Practise Task
Lamb to the Slaughter Opening
Here I made a short opening to the book of 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dohl, alongside two other classmates. In order to effectively convey and establish the mood,tone and time period of the film, we had to carefully choose the music that we were going to use for the score. The song we chose to use was a cover by Connie Francis of 'Who's sorry now?' which was originally written by Bert Kalmer and Harry Ruby in 1923. Although the song was originally written in the 1920's, Connie Francis's cover was made and recorded in the sound of the 1950's; the same time-period that 'Lamb to the Slaughter' was made and set in, therefore the score chosen helped us to establish the time-period well. The score also set the mood and tone well through the lyrics of 'who's sorry now' as it established to the viewer that the film may have some sought of revenge in it and therefore induces a sense of tension through the ambiguity created by the score.
In order to give the audience a sense of the obsession that Mrs Maloney (the lady who speaks at the beginning; the antagonist in the film), has towards her husband, a lot of close-ups were used such as where she was laying out his slippers, getting his drink ready for when he gets back from work, and a zoom into a picture of them together on their wedding day, effectively portrayed how the woman first seen at the start of the opening has some sought of duty to keeping her husband pleased and through the opening it is established that her life revolves around this. Also as we didn't fully establish the face of Mrs Maloney at the beginning of the opening, it also helped us to create a sense of ambiguity which we used in order to get the viewer intrigued from the start.
The editing used such as cutaways to Mr Maloney walking up to the house, and where he rings the doorbell also helps to convey the importance of him to his wife. The fact that we don't see his face and only close-ups his legs, shoes and hands, further creates the sense of ambiguity in the opening. We also used editing to help convey the time-period of the setting by using an effect which made it look like it was set in an older age, rather than the modern age that it was filmed in. However some of the mise-en-scene in the opening such as the modern portable telephone that Mrs Maloney is on at the start of the opening, took away from the age that we were trying to set the film opening in. The font used throughout much of the opening didn't work too well as it neither added or took away from conveying the mood, tone and time-period of the setting as was in fact quite bland. However at the end of the opening where the title of the film was introduced to the viewer, contradictory font was used which established the juxtaposition of the theme of the film.
In order to give the audience a sense of the obsession that Mrs Maloney (the lady who speaks at the beginning; the antagonist in the film), has towards her husband, a lot of close-ups were used such as where she was laying out his slippers, getting his drink ready for when he gets back from work, and a zoom into a picture of them together on their wedding day, effectively portrayed how the woman first seen at the start of the opening has some sought of duty to keeping her husband pleased and through the opening it is established that her life revolves around this. Also as we didn't fully establish the face of Mrs Maloney at the beginning of the opening, it also helped us to create a sense of ambiguity which we used in order to get the viewer intrigued from the start.
The editing used such as cutaways to Mr Maloney walking up to the house, and where he rings the doorbell also helps to convey the importance of him to his wife. The fact that we don't see his face and only close-ups his legs, shoes and hands, further creates the sense of ambiguity in the opening. We also used editing to help convey the time-period of the setting by using an effect which made it look like it was set in an older age, rather than the modern age that it was filmed in. However some of the mise-en-scene in the opening such as the modern portable telephone that Mrs Maloney is on at the start of the opening, took away from the age that we were trying to set the film opening in. The font used throughout much of the opening didn't work too well as it neither added or took away from conveying the mood, tone and time-period of the setting as was in fact quite bland. However at the end of the opening where the title of the film was introduced to the viewer, contradictory font was used which established the juxtaposition of the theme of the film.
British Films
'iLL Manors' Opening Scene Analysis:
In this British film opening to 'Ill Manors' which is written and directed by 'Ben Drew' (also known as Plan B), we see the opening conform to many common conventions of British film.
We first see an establishing shot of an housing estate, with a wider view of London in the, which is presenting to the viewer the kind of setting the film is going to be presented in. In this case the film is being filmed in an urban environment which is a common setting for British films, and as it is a quite a common and hard environment, the viewer is struck straight away with the fact that the film is going to explore the grittiness and 'roarness' that some Britons live. During the establishing shot we here a voice over speaking as 'spoken word' in the background, with an urban tone to his voice. In this voice over it is highlighted to the viewer that the plot of the film is going 'to explain the significance of the things that you think are insignificant now, but won't forever down the line', which suggests that film is going to be about people who are perhaps living the fast-life now and it all seems well, but the greater impact would come in the future. The fact that the diegetic sound of a voice over is used, it helps to portray the reality of the situation which is commonly used in British films.
