Similar Media Works: Kingsford Productions

Similar Media Works Kingsford Productions

Genre Dictionary definition: ‘Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain.’ ‘Jeepers creeper’s , ‘Saw’ and ‘Texas chainsaw’ massacre are very similar with a protagonist and a main antagonist who consistently kills the whole way through. These films show genre well through death, violence and blood. Audience’s of horror films generally believe in the typical conventions of a horror movie, this usually consists of a protagonist and an antagonist and someone dying at the end, we have realised that we need to make our movie more different and striking to entice our audience. We have decided that we need to broaden our target audience to any ages above 15 and both genders. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90 This is a trailer for the film saw which shows the genre within the first 30 seconds. Stephanie Hadlow

History of Horror Horror movies have to begin to build on a narrative before they can build a storyline for characters in the film. Films from the past express genre’s in different ways. From the 1950’s all the way to the present day there are links that can be drawn between each year. This generally consists of a person with a possession, a psychological thriller and someone with a mental illness. From our research we have drawn these links and found that each year reflects psychological thrillers as technology has developed. Over the last 50 years, technology has increased vastly in the film making industry. This means that the need for audience intelligence has had to increase. The use of technology now allows more ‘supernatural’ events to take place within horror films. In the 1960’s the genre of horror films begun to inflict themes of death, the supernatural and mental illnesses. Many of these films are based on classic literature of the gothic/horror genre such as ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Dracula’ and ‘The phantom of opera’. Horror movies of the 1970s reflect the grim mood of the decade, many films begun to look optimistically with sexual and cultural revolutions. The 70’s started to reflect fear’s of children, and the messy painful, process of childbirth. Some films to reflect the 70’s would be ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The shining’. The 80’s had a growing popularity of horror movie sequels, such as ‘Halloween’ and ‘Friday the 13th ’ were successful supernatural thrillers as well as ‘A nightmare on Elm Street’ These films started to develop and create re makes which were seen to be more gory and supernatural than ever. Horror films continued to cause controversy, mainly in the United Kingdom. The growth in home video’s led to growing for public awareness of horror films and concern about the ease of availability of such material to children. Many films were banned because of this and were named ‘video nasties’ these were films that failed at theatres and were withdrawn from being viewed. In the first part of the 90’s films remained to draw connections to the 90’s except they begun to touch upon the relationship between fictional horror and real world- horror. The film ‘Candy man’ for example showed the link between an invented urban legend and the realistic horror of a villain. There were two main problems within thee 90’s because the horror genre begun to wore itself out with the non stop slashes and gore from the 80’s. Another problem was because many of the audience members started to grow up, the replacements began to prefer a more imaginative nature because of the growing special effect courtesy of special effects by computer generated imagery. English language horror films in the late 1990’s such as ‘The Blair witch project’ found success naturally for it’s independent hit of thrilling. The beginning of the 2000’s started to release previously made films such as the restored version of ‘The Exorcist’ in September 2000 as well as the beginning of ‘The final destination’ which marked a successful revival of clever teen cantered horror. There was a major return to the zombie horror around 2002, such as ’28 days later’ which involved which featured and update on the zombie genre of films which were made.

Stephanie Hadlow

Storylines Horror movies have to begin to build on a narrative before they can build a storyline for characters in the film. Films from the past express genre’s in different ways. From the 1950’s all the way to the present day there are links that can be drawn between each year. This generally consists of a person with a possession, a psychological thriller and someone with a mental illness. From our research we have drawn these links and found that each year reflects psychological thrillers as technology has developed. The ‘storyline’ typically refers to the plot of the film, or the subplot. It can also depend on a storyline being fictional or non-fictional. The storyline is a method of teaching the audience what is going on through the narrative. An example of this is in ‘Jeepers creepers’ when a brother and sister (Darry and Patricia Jenner) are returning from college when they see what appears to be someone dumping bodies down a hole near an old church. When the figure speeds away in an old truck, the pair go back to investigate, they find a cavern full of bodies. Then a creature starts hunting them down, that needs to eat fresh body parts to survive. This teaches and guides the audience, making them aware what is going on, using the narrative and the plot. The siblings soon find themselves investigating the basement of an old decrepit chapel in the middle of nowhere, where there lies horrors that they least expect, this shows the typical general conventions of a re-made 21st century horror movie, with an antagonist and protagonist's).

Stephanie Hadlow

Characters Characters are use to narrate the storyline, This will progress the film in order to build towards a climax. For example a murderer or revenger is often a main character who kills his other characters one at a time. This keeps the audience watching and wondering who is next to be killed and also how they are going to be killed. These types of conventions are found in many horror movies. In films over the years actors have been used as supernatural beings in horror films. For example in Frankenstein (1931), Colin Clive is used as the Frankenstein monster. This is a contrast from today's films for example Chucky, where animation is used to create a main character with only an actors voice being used. Animation is also used for characters involved in supernatural horror, for example in David S. Goyer’s ‘The Unborn’, animation is used to make a character change shape, making the audience feel quite disturbed and adds top the fear factor of the film. This clip is taken from ‘The Unborn’ demonstrating the use of animation. http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-LMxFNnGWo

