This is our initial shot list for the opening scene of our thriller production;
1. Worms eye - Looking up from desk/table at person 1 creating chemical
2. Close shot - Person 1 Putting chemical in bag and walking out room
3. Tracking shot - Person 1 walking outside + vanishing point
4. High-angle mid/close shot - Friends socialising in lounge
5. Over the shoulder - Person 1 poring chemical into one of a few mugs/drinks
6. Close-up - Drink, showing chemical being poured into mug
7. Long + panning shot - Person 1 walking down corridor with drinks on tray
8. Birds eye - Friends round tray, taking drinks
Tuesday 27 December 2011
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Animal Kingdom; Analysis
Animal Kingdom - 2010, Directed by David Michôd
Staring James Frecheville, Guy Pearce and Joe Edgerton
Tells the story of seventeen year-old J (Josh) as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.
In Animal Kingdom, the director uses several thriller conventions to establish the film as a thriller.
One convention that the director uses is the setting of small indoor spaces. Spaces such as the homes of the family being quite small and claustrophobic, as well as being dirty inside. Another example of this is a part of the film is filmed within a motel - this being quite a common setting for thriller films, No Country For Old Men for example which was mostly filmed within motels.
Another aspect of the thriller genre that the director used was the character that was put into a unfamiliar situation. This is a important aspect of the film as it is based around the character of Josh 'J' Cody, who is put into the surroundings of the rest of his family once his mother dies. This leaves Josh into the violent and crime-filled surroundings of the rest of his family. The director also makes the family seem like a pride of lions in africa, with one male figure at the top of the family (Andrew 'Pope' Cody) however there is also the matriarchal figure (Janine 'Smurf' Cody) who is ultimately in charge of the family. Within this family they se themselves as the top of the 'Food Chain' within Melbourne, However as the story progresses we see that ultimately they are all vulnerable and scared of the world around them. This in some ways is quite similar with other thriller films - the character/s think they have everything under control but they come to realise that they cannot escape the thing that is chasing them.
One final feature of the thriller genre that the director uses is the open spaces, although he doesn't use it as much as alot of other thrillers use that particular convention. The scene where Craig Cody is shot by the police while running off into the bush is really the only scene where the director utilises this aspect. This is possibly as a signifier of Craigs isolation in the world at the time of this scene.
This Film stands out from the Hollywood mainstream mainly by being set within Australia, and not the norm of the mid-west of america or Europe as a lot of modern thrillers are set. It also stands out thought the minimal use of CGI and also the lack of big budget actors, apart from Guy Pearce, this is inline with the very small budget of the film (around AU$5 million) compared with films such as medium budget tinker, tailor, soldier, spy (budget around £20 million) and big budget The Bourne Ultimatum (Budget around US$110 Million). The film also uses everyday settings for filming (locations such as Houses and outside city locations) the only exception to which would be the Police interrogation rooms and the courts (which we don't see inside of)
Staring James Frecheville, Guy Pearce and Joe Edgerton
In Animal Kingdom, the director uses several thriller conventions to establish the film as a thriller.
One convention that the director uses is the setting of small indoor spaces. Spaces such as the homes of the family being quite small and claustrophobic, as well as being dirty inside. Another example of this is a part of the film is filmed within a motel - this being quite a common setting for thriller films, No Country For Old Men for example which was mostly filmed within motels.
Another aspect of the thriller genre that the director used was the character that was put into a unfamiliar situation. This is a important aspect of the film as it is based around the character of Josh 'J' Cody, who is put into the surroundings of the rest of his family once his mother dies. This leaves Josh into the violent and crime-filled surroundings of the rest of his family. The director also makes the family seem like a pride of lions in africa, with one male figure at the top of the family (Andrew 'Pope' Cody) however there is also the matriarchal figure (Janine 'Smurf' Cody) who is ultimately in charge of the family. Within this family they se themselves as the top of the 'Food Chain' within Melbourne, However as the story progresses we see that ultimately they are all vulnerable and scared of the world around them. This in some ways is quite similar with other thriller films - the character/s think they have everything under control but they come to realise that they cannot escape the thing that is chasing them.
