''SCREAM'' is a series of American horror/slasher films created by Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven.
The films have grossed over 600 million dollars worldwide box office receipts and consist of 4 motion pictures.
The first film ''Scream'' was released on December 20th 1996 and is currently the highest grossing slasher film in the US.
Scream 2 was released on December 12th 1997
Scream 3 was released on February 4th 2000
Scream 4 was released on April 15th 2011
The films follow the character of Sidney Prescott who becomes a targer of a succession of murderers who adopt the disguise of ghostface, to stalk and torment their victims.
Scream (1) was directed by Wes Craven, who was the creator of Nightmare On Elm Street.
Scream (1) was produced by Cathy Conrad and Cary Woods
Scream (1) was written by Kevin Williamson
The budget total for all 4 films was 119 dollars.
SCREAM 1
1 ident is used at the beginning of the film: Dimenstion Films
A text 'SCREAM' then appears on the screen in San Serif text, a ringtone from a house telephone appears and the sound of a girl is heard, yet the audience still cannot see any action, the text 'SCREAM' then turns red which connotes blood, therefor horror and gore.
OPENING SHOT
There is a mid angle medium shot of a home telephone on a table, the phone is ringing, a hand reaches out to get the phone and a medium close up of a blonde girl answering the phone is shown, the steriotypical blonde, attractive female denotes a scream queen, connoting that she will be murdered in the film.
The scream queen answers the phone with a 'Hello?' in an American Accent, denoting that the film is set in America, it also connotes that the scream queen is a polite, well mannered girl.
The person on the other side of the phone then replies 'Who is this?' in a manly voice which denotes that he is male, also he says 'Who is this?' which is used to confuse the scream queen, as well as the audience. The scream queen mistakes the phone call as a wrong number and ends the conversation with 'Take it easy' which signifies that she is laid back, oblivious, and not disturbed by the call, it also foreshadows that something opposite of 'taking it easy' may happen.
The phone rings again, there is a high angle shot of the scream queen picking up the phone, the man on the other end of the line asks for her forgiveness, she replies ''you're forgiven, now bye', signifying that she is still oblivious to the danger of these phone calls.
There is a close up shot of the scream queen putting down the phone, and the shot moves to an establishing shot of a large tree, you can hear crickets in the background and it is dark, denoting that it is night time. There is then an establishing shot of the detached house, obviously set in the middle of knowhere, denoting that the house is isolated, possibly foreshadowing the fact that nobody will save the girl, and/or connoting that there is somebody outside of the house. The swing by the house is swinging which denotes that it is windy, or that it has just been touched.
The shot moves to a gas cooker which makes a loud sound as the fire on the panel is turned on, which could unsettle the audience, the scream queen puts popcorn on the hob, connoting teenage culture or foreshadowing that she is about to watch a film.
There is a medium shot of the scream queen showing that she is alone in the kitchen, the phone rings yet again, she makes small talk with the same man on the end of the phone, he then says ''you tell me your name, and ill tell you mine'' which could be interpreted as rather flirtacious, sending mixed signals to the audience.
The man then asks what film the scream queen will be watching, she replies ''oh just some scary movie'' which has relevance to the film 'SCREAM' itself, the man then replies, 'do you like scary movies?' in a patronising tone, treating the scream queen as if she were dumb and showing interest, this could be foreshadowing something that happens later on in the film.
There is a medium shot of the scream queen hanging over the counter, with kitchen knives next to her, she gets a knife and starts playing with it, whilst on the phone to the man, talking about the horror film 'HALLOWEEN' which has references to a different horror film, possibly foreshadowing the violence from HALLOWEEN being used on her, other references of different films, for example ''NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET'', the audience is then drawn to different violent ways that this girl could die, using references from the other films.
The scream queen mentions 'Freddy Kreuger' and the fact he has 'knives for fingers' the man on the phone replies 'I like Freddy' showing his sinister side and possibly connoting that he is evil himself.
The conversation then moves onto the man on the end of the phone asking 'You got a boyfriend?' which is highly flirtacious and changing the conversation from horror to romance, the scream queen replies ''Why? you wanna take me out on a date?'' connoting that she is oblivious to the strange act of this man, or possibly signifying that she is used to this kind of admirance and attention.
