27/09/13 notes

Dexter opening sequence

- how does this relate to what we have to do for our coursework?

We are remaking dexter

It is an opening sequence which makes the viewer think - thriller - blood etc

TV drama - exam

- what does this tell you about the character?

Deeper meaning - slowly cut the meat, twisted way of normal routine, looks like different ways of killing someone

Slow movements and show the food after cut up etc

Floss - strangling someone that way

Egg - cut people up

He is a murderer 

- what symbols are there (theme)?

Extreme close ups - mystery

Blood 

Extra notes:

Music didn't change

24/09/13 notes

Lesson 1 

The usual suspects opening sequence:

- the close up of the man (victim) is used to show his expression and emotion to let the viewer know how he is feeling and give them an idea about the situation

- the floor shot when the villain is pouring a liquid on the flame gives the impression that he is superior to the victim, as does the lower shot of the victims face compared to the higher shot of the villains body

- the final dropping of the cigarette is filmed in slow motion and a close up of the villians hand so that the viewer is fully aware of how the final fire starts

- the different shots which follow the fire are used to take the viewer on a journey around the room so that they can focus on the fire and the things (e.g. Dead bodies) and so they can see them clearly

Lesson 2

Establishing shot: sets up the scene,often at beginning of the movie 

Close up: tightly frames a person or object to show detail or emotion

Medium shot: shot to show a whole body and movement

Long shot: entire figure or object 

Tracking shot: follows action at a constant distance

Aerial shot: shows whole image from high position (birds eye view)

Dolly shot: placed on a dolly and moved at a constant rate, doesn't always follow action

Handheld shot: show subjects perspective or feeling

Zoom shot: zooms in to isolate or zooms out 

Swish pan: moves camera from one thing to another very quickly

High angles: above the object to show power

Reverse angle: switches between two things often In conversation 

Low angle shot: shot from knees up

Are shot: moves around object in circular motion to show image from different angles

Match shot: show two different shots as if they are joint together

Point of view: view scene through characters eyes

Head on shot: when action comes straight to the camera

Rule of thirds 

20/09/13 notes

The usual suspects

What makes this a thriller?

Fire and danger

Dark and gloomy

Music - slow, deep, creates suspense, sad - man looked sad

Gun shots - can't see it happen, is someone dead? Non diagetic

Explosions

Music becomes more dramatic

Sirens 

Who are the characters? Roles etc.

Guy in black long coat - portrayed at villain 

Man is dying and surrounded by other dead bodies 

What mood does it create? How?

Tense

Mystery 

Suspense 

Enigma code - to find out the mystery, who is this man in black! Find out

Title sequences

- re-enforce the story

- entice 

- establish the plot, character - stalker, murder, sociopath/ physchopath  (better than set the scene)

- legal rights - production co. 

- 18 to 24 title slates 

B button for blade 

Match on Action Example

13/09/13 Notes

Role and function : set the scene, clues of the film

Saul bass - design titles for thrillers - research

                                                            Inspiration

What does the sound tell us about this character?

Tense, nervous?

Something bad has/will happen

Everything around the main character is agitating him

Everything emphasised

Panic - heavy breathing

Can tell he has done something wrong and doesn't know how to do deal with it

How do we know this is a thriller?

The deep, slow music in background

Heavy breathing, sweaty top lip - nervousness

Arguing and screams in background

He is almost trapped in his car?

Running away from problems 

What is the roll of the opening of a film?

Set the scene

Introduce character 

Give an insight to what the film is about

10/09/13 Notes

10/09/13 lesson 1

Seven trailer - what made it a thriller?

- music, fast and intense, sudden noises which put audience in shock and make them more involved, pace speeds up 

-guns 

- repeat of the seven words, quickly flash on the screen, catch audiences attention

- metronome at start of trailer - intensifies, continue to hear ticking sound without seeing it (non diegetic) from hearing it with seeing it (diegetic)

- sense of something awful has happened, people have died, told about 7 deadly sins and that 2 deaths have taken place and there will be 5 more. 

 Title sequence:

- heart beating sound at start, speeds up

- photographs, attention to detail, slow movements (contrast with music)

- text looks as though scratched rather than type, white (purity - ironic, contrast with 'SEVEN DEADLY SINS') on black background 

- short clips

- colours of red, black and white - darkness, evil, sinister, dark room (reduce likeliness of being caught), red = safe light, irony cause it is opposite of safety

- music doesn't match film clips 

- lots of opening of books - notes?

