The Hurt Locker.


Sound.
(0-8 seconds)

The music increases in volume which increases the tension. The music compliments the on-screen image making in parallel music.




Camera Work.
(29 seconds)

There is a tracking shot from right to left which then changes subject and shot to a medium shot of a woman. This camera movement makes the action seem hectic and out of control.




Editing.
(8:38 - 8:40)

Shot speed increases which makes the action happen at a faster pace creating a tense mood and worrying the audience.








Mise en Scene
(Clothing/Props)

The America soldiers are dressed in army gear. These costumes give the soldiers a sense of power because most people would recognise the power significance of an army uniform. This shows the men wearing it are important.

The soldiers are also using guns. This again gives them more power over the people who do not have guns, therefore giving the soldiers leadership.





The Dark Knight.


Camera Work
(2:44)

The medium two-shot creates dramatic irony, because the audience can see the man with the gun is about to shoot the man in the for-ground; however the man in the for-ground does not know this





Sound
(1:30+)


non diegetic parallel music links with image on screen. tense music increases the pace, suspense and tension also by increasing in volume.









Mise en Scene
(Clothing/Props)


The scary masks make the protagonists seem even more evil. It also hides their facial expressions so they seem more menacing. They also have guns which gives them power over the people who don't.









Editing
(3:08)


The shallow depth of field puts more emphasis on the grenade making it the most important thing in shot.













The Shining




Sound


The music is contrapuntal and non diegetic. The music is a complete contrast to the beautiful scenery. The music is dark and in a minor key.











Mise en Scene
(Setting)


The beautiful scenery is in a remote location with not many people around. Along with the music this could raise the tention.









Camera Work
(Through out)


There is a constant tracking shot on the car. This makes the car significant and seem important.









Editing
(31 seconds)


There is a fade. This makes is feel as if time has past in between the two shots suggesting a jump in time.













Pulp Fiction




Camera Work
(4:29)


The low angle gives the two characters a sense of control and power.









Mise en Scene
(2:06)


The woman's body language is very relaxed and doesn't seem to take much interest in what the man is saying. They are talking about robbing various places. Her body language suggests she is accustom to robbing places. So we (the audience assume that they've done it before









Editing
(4:08)


The medium show hides the gun from shot. therefore the audience doesn't know what the man is reaching for, creating suspense and ENIGMA. This grips the audience.









Sound
(4:34)


The music is contrapuntal to the on-screen action. However the audience knows that robbery is nothing new to these characters. So by playing quite up-beat music, it could be seen as parallel music.













Sin City




Sound
(2:45)


The foley effect of rain emphasises and enhances the volume of it. This goes well with the on-screen images. Rain is similar to tear drops. And as the woman has been shot, the mood is saddened and the rain sound helps.









Camera Work
(2:45)


The high angle makes the characters seem powerless, and in the female's case, lifeless. This gives the impression that the male is powerless. he cannot help the woman. he looks sad about what he has just done. The high angle emphasises this.











Editing
(1:59)


The match-on-action makes the cut smoother and keeps the action and a fast yet smooth pace. This makes the scene seem more realistic and in real-time.












Mise en Scene
(38 seconds)


There is hard back lighting which blackens out the males front features such at his face. The audience don't know who this man is and this lighting adds to the man's mask of identity. This make the audience ask questions and wonder who this man is.





















Sorry the homework is late. I couldn't upload it from home so I've had to wait till monday at college


James Ely

Thriller Opening 5 - Law Abiding Citizen - Harrison Blake

This is the video clip I'm using, it's until 3:10.


Camera Work
-The first thing we see is a father and daughter bonding together making jewellery, the camera shots are all CU and some are ECU. This is showing that the father and daughter are having a nice peaceful time spending time with each other.
-There is then a medium shot which shows the little girl holding up a necklace, she is smiling and looking happy.
-As the man moves over to the door to open it, there is good tracking in over his shoulder.

-As he opens the door he gets hit with a baseball bat, this makes the mood completely change and it also changes the camera, instead of long gentle shots, it is now using very short and very fast paced camera shots, this shows agitation and the franticness of the camera movements suggests something is going on, which we can clearly see is a man being beaten.
-As the man gets tied, a jump cut is used to show his wife in a mid shot screaming for her husband.
-Close ups are now used to show the crazed look on the attackers face and the desperate look on the man who is being beaten.
-There is then a close up of the knife entering the male's stomach.
-Depth of field is cleverly used to reveal the little girl standing in the background

Sound
-Appropriate music on the logos to make them more enhancing.
-A radio is playing in the background, this simulates a normal family home.
-Dialogue of the father talking to the girl in a very soft, calm voice.
-Foley is used when the door knocks, it gets progressively louder and more aggressive as they knock more.
-Music suddenly starts playing as the man gets hit by the baseball bat, sharp and loud music.
-As the woman screams it echo's getting rid of hope for the viewers.
-The music now is low pitched showing unease and despair.
-As the man gets stabbed a chrome sort of noise plays to make the stabbing more noticeable.
-The music is now getting more and more high pitched and reaches the climax as the girl is shown, this shows that something bad is going to happen and creates unease for the viewer.
-At the end of the clip it sounds like sirens are going off, this portrays danger.


