Representation in our film

By watching the clip of Scream i am able to see that some of the stereotypes used in that film we will try and tie into our film.

Stereotyping is a negative thing - but tends to be conventional in genre and audiences respond to recognisable codes.  We will aim to cancel out our negative stereotyping of female characters by including some stronger and more three-dimensional independent characters.  This is something that lots of films aimed at teenage audiences tend to do.

In Scream we see a teenage girl home alone. This is a massive cliche. When we think of blonde girls the typical stereotype is dumb. This character in scream is a typical blonde. She is very naive as every single time the phone rings she picks it up, knowing that it is going to be that man calling back again. She then starts to have a conversation with him, she does not even know who it is. If you was home alone and you had one phone call and you didn't know who it was and it kept ringing and ringing you would not continue to answer it but obviously in a horror movie this is another cliche, things that you obviously do not do will appear i a horror movie. There is a part in the clip where we see her subvert the dumb blonde stereotype as she does something sensible. This is when she goes to all the doors and locks them after she realises that this phone call is not a normal person having a conversation. Women always tend to be the first victim in horror movies, this is because women are seen as less dominant and aggressive as men so cannot stick up for themselves that well.

Stylistic Influence

Our film is a low budget thriller and for that reason we need to use camera in a really effective way to tell our story and to create tension.  There are a few examples of use of camera that we think are really effective and we want to aim to recreate this style in our own work:

Luther

Luther was a BBC drama series which played on the conventions of thriller in the use of camera.  There were often very tense moments with careful attention to the framing of shots, which were often extended in order to create tension.  The timing of cuts in the series was very clever - often lingering on a point until the very moment the audience member felt uncomfortable before moving on.  This creates a building of tension that we want to replicate.  The example below shows this:

There are many effective shots used i this extract. One of the first ones is where he is walking to the crime scene. The camera uses rack focus, it only focuses on the back of Luther's head. This shows us that he is a very important person and is the main character of this TV drama. The second shot that i find very effective is when he has just entered the house and the camera is placed on the floor, off center and is low angle. The low angle shows us that Luther has power. Having the camera off center makes us feel uneasy and creates a bit of mystery. When Luther first walks into the house the editing pace slows down and so does Luther. We see his walk slow down and his facial expression shows us that he is shocked and a bit worried. Whilst this is going on there is use of non - diegetic sound. This music creates a lot of tension as the notes have been dragged out and is played quite quietly in the background.


Scream

Wes Craven is a very influential horror director and his opening scene for the film Scream has some very clever shots.  The audience are wondering where the threat to the lead character is and Craven chooses to linger on certain things to force us to look, which makes us feel threatened.

In this extract there is no particular parts. As i said earlier the director likes to linger on certain things and it is clear in this clip what he lingers on , the girl on the phone. This creates tension as we want to see what she is looking at when she is on the phone. They show us what she is looking at when she looks out the window but other times we can see her eyes staring at something but it never shows us what. The camera shots are mainly all close ups and some medium shots. The use of close ups is really effective in this clip as we can tell that she is scared and when we think the camera is going to show us we are kept guessing as to what and why she is looking even more worried or even more scared than she was in the other shot. All the sound that we hear is natural. There is no tense music. Although there is no tense music, when the phone rings it is very high pitched and if you are the audience watching this film and you are so gripped to it the sound of the phone will be enough to make you jump.

Ideas for Non-Diegetic Sound

For horror and thriller films the use of sound is integral for creating suspense and tension - so we have researched non-copyrighted sound to edit and use to create atmosphere.  We need to have some high suspended notes - which are conventional as they inform the audience of impending danger.  We also need some louder dramatic sounds for impact when the characters or audience become aware of the danger.

This video has a range of different sounds in it. I do not like the sound in the first minuter or so as it does not create any tension and its not very thrilling. It is quite boring and slow, there is nothing really that grips you to get you worried in the film. But when we get to 1 minute and 12 seconds this all changes. This is the part i would like top use as non - diegetic sound. This is because it creates a lot of suspense as it goes from a really high pitched note to a dramatic thud. This creates a lot of tension in the film.

Straight away i really liked this clip. This will definitely be a good sound to include in my film. This is because the music is quite spooky. This creates a lot of tension as it makes you feel as though something bad is going to happen. You hear this sound in a lot of horror movies so you could say it is a cliche. I would only intend on using the first 2 minutes of this soundtrack clip because after 2 minutes it goes onto a different sound that does not create any tension or suspense and is not the kind of sound we are looking for. It can also tie into the first clip as we can crop the sound and add the big thud in. This will make it sound like we have created out own soundtrack.

Questionnaire

We created this questionnaire to get some inspiration/confirm final ideas for our film. This was very useful as we found out what the public like to be included in a horror/thriller film. As you can see we asked a question about what are peoples favourite cliches in a horror film and 90% of them said the feeling of being followed. This will definitely be a key feature that we will try to include in our film.

