes by the name of George Kaplan by a foreign spy who is hunting down the agent. George escapes from the spy but is forced to run away from the police who believe that he has committed a murder and ends up chasing George Kaplan across the United States to find him and clear his own name.
The opening titles begin with fast paced orchestral music playing in the background, this immediately sets the tempo for the film and puts the audience in the position where they are ready for a fast paced movie that gets straight into the action from the go.
At 0:17, blue lines appear horizontally and vertically across the screen which is a blank green, the lines form a grid shape which resemble a large building such as a skyscraper with many windows. This gives the audience a hint to the location since tall buildings are usually located in large metropolitan areas such as New York or London.
At 0:25, the opening credits begin which are fully intergrated with the opening scene. The opening credits appear in the following order:
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Writer:
Ernest Lehman
Cast:
Cary Grant
James Mason
Eva Marie Saint
North by Northwest is a timeless classic about a New York advertising executive Roger Thornhill is thrown into the world of spies when he is mistaken to be a CIA agent that goes by the name of George Kaplan by a foreign spy who is hunting down the agent. George escapes from the spy but is forced to run away from the police who believe that he has committed a murder and ends up chasing George Kaplan across the United States to find him and clear his own name.
The opening titles begin with fast paced orchestral music playing in the background, this immediately sets the tempo for the film and puts the audience in the position where they are ready for a fast paced movie that gets straight into the action from the go.
At 0:17, blue lines appear horizontally and vertically across the screen which is a blank green, the lines form a grid shape which resemble a large building such as a skyscraper with many windows. This gives the audience a hint to the location since tall buildings are usually located in large metropolitan areas such as New York or London.
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer presents
Cary Grant
Eva Marie Saint
James Mason
In Alfred Hitchcock's
North by Northwest
Co-starring Jessie Royce Landis
With Leo G. Carroll
Josephine Hutchinson
Philip Ober
Martin Landau
Adam Williams Edward Platt
Robert Ellenstein Les Tremayne
Philip Coolidge Patrick McVey
Edward Binks Ken Lynch
Written by Ernest Lehman
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Director of Photography Robert Burks, A.S.C
Technicolor
Production designed by Robert Boyle
Art Directors William A. Horning
& Merrill Pye
Set decorations Henry Grace
& Frank McKelvey
Special effects A. Arnold Gillespie
& Lee LeBlanc
Titles designed by Saul Bass
In VistaVision
Film editor George Tomasini A.C.E
Color Consultant Charles K. Hagedon
Recording supervisor Franklin Milton
Hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff
Make-up by William Tuttle
Assistant Director Robert Saunders
Associate producer Herbet Coleman
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
At 0:49, the title of the movie appears with a vertical wipe transition. It is written in a bold white font that stands out from the green/blue background and makes it easy for the audience to read. On the N at the beginning of the word 'North' there is an arrow extending from it facing in the compass direction north and an arrow extends from the T at the end of the word 'Northwest' facing in the compass direction west. This relates to the title of the movie 'North by Northwest' because it shows the direction that the title states and maybe gives the audience an impression of where the main character(s) is travelling throughout the film.
The green background fades into the side of a large building reflecting on a congested city at 0:55, which reveals that the location where this films begins is in Manhatton, New York to the audience. This isn't actually confirmed just yet but the yellow taxis that are visible in the reflection of the windows are very common on Manhatton Island and are often associated with the place.
At 1:45, the shot of the building fades out into a crowded pedestrian walkway and a block of writing appears in the centre of the screen in a white font. The paragraph reads: "The events, characters and firms depicted in this photoplay are fictitious, any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual firms, is purely coincidental". This contrasts from the usual paragraphs shown before movies that claim that the story was based on true events, it gives the audience the impression that the storylinr could be somwhat unreal or out of this world which could intrigue them further into the movie;.
There are multiple shots of people rushing through a busy metropolitan area, this could symbolise that the plot of this movie is non stop and packed full of action from beginning to end.
At 2:08, as the writing 'Directed by Alfred Hitchcock' disappears with a vertical wipe transition, a man runs across the screen in the same direction as the writing and misses his bus. The man shown in this shot is the director, Alfred Hitchcock, this cameo goes unnoticed by most but for the few who recognise the man on screen, it gives them an idea of the directors creativeness and makes them want to watch the movie through until the end to see if there are any more creative hidden features or scenes.
Thursday 10 November 2016
Fargo (1996) Analysis
Fargo (1996): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/?ref_=nv_sr_2
Directors:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen (uncredited)
Writers:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Cast:
William H. Macy
Frances Mcdormand
Steve Buscemi
Fargo is a crime/thriller about a seemingly innocent man Jerry Lundergard who finds himself in financial problems. To solve his problems, Jerry hires two men to kidnap his wife so that his father in law who is very wealthy is forced to pay for her release and then they can equally split the ransom money. However, his plan gets disrupted by three killings happening and the work of a pregnant police chief, Marge Gunderson.
The location that this movie takes place in is revealed by the title of the film "Fargo". Fargo is the largest city in the state of North Dakota in the United States with a population of around 120,000 people.
