The first film we watched an extract from was Cape Fear, in which a released convict stalks and harasses the lawyer who had him sentenced. The extracts which we saw all used mystery, as the camera tended to follow one of the lawyer's family, but showing shots of the antagonist close by. This created a sense of mystery as well as tension as the audience knew that the antagonist was present, but we had to wait to see what his actions would be. The mise en scene used on the antagonist was unusual, with the primary colour of his costume typically being white, a radical choice of colour for the antagonist, but his messy, scruffy costume, as well as the fact that the white made him stand out more against the sober formal outfits of the protagonists family and the people in the courtroom. Also, in the last extract, he was shirtless, a mise en scene choice which was perhaps used to suggest a wildness to his personality. There was an interestingly framed shot in one of the extracts, in which the antagonist approaches the camera, a POV shot from the perspective of the protagonist's daughter. The framing was interesting as the shot was a wide shot, and the antagonist was extremely small in the frame, as well as having lots of extras walking around him. However, the antagonist was placed completely central in the frame, walking down an avenue, and being framed by both the extras and the roadside on either side of him, directly towards the camera, seeming very threatening. Also, hyperbolic sound was used for his footsteps, as they seemed to rise above the rest of the soundtrack. This made the sound of him approaching even more threatening as the sound rose so clearly above everything else, making him the central focus.
The second extract was from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, in which an aging and failing actress abuses her sister, a more successful actress, who has since been disabled in a car accident. The extract we watched used a lot of suspense, as we saw Blanche throw the small piece of paper asking for help out into the window, and then saw her sister Jane pick it up. From this point, the audience knows something will happen, and the dialogue scene between the two sisters after, seems to escalate the tension even more as the audience waits for the result of Jane finding the piece of paper, with this long wait contributing to the building of suspense.
Another extract we saw was from the film Fatal Attraction, in which a man's affair goes wrong as his lover grows even more insane and violent towards him. In the extract, we saw Michael Douglas' character walking through a car park, and like with the extract of Cape Fear, saw the antagonist watching the protagonist. This again creates a feeling of tension as the audience can see the antagonist nearby and will make guesses as to what they will do. However, this extract was different in that Michael Douglas' character was unaware of the antagonist being there, creating dramatic irony as the audience knew what would happen. As we then watch Michael Douglas' character walking along to car park, the tension builds, even more so with the car alarm going off as he walks by, as to what the antagonist will have done.
The final extract we saw was from The Silence of the Lambs, in which a rookie FBI agent investigates a number of mutilations. The extract was from one of the final scenes, and like the extracts of Fatal Attraction and Cape Fear, we saw the antagonist Buffalo Bill, watching the protagonist Clarice Starling, as she is unaware of his presence. However, this is done differently as we see it from a POV shot from Buffalo Bill's perspective as Clarice stumbles around in the darkness. This builds a lot of tension as we can see just how close Buffalo Bill is to Clarice, and the audience anticipates something happening even more.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Diary - Creating the Animatic
Making an animatic for the storyboard was interesting and also quite simple to do. To create it, we took photos of all of the frames in the storyboard. We then uploaded the photos onto iMovie, and put them in order to create a rough animation out of them. Then we recorded a commentary by taking it in turns to read what was written on the storyboard about the shot type, sound and content of the shot. We then edited the length of the clips showing each storyboard frame so they fit the commentary properly and preventing the commentary running over multiple frames and becoming confusing. After this, we saved and exported the iMovie clip into Quicktime and uploaded it to the group blog.
The post is in the link below:
http://chrisedjonjack.blogspot.com/2011/11/storyboard-animatic.html
The post is in the link below:
http://chrisedjonjack.blogspot.com/2011/11/storyboard-animatic.html
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Diary - Writing the Script
Today, I wrote the script for our preliminary task. In order to do this, I followed the typical conventions of film scripts by first writing a slug line to set the scene : "INT. OFFICE - DAY" and also setting the dialogue apart from the descriptions, by adding a space. Normally, the dialogue would be central on the page, which it was in the original word document, but could not be done in a blog post.
The script abides by thriller conventions as it uses enigmas. In particular, the object inside the flight case in never revealed and is kept as a mystery throughout the short. Also, the relationship between the two characters in the script is implied in the script, but never directly stated. Another thriller convention is used in the dialogue as all of the dialogue is kept very short and punchy, which is often used in thriller dialogue.