 

Location research

This will be the location we will be filming at. As you can see it is a school. We do not use many of these places in our film but these pictures have been taken at the same school we are filming at. We have chose this location because you would not expect a horror movie to be filmed here which creates mystery and tension. It had a lot of good places that we were able to shoot certain scenes which made them very effective. This is not the typical location for a horror movie, this subverts the typical stereotype.

Props research

These are typical horror movie props.  The dark clothing represents the antagonist.  By having the hood up we will create mystery and tension.  We are going to have a character who wears all black clothing with a hood up to put our audience on the edge of their seats.  Our target audience is teenagers and the dark clothing and hoods are things they will be familiar with.

The knife is used in a typical horror movie to scare the audience. They are usually used in the more gory type of films. This could also be a familiar with teenagers as this is something they fear. There is not a lot of gun crime in this country, its more associated with knifes. In our film we will not be using a knife but if we did need a weapon we would chose the knife.

The mask creates a lot of mystery and really gets you thinking who is the person underneath it. This could also be worn by the antagonist. These could be worn by the antagonist because they do not want anyone knowing their identity, this could be because they could end up in trouble if they do. this could be familiar with the teenage audience because its a classic convention of horror films.

Sound track research

In The first clip we listen to, the main sound that we hear is strings, this could either be a violin or an organ. This creates tension and suspense. This is effective because it makes you feel panicky as you do not know what is going to happen next. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from the anticipation of not knowing what is going to happen. It also has a slight sadness to the sound. This makes us feel sacred and sorry for the children that are being held in the van and especially the child who has got a knife being help up against his throat. 

In the second clip the two main sounds that stand out are the heartbeat at the start and the piano notes that are being held. The heartbeat sound creates suspense as it makes us feel as though we are that character during that precise moment. It also starts our hearts to beat faster as you know something bad is going to happen as it is such a dramatic sound. The piano notes create tension as well. This is because they use a range of high and low ones. The high pitched notes are more effective that the low ones as it gives us an idea that we could be in for a shock. The low pitched notes sort of give us a sense that everything is going to be okay but then the high pitch notes start again. 

Institution research

Paramount Pictures 
Paramount pictures has been around for more than 100 years. It started off in 1912 and is the operating and only major studio remaining in Hollywood. They won their very first Academy Award for best pictures in 1927. They have worked with Directors such as Cecil B, D.W Griffith and Alfred Hitchcock. They have also worked with well known stars such as Elvis Presley, Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers. They worked with these people in there earlier years. In most recent times some of the well known actors/actresses they have worked with include; Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie. They have produced many films but one that has stuck out is Titanic. It was the highest grossing blockbuster of all time (1997). Some other films that they have produced are; Forrest Gump, Grease, Top gun, Indiana Jones and many more.

Lionsgate
Lionsgate is an American film production/distribution studio. It is the largest and most successful mini - major film studio in North America. It was formed in the summer of 1997 by Frank Giustra. Its main focuses are foreign and independent films and has created films series such as The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games and The Divergent series. Its first major box office success was American Psycho in 2000. The Hunger Games grossed $68.3 million when it premiered at the U.S box office on March 23, 2012. The Hunger Games then grossed to a massive $152.5 million , making it Lionsgate's highest grossing film in three days. Lionsgate films are mainly based on horror. Lionsgate occasionally co produce films with other major studios. They teamed up with Miramax films in 2004 and produced Dirty Dancing.

Blumhouse Productions
Blumhouse Productions are also another production company that focuses in horror. They have Produced films such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Purge. It is an American film and television company founded by Jason Blum. Blumhouse has a first - look deal with Universal pictures. Blumhouse produced the paranormal sequels. Insidious grossed over $97 million worldwide on a budget of $1.5 million. It also produced Sinister which grossed $77 million worldwide from a budget of $3 million. Blumhouse has worked with directors such as James wan, Mike Flanagan and James DeMonaco.

Initial ideas

This is our mind map of our initial ideas. This gives you a ruff idea of what the film will be about. We want to included horror movie cliches but whilst doing that change it up a bit with the characters that we will include. For example you do not normally see a typical gay best friend in a horror movie and this is what we wish to include.

Production titles

    

These are the production titles we created ourselves. We used adobe to create this, it was quite straight forward. All we had to was find an image and think of a name to call the production titles. I then found an effect to make it look more professional. This was quite a straight forward task and a fun one as well. A strength of our production titles is that they look professional and we were able to use certain effects to make it look more interesting. A weakness of our production titles wouldn't exactly be about the final product but about the process in making it. I found it difficult to find a picture and to also think of a name for it.

Mood board

This is our mood board. We created this to show most of the key ideas we have and that we will most probably be including in our film.