Tom Le Gresley

Target Audience The overall target audience of the horror genre is people over the age of 15 or 18 years old. In the 1940s horror was banned in Britain because it was seen as propaganda, It was the B movie for years until the 1970s when horror returned to the big Hollywood productions and since then it has risen and become very mainstream. There are several niche markets for the horror genre, for example Atics- thrill seeking young couples, Tribe Wired- Free spirited young singles, Early adopters- people in to new technologies. However there isn’t really a niche in the market as of yet for the family horror. Films in the horror genre are becoming more and more scary and less suitable for young children, therefore most films in the horror genre are classed as an 18. A new film just been released in cinemas is called Paranormal Activity, it is an American film written and directed by Oren Peli. The film is said to be the scariest film in the last ten years and people have been so frightened when watching it they have had to leave the cinema. This is the trailer of the film, it shows one of the first views of the film and how the audience reacted to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074

India Gothard

Setting The setting used in all three films that we are comparing to are based on dark, isolated places as in saw it is based around a warehouse, in Texas chainsaw massacre it is based in woodland area with a house on its own and in Jeepers Creepers it is based in the middle of no where, woodland area with a house in the middle. Using these derelict places sets the audience into feeling that they are alone also and helps to add suspense and tension to the whole film making the genre for this film realistic. The setting for the film is one of the most key points to get right in a film as it is what sets the genre of the film. For example, a bright sunny day in the middle of the town centre is not the ideal set for a horror film as none of the surroundings symbolise a typical horror and a dark, stormy night located in the countryside with no one around for miles is not the ideal set for a family movie. In the opening scene for Saw 1, the setting sets the genre of horror as through most of the clip it is dark and when the lights are put on there are two characters chained up in a gloomy, run down isolated room (either a shower or bathroom) screaming for help but no one can hear as they are all alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opz1kxZSk10 In the opening scene for Jeepers Creepers, it is set in a forest in the middle of no where, the lighting around the place is during the day, but more on the evening side as its dim to suggest that the film is going to be filmed through the whole night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEEdKzyaukA In the opening scene for Texas Chainsaw Massacre it starts with a picture of the serial killer when he was a baby presenting that he was deformed to help to explain why he does what he does. As it progresses it shows the problem he had; having a facial disease and it proves that it is him as it shows his birth certificate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RgkSMXyLY

James Garrod

Technical Codes In a typical horror film a lot of mid, close up and extreme close up shots are used to film as the type of genre is a revealing film because as it progresses, you find out more and more. Also, the use of these shots allow the audience to understand the emotions of the main characters present so they can get to know them and connect with them to help them be more involved in the film. As well as using these shots, panning and tracking shots are both used instead of juxtaposition because the film wants you to follow every step of the character as anything can happen next. Once the main object of the film is revealed, a long shot is used to capture the moment as it allows the audience to see the surrounding environment and helping them understand the whole concept. When characters are talking to each other a eye line shot or shot reverse shot is used to show to the audience which characters are engaging in conversation with each other. Using these shots makes the characters on the same page; status is equal to each other instead of when high angle or low angle is used. However, when engaging with the murderer high and low angle shots are used because the killer has more dominance over the victim. While the shot reverse shot and/or eye line shot is used, a close up or mid shot is used as well to show that the information conveyed between the characters is important in the film and a long shot is used to if the conversation isn't very important or is in the background of the main piece of the film. Close up and Mid Shot-These are used to show the conversation between two characters with an importance and emotions that are being felt between the characters so the audience understands what's happening. Long shot-These are used to show the surrounding environment of the characters or reveal the importance of the scene. Shot Reverse Shot-These are used to show who's talking to who Panning-Show a 360° angle of the whole set from the main character Tracking-Follows the main character High Angle- Used on the character that is weaker than the othe Low Angle-Used on the character that is stronger than the other Examples of use of Technical Codes Saw 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opz1kxZSk10 At 2:14, a close up is used on one of the main characters face to articulate the emotion being felt by the character; the pain of the bright light from the lights just being turned on as he has been in the dark for sometime. This allows the audience to understand that he doesn’t know what is going on and is confused on where he is. At 2:43, a long shot is used to present to the audience where the characters are and help show there environment around them to understand why they are not trying to escape/try and find a way out. Between 2:45-2:49, panning shot is used to show the full extent of the problem going to be faced by the two characters presented in the room that they could be killed next at any point. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RgkSMXyLY At 00:04, a close up shot is used on the picture to help illustrate the condition of the the killer in the past and to build up the reason why he does what he does to the characters later on in the film to the audience so they get an understanding of what the film is about. Throughout the whole of the clip, close ups and extreme close up shots are used in each section to help explain much clearer and better to the audience the condition of the killer before he appears later on in the film in present tense. Doing this can explain the whole reasoning of the film so the audience has an understanding of what to expect later on.