- flickering of notes on and off screen

- hands of a surgeon?

- scissors - cutting, link to deaths? 

- crossing out of someone's face - they have been killed? Eliminated? 

- long dirty nails - digging?

- crackling, eery noises

- the book - word related to seven sins, scrap book, sews it together (surgical skill), made similarly like the bible - seven sins! See same image of book multiple times

Panning - go from one side of the scene to another

Semiotonics - the science of signs (Barthes 1964)

Denotation - eg: a rose = flower/garden plant

Connotation - what the rose represents e.g love, death, rugby, it is a personal frame of reference 

Different forms of analysis: 

- micro elements: mise en scene - clothes, hair/make-up, location, lighting, props

- sounds - music, dialect, effects

-editing

- camera angles, movement and composition 

Macro elements: the narrative, representation, audience, genre. All of the micro elements work together to impact on these macro elements

Lesson 2

Taxi driver: Immediate intense music

Beat of the music, slow, orchestra music, 

Close up of a face - jazz music came on, perception that he is relaxed and calm

Slow music and rain in window

Music livens up when he is looking at city, city is to be feared/ thats how he feels inside then slows again - two sides to the movie

Dramatic strong music, calm jazz music 

Night time, cold, dark 

Taxi is made to look huge and comes through smoke - intimidating

Bright orange, glowing font - headlights 

His view is distorted

Falling down: heavy breathing at start, close up of a face, sweaty top lip, in a bad situation

Slow, high pitched music, on and off, intensifies with deep bass music

Screams of children - annoying 

Traffic jam - people getting frustrated - presented in deep music

Music changes from high to low 

Something bad will or has happened 

He was trying to calm down, kid staring at him, Garfield grinning, children screaming, couple arguing 

Looking at him then looking through his eyes 

Day starts bad 

He looks tense

Shutter island: dark room, rain

Red font

Loud, intense music, goes from quiet to loud

Snow, cold, 

Prison cell 

Flame and fire, represents emotion

Plush red chair- contrasts with prison cell 

Guns

Island looked bleak

Gates look imposing, intimidating, keeping the madness in 

Imprisonment 

Gives imression you wouldn't want to be there

Image flickers - no clarity in picture 

Spinning staircase - illusion, spiral of the situation 

Vantage point: best line of sight (meaning)

Images overlap each other

Slow music, with banging background

Main font evolves out and becomes clear

Sniper laser sight within the text 

Conflict - protest against USA and then a presidential car 

Sherlock Holmes: fast intense music

Old fashioned paper, writing, drawings, old fashioned music - sets scene 

Drawings of scenes - suspecting a scene? Originally a book

Fight scene - going to be aggressive 

Stained images

Explosions

Pauses an action shot and turns it to drawing - lots of action scenes and fighting

Only speech is at start 'case reopened' - makes audience think about what is happening 

Woman laying on stone table - struggling 

Coffin carried by police men - murder? Link to woman on table?

Close up of a house - significance of this house?

Actors have stern look (e.g mark strong), serious attitude, something serious has happened or is happening 

Music gets faster and tenser towards end of title sequence, explosions are also starting to be shown - more drama and action

Music suddenly stops at the end - suspen se and surprise within the film? 

Colours if drawing are black, brown and red - dark, sinister, no colour 

Casino royale: mentions of the casino, cards etc

Lots of killing

Combines killing and casino

You know my name" - everyone knows bonds name, Daniel Craig close up

Original bond start of film

Enemy in red - can tell difference between good and bad

Queen face changed to female face, romance in film, Bond girl

Card suits used as weapons - game of life and death, links with casino

Cartoon image of bond to fit with picture - big unveiling at end 

Vertigo

Catch me if you can

Fight club

Casino royale 

Summary: meaning of a title, art of the title and how it is broken down, what and how you see it

Title sequences notes

Catch me if you can:
1. What does it tell you about the story

It will be quite funny, dramatic (music),

Detective movie

He's done something wrong - chase 

Pretend -pilot, spies (clothing), doctor, lawyer

Lots of women - player - bond kind of character

SUSPENSE - thriller 

Saul bass was the designer of the title sequence

2. What does it tell you about characters

Clever and know how to lead someone wrong way

3. What mood/atmosphere does it create

Music creates suspense and mystery

Tension

WHY - create a title sequence to thriller

Sound is 50% of the film

Title sequences exist for legal reasons 

Mini movie - movie within a movie:

- involve audience

- set scene

Crank opening sequence mood board

Falling down opening sequence

What does the sound tell us about this character?