The script abides by thriller conventions as it uses enigmas. In particular, the object inside the flight case in never revealed and is kept as a mystery throughout the short. Also, the relationship between the two characters in the script is implied in the script, but never directly stated. Another thriller convention is used in the dialogue as all of the dialogue is kept very short and punchy, which is often used in thriller dialogue.
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Idea Gathering
In today's lesson, I looked at examples of the preliminary exercise from other groups at a different school. This allowed us to see what is expected of us in the task, as well as gain some ideas for how to be creative and unique within the boundaries of the task. It also allowed us to see roughly the level of quality we should be aiming for.
We also has an opportunity to note the other groups' use of the conversation to establish thriller conventions such as the enigma, which is an idea we hope to include. Also, we saw examples of different and creative uses of the match on action in some of the clips, differing from the typical door opening match on action. gain, we hope to include a more interesting use of match on action in our own preliminary task.
However, we also learnt to avoid some problems we found in the other preliminary tasks, such as abiding by the 180 degree rule, as we found other preliminary tasks seemed to accidentally break it. Also, some examples used transitions that seemed out of place, such as a slow fade, as thriller films tend to use quick simple cuts instead.
We also has an opportunity to note the other groups' use of the conversation to establish thriller conventions such as the enigma, which is an idea we hope to include. Also, we saw examples of different and creative uses of the match on action in some of the clips, differing from the typical door opening match on action. gain, we hope to include a more interesting use of match on action in our own preliminary task.
However, we also learnt to avoid some problems we found in the other preliminary tasks, such as abiding by the 180 degree rule, as we found other preliminary tasks seemed to accidentally break it. Also, some examples used transitions that seemed out of place, such as a slow fade, as thriller films tend to use quick simple cuts instead.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
How does The Shining fit thriller conventions?
Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining is an extremely popular and influential psychological horror/thriller, setting a basis on which many following films in the same genre would seek to emulate. While many people would view The Shining as a horror film, it also contains many conventions frequently found in the thriller genre and particular sub genres, such as supernatural thriller and psychological thriller.
Most of the narrative in The Shining follows the conventions of a psychological thriller. It follows Jack Torrance's slow descent into insanity, which is a key narrative feature of psychological thrillers, which typically focus on a mental conflict rather than physical. Another narrative point used in psychological thriller films, is where the conflict of the protagonist is within himself, rather than from any other external source or antagonist. This is clearly shown in the character development in the character of Jack, who goes from being the almost the sole protagonist at the very beginning of the film to the primary antagonist and main threat to the characters. The character development is also important, as like other psychological thriller films, The Shining mainly focuses on character over plot.
One of the main features of The Shining which ties it to the psychological thriller sub genre is how perception and reality is questioned. This is a very common convention in films that typically deal with one character slowly becoming insane, as it tends to replicate the effects of their oncoming illness. This is a frequently recurring theme in the film, as many of the surreal, paranormal events that happen to the family seem to be some sort of hallucination such as the twin girls who appear to Danny and the recurring scene in which blood pours from the elevators down the corridor. These events, particularly through how surreal they appeal to be, as well as the film's use of very short montages of extremely brief shots of horrific imagery and events, tend to show a slightly unreal side to these events. However, as the film reaches the conclusion, reality is questioned even more with the final shot of Jack Torrance in 1921, which leaves a final confusion with the audience as to the truth. Another narrative point that links The Shining to the thriller sub genre is the use of intelligence or wits to overcome the antagonist or conflict, which is found when Danny loses his father by utilizing the method in which his father is chasing him, and turns it to his advantage, walking backwards through his tracks.
Also, elements of the narrative connect The Shining to the supernatural thriller sub genre, in particular "The Shining" itself, which is a form of telepathy, making it a clear supernatural element. It is also very important to the narrative as a whole, making the supernatural thriller aspect explicit. Also, many of the hallucinations during the film, if not just hallucinations, then would clearly be supernatural events, and as implied by the previous ghost stories told to the family and the fact that the Overlook Hotel is built on a Native American burial ground, these events could possibly be ghosts, and would therefore be supernatural.
The mise en scene of The Shining fits in with the appropriate mise en scene typical of the thriller genre. It takes place in a modern time setting, although does not take place in an urban environment, which slightly goes against thriller conventions, although it is necessary for the character development. The Shining features a lot of modern props, such as the radio and the snowcat, as is typical of the modern setting of thriller films. Also, the lighting of the film corresponds to thriller conventions as the lighting is relatively low key throughout, although it subverts the tendency to use dark environments as the Overlook Hotel is reasonably well lit, although this also helps it avoid the stereotypical horror setting as well.