The man on the phone repeats his questions, he asks the scream queen what her name is, she replies ''why do you want to know my name?'' he then replies to her ''because i want to know who im looking at'', this unsettles the scream queen and the audience and for the first time denotes that the scream queen is definatley not alone in the house and possibly denoting that the man on the end of the phone is the villian and the scream queen is the victim.the camera follows the scream queen over the house and stops infront of two glass patio doors, possibly foreshadowing that the man will appear at the doors. The scream queen replies ''What did you just say?'' then the sound of a dog barking is used, making the audience pay more attention to the screen, and adding suspense to the scene. The man on the end of the phone shouts 'Dont hang up on me!'', to which the scream queen does hang up, the audience may feel that this was the wrong choice and one of the possible causes of her torture.
The shot moves back to the popcorn on the hob which is about to pop, this could be symbolism for the atmosphere building up and then the action beginning, or in the case of the popcorn, popping.
There is a medium shot of the scream queen as the phone rings (medium shot seems to be primarily used when the girl answers the phone, keeping a theme through the film) the girl trembles her words, she says 'shit' which connotes that she is scared for her life.
The cameras follow the scream queen back through the house, she answers the phone, attempting to sound strong and competative she screams 'listen asshole...!' to which the man on the end of the phone replies ''no you listen you little bitch!' ... 'I'll cut you like a fish!' which connotes that the man is more powerful in this situation, and denotes his first threat of violence, possibly foreshadowing that the scream queen will be stabbed to death. The man then says ''It's more like a game really'' connoting his twisted nature and how he is going to play on the scream queens emotions and torture her.
The man says ''were in the middle of no where'' which proves that he is with her, the girl attempts to leave the house yet all the doors are locked, she replies ''what do you want?'' he insanely announces ''to see what your insides look like!'' denoting that he wants to kill her. He is also connoting that he is mentally unstable at the fact he wants to 'rip apart' a young girl.
The doorbell rings which adds suspense, the scream queen questions ''whos there?'' connoting that she is naiive and dumb, the phone rings and the man on the end of the phone says 'you should never say whos there, dont you watch scary movies? I'ts a death wish!', referencing back to the innocent conversation that the girl and the man had had previously about the scary films that she watches. The scream queen replies using her boyfriend in her dialogue, possibly trying to regain self security, connoting that she relies on her boyfriend to save her, she then continues: 'he's big, he plays football, and he'll kick the shit out of you!' connoting that the scream queen is very much in her youthful teen ways and still cannot help but flatter her boyfriend, to break down the self security wall that the scream queen had just created, the man replies 'his name wouldnt be Steve, would it?' toying with the scream queen and the audiences emotions, possibly admitting the fact that he had already got to her boyfriend and that he was dead, or dying.
The man says 'turn on the patio lights, again'' connoting that there will be a difference to the last time the turned the lights on, to her horror she finds her beaten and bloody boyfriend (Wearing a football jacket, signifying that he is a jock) tied up to a chair, and unable to speak. The man says ''wanna play a game?'' ... ''turn off the light'' the jock screams 'no' repeatedly, connoting that he knows something bad is going to happen to him, the audience also agree with his judgement for the scream queen not to turn off the light. The man then starts asking the scream queen 'trivia' questions, related to the topics that they were talking about earlier, ''Name the killer in halloween?'' she replies. The man then asks her more questions, in one reply, she says 'Jason' she is emotional as she believes that she has the question correct and has saved her boyfriend, which tricks the audience into false hope, yet the man tricks the scream queen into giving the wrong answer and the jock is stabbed to death, foreshadowing the same death as the scream queen.
The patio windows smash. There is a long shot of the scream queen running into the kitchen and grabbing one of the knives that she was playing with earlier. The tense music gets louder, adding more suspense and teasing the audience, the scream queen goes outside, there is a medium close up of the girl hiding. (The tense music gets louder).
An extreme longshot of a car making its way down the driveway is shown, yet again tricking the scream queen and the audience into feeling false hope for the scream queen. A mask of 'ghostface' from a different horror film appears at the window, which is the first time the scream queen and the man unite, the window is broken and a struggle is made. The scream queen breaks free and runs through her garden, past her dead boyfriend, ghostface chases the scream queen, they have comfrontation and ghostface stabs the scream queen in the chest, repeating himself and stabbing her more often, the scream queen kicks the man and breaks free, running towards her parents, yet unable to call for their aid as ghostface has demolished her voicebox. The man (Ghostface) catches up with the girl, and there is an over the shoulder/body shot of ghostface repeatedly stabbing the girl.
The parents then find the girl hanging from a tree after being suspicious of her where abouts.
The opening lasts 11 minutes and 15 seconds.
SCREAM 4
First ident is shown: Dimension films.
The home telephone begins to ring, which is the same as the first movie.