Editing
-Shot reverse shot is used very effectively and the 180 degree rule is not broken at all.

-When the intruders break in the lighting all of a sudden gets dimmer, this shows that something bad is happening as it was all happy when the lighting was bright and now it's dark and he's getting attacked.
-Dissolves are used to simulate the male's eyes, how he could be blacking out and blinking very slowly.
-All the noise is distorted in his head as well.
-The font used at the start of the film is pretty standard apart from the cracks in it which would suggest unease.


Mise en Scene
-The home looks like a typical family home, the lighting is all bright showing that the home is nice and the family atmosphere is calm and happy.
-When the intruders come in the lighting suddenly compliments the mood as it gets all dark, when they were happy it was light, now they are in pain it's all dark.
-The intruders are wearing typical burglars clothes, dressed in all black with black hats on, whereas the family are dressed in nice normal clothes.
-The intruders are both holding weapons, bats and knifes.

Thriller Opening 4 - Pulp Fiction - Harrison Blake

This is the opening (only to 4:34 as music has been placed and is not original)

Camera Work
-The camera work in the intro to Pulp Fiction is fairly basic, the majority of the time it is a two shot on both the male and the female.

-As well as the two shots, there are quite a lot of over the shoulder shots and close ups on both the characters.

-Even when another character comes into the scene, they are shown as nothing valuable to the shot as their face is only shown for a second, then it's straight back onto the man and woman. 
-When they both stand up at the end of the scene there is a low angle on both of them, showing the male as a bigger person who is more dominant.


Sound
-Whilst the man and woman are sitting in the booth talking about robbery's and how they could potentially rob the restaurant that they are sitting in, there is calm, diagetic music being played in the restaurant which contradicts the mood of what the two are talking about.
-The most prominent sound throughout the scene is their dialogue, what they're talking about is what the director is wanting the viewer to have their attention on.
-There is also the foley sounds of everything that they are doing, drinking, banging on the table and the cars in the background.
-When the woman stands up and shouts, we see that she isn't the nice and calm woman that she is made out to be when the two are talking at the start of the intro, and that in fact she is crazy and is not afraid to shout infront of people and be overly aggressive. 


Editing
-Throughout the opening there are a lot of shot/reverse shot sequences which comply with and don't break the 180 degree rule.

-When the titles come up (at the end when the two stand up to rob the restaurant) the image freezes to a still and the titles show, this makes us start to realise that this may not have happened yet, and that it's going to pause to take us back to the start of the film where we see what has happened before.


Mise en Scene
-The lighting in this scene is used well, it clearly shows that the light coming through the window is genuine as the side of his face that is next to the window is lit up, whereas the side that is not next to the window has shadow on it.
-The clothes that they are wearing would suggest that there is nothing special about them, they are just normal people and no one would think any differently of them if they walked past.
-The man is smoking, smoking is usually a trait that a villain owns in many films.

Thriller Opening 2 - Inception - Harrison Blake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VXkUzf1et4 - to 1:30
(video link again as unable to embed)

Camera Work
-There are a lot of close ups in the first minute of the trailer as the man who has been washed up on the beach is clearly unsure of what is going on, the CU's show the confusion on his face.

-This is then followed by a few mid-shots, one on some children playing on the beach and another on a man who is clearly a guard.
-This is then followed by an extreme long-shot which shows a man standing on some rocks and after we see the man, the camera pans to reveal a Pagoda (traditional Chinese styled building).
-In the next few scenes there is a lot of tracking in which is used to reveal the facial expressions more clearly and to get more into the room so what's going on is more apparent.
-Also, all the camera work is mostly eye-level with the unknown man, if it's not eye-level it's a high angle to show that we are looking down on him portraying him at that time as weak.