James Garrod

Symbols & Signifiers Many horror films have many symbolic meanings behind the storylines. For example religion in ‘The Exorcist’. Religion appears in most horror films in the themes of: Life and death, spirituality, man playing god, man fighting inner as well as outer demons, good versus evil, and many more. These symbols are used in films such as, ‘The Unborn’, ‘The Exorcist’, and ‘The Exorcism Of Emily Rose’. Some of these symbols could be a crucifix, or even a priest carrying out an exorcism. Death is symbolised in horror films by the use of coffins, gravestones, skeletons, and many more. These images give off an uncomfortable atmosphere to the audience knowing that death is a reality. Nearly every horror film involves death in a certain way, from people being killed, to people being haunted by spirits from the past. Lighting and colours used in horror films are usually dark. Most horror films are set in dark surroundings. The main colour used will be red to symbolise blood, especially in films including death, and gore. Dark surroundings give the audience a sense of weather the antagonist is alone or not. Weapons are used in horror films usually to kill off the protagonists victims. Wide ranges of weapons are used from machine guns to knives. Weapons are used in films such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and also ‘Saw III’ where a Venus fly trap is used as the weapon to kill off a character. Dolls and masks are also major props, and in some cases characters in horror films. Masks are used to hide certain characters identities, in films such as ‘Halloween’ and ‘The Strangers’. Also a character is a doll, ‘Chucky’ Is a main character in all his films and he is in fact a Doll.

Tom Le Gresley

Jeepers Creepers

Horror Films

Jeepers Creepers is the famous 2001american horror written and directed by Victoria Salva. The film meets most of the common horror conventions, it is scary and thrilling. The film has the strong and powerful perpetrator who is an ancient demon known as the creeper, there are also the victims powerless to the perpetrator. The setting of the film is very common in most horror films, it is in a near deserted town and the demon stores the bodies of his victims underneath a derelict church, this further emphasises the normal horror conventions. The film fits in very well with the horror genre, it involves many murders and gory deaths which is very synonymous with most horror films. We chose to analyse Jeepers Creepers because it has similarities to the horror film that we are going to create, the setting of the film and the place where the creeper stores the body, has given us inspiration for our own film and what we want it to be like.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas chainsaw Massacre is a re-make of then 1974 film. It was produced in 2003 by Michael Bay and directed by Marcus Nispel. The film is based on Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, Gein skinned human bodies and made up furniture out of it, but he acted alone and did not use a chainsaw. The Opening of the film claims that the events in the film are factual but this was done by false use of documentation. The film includes the protagonist who is disfigured and his face is hardly ever seen this is very common in horror films as it adds to the suspense of the audience, the perpetrator is known as Leather Face because of his disfigurements, and when he kills people he skins them and sews the skin to himself. The film is set in America and the victims are young American students which is very common is the type of Hollywood horror. There is a lot of Murder and goring killings throughout the film which is obviously very synonymous with the horror genre. In the film that we are going to make you hardly ever see the protagonists face as we feel it adds to the suspense and horror of the film and this is the same as the Texas chainsaw massacre.

India Gothard

Saw II

Horror Films

The film is a 2005 American horror and sequel to the 2004 film Saw. It was directed and written by Darren Lynn Bousman, it was also co-written by Leigh Whannell. Saw films are renowned for being the goriest films in the horror genre. All the films follow the same plot line, the jigsaw killer puts people that he feels need to redeem themselves for something they have done, he puts them in a life or death situation where they could survive but they have to harm themselves to get out. An example of one of the awful traps that a victim is put in, is the Venus fly trap. It involves a spiked filled helmet locked around his neck, the closing of the helmet is on a timer, to get out of the helmet the victim has to cut his own eye out with a scalpel in order to get the key to unlock the mask. The victim can’t do it and is killed instantly when the mask closes. The sheer gore of the films are what make them scary, however saw does not meet all the horror conventions, in horror films the norm is to have a strong and powerful protagonist. However in saw the jigsaw killer is a weak and dying old man and this is a total contrast to most films in the horror genre. This is the reason why we chose to analyse Saw because of the protagonist, in the film that we are making we have a protagonist that was bullied at school and was seen as weak, but now he has grown up he is out to get his revenge.

The Blair Witch Project The Blair witch project is a 1999 American horror film, the film was directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. The film is about students that travel to Burkttisvile in order to interview locals about the legend of the Blair witch. Whilst on their trip they decided to look for evidence of the witch in the forest that they are told that she haunts. They camp out in the forest and strange things begin to happen to them, they hear strange noises, find humanoid stick figures and eventually one of them goes missing. The film is terrifying and very realistic. We chose to analyse the Blair Witch project for one main reason, the great use of camera angles and the overall footage makes the film very intense and seem so real. The film goes against a lot of horror conventions as it is not the normal protagonist killing its victims, its all about the fear of the un-known and that is what makes the film all the more frightening. We have been inspired by the Blair witch project and we are going to use as many different camera angles that are normally used in the horror genre in our own film.