A young teenage girl, ironically brown haired, contrasting with the first movie, picks up the phone. The same voiced man as ghostface in the first SCREAM movie repeats his question ''who is this?'' this could connote that he is a serial killer and now has his signature way of killing people/teenagers.
The teenage girl replies ''Wrong number'' which is different to the first movie as she is rude, this could connote the difference in teenagers between modern day and the 1990s.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Cabin Fever Film Analysis
Cabin Fever is a 2002 horror comedy film about a group of university graduates who rent a cabin in a woods and begin to fall victim to a flesh eating virus.
Directed by Eli Roth, the films inspiration came from a real life experience when during a trip to Iceland, Roth developed a skin infection.
Firstly, the title itself, "Cabin Fever" has a polysemic meaning, the obvious being that the students did infact catch a disease, slang named 'Cabin fever' and secondly how cabin fever is an idiomatic term for a claustraphobic reaction which happens when a person or group is isolated or shut in a small place, with nothing to do for a long time, which is what happens with the students are they are used to urban surroundings, yet find themselves in a woods for however long.
The film begins with idents.
''Starring'' Is then introduced, connoting that the cast is already famous. 'Starring' is also in serif font and at the top left hand side of the screen, possibly connoting that it is not important.
Names of the actors starring are at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, this denotes that the audience will automatically look there. The text of the actors names are in Sans Serif font which could add suspense.
STARRING:
Casting by AYO DAVIS and JOE ADAMS
Costume Design by PLOMA CANDELARIA
Production Sesign by FRANCO GIACOMO CARBONE
The sound of a swarm of flys is introduced, connoting drama is going to occur soon and making the audience feel 'on edge'.
Special makeup effects by KURTZMAN, NICOTERO AND BERGEREFX GROUP, INC.
Tense music begins to build up to connote that the opening scene of the film is getting closer.
''Red Dream'', ''Deputy Winston Theme'' and ''Love Theme'' BY ANGELO BADALYMENTI
Music by NATHAN BARR
Edited by RYAN FOISEY
Cinematography by SCOTT KEVAN
co producers BRUCE COWEN AND MICHEAL LAUER
Co executive producer JEFFREY D HOFFMAN.
Tense music and the sound of the swarm of flys gets louder and more persistant.
Written by ELI ROTH AND RANDY PEARLSTEIN
Produced and Directed by ELI ROTH.
CABIN FEVER centers the screen in a black Sans Serif font, in capitals.
OPENING SCENE
Extreme longshot of a lake is introduced, displaying a sunrise, which connotes a calm, peaceful naturistic enviroment, which could forebode tragedy further on in the film
A high angle establishing shot of a rural area is used which signifies where the film will be set and what sort of habitat it is set in, it also gives the audience a guess on where in the world the film is set, they could be thinking Australia or America, they know it is not the UK as there are cliffs and forests, the weather is also sunny.
A low angle extreme long shot of a forest floor is shown, the camera lense moves indirectly down to show a moving long shot of darkly dressed figure carrying a dead rabbit in one hand and a trap in the other hand (the tense music gets louder) this connotes that this character is already a killer, and could possibly be the villian in the film. The dead rabbit could forebode a death later on in the film.
A dutch angle is introduced as the man stumbles past the camera lense, the shot then moves to show a long shot of the man walking towards the camera, which connotes that he is on a journey.
The camera lense moves to a dutch angle of a dead alsation dog, the dog could be mistaken for a wolf which fits in with the woods habitat.
The dark clothed man says ''Hey Boy'', which denotes that he is not surprised to see the dog there, connoting that he may have murdered the dog.
There is a close up of the mans feet next to the dead dogs head which could trick the audience into thinking that the dog may wake up and bite the man.
The man bends down to look at the dogs injury, he lifts up the dogs leg and blood spurts onto his face, this is showing the beginning of the infection being spread.
NEW SHOT
of a medium close up of a brown haired female shouting out of her window in the car.
she shouts ''College fucking sucks!'' which immedietly tells the audience that she is a student, possibly a rebel, or a steriotypical teenager who hates school. Her swearing also may connote that she is a rebel and has an attitude.
An establishing low angle shot of two traffic lights is shown, connoting the area and how it is different to the woodland, the audience recognise that the habitat and setting has changed to a different place, the traffic lights anchor that the setting is now in a city.
There is loud music coming from the car which is adding to the interpretation of the girl being a steriotypical attitude full teenager.
An extreme long shot of the car leaving the city is used, foreboding that the teenagers are leaving the city to go to the same place as the dark figure and the dead dog in the woods is.