Audience profiling

This is the audience profile for a similar film to ours aimed at the same international audience and age range that we would be aiming at.  When this film, the Exorcism of Emily Rose, was released it's interesting to see who it was popular with.  The main age group that went to see this film is aged between 15-24. This is good to know because it will help us choose what age rating to class our film as. We are also able to see from this picture that it appeals to a wide audience, this is because 15-16 year old's are able to go to the pub for dates so they choose the cinema instead and they find horror films that appeal to both genders so they both enjoy it. This will help us with our film as we will get an idea of what we need to include to attracted both genders.

A 15 rated film means only people 15 and over are able to watch the film nobody under the age should be watching it. In a 15 rated film you are allowed to show drugs being taken but you must not promote or encourage the use of drug misuse. this means it should not so how easily they got hold of the drugs and highly dangerous substances. Dangerous behaviour is accepted just as long as it is in context, it should not show in great detail people being hung, suicide and self harming. Weapons are allowed to be shown but as i said earlier depends on the context, setting and realism. Strong language is allowed to be used and very strong language is as well but it depends on the manner it is being used in. Horror films are allowed to use nudity as long as it is not shown in great detail, but they do not usually include it as it puts the audience off the film when they are watching it. They are allowed to include strong threat and horror, this is always included in all the horror films i have watched as it creates a sense of tension. Horror films are allowed to use strong violence but should not have extended injures that are sustained, they are also not allowed to include strong gory images. 

Preliminary task

Strengths
A strength of our video is how smoothly it runs and how the cuts between each scene are that noticeable, especially at the start. Another strength of our film is that we included all three shot types that were required (match action, shot reverse shot and rule of thirds) this definitely made our video look very good and professional.

Weakness
A weakness of our video is that we should have focused on staying in the same position if we was siting down etc. This would have then made the video look more effective as it will look like it was taken in one shot which would have distracted the audience from noticing the cut between the two.

We created this video by using adobe. This is very good software to use when you are creating a video as there are so many things you can use on there to improve and make your video look more effective and professional. The thing that was quite hard was matching up each different shot. this was where was was trying to achieve match action by having the same activity by just looking at it from a different camera angle. This was quite complicated but we managed to do it in the end. I am very pleased with the way our video turned out. At the start of the video and at the end we put and effect in called fade to black, this just gives the video a more finished look rather than just leaving to end with someones face or body etc.

"What are you doing here?"

A strength of our film is it includes different shot types, which shows our understanding of each one, it also makes it interesting as there is not one shot that is same.

A weakness of out film is we filmed two of the shots on the wrong side, this may confuse the audience as they character is on the wrong side from where they should be looking, but we fixed this issue when we were editing it.

We made this film in adobe. We found that inputting the clips and cutting them was rather easy. This was straight forward as all you had to do was drag the clip that you wanted to use down the video bar. The difficulties that we faced was trying to flip the characters round so that they were on the correct side. In the end we managed to find an effect that flipped the character round to what ever angle you wanted, after we found it and used it a few times we got the hang of it. Another thing that was quite challenging was trying to zoom into the face, this was very hard as there were no indications on how to do it or where we could find the tool. Overall i would say we got the gist of things in the end but will need a bit more practise using this piece of software in the future.

Continuity in filming - Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and there intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.

Continuity in filming - Match action or cutting

This is when the editor cuts from a shot to a different view of the first shot. This just shows you a different angle of they shot which may show some more detail. It creates a visual bridge which draws the viewers attention away from the cut in between.

Continuity in filming - Shot reverse shot

This is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (that you are not able to see) and then it cuts to the other character showing the other character looking at the first one, once again you cannot see the other character. This is usually used when someone is having a conversation.

Continuity in filming - 180 rule

The 180 rules states that the two characters that you are filming must stay on the same side as they were when you started to film, you can cross the line if you take the camera with you. The reason why we have the 180 rule is so it does not disorientate and confuse the audience. It mainly includes 3 shots so they are able to get one angle of character 1, one angle of character 2 and then a shot with both of the characters in such as a long shot. 

Target audience for romantic comedy

Conventions of a Romantic Comedy

Action target audience analysis

Analysis of Action movie cliches

Horror target audience profile

Horror film cliches

When we hear horror movie we automatically think blood, death, screaming, teenagers, demon's etc. there are several different categories for horror films; slasher, zombie, vampire, mainstream horror, Asian horror.

• Slasher horror is a film that involves a psychopathic killer who stalks and murders a particular victim. 
• Zombie horror is a film that involves an invasion of a town or city with zombies. Usually the zombies carry a certain infection
• Vampire horror is a film involves someone holding a secret that they are a vampire but do not want anyone to know and then all of a sudden their finding somebody that they want to bite. 
• Mainstream horror is the main cliche for a horror film. There is some sort of ghost, possessed person haunting your house or wanting to take your soul, you do everything in your power to get away from it but you simply cant, it follows you. 
• Asian horror is just where the film is filmed in an Asian country.

