Thriller Subgenres

Feedback From Class on Presentation

Feedback:

- Classmates said the Prezi was unclear and not cohesive and therefore made each bullet point of the opening sequence seem like a different scene. 

-They also said after they saw the story board it helped to clarify the main features of the sequence and helped them to understand the idea.

-Additionally, they also elaborated that they extremely liked the idea of the cross cut to the mafia boss in a different location to show his superiority. This therefore showing that the two mafia workers (part of the family) shown in one of the cross cuts are clearly working for the mafia boss, giving the basis of the rest of the film.

-After receiving the valuable feedback we will edit our Prezi and even add additional detail, making it much clearer and cohesive including all of the camera shots, editing techniques, mise-en-scene and sound.

Thriller Opening Sequence Idea Brainstorm

Sweding of the film "The Shawshank Redemption"

How to make a sweded film.

To make a seeded film you must choose a film to copy then learn all the dialogue and acting in order to film it again as if it was a filming of the real film. We decided to recreate a scene from the film shawshank redemption which is a drama thriller film which proposes emphasis on the dialogue which had a lot of meaning in each scene. Therefore it was helpful to copy this scene as it gave me a better understanding of the effects a good script can have.

The 180 Degree Rule

Opening Sequences To Films

First Things seen in the opening sequence to a film.

• Title
• Credits
• Character introduction
• Elements of the genre and narrative.
• Atmosphere of the film
• Establish the location.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Title Sequence Example

• Dark themes
• Fire
• Credits
• Harsh sounding music with crashing themes - Led zeppelin 
• Black represents death
• Violence seen
• Eagle on fire
• Narrative snippets shown
• Mysterious
• Black ink heavily linked - Tattoo holds importance
• Technology seen - hacking

The Discrete Title Sequence - A form of a title sequence in a film like a mini film before a film which reveals some information about the film such as the themes and the characters. This can set the tone of the film

Traditional Opening Sequence (Drive)

• Scene with credits running through
• Starts with the Title appearing
• Shows the setting
• One character is shown - Suggests they are the main character
• Theme shown as driving
• Over the shoulder shot - shows everything ahead of the driver, suggests that the driver only focuses on the road 
• Slightly stylised however the title of the film has a font which will reflect the genre and sound creates a mood

Straight into the Film (Scream)

• Goes straight into the action
• Doesn't have extra title credits
• Doesn't introduce the characters
• Most commonly seen in horror films - Wants to scare you straight away

The Stylised Opening Sequence (Mesrine: Killer Instincts)

• Sets the tone of the film
• Introduces the characters
• Introduces the title of the film
• Credits
• Effectively combines all title sequence techniques into one
• Contains stylish and creative elements

Art Of The Title - 11.22.63

This opening sequence is a descrete title sequence and it does extremely well at getting its message across to the audience of the tone and plot of the series. From the outset we enter a magnifying glass which immediately informs the audience that this series involves investigation of some sort. The non-diegetic music sets the suspenseful and tense tone as it plays through the opening sequence. We then proceed to see a continuos reel of switching images which suggests the plot, we also see red strings coming from each image or location seen suggesting they are all connected. Newspaper tabloids are seen stating "Kennedy killed" which reveals the subject under invention is the death of Kennedy. The clock seen proposes that time is a big factor of this tv show and suggests a possible race against time or time travel. The lighting is very dark and mysterious and this contributes to creating the tone. The last image seen is a sniper which tells us that there is violence seen and the gun then extends out with string to a date in the middle of many more strings, which shows that everything seen plays a part in what happens on that date. It also puts emphasis on the date as it is in the centre of everything.

The Keeper of Lost Causes Analysis - Foreign Trailers

How is Age represented in the opening sequence of Skins?

In the opening scene of Skins age is represented in several ways through the critical use of editing techniques. For example, the montage of tony’s wake up routine reflects his age positively as it shows that he cares about his appearance and that he is healthy, which is a juxtaposition of the common stereotypes around teenagers of being lazy, messy, and typically unhealthy. The use of cross cutting between Tony in his room and Effy outside the house connects them through their mischievous actions, therefore negatively highlighting their youth. An eye-line match is seen when Tony is looking at the naked women across the street, from this is it seen that tony’s interests are surrounded by sex negatively presenting him as young and lustful as compliant with the typical age stereotypes of teenagers being obsessed with sex. The use of match on action from Tony’s dad kicking the toilet door to Tony flushing the toilet, conveys the dad’s immaturity through his use of anger and violence suggesting he's going through his mid-life crisis, however Tony is seen to be clean as he cleans after himself which is a juxtaposition to his dad, therefore his dad is reflected negatively with age whereas Tony is reflected positively. 

The use of mise-en-scene portrays Tony as the counter-typical teenager whereas Effy and Sid are seen to be stereotypical teenagers. The beginning of the sequence we see Tony’s room to be  clean and organised, therefore he is positively represented for his age, whereas Sids room is seen to be messy with clothes and cigarette buts all over the room, while Effy’s room is dark with clothes all over the bed. These both comply to the stereotypical teenage rooms of being untidy and unorganised which is a stark contrast to Tony’s portrayal. The contrast in age representations is seen through the colours of Tony and his dad’s boxer shorts, Tony’s being white which connote to purity therefore he is being portrayed positively according to his age. Whereas his dad’s are red which connotes to anger and violence therefore his dad is portrayed negatively and stereotypically to be a man during his mid-life crisis to be short-temper and unsatisfied with life or his family. A final observation to be said is that we see Tony on the toilet reading a book called ‘nausea’ a book about the reasons behind war while sitting in the thinker pose, which positively represents Tony to be intellectual and well read, which is a counter type towards teenagers, who are stereotypically not well read or intellectual and whose interests lie in social media and not literature.