A 2 person shot of a couple in the front is shown to show romance in the group, and 2 boys and one blonde haired girl is shown in the back.
There is a dutch angle shot of the car moving into a quiet if not isolated road with one house on it - near woodland.
The music that the teenagers were playing stops which signifies different scenery and a different attitude in this habitat.
A long shot of a boy with long blonde hair swinging on a rocking chair outside the shop is shown. The boy with long hair confuses the audience into knowing if he is a boy or girl, which could be symbolism for other events in the film that the audience may find confusing or unusal.
A male teenager patronises the young boy as he moves towards him, he is then bitten by the boy, which denotes that this boy is socially unnaccepted and possibly not used to unfamiliar company. This could also forbode violence later on in the film.
A long shot of a large built man in working class uniform is introduced, he is carrying a baseball bat which could connote that he is violent and not used to people outside of his habitat, he shouts 'no Dennis, no' which signifies that this man could be the boys father, it also confirms to the audience that this child is a boy, by his name, ''DENNIS''.
The man shouts at the teenagers, ''everybody knows not to sit next to dennis!' the audience may find this unusual, it could also signify that this boy is always dangerous and violent, and possibly mentally ill. The man then says ''That mongril will give you tetnis!'' confirming that the boy is ill, the teenager that the boy bit then says ''Maybe you should make a sign'' both speeches together could sound as if the teenager and the man were talking about a dog. The audience may be thinking that the young boy could be a villian in the film too.
A medium close up of a large ''jock'' like teenager is shown, he says ''cute kid'', clearly stating that he is the humourous 'joker' of the film and could be the center of comedy.
A point of view shot of the teenage boy who got bitten by Dennis is shown, he is trying to find some water to clean his fresh wound.
The tense music and the swarm of flys sound is again introduced into the film.
A medium shot of the teenager who got bitten by the boy is shown, he is washing his hands in the river, this forebodes that the river and/or water will be used later on in the film, it could also connote that the boy has got the disease that dennis has by dennis biting him, and he has contaminated the water with it.
A sharpe dog bark is used to 'scare' the audience and keep their minds sharpe, this could also forebode a dog attack.
The shot moves back to the single shop, country music is played, and an elderly man with a large cap, big glasses and dungarees is introduced and country music is played, this connotes that the man is southern and the American teenagers have travelled south. The elderly man shouts ''Y'all here for vacation?'' his southern accent connotes that he is a local. A teenager says ''We're renting a cabin for the week', which lets the audience know the plot of the film. The old man replies ''if you go into the woods, be very careful'', which adds suspense and keeps the audience interested in what he has to say.
The man then says ''Y'all have a good vacation now'' foreboding that something bad may happen on their vacation, also leaving the audience in suspense as to why the teenagers must be careful in the woods.
As the teenagers are leaving the shop, with the large jock like teenager at the back, the man (possibly Dennis' father) follows him out, he puts his hand on the jock like teenagers shoulder, connoting that this man is violent. He says ''give me one good reason why you'd want to steal a snickers bar'', which releaves the audience of any hope of conflict and also adds to the comedy of the film; the jock teenager replies ''the nougat?' which connotes that he is a rather dumb character and again connoting that he will supply the comedy of the film.
END
Directed by Eli Roth, the films inspiration came from a real life experience when during a trip to Iceland, Roth developed a skin infection.
Firstly, the title itself, "Cabin Fever" has a polysemic meaning, the obvious being that the students did infact catch a disease, slang named 'Cabin fever' and secondly how cabin fever is an idiomatic term for a claustraphobic reaction which happens when a person or group is isolated or shut in a small place, with nothing to do for a long time, which is what happens with the students are they are used to urban surroundings, yet find themselves in a woods for however long.
The film begins with idents.
- Red bus home entertainment
- Black Sky entertainment presents
- In association with Deer Path Films
- A downhome entertainment / Tonic Films production
''Starring'' Is then introduced, connoting that the cast is already famous. 'Starring' is also in serif font and at the top left hand side of the screen, possibly connoting that it is not important.
Names of the actors starring are at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, this denotes that the audience will automatically look there. The text of the actors names are in Sans Serif font which could add suspense.
STARRING:
- JORDAN LADD
- JAMES DEBELLO
- CERINA VINCENT
- JOEY KERN
- ARIE VERVEEN
Casting by AYO DAVIS and JOE ADAMS
Costume Design by PLOMA CANDELARIA
Production Sesign by FRANCO GIACOMO CARBONE
The sound of a swarm of flys is introduced, connoting drama is going to occur soon and making the audience feel 'on edge'.