The movie begins with a paragraph titled "THIS IS A TRUE STORY", this instantly makes the audience feel on edge. The line "Out of respect for the dead" clearly indicates that this story involves many deaths and that the plot will tell a gruesome story. The location that the movie takes place in is once again shown in this paragraph where it states: "The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987". This makes the movie more gripping for people living near the area where it took place because they will be more interested in the events that took place 9 years before the movie was published.The background music gives a calm atmosphere and gives the audience a sense of confusion since the music contrasts from the writing being shown on screen, the music starts as the writing appears which is an indicator that the movie has began
The shot of the writing then fades out into a snowy, isolated area that is all white and has no other features. The opening credits are fully integrated with the opening scene and fade into the shot at 0:46 with a rather small, black font that stands out from the white background and makes it easy to read for the audience.
The opening credits appear in the following order:
As the car gets close enough to the camera for the audience to get a clear view through the front windshield, the drivers face is not visible. This adds mystery to the storyline and makes the audience wonder who the driver is and how relevant he/she is to the storyline.
After the driver goes past, the scene cuts to a blank, snowy, white background. The title "Fargo" fades in once again in the same black font the stands out from the background. The repetition of this same shot could symbolise a cyclical lifestyle of the main character or maybe it is just to signal the end of the opening sequence and the beginning of the main part of the movie.
Directors:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen (uncredited)
Writers:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Cast:
William H. Macy
Frances Mcdormand
Steve Buscemi
Fargo is a crime/thriller about a seemingly innocent man Jerry Lundergard who finds himself in financial problems. To solve his problems, Jerry hires two men to kidnap his wife so that his father in law who is very wealthy is forced to pay for her release and then they can equally split the ransom money. However, his plan gets disrupted by three killings happening and the work of a pregnant police chief, Marge Gunderson.
The location that this movie takes place in is revealed by the title of the film "Fargo". Fargo is the largest city in the state of North Dakota in the United States with a population of around 120,000 people.
The shot of the writing then fades out into a snowy, isolated area that is all white and has no other features. The opening credits are fully integrated with the opening scene and fade into the shot at 0:46 with a rather small, black font that stands out from the white background and makes it easy to read for the audience.
Polygram filmed entertainment presents
In association with Working Title films
Frances McDormand
William H. Macy
Steve Buscemi
Harve Presnell
Peter Stormare
Fargo
For the first 2 minutes of the movie, nothing changes and the same repetitive music continues. This long pause of nothing going on leaves the audience not ready for something to happen and leaves them confused. At 1:50, the sound of drums banging begins as a car is seen driving towards the camera, the the tempo of the drums being hit increases until the car is fully visible. This adds a sort of triumphant atmosphere almost as if to suggest a hero is coming over the hill. This long build up works as a crescendo because there is almost 2 minutes of just an isolated area and all of the sudden, the tempo of the music picks up as the first sign of any character in the movie is shown coming over the hill.Steve Buscemi
Harve Presnell
Peter Stormare
Fargo
As the car gets close enough to the camera for the audience to get a clear view through the front windshield, the drivers face is not visible. This adds mystery to the storyline and makes the audience wonder who the driver is and how relevant he/she is to the storyline.
After the driver goes past, the scene cuts to a blank, snowy, white background. The title "Fargo" fades in once again in the same black font the stands out from the background. The repetition of this same shot could symbolise a cyclical lifestyle of the main character or maybe it is just to signal the end of the opening sequence and the beginning of the main part of the movie.
Conclusion of Analysis
This opening sequence builds up a confused atmosphere amongst the viewers with its small amount of information given, not a single character is introduced in the opening sequence and there aren't really any clues to what the storyline will be like apart from stating the location of the movie multiple times. The rather bland opening sequence does keep the audience intrigued to the film though because the minimal information given makes the audience even more desperate to find out more about the storyline.
Wednesday 9 November 2016
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Analysis
The Silence of the Lambs (1991): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/
Director:
Jonathon Demme
Writers:
Thomas Harris (Novel)
Ted Tally (Screenplay)
Cast:
Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling)
Anthony Hopkins (Dr. Hannibal Lector)
Scott Glenn (Anthony Crawford)
The Silence of the Lambs is a crime/drama/thriller about a young FBI trainee (Clarice Starling) who is assigned to discover the whereabouts of a missing girl before she is killed by psychopathic serial killer, 'Buffalo Bill'. She uses imprisoned serial killer/cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lector to gain a better insight into the mind of a serial killer. However, Clarice is forced to gain Hannibal's confidence before he reveals any information and clues to her about who or where 'Buffalo Bill' is.
The Opening credits are fully integrated with the opening scene, the movie starts with a title of the Production company's (Orion) name.
The opening scene begins in a woodland setting with the location (Woods near Quantico, Va) fading into the bottom right corner at 0:26 then fading out again at 0:30 this immediately sets the location for the movie and gives the audience an idea of how this can relate to the plot of the movie. It also makes the movie more gripping and interesting to audiences watching from an area nearby or in Virginia.
