Possible Location - OS

NW / Genre Analysis

1. The genre we have chosen to do is horror. There are many sub genres that exist within horror we will be closest to a teen horror. Other teen horrors that exist are Scary movie 1, 2 and 3 are very good examples of teen horrors.

2. All of the scary movie films all follow the very obvious very stereotpycal horror filming techniques, they may use this in a comical way but this is very good to look at as all of the techniques are very overt so making it very easy to identify. In scary movie 1 there is a scene that shows very clearly some very iconic themes for horror films, it has a woman trying to escape from a killer but she trips and breaks her leg then tries to crawl away this is very iconic and is shown in many horror films.

3. The usual narrative of a teen horror would be a group of teenagers all together and would slowly be picked off by a killer one at a time till there was only one or two left and these remaining people would either escape and there be no trace of their friends or they would confront the killer or killers and most of the time it ends in a fire which destroys all evidence of the whole event. The opening quite often will start off very upbeat and cheerful like in the film House of Wax where a group of teenagers all decide to go on a road trip and are all very upbeat. However, there is usually one in the group that doesn't want to go but is persuaded by someone that they are sexually attracted to, they are also usually one of the people that survives until the end.

4. The killer in scream is a prime example of a stereotypical killer.

An example of a hero is one of the brothers from supernatural this is a tv series but is based upon a supernatural horror and is still an example of a hero.

5. The typical location for most teen horrors are in the suburbs of America and occasionally they will be in a small abandoned town in the middle of nowhere that is not on any map, this add a scence of forboading as it is very rare that a town will be completely abandoned for no reason.

6. The iconography I would expect to see in this genre would be a killer in a mask using a weapon that could cause a lot of pain before it killed you. For example in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre there is the crazed killer wielding a massive chainsaw.

7. The costume used in Texas Chainsaw Massacre are very effective as they are simple clothes that don't cost a huge ammount to make unlike in some movies where the costumes are all very fancy and expensive. The costume used for the killer are just the stereotypical south American farmers wear but they have been torn and covered in blood to create a much more effective and scary costume.

NW / Film Noir

Themes

The themes of film noir are usually based around moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. This way of making a film is often regarded as very pessimistic and is usually based in a world that is inherently corrupt. This is shown in the usual use of corrupt members of the police or other people who are usually regarded with high authority. The films often had a sense of heightened anxiety as this is said to have followed WWII

Visual Techniques

The visual techniques used in film noir are very iconic as the use of low-key lighting and shadows is known to anyone even if they do not realize that it is to do with film noir. The characters faces are often obscured or covered with shadow this is very popular with modern day hollywood as it adds a fear of the unknown and can seem people seem very sinister. There is also very often the use of disorientating camera shots, like dutch angles and low angle shots, along with people often being only seen in reflections in mirrors or other surfaces.

Narrative

The narrative tends to be centered around the protagonist with him often telling the story line using flashbacks or flash forwards, it is also usually a very convoluted story line. The story is usually based on crime, heists or cons, accusations and double crosses.

Characters

Film noir often has misunderstood and morally flawed characters and there are also the stock characters such as the detective and femme fatal. The femme fatal is often noted for her treachery and almost always dies before the end of the film as there is usually a sense of karma by the end of the films as people usually get their "just deserts". There are many iconic props associated with the femme fatals like the trails of smoke and there is also usually a shot of her legs moving up to her body and she is often objectified however she uses this to her advantage as the film goes on.

