Analysis of opening credits in 'American Psycho'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXESFT2sRQ - this is the URL to watch the video - we could not upload the actual film footage to the blog as this action has been disabled due to demand.

'American Psycho' opens with the credit sequence, the music begins in the ident, this is very slow, low pitched music, which makes the audience feel apprehensive, and weary and are likely to expect something bad to happen. We are then introduced to the credits which are displaced in sans-serif font on a white, blank background. what we might recognise (in this mood set by the music) as blood drops appear falling on the screen with higher-pitched noises, which we could perceive as stabs.
The credits being very simply, by the plain white background and the ordinary font style, this gives the impression of simplicity and smartness as everything looks very sleek and organised. There is a hint of themes that could be included in the movie as there are drops of 'blood' dripping down from the screen as the text appears. The text appears and disappears very steadily by fading in and out, this effect makes the credits look very laidback and calm. The font style is bold and all the letters are captialised giving a vivid sense of dominance to the movie and indicating that the characters and storyline are very masculine.

The sound at this point begins very quietly and softly and as the blood drops appear on the screen instant sounds are played adding a mysterious and suspicious approach to the credits. As the drops come onto the screen gradually quicker the sound becomes more intense. The drops then stop and orcestration/instrumental music is played. This sound is very fast-paced and high-pitched making it sound tense and build dramatic tension. As the title of the movie is introduced on the screen, the theme of murder/death is still apparent because of the 'blood' drops. However, there is a twist to the feel of the credits, as the sound has a very sudden change from tense/high-impact sound to a soft, relaxed and cheerful music making the credits appear very misleading to the audience and more intrigued to continue watching.
When the main character's name appears in the credits, the importance of his name is signified by the slight change in the sound and the image of a knife on the screen. This alerts the audience because of the props used, making the audience acknowledge this part more. This part also confuses the audience as a knife usually connotes the idea of death/danger, whereas in this circumstance the knife is being used in cooking, which misleads the audience. As the knife aggressively cuts the meat on the screen the diegetic sound highlights it signifiance by making the sound exaggerated. Likewise to the 'blood' drops, raspberries begin to fall vertically across the screen, however this approach is different as the sound is a lot more light-hearted and happy, therefore this is something the audience wouldn't expect to see in the credits to a thriller. The raspberries then land onto a well-presented, expensive-looking meal.A pan shot is then used of a birdseye view of lots of food plate that looks very glamorous and expensive. The music changes here to a very soft, instrumental music that is very cheerful. This is a transformation that has gradually changed from the beginning of the credits. The audience are fooled into thinking the theme is fairly negative, whereas the true theme are displayed to be very postive.
These credits in comparison to our credits have many similarities and differences. The simplicity of these credits is something we would look to convery in our credits, the technique is very straightforward, yet the outcome is very effective and has a big impact. However, we will not be trying to mislead the audience about the themes included in our thriller.

Opening Credits of Sin City.

The opening credits in Sin City are very simplistic but are very bold and a have set color screen with red, black and white. The main title fits with the theme of the film as the blood flows down the screen and covers the title of Sin City and flows into shape. This gives a clue that there will be blood in this film and imminent violence. The credits of the actors names shows us the cartoony aspect of the film and shows us the different positions and uniforms they are in. Then finally it shows us the director and other producers like there is in any film.

Mise-en-Scene in our opening (analysis)

The images in Bronte's post below are examples of some ideas we found throughout the research period.

Lighting:

The image in the blog below for lighting is what our group wanted to use for influence for the fight/kidnap scene in our thriller opening sequence. We thought that the use of spotlights in the dark emphasises the feeling that there is no one else to help the girl in the scene. I think it will send a chill through the audience, perhaps building suspense, I feel that in this particular scene (when we come to the editing stage), we should really try to create a very tense soundtrack, using garage band. This would emphasise what we are trying to make the audience experience, and generally bring our sequence up to a high standard, which people will easily identify as a thriller film.

Props:

After establishing our plot, moved onto what types of Micro-elements and media conventions we could use to make our thriller opening successful, and appealing to the target audience.

We came up with ideas, such as using masks in the 'attack' scene in our thriller opening, as we though it would create an uncomfortable tension within the audience; which fits to the genre, thriller. We knew we would have to make an effort in finding the best suitable mask for this scene for the maximum effect - this is how we found the picture below of the rabbit-like masked person, which we will use as inspiration when we come to making/buying our own mask.

Camerawork/movement:

I thought about camerawork and movement a lot, and there are so many different techniques employed in the making of thriller movies, some use fast paced hand-held camera movement, to exaggerate the circumstances of the plot - i.e. hand-held would typically be used in chase scene.

Another, broadly used technique would be over-the-shoulder and fast zooming-in.

Sets:

We then went onto thinking about where and how we would set our thriller opening. So, we started to do some research by viewing other thriller movie openings, and we soon found that many of them were set in an average place: the city, or suburban areas, which people are around everyday. We wondered why it was so unpopular for the movies not to be set in abstract, and unheard-of places, perhaps this would strike the audience, and make an effect on them as the set is so different. However, we saw the logic in the movie's setting decisions, we established that the reason that many of the thriller movies were set in such normal places, was to create a contrast with the action-packed plot, and/or the crazy villain/superhero characters - this combination clearly emphasises these points.

