We have rated our thriller opening scene, 'Interline Industries', as a 15+. This is because our opening scene contains moderate violence, language and threat, allowing it to be rated as 15+.
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
9 Frame Analysis
SHUTTER ISLAND
The first frame of the film is the title screen. The white and grey writing is a good contrast to the black background. The gradient of the writing also has the 'discoloured' look to it. This could help set the genre of thriller.
This frame is a front-on-view of the ship. It is a long shot (LS) view of the ship coming out of mist. This has a good effect as the it builds anticipation of what might be coming out of the fog.
1) In the next frame you can see somebody hunched over,but only half of their body, as the wall is in the way of their head. the camera then changes to a close mid-shot, over the shoulder view into a mirror so you can see the characters face. It is still dark in the restroom, but there is a light source coming from the left of the screen. Its daylight not artificial light.
2) The next frame is a mid-shot (MS) of the character turning around. His talking to himself. You can see his surroundings and his in a restroom of the ship. You can tell this because of the small round window where the light was coming through, and because of the small shelves, and sink.
3)Frame 5 is a Close up of him looking out the window side view. you can see his face and outside the window. He whispers to himself, and carries on staring out of the window. From seeing him talking to himself, this could mean he is mentally unstable, and could foreshadow what happens at the end of the film.
4)He quickly moves, you can then see a close up of him washing his hands in a small basin, and the camera moves upwards (pedestal movement) with a front on view of the character. He then splashes the water over his face, and walks out of the room.
5)The shot then changes, and its a LS view of him putting his jacket on and walking out of the toilet. The camera focus changes from being focused on the hanging chains to the character in the background. The camera pivots and follows the direction his walking in (pan). 6)While he walks, he pulls the rest of the jacket on.
7)The next frame is a mid-shot view of him coming through a metal doorway, into the daylight outside.
8) The camera flashes from him as a mid-shot frame, to another man standing outside by the edge of the ship in LS view.
9)And then back to him as mid shot view. His expression has changed to a slightly more angry or sinister expression.
The first frame of the film is the title screen. The white and grey writing is a good contrast to the black background. The gradient of the writing also has the 'discoloured' look to it. This could help set the genre of thriller.
This frame is a front-on-view of the ship. It is a long shot (LS) view of the ship coming out of mist. This has a good effect as the it builds anticipation of what might be coming out of the fog.
1) In the next frame you can see somebody hunched over,but only half of their body, as the wall is in the way of their head. the camera then changes to a close mid-shot, over the shoulder view into a mirror so you can see the characters face. It is still dark in the restroom, but there is a light source coming from the left of the screen. Its daylight not artificial light.
2) The next frame is a mid-shot (MS) of the character turning around. His talking to himself. You can see his surroundings and his in a restroom of the ship. You can tell this because of the small round window where the light was coming through, and because of the small shelves, and sink.
3)Frame 5 is a Close up of him looking out the window side view. you can see his face and outside the window. He whispers to himself, and carries on staring out of the window. From seeing him talking to himself, this could mean he is mentally unstable, and could foreshadow what happens at the end of the film.
4)He quickly moves, you can then see a close up of him washing his hands in a small basin, and the camera moves upwards (pedestal movement) with a front on view of the character. He then splashes the water over his face, and walks out of the room.
5)The shot then changes, and its a LS view of him putting his jacket on and walking out of the toilet. The camera focus changes from being focused on the hanging chains to the character in the background. The camera pivots and follows the direction his walking in (pan). 6)While he walks, he pulls the rest of the jacket on.
7)The next frame is a mid-shot view of him coming through a metal doorway, into the daylight outside.
8) The camera flashes from him as a mid-shot frame, to another man standing outside by the edge of the ship in LS view.
9)And then back to him as mid shot view. His expression has changed to a slightly more angry or sinister expression.
'The Shining' Analysis
The opening credits to the film ‘The Shining’ conforms to, develops and also challenges thriller genre conventions with the use of specific camera angles, iconology, with the use of sound and in other ways.