Special makeup effects by KURTZMAN, NICOTERO AND BERGEREFX GROUP, INC.
Tense music begins to build up to connote that the opening scene of the film is getting closer.
''Red Dream'', ''Deputy Winston Theme'' and ''Love Theme'' BY ANGELO BADALYMENTI
Music by NATHAN BARR
Edited by RYAN FOISEY
Cinematography by SCOTT KEVAN
co producers BRUCE COWEN AND MICHEAL LAUER
Co executive producer JEFFREY D HOFFMAN.
Tense music and the sound of the swarm of flys gets louder and more persistant.
Written by ELI ROTH AND RANDY PEARLSTEIN
Produced and Directed by ELI ROTH.
CABIN FEVER centers the screen in a black Sans Serif font, in capitals.
OPENING SCENE
Extreme longshot of a lake is introduced, displaying a sunrise, which connotes a calm, peaceful naturistic enviroment, which could forebode tragedy further on in the film
A high angle establishing shot of a rural area is used which signifies where the film will be set and what sort of habitat it is set in, it also gives the audience a guess on where in the world the film is set, they could be thinking Australia or America, they know it is not the UK as there are cliffs and forests, the weather is also sunny.
A low angle extreme long shot of a forest floor is shown, the camera lense moves indirectly down to show a moving long shot of darkly dressed figure carrying a dead rabbit in one hand and a trap in the other hand (the tense music gets louder) this connotes that this character is already a killer, and could possibly be the villian in the film. The dead rabbit could forebode a death later on in the film.
A dutch angle is introduced as the man stumbles past the camera lense, the shot then moves to show a long shot of the man walking towards the camera, which connotes that he is on a journey.
The camera lense moves to a dutch angle of a dead alsation dog, the dog could be mistaken for a wolf which fits in with the woods habitat.
The dark clothed man says ''Hey Boy'', which denotes that he is not surprised to see the dog there, connoting that he may have murdered the dog.
There is a close up of the mans feet next to the dead dogs head which could trick the audience into thinking that the dog may wake up and bite the man.
The man bends down to look at the dogs injury, he lifts up the dogs leg and blood spurts onto his face, this is showing the beginning of the infection being spread.
NEW SHOT
of a medium close up of a brown haired female shouting out of her window in the car.
she shouts ''College fucking sucks!'' which immedietly tells the audience that she is a student, possibly a rebel, or a steriotypical teenager who hates school. Her swearing also may connote that she is a rebel and has an attitude.
An establishing low angle shot of two traffic lights is shown, connoting the area and how it is different to the woodland, the audience recognise that the habitat and setting has changed to a different place, the traffic lights anchor that the setting is now in a city.
There is loud music coming from the car which is adding to the interpretation of the girl being a steriotypical attitude full teenager.
An extreme long shot of the car leaving the city is used, foreboding that the teenagers are leaving the city to go to the same place as the dark figure and the dead dog in the woods is.
A 2 person shot of a couple in the front is shown to show romance in the group, and 2 boys and one blonde haired girl is shown in the back.
There is a dutch angle shot of the car moving into a quiet if not isolated road with one house on it - near woodland.
The music that the teenagers were playing stops which signifies different scenery and a different attitude in this habitat.
A long shot of a boy with long blonde hair swinging on a rocking chair outside the shop is shown. The boy with long hair confuses the audience into knowing if he is a boy or girl, which could be symbolism for other events in the film that the audience may find confusing or unusal.
A male teenager patronises the young boy as he moves towards him, he is then bitten by the boy, which denotes that this boy is socially unnaccepted and possibly not used to unfamiliar company. This could also forbode violence later on in the film.
A long shot of a large built man in working class uniform is introduced, he is carrying a baseball bat which could connote that he is violent and not used to people outside of his habitat, he shouts 'no Dennis, no' which signifies that this man could be the boys father, it also confirms to the audience that this child is a boy, by his name, ''DENNIS''.
The man shouts at the teenagers, ''everybody knows not to sit next to dennis!' the audience may find this unusual, it could also signify that this boy is always dangerous and violent, and possibly mentally ill. The man then says ''That mongril will give you tetnis!'' confirming that the boy is ill, the teenager that the boy bit then says ''Maybe you should make a sign'' both speeches together could sound as if the teenager and the man were talking about a dog. The audience may be thinking that the young boy could be a villian in the film too.
A medium close up of a large ''jock'' like teenager is shown, he says ''cute kid'', clearly stating that he is the humourous 'joker' of the film and could be the center of comedy.
