http://www.japanesemoviepostercompany.com/jpegs/Ju-onTheGrudgeB1.jpg
I really enjoyed that the way the film is placed and edited. The camera angles show alot of explosive scenery and locations they got together and created it. As the film starts it indicate to the audience that, why the murder will happen again and again. Also what the audience should look at for to understand.
The opening to the film starts very intensively with black and white. It is black and white, so it can present that it was happened in the past and will happen in the future. Most of the films use the black and white to present the past too. But this film uses black and white effect with no lightening effect which makes it more horrifying.
Even it is a black and white, but the director still makes the blood so red and more realistic, therefore, it has a stronger message that the man killed the woman. It makes the scene more powerful and dramatic.
However it does not seem like the man is very innocent. But, if another people killed someone, they maybe look very mad or afraid. But ,the man did not. He looked like this is the normal thing .
The anger showed something was happening when the man stabbed the cat that was yowling.
When his little boy the son hears the sound that the man was stabbing the cat to death, the kid just hides himself afraid that as if he was next. It hints out a message that it was not the first time this had happened. This is because if it was the first time, when the kid heard some strange sound, they would be very curious and wonder what has happened or took place. But the kid in the film, just hides himself suddenly, makes u fink somethings going to jump out instantly. This makes me fink that this has happened before in the past.
In the film itself, it has some close up shot on the woman’s eye who's dead but her eyes still is open. Its shows that when she was alive, she was very scary and can not believe that what has happened in front of her. Therefore, she gasped for her life.
The opening sequence does work dramatically. It is because in those few minutes without any special camera works or any sound effect, it still can make the audience feel scared because I did and indicates in different ways that this film is a horror and very scary one to.
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‘Panic Room’ opens by setting the scene with an establishing shot of the city. The mis en scene appears busy as there are several long shots filled with tall, old buildings built closely together, giving it a claustrophobic feel. The font featured in the opening credits is big and bold which creates a dramatic feeling of the tensed and worried feeling. Which also corresponds to the buildings. The music used is slow and low pitched which changes into more dramatic and loud music, music with a violins and clicking, which can be associated with the ticking of a clock to represent the time of the day is it and what is going to happen. These are used to create tension.
The colours used in the mis en scene and background and also the characters clothes are bland (brown and grey). The audience’s attention is drawn, as the camera focuses into the woman wearing glasses which shadows her eyes and are framed together in the centre of the shot, establishing importance over the background characters. Background characters walk past between the characters and the camera, as if the audience is following the women.
The camera cuts to a medium shot of a man standing at a door. The camera tilts up towards the man at the top of the stairs, showing dominance, which gives the impression they require his services. The man is in a white coat showing the warmth and cleanse, which contrast against the old, dirty, almost Gothic appearance of the building his standing outside towards.
As the women approaches the man, the camera cuts to a medium close up from behind the door, showing the darkness of the room inside the house and the light appearing in through the net curtain. As the others walk in, there is a close up of Jodie foster’s face, looking at the street, with an unsure look. As they walk in, a long shot shows the dark, shadowed room with all the curtains closed. As the mis en scene has changed, the white room contrasts against the woman’s black clothing which also signifies life and death and also she stands out.
There is a medium shot of her son crossing the house on his scooter, once again as if the audience is intruding. The camera follows the boys movements on his scooter around the house, showing that the mis en scene of all the other rooms match the first room we see just to represent how big and gloomy the rooms are and the house itself. Introducing the affect of having a enormous house can do to you. In the background, the man’s voice is heard, describing the house and its features. This establishes his character as an estate agent.
As the opening credits focuses on the woman in black and this particular house, we are given the impression that they both have significance in the film and the dark shadowed atmosphere foreshadows that something bad is going to happen within the house.
Scream(1996) Director: Wes Craven
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Scream is a stereotypical horror film based upon the lives of teenage girls mostly on blonde's. It indicates that you may not survive if you have sex, if u drink or do drugs, or go out to investigate on a strange sound.
There is a moto to the storyline which is "The past will come back to bite you in the ass. Whatever you think you know about the past, forget it. The past is not at rest, any sins you think were committed in the past are about to break out and destroy you".
However its so stereotypical because the film is based upon a dumb blonde runs upstairs into a closet most likely, and then ultimately a gets stabbed. But tries to hide or get away from the killer but never happens. Also the things that mostly likely to happen in this film but always turns out to be the biggest mistakes which causes the lives of the characters are running out of the house, calling the police turning on the light, the female characters are intend run more than 10 feet however always tripping over a tree root then hurting themselves which then leading them getting stabbed. Also announcing your impending retirement.
The film itself begins off with negative colour to show effect which makes it dramatic and spooky. The music is diegetic because alot of their sounds are made up which create a intensive scenery and atmosphere around the characters and towards the audience watching. E.g when the killer with the mask comes into the room or getting closer to the victim the movie editors play sounds to bring the heart pumping faster. Also they cleverly used a device which is having a dramatic starting with wording in blood and creepy sound. The word 'scream' and someone screaming when the film begins implies whats the movie going to be about straight away. With the bloody title.