NW / Dog Soldiers opening sequence analysis

Shot by shot analysis

1. black screen sound of water
2. cut to river while tilting down as the words Scotland appear on the bottom left
3. fade to man getting water from the lake
4. fade to man walking past fire to sit next to the woman
5. cut to man talking to woman
6. cut to woman
7. cut to man's reaction
8. cut to woman
9. cut to the both of them through the fire
10. cut further back then before but still through the fire
11. cut to man's reaction
12. cut to woman
13. cut to opening box
14. cut to woman
15. cut to man
16. cut to woman
17. cut into the tent - time is lasped between this and the shot before
18. cut to hand moving sensually across the womans bare body
19. cut to hand unzipping her trousers
20. cut to tent being unzipped by an unseen character
21. cut to woman's reaction
22. cut to man's reaction
23. cut to the zip on the tent
24. cut to both of their reactios
25. cut to the woman's legs being pulled from the tent by the unseen character however we see the hairy wold like arms coming inside the tent.
26. constant cutting and very shaky camera between the man and the woman
27. final cut of the 2 minutes of the man being splattered with the blood of the woman as she is ripped viciously in half by the beast.

Genre

This horror film supports your expectations and views of a stereotypical horror film as it has the iconography of suspense and fear of the unknown as you don't see the killer. The opening conforms to the charateristics of a supernatual horror opening.

Film Language
The mise-en-scene of this opening conveys the meaning as you are introduced to the silver knife the remote location and you don't see the whole werewolf however you see the arms and you are suppose to make the link between the silver and furry arms, this makes you think of a werewolf. The use of camera shows how sucluded they are and helps to emphasise the horror and emotion of the opening. Sound is used to increase the suspense and thrill of the scene.

Narrative
The narrative is shown in a linear fashion during this opening scene, as the opening does not involve any of the main characters we are not postioned with either side of the narrative. We can identify the werewolf is evil and trying to eat humans this is done through the use of mise-en-scene and the characters. The major theme of the narrative is the werewolves eating people around an area of scotland. Tension is created and maintained through the use of sound as the music over the top is creating a sense of forboading and when the werewolf attacks we cannot see it.

Representation and Ideology
We see a working class couple this is shown through the use of costume and the dialogue as they talk about work and are wearing lower quality clothing. The prominant belief shown in this scene is the supernatural.

Media Audiences
The target audience for this film are 15-35 year olds as this film is rated 15 this means that the people watching it are usually old enough to make there way to and from the cinema or place they are buying to DVD from.

Institutional Context
There are no big stars used in this film this has been done to decrease to costs of the film. The film was produced by Pathe and is an inudstrial film

Genre Analysis - OS

1. My chosen genre is horror. Horror films strive to elict the emotions of fear, horror and terror from the viewers. There are many sub-genres to a horror film including teen horror, sci fi horror and supernatural horror. An example of a teen horror would be Scream. Scream also created a new sub-genre called slasher, due to the fact the film had a lot of violence with knives.


2. Teen Horror- Scream- In this film they used a phone to have the killer talk to a victim and at first she thinks he is asking her out on a date until he asks for her name as he wants to know who he is looking at. The use of the phone in this way is ideal as we cant see the killer, only the girl. This creates suspense and mystery for the viewers. Use of shadows in films also create a fear factor for viewers, for example in Pscho, there is a woman in the shower and you can see a shadow through the curtain until he/she comes close enough to see that it is the murderer and he kills her with a knife.

3. The typical narrative for a horror film is that there will be a hero/heroes and villains and that the villains will end up killing most of the heroes but in the end everything will work out fine and the baddies will be defeated. This is not the case more recently as films and T.V shows have tried the villains winning such as in the show Dead Set, where all the protagonists eventually fall and turn into zombies.


4. In the horror films, there are normally archetypal heroes or villains. The villains are normally trying to kill al the main protagonists whereas the heroes try and survive and eventually stop the villains. For example in Saw (2004) there is 'the jigsaw' who trys to murder everyone by using various traps which poften end up being gory killing machines.

5. A typical location for a horror film would be a haunted house or an isolated island, somewhere no one can reach apart from the protagonists. This helps to build up suspense as we fear for the protagonists life as they have no help, they are on ther own. An example would be 'The exorcism of Emily Rose' where the opening sequence starts off with an establishing shot of a house, with nothing else near it or in sight.


