W.I.P Titles and Credits

Thriller Concept (Individual)

For my concept idea of a thriller I need to think about the location, how many actors the idea would need and I need to keep in mind that I am only on a low budget with simple technology.

Idea One - Entrapment
An abstract montage of flashing images and short actions. The idea is based on the opening to Seven but could have elements of Phone Booth by using establishing shots of building from a low angle to create a feeling of entrapment. I could edit the shots to look burnt and old while using overlays on the establishing shots to make the building seem fierce. All the small spaces and tall building would hopefully put across a metaphor of Entrapment.

(Screen shots from the film Phone Booth to give an example of what angles and shot sizes I hope to be using for the establishing shot)

Idea Two - 
Idea two will be less abstract more realistic. The more realistic feel should make it easy for the for the viewer to relate to the film making it seem real, as though what is seen could happen to them. So obviously as this is meant to be more realistic showing hundreds of different, overly edited clips might distract the viewer from the point and have the wrong effect. What could be a good idea to add realism would be to have the camera at eye level and do the main shots as a point of view (P.O.V) mixed in with a few establishing shots and titles. My idea is to have someone walk through a crowd of people in a ordinary street. Having the camera film their point of view I planned on having the title and credits stuck to the walls along the street.

The best example of what I want to achieve comes from the opening cutscene of the game Dead Island only without the zombies (They've been over used recently).

Identifying order task

In this task we were told to rearrange a few short shots from the film 'No country for old men' into the order that we think they come in.

Evidence of Folie and Audio in GarageBand

Explanation 
Here is a screenshot of the soundtrack that Lewis, Liam and myself made in GarageBand. We worked together in an entirely productive way to create a thriller opening. The tracks named 'No Effect' are edited recordings of a corkscrew and and banana slicer. The blue bars underneath the tracks are the volume sliders. These increase and decrease the volume of the track according to the position of the node. The four 'Fingersty...ric Bass' tracks are used to create the sound of a heartbeat getting faster and faster. 'Bondi Breath' is a another audio effect we used to create a eerie background rumble and then we used the 'Star Sweeper' effect to mimic a 'Flatline' sound. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo analysis

My write up of notes on the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I am currently unable to find a working copy of the opening title sequence to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I will add one as soon as I am able to find a working copy.

Title-

• Various strange sans serif fonts used
• The text is unique to the film
• Video footage is noticeably overlayed
•  There is a juxtaposition between the text colour and the background colours
• The credits are only on for a short time 

Mise en scene-

• Dark close ups involving shadows and minimal lighting
• A knife is seen being used 
• Photograph creates an enigma

Camerawork-

• There is a low depth-of-field which is used to blur the background
• An eye-line shot shows what the man is looking at
• An over shoulder shot is used to make the audience feel like they are part of the crowd
• An enigma is created when the camera tracks a girl without showing her face

Editing-

• Titles fade in and out following the music
• In scenes showing sadness the scene "slows down" and there are less transitions
• At times the sound changes before the scene transitions. These overlaps are used to create antisipation 

Sound-

• Long quite notes add suspense
• After a man opens a letter a high flute suddenly comes in to show the characters realization of an sad event 
• Violins give a feeling of sadness to accompany the mans crying
• The violins add tension with a use of low, long notes
• As the scenes go on the music becomes more depressing before fading away 

Narrative-

• Dramatic, looming feel, sadness, something has happened 
• The framed flowers and the man crying at them gives us the impression that they have something to do with the story 
• Tension is created because of the room full of silent people, like a court room 
• The presence of a news reporter implies that the news story is relevant to the film story

Genre-

• The dark lighting and various enigmas show that the film is a thriller

Seripico Analysis

My Write up of notes on the film Seripico (Made in 1973)

I am currently unable to find a working copy of the opening title sequence to Seripico. I will add one as soon as I am able to find a working copy.

Title-

• Serif font 
• Quick momentum to create the feeling of emergency 
• A simple white text on a black background
• All the credits are at the start with the important parts of each credit, such as the names, are in a larger and bold font 

Mise en scene-

• The first shot is set in a police car with dark lighting to create a sense of enigma
• The clothing and hair of the characters establishes that the film is set in the present time of when the film was made (1973).
• Use of dull colours
• Lots of shadows and use of dark lighting too create an enigma
• To start the setting is a urban town at night but this changes to a well lit assembly hall and then onto a hospital with a blue/green tint of lighting as the scene progresses   

Camerawork-

• Most of the scenes are made up of close ups
• The main shot is tracking shot that follows the drama through the hospital. This use of shot makes the viewer feel as though they are following the drama and involves them in the film
• Close ups of peoples faces as they here about whats happened allows us to see their shock and gives the impression that it's either an unusual occurrence or that a tragedy has just happened
• Shaking cameras give the impression that it's an amateur filming the drama as though they were just passing by, saw what was happening and just started filming  