These genres all rely on cliches because without them they would not be horror movies. There are many cliches leading to horror movies such as small children. Small children are all either evil or have a invisible friend who are evil. For example in The Conjuring, the youngest child finds a jack in a box down by a tree, whenever she wound it up she could see a little boy standing behind her asking her to play. She found the box underneath the tree where this little boy's mother had hung herself. So you can already tell this is a major cliche when it comes to a horror film. Another cliche would be teenagers, in every horror movie there is at least one teenager. They are usually found alone in a house which leads you to question where are their parents? As soon as you see teenagers in a house on their own you know something bad is about to happen. Most horror movies also include the scene where the woman is washing her face in the in the sink and then all of sudden where she looks up there's a possessed person standing behind her waiting to attack the woman. Nuns are always to be avoided in horror films, i have never understood why they always include nuns in horror movies and why they are the main things to stay away from but that the film industry for you, always wanting you too guess what happens next and why this has happened etc. Lastly one of the main cliches is dark rooms, in horror films you are always see people going into dark rooms y themselves. You would never go into a dark room by yourself if you knew that something was haunting you, you would turn the light on an avoid going in there for as long as you could.
The more Gorey films usually contain people being capture and being tortured. When you see this you now there is no escaping it and you know how it will end.....not nice!
Horror films are mainly targeted at teens as they liked to be scared and have the feeling of 'being on the edge of your seat'. Even though some find the films so scary they will still go and pay to watch them, it must the thrill of them.
Horror films work best in rural areas, this because they have no one to scream for help for or no where to run away, there stuck there. this always makes horror movies more scary as your sitting there wanting them to get away but you just know in the end there going to end up dead.

Analysis Feedback

Well done Libby, a confident start to your blog page and some interesting comments on the effects of the opening. Having now learnt further terminology to apply to openings, can you add some comments to the post below about the use of camera and how it makes the audience think or feel?  Aim to comment on three significant moments involving camera to improve your response.  Also, aim to comment on what we find out about the story - what key questions about Dom's character and his narrative are we asking as the audience?

Taken analysis

The scene from Taken, where the daughter is kidnapped, is a really tense and original idea and this iconic moment led to the film spawning sequels.  There is some very clever dialogue as well as use of camera, editing and sound that make the scene so effective:

Sound

The scene is really tense because of use of music they have choosen. Even though the music is not very loud you know it is there. It is a very deep pro longed sound. This makes everything even more tense as you are waiting for something to happen when the music chages pitch or frequency.

Camera

As the tension increases we slowly track towards Liam Neeson.  The use of camera is very clever and another thing that I really like is how we just seee the vilans feet. This creates a sense of mystery and really relies on the daughter to give us the information. We are wanting to know what they look like and all the details about them. This creates suspense as we are really wanting to find out, this also helps us relate to Liam as we are in his shoes as we do not know what they look like either.

Editing

The pace of the cuts is really very clever.  The slow shot-reverse shot stresses their relationship whilst creating tension.  The next thing that happens is a change of pace. The pace does not change a huge amount but we can see that it picks up just a little bit. This when she is being dragged from underneath the bed and then it cuts back to her dad. The editing pace still stays quite slow as Liam is quite calm but we can also see that he is very angry.

Rush Analysis

Rush is a sports biopic about the rivalry between Nickie Lauder and James Hunt and the opening scene is very clever - it sets up the wider narrative for the viewer and creates a foreboding sense of tension.

The opening shot is a really thoughtful one - it is a long shot of a stormy sky which connotes uncertainty, danger and conflict. Storms create this kind of feeling as we do not know what they will bring, its a feeling of the unknown.

We cut to a close up of a man's eye as he survey's the sky - this is interesting because it suggests mystery and it makes us question what is he feeling and thinking. As we wonder why he looks up to the sky it cuts to a shot where we can see him looking up at the sky in a formula one car. This explains in more depth as to why he was looking up at the sky. He could have been seeing what the whether was going to be like and planning how he is going to strategically win this race. You can see the passion in his eye as it cuts to the close up.  This intensity also is conventional for drama.

A dramatic monologue begins. Some questions are asked by Lauder such as 'who would do this,' and we find out that two circuit racers are likely to die, statistically speaking, in the season. This creates more tension as you now have that thought in your head that this is as really dangerous sport and question whether they should be taking part in it or not. You can hear in his voice that this is a very important sport to him and how much time and dedication he puts into this sport.

We are shown a long shot of preparation for a formula one race in the late seventies.  We pan up from the road and this is to lend emphasis to the track because it represents how important the road is to the sport and represents danger as you see all the men checking the car is safe and getting them ready for the race.