Where the shot then goes into a low angled wide shot, of tower blocks in the background and where the title is introduced is suggests to the viewer that many become a product of their environment, therefore where the angle is low, it presents the idea that people look up to or aspire to what their environments have taught them. Also as the title is introduced here, it presents the significance of the shot environment and suggests to the viewer that film may be exploring the impact the living conditions have on some people.
Where the establishing shot ends we also hear the introduction of the non-diegetic sound in the form of a 'Rap' called 'I am the Narrator' also written and performed by Ben Drew (Plan B)'. As where this sound is introduced there is no other sound going on, the viewers hearing is focused on the lyrics of the music. The lyrics are very hard hitting and quite explicit which presents the 'hardness' of the film. Also as the rap is coming from the same person who done the voice-over prior to the music kicking, it continues to present the harsh realities of the fast-life and almost in a way acts as diegetic sound as you are drawn so much into lyrics knowing that the voice is the same as the voice heard in the voice-over.
The significance of the lyrics from the non-diegetic music, is also presented through the montage of clips, images and animations that specific lyrics are timed to have relevance to. All of the clips used in the montage contains a lot of jumps shots and therefore creates a jumpy feel which also is creates a sense of disorientation in the film and in the viewer, which also has relevance to the objects and substances of drugs in the montage of clips. The jumpiness of the shots has relation to the fact that drugs usage is a way of living the fast-life and taking them can make you almost skip and miss keys moments in life. Also the jump shots effectively conveys that drugs usage eats away and reduces the time you have to live due to the disorientating and harmful effects it has on the body. The fact that drugs eats away at life is also presented through all the shots used being sped up, which shows how life can go and be over extremely quickly due to drugs. The fact that drugs usage is used in this opening presents how this cruel topic and doings of drugs is going to be explored throughout the film and again conforms to the conventions that British Films explores hard and harsh realities.
We first see an establishing shot of an housing estate, with a wider view of London in the, which is presenting to the viewer the kind of setting the film is going to be presented in. In this case the film is being filmed in an urban environment which is a common setting for British films, and as it is a quite a common and hard environment, the viewer is struck straight away with the fact that the film is going to explore the grittiness and 'roarness' that some Britons live. During the establishing shot we here a voice over speaking as 'spoken word' in the background, with an urban tone to his voice. In this voice over it is highlighted to the viewer that the plot of the film is going 'to explain the significance of the things that you think are insignificant now, but won't forever down the line', which suggests that film is going to be about people who are perhaps living the fast-life now and it all seems well, but the greater impact would come in the future. The fact that the diegetic sound of a voice over is used, it helps to portray the reality of the situation which is commonly used in British films.
Where the shot then goes into a low angled wide shot, of tower blocks in the background and where the title is introduced is suggests to the viewer that many become a product of their environment, therefore where the angle is low, it presents the idea that people look up to or aspire to what their environments have taught them. Also as the title is introduced here, it presents the significance of the shot environment and suggests to the viewer that film may be exploring the impact the living conditions have on some people.
Where the establishing shot ends we also hear the introduction of the non-diegetic sound in the form of a 'Rap' called 'I am the Narrator' also written and performed by Ben Drew (Plan B)'. As where this sound is introduced there is no other sound going on, the viewers hearing is focused on the lyrics of the music. The lyrics are very hard hitting and quite explicit which presents the 'hardness' of the film. Also as the rap is coming from the same person who done the voice-over prior to the music kicking, it continues to present the harsh realities of the fast-life and almost in a way acts as diegetic sound as you are drawn so much into lyrics knowing that the voice is the same as the voice heard in the voice-over.
The significance of the lyrics from the non-diegetic music, is also presented through the montage of clips, images and animations that specific lyrics are timed to have relevance to. All of the clips used in the montage contains a lot of jumps shots and therefore creates a jumpy feel which also is creates a sense of disorientation in the film and in the viewer, which also has relevance to the objects and substances of drugs in the montage of clips. The jumpiness of the shots has relation to the fact that drugs usage is a way of living the fast-life and taking them can make you almost skip and miss keys moments in life. Also the jump shots effectively conveys that drugs usage eats away and reduces the time you have to live due to the disorientating and harmful effects it has on the body. The fact that drugs eats away at life is also presented through all the shots used being sped up, which shows how life can go and be over extremely quickly due to drugs. The fact that drugs usage is used in this opening presents how this cruel topic and doings of drugs is going to be explored throughout the film and again conforms to the conventions that British Films explores hard and harsh realities.