Tense, nervous?

Something bad has/will happen

Everything around the main character is agitating him

Everything emphasised

Panic - heavy breathing

Can tell he has done something wrong and doesn't know how to do deal with it

How do we know this is a thriller?

The deep, slow music in background

Heavy breathing, sweaty top lip - nervousness

Arguing and screams in background

He is almost trapped in his car?

Running away from problems 

What is the roll of the opening of a film?

Set the scene

Introduce character 

Give an insight to what the film is about

Engage the audience 

Spoiler review of a thriller X3

Inception

The film Inception starts with Leonardo DiCaprio washed up on a beach, bringing immediate confusion to the film. Most scenes of this film are dark with very faint lighting bringing tension and darkness to the film. It takes away brightness and therefore eliminating joy and happiness from the scenes, which help make it tense and thrilling. Sounds in some scenes are also tense. Having fast and upbeat music creating tension does this, as you fear of something to happen. There are sounds of car crashes and tires screeching which also create the motion of fast moving cars, which are caused by frightful get-away scenes, and these tell the audience that there is drama making them feel enticed into the film and want to see the result of the drama. During dramatic scenes such as a fight or car chase the background music gradually increases and gets louder and faster, conveying that everything is becoming more dramatic and the final striking act is about to happen. There is also the often scream during these scenes which help thrill the audience because it helps them feel either pain or fear which the character is feeling. Characters are also used to create thrill and irony. Characters are dressed in formal attire, mainly suits, to show their class however the characters clothing is also ironic because they are dressed smart but are in fights with others. The characters also often have a stern look as if they are in danger, a serious situation or are prepared for a serious situation. This brings tension as it makes the audience on edge, as they do not know what will happen and they are waiting for a dramatic scene. Some scenes in the film are also shot in slow motion that brings suspense because the audience is wondering what will happen and what the outcome will be at the end of the situation.

Now you see me

Now you see me is a thriller magic film involving fights, explosions and get-away scenes. Due to the film involving magic makes the audience confused and making them think, which also means they become more involved in the film. During some scenes such as a fight scene there is as fast, high-pitched music in the background bringing tension to the film as it draws the audience by making them feel glued to the screen and want to know what is going to happen. As the fight scene comes to a close the music slows because the drama has faded. The lighting in the film also varies due to what scene is being played. Some scenes have dark lighting with bright flashing lights, which help towards thrilling the audience. This is used because the darkness means that not everything is visible and something could suddenly happen which will scare the audience, meaning they are preparing for a shock. There are also bright explosions, which also shock the audience and catch their attention as the light is so sudden. The characters also add to the effect because of their intelligence and clever ways of doing things. This makes the audience wonder what will happen next and also mean that the audience is waiting for something to happen, making the more interested in the film. The characters are also average people that have taught themselves tricks that also make the audience more involved in the film. This makes them more involved because it is as though they can do what the characters are doing and makes the film more believable. This film also has non-stop twists involved that make the audience think about everything again, keeping them involved.

Hot Fuzz:

This film successfully meets the genre of Thriller. This is because it is full of drama, actions and death. The audience also know within the film that there is a murder and are left to think who it could be throughout the film. This makes the audience think, gets them involved in the film and introduces suspense. There are multiple scenes when suspense is involved and also mystery. One of these key frames is at the church fate with the death of Tim messenger. This frame introduces suspense because it makes the audience think about what will happen and whether it will be good or bad. Most of the murder scenes are like this and create suspense and wonder. Another is at the end of the film with the battle of the police against the murders. This thrills the audience making them not want to take their eyes off the screen. The film also gives the audience an idea of who the murderer is throughout the film and when their idea is brought into the film it is then turned and discovered that their idea was not exactly what they thought it was. This twists the plot and makes the audience think even more, making them want to watch it even more and find out what happens. Overall this film was very good and was successfully thrilling and enticing to watch and scenes such as murder scenes and battle scenes helped towards this.

I would rate Hot Fuzz 4 stars out of 5 as it was very good and thrilling but I still think it could have had more drama and action.

Saul Bass

He is the designer of thriller movie title sequences. We are looking at him as research to give us inspiration of movie title sequences. This is because we are creating a thriller title sequence and as he is such a great designer of thriller title sequences it will help us with creating our own title sequence.  His title sequences include aspects which we will need to think about and include within our own title sequence.