There is long shot of Lauder and Hunt and it emphasises the difference between the two men. We see Lauder being focused and spending some time on his own to make sure he will perform at his best but then we Hunt just standing around with a bunch of girls having photos taken with not a care in the world about the race. Its almost like Hunt is just brushing it to one side because he is loving the attention he is getting from the women. This shows a clear contrast between the two main characters. We can tell from this shot that Hunt and Lauder are rivals but we only see one of the main characters, Lauder, preparing for this race properly and actually making us think that he wants to win this race more than anyone else.

Bridget Jones's Diary analysis

Throughout the trailer of Bridget Jones's Diary there are many embarrassing moments, starting off with her big knickers when she is with her boss and then the karaoke when she is drunk and then finally when she answer the phone and says something rather inappropriate and then realises she is speaking to her father.  Fathers in romantic comedys tend to be hapless figures of fun and the father in Bridget Jones is exactly that - which is why her inappropriate sexual comment he overhears is of little consequence.

The main character is relatable in many different ways, you could relate to her if you are also finding it hard to find love or if your life is just one big mess. Moving onto the love interests, during the trailer we see 2 potential boyfriends, one is inappropriate and the other one is the man she should be with. As the audience we know which one she should choose but during the film its not that simple. There is mainly always a fight that happens during a romantic comedy as two men want the same woman. This is a clear convention shown in Bridget Jones's Diary, one of the men offer a fight to the other one, hoping that at the end of the fight either one of them would end up with Bridget.
The clear stereotypes is one being the fight between the 2 men because they are both interested in Bridget and Bridget being confused about who she should pick to be with.

Bridget Jones Diary is considered to be the archetypal romantic comedy - it has all of the expected generic conventions and was so popular with its target audience that it became a franchise. The main character is conventional because she is unsuccessful in her love-life and at work.  We all feel insecure and uncertain about whether or not we are fulfilling our potential - which is a reason why Jones is so likeable - the target audience can relate to her.  We see in the trailer shots of her embarrassing herself in regrettable situations at work.

Dramatic irony plays a part in romantic comedies with the audience knowing who is right or wrong for the lead character before they do - and in the trailer we find out that Hugh Grant's character is a workaholic and a pervert, the things she does not like but is attracted to.

Notting Hill analysis

Notting Hill is a Romantic comedy, we know this because there were many clear indications during the trailer. The first convention we see is that two people who you wouldn't expect to be together are, this also ties into 'the perfect person'. It shows that they have been made for each other and belong together.

Further into the trailer we are introduced to his best friend. This is another very big convention. The best friend of the main character tend to be stupid but funny. We can tell that the best friend is funny because he thinks mayonnaise is yogurt but also implies that he is not well educated.  Best friends in romantic comedys are often an obstacle to the happiness of the lead character - and often also find love themselves, and therefore a life beyond their friend, as a subplot.


 This type of sense of humour is aimed at women as they would be the ones to find it funny. The man could be relatable to other men. This is because he thinks she is too good for him and thinks she is way out of is league.
The characters during the trailer show some clear stereotypes, for example we expect the best friend to be stupid and in sense rely on the main character for help or guidance throughout the film. The famous women has a typical stereotype from where she is famous. When think of famous people we think of cameras, looking good all the time and that everyone knows who you are, this is the typical stereotype for the woman during the trailer. There is always cameras around her or waiting for her where ever she goes, this is how we know she is famous. The man in the film is a normal working class citizen who you would not think would end up being with a celebrity. There is a clear contrast between the two main characters.

Cliched moments where characters confess their feelings to others is a generic convention and in Notting Hill there is a key moment where Julia Roberts's character tells Hugh Grant's character how she feels.  She says shes just a normal girl wanting to be loved. This appeals to the target audience because all girls feel this way. They can all relate to her character and in a sense feel sorry for her as that's all she wants, she just wants to be loved and in a happy relationship with someone that adores her.