One final feature of the thriller genre that the director uses is the open spaces, although he doesn't use it as much as alot of other thrillers use that particular convention. The scene where Craig Cody is shot by the police while running off into the bush is really the only scene where the director utilises this aspect. This is possibly as a signifier of Craigs isolation in the world at the time of this scene.
This Film stands out from the Hollywood mainstream mainly by being set within Australia, and not the norm of the mid-west of america or Europe as a lot of modern thrillers are set. It also stands out thought the minimal use of CGI and also the lack of big budget actors, apart from Guy Pearce, this is inline with the very small budget of the film (around AU$5 million) compared with films such as medium budget tinker, tailor, soldier, spy (budget around £20 million) and big budget The Bourne Ultimatum (Budget around US$110 Million). The film also uses everyday settings for filming (locations such as Houses and outside city locations) the only exception to which would be the Police interrogation rooms and the courts (which we don't see inside of)
Sunday 11 December 2011
Analysis of scenes from Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown - 1997, Directed By Quentin Tarantino
Staring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Forster
A female flight attendant becomes a key figure in a plot between the police and an arms dealer.
In the opening sequence, Tarantino establishes the character of Jackie Brown as being a very confident character. He does this mainly thought the use of camera angles. One example of which is that when she is on the travelator she is standing perfectly still and always looking in the direction that she is travelling. Another example is that when she has got off the travelator, Tarantino uses mainly low angle shots looking up at her to give the impression of importance and stature. This camera angle also shows all the people in the background walking the other way and wearing very dull clothes, which is in contrast to the very smart, bright blue uniform of Jackie Brown. Also the feel of confidence is further developed by the fact that she never looks directly into the camera, always forward - this shows that she is very focused on one thing and is not easily distracted by her surroundings.
In the scene where the character of Ordell Robie shoots Beaumont Livingstone, is is established as a thriller mainly though the fact that it is set mostly in a set of apartments at night, which are both characteristics of thriller films. Tarantino uses the darkness and very little lighting to give the feel of emptiness. Also the last part of the scene, where we see Ordell drive off and then drive into what appears to be a building site, with Livingstone in the boot of the car and then stops to shot him, gives us the impression that Ordell planed this and therefore is a very methodical man and likes to plan things before doing them. Also in this scene he is very calm - this gives us the feel that he is not in a unfamiliar situation.
This is a contrast to the character of Louis Gara. In the scene where scene where he is in the shopping mall he is very nervous and uptight, this gives us the feel that he is very uncomfortable in his surroundings. Also at the end of the scene, when he shoots Melanine, he shoots her after getting annoyed with her. This show us that the character of Louis Gara is very short tempered and does things on a spur-of-the moment basis and doesn't plan them like Ordell Robie does.
Saturday 10 December 2011
Analysis Of The Witness Murder Scene
Witness - 1985, Directed by Peter Weir
Staring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Lukas Haas
A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial.
The first shot a Long shot of a Amish boy - we can tell this by the clothes that he is wearing - looking up at a large statue and then of a close-up of his face that has a expression of awe. This gives the a sense of scale to the boy and the location, which is a train station, and also the give a sense of the boy's insignificance in the world around him. The large open indoor spaces is also goes against the thriller convention of claustrophobic indoor spaces. Also his expression indicates that he has not been in this environment before.