A point of view shot of the teenage boy who got bitten by Dennis is shown, he is trying to find some water to clean his fresh wound.
The tense music and the swarm of flys sound is again introduced into the film.
A medium shot of the teenager who got bitten by the boy is shown, he is washing his hands in the river, this forebodes that the river and/or water will be used later on in the film, it could also connote that the boy has got the disease that dennis has by dennis biting him, and he has contaminated the water with it.
A sharpe dog bark is used to 'scare' the audience and keep their minds sharpe, this could also forebode a dog attack.
The shot moves back to the single shop, country music is played, and an elderly man with a large cap, big glasses and dungarees is introduced and country music is played, this connotes that the man is southern and the American teenagers have travelled south. The elderly man shouts ''Y'all here for vacation?'' his southern accent connotes that he is a local. A teenager says ''We're renting a cabin for the week', which lets the audience know the plot of the film. The old man replies ''if you go into the woods, be very careful'', which adds suspense and keeps the audience interested in what he has to say.
The man then says ''Y'all have a good vacation now'' foreboding that something bad may happen on their vacation, also leaving the audience in suspense as to why the teenagers must be careful in the woods.
As the teenagers are leaving the shop, with the large jock like teenager at the back, the man (possibly Dennis' father) follows him out, he puts his hand on the jock like teenagers shoulder, connoting that this man is violent. He says ''give me one good reason why you'd want to steal a snickers bar'', which releaves the audience of any hope of conflict and also adds to the comedy of the film; the jock teenager replies ''the nougat?' which connotes that he is a rather dumb character and again connoting that he will supply the comedy of the film.
END
Monday, October 17, 2011
My Stills Film
The class was given a task to go out onto the school grounds and take a range of photos which consisted of different shot types, e.g. close ups, medium close ups, long shots, medium long shots and extreme long shots. We then put these photos onto IMOVIE and created a STILLS FILM which told a story using only these shot photos.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Slumdog Millionaire Film Opening Analysis
I annotated Slumdog Millionaire which is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan.
Firstly, there were idents.
The background of the text turns into money being scattered around, which connotes that money could be the subject which runs through the film, and could also be at center of whatever tragedy occurs in the film.
The audience are shown from the very beginning who is the victim and who are the villians in the film, by actions and dialogue of the characters.
The boss of the room where Jamal is being tortured then stands face to face to Jamal whilst he is tied up and begins a speech, ''My wife is giving me hell'' is a short extract from the speech but even so this shows that the boss is taking all of his personal anger out on Jamal, and is really set to hurt him.
The boss then says ''Tell me how you cheated'', it then immedietly comes apparent that the two scenes are related. The audience now sees that Jamal has been tortured in the recent past because the game show are unaware of how Jamal knew all the answers which has enabled him to play for 2 million rupees, they assume he cheated, and are trying to torture how he cheated out of him. Jamal does not answer the man, so the ultimatum is that the torturer electricutes Jamal.
Jamal is unconcious, the boss of the torturer starts to shout at the torturer as he was not supposed to make him unconcious, the fear in the torturers eyes connotes that the boss is full of superiority.
The close up of the two men with Jamal unconcious in the back denotes that Jamal is the center (or the topic) of their argument, physically and mentally.
Jamal then awakens and says ''I knew the answers'' the audienced are swayed to believe him as he is being superly victimised.
The shot then moves to a young boy playing with his friends, denoting a flash back to Jamals childhood, connoting that the audience will go through the film being shown how Jamal knows all of these answers.
The full opening lasts 5 minutes and 53 seconds.
Firstly, there were idents.
- Pathe
- Celador Films
- Film 4
The opening shot is a close up medium shot of an asian young man sweating, opposing a middle aged asian man smoking the shot is in a dim yellow light. The young man is trying to retain eye contact which connotes that there is an awkward and tense atmosphere in the room.
Sans serif text appears high left of the screen. ''Mumbai 2006'' this denotes the time period and the location, connoting that the film is set in Asia, and was set in 2006. Audio is introduced, a man of foreign accent says ''Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 2 million rupees, how did he do it?'' this connotes that the audio is engaging the audience and beginning to describe the plot of the film. It also informs the audience of the main characters name, 'Jamal'. The text then proceeds to ask a question in the style of the game show ''Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'' The options to answer this question are placed underneath eachother in a sans serif font which connotes modern day.
A) Cheated
B)Luck
C)Genious
D) It Is Written
The question is letting the audience make up their own mind and forebode their own opinion of how they think the film is going to go based on these four answers.
