MS: Film opening technical analysis

THE RING

• Shot by shot analysis of a film opening which investigates camera shots,shot duration and mise-en scene.

Shot: shot establishing the scene,slow panning mid shot using the rule of thirds
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise-en scene: young woman in a dark house


Shot: close up of the woman's face shot at eye level
Duration: 7 seconds
Mise-en scene: the close up depicts her scared and cautious non-verbal body language



Shot: point of view shot used to show the living room shot in long shot using the rule of thirds
Duration: 9 seconds
Mise-en scene: television screen showing fuzzy static


Shot: mid shot showing the girl 'protagonist' moving in towards the camera
Duration: 6 seconds
Mise-en scene: re-enforcing shot 2 this further shows her fearful facial expression


Shot: close up of the remote on the sofa, shot reverse shot to the girl framed in mid shot and then to the television
Duration: 6 seconds
Mise-en scene: television switches off


Shot: mid shot pans out to long shot as the protagonist walks towards the kitchen. camera zooms in to show her face in close up
Duration: 23 seconds
Mise-en scene: television turns back on, shown thorough the kitchen window. close up used to show girls reaction


Shot: close up on protagonists face. wipe pan showing the kitchen windows
Duration: 8 seconds
Mise-en scene: low lighting, creates a scary and anxious atmosphere


Shot: point of view shot as the girl watches the fridge open
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise-en scene: the movement of the door draws the girl into the kitchen to see what is happening


Shot: close up on fridge door
Duration: 14 seconds
Mise-en scene: shows the protagonist running and quickly shutting the door and coming into view with the background out of focus , noise causes her attention to shift and so does the camera focus as the hallway behind her becomes more in focus and sharper


Shot: establishing shot used to show the new location change as the protagonist walks from behind the wall into the frame shot in long shot
Duration: 18 seconds
Mise-en scene: she shows her panic and vulnerability through verbal dialogue


Shot: low angle shot shows the girl at the top of the staircase
Duration: 21 seconds
Mise-en scene: water on the floor boards out side the room, the protagonist walks through the water as she moves closer to the camera


Shot: close up of the protagonists face as she opens the door
Duration: 6 seconds
Mise-en scene: she moves forward precariously


Shot: close up of the handle as she opens the bathroom door
Duration: 1 second
Mise-en scene: shows water dripping from the door handle


Shot: very fast shot zooming into the protagonists face as she enters the room
Duration: 5 seconds
Mise-en scene: the television shows an image of a face which is to quick for the viewer to see properly, the woman appears to be very frightened and petrified. A large number of clips shown in a montage form is shown before fading to a television screen showing static as before



Film soundtrack

• The clip does not have a soundtrack which backs the visuals as silence is the key in making the film appear more natural and to create fear and tension so the audience feels as if they were in the house alone with no distractions from a non diagetic soundtrack.
• The clip contains various different sounds which complement the visuals and have been amplified to make them more noticeable which further increases the tension and suspense, these sounds are one such as the static from the television and creaking floor boards which both create suspense for the viewer.
• The only section of the opening which includes non-diagetic sound is the ending which includes multiple different sounds which disorientates and confuses the viewer along with the very fast cutting rate of the montage which includes abnormal images to further scare the audience.

Skills learnt from the technical analysis?

• I feel that techniques like the static screen which are repeatedly shown are very good at capturing the audiences attention because of the high pitched sound and because it is something that most audience members will have experienced beforehand so they can relate it to real life situations making it more believable and effective at creating tension and fear.
• I also liked the technique when the girl was filmed shutting the fridge door in close up with the background out of focus. A pull focus is then used to create audience anticipation and tension as the back ground starts to become in focus as to reveal something along with a metallic sound that complements this.

Group evaluation of preliminary production

Brief:

• Continuity editing: varying distances and angles,pans, Steadicam,Handicam,cutaways
• 180 degree rule ensures the correct perspective,shot reverse shot,over the shoulder shot,when could you break this rule and stop the audience becoming disorientated
• Two lines of dialogue: consider diegetic sound,conventional of genre, part of narrative
• opening door,framing,close up shot

1. From taking part in this task we learnt the basic techniques involved with using the cameras , we further improved our knowledge of different camera shots and continuity editing. I feel that our best shots are the shot when the boy is followed by the camera across the zebra crossing that matches his pace rather than a static shot and the two shots joined together of the same boy opening and walking thorough the door at the top of the stairs. One difficulty that we did experience was the changes in weather as our first filming session it was snowing.