The opening titles then start to fade in, they use a bold black font and capital letters that stands out from the white, snowy background to make it impossible for the audience to miss the main three actors (Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn). These three actors all appear seperately whereas the rest of the cast are shown at the same time, this emphasizes the important role that the main three actors characters will play in the rest of the film. The credits then appear in this order:
Director:
Jonathon Demme
Writers:
Thomas Harris (Novel)
Ted Tally (Screenplay)
Cast:
Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling)
Anthony Hopkins (Dr. Hannibal Lector)
Scott Glenn (Anthony Crawford)
The Silence of the Lambs is a crime/drama/thriller about a young FBI trainee (Clarice Starling) who is assigned to discover the whereabouts of a missing girl before she is killed by psychopathic serial killer, 'Buffalo Bill'. She uses imprisoned serial killer/cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lector to gain a better insight into the mind of a serial killer. However, Clarice is forced to gain Hannibal's confidence before he reveals any information and clues to her about who or where 'Buffalo Bill' is.
The Opening credits are fully integrated with the opening scene, the movie starts with a title of the Production company's (Orion) name.
The opening scene begins in a woodland setting with the location (Woods near Quantico, Va) fading into the bottom right corner at 0:26 then fading out again at 0:30 this immediately sets the location for the movie and gives the audience an idea of how this can relate to the plot of the movie. It also makes the movie more gripping and interesting to audiences watching from an area nearby or in Virginia.
The opening titles then start to fade in, they use a bold black font and capital letters that stands out from the white, snowy background to make it impossible for the audience to miss the main three actors (Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn). These three actors all appear seperately whereas the rest of the cast are shown at the same time, this emphasizes the important role that the main three actors characters will play in the rest of the film. The credits then appear in this order:
A Strong heart/Demme production
Jodie Foster
Anthony Hopkins
Scott Glenn
The Silence of the Lambs
Brooke Smith
Diane Baker
Kasi Lemmons
Charles Napier
Tracey Walter
Roger Corman
Ron Vawter
Danny Darst
Frankie Faison
Paul Lazar
Dan Butler
Chris Isaak
Casting by Howard Feuer
Music by Howard Shore
Costume designer Colleen Atwood
Production designer Kristi Zea
Director of photography Tak Fujimoto
Edited by Craig Mckay A.C.E
Based on the novel written by Thomas Harris
Executive producer Gary Goetzman
Screenplay by Ted Tally
Produced by Edward Saxon
Kenneth Utt
Ron Bozman
Directed by Jonathon Demme
Based on the novel written by Thomas Harris
Executive producer Gary Goetzman
Screenplay by Ted Tally
Produced by Edward Saxon
Kenneth Utt
Ron Bozman
Directed by Jonathon Demme
The main character, Clarice Starling is the first character to be introduced to the audience at 0:59, this indicates to the audience that she is the main character and the films plot revolves around her. A long shot is used as she is seen climbing up the hill, this helps capture that she is by herself in an isolated environment and gives the audience the impression that she is alone throughout the majority of the movie.
As Clarice is running, the camera is behind her giving a rear view of what is happening, the camera also follows her so that she doesn't get any further away. The way that the camera follows Clarice shows that the movie follows her throughout on how she cracks the case and attempts to become an FBI agent.
At 2:45 a man comes into the scene who seems to be Clarice's trainer, he is clearly in control because when he sends Clarice to Crawford's office, Clarice replies with "thank you sir". This shows that the man is in control because Clarice thanked him for giving her an instruction, this could be to represent the stereotype that men are more powerful than women which is commonly believed in certain parts of the US.
At 3:00, a sign is shown saying "hurt, pain, agony- love it". This shows that Clarice clearly put in hard work to get too where she is and gives the audience an idea of the type of person she is- someone who works hard and doesn't give up until she is successful
As Clarice reaches the building, it becomes apparent that she is the only female training to become an agent for the FBI. There are many males visible in the shot all training as a unit whereas the only female trains by herself. This could be representing the misogynistic views that many males have towards woman and that they isolate her from the activities that they take part in together.
Once again in this shot the building is dominated by males which puts into perspective how much males control society and get the more desired jobs. This represents the sexism women face and the amount of doubt society has in them. Also the only person that Clarice says hello to is a female once again showing how isolated she is because of her gender.
Once again misogyny is shown in this shot when Clarice enters the elevator. As she enters it is crowded with men who give her a peculiar look as if to say "what is she doing here", you can see by the confusion on their faces that it is rare for a female to be in the FBI. This makes the audience feel that misogyny is going to be a common theme throughout the movie.
As Clarice exits the elevator and walks towards Crawford's office, the camera pans away towards a sign that reads "Behavioural Science Services". This suggests that maybe Clarice has a rogue personality or is mentally ill in some sort of way. It implies that she has done something wrong and tells the audience that she isn't as innocent as she looks.
Conclusion of analysis
Altogether I think that the opening sequence to the Silence of the Lambs gives a good introduction to the main character and gives the audience a slight idea to what her personality is like and it also outlines a few key themes to the movie such as misogyny. It also leaves a high amount of the information untouched which is good because it leaves the audience wondering what the plot of the movie will be like. However, the lack of information given in to what the story will be like makes it less gripping and doesn't really reel in the audience.
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