The Mechanic analysis

In the opening scene of The Mechanic we are not given an insight into whether it is an action film or not, this is because we do not see any guns or violent behavior but as we get further into the opening the guns are shown and the violence starts to happen.
Camera
There were loads of shots used during the opening of The Mechanic. It starts off with a long shot of the male getting into his swimming pool, this creates a sense of mystery as we do not know who this man is. A few seconds afterwards we see a medium shot of him putting his goggles on ready to get into the pool, this gives an idea of what he looks like and whether he is going to be a villain or not. We then move onto a birds eye view of him doing length in the swimming pool, this gives us an idea of whats in his surroundings. Whilst he is swimming in the pool we see a shot of his face, this is a low angle shot as we are looking up at him, this is effective because we can see what expression he has on his face. We then have a camera shot of point of view, this is where we see that there is a watch on the bottom of the pool and we obviously can infer that he is going to pick it up, this is when it turns to his point of view as we see his hand reach out in front of him. This is then when he gets grabbed by someone in the pool and it cuts to a close up to show the panic on his face as he is dragged down further and is being drowned.
Sound 
There was non-diegetic sound used through out the opening. The music that was being played was very dramatic we can interpret that something bad is going to happen. When the man is being drowned all we can hear is gargling as the man is swallowing the water as he is being held under. As the villain escapes there is suspicious music being played, its like the spy music that is played when they are on a mission. The next sound we hear is when the maid sees the man floating, she screams, this creates a sense of panic as when people scream it means they are scared or need help with something. After the maid screams the suspicious music starts to begin again as the villain is escaping the house.
Editing
It is fast pace editing throughout the opening, this creates chaos because it makes the audience sit on the edge of their seat hoping everything will be okay. This also helps us understand the situation, we can infer that there is a problem that needs to be sorted and not everything is fine.
Representation
During the opening scene villains are shown as being good looking, we know this because it shows a medium shot of the villains body. They are also represented as being muscly, this is so they will be able fight and so they look the part.

Expendables analysis

In the opening scene we see a lot of fighting, this gives us a good indication that it is an action film. The opening of the film doesn't give too much away as to what the film is about, it keeps us guessing hoping that it will get us to watch the whole film to find out what happens.

Camera

At the start there was a lot of over the shoulder shots. This was used to get us to feel as though we were in their shoes. It let us see what was happening from their point of view. There was a few establishing shots, this is effective because it shows us where the scene will be taking place and give us an idea of what might happen by the look of the place it is taking place at. Long shots were also a common camera shot used, this was effective because it shows us what was happening to more than one thing at a time. Although this is a good camera shot it could also disorientate the audience as they have to focus on more than one thing at a time so may get confusing. 

Sound

During the start of the opening there was the use of non-diegetic sound. The music that was playing was very intense, we could infer from this that something bad might happen or they have some conflict with somebody, as we know it is an action film so it will include fighting. During the opening scene we also hear the sound of guns being fired. This is effective as it gives you the feeling of being there, we are able to hear the same as what the characters can hear making it more realistic. 

Editing

Throughout the opening the editing is very fast. This makes the opening more exciting as we are constantly looking at something different and switching between certain scenes in the opening. It also creates a sense of panic because you feel as though your in the film with them and you want them to complete whatever they are doing quickly so they can get out this awful situation. 

Representation 

Men are represented as being violent. This is a typical stereotype as well. When we think of fighting an guns we immediately associate them with males, this is because males come across as being the more dominant gender. In films men are mainly always the hero's, this is also because they are muscly which makes them more reliable than in woman, in the sense that they will be able to fight all the battles etc. 

Gladiator film analysis

Gladiator is a action/drama, we know this because there is lots of fighting and dramatic scenes in the opening scene.

Camera
During the opening scene the first shot is a close up of a mans hand. This creates mystery as we do not know who's hand it is and what it has to do with the film. Moving further into the opening scene there are many more close ups. It starts of with the hand and then there is a close up of the main characters face. This is effective because it shows us the characters facial expression, we are able to see that he looks worried. The camera then starts to pan around the setting. This is effective because we are able to see where the film is going to be held and get a feel for what type of film it is going to be.

Editing 
At the start of the opening the editing is very slow paced. They may have made it slow to set the scene and to get you thinking what could be going on in the rest of the film. The editing then starts to pick up, this is when they have a little conversation and when we are introduced to all the other 'gladiators'.

Sound
The music at the start of the scene is very tense. This creates a sense of worry as you are not to sure for what might happen next or what may be coming up during the film. But once we cut from the hand brushing the grass onto seeing all the gladiators it turns into heroic music. This may gives us a clue that they are going to win the battle. We are also able to hear the horse communicating with each other. This is effective as it really sets the scene as it makes you feel as you are there with them, it represents realism. Another sound that really sticks out is all the cheering before they start the battle, this may tell us that they are excited to get going. We hear the main character say 'unleash hell'. This shows us that he may have the stronger side in the battle and have a better chance of winning it.

Representation
Men are represented as violent and strong in this film. They are represented as violent because they are all carrying swords and are all very enthusiastic to start this battle. This is a typical stereotype as when we think of crime and violence many people would blame a man instead of a female. They are represented as strong as they are very muscly. This is also a typical stereotype as men always want to be the alpha male to show people that they are in charge.