Make-Up:

I have used the joker to evaluate make-up in a thriller movie:

Clearly, the use of make-up on this character is striking to the audience, the abstract, dirty, and freaky looks caused by the make up has a strong effect on the audience's perspective of the character; being very apprehensive towards the character, and immediately in the film 'Bat Man' the Joker is identified as the antagonist.

Furthermore, I think that the use of make-up makes the character seem un-human-like, which emphasises to the audience the type of insane and rare character he is.

Now I have seen the extent of effect make-up can have, we must pay attention to if/how we will use make-up on any characters in the thriller opening sequence.

Mise-en-scene in our opening

Camerawork/shots
In our opening, there are many variation in camera movements/shot we would like to achieve. This is in order to add a mixture of fast-paced and slow-paced camera movements. For example, we would want to use establishing shots for the audience to see the screen. Close-ups to add a mysterious yet high-impact approach to the opening and tracking shots to have free movement of the camera to create different approaches.

Lighting
The lighting in our opening we want to portray the atmosphere of the scene by using dark and dim lighting, this is going to be created by digetic lighting coming from the street lights, so the audience can see where the light is coming from. This lighting would be conventional as many thriller use dark lighting to create an atmospheric environment through the dimness of the screen, that creates a stark feel to the scene in order for the audience to acknowledge the eery approach.










In comparison to the lighting used in 'The Panic Room' they have also purposely made the lighting dark and suspicious. This is done by having no house bulbs lit in the house and by closing the curtain to create a very limited source of light as possible. The effect of this is to create a feel of an empty and dreary room, so that the audience can identify the significance of this room. The lighting enables the audience to see that the room is isolated because of the many shadows it has created in the screen, which helps to form an eery setting.

Costume

The aim of Lewis's costume is to create a strong impression that his character is trustworthy, career focused and responsible. His character is to appear smart, serious and authoritative, which is contrary to his true personality. Having researched the thriller, 'Se7en' our costume idea is focused around the costume used in this film. The two main characters are dressed smartly for the audience to identify immediately that they are detectives. This is similar to our costume as we want the audience to fimilarise themselves with the fact that Lewis's character is a business person.












Make-up
There is limited amount of importance of the make-up used in our opening. As the our opening is concentrated around the theme of Halloween, in order to highlight the authenticity of the time setting, Bronte's character will be dressed as a black cat in order for the audience to identify that she is going to a party. The aim of the make-up is to make the setting appear more realistic. The costume of a black cat not only fits well with the feel of Halloween, but also the myth of a black cat symbolises bad luck, which fits suitably with what happens to Bronte's character.











Sets


Having looked at the opening to 'Pulp Fiction' I thought that this opening related well to our opening because of the setting used, as it is in a location that is used in everyday life which is likewise to our opening at a bus stop. The setting is at a cafe that all types of people would use which is very similar to ours. The approach this has to the film is that the location is somewhere where the narrative is unlikely to happen, adding more of an ironic twist to the storyline.

Props

In our opening there will be several props that are important to help assist the narrative of our opening. Firstly, we will need lots of photographs of girls on a wall in an isolated room. This will help to assist the narrative and for the audience to identify the genre and themes included in our thriller. Secondly, Lewis's character will be carrying a brief case, this is to further develop the idea of a smart, well-educated business man, as this prop will help to identify that. Lastly, in order to show the two sides of Lewis's character will will also be using a mask to display the different types of characters he will portray. Taking inspiration from 'Donnie Darko' the rabbit character has a controlling impact on the narrative, which is similar to our main character. The idea is to help convey two sides of the character and add a creepy outlook to the opening.

Comparing an antagonist and protagonist from a thriller with our antagonist and protagonist

Lewis - The Joker
Appearance-wise, the Joker from 'The Dark Knight' is very similar to our character played by Lewis. Both of their appearances are very witty in order to convey ambiguous outlooks of their characters. Their appearances add a sense of uncertainity to the audience's mind as they both send mixed signals, this is because the Joker looks as though he is constantly smiling because of his scars and Lewis's tranformation from a smart business man to a masked person, creates a sense of mystery and suspiciousness as their true identity/feelings are unclear to the audience.

Personality-wise, these two characters are extremely similar. The ways in which the characters can be described can be related to one another: psychopathic, mysterious, unknown and unrelatable. Both characters are fairly witty in the way they interact with people, which provides a twist to the narrative, creating confusion to the audience's mind. They both display a lack of self-awareness and their actions are unpredictable, through the sarcastic approach we will aim to portray with Lewis's dialogue.



The clip above a scene from 'The Dark Knight' that has a clear portrayal of the personality of the Joker. In this scene it conveys the carefree approach that he has to the the situation. He attempts to turn the tense situation into a relaxed, calm situation which is contrary to how the audience view it. Likewise to Lewis's character, his actions are planned to add the same approach as the Joker. The other characters will act scared to the situation likewise to this clip, whereas Lewis's character will react unexpectedly to the situation, by adding a sarcastic approach. The non-diegetic sound compliments the atmosphere by the noise of a siren that is gradually getting louder. This sound reflects the mood created as it signifies to the audience that they should be alarmed and aware of the main character's witty behaviour.