6.In the horror genre, you would expect to see iconography such as a full moon to represent a werewolf or other creatures or an axe to represent murded or death.


7. An example of a suitable costume would be the costume from the 'Scream' series where someone dreeses up to look like the grim reaper, wearing a whit mask to hide his/her face.

8. Lighting is very important in horror films as it means it is harder to see things for the protagonist, which in turn makes us scared. Normally horror films will be in the dark but a lot of the time they shoot in the day and edit it afterwards. Colour also plays a key part in horror films as in 'Seven' they use red to connote blood, gore and death. This is in their opening sequence so it helps to set a scene on what the film will actually be like.

9.

Opening Sequence of Panic Room, Second Analysis - OS

At the start the camera pans giving us an establishing shot of New york. They do this to set the scene for the film and give us an idea of the location. It then cuts to another area of New York, this time showing the bottom half of a building. The whole opening sequence follows this trend as it is a montage of New York. The music playing is building up and this shows us that something may happen or that the film is full of suspense and mystery. The instruments playing are that of an orchestra, violins seem to be heard the most. The camera cuts to different parts of New York each time but it is not a still image as you can see the cars moving on the streets, therefore showing the possibility of us looking on from a cameras point of view. This would be relevant as the film is based about being in a panic room with hidden cameras in the house so anyone hiding can see what is happening.

Seven Opening Sequence - Technical Analysis - OS

Shot by Shot
Close up of book being turned
Cuts to picture of two hands in book with a red line through the middle.
Shadow moves over book.
Cuts to razor blade. Sound of a razor can be heard.
Cuts to close up of small blade being used to cut parts of fingers.
The sound being used is like a radiowave.
Cuts to a photo of a man, looks like he has been killed.
Cuts to montage of a book being openend.
Cuts to close up of someones hand, writing.
Hand blurs showing movement of the hand.
Upside down view of writing.
Cuts to a red filter connoting blood and death.
More radiowave noises can be heard.
Cuts to man cutting a photo frame.
Cuts showing man putting the photo in an album.
Cuts to a side view of the book being turned.
A beat is introduced.
Cuts to man highlighting with a black marker pen, words in the book.
Cuts to page being turned again.
Cuts to writing on the screen.
Cuts back to page being turned and more highlighting.
Then cuts to a black screen with image of a boy being highlighted through the eyes.
Cuts again showing the whole of the boys face being outlined.
Cuts to a red filter.
Cuts to a close up of him writing.
Cuts to screen being cut in half with the tp half in a red filter whilst the bottom half is a close up of more writing.
Cuts to man putting film in a page.
Cuts to a close up of finger putting the film in the book.
Cuts to many shots of page being turned with film in.
Red filter is then used.
Cuts to a close up of a mans head in the album.
Again cuts to the books page being turned
Cuts to needle being pulled out of finger.
The speed of clips shown then speeds up.
cuts to needle being put into book.
String is then seen being used.
Drums are being used.
Cuts to pages in book being flicked.
Cuts to newspaper being cut out.
Final cut shows many albums.


Analysing the Sequence
The film opening starts with just a book with the pages being flicked but you then see a hand turn one of the pages. It then cuts twice, first to a black screen with the production name on and then cuts to a, what looks like a drawn picture of two hands with a red line in between them. The colour red connotes blood and death but also the picture is in black and white therefore expressing more depressing themes. A shadow then comes across the page only reinforcing this depressing mood so far.

Another cut leads to a quick shot of a razor blade or shaver and the diagetic sound of a shaver stays with us even when it cuts to another black screen. It fades away when we next cut only to see another razor blade and the same sound being used again. This sound is quite creepy and would be perfect to use in a horror film. You see a close up of the fingers being used to hold the razor but the film doesnt reveal anymore than that to add suspense and mystery. Throughout this opening montage editing is used. This is beneficial to the script as it doesnt give too much information away but starts to put fear into the audience as the images of razor blades and dark, edgy rooms will help to create suspense and tension.


