Ruth Harris Media AS

Typical Conventions of a Romance Film

, by Ruth Harris

Sound Techniques Presentation

, by Ruth Harris

Chosen Genre and factors to make it look 'Real'

My chosen genre is Horror. The things that I have to use to make it look 'real' and 'recognizable' are things such as shots, dark lighting, low harmonious music, suspicious looking characters. All of these factors have to be used in small amounts, otherwise it will cause the film to be too contrived and deceive the film as being more of a comedy rather than a horror.

Shots play a big part in the films, if the films have limited amount of shots then the viewers will begin to get bored and interpret what the story-line entitles. The viewers need to be interested and persuaded by the opening scene so as to carry on to encounter the rest of the movie. This means that the shots will have to be chosen carefully and with great consideration. The best shots and varied shots which would have the most intended effect will be used in my opening. I want the audience to be on there toes and want to know what happens in the rest of the film, even though it is an opening scene I would still have to make sure that it was as important as it would be at the beginning of a film.

Music and lighting are also very large in the process of creating a 'real' and 'recognizable' horror trailer, this is because it all helps to create the experience and atmosphere of the film for the viewers, so that they can be assured that they are 100% having the full experience of the films nature. The music helps to support the content of the scene, helping to create the intended atmosphere and the idea of the film being an intended Horror genre.

The last factor that I need to add to ensure is at its best in my opening is the suspicious looking characters. The characters need to have their own identity, something that defines them and their own story, the characters have to fit into the storyline otherwise the viewers won't be as interested or engrossed into the film. The characters need to act well but with not too much pressure otherwise the film will seem staged and become uninteresting for the viewers. Characters also need to look a certain way to fit in with the genre of the film being Horror, this means that they can't be dressed 'scary' because it would give the idea of the film away from the beginning. They have to be dressed in normal, everyday clothing so as not to give away the genre and make the film seem more realistic.

All of these factors need to be considered so as to produce a realistic horror film, if these factors are over used or made to be more intense then the film would appear to be fake and comical.

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, by Ruth Harris

What I have learnt from research

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, by Ruth Harris

3/3 Thriller Film opening analysis: Insidious (Horror)

I decided to do a horror as my final thriller style opening scene. For my final AS piece I would like to incorporate both thriller and horror within all aspects of my piece, therefore I chose a horror that includes many classic horror techniques.

Title: Insidious (first out of triology)
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Bryne, Ty Simpkins
Age rating: 15
Director: James Wan
Screenplay: Leigh Whannell
Release date: 29th April 2011

Narrative: A gripping story of a family in search of help for their son, Dalton, who fell into a coma after a mysterious incident in the attic. Little do they know that there is much more to this endless sleep than meets the eye as they explore the paranormal, and rediscover the past; the key to getting their son back once and for all.

Mis en scene:

The location and general setting is very dark and gloom full along with the camera movement being very slow and at mostly high angles
The location is a normal house setting with a normal family, this gives vulnerability to the audience and characters which shows the life likeness throughout the film.
Costume and makeup is used throughout the opening scene, an old ladies face is used to show creepiness and makeup is used here to increase creepiness and terror factor.

Angles and shots:

A constant pan is used throughout the entire opening scene as it establishes the scene, this is used along side both high and low angles, again, to establish the scene.
Aerial shots are used to show places in the house - mainly to establish the scene.
Canted angles are also used to show the disorientation of the storyline and the twist in the story and discomfort.
Fast zooms both in and out are used for intensity.
360 degree turns are used at the very start, this again like the canted angles is to show the discomfort and enhance the creepiness

Sounds:

Sound effects like screeching and clock ticks are used to build up intensity and creepiness.
Non-diegetic sounds like whispers are used to foreshadow the film, within the film the son falls into a coma and these whispers are seen to come from the parallel world or coma that other characters cannot hear.

Editing:

Credits are used throughout the opening scene to introduce the films title, actors and producers etcs. These are used in the same way as the angles - to increase intensity blurs and fades are used with the credits, all whilst sound effects are used on top of them.
The opening scene is made up of black and white clips and images that have an animated soft look to them and to fade these from one to the other, blurs and fades to black are used.
The colouration of the opening scene is very discoloured, this adds to the idea of the audience being discomforted compared to a comforting bright image.
Ghost like fades are used around the credits and characters to show the style of film.