The background of the text turns into money being scattered around, which connotes that money could be the subject which runs through the film, and could also be at center of whatever tragedy occurs in the film.
A medium close up of two characters, (supposedly Jamal and the presenter) appears on the screen, they are turned away from the camera, looking into a dark room with strong lights moving around, signifying that the two characters are about to enter the game show.
There is then an extreme long shot showing the view of the room, an audience is placed around the room which anchors that Jamal and the presenter of the show are in the game show room of ''Who Wants To Be A Millionaire''
A new shot is then introduced, back to the dimly yellow lit grotty looking room, the audience then see that the opening is based on flashbacks of Jamals memory.
Jamal gets slapped by the opposing character from the dimly lit room, not the same character as the presenter. The shot then moves to a close up shot made to look like it is under water, where Jamal's head gets ducked in, this signifies that Jamal is being tortured.
The shot then switches back to the games room, the audience is being informed that the games room is present day, and the torturing shots are from the recent past. A medium shot of the presenter is shown, he starts to make fun of Jamal by bad mouthing Jamals job, this connotes superiority, Jamal is below the presenter in a social and superior sense. There is then a medium close up shot of Jamal, signifying that Jamal is infact equal to the presenter, as he creates a come back to the presenters witty comments.
There is then a flash and the shot moves to a medium high angle shot of a girl smiling, the flash denotes that this is a memory of Jamal's, the only memory shown in the opening of the film, connoting her importance to him especially, in the film. The shot is also the same colour as the dimly lit yellow colour which is the same as the torture scenes, which possibly connotes that the two are related. 
The shot then moves back to the torture scene, a new character enters the room, he is taller than the torturer, and then starts to tell the torturer what to do, connoting that he is superior to the torturer, and possibly controlling the torture.
The audience are shown from the very beginning who is the victim and who are the villians in the film, by actions and dialogue of the characters.
The boss of the room where Jamal is being tortured then stands face to face to Jamal whilst he is tied up and begins a speech, ''My wife is giving me hell'' is a short extract from the speech but even so this shows that the boss is taking all of his personal anger out on Jamal, and is really set to hurt him.
The boss then says ''Tell me how you cheated'', it then immedietly comes apparent that the two scenes are related. The audience now sees that Jamal has been tortured in the recent past because the game show are unaware of how Jamal knew all the answers which has enabled him to play for 2 million rupees, they assume he cheated, and are trying to torture how he cheated out of him. Jamal does not answer the man, so the ultimatum is that the torturer electricutes Jamal.
Jamal is unconcious, the boss of the torturer starts to shout at the torturer as he was not supposed to make him unconcious, the fear in the torturers eyes connotes that the boss is full of superiority.
Jamal then awakens and says ''I knew the answers'' the audienced are swayed to believe him as he is being superly victimised.
The shot then moves to a young boy playing with his friends, denoting a flash back to Jamals childhood, connoting that the audience will go through the film being shown how Jamal knows all of these answers.
The full opening lasts 5 minutes and 53 seconds.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Attack The Block
I studied the 4 minutes 20 seconds opening scene of Attack The Block.
The first thing that came up on my screen was the Idents of:
- Film 4
- UK Film Council
- National Lottery Funds
- Big Talk Pictures
- Studio Canal
The opening scene of Attack The Block, is an extreme long shot of a night sky, showing a full sky of stars, then moving onto a shooting star - first reactions of the audience may be that this film is a Sci - Fi; the camera then moves down showing fireworks over a city, which could show that their is a celebration and this film is set in an urban culture.
The scene then moves to an underground station, hinting that this film is set in London or a familiar area. The station is busy, the first shot we see is a medium close up of a blonde haired woman rushing, showing that it is rush hour time. Another ident is then posted onto the screen. ''Studio Canal''
The screen then turns to a medium shot of a brown haired woman (early 20's) the mis en scene shows the woman wearing a hat, scarf and coat, so the audience know that it is around winter time. The audience has now been introduced to one of the main characters in the film. The media language in the film shows a woman has a 'posh' accent, and is also on the phone to her mother, suggesting innocence and a possible victim in the film.
- Tense music is introducted into the film, adding suspense and intending to put the audience on edge.
- Idents are shown for a second time.
The scene then moves to a low, long shot of the same woman wearing converse trainers walking away from the station and along suburb roads, then moves to an extreme long shot high angle of the woman walking away from the camera, showing the audience that this lady is possibly planning on walking home back to a more privaliged part of London.