Bronte - Wendy Torrance


Wendy Torrance, the victimised character in 'The Shining' closely relates to one of our main characters played by Bronte. Her character focuses around the effect of the antagonist in the movie by displaying her shock and worry towards the their behaviour. In comparison to our character, they are both very innocent and genuinely worried about the behaviour of the villain and the mico elements help to convey this.

The micro-elements in the clip above help to portray this outlook towards this character. This enhances the violence of the scene and creates a vivid sense of shock and worry. In particular, the camerashot used constantly throughout this clip is a medium shot, this enables the audience to see a wide range on screen, they can see her fear through her body language and facial expression as well as see the axe being slashed through the door. The diegetic sound used in this scene also adds a sense of intense anxiety - her constant screaming becomes almost unbearable as the audience can clearly see her worry, making her appear innocent and harmless which is similar to Bronte's character in our thriller.

Feedback from class about our idea

After presenting our thriller idea, the class had an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback about the information we had been talking about. The main query that people asked was about the type of music that is going to be included in our opening sequence. Although we haven't fully thought this through, we have brief ideas about the non-diegetic sound involved and our classes queries has made us think about our sound more. Our idea for non-diegetic sound is to start off with mysterious, quiet and creepy music that is to create a sense of a stark atmosphere. As the footage becomes more intense and the narrative starts to pick up, the music will indicate that for the audience, therefore the music will intensify and become louder to create dramatic effect. A basic question we were asked about is the title of our thriller, this is an aspect that we still need to consider as we are unsure about what to call our thriller.

Another aspect people asked us about was the practicalities of filming the footage, as we need to ensure that we film before it gets too dark and in an area in which the surrounding represents the genre well. They suggested a location for us, such as near: 'The Place' in Cambridge as their was a an alley near there, as in the evening it would look eery and it is fairly quiet.

Having heard our classmates thoughts, opinions and queries it has allowed us to think about the changes and adjustments we would like to make in order to make our thriller more successful and to specifically relate to the conventions of a thriller. Taking into account our feedback, we will thoroughly consider our sound and think about the title of our thriller.

Pitch of Thriller opening idea

Narrative idea:
Our initial idea is to have lewis at the start in his darkened room staring at a wall of photos of girls, some pictures have their faces scribbled out and the photographs that have Bronte's face on have red circles around for the audience to acknowledge the significance of her character role. The camera will move round slowly showing glimpses of the photos. We will use mysterious, non-diegetic music to indicate creepiness and eery feel of the atmosphere and the music will intensify when a photo of Bronte appears on screen. By this point, the main character has not fully being introduced - you can only see half of Lewis's face enhancing the mysterious and uncertainity of the character.

This is an image of a wall of photograph that give a brief idea of the wall photos going to be included in our opening sequence. Unlike this image, our wall of photos will look scattered across the wall and will have red pen marks carelessly drawn on to create a stalkery effect.



The camera then jump cuts to Bronte sitting and waiting at a bus stop in the early evening, she isn't alone as there are other people at the other end of the bus stop, in order to create a natural environment. All are dressed up as it is Halloween and Bronte is waiting to get the bus to go to a party. Suddenly, you see lewis walking past in a suit and a briefcase smoking a cigarette. This is when the audience are fully introduced to the main character. He walks past and suspiciously glances at Bronte even though she is unaware. He keeps walking on, then lewis walks out the darkness and starts talking to Bronte, he then walks off casually.

It the cuts to a dark back alley and suddenly footsteps start getting louder and louder, it cuts back to bronte at the bus stop and she starts to hear the footsteps, however she takes no notice of them until they start getting louder. She looks quickly to her left and the couple have disappeared, she then slowly turns back to her right, and the masked man is sitting next to her, he smiles evilly at her...

Location:
The location will be at a bus stop in Cambridge at night time, to create a natural atmosphere on Halloween night. Filming in the evening as it begins to get dark will create a more spooky atmosphere that will help add to the approach of the narrative. The aim of this location is to make the location appear ordinary, therefore making the storyline appear unexpected.

Character/Actors:
The main character played by Lewis can be described as a psychological mentalist whose character role is to stalk Bronte. He appears to be very dark and mysterious and is unrelatable to the audience due to his psychological problems. He appears really suspicious and his actions are unpredictable. On the other hand, Bronte's character is innocent and harmless - She is Lewis's victim. Her character is very similar to the girl in 'The Shining' as she is very innocent and frightened by the behaviour of Johnny. These characters are binary opposites.

Opening sequence: We will need an establishing shot or a medium shot of bronte sitting at the bus stop to set the location.

Lewis' character will be introduced from two sides, the respectable business man and the psychologically challenged male. The location of his bedroom/picture room will also be set but only by a close up of the pictures on the wall, so this would be a set rather than location. for all the audience knows this room is set in the same area as the bus stop.