India Gothard

The Grudge- Opening Scene The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on. The film was released in North America on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and it is directed by Takashi Shimizu. The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow, the curse then gathers in the place where that person died. The scene starts with a camera tracking down a thin alley way, there is a fuzzy sound in the background which gives the audience a sense of unease about what is to come, Also the sound of a bird crowing is heard which further adds to this. The camera continues to track towards a house, the fuzz continues and footsteps are heard this denotes that someone is about to enter the house. The door to the house opens with an eerie squeak the camera is at a high angle looking down at the door making the person entering appear small and timid. The camera tracks around the room exposing to the audience a dishevelled house, with things strewn over the floor; this makes the audience question what has happened here? The lighting is hard, with lots of dark shadows making the house appear all the more hostile. The camera flicks to a the taps of a bath a loud dripping sound is heard, the camera then moves down to reveal a mass of black hair submerged in the water, this strikes the audience with fear. The camera then zooms in quickly on the figure of a woman, the room is dimly lit by a window so the character is covered in shadows, and the darkness of the figure connotes death and danger. The use of loud, fast extra digetic sound at this point adds to the fear the audience feel. There is a loud crash of utensils and the figure is shown walking away from the window. The heavy breathing of a man is heard and then a loud bang which further adds to the suspense of the scene. The camera tracks and footsteps are heard of someone running to see what the noise was; the tracking of the character with the camera makes the audience feel more involved in the scene which makes it all the more terrifying. As the camera tracks upwards the women figure is revealed at a window and a shrill laugh consumes the audience. The figure is lit from the left, the lighting is naturalistic, it is daylight and the house is being lit from the windows. As the figure moves away from the window, there is a loud bang of the door next to the window slamming, this is unexpected so therefore makes the audience jump which adds to the horror of the scene. The heavy breathing and footsteps return and the camera tracks up the stairs this denotes the character running up the stairs, the shot is very unclear and a lot of Dutch angles are used making the audience unaware of what is happening. A high pitched creepy extra digetic sound is then used which impacts the audience because it makes it all the more scary. A grunting begins and continues to get louder as the camera does a 180 degree spin to exposes the women figure in the plain light for the first time. The figure is wearing a flowing white dress which usually connotes innocence and purity but the female character is very sinister and mysterious so this is going against the normal horror conventions. There is then a montage of clips faded and cross cut together very quickly, it ends with a close up of the characters haunted eye. During the montage the grunting and high pitched extra digetic sound continue to get louder and louder only adding to the terror of the clip. The montage ends suddenly when the screen goes black and the sound abruptly stops. The darkness fades out and the camera shows the outside of the house again, and then fades to show the female character sitting at a dressing table, surrounded by pictures drawn by a child, the echoing laugh of a small child is heard. This is going against most horror conventions because it is portraying innocence of the perpetrator in the film, which is not normally done. This makes the film more appealing to young tribe wired and early adaptors audiences because it is fresh and different. The camera then zooms in on a cats face; it is a black cat which usually connotes bad luck and evilness so it is therefore adding to the scariness of the clip. The laughing of the young child is continues as the camera zooms in on a child’s face, there are dark shadows surrounding the child which makes the whole thing all the more sinister. The camera then shows a blood stained hand and a man with blood splattered over his face which connotes murder and death. The lighting remains dark and harsh creating a harrowing atmosphere. A woman’s scream is then heard which only adds to the realism of the film. The camera fades in and out and becomes blurry; this makes the audience feel more involved in the scene as it is like they are watching through characters eyes. The extra digetic sound at this point is very harsh and dark sounding and this has been used to make the scene more frightening. There is another montage of clips which include the male character covered in blood and the body of the female character. The montage was used to show the audience what had happened in a short time and it is done really effectively, because it only adds to the horror of the scene. A lot of effects and transitions are used in the opening scene of the Grudge and they have been used to add to the overall impact of the film on the audience. The male character is then shown putting a noose around his neck so this denotes that he is killing himself and without being graphic it gives the audience an understanding. There is a bang and the camera zooms in on the stair case to reveal the female figure struggling down the stairs, she is covered in blood. The grunting and gasping noise that she is making is bone chillingly scary and very hard hitting so therefore affects the audience deeply. The scene ends dramatically after this with an extreme close up of the male characters smile, as his distressing laugh echoes. It is a very disturbing end to a terrifying opening scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=budT1ue_ifc