2. The software that we used to edit our production was Premiere Elements 9.0. This software took a short while to learn and use efficiently but after a lesson spent using it both of us in the group were confident in using it.The software allowed us to cut and trim clips and put them together to create realistic continuity .

3. Overall we though that for a first attempt that our preliminary task was a success and that we had used the cameras well in filming different and effective camera shots.We felt that we had successfully created continuity but that given more time we would have created a more realistic and thought out ending as well as taking more care to control ambient sound levels.

Here is our preliminary task that we filmed and edited at school:

Constructing Film Ideas

HCL and MS: Sinister Trailer

• During the course of the lesson from watching what other groups from previous years had produced for film openings, we decided that our film genre would be a phycoloigcal horror
• We found inspiration from the film (Sinister, Derrickson, 2012)
• We liked the plot of the horror being about a family moving into a new home and finding a recording of footage about a previous family who lived there
• Liked the fact that the film isn't overpowered with blood and gore and is focused on mind games and letting the audiences mind take hold
• Also thought that the location of the film is key e.g where the dad finds the box with the recordings in the loft abandoned on its own which makes the audience automatically associate's it as being suspicious, this could be easily re-created in a different location and still have the same impact on the audience as being significant

HCL:Film Openings

Casino Royale(Campbell,2006)

Techniques SOUND:

• Soundtrack/ Synchronous sound-When James Bond spots one of the actors, action like music starts, this reinforces the audience that something is going to happen
• Selective sound-Sound of the gunfire when fired is amplified
• Digetic Sound-Sound of crowd when watching cricket adds versimiltude to scene as if at a real match

Techniques EDITING:

• Matched Cut-Used throughout scene to show different locations e.g juxtaposition between cricket field and action scene in the bathroom
• Fast Cutting rate-Used in the scene of action in the bathroom makes action seem much faster
• Shot reverse shot-When James Bond and antagonist are talking to each other reinforces the heated discussion between the two

Techniques CAMERA:

• Close ups
• Mid Shot
• Long shots
• Over the shoulder shot-When the guy from the stairs is looking at James Bond at the entrance 2:22

HCL:Horror Conventions

The Blair Witch Project (Myrich,1999)

• Lonliness
• Physcological horror
• Personal relationship with characters
• Unidetified figures
• Screaming
• Location in Woods
• Filmed with handycam adds verimisilitude
• Screaming
• Darkness

HCL:Film Openings

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince (Yates,2009)

Techniques SOUND:

• Synchorous sound-Used to convey the content on the screen, a quite dark mood
• Sound effects-Sound of man crying with pain in the background further emphasizes the dark mood of the scene
• Sound effects-Sound of explosion in building used to add verisiimilitude of the action
• Selective sound-Emphasize of sound of camera used to show weakness of character
• Non-diagetic sound-Sound of public people screaming when building explodes, further emphasizes the action
• Soundtrack-An emotional piece of music at the start, connotes to the reader that something significant has happened

Techniques EDITING:

• Slow Motion-Used to further reinforce beginning scene as a significant event
• Cross Cut-Used to show juxtaposition between different locations e.g world of muggles and wizards
• Matched Cut-Used when people are on the footbridge, intial shot show them calm, next shot after the bridge has been under attack shows them in panic and disarray
• Slow cutting rate-This is used throughout the scene and allows the audience to absorb the action that is going on

Techniques CAMERA:

• POV-Shot is used the put the audience in the perspective of the characters e.g. when the dementors are flying through the streets of London
• Extreme Close up-Shot of character, allows the audience to connect and build a relationship with the character
• Panning shot-Used to show the audience a location whilst what is happening on around it e.g when the dementors are attacking the footbridge
• Mid Shot-Used to show the the workers when they are trying to run away from the collapsing footbridge

MS: Thriller conventions

• What conventions would you expect to see/can you see in the chosen opening 

The Dark Knight

• blood
• guns
• darkness
• isolation
• victims 
• villan
• kidnapping 
• shouting 
• fear 
• pain

Horror convetions:


SawV

• blood
• torture
• gore
• screaming
• shouting 
• isolation
• helplesness 
• kidnapping
• fear 
• pain
• victim
• death 
• mind games 

MS:Film openings



RESIDENT EVIL-THE UNDEAD 

 Techniques CAMERA:

• Steadicam - create a smooth shot flollowing or moving around a target
• Panning shots(up/across)-draw attention to the subject and clearly show mise en scene' emphasizing character
• Pull focus-shift the viewers attention from one subject to another i.e from movement in the background to the foreground as seen at 1:23 - 1:26 in the clip
• Birds eye view(s)-shows the whole set and establishes the characters whereabouts within the location being filmed as well as showing a wider view of the location.

