Wednesday 24 November 2010
300 opening sequence analysis
The scene begins with the title "300" in a sketchy bloody font. It then goes to a man (who is known as a spartan) holding a baby (who then goes on to become the main actor) over a large cliff. At this point the audience would be tense as they are unsure if the man will drop the baby or not. There is also a medium close up on the baby's face to show its innocence.
The scene then cuts to a few years later when the baby boy has grown into a boy, he is being trained how to fight by his father. At this point the audience would be feeling shocked because it is not normal for a father to purposly train their child to become violent, at the end of the scene it shows the boy looking and probably feeling angry.
It then goes to show the father showing his son the spartan sheild and the boy (medium close up) nodding.
The next few shots then goes to the boy being subjected to a lot of violence.
It then shows the boy growing into a teenager and having to attack and kill a large wolf.
The scene then cuts to the teenager, who has now become a man, becoming king of sparta.
Monday 22 November 2010
"The Silence of the Lambs" analysis
The opening sequence starts by setting the mise-en-scene. It is a foggy forest, then the first titles appear and they seem to be blunt and to the point. The movie stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald and more. It then goes on to show the title "The Silence of the Lambs". The background music sound is mysterious and somewhat dark, it sounds as though there is a choir of violins and chellos playing. Whilst the music is playing and the titles are appearing, the camera is also tracking through the scenery, it is showing the foggy forest from all sorts of different angles such as, a long shot, high angle, tracking and panning. As the scene proceeds is goes on to show a woman who has just finished climbing a steep cliff, she looks worn out and yet she begins to run. This creates a mysterious atmosphere as the audience is unaware as to why she running and whom she is running from. Whilst she is running there are also many different camera angles of her, all of which are tracking (as she is moving). After a few more minutes the audience comes to realise that the woman is infact not running from anything, she is doing an assult course as she works with the FBI. After this moment the atmosphere seens to change as before we thought it was mysterious because we were unsure as to why she was running, now that we have found out that she works with the FBI the audience might think that this movie is more action as most FBI movies invlove some amount of action. The mise-en-scene also changes as before the lady was running in a forest, now she is in a busy work building. Whilst all this is happening the credits are still rolling, this is showing the casting director, music producer, editor of the movie and more. The woman then enters what seems to be her bosses office, she then begins to stare at picture of what appears to be dead people.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Thursday 4 November 2010
Research on Triller Sub- genres
Fight Club (1999)
Director: David Fincher
Staring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier and more.
Storyline: Fight Clud is an 1999 action thriller adapted from the 1996 novel with the same name written by Chuck Palahniuk. Edward Norton plays an unnamed protagonist, he is known as an "everyman" in the everyday american lifestyle. He is discontented by his "white collar" job, this is why he creates a fight club with a soap salesman named Tyler Durden, who is played by Brad Pitt.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Staring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken and more.
Stroyline: More then 10 years after Terminator 2 John Connor, who is played by Nick Stahl, now only exists as a drifter. He is descibed as "living off the grid", this way no more Terminators from the furture can hunt him down. Unfortunatly, SkyNet sends another Terminator back called T-X, this one is more powerful and more advanced then the T-1000 from the preivous movie.
Analysing "The Birds" scary scene
1st shot: Long shot
2nd shot: Medium shot
3rd shot: Medium long shot (whilst tracking)
4th shot: Low angle mid shot, then turns into long shot whilst walking
5th shot: Mid shot
6th shot: Mid shot
7th shot: Medium close up
8th shot: Wide shot
9th shot: Medium close up
10th shot: Medium close up
11th shot: Medium close up
12th shot: High angle and wide shot
13th shot: Medium shot
14th shot: Close up
15th shot: Long shot, then it turns into a medium long shot
16th shot: A long shot turning into a low angle close up
1. What principles of continuity are used here? How successfully? Refer to specific shots / screengrabs.
The continuity in this scene was used successfully as it was able to flow from shot to shot. A prime example of this is when the lady character looks from the kitchen into the hallway. Due to this good use of continuity it keeps the audience in suspence and adds tension.
2. What is the effect of the editing on the viewer? What are we meant to feel at different stages? (ie before she enters the house, in the kitchen, in the corridor, in the bedroom, running away)?
During the opening of the scene we as the audience are unaware that something has happened in the house. this is due to the editing. In the opening shot it shows that it is a nice sunny day and this would show the audience that nothing has happened. Nevertheless as the scene proceeds the audience begins to realise that something has happened and we start to get different feelings about each shot during the scene.
3. What is the 'best bit' for you in this sequence in terms of learning new techniques and why?
The best bit for me in terms of learning new skills was when the lady first entered the house. This is because the minute this happens the mood of the scene changes completely, this is due to good editing and camera shots.
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