Thriller Film Introductions.

THURSDAY, 27 JANUARY 2011

Thriller Film Introductions.

The Usual Suspects
Directed by Bryan Singer.


Sound


-Orchestral music soundtrack, creating suspense.
-Diegetic sound of match lighted
-Diegetic sound of gun
-Diegetic sound of water form barrel
-Non-diegetic suspenseful music in crescendo
-First dialogue, 'How you doing, Keaton'


Camera shots/movements


-Tracking shot over dark waters, low lighting projected on river.
-Jump cut to water leaking from barrel- Tilt down.
-Keaton drops match onto petrol/alcohol.
- Tracking shot of flames Keyser urinates on fire.
-Tilt up to balcony with Keyser Soze.
-Keyser only in Mid shot, no face suggests mystery.
-Tracking shot of rope on fire.
-Zoom in on ropes.
-Jump cut to explosion flames.
-Jump cuts to exterior shots of boat on harbour during shooting.
-Non diegetic police sirens.
-Close up of matches and flame.
-Jump cuts to exterior shots of boat on harbour during shooting.


Mise-en-Scene


-On a boat/ship setting.
-Props such as numerous barrels and ropes.
-Dead body also on ship floor.
-Both characters in all black, Keaton looking dishevelled and Keyser donning a long black trench coat and a hat which adds to the danger and mystery he represents.
-Keyser stands authoritvely over Keaton on ship floor, the levels portrays the characters difference in power.
-Low key lighting, night time signifies mystery and suspense that corroborates with Thriller genre.




Editing


- Text on screen introduces us to location, San Pedro; suggests crime and gangster activities.
- Long takes; E.g Keyser descending stairs this could suggest his nonchalant behaviour that adds to audiences fear of him.
- Shot reverse shot of brief conversation between Keaton and Keyser, however framing composition is of Keatons face and Keyser's leg as he is stood over him in a menacing manner.

Hard Candy
Directed by David Slade.
Lionsgate/Vulcan Productions

Sound
-Slow piano music during opening credits, almost nursery rhyme-esque which links into the films theme of youth.
-Fast typing sounds (instant chat sound beep)
-Instant chat sound amplifies during climax of online conversation
-Cafe scene diegetic sound
-Dialogue of sexual innuendo could foreshadow films 'sexual predator' theme


Camera movements

- Close up of on Screen conversation from female perspective
- Close ups of 14 year old girl when talking to Jeff, to show her innocence or lack of it (through her face and eyes)
- Shot reverse shot (Between Jeff and Hayley)
-Panning shots of computer screen during online conversation.


Mise-en-scene
- Computer screen
- Cafe (where the two main characters meet)
-Hayley wears a red hoodie, the colour suggests danger and blood however it also links with nusery rhyme 'little red rding hood' simmilar to nursery rhyme style music in opening credits.
- Jeff wears a business suit and glasses, this suggests intelligence and wealth which are not traits audiences would associate with being a sexual predator.
- Hayley eats a chocolate cake in the cafe, chocolate is an aphrodisiac and emphasises the 'sexual consumption'

Editing
- Opening credits sequence white background with black geometric shapes, squares, lines and an omnious req square.
- Continous 'slick' flowing movement.
- Online screen names 'Lensman319'

Sin City

Directed by Frank Miller.


Sound
- Slow orchestral music; saxophone, sultry music
- Voiceover of poetic romantic lines
- Music amplifies during couples embrace
- We are introduced to diegetic sound, the city sounds, the police sirens wailing, and the footsteps of the actress walking out on the top of the building walking towards the balcony of the building. Jazzy saxophone music plays in the background.
- A voiceover of a man with a sexual and seductive voice talks, "She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree..."
- Dialogue happens between the male actor and female actress, "Care for a smoke?"
- Diegetic sound of gunshot is heard.
- Diegetic sound of raindrops after the actress gets shot is also heard.


Camera movements
- Long shot is used showing full body of female actress and the whole view of the city from a high angle shot above the building.
- Medium shot is used to show both actors on the balcony, whilst dialogue is used.
- A two shot is used having both actors in the frame together whilst more and more dialogue and voice-over is happening.
- A long shot is again used showing the silhouettes of the man and woman in a different colour kissing.
- A close up of the two shot is used before the man shoots her, and then a aerial shot is used to show the man holding the woman in his arms waiting for her to be officially dead.


 Mise-en-scene
- At the beginning of the sequence is a view of a city is scene in the background.
- The colour is black and white except for the red vibrant dress of the woman and her red lips, are the only things in colour in the scene, showing importance of the woman as everything else in the frame is black and white, suggests femme fatale character.
- The man starts to talk to her, and when he talks about her eyes, her eyes start to glow a very bright vibrant green.
- The lighting is lowkey lighting, as the scene is set in the night-time.
- Body language and facial expression used in the scene is very sexual and seductive; which matches the jazzy style of music
- There are raindrops shown after the woman has died.