The sound used in The Shining easily fits into thriller conventions, as it is very suspenseful and is constantly used to build tension and mystery. It is also very hectic, with lots of strings playing at once, creating a confusion and unnerving atmosphere, building the tension and giving the audience the impression that horrific events are about to unfold. Also, the strings are very high pitched, being even more unnerving and building the tension, as the audience expects something to happen as the strings get higher and build the suspense.
The camerawork uses the wide variety of shot types typically found in thriller films and also uses lingering shots with very long durations to set an unnerving mood. These long duration shots break the convention of thriller films using very short shots, but in breaking the convention, allows a more strange and unusual, and in breaking the conventions, unexpected atmosphere to develop from the use of long duration shots.
Overall, The Shining uses many key aspects of it's mise en scene, sound, camerawork and narrative to tie it to the thriller genre and related sub genres in narrative.
Most of the narrative in The Shining follows the conventions of a psychological thriller. It follows Jack Torrance's slow descent into insanity, which is a key narrative feature of psychological thrillers, which typically focus on a mental conflict rather than physical. Another narrative point used in psychological thriller films, is where the conflict of the protagonist is within himself, rather than from any other external source or antagonist. This is clearly shown in the character development in the character of Jack, who goes from being the almost the sole protagonist at the very beginning of the film to the primary antagonist and main threat to the characters. The character development is also important, as like other psychological thriller films, The Shining mainly focuses on character over plot.
One of the main features of The Shining which ties it to the psychological thriller sub genre is how perception and reality is questioned. This is a very common convention in films that typically deal with one character slowly becoming insane, as it tends to replicate the effects of their oncoming illness. This is a frequently recurring theme in the film, as many of the surreal, paranormal events that happen to the family seem to be some sort of hallucination such as the twin girls who appear to Danny and the recurring scene in which blood pours from the elevators down the corridor. These events, particularly through how surreal they appeal to be, as well as the film's use of very short montages of extremely brief shots of horrific imagery and events, tend to show a slightly unreal side to these events. However, as the film reaches the conclusion, reality is questioned even more with the final shot of Jack Torrance in 1921, which leaves a final confusion with the audience as to the truth. Another narrative point that links The Shining to the thriller sub genre is the use of intelligence or wits to overcome the antagonist or conflict, which is found when Danny loses his father by utilizing the method in which his father is chasing him, and turns it to his advantage, walking backwards through his tracks.
Also, elements of the narrative connect The Shining to the supernatural thriller sub genre, in particular "The Shining" itself, which is a form of telepathy, making it a clear supernatural element. It is also very important to the narrative as a whole, making the supernatural thriller aspect explicit. Also, many of the hallucinations during the film, if not just hallucinations, then would clearly be supernatural events, and as implied by the previous ghost stories told to the family and the fact that the Overlook Hotel is built on a Native American burial ground, these events could possibly be ghosts, and would therefore be supernatural.
The mise en scene of The Shining fits in with the appropriate mise en scene typical of the thriller genre. It takes place in a modern time setting, although does not take place in an urban environment, which slightly goes against thriller conventions, although it is necessary for the character development. The Shining features a lot of modern props, such as the radio and the snowcat, as is typical of the modern setting of thriller films. Also, the lighting of the film corresponds to thriller conventions as the lighting is relatively low key throughout, although it subverts the tendency to use dark environments as the Overlook Hotel is reasonably well lit, although this also helps it avoid the stereotypical horror setting as well.
The sound used in The Shining easily fits into thriller conventions, as it is very suspenseful and is constantly used to build tension and mystery. It is also very hectic, with lots of strings playing at once, creating a confusion and unnerving atmosphere, building the tension and giving the audience the impression that horrific events are about to unfold. Also, the strings are very high pitched, being even more unnerving and building the tension, as the audience expects something to happen as the strings get higher and build the suspense.
The camerawork uses the wide variety of shot types typically found in thriller films and also uses lingering shots with very long durations to set an unnerving mood. These long duration shots break the convention of thriller films using very short shots, but in breaking the convention, allows a more strange and unusual, and in breaking the conventions, unexpected atmosphere to develop from the use of long duration shots.
Overall, The Shining uses many key aspects of it's mise en scene, sound, camerawork and narrative to tie it to the thriller genre and related sub genres in narrative.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)