One way in which the movie conforms to Thriller genre conventions is with the use of expected camera tilts and canted shots. This anticipated feature adds the usual uncomfortableness when watching a thriller. The canted/tilted shot makes the viewer feel disorientated and makes them think that someone in the film will be disturbed, out of control and a threat. The camera then slowly moves from a canted shot to hover above and follow a specific car. This focus on the Yellow Beatle car makes the audience recognize the significance that the characters within the car have. As the camera is following the car, we suspect the camera is treating them like the victim, another way in which the film conforms to thriller genre conventions; expected character type (victims). Also by the camera following them it implies to the viewers the expected narrative of being watched/followed will feature within the film.
‘The Shining’ again conforms to thriller genre conventions by using iconography which is expected- running water. During the opening sequence the camera shows that in the surrounding area there is water in a river, this can link and represent the draining of life. The running water builds enigma as it makes the viewers wonder what will happen to cause the draining of life. It also indicates to the audience that the expected themes of isolation and entrapment are included and is showing it is an uneasy place to get away from fast, putting the characters in the car in even more danger.
Another way in which this film conforms to the genre conventions is with the use of sound, in this case non-diegetic sound. When the camera reaches the large building in the sequence, there is a sound which sounds like crying. The crying builds an enigma and mystery as the audience wonders why there is a crying sound. It could suggest to the audience that in this building, bad things will happen causing pain and upset, but as the source of the sound is not shown on the screen it is a non-diegetic sound.
A way in which thriller genre conventions are developed is by using the colour blue as the writing font. Often expected within the opening credits is white, black or red writing as white can represent innocence and purity, red can indicate danger and black suggest mystery and darkness. The use of blue adds the unusual link to sadness and unhappiness. This could be suggesting to the audience that the victims will end up sad or the person/spirit is currently sad and unhappy and that’s why the characters in the car are in danger – it may be seeking revenge.
Features challenging the genre conventions were hard to find within this title sequence as at least one expected iconography, narrative, theme and character has been used. A usual occurrence in the title sequence is at least a person, often a main character, is shown/ appears in the title sequence, which doesn’t happen in this opening. It adds suspense to the movie as it keeps the audience guessing as to who is what type of character and what they will look like etc.
Another feature that also is an unusual feature within the opening credits to ‘The Shining’ is the editing and structure of the first few minutes is unlike most thriller openings. One second the car is in a one destination driving along and then in the next shot has jumped forward in time, skipping parts, almost like a film ellipsis.
One way in which the movie conforms to Thriller genre conventions is with the use of expected camera tilts and canted shots. This anticipated feature adds the usual uncomfortableness when watching a thriller. The canted/tilted shot makes the viewer feel disorientated and makes them think that someone in the film will be disturbed, out of control and a threat. The camera then slowly moves from a canted shot to hover above and follow a specific car. This focus on the Yellow Beatle car makes the audience recognize the significance that the characters within the car have. As the camera is following the car, we suspect the camera is treating them like the victim, another way in which the film conforms to thriller genre conventions; expected character type (victims). Also by the camera following them it implies to the viewers the expected narrative of being watched/followed will feature within the film.
‘The Shining’ again conforms to thriller genre conventions by using iconography which is expected- running water. During the opening sequence the camera shows that in the surrounding area there is water in a river, this can link and represent the draining of life. The running water builds enigma as it makes the viewers wonder what will happen to cause the draining of life. It also indicates to the audience that the expected themes of isolation and entrapment are included and is showing it is an uneasy place to get away from fast, putting the characters in the car in even more danger.
Another way in which this film conforms to the genre conventions is with the use of sound, in this case non-diegetic sound. When the camera reaches the large building in the sequence, there is a sound which sounds like crying. The crying builds an enigma and mystery as the audience wonders why there is a crying sound. It could suggest to the audience that in this building, bad things will happen causing pain and upset, but as the source of the sound is not shown on the screen it is a non-diegetic sound.
A way in which thriller genre conventions are developed is by using the colour blue as the writing font. Often expected within the opening credits is white, black or red writing as white can represent innocence and purity, red can indicate danger and black suggest mystery and darkness. The use of blue adds the unusual link to sadness and unhappiness. This could be suggesting to the audience that the victims will end up sad or the person/spirit is currently sad and unhappy and that’s why the characters in the car are in danger – it may be seeking revenge.