We then see a mid/long shot of the boy and his mother sitting a another room within the station and the boy gets up and asks his mother to go to the toilet and he then pre-seeds to walk off. We then see the Boy in the toilet and also another man washing his face in the sinks, all we can hear during this scene is the sound of the tap running and the footsteps of two more men that walk into the toilet - one of whom is very smartly dressed and has a very confident body language, which suggests a person of power, A policeman in the case of this film. These two men then attack the man that was already in the toilet and then murder him, while this is happening we then get a close-up of the boy looking though the gap in the toilet cubical door at the scene that is taking place before him. This gives us the feel that boy has no power and a sense of helplessness in the current situation. After the men have killed the person they start rummaging though his possessions, as they do this the boy makes a noise that one of the men hear and he starts opening all the cubical doors one by one, slowly getting closer and closer to the cubical that the boy is in - this builds the tension and makes that audience ask what is going to happen next. As he is doing this we then skip to see the boys face with a very scared expression, he this franticly tries to close the lock on the door - this also adds to the tension in the scene but also creates a sense of urgency. As the man gets to the locked door of the cubical he tries to get it open and as he kicks it down the boy gets into the next cubical along that has already been opened. The man then walks out of the toilet past the boy standing in the open cubical, but he doesn't notice the boy standing on the toilet standing perfectly still in fear of the men.
This scene mainly builds tension mainly though the boys fear and insecurity in the current situation that he has never experienced before. Also the scene the toilet keeps to the thriller convention of being filmed in small dirty rooms - this contrasts with the start of the scene being in the grander of the huge areas of the train station. Another thing that contrasts in this scene is that at the start of it the boy is placed as a insignificant person interrelation to the huge statue he was looking at, and at the scene he becomes very important as he is the only one who saw the person that committed the murder.
Staring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Lukas Haas
A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial.
The first shot a Long shot of a Amish boy - we can tell this by the clothes that he is wearing - looking up at a large statue and then of a close-up of his face that has a expression of awe. This gives the a sense of scale to the boy and the location, which is a train station, and also the give a sense of the boy's insignificance in the world around him. The large open indoor spaces is also goes against the thriller convention of claustrophobic indoor spaces. Also his expression indicates that he has not been in this environment before.
We then see a mid/long shot of the boy and his mother sitting a another room within the station and the boy gets up and asks his mother to go to the toilet and he then pre-seeds to walk off. We then see the Boy in the toilet and also another man washing his face in the sinks, all we can hear during this scene is the sound of the tap running and the footsteps of two more men that walk into the toilet - one of whom is very smartly dressed and has a very confident body language, which suggests a person of power, A policeman in the case of this film. These two men then attack the man that was already in the toilet and then murder him, while this is happening we then get a close-up of the boy looking though the gap in the toilet cubical door at the scene that is taking place before him. This gives us the feel that boy has no power and a sense of helplessness in the current situation. After the men have killed the person they start rummaging though his possessions, as they do this the boy makes a noise that one of the men hear and he starts opening all the cubical doors one by one, slowly getting closer and closer to the cubical that the boy is in - this builds the tension and makes that audience ask what is going to happen next. As he is doing this we then skip to see the boys face with a very scared expression, he this franticly tries to close the lock on the door - this also adds to the tension in the scene but also creates a sense of urgency. As the man gets to the locked door of the cubical he tries to get it open and as he kicks it down the boy gets into the next cubical along that has already been opened. The man then walks out of the toilet past the boy standing in the open cubical, but he doesn't notice the boy standing on the toilet standing perfectly still in fear of the men.
This scene mainly builds tension mainly though the boys fear and insecurity in the current situation that he has never experienced before. Also the scene the toilet keeps to the thriller convention of being filmed in small dirty rooms - this contrasts with the start of the scene being in the grander of the huge areas of the train station. Another thing that contrasts in this scene is that at the start of it the boy is placed as a insignificant person interrelation to the huge statue he was looking at, and at the scene he becomes very important as he is the only one who saw the person that committed the murder.
Thursday 8 December 2011
Analysis Of The Opening Scene Of Essex Boys
Staring - Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Bean and Gareth Milne
The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex, UK.
The scene starts with medium shot of a figure - Billy Reynolds - opening a garage. This scene contains only one light source, a lamp in the background, and therefore it is quite a dark scene which is a classic thriller characteristic of Noir Lighting. This creates some intrigue in the scene and acts to draw the audience in to continue watching the rest of the scene and film. The figure then continues to get the Mercedes that is in the garage ready to drive. He gets in the car and starts the window wipers to reveal another character, known as Jason. As this is happening we hear a monologue that sets the scene for the film and gives the audience some background to the character of Jason. Jason's body language in this scene when we first see him is of a very confident man, this is supported by the monologue which tell us that he has just come out of jail and also that everyone in the area knows of him.