Horrors
'The Conjuring' Titling Sequence analysis:
In this opening to the horror movie 'The Conjuring', written by 'Chad Hayes' and 'Carey Hayes',and directed by 'James Wan', the director makes sole use of the titling sequence in order to create a sinister and mysterious atmosphere. As we are not introduced to any active characters in this titling sequence, it leaves the viewer with a sense of ambiguity, as the viewer is left to try to figure the plot out from the little clues given in the titling.
As the titling appears it camouflages within the projected images, giving relevance to the projections as the viewer is not taken away from them as the titling does not overpower it. The projections used of old newspapers and articles of sinister acts, unknown people and supernatural activities helps to create a quite un-nerving atmosphere at the start of the film as well as setting a back story to quite psychotic behaviour. The light used in the opening is solely motivated lighting where the light comes from the projector. The rest of the room is in darkness which creates a quite enclosed and personal environment likely to be related to a criminal mind. The projections seem also to be used as momentums, which may suggests that the antagonist within the movie is a professional psycho where the images coming up represents their collection and methods of killings.
The sound used in this titling sequence also promotes a quite uneasy atmosphere, as the sound used is not very pleasant to the ear and therefore puts the audience in a quite uncomfortable position, as they are left to sit and listen to it. The sound used in the titling sequence is non-diegetic sound and has quite an unfamiliar and draining sound to it. It is also quite airy and creates a quite an open and unpredictable atmosphere, leaving the audience susceptible to surprise and therefore working well in order to create a sense of fear of the unknown.
As the titling appears it camouflages within the projected images, giving relevance to the projections as the viewer is not taken away from them as the titling does not overpower it. The projections used of old newspapers and articles of sinister acts, unknown people and supernatural activities helps to create a quite un-nerving atmosphere at the start of the film as well as setting a back story to quite psychotic behaviour. The light used in the opening is solely motivated lighting where the light comes from the projector. The rest of the room is in darkness which creates a quite enclosed and personal environment likely to be related to a criminal mind. The projections seem also to be used as momentums, which may suggests that the antagonist within the movie is a professional psycho where the images coming up represents their collection and methods of killings.
The sound used in this titling sequence also promotes a quite uneasy atmosphere, as the sound used is not very pleasant to the ear and therefore puts the audience in a quite uncomfortable position, as they are left to sit and listen to it. The sound used in the titling sequence is non-diegetic sound and has quite an unfamiliar and draining sound to it. It is also quite airy and creates a quite an open and unpredictable atmosphere, leaving the audience susceptible to surprise and therefore working well in order to create a sense of fear of the unknown.
Romantic Comedies
Hitch opening scene analysis:
In this opening to the romantic-comedy film 'Hitch', written by 'Kevin Bisch' and directed by 'Andy Tennant', we see the main protagonist 'Alex 'Hitch' Hitchens' (Played by the actor Will Smith), take us on a journey of his interpretation of love. Being a professional 'Date Doctor' Alex Hichens seems to states facts about the basic principles of love almost taking away the spontaneity of love. The director does this by using the diegetic sound of the voice-over of Alex Hichens, to deliver the common conventions of finding love and how some women may respond to men approaching them. As the voice-over sounds very direct and instructional, it seems as if Alex Hichens is instructing the viewer of how to find love. Despite the spontaneity of love being taken away in the voice-over, it still however sets a very feel good atmosphere as it gives hope to the viewer that love can easily be found with the right techniques although finding love is not so 'textbook' as being presented.
Other than through the diegetic sound of the voice-over creating a feel good atmosphere, non-diegetic sound is used to do so also. This is done through the use of the score through the opening sequence. The song used is a cover of 'Wonderful World' by Sam Cooke. The song has a very upbeat tempo and as it is a love song it helps to convey a feel good atmosphere. The lyrics of this song, however contradicts the instructional dialogue of the voice-over. The lyrics sets aside love from educational subjects, making it sound a lot more naturally occurring whereas the dialogue in the voice-over almost makes love sound like an educational subject. The fact that the score is behind the sound of the voice-over, first highlights to the viewer that the protagonist Alex Hichens is 'over'thinking love and it is much more naturally occurring than he thinks it is.