India Gothard

The Lost Boys- Opening Scene This is a 1980’s American horror film, directed by Joel Schumacher. Like many other horror films the typical target audience would be young people of both genders. The title of the film ‘Lost Boys’ instantly plays with the audience’s emotions leading to insecurity and unawareness of who the boys are and what the word ‘lost’ implies, the title also creates a sense of fear for the audience, letting them use their imagination to connect the title and the story line together for the film. For the first 23 seconds we are shown the presentation of the beginning using a background of black deep water with the film’s title ‘The Lost Boys’ in a bright white font with a red line running through the middle. Being on water gives the viewer a feeling of eerie isolation and the symbolic sense that something dangerous could have happened beneath the water or in connection to it. The use of the red line running between the middle could also connote danger or even death, the colour red being alarming to the audience in contrast to the black water and white writing connoting innocence. The scene then uses an establishing shot of a fairground to accentuate the darkness with the bright lights creating a contrast between night and day, denoting night time. The camera is panning across at a high angle shot almost like a bird’s eye view. The music in the background becomes clearer, a soft low key sound using children’s voices singing, this goes with the typical generic conventions of horror films, children singing is not usually related to horror, but with youthfulness and happiness, however in this context, it has the effect of creating an uncomfortable, tense uncertain atmosphere. This scene is the opening scene which sets up the narrative for the rest of the film. The mise en scene is a fairground, a carousel, with shots of children enjoying themselves, their parents looking on. This happy family scenario is interrupted by a shot, close-up of the pole on the ride up to a man dressed in dark black clothes with a big black coat and gloves, with bright white hair. The set-up suggests that this character will be the antagonist. His unusual physical appearance (an albino) is often representative of a ‘bad guy’ indicating that he is dangerous and we should be skeptical of his presence, This sequence is accompanied with diegetic music of fairground noise, however the shot of the antagonist is accompanied with high pitched non-diegetic music which adds to the audience’s feeling of peril or jeopardy. There is also another guy who is introduced to the audience just moments after the first character, also dressed in black, only seen vaguely as this shot has been faded out, showing us that the first character is more important within the scene than the second. Using a high angle shot across light blue glaring water,the camera pans to reflect the danger of water once again, denoting it is during the day time, subtitles are shown using a white font which is also underlined to show the opening. The camera then uses a bird’s eye view zooming into a long winding road with driving cars denoting that there are characters within the film that are on a road trip or heading somewhere, the us of a trailer on the back of it indicates this. The camera then cuts to another shot revealing to the audience that there are three characters in the car a man, boy and a women who is driving, the woman is dressed in a pale cream cardigan over a light blue top with jewelry and short cropped hair, the light pale clothes present the female character as innocent and pure, the female character is also reflecting happiness through her smiley facial expressions as she is driving the vehicle singing to the diegetic sound coming out from the radio in the car. The boy sitting in the passenger seat is young and fresh faced around twelve or thirteen. He is dressed in a pale colored shirt, pastel pink, with short neatly cut hair. He is smartly dressed this emphasizes his youthfulness and innocence; he still looks like he is looked after by his mother and cared for very well. The man sitting in the behind passenger seat is dressed in a pale grey t-shirt, with long hair, because the woman is driving, this could show that the woman has more authority and he is lower down than her, however the male character could also be seen as more important because he has people doing thing for him. The three characters give a sense of the stereotypical happy family going on a summer vacation, the woman singing along with the two other characters joining in emphasizes the happiness of all the characters, this also bring a sense of enjoyment for the audience, feeling their happiness. There is also a dog in the back with the male character, connoting that they are going away and are comfortable enough to bring their pet with them. The music is faded in and out from the scene as the characters speak, for example when the boy asks the mother a question and then replies ‘it smells like someone’s died’ denoting the place they are heading Is unsafe . A close up of the male character’s face reflecting curiosity is used to arise suspicion towards the audience, changing location to outside the car onto a large wall post painted ‘welcome to Santa Carla’ in bright vibrant orange, reflecting an old fashioned holiday welcome in sign, panning to the back of the wall post which has ‘murder capital of the world’ written in capitals across it, the bright red paint connotes danger and death with a black outline. Whilst the family go through the town in the vehicle, the first people we come across are two men, one leaning against a car and the other a wall smoking, they look like typical casual neighborhood people in the town, the camera then flicks to a man standing crossed armed looking bemused, he has a dark checked shirt on with a black Mohican hair style, he looks like he is waiting around for something and does not give off a good vibe in contrast to the other town people. A group of mixed people are shown immediatly grabbing the audeince's emotives of curiosity. They are walking around the town dressed in bright colours such as white, orange, pinks and blues with caps and sun glasses connoting that these people are on holiday having fun and are innocent.Changing the location of the camera reflect the importance of characters throughout.Two women are shown at a low angular mid shot addressing them in black sun glasses ,black leather jackets and short cropped hair, they look almost like a team in connection to the other man the camera showed before, this leaves the audience to use their imagination connecting these character together in contrast to the others. The camera then locates to a bearded man in glasses with a hood up looking conscious as a close up, representing that he could be an important character to remember, as we are shown this man for a split second we are moved on to another character, also as a close up. She is wearing a black scarf and a large black cross in her left ear, she also has thick black eye liner on matching her short cropped dark hair, using these darks accessories connoted death and fear. We then see another two male character sitting on the floor leaning against a wall smoking at mid shot with a car going through the road, the angles that are used to show the audience the type of town the place is and the type of people live their or go for a vacation, using establishing shots it lets the audience know what is going on and where we are in the scene, connoting importance within the shot towards the audience, it also helps the audience feel more involved and familiar within the scene. The scene then cuts to a completely location, to the fair but in day light this time, the camera uses an establishing shot to show us where we are, the same extra diegetic high pitched music is faded in as the customers are screaming on the fair wheel they are on. We then see a range of different people walking along the paths enjoying the scenery. The camera then uses a close up on a long haired bearded man looking cross as well as angry, he looks mysteriously away from the camera as if he is looking at other people or something which holds importance, then camera then glances to a couple standing and talking, the male is dressed in a black cap and t- shirt, the female character is dressed in black also with black eye make-up, t-shirt with a dark green shirt over the top. More subtitles appear on the screen in a bright white, capitals connoting innocence, as well at the subtitles then camera moves across a notice board that is in the village which is covered in newspaper cutouts and posters for missing people. The first one is of a young girl in her early teens in black and white, there are around ten or more poster signs for other people of mainly girls and a few men, the poster that is in the middle appears to be very old of two young girls connoting that this place that the family are traveling into is a bad decision, and is regretful. The camera then uses a high angular mid shot of just a baby in a pram for around 3 seconds indicating the innocence of the villagers and the danger, using a baby shows the innocence of the victims and babies are seen as innocent, un harmful and a gift, connoting the next target could be anybody. The signs in contrast to the baby in the scene shot the differences between the targets on the board from the ages. In conclusion to this all of the aspects of the Mise-en-scene are used to create a build up of tension,the opening scene uses typical conventions to show a 1980's horror film,using sound,lightin,costumes and extra-diegetic sounds.The opening mis lead's the audience enticing them in to watch more to get to the climax of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7T-YG_6uMU