Features challenging the genre conventions were hard to find within this title sequence as at least one expected iconography, narrative, theme and character has been used. A usual occurrence in the title sequence is at least a person, often a main character, is shown/ appears in the title sequence, which doesn’t happen in this opening. It adds suspense to the movie as it keeps the audience guessing as to who is what type of character and what they will look like etc.
Another feature that also is an unusual feature within the opening credits to ‘The Shining’ is the editing and structure of the first few minutes is unlike most thriller openings. One second the car is in a one destination driving along and then in the next shot has jumped forward in time, skipping parts, almost like a film ellipsis.
9 Frame Analysis
Each frame have a particular meaning and a level of importance to the film. As you can see from the image above, the first nine shots involve titles as well. The titles all have a particular purpose and its generally put in order of importance.
The first frame is the most important frame due to the fact that it is the first frame that everyone sees once the film starts. In this case, we can see something that looks like a book with white writing on top of it. The white writing are the credits of the film. Both the background and the writing has a particular purpose to the film and is all done for a reason. For example, the white writing is something that we see in most thriller films, therefore that could have purposely been done to signify the fact that the film could be of a thriller genre. Another reason as to why the writing could have been white is because they may have wanted the white writing to stand out from the dark background to make it very clear for the audience to see.
The second frame shows the who the film is by. It shows that the film is by David Facher. This is also written in white writing so it stands out for the audience to see. However, the background image changes to something else. In this case its someone's hand, but it looks abnormal. I personally think that this was purposely done in order to give the audience a rough idea of things that could happen during the cause of the film. It shows that there are two hands on a piece of paper, it could be trying to raise the enigma for the audience from early on in the film. It could make them wonder why the character has two hands on paper with a red line in-between it.
Frame three is unique in my opinion. The reason for this is because it has no credits on it therefore it could have purposely been done to empathize the fact that the directors want the audience to concentrate on the image that is being shown. The image shows someone holding something sharp like a razor or a blade. This is another convention of a thriller genre because this prop can be seen as a weapon that an antagonist would use to harm a protagonist. We also see a close up shot of hands again, this could be done to empathize on the power that hands may have throughout the cause of the film.
The fourth frame is one of the most important frames out of all nine frames, the reason for this is because it shows the title of the film. Its written in capital in order to make it clear that this is the title of the film and it has a very dark background so it stands out. We also see notepads in the image as well. In my opinion this was done to make it clear that this may be a prop that we see time and time again throughout the film.
The fifth frame shows a character writing on a piece of paper. This is where things begin to become alot more clearer now due to the fact that in a few of the previous frames, it involves notepads, paper and hands. This is done to raise and enigma in my opinion, the reason for this is because the audience is unable to see what is being written on the piece of paper. The fact that the character is writing on white paper could make the audience wonder what the character is writing due to the fact that it can potentially be anything. Through this frame, its automatically left the audience on a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger is a successful convention of a thriller genre.
Frame six shows a unique image the reason for this is because its a shot of someone drawing a little boy. This is important because it could show that the film may have something to do with a young boy. In the drawing it shows that the person that is being drawn is being blind folded, therefore they are unable to see what may happen to them throughout the cause of the film. This is another thing that can create an enigma because it has the potential to make the audience wonder exactly why a boy has been drawn blindfolded for. It also has a dark background as well, this can show that the boy may be trapped in darkness and he is the light. It could represent anything in my opinion. There are also credits on this particular image showing who was in charge of the casting of the film.
The seventh frame shows the hand of someone. Throughout the frames, the camera has empathized on hands, paper and writing therefore I personally believe that this image is continuing the sequence. However with this particular image, it has credits on it. This one shows who it was produced and directed by therefore it has a huge level of importance.
The eighth frame is also another awkward frame which creates enigmas for the audience. The reason for this is because it shows someone sowing paper together. This is something that nobody would consider as normal therefore it could make the audience ask questions as to why this is happening. The fact that it could be seen as an enigma is a convention of the thriller genre. This frame also doesn't have credits on it therefore it could mea that the directors want the focus to be directly on the image in order to make the audience aware of it.
The ninth and final frame is a shot of something which looks like words ripped out of a newspaper. This is a typical thing that the antagonist is likely to do therefore this image could represent that the antagonist is trying to mask something up at the beginning of the film.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
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