We then skip to another scene where Billy is driving Jason into the Dartmouth Tunnel. The tunnel is a signifier for the barrel of a gun which adds to the theme of violence in the film that becomes apparent in the rest of the scene. As they leave the tunnel the camera that is looking at the car from behind in a medium shot, focuses on the "Welcome the Essex" sign. The sign is conveying a message that Essex is a friendly place. This is in contrast to the image of Essex that the film conveys which is Essex as a a violent place that is filled with gangs and crime. In the next part of the scene we see Jason and Billy in a van at a fish market filled with people. Jason then gets out of the van - with a wooden batten - and walks towards a man in a suit which suggests he is a person of importance and influence. We then see the mans expression as he sees Jason. It is an expression of fear which also builds the character of Jason as being a confident person (in the way he walks up and beats the man in a crowed place) as-well as being a violent man (suggested by the way the presumably important man reacts to Jason as he goes to beat him up). Jason then continues to beat him, throw acid in his face and then locks him in the back of the van as Billy is nervously looking on. This tells us that Billy is in a very uncomfortable position that he is not familiar with.
The camera then skips to the van driving along. The van has a very generic nature about it, there is nothing special about it or anything to suggest that there is a person in the back. We see Billy and Jason sitting in the van and we can hear the man in the back shouting and hitting the sides of the van. Billy's body language tells us that he is still very uncomfortable in the current situation. The final part of the scene is on some marshes. Billy opens the back of the van and the man charges out and falls over in the mud. This is a contrast to his first appearance in the fish market. The market was full of people and he appeared very confident. Whereas now in the desolate deserted marsh landscape he is appearing as a very vulnerable person. This landscape could also be a reflection of Jason, despite the confidence that he shows on the outside, he might be feeling lost and quite isolated as he has just come out of prison.
Thursday 1 December 2011
Analysis of Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures - 1994, Directed By Peter Jackson
Staring Melanine Lynskey, Kate Winslet and Sarah Peris
In this scene there is a focus on the clocks, used mostly to show the thriller convention of time, but also possibly to help the audience create a timeframe in the scene as the narrative of this film is non-linear. It can also suggest a countdown to some kind of act within the plot that could act as a climax. There is also a focus on the bag being carried by one of the girls which we saw earlier in the scene, where a brick was being put inside some tights and placed in the bag, to create tension in the scene to add to the feeling that something is about to happen. Another thing that the camera is focusing on is the feet of the three female characters struggling to walking along a muddy path, possibly to signify that they are in unfamiliar territory or situation.
The majority of this scene is filmed on a very sunny day in a location that is very welcoming, and this goes against one of the main thriller conventions of being mostly filmed in very gloomy and desolate landscapes, although at the same time this gives the location a very eerie feeling about it, as if it was too perfect, to make it seem like a heavenly place. However, a feeling of isolation is also brought across. One way it is brought across is that when they are on the bus they are sitting right at the back when everybody else is sitting towards the front.
The song that starts playing when they are in the cafe also adds a very unearthly feeling to the scene. This, coupled with the two girls acting nervously, the close ups of the girls feet and the way that the scene is slightly slow motion gives the same feel as in other films where an important character gets killed in a kind of noble way that is not typical of a thriller film (e.g. The Lord Of The Rings), and not like it happens in this scene where the mother gets murdered by her daughter and her friend which is more like a thriller convention.
Towards the end of the clip when the two girls are killing the mother there are cut scenes where we see one of the girls on a ship crying and screaming to the other girl who is struggling to push her way though the crowds who are all joyful with streamers and confetti flying though the air - to act as an opposite to the two girls emotions at the time. The cut scenes are also filled in a way that gives it a really unearthly feel as if it was a dream.
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