In this opening sequence of 'Hitch' we also see a lot of use of very short clips of people in love in very different situations as well as people seeking love in order to create a montage. The significance of this is that it presents to the viewer that love can be found everywhere and anywhere and where the people in love are seen to be very happy, it makes the viewer feel happy too and again gives hope to people who haven't yet found love, that love is closer than they think it is and not in the obvious places that they seek it in. The many cuts and mini-clips at the beginning of the opening sequence starts to create a sense of how the 'Date Doctor' Alex Hichens works, and where his work seems to be successful it makes the viewer want to see more of what tips and tricks he can give people in order to make people fall in love with them, which the viewer may also want to apply on their journeys into finding love. The characters that Alex sets up in the sequence seem very opposite with the man looking very 'nerdy' and not so good looking whereas the woman is very pretty and seems quite 'classy', presents to the audience that love doesn't have to make sense, and also conforms to the common conventions of 'Rom-Coms' that the love subjects are usually opposites in characterisation.
Other than through the diegetic sound of the voice-over creating a feel good atmosphere, non-diegetic sound is used to do so also. This is done through the use of the score through the opening sequence. The song used is a cover of 'Wonderful World' by Sam Cooke. The song has a very upbeat tempo and as it is a love song it helps to convey a feel good atmosphere. The lyrics of this song, however contradicts the instructional dialogue of the voice-over. The lyrics sets aside love from educational subjects, making it sound a lot more naturally occurring whereas the dialogue in the voice-over almost makes love sound like an educational subject. The fact that the score is behind the sound of the voice-over, first highlights to the viewer that the protagonist Alex Hichens is 'over'thinking love and it is much more naturally occurring than he thinks it is.
In this opening sequence of 'Hitch' we also see a lot of use of very short clips of people in love in very different situations as well as people seeking love in order to create a montage. The significance of this is that it presents to the viewer that love can be found everywhere and anywhere and where the people in love are seen to be very happy, it makes the viewer feel happy too and again gives hope to people who haven't yet found love, that love is closer than they think it is and not in the obvious places that they seek it in. The many cuts and mini-clips at the beginning of the opening sequence starts to create a sense of how the 'Date Doctor' Alex Hichens works, and where his work seems to be successful it makes the viewer want to see more of what tips and tricks he can give people in order to make people fall in love with them, which the viewer may also want to apply on their journeys into finding love. The characters that Alex sets up in the sequence seem very opposite with the man looking very 'nerdy' and not so good looking whereas the woman is very pretty and seems quite 'classy', presents to the audience that love doesn't have to make sense, and also conforms to the common conventions of 'Rom-Coms' that the love subjects are usually opposites in characterisation.
Thrillers
The sixth sense opening scene analysis:
Analyzed from (0:00-8:10)
In the opening of the 'Sixth Sense', motivated lighting is used in the basement in order to help create a real-life setting. Mystery is created from the start through objects such as the vase and the frame. It subverts from the common conventions of thriller, where it starts in a quite quiet and seemingly harmless environment. This is also created by the use of motivated lighting such as candles and calm soft jazz music playing in the background. It creates a foreboding atmosphere as things seem all too well.
Where long shots are used of the two in the house, it almost seems as if someone's watching them from a far, and therefore follows the common conventions of thrillers, that the antagonists are usually on a better mental level to the protagonists, which is evident where everything in the house seems so well and the protagonists are quite clueless as to who else is in the house with them.
Where the couple move into the bedroom and the lady goes to the window, the camera focuses on the open, smashed window as well as the objects on the floor that have been knocked over, and it becomes very apparent to the couple and the viewer also, that someone has broken in and that they are not alone in the house and therefore places them in a vulnerable position. Also the bedroom that they are seen going into is much darker and duller than the previous setting in the living room, making the bedroom quite an unsettling environment. Where we hear quite an airy, tense sound along with a large shadow passing by, it creates a jumpy effect for both the audience and the female protagonist as we also hear the diegetic sound of her screaming. The fact that the window is open and we see a shadow go by, it makes the viewer anticipate the first sighting of the antagonist and a sense of suspense as to where he may be positioned within the house, creating a fear of the unknown.
Where the camera zooms onto faces of the couple, we can see their fear and their vulnerable position beneath the power of the unknown antagonist.
There is a slow stedi-cam movement of the male protagonist searching for who-ever broke into the house which effectively builds suspense as well as the score used at this point, due to the viewer anticipating the revealing of the antagonist. From the stedi-cam movement the camera then switches to a point of view shot which places the viewer in the shoes of the protagonist; which is commonly used in thrillers; further building suspense as well as unease. In this opening scene we also see that the antagonist highlights that he was promised something from the male protagonist, and is consequently out for revenge (revenge also being a common convention of thrillers) due to what seems to be a broken promise . Also where the protagonists are seen backing away while trying to get in control shows how the power is actually currently with the antagonists due to his physical and mental unstability.