Sound
-The first scene that is showing a logo has very serious music playing, lots of bass and drums beating, this is then contradicted by the diagetic sound of waves slowly crashing into the shore.
-As well as the diagetic sound of the waves, there is the sound of children happily playing on the beach complemented by some mysterious but calm music which adds to the atmosphere of us not fully knowing what is happening, are the children we see on the beach real? Or is it all in his imagination?
-The non-diagetic music comes to a sudden halt as there is a guard appearing on the screen, he then shouts to another man in a foreign language which is the only dialogue in this scene on the beach.
-As camera enters the room there is a non-diagetic beat of a drum which puts a halt to all sound and let's the dialogue be easier to hear.


Editing
-There are subtitles used for the guards when they speak to the old man, these are here as people want to know what they are saying but as they are foreign they wouldn't expect them to be speaking in fluent English.

-When the man is on the beach, the overall colour is not different to what a normal person would see, it seems a lot brighter which could be portraying someone opening their eyes after them being shut for a long time, not fully focused and not properly coloured, this shows that the man hasn't been awake for a long time and is probably very confused.

Mise en Scene
-As said with the editing, the overall lighting and colour is distorted, it's not the colour a normal person would see, it's also very bright, this adds to the assertion that he is very confused has no idea what is going on.
-The costumes of the guards clearly indicate that they have authority and power over the man who is wearing run down clothes which are soaked through.
-The Pagoda (Chinese styled building) shows that the man is situated on a beach somewhere in an Asian country (most probably China).

-When entering the next scene, the room has a very warm glow to it, it's not lit up particularly well, this shows mystery, we are not too sure who or what is going on and the low lighting is making us more eager to find out.
-The camera is focused quite clearly on the little metal spinner, the focus on the spinner clearly shows that it will have some significance throughout the movie.

Intial Thriller Openings Research 5 - Carla Purchas

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

During the Pan Shot

Camera Work

• At the start of the scene there is a panoramic shot which is also the establishing shot, gliding to the right which shows off the location which is snowy woodland and frozen lake or river. It seems very deserted and isolated.
• There is also a high angle shot of the man on the phone in the old looking study. This suggests he is important and the audience want to know who he is, because we never directly see his face from the front.
• Additionally there is a close up of the both the men's side profiles. This allows the audience to see the characters at a closer range and so their reactions are clearer and more visible.    Close ups are always good to show emotion and let the audience study their faces. It tells the audience that they are both fairly old and distressed about something which then makes the audience really want to know what the problem is.

The Log Cabin

Mise en Scene

• Setting/location – Snowy abandoned forest/ very isolated. It then switches to inside the log cabin where the phone is ringing to an immaculate white kitchen. As he answers it then switches to the other man speaking on the call in an old, traditional, wealthy looking study. 
• Colour - a lot of white. White can be symbolic to people as the colour of death or innocence which are very contrasting things.
• Lighting - it is very dim inside both the indoor locations. It looks as though no lights are on and this gives off a very depressed, lonely feel to the scene.

The phone-call from the wood cabin in a clean environment

The other end of the phone-call in the wealthy looking study.

Sound

• There is a sound bridge of the phone ringing whilst the camera is doing a pan shot of the snow covered forest, and then the wood cabin. Before we see the cabin, the audience wonders where this phone could be ringing from and creates a short term sense of mystery.
• Whilst the pan shot of the forest is shown, the noise of wind is there to create the blizzard effect that is shown.
• During the phone-call, the audience can hear the voice on the other side of the line, and to reinforce this, it has been made slightly quieter and muffled as if someone is listening in.
• There is sad but tranquil music playing whole way through which creates a depressing atmosphere.

Editing

• There are cuts used to show location but at a slow pace, as there is no rush. This gives off a deep sadness.
• During the last few words spoken on the phone, although they are not in the same location, the 180 degree rule is used which makes them seem closer and as if their relationship matters.
• There is also a fade to black is used just as the opening sequence ends so it can smoothly glide in to the opening credits.

Pressed flowers that have been received - we wonder what importance they have.

Thriller Opening 1 - Psycho 1960 - Harrison Blake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tek8QmKRODw
(link to the video as the video is not able to be embedded.)

CAMERA
- The intro to Psycho has only one shot in it which is an extreme long shot over a city, the rest is the title sequence and CGI effects.


SOUND
- The sound during the intro is very important, the non-diagetic sound is a violin play a very fast paced and high pitched noise, this makes the viewer very edgy as it suggests that the film is going to be very jumpy. This suspense is continued throughout the whole film whilst using the same sort of high pitched, fast paced music.