Editing-

• Titles Quickly fade in and out from black at a pace similar to a slow heart beat
• Cut-a-ways are used a lot to raise the tension and create an enigma but this also allows the scenes to move quicker
• Physical transitions are used, for example; before a cut-a-way a curtain is drawn obscuring the view of the camera before the scene changes. This exadurates how involved the viewer is in the drama

Sound-

• Police sirens put the viewer on edge instantly due to their loudness and connection to crime
• The sound of car wipers match the beat of a heart and slowly the tempo rises
• Typewriters can be heard 
• Sirens die down when they reach the hospital. This gives the feeling that they are now safe which slightly lowers the tension
• Children can be heard screaming in pain as the drama moves through the hospital
• Light hearted music allows you to feel calmer about the situation
• Though the light hearted music is calming it is also ironic to the drama that is unfolding making the viewer feel uncomfortable about the situation 

Narrative-

• The story seems to be about a possibly legendary policeman that has been shot and from the title sequences I would guess that someone, possibly a partner or friend goes looking for the mans killer.
• I get the feeling the policeman is a legend or highly respected man from the reaction of the people on the phones hearing about him being shot as they seemed confused and surprised that someone was able to shoot him

Genre-

• From what I can tell I would guess that the film is a mystery, crime, thriller
• I can reach this verdict from the event that is happening, the props that are being used and the camera shots that are used

Enigma-

• This film features a high feeling of tension and enigma due to the dark scenes and unrevealing close ups that are used through out the title sequence 

Vertigo Analysis

My write up of notes on the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo.

An empty screen is the first thing the viewer sees. Suddenly the light level in increases to reveal a face in black and white. The light allows all of the woman's facial imperfections to be seen. The reason of showing the woman's imperfections might be to show how see has nothing to hide or how she has been hiding something but now it is all out in the open for everyone to see, metaphorically speaking.

As the camera pans over to reveal more of her face the music starts to pick up and then suddenly erupts into an explosion of sound. The use of shock and suddenness that is used in the title sequence may be in reference to how suddenly the story changes or how suddenly a characters life changes for the worse.

Unusually two actors names are shown before the title of the film. This wouldn't be as unusual if all of actors were shown then the title or if the title had come last after the credits but in this case only two actors names are shown then the title, only to carry on showing other actors names after. This shows how important the actors are or how famous and well known these actors are (which is apparently very).

During the unusual set out the camera pans up the woman's face to reveal her eyes. Her pupils are extremely diluted giving the feeling that she is fearful of something that we as the viewer can't see creating the all important enigma of the thriller genre.

The camera then pan and zooms to the left to her right eye changing to an extreme close up that really shows her fear. Her eyes shift left and right creating a feeling of unease as it gives the sense that even the character doesn't know whats going to happen.

Again the camera zooms this time even closer to her eye. Suddenly her eye widens, her pupil shrinks and a red filter covers the screen as the title appears.

As the title fades a swirl seems to come out from her eye which then engulfs the entire screen and from the center of that swirl comes another and from the center of that swirl comes another, this continues until the end of the title sequence with the pattern becoming more and more complex. To accompany these patterns the credits are shown along side until the end were it reverts back to the extreme close up of the woman's face still in shock.

North by Northwest Analysis

My write up of notes on the Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest.

The sequence starts with a screen flooded in green. The colour green has conitations of envy, greed, guilt and  even nature. These all show aspects of the film, even nature, only this makes an appearance in the form of human nature and how we would rather have someone else take the blame than ourselves.

The green is interrupted by lines cutting through the green. This could represent life in that some people run parallel to others never meeting, never knowing of each others existence yet they live a parallel life. These same lines are then interrupted by lines from the top and from the bottom. This could be showing how people intercept each others lives. It could also be that the lines are representing a metaphor of life cut short. The converging lines also give a feeling of entrapment.

The music (mainly consisting of violins) follows the lines that intercept the green. As a new set of lines comes in so does a new set of cords from the violins.

Dissolving from the green to a city skyline it becomes apparent that the lines were following the edges of the window frames on the side of a building. The iconic setting and props allow the viewer to get a quick idea of the location the film is set.

Another dissolve this time to a long shot a street at rush hour. The people and the clothes they are wearing establish the time period that the film is set.

The high angle of the camera, used for most of the shots in the title sequence gives the viewer a feeling of power and superiority over the people seen crowding into subway tunnels and onto buses.

The people are dehumanized as they are seen violently striking at people just to get taxi. 

The titles and credits themselves could be said to be simple with the only striking thing about them being the angles they are placed at.