In the opening of the 'Sixth Sense', motivated lighting is used in the basement in order to help create a real-life setting. Mystery is created from the start through objects such as the vase and the frame. It subverts from the common conventions of thriller, where it starts in a quite quiet and seemingly harmless environment. This is also created by the use of motivated lighting such as candles and calm soft jazz music playing in the background. It creates a foreboding atmosphere as things seem all too well.
Where long shots are used of the two in the house, it almost seems as if someone's watching them from a far, and therefore follows the common conventions of thrillers, that the antagonists are usually on a better mental level to the protagonists, which is evident where everything in the house seems so well and the protagonists are quite clueless as to who else is in the house with them.
Where the couple move into the bedroom and the lady goes to the window, the camera focuses on the open, smashed window as well as the objects on the floor that have been knocked over, and it becomes very apparent to the couple and the viewer also, that someone has broken in and that they are not alone in the house and therefore places them in a vulnerable position. Also the bedroom that they are seen going into is much darker and duller than the previous setting in the living room, making the bedroom quite an unsettling environment. Where we hear quite an airy, tense sound along with a large shadow passing by, it creates a jumpy effect for both the audience and the female protagonist as we also hear the diegetic sound of her screaming. The fact that the window is open and we see a shadow go by, it makes the viewer anticipate the first sighting of the antagonist and a sense of suspense as to where he may be positioned within the house, creating a fear of the unknown.
Where the camera zooms onto faces of the couple, we can see their fear and their vulnerable position beneath the power of the unknown antagonist.
There is a slow stedi-cam movement of the male protagonist searching for who-ever broke into the house which effectively builds suspense as well as the score used at this point, due to the viewer anticipating the revealing of the antagonist. From the stedi-cam movement the camera then switches to a point of view shot which places the viewer in the shoes of the protagonist; which is commonly used in thrillers; further building suspense as well as unease. In this opening scene we also see that the antagonist highlights that he was promised something from the male protagonist, and is consequently out for revenge (revenge also being a common convention of thrillers) due to what seems to be a broken promise . Also where the protagonists are seen backing away while trying to get in control shows how the power is actually currently with the antagonists due to his physical and mental unstability.
6 useful shot types
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0:24-0:25
In this scene to the British film 'Kidulthood' there is a worms eye view of the antagonist being stamped out as he's out numbered. I thought this shot type could work well in our British film opening, to convey how many protagonists, gain strength in numbers and are therefore quite vulnerable alone. By doing this I think it will help our British film opening look quite gritty and hardcore however also outline the cowardliness of British hard-men who carry their strength in great numbers. |
0:58-1:00
This a scene taken from the British drama 'Topboy'. During this scene we see a long shot over the shoulder of someone watching the going ons in the scene from a far. I think this would be a very good shot to implement into our British film as I think it would be a good idea that out voice over character is always being watched without knowing. The fact that he's always in big numbers also points out how, it can be very easy to not realise whose watching him. |
0:20-0:35
This scene is taken from the British film 'Football Factory'. I liked the idea that the characters were introduced through CCTV shots. It presents how the characters in this football hooligan film are being watched, however are unaware as they feel that they are above the law. I feel this CCTV shot would be a good a shot to implement into our british film opening to highlight how law is always in a greater position. |
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3:38-3:41
This scene is taken from the superhero action comedy 'Kickass'. The shot I liked here is where the shot was taken from the POV of the sniper man. As the shot was taken looking through the scope of the sniper, it also highlights how the characters are being watched from a position that they unaware of which again would help to present the idea that the characters in the opening of our British Film are not as smart as they think they are. |
0:00-0:06
The scene is taken from the action thriller 'Die Hard 2'. At the beginning of this clip we see the antagonist open the plane door, thinking he's escaped the law however the camera quickly reverses to the protagonist where he punches and puts the antagonist back in his place which highlights how criminals always think that they're are a step ahead, as do the characters we wish to introduce in our british film opening. |
0:00-0:09
This scene is taken from the movie 'Limitless' which is an American mystery thriller. The shot I particularly liked is at the beginning of the scene. At the beginning we see a close-up of the main protagonist in this film clearly trying to call a mystery someone on his phone, however in this close up we can also see background and the leaning line of the bench with the man in the background highlights how the person stalking and watching him is closer than he thinks. I think this would work with our film opening as it would help convey the idea that watchers are always closer than first thought. |