Stephanie Hadlow

The Hannibal Opening Scene The film Hannibal was made in 2001 by director Ridley Scott. The scene is conversational but gives the audience an idea of what the film is about. It shows the key symbol of Hannibal, the mask, at the end of the scene to show what the film will be based around. The scene starts with a black screen with the opening credits slowly appearing in red. The writing in red could represent blood and death. This shows the audience that there will be death and blood in the film. The scene then slowly appears by zooming from the top left corner, to eventually fill the screen sop the audience can see what is happening. The scene itself is a discussion about Hannibal Lecter. The scene then becomes a negotiation over a package in a pink box. At the end of the scene a mask is shown on the screen, which then fades to a black screen again with the title ‘Hannibal’ written in red letters. This would show the audience that this name also represents death and blood in the film. At the beginning of the scene there is a simple extra diegetic sound of a piano playing over the scene throughout. After 5 seconds the dialogue starts, this is the only diegetic sound used in the scene, with the extra diegetic sound of the piano still playing. The sound gives of a calm impact on the audience, as if it is settling the audience down into the film. There is extra diegetic sound because the music is being played in the background of the scene. The music could also be diegetic sound though, because we can’t really see if anything is being played in the scene so it could be diegetic sound. The only diegetic sound in the scene is the dialogue between the two characters. The music could be diegetic but as an audience member you can’t see if the music is being played in the scene. Dialogue is used 5 seconds into the scene because it is mainly a conversation between the two characters. This gives the audience the chance to find out what they are talking about at the beginning and it also sets the scene for the rest of the film. The dialogue is key because it doesn’t make the audience really think about what is going on so it will make them more aware later on in the film when there is a scary part. The 3 men in the scene are wearing suits. This shows that they probably businessmen that are negotiating or discussing. The majority of the clothes being worn are dark. The colour of the characters clothes could represent what the character is. The dark clothes could show that they are evil or that they just have a dark side to them. The character in the wheelchair is wearing a yellow tie which could represent that he has a brighter side to him and that he could be good in some part of the film, but because the majority of his clothes are dark, it could show that his personality is dominated by evil. The clothes show the era that the film was set in because the clothes are modern. They are all wearing suits, and the set around them also shows the audience that they are watching a film set in modern day. The costumes don’t really impact they audience because they are normal clothes for the time when the film was made (2001). So the only impact the costumes could have is that this film is taking place in modern day. The lighting in the scene is hard. There are lots of dark shadows that give the scene an eerie feel to it. This could make the audience feel as if they are not meant to be in the room and acting as if they are a ‘fly on the wall’ listening to conversation. There is some soft lighting because it gives the room a more homely, relaxed feel so it makes the conversation seem a lot calmer and makes the conversation seem more like a business conversation. The main light comes from three different areas; there are two lampshades, one in the foreground, and one in the background giving off light. There is also a large window on the left hand side of the shot in the background giving of natural light. This gives off a naturalistic feel. The characters could well be lit from a toplight but it is hard to really see if they are. There is naturalistic light used through the window, so the audience can tell that the scene is shot during the day and not at night. There are many establishing shots used to set the opening scene. As it is a conversation there is also many close ups to show the characters facial expressions. At one point there is a low angle shot of the character in the wheelchair, this would show his superiority in society and also the conversation because the camera is looking up at him. The camera angles impact the audience in different ways, the establishing shot will impact the audience because it shows them the scene and also the characters involved in the scene. The close ups will show the audience facial expressions of the characters, and also how they are feeling. The low angle tells us the character in the wheelchair is quite superior to the other characters, this is because the camera is looking up at him, so this shows the audience that he is a more important character in the scene. The scene is set in the home of a character, it doesn’t really show us whose home it is, but there is reason to believe that it is the character on the right, this is because of when he stands up and shows the package that was on the table to the man in the wheelchair. The set doesn’t really give the scene any meaning, it just shows that it is set in a rather large house, and it seems to be a business meeting taking place. We can’t tell if the location is real because we can only see the inside of the building, but we do see a realistic set that really plays to the eeriness of the scene, allowing a slight darkness to what could be potentially taking place. In the scene the actors appear relaxed whilst they are conversing about Hannibal Lecter. Because the scene is mainly conversation, there is not a lot of movement; the only real build up to a climax of the scene is when the mask is shown. The only facial expressions shown by the character in the wheelchair are more of curiosity about the topic that they are discussing. The vocal delivery makes the audience understand what is being said, the deep breaths and pause of the character in the wheelchair once the box has been opened shows the shock of what has been revealed. The facial expressions of the character standing up also shows the audience that he wants to negotiate a deal over what is in the box. It is not until the very end that we see what is being revealed. The roles that the characters play are believable because the audience can understand what is going on I such a simple scene. The audience is able to see what is happening in the scene and also understanding what is going on, so therefore the roles must be believable. In conclusion all the aspects of Mise-en-scene are used to create a rather calm introduction to the film. This pulls the audience into a false sense of security before the climax of the film and the horror beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-jVPkR4ZB8