The camera cuts quickly a few times showing an extreme close up of someone writing in black ink on some paper but then cuts to a completely red screen showing what looks like an image of a face. After that you are shown another close up, this time of the man cutting different frames out of a film. You then see him move the frame across the table and then of him sticking it into a book. The camera cuts to the page being turned over, maybe showing it is a book full of photos, or victims.

Next you see another close up of him, this time putting a straight black line through parts of the book. This keeps occuring until you finally see someones face with him drawing a line through all of it, maybe showing he has been killed or dealt with. We assume this as the screen goes red straight after possibly representing his victims blood. More cuts this time showing half the screen as red and the other half with the man placing the frames into the book. You then see the man use a pin and this shows more themes of death and violence as the colour red filter is used to connote blood. A the end of the sequence, you are shown a mid shot of the photo album and more red filter. Seven is an unusual opening as the use of montage editing and the sound of a shaver creates fear for the audience.

There are two bankanble stars in this film. They are Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt and both would guarentee a successful return for the investors. The certificate for the film is an 18. This is because from the openig sequence you can see the connotations of death, violence and gore. I believe the naraative is linear as although it is hard to tell from a montage, it looks like everything is moving forward.

Examples of Horror - OS

I like the idea of having one murderer but his identity is kept secret until near the end of the film. I think this works well in films such as Sorority Row and Scream. This creates suspense and mystery in the film as know one knows who the killer is, not even the audience. In our two minute film opening, i would like to take the possible chase scene we may do and have the killer run after his/her victim, with us following the victim in a first person point of view. This would put us in the victims shoes and make us feel frightened because of the realism created through the use of a handicam.

Another idea i would possibly like to explore is something that makes the audience jump out of there seats. For example, the camera follows the protagonist past a mirror and when he firsts looks in the mirror, nothing is there but when he nexts looks the killer is there staring at him. This would make the viewer scared and frightened as they fear for the protagonists life.

Horror Genre - OS

Horror films are movies that strive to elict the emotions of fear, horror and terror from the viewers. Most plots often include themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Some examples of horror films are Frankestein, Alien, 28 days later and Final Destination.

The point of the horror genre is to frighten the audience watching and that is what i enjoy about them, the fact you know something is going to happen but have no idea what until it happens, and you jump out of your seat scared!

Thriller genre - OS

A thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television that includes numerous and often overlapping sub genres. The characteristics of a thriller can include frequent and often fast paced action and resourceful heroes who must thwart more powerful villains. Thrillers often take place in exotic locatios such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions or high seas.

There are many sub-genres of a thriller including a crime or conspiracy thriller, an action thriller, a medical or religious thriller and many others. An example of a thriller could be The Bourne trilogy or Phone Booth. In television, thrillers may include 24, Prison Break or Lost, which have all been very successful.

Initial Ideas - OS

This is our first post on the blog and myself and Nathan are looking into doing a horror film possibly including a chase scene and a scene to make the audience jump out of their seat! We are hoping to create a two minute film introduction to show off what we have learnt in media studies and also introduce are own ideas. We are hoping to possibly include a first person point of view in the chase scene and maybe even a dolly shot. At the moment we have not come up with a concrete idea just yet but we are still discussing a number of options to choose from. We have also looked at the possibility at a cross over film maybe including the thriller genre as we both like the idea of having a fast paced film yet is horrific in parts, possibly including dark shots and noir effects to create suspense and fear.

The woods is a possible location for a film but as many have tried this before, we may look elsewhere for our location. Where i work there is an old warehouse which isnt used often which could be a good location for our film as it is dark yet edgy which may work out in our favour. I am interested in using a lot of mise-en-scene such as ripped clothing and fake blood to create a horrific image for the audience. Furthermore, i would like to explore the option of using sound in a different way, for example rather than having creepy music to set up the chase scene have a slightly more silly music which could be interesting as it would put a different twist on the chase scene.