Jeepers Creepers analysis

Jeepers Creepers is a horror film. From watching the opening two minutes i can tell that there will be 3 main characters and get a feel for the story line throughout the film.
Camera
During the opening scene of Jeepers Creepers there were many camera shots used. It stats off with close ups of the two teenagers in the car. This is effective because it makes the vehicle seem small and claustrophobic. They also use close ups to show the facial expressions of the teenagers. They use point of view camera shots to make us feel as if we are in their situation and get us thinking about how would we feel if that was us. The camera also starts panning as we are looking directly at the antagonist. this is effective because it disorientates the audience.
Editing
The editing pace was quite slow when it was cutting from scene to scene. this created some tension as it made us want to see what happens next quicker. There was many editing shots that cut from the point of view camera angles to the close ups in the car. this is effective because it gives us a real feel of what this scene is all about an we can see whats happening all around them.
Representation
The two teenagers that were in the car were represented as annoying and disorganized. We can tell that they are disorganized because in one part of the scene the male character ask for his mobile phone but it has no charge on it, this is irresponsible and disorganized as it had no battery on and they needed it for an emergency. We could also say the teenagers were nosy as they did not stop starring at the creepy man, this may be half the reason why they got themselves into a troubled situation.

Drag me to hell analysis

Drag me to hell is a horror film. From watching the opening 2 minutes it seems like a very jumping film. i will now be evaluating all the different sections to the film that i was able to see from the opening.

Camera

There was many camera shots/angles used to create this thrilling opening. One of the very first shots was an establishing shot of the home where the opening 2 minutes would take place. this gives us a good idea of where the next scene will be taking place. It then moves on to many close ups of the characters faces. The character that stood out the most was the women who was meant to be helping the boy. When the camera shows the woman's face, we see panic, it gives us a good indication of what she is feeling and if the situation is good or bad. It also gives a close up of the boy, we can see that the boy looks distressed. When we see the boy laying down the camera starts to pan, which disorientates the audience, this creates tension because we think that something bad is going to happen afterwards. 

Sound

There is use of a minor key. This creates sad music with a suspended note which creates a lot of tension. All the music used in the opening is full of tension it always has you feeling on edge as to what will happen next. It is very effective as it makes you want to carry on watching.

Editing

Between most of the scene it has fast pace editing. this creates a sense of chaos. This is because it makes you feel like you are in the film going on the journey of hell with them. 

The spiritualist is given prevalence as she is the character you see the most. She has longer duration shots and a lot more close ups than any other character included in the opening. This gives you the feeling that she is going to be in the film an awful lot as well as the little boy who has already been 'dragged to hell'.
Representation 
It shows us negative stereotypes of each culture. It presents the Mexicans as being poor and how their not able to look after themselves very well as they do not look very clean. It presents the gypsies as being evil and sinister. We get this impression because when they boy stole the necklace they put a curse on him which is obviously why he is hearing things and seeing things that are not real. It also gives us the impression that they can do magic as they were able to cast a spell on the little boy.

Analysis of the film Back to the future

Opening scene of Back to the future

What genre indicators are there? 
We can infer that the genre of the film is science fiction. This is because the main character is surrounded by clocks in the first scene. The clocks indicate time, this could link to something happening in the future as the clue is in the name but also the clocks are set 25 minutes late. There is also another indication that it is a science fiction because in docs house there are many contraptions that nobody has ever seen before.
What question are the audience encouraged to ask themselves about the narrative/main character?
There are many questions that the audience may be thinking such as why did the doc set the clocks 25 minutes late? who is Marty? what is Marty' relation towards the doc? We hope all these question can be answered whilst the film continues. also another question that could be asked is what are all those inventions for? what do they do?
What do we find out?
We find out that there are two main characters, Marty and Doc. At the start of the first scene we only see Marty's feet but then the camera slowly makes its way out to showing his face. We can see that Marty is a teenager and that he still goes to school, as when the Doc called he said he was going to be ate for school. Even though we do not see the Doc we can infer that he is another main character because Marty was at his house with all his invention so this must tell us that most of the film will be based around them two. We can also tell that Marty is quite mischievous as he turns on the amp and the speaker to as high as they can go, when he plays the guitar it blows the speaker up because he turned it up too high.
How is the music ambient sound used and what mood does it create? 
There was not much music or sound in the opening scene. the only things we hear are clocks ticking, the radio and the television. This does not create any sort of mood it just sounds like a load of noise all put together.
What camera shots stand out for you and what is there effect or appeal?
there were any close ups used during this scene. There were close ups of the TV, many of the clocks, Marty's feet and skateboard and some more. There was the occasional medium shot, this was when they first showed Marty, and when he played the guitar and blew the speaker up. All in all the opening scene of back to the future did not give much away and leaves you guessing with whats going to happen.

Analysis of the film Divergent

Opening scene of divergent

What genre indicators are there?

The genre of the film is a science fiction. It shows us that it is set in the future as they have a massive fence surrounding there city, so we can only infer that it is in the future as we do not have that in our time now. Also the citizens are split into groups and whichever group you are in you have to wear a special outfit. This also indicates that it is in the future because that does not happen now.