Themes:

Darkness and lack of lighting is a very big theme, it is used throughout the opening scene for discomfort and a classic horror feel.
Figures like old women and unknown people are used through shadows multiple times within the opening scene, this foreshadows the film as these are again used again and again.
The colouration of black and white is only used in the opening scene but is used constantly in the clip I have analysed.
The constant non-diegetic sound of screeching is a theme as it enhances the horror image and style of film

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, by Ruth Harris

2/3 Thriller Film Opening Analysis: Fast & Furious 6 (Action, Crime, Thriller)

Mise-en-scene
Throughout the opening sequence the mise-en-scene helps to set the atmosphere and setting. Things such as the bright blue sea and rocky mountains suggests that it is situated in a hot country. These colours that are on show create a warm, calm environment which intern contrasts with the fast racing, loud movements and sounds of the cars. The narrow roads and small buildings suggest that it is small city that they are situated in and also makes the race seem more intense because they are trying to race faster then each other and drive quick, but at the same time they are trying to be careful as it is tight and narrow. The use of some high key lighting makes the location seem friendly, happy, peaceful and safe which is another contrast to the racing, which is intense, loud, intrusive and extremely dangerous.

Camera Angles & Shots

the opening scene begins with a low angle long shot of the two cars zooming towards the camera; this portrays them as big, fast and flashy cars, creating the atmosphere as thrill and suspense. The camera then tracks back with the cars’ movement. Many establishing shots are used to help establish the setting and to get different angles of the two cars during a race. A point of view shot from the car is used make the audience feel as if they are the car and this shows the audience how fast the car is actually moving, supporting the feel of the atmosphere as being suspenseful and thrilling. Many close ups are used to show the characters facial expressions and how they are driving the vehicle. For example a close up of the man pushing his foot down on the accelerator pedal is shown to indicate that he is speeding up. After this a birds eye view shot is used to show more of the setting and the path which the two cars have yet to take. Throughout the opening sequence the camera is always tracking or moving, this is used effectively as it keeps the audience hooked with the action and suspense and makes everything look much faster than it really it is.

Editing
Throughout the opening sequence the editing is very fast and continuous, the clips cut from one to another in a matter of seconds, which could be known as jump cut editing. However towards the end of the opening the editing starts to slow down as does the thrill of the initial race, this suggests that the race will shortly come to an end. The action match technique is used multiple times, this helps to show contrast between the implied idea and the setting and content of the film as well as allowing the audience to see the smooth running of action despite the jump cuts throughout the shots during the entirety of the opening sequence.

Sound

During the opening sequence of the film diegetic sound of the cars engine has been increased to create a fast thrilling atmosphere and to show that the engine is working at its full capacity. During the opening you can hear the screeching of the car wheels, this helps to emphasise the intensity of the cars turning the corners during the race and adds to the full on action and atmosphere of the opening. Sound effects are magnified on small things such as when the driver does a small thing; such as changing the gears or even pushing down on the accelerator, this helps to create the overall thrill and excitement of the opening sequence and helps the audience to stay interested in the film.

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, by Ruth Harris

1/3 Thriller Film Opening Analysis: The Women in Black (Horror Thriller)

Mise-en-scene
At the beginning of the trailer it starts with a fade in edit of the children playing with their dolls and teacups and teapots which are made out of glass, therefore this could be showing that the children belong to an aristocratic family as glass and china dolls were expensive in the olden days. The children are also wearing very fancy, detailed dresses which shows not only do they look after themselves but they are from a rich background. The clip itself is not very colorful, the girls look very pale and ghostly which signifies there is an odd atmosphere in the room and this shows this is a thriller. We cut to the next edit of the children looking up to the camera at a high angle. There is silence and the girls have no facial expressions and they seem to be looking up to something however the audience are oblivious to who or what they are looking at, this is because the camera fails to introduce the character at the beginning and this has created the tension. Now the children look out to the window and are starting to now walk over to the windows. In the next edit there are 3 windows for each of the children and this shows that the 3 windows for the 3 children all would in a short amount of time lead to their deaths. After the girls jump to their deaths we hear screaming of a lady (which could be their mother) pleading for help and in the last edit we see a person, with a lady-like figure, looking out to the children's death, and leads to give a feeling she has made them kill themselves, she is dressed in black, which creates the idea of danger and haunting.