Genre:
Our thriller is most suited to the conventions of a psychological thriller. This is because the danger included is on mostly a mental level rather than physical as Lewis is a solitary character who can be viewed as a loner with mental struggles. He has a clear fascination with stalking people and death that helps explain the narrative of the movie. The opening suggests that the two main characters are going to be constantly playing on one anothers mind throughout the movie which is a convention of a psychological thriller. Additionally, the narrative includes confusion over what is real and what's not as one minute Lewis is dressed in a smart business-like suit, and then suddenly changes to wearing a mask. The conventions of a psychological thriller will be represented consistently throughout the opening.

Intertextuality/references:
Taking inspiration from 'The Dark Knight' we think our main character, Lewis has many similarities to the Joker. They both appear to have psychological issues and both their costumes are to act as a disguise. Likewise to the Joker, Lewis's behaviour will be unpredictable and villainous, meaning that both their character roles add a twist to the story line. Both characters bring a sense of dread to the scene and are oblivious to other character's thought and opinions.

Mise-en-scene
Costume:
Lewis will be dressed smartly in in a black suit, carrying a briefcase and smoking a cigarette, this is to create the impression of a smart business man, who appears safe and trusting. The briefcase is to make him look executive, responsible and successful, unlike the true personality of his character.
Fitting with the atmosphere, Bronte will be dressed as a black cat revealing that it is Halloween. The costume is to create a natural atmosphere of a Halloween evening. Jess, who will also be waiting at the bus stop as an extra will be wearing a wonder woman outfit to make the scene look more authentic and realistic that is is Halloween and that they are going to party.

Props:
Several props will be needed in our opening sequence:

• A brief case
  
• Cigarette
• lots of photographs of random girls and Bronte
• A mask

Taking inspiration from Donnie Darko, when Lewis's appearance changes from an ordinary business man to a masked psycho, it adds a surreal approach to the opening, as the audience are uncertain as to what is real life through the use of mise-en-scene.
Mood Board
This is our mood board for our thriller opening of images from movies that has given us inspiration and has influenced our location, narrative and mainly the types of characters that are going to include in our work. The images I have gathered are ideas that have influenced the ideas we have for our opening and the references we have taken from these thriller movies to assist the development of our work. Made by Bronte.

Differences between horrors and thrillers

HORROR
Definition: Horrow films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from the viewer.
Horror film examples: Scream, 28 Days Later, Mum&Dad, Dead Silence and Candyman.
Typical Horror conventions: the death rate is often higher, the antagonist usually has no reason for killing and blood and gore is in abundance.

THRILLER
Definition: Thrillers films are fast paced, often action packed.
Thriller film examples: Premonition, Frightners, White Noise, American Psycho, and Saw 1.
Typical Thriller conventions: Fast paced, frequent action and resourceful heros who must defile the plans of more powerful and better equiped villians. the antagonist usually has a motive, murders are more thought out and ussually have reason.
Lighting is often used to set the atmosphere and the music is also a fitting role in creating an effective thriller.

Making our own Ident

Having looked a at existing professional idents in the film industry, our task was to design and create our own ident that is related to a thriller genre. We took into account the images, movements, colours, music and camera shots/movements. Our initial idea for our ident background was to have an image of several street lighting beaming at night time, in which we had this as our initial idea to work around. This image can be associated with a thriller as the atmosphere created in this background connotes the notion of a creepy, eery setting. The lack of bright colours and only beams of light adds to the stark atmosphere, which lacks detail to the viewer as it lacks visibilty, making it appear isolated in order to increase the curiosity.

Our company name we decided to call: A Pulse Productions - the word 'pulse' we choose as it was straightforward and it has connotations which can be related to the feeling of an audience when watching a thriller. The use of aliteration reinforces the sound of name, as well as making it more likely for the name to be remembered. The font style we chose had a very 'sketchy' look, the use of capital letters makes the name more striking and edgy. The style, we thought suited the aim of the look we were going for. As our background was black, in order to enchance the appearance of the text we put as white, as they are two contrasting colours making it stand out a be more noticed.

The plan for our ident was to have the three street lights light up one by one and once all three had come on, for the street light beams to turn blue. This was to add a sense of curiosity. The colour blue was chosen as it is a very cold colour, symbolising a cold location. The colour makes it look cold, distant and desserted. The layout of the text we thought was important, so we made the text fairly big, taking inspiration from 'Dreamworks' ident and placed it at the bottom of our screen where it is clearly visible and doesn't cover the images.

This is our Ident:

Analysis of 'Dreamworks' ident

This is 'Dreamworks' ident, which is used in the introduction to films which the company has helped create/produce etc. Here are a variety of screen grabs from the clip above. I will now comment on particular features and effects shown in the images:

The imagery in the 'Dreamworks' ident is a cloudy, dark sky which represents the types of genres 'Dreamworks' make - fantasy, adventure etc. The background relates to this as the sky has a carefree approach that indicates freedom and adventure. The immediate look of this ident is demonstrated through to the audience by the colours, images and themes associated with the imagery.
The camera movement of this ident begins with a medium shot of a moon which implies a relaxed, fantasy feel. It then in the same camera shot shows a close-up of a fishing rod being thrown into the water, in which the viewer can see the ripples of the water, the tranquility of this image represents the type of film company it is. There is then a fast paced, horizontal pan shot which then displays a medium shot of clouds. The movement of the camera demonstrates the increasing energy and liveliness of the ident - this engages the audience as the fast-paced movement makes it more fascinating to watch.