The shot moves onto the lady walking past graffiti, which is part of the mis en scene, possibly showing that she is entering a dangerous or more unprivaliged part of London, foreboding possible events of the woman being in conflict of danger. As the shot moves onto the graffiti, rap music starts to play, which also gives the audience a bigger understanding of the area that the film is shot in and what type of enviroment this woman is about to walk into, and whom she may bump into. The music then moves back to a tense tone.
A firework then goes off making a loud 'bang' which scares the woman, making the audience more on edge, leading up to conflict.
There is then an over the shoulder shot of the woman walking in the direction of youths on bikes wearing hoodies, the mis en scene portrays a sterio typical bunch of rough youths and thugs. The woman then says ''oh fuck'' which expresses how scared she is of these youths. The audience now have their intended victim and villian characters.
One of the said youths then pulls a knife out, mis en scene is used to show how violent this character is and leads up to suspense, along with the music in the background, the audience is intended to feel vunerable.
The character holding the knife is immedietly shown as the alphamale. 
The intended alphamale then throws the girl to the ground, his entourage then laugh. The alphamale then says ''give the phone, give the phone'' the urgency in his voice and the repetition could show dispare, he is also illiterate as he misses out the word 'me'. There is then a low angle medium shot of the alphamale, putting the audience in the woman's position, and making the alphamale more superior.
When said woman stands up for herself against the youths, they do not hold back on threatening to hurt her. One of the youths says ''gonna get merked, init'' the media language intends to show slang and illiterate speech to further proceed in expressing urban culture and downgrading these youths into being thick and stupid.
There is an extreme long shot of an object falling from the sky and crashing into a car nearby the scene, the woman victim uses this oppertunity to run away, one of the youths interrupts the alphamale and says: ''oh fam shes ghosting'' to which the alphamale replies ''allow it'', showing that the alphamale has something more important to deal with, he has another plan.
When the alphamale sees that the car has been ruined and available to break into, he proceeds to enter the car, even when urged not to by his uncomfortable friends. There is a medium close up of the other youths confused by what has just happened.
A threatening figure then attacks the alphamale, showing the alphamales first sign of weakness, moving the victim character onto the alphamale and the villian character onto the attacker. It is unclear what this figure is until later on in the film, it looks like a large dog, almost a warewolf. The alphamale then uses his knife for self defence and attacks the figure, it then howls and escapes through a broken barbed wire fence (mis en scene showing how rough the estate is). The alphamale's friends start to humiliate him; ''Mullerz got shanked by a doggy!'' The audience then knows the alphamales name, the first name introduced into the film, showing that this character will be of importance in this film.
A close up of 'Mullerz' face is shown, showing the seriousness in his face, as well as the fear in his eyes, but a bandana is used to cover up half of his face, still showing his position as a threatening youth. Mullerz then says ''Im chasing that down, im killing that, watch'' which introduces the audience into the whole plot of the film.
The intended audience for this film may be teenagers in knowledge of unprivaliged areas, who are also interested in aliens and conflict.
Bradford Film Festival
Arriving at the Media Museum, i was pleasantly surprised with how modern the building was and how many facilities were available. Firstly, i went and tested out a selection of the games available in the gaming corner which was very colourful and amusing.
 |
| Gaming Room. |
 |
| Gaming Space. |
Secondly, i qued to meet the famous ginger twins from the Harry Potter movies, George and Fred Weasley, to my dissapointment, i soon discovered that everybody's favourite gingers, aren't ginger!
 |
| Harry, George, Tom and I with Weasley Twins. |
 |
| Weasley twins signatures. |
Thirdly, I went to Experience TV and experimented with varied cinematography equipment and different backgrounds. I studied different generations of televisions and read off a script, pretending to be a news reporter.
 |
| Different generations of Television |
 |
| Blue screen for different backgrounds. |
I then went to the screening of a selected few of the films chosen to be shown at the film festival, i was humoured by many of them, for example the film containing different fruits, which i thought was a very good idea. My favourite film was Lifeguard, it was very funny and had a sarcastic sense to it. My favourite shot throughout the whole viewing was in the music video created by a student at Ilkley Grammar School, of an extreme close up of a young girl's eyes, in black and white. She looks frightenened, and her eyes could tell the story of the whole music video.
When looking around the venue, there were lots of information about various projects from brittish cinema and television, which i found very interesting. There was also a radio cast on one of the floors.
Lastly, i went to a special effects makeup workshop, which was very messy, but alot of fun. I made a gash on my hand using wax and fake blood, which turned out to be very sticky and hard to get off my hand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)