Monday, 30 November 2015

Children of men opening

Children of Men


In the opening of the film 'Children of Men', the first scene was located in the cafe where the man walks in without any interest in the news that everyone was so invested in. There was sounds of sobbing and crying in the background about the news that "baby" Diago died, however he was 18 they called him baby which was very odd when I first heard it. He was the youngest person on Earth, no babies were born since the year 2009-2027. Although, the man wasn't at least a bit interested in what had happened,  his facial expression was still, emotionless with no care in the world around him. At one point he did look up but only because he was waiting for the coffee and it was only for about a couple of seconds.




After getting his coffee he walks of against the crowd that is watching the TV, just like how he was different from other people by not caring and everyone else, cares (He's the black sheep in the herd of white sheep). As he walks further away from the TV the voice in the TV distorted in a robotic sound before fading out, indicating that this is in the future. In this whole opening there was only two editing cuts, which is when the man looks up for a moment at the TV and when he looks back down. It is as if we suddenly appeared into his life behind him following him around. As he walks out of the Cafe the camera didn't follow him and instead was distracted by the surroundings.(Panning shot) There were alot of three-wheels motorbike that looks like 'tuk-tuk' in Thai, it is rusty and produce a lot of pollution. Although this was in London it does not look like the 'typical' London as we know right now, there are mixture of cultures in one place. On the side of the street a pile garbage can be seen, meaning that no one has collected it in a while now. There was a lack of employment for this kind of job or there was no money put into paying anyone to clean it.



When the camera attention was back to the man he walks to a stand near the street, setting it down and pouring liquor into his coffee. This might suggest that he his an alcoholic or that the world is very messed up to the point you need to forget about what is really happening. (Throughout the whole opening the camera was handheld) The whole opening the atmosphere was really quiet and heavy at the same time with the death of Baby Diago everyone seemed to be devastated, when the explosion happens out of the blue,  after the man put liquor into his coffee it was really unexpected and always seems to get me every time I watch it. The sound effects also add to the sudden change, the diegetic sound of screaming/shrieking and a fire alarm sound that was really high pitched.

Thriller convention


Thriller convention

The protagonist will be seen in peril
Themes of identity are common
-mistaken identity, doppelgänger, amnesia

The protagonist is fallible
- has an Achilles heel/ weakness that is exploited

The narrative centre upon crime (theft/ murderer)

The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, leaving them helpless and isolated.

The audience is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur

A series of enigmas are established and resolved at the end.
Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring.


Micro- element combine in a build up suspense

Extra-ordinary events in ordinary situation



What are the conventions that is expected?
(Narrative, representations, theme, use of micro elements)

- Plot twist
- tension
- fore shadowing
- warnings (impending doom)
- chasing- bad guy--> good guy (weakness)
-dark time/ night setting
-the story starts with happy atmosphere and then something suddenly goes wrong
- task to do objective- solve a situation

Action Films

Less sophisticated plot
Action set place
Explosions and fighting


Horror
Threat is supernatural
Gore--> blood
Extreme [SCARE]










Saturday, 28 November 2015

Psychological Thriller Audience Research


Thrillers??? What do Se73n and Rear window have in common?

What do Se7en and Rear Window have in common?
Se7en and Rear window both have:
-The murderer who everyone is trying to catch and figure out his plans
-Suspense keeping the story exciting
-Protagonist, in this case a "Flawed hero". Each of the main characters has their down faults
Codes: system of signs that create meaning.
Conventions: accepted or expected ways of doing things.

What are the conventions expected? (narrative, representations, themes and use of micro-elements)
Difference between horror and thriller films
Difference between action films and thrillers

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Rear Window - Marriage

What do these two clips tell us about both Jeff and Lisa's idea of relationship, and the representation of relationships within the film?


Jeff thinks that you should analyze and learn about your partner before taking marriage into consideration. That there is a intelligent way to approach marriage, meaning that he doesn't use what he feels towards something to decide, he uses and believes in his logic and sense to determine the situation and how he should approach it. When his carer/nurse (Stella) was tell him otherwise he dismisses the idea and ignore her statement. When Stella suggest for Jeff to marry Lisa




When Stella meets Jeff she always has this facial expression of happiness, love and excitement. Her poster is up right and very lively. Whilst Jeff slouches, indicating that he is not as excited to see her as she is to see him. He isn't likely to have direct eye contact with Lisa when he is talking to her showing no interest whatsoever to Lisa, on the other hand Lisa gives direct eye contact every time she talk with Jeff to show that she is giving him her full attention.

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Fear

                                            

   Aristotle:


He believed in CATHARSIS 
-a telexes of suppressed emotions 
-we are attracted to what scares us to PURGE emotions



Why do we watch scary film?
-when things go right you feel "happy/relieved"
-the excitement "The Thrill" (Physical Response)
-we want to see evil punished
-we like the knowledge that what we are seeing is not real and that everything is safe (Not scary if it's not believable)
-face fears / challenge yourself




                                                       Zolf Zillman- Excitation Theory
                Negative emotions gained from violent / scary imaginary INTENSIFY the positive
                                                     (We enjoy seeing evil vanquished) 


GlennD Walters

What makes a film scary?
1. Tension- suspense built up with filming techniques















2. Relevance- the fear generated has to be relevant and believed by the audience

3. Unrealism- we have to know there is no real threat. This is a safe space to explore and experience


Rear window

Rear Window

1954
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
(Phycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, 39 Steps, Rebecca, Suspicion, Marnie, The Rope)

Jimmy Stewart- Jeff
Grace Kelly- Lisa
Thelma Ritter- Stella
Lars Thorwald- Raymand Burr

Tension:-



1. We know the killer is coming. Jess does but Lisa doesn't.

2. Jeff is HELPLESS 
- He can't move/ The Audience can't Help
- We know Jeff can't move

3. We know help is on the way. Are they going to get there in time?!

4. Editing shows us the emotions of Jeff and Stella- the danger is real

5. We know there's a struggle- Is he going to kill her?

SUSPENSE- Give Information 1) Characters 2) Audience 

6. The killer knows he's been watched. What will he do next?

7. Diegetic music coming from the neighbors flat/ sound of the person who is a danger to Lisa

OPENING REAR WINDOW

 The camera shows Jeff's perspective of what he can and can not see, pan and tilt to the resident of where Jeff is living in. The neighbours lives on top of each other, although it seems like they are in their own world (their lives being presented in a box, almost like they are just puppets playing their characters in different stages to create one story) , their personal lives is exposed to those around them but no one seems to care except Jeff, hence the fact that he is the only one who is looking around and taking in information about his neighbours. Jeff is a curious man and he likes to analyze things/situations that is around him.


DEAD DOG

Everyone only came out because something happened that is out of the ordinary but however when the dogs owner finished pouring her heart out about her dog, they didn't seem to have any care in the world. They just walked back in to their (boxes) houses. Dog is known for their loyalty to humans and therefore the dogs dies because there isn't any loyalty and trust.