As the moon and clouds are on screen, a steady moving tracking shot is used, showing the the word: 'Dreamworks' fades within the clouds in very large font size - this signifies the dominance of the text. The steadiness of the camera indicates the importance of this part as it is showing the company's name, which is what is needed to be seen and the company will want the viewers to see.
The colour scheme is a mixture of varying tonal blues, this subtly of the differences in colour, makes the appearance look calm and relaxed. The lack of harsh colours and shapes make the ident look light-hearted and cheerful.

There is non-diegetic music throughout the ident. It begins very soft and quietly, suggesting a calm and happy atmosphere, as the camera begins to move more quickly, the music gradually becomes more powerful and louder. As the text: 'Dreamworks' is begin shown the music is quite dominant signifying the company's name. Lastly, towards the end of the ident the music dims down again to how it was at the beginning, making the atmosphere seem cheerful and relaxed again.

Explanation of thriller conventions/micro-elements

In a thriller film there are a number of elements that must be taken into consideration when creating it. The following are the key subjects that must be thought about carefully when planning and creating a thriller film:

Location:

Usually you can expect the film to be set in a place that either contributes to or creates a contrast to the busy storyline of a thriller film for example the movie, 'Bat Man' is set in the busy city of Gotham. In this case, the dramatic storyline is complemented by it's setting.

Characters:

Characters can be completely different depending on the storyline and the personality of the character. For example, in 'I Am Legend, the main character has a very average image, however, his strong, heroic characteristics overcome this. In other thriller movies, characters are often criminals, characters with hidden problems (e.g. family killed - I Am Legend), and other criminals but with serious mental issues like the 'joker' from 'Bat Man'.

Narrative:

In a typical thriller movie, there would be two main characters, or two groups of characters. One group being the Protagonists (heros), and the other, therefore being the Antagonist (baddy). The way in which we take sides with the Protagonist is because there is often a background of the character to which we are made to empathise with, whereas, on the other hand with the Antagonist, we rarely see their history, as it makes them seem like they are on their own, and have nothing personal about them. Furthermore, our loyalty to the Protagonists in movies can be grown by the use of other elements and conventions such as sound; character themes, and empathetic sound.

Sometimes at the beginning of thriller films, we do not immediately understand the storyline, and events due to the lack of narration, and some techniques used to confuse the audience. This is often done on purpose, to build a tension within the audience, until there is a climax.

Props:
The main props used in a thriller are weapons (guns, explosives, knives etc). These contribute to adding suspense and a lot of tension, especially in particular scenes. The use of weapons can establish to an audience who is the Antagonist or Protagonist, depending on the narrative.

Sound:

Our loyalty to the Protagonists in movies can be grown by the use of sound; character themes, and empathetic sound for example a re two very important sound techniques, they can be crucial making the audience feel a particular emotion. Sound tracks are broadly used in the film industry. Thrillers can use sound tracks to create a tense moment, or tension throughout a whole scene. This technique is very adjustable to it's demands, and can be one of the biggest tension-builders in a thriller.

Using GarageBand to make a soundtrack to 'Identity'

These are some screen shot of our work on Garageband:
Having watched the opening to the movie 'Identity' for the first three minutes, without the sound, we wrote down notes explaining the types of footage and images that were on the screen and what times they appeared. With this information we used GarageBand to make appropriate sound to fit with the atmosphere we were trying to portray. Concentrating on type of sound that thrillers typically use, the aim was to create a sense to atmosphere that related to the themes involved in this opening. We chose music that built tension, added suspense and intensified key moments in the opening, in order to make the opening make more sense and to create the right impression.We used mainly non-diegetic sound, so the audience were aware it was added afterwards, as well as diegetic sound such as thunder and a tape recording. Our aim was to keep the music at the beginning fairly low-key and quiet, which built up and intensified as the opening persisted. We felt that this was a good way of creating atmosphere that worked well with the footage. The main problem we encountered was the accuracy of the timing, as it was difficult to ensure that the a certain type of sound played when it appeared on screen, so in our thriller opening this has made us more aware to pay more attention to make sure this isn't an issue. We felt that we chose music that had low beats and that fitted in with the conventions of thriller music. However, the music didn't always work with the images on the screen which is something we could improve on.
Then as feedback we played our soundtrack to the class, as the 3 minute clip of the movie was played, there was mixed feedback as we started our clip from the wrong point and it ended up asynchronous and hardly made sense unfortunately.

Having done this task it allowed us to think about the different types of sound that are included in films, in order to add variation in our own work:

Diegetic sound: when it is visible to the audience where the source of sound is coming from, e.g. guns, cars etc.
Non-diegetic sound: sound that has been added in e.g. soundtrack, narration
Ambient sound: background noise
asynchronous sound: sound that is out of sync with image
character theme: different sound is played when a character comes onto screen
dubbing: different language edited ontop
empathetic: matches the mood the characters feeling
location sound: sound that fits with the location
sound bridge: music that links one scene to the next

Political thriller analysis - 'Vantage Point'

The conventions of a political thriller:

• Threat set against a back drop of a political power struggle
• plots are designed to give political power to someone whilst opponents try to prevent this
• 2 sets of characters - often those set in office, whilst others set in action

Analysing 'Vantage Point'


The immediate shot used is an establishing shot of a landscape of a spanish city, the camera slowly moves around, until it quickly zooms in and focuses on one area, this symbolises to the audience the significance of the location the camera is directing the audience. The camera then uses a variety of short distance shots, such as medium shots and close-up shots in order for the audience to focus on these important images of the audience, flags being waved and authoritative figures being shown on the screen. This enables the audience to acknowledge the environment the movie is set, so that they can have an indepth insight to themes included. There is often the use of an aerial shot which enables the audience to see a wide range of images on the screen. The editing is also helpful to show the pace of the scene. The use of jumpcuts from one scene to another indicates the fast-paced element of the scene, as well as allowing the audience to see both sides of the political argument.