Another way that age representations are put forward through skins are in the use of camera shots. The first shot of Tony in his bed is a medium close-up which reverses out to a birds eye-view of his room to show him awake. This gives the impression that he is well organised as he is awake before his alarm goes off, also presenting him as self-reliant which is unusual for a teenager therefore Tony is presented as a counter-typical teenager in this way. An over-the-shoulder shot is seen over Tony’s shoulder in the direction of the naked women which suggests that Tony’s thoughts revolve around sex therefore he is being highlighted in a negative light as a stereotypically horny teenager. The low angle shot with Tony in the foreground and his dad in the background portrays Tony to bare more power than his dad as he appears before him in the shot. This represents his dad as stupid and a fool whereas Tony is presented as being intellectual and able to make a fool of his father showing that he has wit. While this positively highlights Tony as a juxtaposition of being stupid like common stereotypes, it also highlights his immaturity therefore he is negatively portrayed as a teenager who likes to embarrass his elders, showing his lack of respect commonly found amongst teenagers. His dad on the other hand is seen to be weak and stupid, which is a contrast to common middle-aged men, therefore he is presented as a negative counter-type. The contrast between Tony and Sid is seen at the end of the sequence where a birds eye-view of Sid’s room is shown, where it is messy with various items on the floor and bed, therefore their contrast in rooms reflects their contrast in personalities, as Sid is immediately seen as a teenager in a messy room, while Tony is seen in an organised and clean room, unlike Sid who is seen to be the stereotype.

Finally, the use of sound is a further technique sampled in order to represent age in certain ways. For example when Tony wakes up and starts working out the non-diegetic music plays which is quite erotic therefore suggesting that Tony is sex-fueler like most teenagers. When Tony turns on his speakers a diegetic synchronous sound is heard of heavy rock music which is commonly associated to rebellious teenagers. The diegetic sound of Tony’s dad shouting portrays him negatively as violent and quick to temper, traits stereotypically found in men going through their mid-life crisis. A juxtaposition is seen between Tony and his dad when Tony is using the toilet when his dad needs it, the audience hear a diegetic sound of his dad screaming and struggling to form a sentence using multiple swear words for the use of fillers, whereas Tony is able to string a sentence with ease. This portrays his dad as stupid and negatively, whereas Tony is seen contrastingly as intelligent. 

How is gender represented positively and stereotypically in the opening sequence from Skyfall?

Gender is represented both positively and stereotypically in the opening sequence of Skyfall. This is done through the use of mies-en-scene For example we see the wing-mirror smash while Moneypenny is driving which presents the stereotype that women are bad drivers. In contrast we see Bond as the action hero as the lighting is dark to start with which evokes suspense, combined with the smart clothing which is conventional for an action film. The stereotype of men being in control and women being at their service is seen where Moneypenny is waiting outside the building Bond comes out of and picks him up in the car, she is at service to him. Women being stereotypically useless and in need of protection is portrayed where Moneypenny is constantly in the car which protects her on all sides with bullet proof windows whereas bond follows the unknown antagonist on a bike which renders him defenceless. However gender roles are challenged when we see Moneypenny punch out the shattered window of the car as it suggests that she still maintains some control and she is not a fragile being that gender stereotypes proclaim her to be.

Furthermore sound is used effectively to represent certain aspects of gender role while also challenging them. There is the constant diegetic sound of the voice over of M, which suggests that she is the boss, therefore challenging the social perception of men being in power. However the diegetic voice over sounds quite cold-hearted and masculine, meaning that in order for women to be in charge they have to be like men and therefore proving the stereotype of women who are feminine cannot be in charge. The opening sequence constantly uses the diegetic sound of Moneypenny asking for instructions, this reinforces the gender stereotype of men being in power as it is often the office man who instructs her, while also portraying women as useless. Whereas the non-diegetic sound of the music combined with the synchronous sound of the motorbike in the bike chase scene strengthens the idea of Bond being “The man” as motorbikes are perceived as masculine.

The use of camera techniques also portray gender stereotypes and positivities. The sequence begins with a tracking shot of Bond which gives the impression of someone always following him, therefore complying with the action conventions, this portrays Bond to be the action hero of the film. We also see a wide shot of the headquarters which is shot from behind the back of M, which gives the impression that M is in control of everything in the building, therefore contrasting from general gender role receptions of the man being in charge. 

Gender roles are once more fulfilled by the editing techniques used in the opening sequence. W first see an eye line match towards the computer in bonds vision, which suggests that Bond is of main importance, just like an action hero as this complies to the action/thriller conventions. The use of cross-cutting, which cuts between Bond and Moneypenny in Istanbul and M in England contrasts from stereotypical gender role perceptions as it shows that M still holds importance when in a completely different continent to the action, therefore it challenges the idea of men being the most important. Quick cuts are used to reinforce James Bond as the action hero as it makes the scene extremely fast paced.

Pray Media Coursework Analysis

I liked the close ups and tracking shots of the main artist singing and spray painting on the walls, and the location really captures the idea of rebelling against norms and the system. The artists image is displayed as being the rebel and leader of a gang, this is show using a mid wide shot to capture the artist and her fellow members of the group behind her watching her as if to copy her actions. The narrative is extremely subtle however it could be interpreted as being the leader of a group rebelling against society, through us seeing her anti social behaviour of graffiti and skateboarding inside. The genre of the song being alternative pop is displayed through the alternative style of video following her anti-authoritarian behaviour. Through this video I've been inspired to shoot different close ups doing different actions which can display our artists image.