What questions are the audience encouraged to ask themselves about character/narrative?

The audience may be thinking will there be a happy ending, if you was living in that world what group would you be put in, would you be happy living there or would you hate it, is this an accurate sight into what the future may look like.

What do we find out?

We find out that the public have now been split into different groups depending on what you believe and what you are capable of doing. We also get the impression that the narrator/main character will get involve with the group that protect the city, the soldiers, as I get the feeling something will happen and they will have to save the city or fight or do something in that direction. The opening 2 minutes doesn’t really give much away, it is very hard to try and infer what is going to happen.

How is the music ambient sound used and what mood is created?

At the very start we hear very dramatic music, this creates a curious/worried mood as they do not know if something bad is going to happen right at the start or if they are going to make us wait. It carries on for a good minute or 2 and then suddenly stops, this shocks us as we don’t know why it has stopped so suddenly, but then the main character starts to narrate. She starts to tell us the basics but does not give much away so leaves us guessing what is going to happen throughout the film.

What camera shots stand out for you and what is their effect or appeal?

There are many establishing shots used in the opening scene, this is effective because it gives us a real feel of what the setting looks like and where it is. There are also some medium which show the different groups this is effective because it shows us how different they all look from each other and gives you an idea of what type of people would fit in where.

28 weeks later review

 The genre of this film is a horror, we can tell this from the first 2 minutes as there is a lot of blood, gore and screaming going on.

There are two main characters, Don and Alice, who are married to each other. We learn from the film that Don is a bit of a coward as he does not stay with his wife during the attack from the zombie like people, instead he decides to jump out of a window and run away. As he is running away he is also being chased by the infected people, he sees a boat and jumps into it and manages to avoid being bitten. Meanwhile the wife, Alice, is at home with a child that she let in after they knocked at the door, they lock themselves in a room so that hopefully the zombies do not get them. Alice may come across as a brave character as she stayed at home trying to save her and this child from being attacked. But in the end Don looks over his shoulder whilst he is running away and he sees his wife up against the window shouting his name and then the next minute she is being dragged away from the window and being infected with the disease.

 

During the opening 2 minutes of the film there was many different camera shots used.
One significant moment would be where Don runs away from the infected people and is shown in a field, as seen in a picture below,

This is a medium shot as you can see his head as well as his body from the waist up. This is effective because it shows that the character, Don, is running and is in a panic to make sure he out runs the infected humans. It also puts the audience into a state of panic because you really want him to out run the infected humans but then you also know that he shouldn't of left his wife like that, it was selfish of him.

Another significant moment is when Dons wife, Alice, looks out the window and sees him running away, as seen in the picture below,

This is a close up as you can only see her face and the upper part of her body. this is effective because it shows the real emotion that she is feeling at that stage and can make you empathise with what Alice is feeling that current moment. When we see Don running away and leaving his wife the audience must feel sorry for Alice and think what a coward, who would just leave their wife like that?

A third iconic moment would be when Don jumps into the boat and tries to escape being infected by the humans, as seen in the picture below,

This is a long shot as there are multiple people in the picture. this is effective because it shows everything that is going on around Don and how it is not focused on one thing. It shows us that Don has more than one obstacle to tackle at once and makes the audience question will he make it out alive? In this shot we see Don being brave and fighting off the infected humans so it makes us question even more whether he has made the right decision to leave his wife or not.

My Influences and Interests

My favourite film is the Conjuring 2. The reason why it is my favourite film is because its very thrilling. I like the feeling of being on the edge of my seat and not knowing what to expect next.i also enjoyed it because it was based on a true story and at the end of the film it shows pictures of the house where the events actually took place with pieces of information about the house ie where it was and what happened.



My favourite director is James Wan. He has directed many horror films such as both the conjuring films, insidious 1,2,and 3, and he has also directed the up coming film lights out which i have yet been to see. All of his films that i have seen have been very exciting but in a scary way and the way the films are put together is mind blowing, everything looks so realistic.



I do not have a favourite genre as i am torn between horror and a romantic comedy. I tend to watch horrors more than i do romantic comedy's because in my opinion there more exciting and have more of a story line to them. I also find there is more good horror movies out than there is romantic comedy's. I find that with romantic comedy's they all tend to end the same and have the same story through out as you cant really do anything else.

The film that i am anticipated to watch is called don't breath. I am intrigued to watch this film as it looks thrilling and its a horror and i enjoy horror films.



The last film that i saw was Bad Moms. I thought this was a really good film. I would class it as a comedy as through out most of the film everyone was laughing. there were some serious parts in the film but then some other parts that were there to make you laugh which i think is a good balance. If i'm honest i did not expect it to be as good as it was. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anybody who likes a girly comedy.