The audience can thoroughly see the hype of the scene through the reactions of the audience and the TV presenter. The camera shots help follow the conventions of a political thriller as the audience can identify that there are two groups of people - those in the office and those involved in the action. This is crucial for the audience to establish in order for the narrative to make sense. Overall, there is effective appearance on the screen, it is very faced-paced that indicates good views of the political event. In comparison to the conventions of a political thriller, the audience can sense the build up of plots designed to give political power, in which opponent try to prevent this.

The use of mise-en-scene, such as the props and costumes especially, sets the scene of the event. The waving of flags in the audience, allows the audience to establish that there are different groups of people, revealing that there is conflict and disagreements. Many people in the audience are filming and taking photos of what they're are seeing, emphasising the significance of the event they are attending. They are many weapons present, including guns held by security - this indicates the high security needed on this day, this would intrigue the audience to want to know more. The news reporter is holding onto a microphone which enables the audience to identify her occupation and adds professionalism. Many of the authority figures are wearing formal clothing such as suits or people from other countries are wearing traditional outfit that represent their race/ethnicity, this could represent a sense of conflict between the two groups. The audience are wearing very ordinary, every day clothes that helps the audience identify that they are very ordinary people.

The sound used in the opening used primarily diegetic noise,which creates atmosphere to the audience. The sound first heard by the audience is the narration of a male news presenter with a very low and serious voice, his accent is american indicating that the location and information is about the american government. The way in which the diologue is presented portrays a sense of seriousness, demonstrating that the film is about a serious topic. Meanwhile, the audience can hear another newsreporter in the background, although her voice is less dominant and less heard, this resembles the conflict between two groups. Examples of other diegetic sound is the continous noise of a large audience clapping, cheering and the sound of helicopters, this creates an atmospheric scene in which the environment portrayed has been represented through the use of sound. These sounds are constantly played through the images displayed on the screen, until the main newsreporter begins to speak, in which at this point the sound stops in order to concentrate the audience on the importance of her dialogue. Secondly, the use of non-diegetic sound helps the audience understand the scene - it adds tension and suspense as the soundtrack has low beats.

Analysis of past student's work

We chose to analyse Q1-09 - 'The Collector' film.



To start with the viewer is introduced with a soundtrack which is played on and off throughout the film. The sound track is non-diegetic, it has a soft mysterious tone to it, and this is interrupted by an abrupt electronic noise which adds a harshness to the effects of the soundtrack (introduces the viewer to the theme of the film)

The viewer is then introduced to the title of the people involved in the film, these are presented in a mixture of different methods, for example some are large and clear, and presented separately to the other titles, whereas on the other hand, other titles are merged together and/or smaller in font size. Clearly, attention was payed when the makers thought about this aspect, as the effect is easily keeping the viewer/s entertained, or drawing them into what is going to happen.

After this, the viewer is introduced to the first actual filming/images in the film, we see pictures of a girl (black and white) - this creates a clinical/investigatory atmosphere.
Also as an addition to this atmosphere newspaper article headings are focused on with word such as 'stab', 'kills', and an image of a character with 'missing' written underneath it. The effect (introducing the themes of the film) is enhanced with the editorial techniques employed - there are fades, crossovers and replays which cause the viewers to pat close attention to what is on the screen.

Analysing past students work - S1-22 The Yearbook

Camera angles/movement
The majority of the camera angles used are close-up or extreme close-up shots, showing intricate detail to the audience and allowing the audience to focus on certain details. This creates a vivid sense of curiosity to the audience as the camera shots only focus on small details, therefore making the audience incapable of seeing the location, main characters etc. Despite the fact that these types of camera shots can be very effective in creating a suspicious outlook to the opening, it does not enable the audience to acknowledge simple details they may wish to know, such as the location/setting, the appearance of the main character. Additionally, there isn't a variety of shot distances, making the opening not as intriguing or entertaining to watch.

