there is always a straight forward line up of which names appear in the opening scene of a film.
The first name is the film's producer followed by 'presents'.
The next name to appear would be the main star(s).
The directors name, for example 'A Jim Henson Film'.
Next comes the films title which is followed by the secondary cast.
The last name to appear would be the directors name again, but this time it would be like 'Directed By...'.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Cape Fear Opening Review
The task I was asked to do was to analyse an opening sequence from a thriller movie and I have decided to analyse Cape Fear, directed by Martin Scorsese it stars Robert DeNiro as one of the main character.
The opening shot is of a distorted lake surface that is very dark in colour, right away this builds tension in the audience. Very soon an eagle can be seen in the water but it moves as though it were underwater and not a reflection on the surface. The ripple effect changes when the title is shown and an eye starts to fade in. the eye is in black and white and so stands out against the waters darker colours. When different parts of faces are being shown tension builds within a viewer because the faces are in black and white and there is a rippled reflection of some sort of building on the waters surface. The viewer is then confused because the ripples are changed from going horizontal across the screen to being flipped so that the lakes ripples are going vertically. A whole face appears and its colour scheme is white. The faces eyes are closed and this suggests a death of some sort, possibly drowning, as the main focus of this part is a body of water. The ripples continue to change angles and flow and black and white objects keep appearing and disappearing, this causes the audience to feels disoriented and confused about what is happening in the film as there is no clear main focus that keeps showing up. Near the end a drop of liquid is shown and the whole screen goes red, this is similar to the end of Vertigo’s opening sequence, it even has a pair of eyes appear right at the end.
The music plays a key part in creating tension and suspense in this opening because it starts slowly, builds when the title is shown and then slows down again while the scene plays out. The way it links with the ‘dead’ faces and bodies tells an audience member that something bad or evil will happen during the films running time. The atmosphere built by the music alone is creepy, tense and cautious. This part of the soundtrack fits well with the conventions of a thriller.
This title sequence is by Elaine and Saul Bass, so it’s easy to see the link between Vertigo’s opening and Cape Fear’s opening. Both use distorted images and shapes to create tense and eerie atmospheres for the audience watching. Most of the openings I have seen by Saul Bass are made to create tension and mystery in the film and leave you wondering about them after.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Genre Mood board (Research and Planning)
A selection of images from normal and psychological trillers. These include Silence of the Lambs, Trauma, Cape Fear and Rebecca.
The directors of these films are Alfred Hitchcock (Rebecca and Psycho), David Cronenburg (Spider), David Koepp (Secret Window), Jonathan Demme (Silence Of The Lambs) and Marc Evans (Trauma).
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Saul Bass (Research and Planning)
Saul Bass was an American graphic designer who worked with Alfred Hitchcock on many of his films. He worked on several opening titles for films such as Vertigo and North by Northwest. I have chosen Vertigo's opening sequence to look in closer detail.
The opening starts with a persons eye being shown then the camera zooms in and the face disappears, then several random shapes come swirling out of the darkness and after several minutes the face reappears but this time the face is red whereas it was in black and white before the camera zoomed in on the eye.
My response to this opening was that I felt tense because I was trying to work out what the different shapes could symbolise, but I was also mesmerised by the colours that were being used, when compared to the black and white eye that was shown before the camera zooms in and all the shapes and colours came towards the audience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz46qS38OgM (This is the actual oepning sequence for Vertigo)
This is just one of the many openings he did for Alfred Hitchcock.
The opening starts with a persons eye being shown then the camera zooms in and the face disappears, then several random shapes come swirling out of the darkness and after several minutes the face reappears but this time the face is red whereas it was in black and white before the camera zoomed in on the eye.
My response to this opening was that I felt tense because I was trying to work out what the different shapes could symbolise, but I was also mesmerised by the colours that were being used, when compared to the black and white eye that was shown before the camera zooms in and all the shapes and colours came towards the audience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz46qS38OgM (This is the actual oepning sequence for Vertigo)
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Work So Far (Research and Planning)
Week 1
During the first week I was introduced to the cameras and tripods and how to set them up was explained to the class. We also were told just what the course would cover and how we would manage to do everything required.
Week 2
In the second week the class learned about what the continuity task was and what was needed to complete it. We watched several continuity videos on Youtube and gave our opinions of them. in the next lesson we started to look at camera shot, angles and movement. After this we experimented with all the different types of shots we had learned about using both the cameras and tripods. Lastly during that week we were introduced to iMovie on the Macs had we learned how to upload video.
Week 3
We watched some more continuity tasks and this time discussed which shots were used and we were told what the 180 degree rule was as well as match on action and the 10s rule for editing sequences. We started on our own continuity task by drawing up the story board and shot list in order of what would be shot first.
Week 4
In week 4 we watched to films to understand different film language terms. these films were: Making a Video and The Language of Film. We then finished the storyboard and started filming the task itself. After we had filmed our clips we uploaded them onto iMovie and started editing. at the end of this week we started posting our blogs.
Week 5
We shot our continuity sequence this week and uploaded the shots we had filmed to iMovie ready for editing the next lesson.
Week 6
This week we shot the extra shot needed for the continuity sequence, edited our shots and compiled them into a short movie lasting about a minute. We used iMovie for this and finished within two hours of editing in the Mac room.
Week 7
During this week we did nothing because it was half term.
Week 8
When we came back after half term, a film producer, David Ball, came in to talk to us about the filming process in major films. He explained that everyone on the team during filming was as important as everyone else on the team.
Week 9
Week 10
During the first week I was introduced to the cameras and tripods and how to set them up was explained to the class. We also were told just what the course would cover and how we would manage to do everything required.
Week 2
In the second week the class learned about what the continuity task was and what was needed to complete it. We watched several continuity videos on Youtube and gave our opinions of them. in the next lesson we started to look at camera shot, angles and movement. After this we experimented with all the different types of shots we had learned about using both the cameras and tripods. Lastly during that week we were introduced to iMovie on the Macs had we learned how to upload video.
Week 3
We watched some more continuity tasks and this time discussed which shots were used and we were told what the 180 degree rule was as well as match on action and the 10s rule for editing sequences. We started on our own continuity task by drawing up the story board and shot list in order of what would be shot first.
Week 4
In week 4 we watched to films to understand different film language terms. these films were: Making a Video and The Language of Film. We then finished the storyboard and started filming the task itself. After we had filmed our clips we uploaded them onto iMovie and started editing. at the end of this week we started posting our blogs.
Week 5
We shot our continuity sequence this week and uploaded the shots we had filmed to iMovie ready for editing the next lesson.
Week 6
This week we shot the extra shot needed for the continuity sequence, edited our shots and compiled them into a short movie lasting about a minute. We used iMovie for this and finished within two hours of editing in the Mac room.
Week 7
During this week we did nothing because it was half term.
Week 8
When we came back after half term, a film producer, David Ball, came in to talk to us about the filming process in major films. He explained that everyone on the team during filming was as important as everyone else on the team.
Week 9
Week 10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)