Editing
- Shot reverse shot is used during the dialogue between male and female actor, and a close up of the woman's face is used whilst she is smoking.

Horror Film Introductions.

28 days later

Directed by

Danny Boyle


Plot:
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.


Mise en scene


The intro sequence started and finished with low key lightingindicating us that it is either horror or thriller even though typically laboratories (the setting) are well lit. After, we see some raging monkeys who seem to wanting to get out of their cages  creating the loudest noise possible attempting to escape.
Later on in the sequence whenr the woman released a monkey and then she was biten by it. The light started flashing 
Flashing lights
Blood




Sound

• Distorted sound
• Diegetic
• Swearing
• Heart beat
• Sound from inside the cage

Camera movements

• Zoom out
• High angle
• Long takes
• Cameras pov
• Dolly shot follow character
• Two shot
• Pov
• Short takes start
• Match on action
• Extreme close up on he change eyes

Editing

• Montage
• Red filter
• Shot rev shot
• Tittle fades in and fades out

Narrative chaos

• 'Infected with rage'
• Prologue
• Animal cruelty the characters are good guys

Frankenstein (1931)

Director: James Whale

Sound

"How do you do?" to speak directly to the audience trying to make it seem more realistic

The Narator had an English accent to be more formal so when he warns the audience about the movie, he seems to be reliable because of the tone of his voice.

After the warning from the narator, there were opening credits which had a background music to it which may add to the fright of the movie for 1931 audiences.

The sequence after had diegetic sounds of the bell, mourning people which is a part of the iconography for a graveyard which shows that some one had just died.

The first words were "Down, you fool" which assumes to be one of the portagonist or atleast a character who is involved in the movie alot. This also leads some mystery to the audience because the men seem to be doing some "secret" work which leads us straight to the narrative of this movie.

There's not much background music involved in this sequence.

"He's just resting, waiting for a new life to come" in such a confident voice which builds to the character's personality which is crazy! And at the same time it gives us an idea of the plot.

Camera movement

There aren't much camera movements in this sequence. It mostly consists of long takes which makes it not so Hollywood like comparing to modern movies.

In the beginning, the camera does not move and stays at a mid shot of the narrator, again trying to make the warning more serious and formal. Also, the narrator is facing the camera at all times which barely happens in modern movies

In the first take, the camera uses tilt from a man pulling up a rope which continues to a close panning shot of the people who are mourning to give us a sense of the facial expressions of the characters in the movie.

Then it goes to a close up on two men which we interpret who the main characters are. After, it continues to a  slow panning/dolly shot to give us an image of where the two characters are. This sequence consisted of long stake shots to make us follow the character's movements.

When the character said "He's just resting, waiting for a new life to come", it seemed that he said it directly to the audience as his eyes were looking straight ahead to the camera. This gives a feeling of fright to the audience for such a bizzare and ridiculous line of the idea of bringing a corpse back to life.

Editing

There wasnt much editing in the sequence but there was some time skips from when a character was burrying the soil and when the two men were digging it up. Suppose that this this was just to fast forward the time and for the movie not to drag on burrying and digging up the grave.

They also used dissolve from before and after the time cut to let us connote that it is in the same location but at different times

Mise-en-scene

The narrator has a suit on adding to his formality, again to make him seem reliable and his warning is very serious.

The location of the sequence was a graveyard so there were iconography of this to make the audience connote of the location of thefilm such as: Mourning people, a few crucifix, a statue of the grim reaper (which is unecessary but still there to make the audience comprehend easier that it is a graveyard), the location is a typicalhorror convention to make us see what genre it is despite the warning that in the begining that the movie will be scary.

J-Horror Film Introductions.

J-Memento Mori

(Secrets are made to be kept)

Directed by Tae-Yong Kim, Kyu-Dong Min

Plot:

Min-Ah finds a strange diary, capable of arousing hallucinations, kept by two of her senior fellow-students, Hyo-Shin and Shi-Eun, who seem to have an unusually close bond. But Hyo-Shin suddenly kills herself, for no obvious reason, and the entire school is shocked and depressed. Min-Ah, however, starts to feel different. It's almost as if she's somehow possessed by the dead girl...

Intro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPIbnWxaH6I 

00:00- 03:30

Sound

Amplified sound

slow piano

echo in words

sound synchronous with the camera movements and takes

eerie sound 

Mise en scene

lowkey lighting

environment - empty

Red Hankeychief used as a symbol of bond?

Camera movements/angles

dolly shot when running

Close up

zoom in her ear to indicate that the opening scene is over

Editing

parellel time water

disolve

use of continuity when the setting changes

short takes use for chaos/conflict

water used to change scenes 

Narrative

talk of death

create conflict - drowning

mystery - face and faces are blurred underwater

conflict two girls who were "bonded by a red hanky"