Secondly, there are no variation in camera movements as the camera only freezes on footage, rather than moving around. Instead, the camera fastly jump cuts between the different images, without any transitions. This makes the opening appear to be more 'jumpy' and upbeat, indicating a lack of unease and relaxation, therefore the the fits with the conventions and atmosphere of a thriller.
Sound
There is a variety of sound played continuously throughout the opening, the majority of the sound is non-diegetic sound that has been added in afterwards. Likewise to the conventions of a thriller, the music adds an element of mystery and suspense to the opening; this adds a stark atmosphere to the footage being played. The first sound heard in the opening is the sound of a child laughing, the effect of this that it makes the opening appear twisted and unusual. As this sound gently fades the harsh and dramatic sound of a secrurity alarm starts being played. this senses to the audience to feel alarmed and engages them. Throughout the opening there is never a moment of silence, it included sound that will make the audience feel uneasy. Towards the end, there is the noise of a telephone ringing, making the scene feel suspicious and very hidden, revealing to the audience that there is a lot to be explained. In relation to the marking scheme, there is the use of sound with images however, the sound does not appropriately with the themes being represented. This makes the opening appear uncertain and unexplained, therefore giving mysterious approach.

Editing
Throughout the opening, it uses montage editing of a collection of shots to build up the narrative. The montage is very fast-paced, making the the opening feel rushed and 'on-edge'. It inidicates a sense of uncertainity to the audience as it is unclear as to what is happening, this will intrigue them to want to continue watching in order for the images to be explained through the narrative. The fast movement between each image that has been edited that way creates a sense of a tense atmosphere, however there is no development in the montage to hint at the storyline.

Lighting
On different images there is different lighting used, in some parts the lighting is very dull and dim making the frame appear gloomy and low-key. This fits with the themes being introduced in the opening such as death and murder. However, in order to bring attention to some parts and to highlight key features of the opening, harsh and bright lighting is used to give strong emphasis on certain areas, which also creates strong shadows, forming a spooky look. For example, when the arm covered in blood is shown there is a bright light facing the arm, which makes this image appear to be of high importance due to the lighting used. Many of the images are in black and white, which makes the screen appear darker and more dull, and as a result this resembles the mood of the themes well.

Make-up
The make-up used in this opening is to enable the audience to understand what is happening in the opening. The main make-up used is fake blood - this creates a realistic feel to the images that relate to the themes being introduced. The make-up contributes to getting the meaning of the image across to the audience. It also makes the frame appear more interesting by bringing the colour red that connotes death, blood and danger.
Special effects
The main special effect used is an effect available on final cut that allows the screen to move around and 'jumpy'. It makes the images move really fast and appear unstable on the screen, this works well with the themes as the themes making the audience feel uneasy and unsteady, likewise to the movement of the screen.

Credits
The credits used appear alternately with the footage. The audience sees the footage, then the credits, then back to the footage. There is a black background with a small piece of text in a thin white font that is situated off centre. The text moves around making it go blurry before it focuses. This draws the audience's attention as they are drawn to the text being shown.

Comparing this thriller opening to the level 4 marking criteria, we have briefly stated the good and bad aspects of this opening:

+
holds steady shots
frames shots appropriately
selects appropriate mise-en-scene
good sound with images
titles used appropriately.
-
no clear introduction to characters (no protaganist/antagonist)
no dialogue
no location introduced
lack of variety of different shots
editing doesn't make meaning apparent
lack of variety of shot transitions

Marking criteria for our Thriller opening

For a Level 4 - top grade 48/60

Demonstrate excellence in:

• recording voice clearly - ensure that voices aren't covered by loud wind or background noises
  
• in studio/interior sets
• on location
• holding a shot steady - unless using hand held camera for effect
  
• framing a shot appropriately
• shooting material appropriately to task set
  
• using a variety of shot distances
• selecting appropriate mise-en-scene - related to the themes involved in the thriller e.g. crime - knives, guns, death - blood etc.
  
• editing so meaning is apparent to viewer - in order to create continuity so it makes sense
  
• using varied shot transitions and effects - such as fades, opacity effects, slow/fast motion
  
• using sound with images - for example, could use character theme sound which means using certain music every time a certain character comes on screen
  
• using titles appropriately - text should resemble themes used in the thriller
  

Action Thriller analysis of James Bond Casino Royale

It opened in black and white lit by one lamp in the middle of the set. i dont htink the same lighting effect wouldve been made here if this part was in color. the set is completely isolated and quiet. there is just one man alone walking up stairs in an office building. when he gets to the office room he set out for, a man is already waiting for him. this scene is lit from outside through a window there is also a low lit desk lamp. The low lit conditions created a tense atmosphere. a whats going to happen next? scenario.

these opening scenes include flashbacks of bond drowning a man in a sink then it comes back to the present day and he shoots the man in the office then theres another flashback which then shows the drowned man getting up and being shot down. this is parallel editing where it cuts between two stories. I'm not sure if it would be non linear or linear because we know whats going on but it skips from the present day to past day. Flashbacks are a typical convention of Thrillers as a whole not just the sub genres.

Then blood starts to run down the screen over bond pointing the gun at the screen. The blood suggests the death of the two men hes killed within the few opening minutes of the film, it indicates more death and violence throughout the film.

During the opening credits which follow the above screen shot, the movie title; 'Casino Royale' is related to by the ace of spades symbols from playing cards flying around the screen. as the titles go on peoples silhouettes fall down with diamond, club, spade and heart shapes sticking into their chests, this links playing card symbols to a casino, Casino being a big part of the film title.