Techniques EDITING:

• Continuity editing-Shows resemblance between different shots and reduces how noticeable a shot change is when watched by the viewer making it appear seamless.
• Credits- Added in after the clip was filmed and used to show the genre as well as the films participants with the use of different typefaces
• Matched cuts-Shows different angles of the same shot to give the viewer an alternative perspective
• Slow motion- emphasis action and creates tension giving the viewer more time to watch the content and analyse it in detail

Techniques SOUND:

• Non-diagetic(added in after filming)
• Dramatic music -creates tension and suspense for the viewer when watching the clip
• Loud vampire sound- emphasizes the visuals of the woman attacking the man
• Screaming- this further emphasizes the panic and chaos caused by the woman along with the visuals of the birds eye view showing the people scattering

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

Techniques SOUND:

• sound perspective-the impression of distance in sound,created by the use of selective sound.
• synchronous sound-this matches the action on screen further emphasizing what is happening and making it appear more realistic.
• sound bridge-adds to the overall continuity of the clip by running sound seamlessly from shot to shot to make the action seem uninterrupted .
• sound effects-extra sound added in after filming i.e the sound of falling bombs and bullets ricocheting. 
• selective sound-this makes some sounds more recognizable than others to draw attention or to create tension or emotion.

• breaking waves
• sound engines
• gunfire 
• vomiting 
• whistles
• ricochet 
• explosions 
• dialogue 
• shouting 

Techniques EDITING:

• expansion of time-slows time down making short scenes appear much longer to the viewer 
• continuity editing-makes different shots appear seamless when it changes to a different angle reducing disruption to the flow of the film
• medium cutting rate - dependent on the scene being filmed the cutting rate can be increased to create confusion or emphasize panic
• matched cuts- different angles of the same shot to show alternative perspectives to the viewer 
• slow motion- slows the scene down to give the viewer more time to process the information in detail 

Techniques CAMERA:

• long shot
• worms eye shot 
• extra close up 
• medium shot 
• high shot

SUCKER PUNCH

   

Techniques SOUND: 

• Studio sound
• Sound perspective 
• Dubbed dialogue 
• Synchronous sound
• Sound fx
• Sound bridge 

Techniques EDITING:

• Matched cut
• Reaction shot 
• Slow motion 
• CGI
• Diagetic 
• Non-diagetic 

Techniques CAMERA:

• long shot
• worms eye shot 
• extra close up 
• medium shot 
• high shot
• POV

HCL/MS: Preliminary Task Brief

Brief:

• Continuity editing: varying distances and angles,pans, Steadicam,Handicam,cutaways
• 180 degree rule ensures the correct perspective,shot reverse shot,over the shoulder shot,when could you break this rule and stop the audience becoming disorientated
• Two lines of dialogue: consider diegetic sound,conventional of genre, part of narrative
• opening door,framing,close up shot

Ideas:

• For our preliminary task we came up with the idea of a Thriller drama involving a young man in a classroom intoxicated by drugs.

Plot:

• Young man in classroom has a disorientated nightmare/daydream and is hallucinating after taking the drugs
• He is absorbed in a daydream of himself attempting to escape other drug users who are influencing him into taking them
• The boy is in perilous and vulnerable position as he becomes scared within his own dream

Storyboard:

• Our 4 main shots consist of a long shot, close up, POV and Reaction shot
• Long shot is used to show young man intoxicated by drugs reacting in abnormal way juxtaposed to the rest of the students interacting with each other 
• Close up is used to show the expression on the young mans face whilst he is experiancing a nightmare
• POV shot is used to show the young man not entirely in control of his body as he walks in a disjointed manner and adds verimisimilitude
• Reaction shot is used to reinforce to the audience particular and significant scenes that are happening in the young man's nightmare...