Tom Le Gresley

Halloween- Opening Scene The opening scene is set in the killer’s room when he was a boy staring into a mirror. In this shot it is a close up shot of his face at a low angle, he is wearing a clown mask which helps to set the genetic convention of the film of it being a horror because clowns are associated as scary. Throughout the scene where it is showing the boy there is extra diegetic sound playing in the background as if to say that he is performing a ritual for this rat and its not going to end well. During the scene 0.02-0.05, an extreme close-up is used to focus on the object located in the boys hand; this is known as the master shot as later on during this clip it cuts backs to the boy in his room showing what he is undertaking in his bedroom. Also, using an extreme close-up helps to show the innocence of the rat and to show the bottom half of the boys mask; smiling as if to say he is enjoying/going to enjoy what he is doing to the rat. The shot then swaps to a very extreme close-up of the rat for a couple of seconds to try and show the expression on the rats face to see how its feeling. The scene then changes to the woman in the kitchen making breakfast, in the shot at first there is a close-up shot used to present what they are eating; pancake mixture which is a standard American breakfast. Diegetic sound is present in this scene from where the pancake mixture lands onto the frying pan and sizzles. Also either extra diegetic or diegetic sound is used throughout the scene from the radio or music player in the background but we do not know if the characters can hear the music or not. When the woman first enters the scene she is wearing a pink and blue gown shirt which can be either to suggest that she is the weaker one of the whole family or between the father and herself as blue isn’t powerful or that she is the subtle one of the lot as pink represents similar to red which is power, dominance, death but weaker. A close-up is used to represent this shot and the lighting surrounding the environment is light which is either coming from outside or one of the lights located in the kitchen, this can symbolize the purity of the woman that she isn’t the bad guy in this clip. Dialogue is used as the woman is undergoing conversation with her husband. The first appearance of the man is a wide shot to help show the environment around him; set in the kitchen and to show what he is wearing as he does not stand up during this scene. The attire being worn is a dark grey and black chequered cardigan with a white t-shirt underneath; using a mixture of colours shows he is at a fine line between whether he is good or bad as you will find out during the film, having the darker coloured clothing over the top of the lighter coloured clothing could say that his anger gets the worse of him or that he is more horrible than good, having a white shirt showing he has some purity in him and has a breaking point when he can only be so nasty towards another individual as the cardigan is not buttoned up. Also, only showing a small part of the white shirt suggests that only a tiny bit of purity is inside him and has been overcome with his anger. The lighting around him is dimmer than the mothers as if to say that he is the worse one out of the two. Extra diegetic sound or diegetic sound still is presented as music is playing in the background to offer peace between the two and calm them down. The mans dialogue present in this scene is very loud as he is replying by shouting at the mother. To the reply of there conversation, an over shoulder shot is used to show that it is happening between the mum which then also uses a mid shot to show the mothers attire. During the conversation, shot reverse shot is used between the baby and the dad. When the baby is first introduced, there is a mid shot of the baby. The light in this shot is split up into two shades, on the left side it is dark and on the right side it is bright; the left side is the bad side which is where the dad is positioned and on the right side is the good side where the mum is positioned, his protector. The baby is wearing a white shirt and a blue woolly hat. The hat symbolises extra protection from his dad and the white shirt shows his purity and innocence. When first shown the baby looks at the dad, then when shown again he looks at his mum but this time he looks up at his mum as if she is the dominant of the two adults. The shot then goes back into the over shoulder shot. Shortly after a long and wide shot is used which shows the mum and dad in the kitchen. The lighting in the room is dark on the right side and bright on the left side, the light is coming from the window to show that it is day time but the right side of the screen could still be black because of the to-be killer is up in his room. The dialogues tone is raised up a level as the dad starts to shout again, when this happens, the shot changes back to a close up of the baby and presents his reactions with as he cries because he gets scared. This then leads back to an over shoulder shot of the mum and a tracking shot as she goes to pick up the baby. Once picked up, a high angle shot is used when the mum is looking at the dad as if to show she is the one in control and is the protector of her child and won’t let anything happen to him. The entrance of the daughter is a mid shot of her body downwards and a slight tracking shot is used as the camera follows her slightly into the kitchen. Once entered a wide/establishing shot and a two person shot is used between the dad and herself to help show relationship between the two as the dad teases the daughter with the cereal box and glares at her. She is wearing a black mini skirt with a red and yellow stripy top and black cardigan. The black from the cardigan and skirt illustrate the badness of her that she is a very outgoing rebel and the red and yellow top stands for the joy and love that she has in her self but also could mean that death is coming towards her with the red representing blood and the black representing darkness. At 1.03 an over