The titles are followed by a change of location it is now set in Africa. This is a typical convention of an action thriller, lots of locations. the set skips around the location and changes from an animal fighting pit to a building site during a tense chase/parkour scene. James Bond being the protagonist character is shown to have a weaker parkour skill in comparison to the antagonist character who he is chasing. He is also left in peril when he jumps to the second crane and slips and almost falls to a certain death. but being the main character we know he'll pull himself up and continue persuing the antagonistic character.

Research On 'Thriller' Movies

The main objective of a typical thriller is to create supense and tension through the action based on the themes included in a thriller. The themes commonly revolve around robberys, crimes, murder etc. Atmosphere is created with the use of the following micro-elements:

• EDITING - often fast-paced and complex - editors may use this particular technique, perhaps in a fight-scene, which may make the audience feel as if they are involved in what us happening as everything on the screen is happening to fast.
• CAMERAWORK - lots of variation
• LIGHTING - to form a dark and dim setting - an example of this is in 2007's movie 'I Am Legend' - in the image below there is unnatural light as we know it is night time - here the lighting spotlights the man and his dog as the only ones around, as the surrounding area is in shadow. This shows that using lighting in different scenes and in different ways, you can create an atmosphere, like this lonesome atmosphere in this picture.

• MUSIC - primarily to add suspense, tension and intensify moments of significance. Also, micro elements used together can create very important atmosphere and details in a movie - in the the clip from 'I Am Legend' above, there are non-diegetic sounds from outside, the effect of this is to make the audience feel the danger and intensity of the film. In this example this/these micro element/s creates empathy towards the characters.
• COSTUME - to indentify character e.g police officer, detective in uniform

Despite the fact that thriller can be confused with horror themes, there is a small dissimilarity. The conventions of a horror involved a lot of gory moments usually revolving around deaths. However, a thriller has more reasoning behind its narrative as it often focuses on crimes or murders.

Typically, a thriller opening gives clues of the narrative, but never explicitly demonstrates the storyline. The protagnistic and antagonistic characters are introduced at this point. Female characters are normally included who are identified as a having a vulnerable manner and/or protrayed to be sexually attractive to add appeal.

Action Convention analysis of 'I Am Legend' movie trailer

Watching this clip there were a few noteable Action Thriller conventions, these included

- protagonist is usually trained/skilled in combat

- protagonist is phsically fit

-fighting violence not death violence

-race against the clock scenario

-more violence than other sub genres

for the opening few seconds of this movie trailer there are lots of poilce cars and people crowding which creates a frantic confused atmosphere. A woman says "im not infected, im not infected" in a pleading way this also starts of the theme of infection, it makes you question what kind of infection? this theme of infection is contiuned and answered with Will Smiths narrator roll "there were 6billion people on earth when the infection hit.'' this one line suggests that this infection kills human beings. stating how many people were on earth also suggests that now as hes saying it there are a less significant amount.

Starting about 40 seconds in on this trailer, the main character played by Will Smith and his dog are seen running on treadmills, this suggests this is their morning workout. it also makes you wonder why they are not running outside on the streets, is there some kind of danger? this is then followed by Will Smith doing pull ups on a bar in his door way. this would suggest his is training himself for combat or engaging in a workout that will further his combating skills.

This starts off the theme of his daily routine that is played through the trailer.

'Morning' when hes running on the treadmill.

'Exersice' when hes doing pull ups in the door way.

'Eat breakfast' when his dog is pawing at the food in its bowl.

'Recreation' when Will Smith is hitting golf balls off of a plane wing on a navy boat.

there are several other labels that appear on the screen that reveal his daily doings. this shows that his day is repeated day after day and that the same sort of things should be expected to be repeated during the film.

At the end of the trailer more writing appears.. "I AM IMMUNE'' ''I AM THE LAST HUMAN'' ''I AM THE LAST HOPE'' these phrases are written in capital letters this could be because they are ment to grab the audiences attention. these phrases are against plain black backgrounds so attention is not drawn to a moving scene behind like with the previous writing. they start and carry on the theme of the film title "I Am Legend".

This film uses special effects like pyrotechniques, in the trailer this is used when a rocket hits the bridge.

there are other scenes during the film where pyrotechniques are used, gun fire and the chain reaction car explosions are two more emaples. the chain reaction car explosions are shown near the end of the trailer at about 2.08 At the end of this trailer the action quickens and more intense scenes are used. This use of packing in the action at the end means the audience will remember that bit most clearly and will be more incliend to see it. if all the action was at the begining it may have engaged the audience but by the end they may end up thinking did they use up all the action scenes? or is that it? and the film companys that produced this film would want lots of people to be inclined to go see it.

After the bridge explosion there are scenes of abandonment. these scenes include an abandoned navy boat, dock and hundreds of cars abandoned in the street.

This confirms why the people where crowding at the beggining of the trailer..they were trying to escape/flee the city. The scene captured above shows deer bounding between the abandoned cars. this shows people have not been around for a fair amount of time and that nature has taken over.

During the film there is a sense of a race against the clock. im not sure what clock hes ''racing against" but i think it may be one that could come at anytime, the one where he dies, or the human race dies out. Will Smiths character is trying to find a cure to the infection this leads him to kidnapp the infected and conduct tests it and on rats, in a basement. He then sacrifices himself. the ultimate recognition and he then succeeds in saving the human race with help from a woman and her son.