Camera Angles and Shots

At the beginning of the opening scene close-up shots are mostly used. A close-up of tea being poured is shown followed by a closeup of a doll being given a tea by a child character. Following on from this is a close-up of another doll. Then we see a medium three shot of the three young girls sitting together. Then we see a close-up of one of the girls brushing her doll, and another close-up of a doll being tucked in by one of the child characters. After this the camera shows a two shot of one of the girls smiling and then another one shot of another of the young girls smiling back. She then looks down, revealing a closeup of her tea cup as she puts it down on the floor. Following this is a high tilted, wide, establishing three shot of the room from a corner angle to show where the entire scene is taking place. The girls seem to look directly at the camera - also making it a point of view shot of perhaps the audience. Then we see a low angled three shot as the girls turn their heads from left to right to look at something which isn't shown to the audience. This reveals a medium shot of a window which then zooms in. After this, we see a medium three shot of the girls as they stand up and start slowly walking towards it - still staring at the window. We then see a closeup of a girl's dresses lifting to reveal their small black boots. There is then another closeup of one the girl's black shoes at the same time the cup that she previously dropped, smashes onto the floor. Then there is a closeup side shot of one of them stepping onto the cup with her foot which smashes, this is then followed by another closeup. This time shot from behind the foot of a dolls head which again is being smashed. We then see a medium three shot from the front of the girls walking toward the window, while the camera zooms out. Following this is a long shot of the girls stepping up to the windowsill from behind, they then in unison reach out towards the window. One of the girls then opens the window which is shot with a closeup of a latch being unhooked. The camera then goes back to the long shot from behind as we see them all step up together onto the window pane. From here we see them jump together at the same time. After they jump, the camera zooms out. We then see a wide shot of the empty room. This then slowly zooms out to reveal the back of a women in a black veil stood in the corner of the room. We see many closeups in this scene as it started as quite an intimate scene of three girls playing with each other, which appeared to be very innocent and sweet, but the empty shots following from the jump scene created a sense of vacancy and haunting.

Editing
This opening scene doesn't have very complex editing, of which most is continuity editing. This creates a sense of realism as the scene itself is quite innocent in the beginning, so the more real it seems - the more the audience is surprised. We do see a reverse shot as two of the girls smile at the other who smiles back at them; this is to show intimacy, love and innocence of the girls. We see an eye line match of a girl looking down as she sets down their cup. Lastly we see another eye line match of the girls looking to their left revealing the window to which they jump out of.

Sound
In this scene, I believe that the music plays a big part in creating the haunting atmosphere.
In the beginning a soft eerie music begins. We can hear a clink sound as the teapot hits the rim of the teacup - this sound is also emphasized and is made to be louder than the music to add to the atmosphere.Then after this, twinkling sounds and chimes are also added into the music - which makes it sounds almost like a childish nursery rhyme. Before the girls look directly into the camera, there is a slight pause before deeper sounds are added into the music. This music becomes less nursery rhyme like, and more haunting. We then hear the smashing of the teacups, and the sound of the toys being broken alongside the sound of the music. As they approach the window the music becomes darker and more suspenseful. When they reach the window the music gets louder and faster, this climax of sound builds up to the moment they jump. We hear the sound of the latch being opened. When they stand on the window pane, the music stops and we hear an eerie sound of wind but as they jump there is a dramatic suspense sound for a few seconds to indicate something bad has just happened. After this there is no sound, just the sound of wind and we hear the agonized scream of a women. As she is screaming we are also shown a doll from this it all goes quiet as the camera zooms out into a wide shot of the room. The sound in this scene starts off soft and innocent but is eventually manipulated to become dark and sinister, building suspense to the moment that the girls jump.

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, by Ruth Harris

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Ruth Harris Media AS

Typical Conventions of a Romance Film

Sound Techniques Presentation

Chosen Genre and factors to make it look 'Real'

What I have learnt from research

3/3 Thriller Film opening analysis: Insidious (Horror)

2/3 Thriller Film Opening Analysis: Fast & Furious 6 (Action, Crime, Thriller)

1/3 Thriller Film Opening Analysis: The Women in Black (Horror Thriller)

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