shoulder high angle shot is used to show that the daughter is looking at him straight in the eye but also towering over him as if she has more control over her dad than he has over her. Then a shot reverse shot is used to show the expressions on both characters faces and who has the overpowering look to make the other person back down. When flicked to the dad, an over shoulder shot is also used to show that he is looking back at her but also a slight low angle shot to continue the towering over of the daughter that she is more dominant than him. Although once the dialogue between the daughter and mother begins, an over shoulder shot is used to show that she is also looking into her mums eyes but also a low angle shot is used to show that the mum has more power than her daughter and that she towers over her. Throughout the conversation of the daughter and mother a high angle shot is used when the mum is speaking to the daughter and a low angle shot is used when the daughter is speaking back to the mother. A close up shot is used on the daughter after she is asked to get her brother to show she has no control of the situation and has to do as she is told. When leaving the room the shot switches to a wide shot to show the position of each character and the daughter walking into the darkness of where the to-be killer is. The dialogue between the mum and dad continues and over shoulder shots are used for both the mum and dad. When the mum talks to the dad, a high angle shot is used again to show that she has more power over him and when the dad talks to the mum, a low angle shot is used to show he has no power at all as the daughter has power over him but the mum has power over both the daughter and the dad. During the argument, diegetic sound is used as the mum whacks the cup of tea out of the dad’s hand. The sound effect of the glass smashing to the floor has been edited to be heard louder than the real event to help show the supremacy she has over him. This then carries on the wide shot of the dad as he sweeps the objects of the table causing them to smash onto the floor. Diegetic sound is also used her with it being edited to make the sound of the crashing more explosive and louder showing that his bad tempered side is coming out and is trying to take control. During this the lighting of the set becomes brighter as the windows are shown with the sunlight beaming through as if to symbolise the dads fiery rage. The set is then changed to upstairs where the daughter is going to get her brother. It is presented with a wide shot to show her surrounding environment. The lighting used in this shot is dark/dimmer than the kitchen as if to suggest she is walking to her death, but when she reaches her brothers door, light is partially visible in sections as if to say he has a chance of being good but his chances are thinning. Extra diegetic sound is used in this scene as a soft but deep sinister sound is playing in the background throughout the walk to the door and once the camera focuses on the boy and what he is doing in the sink, it becomes louder and profound. At 2.00 the dialogue between the two begins and a close up low angle shot is used when the girl reaches the door to show that she is in control. Once the boy is shown, it is also a close up low angle shot, but an even lower angle than used on the girl to illustrate that he has more control over her as he is the to-be killer. The shot then changes to a long shot of the boy showing what he is doing in the room, the main action is in the sink but his hands are covering it up to show that it is a secret and no one will know apart from him. It then changes to an extreme close up of a scalpel he has in his hands covered in blood along with his hands. This shows the characters dominance over the rest as he is the one who has killed and is not scared of anything else, using a scalpel as his killing weapon shows that he’s too young to be killing other humans at the moment that he has to stick to the smaller beings, but once older the scalpel will turn into a knife and it will be humans blood over his hands not rats. The close up shot of the boys face (mask) in the mirror reflects on whole he is feeling inside; the masks face smiling. Back to the kitchen, a mid shot low angle is used on the mum at 2.18 to show that the rage the dad caused earlier had changed the dominance the mum had over him that he is either in control or has equalled the power that the mum once had over him. When the son first enters the kitchen and talks to his mum; eye to eye shot is used instead of high angle and low angle shots; high angle shot when the mum is talking and low angle shot when another character is talking because he has the most power out of them all and his mum doesn’t tower over him. His attire is also presented for the first time in the film with him wearing a dark grey shirt with three pale white people on his shirt to represent the death of his mum, dad and sister. The close up shot at 2.55 with the son kissing the babies forehead shows that he does still have a soft spot that his baby brother is the only one he likes out of his family. The son goes to sit down at the table and is confronted by his dad. A over shoulder close up shot is used on the dad to exemplify the expression that he has towards his son being displeased and angry. The shot then switches to the son, with him having no reply to what his dad said explains itself as he is not scared by what his dad says. During the disarming of the mask an extreme close up is used revealing the expression on the son’s face which is also displeased and matches his dads, the shot quickly flicks to the baby as he starts to cry, the screaming and crying carries on in the background. Shot reverse shot is used as it flickers back and fourth showing the expressions on both of there faces; the dad starring into the eyes of his son seriously while the son is scowling back. Furthermore eye to eye shot is used as both characters are facing straight at each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_9hbQF94hc

James Garrod