EDITING
-The opening holds place to many fast paced shots which display the name of someone who is involved in the film and then their name is washed of the screen by grey parallel bars. The grey parallel bars could be related to many things in the movie, it could be foreshadowing a wipe of blood off of a wall, or a machine that monitors the heart when in a hospital.
-As the film was made in 1960 the lack of technology meant that the whole film would be shot in black and white, even when they could use colour on the CGI intro, they choose to keep it in piece with the movie.
-The last piece of the CGI intro is when Alfred Hitchcocks name (1:49 on the video) gets wiped off the screen by the grey parallel bars, as it does the bars move up and down as if they are conducting the music being played, throughout the whole intro the bars have been very fast paced but now the music falls to a slower pace, the bars do the same thing. This would back up the idea that the bars represent something that the music helps add effect to, when the music is fast paced and all jumpy, there will be something fast paced going on in the film (the bars could represent a person, or an object (knife)).

Intial Thriller Openings Research 4 - Carla Purchas

The Bourne Ultimatum

Close up of footsteps in the snow

Camera Work

• It starts off with a slightly high tilted shot of footsteps rushing through the snow - intrigues us to the feet belong to.
• Tracking shot following the main character - makes the chase seem more heated and as if they are right behind him.
• There is a camera shot where the camera seems to be situated in the police car which gives the audience another perspective.

Full view of Train Station below and character.

Sound

• Noise of the edited words on screen
• Limping footsteps in the snow and panting with the pain - creates a rather pained image.
• There is fast, tense music throughout the scene which increases the pace of the chase. This music is non-diegetic.
• There is Foley sounds of Sirens, train horn, car screeching with their brakes. All these noises make it seem more energetic and thrilling to watch.
• Radio transmitters and lots of Russian voices of authority making the chase seem more realistic and giving us another viewpoint during the chase.
• All parallel sound which goes with the action.

Very dark setting on train - easy to stay hidden.

Editing

• In the opening scene, throughout, there are lots of cuts used to quicken pace and heighten the action of the chase. 
• There is two types of Sound bridge used where we hear the sound before we see the action of where it is coming from. Firstly of the train horn before we see train and then again with police sirens.

Mise en Scene

• Lighting – very dark set at night, creates a more thrilling scary atmosphere for the audience.
• Costume – Big black overcoat, black trousers, black shoes. Wants to stay hidden and not stand out which shows the audience he may be a suspicious character.
• Body Language – The main character is running away from the police and is limping. The audience wants to know how he did this and why he is running.
• Facial expression – Its always intent and focused on the main character, it never seems that the situation is out of control and he always seems to know what he is doing.
• Setting – The screen at the start tells us it is set in Russia, Moscow. The opening scene is all outside in a snowy environment by a train station. It seems that it will be a good place to hide in crowd and then on a train. It makes us wonder why is he hiding.

Police sirens going off loudly.

Intial Thriller Openings Research 3 - Carla Purchas

London to Brighton

Camera Work

• Medium shots to show action that is going on - we never really see below their waist, yet we get a good idea of what is going on.
• Over the shoulder reflection shot in mirror - this is a very good shot because it allows the audience to see the extent of her injuries.



This shot shows her swollen eye

• There is a side view which is a close up of the makeup on the girl being scrubbed off with brisk force by the woman and we want to know what relationship they have and what has just happened to cause such panic and anxiety.

Sound

An action shot of the door being closed - shows the setting.

• There is no music throughout the first minute of the opening. This means every sound is amplified and all the noises can be heard.
• Lots of Foley sound of movement such as doors slamming and moving around which intensifies the situation and a tap running viciously. 
• Panting/Crying - this makes the scene very distressing to watch.
• Dialogue – muffled sound of person other side of door and aggressive shouting of woman create high tension.
• All diegetic sound which makes it more believable.

Mise en Scene

• Makeup – The makeup in this scene is very impressive - The woman is all cut and and has a huge swollen eye. The younger girl has makeup run all down her face from her tears and they both look a state. They have clearly been through some horrible ordeal and this intrigues the audience as to what has just happened.
• Costume – clothes ripped and in bad condition. They look fairly cheap and tatty too which tells the audience they do not have a lot of wealth.
• Setting – run down graffiti filled toilet which seems very creepy and not a nice surrounding to be in at all. There is a cracked mirror which the woman character looks at herself in - this could be seen as unlucky to superstitious people and very symbolic as a bad omen.

The woman looking at her reflection in the mirror which is covered in wounds.

Editing

• The editing in this scene is minimal. They use no music and want to keep it as realistic as possible. However a lot of frequent cuts are used to show the sheer panic hat the two characters are sharing.
• Also briefly the 180 degree rule is used whilst the woman is cleaning the young girls face and is speaking to her. This gives us a perspective of both characters and allows us to see both facial expressions at that time.

The young girl very distressed and upset.