However, there is alot of different ways they use non-diegetic sound to make the film more realistic and seem like for the audience they are actually experiencing the movie content itself. E.g the sound of the door opening, the sound of the car approaching, sound of birds and the wildlife in the wood, also when the characters scream. Another use of example that gets the audience going which is used very effectively is the pop corns' sound effects which makes it dramatic. The popcorn starts off slowly building the tension in the room, however as the popcorn begins to expand in size the tension in the scenery increases, however when the popcorn pops and starts to flame up then the scenery reaches its climax which indicates the characters in trouble. The use of blonde victim which is stereotypical because to show that they are pretty but stupid in the same way.
The use of camera angles are literally all over the places because as the scene becomes intense alot of shots are all over the place. There is alot of visible editing and medium shot on the character. However when the scene becomes tense the camera starts dollying the character into different rooms and having rapid movements of different shots. Such as uses of medium shot to medium close up to medium long shot to show the settings and the subjects are in equal proportion.
Also when the phone starts ringing there alot of use of repetition shots on the fone and extreme close up to show the viewers who is the mystery caller, however its on withheld meaning its a private call.
The devices used which brings out the terror in viewers eyes are the use of blonde character alone in the big house middle of nowhere which it sets the scene to make it more tense. The scary voice on the phone makes you think as your in that situation talking to the mystery character. The swing moving makes you feel like like someone was there just a while ago spying on the victim or was it the wind. Makes the viewers think. However the dog starts barking indicates maybe it seen something walk past which is not meant to. Finally the crickets sounds show the peacefulness and gives a direct view that it is set in the countryside and not the city.
The use of heart beat towards the character makes you realise that the life is draining away for the victim. The speed up is the tense and the speed decreasing signifies the amount of time left till the character is dead.
The Descent(2005) 'Face Your Deepest Fear' Director: Neil Marshall
http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/news/july06/newdescentpost.jpg
The Descent is a 2005 British horror film. The film starts off very dramatically and tensed. The film follows a group of young women who seek on a caving expedition and then gradually becoming trapped underground without them knowing until one by one fight their way to survive from the hungry flesh eating creatures. The creatures they face are form of humanoid creatures which begin to attack the women.
At the opening scene we are shown a group of friends that seem really close, because one of them say 'I meet you back at the hotel' as if they are on holiday. One of the girls has more responsibilities because she has a family, a husband and a small little girl. Also it introduces to the audiences that these women have highly paid jobs which will be at steak.
The sound that plays a immense part in the film to make it more dramatic and realistic are that you can hear the river and the girls screaming, shouting and talking this is example of diegetic sound. Non-diegetic music such as when the boat is moving. The sound that comes on when something is going to jump out.
Camera Angles in the film includes from the opening of the scene is shot as an establishing Shot showing the area, it is a far place where rivers and mountains are seen and makes it seem like to the audience are they lost or do they really know where they going?
When the friends are on the boat the camera focuses from the one character to another by using close up shots to high angle shot, this way we get to see each individual character.
When the woman is talking to her daughter we only hear their conversation because the camera is focused on the dad showing that there is something on his mind.
When the parents are talking to each once again the camera is not focused on their conversation but on the white van coming towards them. This makes the audience aware that there is going to be a car crash or something going to happen.
The credits of the movie appears really slowly however makes it more dramatic but shakening. There is black background with the credits in write, they scroll in and out. To show the significance of the darkness of the cave and what the film is about to adventure for the viewers.
All the Editing are visible and fast so, you don't get to see the parts how they get out of the car and opening of there car boot but just skip to next scene where they be at the small cottage.
We get to hear the car brakes screech which non-diegetic because the sound is to give impression that this scene is realistic. We do not see how the cars comes in the direction of the family car. Afterwards we see the front of the cars smash together and then action taking place is a visible but fast when the mental objects smash into the glass and kills child and the father. The audience doesn't see how they get killed. Mise en scene, everyone is dressed really warm, showing that it is cold outside to showing or signifying that they got winter break.
Tools Required for Textual Analysis
As follows is the basic equipment required to Analyse an opening sequence of a film:*Pen and paper to note down and identify various techniques the director has used.
*Finally, laptop or computer to put my notes into a understandable and interesting paragraph to post on my blog.
When analysing the opening sequences of films I will be focusing on the following production techniques:
*Camera Angles - how they were used, the effects, what they helped portray
*Editing - was it invisible or made visible
*Special effects
*Sound - diegetic or non-diegetic, soundtrack
*Representations - how are the characters being portrayed
*Mise en scene
*Verisimilitude
*Movement
*Pacing
these are good analyses, but i do suggest checking spelling of key terms...
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