Saturday, 9 May 2009
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
How i made the movie
I managed to get some footage from when Simon went airsofting one time, and i turned it into a real-life army footage, as if they were protecting the villages. The stills i managed to get some late night of Tesco, a well known busy place, where ht was empty, and some early morning shots of other busy locations. This made the effect global, and the desertion and stillness of the shots contrasted strongly with the fast paced images of the army before them. On some of the stills, i put a text effect over the top, and black and white filter to make it seem as if it was CCTV footage. I also put a scrambled effect over some of them to make them seem as if they are not working, linking with that theme of the civilisation collapsing.
The movie as a whole went well, although the content was not that great, and i didn't have much to work with, but i think it got the point across. I was establishing the narrative more than what was actually on screen, pictures of empty villages. I made them seem as if everyone had deserted them.
I used ALOT of transitions on the sound and on the video, most of which were fades, to represent the passage of time in-between them. These were also very effective for keeping the action rolling, as once one scene had finished, another was still fading in.
The font was made to look like it was eroded, and i had taken the idea given to me by the Dawn of the Dead opening, where the red font was being blown away somehow. I made my font look as if it was distorted or broken, and seeming quite aggressive, attacking the screen.
The movie as a whole went well, although the content was not that great, and i didn't have much to work with, but i think it got the point across. I was establishing the narrative more than what was actually on screen, pictures of empty villages. I made them seem as if everyone had deserted them.
I used ALOT of transitions on the sound and on the video, most of which were fades, to represent the passage of time in-between them. These were also very effective for keeping the action rolling, as once one scene had finished, another was still fading in.
The font was made to look like it was eroded, and i had taken the idea given to me by the Dawn of the Dead opening, where the red font was being blown away somehow. I made my font look as if it was distorted or broken, and seeming quite aggressive, attacking the screen.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Storyboard
Due to the fast transitioned pace of our film, we thought it would be best to stick to words rather than pictures for a storyboard. This is much easier for us, as the words can cover a range rather than a picture which can only cover a point in our film.
Misé-en-Scene
Our Mise-en-Scene
Location
We will be filming in Sawtry, around the streets for a few scenes, but the main part will be based where Simon plays airsoft, and abandoned housing area. This is a very cliché of a thriller, but it shows the sheer destruction of the infection. We will take some shots of broken down and derelict places, and use them in our opening. We will also get some shots of run down areas to show the extent of destruction by the zombies, where people have abandoned their houses.
Lighting
We plan to have all natural lighting when it is getting dark when the main characters are walking in the street. This is to show the realism of the area. When they are all in the woods, we shoot the shots where there is minimal lighting.
Camera
Alot of the camerawork will be handheld to keep the idea of a news report.
Narrative
We will have a news report during the riot scenes. There will also be some yells of people shouting for each other, in confusion. The main characters will have minimal dialogue. There will be a scene with a person talking to someone on the phone where they are asking if the other person is alright, there will be no answer.
Costumes
We will have typical/casual clothing for our actors.
We will use mostly natural props, such as rusty old abandoned houses. We will have an answer phone.
Props
We will need
- Answer Phone
- Blood
- Old papers
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Title Ideas
In order to establish a connection with our target audience, we decided to hand out a questionnaire based on what font we should use. We picked a varied choice of fonts that would typically look horror, and told the people we queried to pick 2 choices. Here are our results.
2
2
3
0
0
1
4
3
The best font, was the second from last one. This was also the one we picked. It was similar to the 28 days later font, but it also had a bit more erosion on it, making it seem almost like zombies flesh.
We then downloaded this font, and used it for our opening sequence.
As for the name of the title, we decided on Contagion. This means corruption, or disease, which works well with the genre.
2
2
3
0
0
1
4
3
The best font, was the second from last one. This was also the one we picked. It was similar to the 28 days later font, but it also had a bit more erosion on it, making it seem almost like zombies flesh.
We then downloaded this font, and used it for our opening sequence.
As for the name of the title, we decided on Contagion. This means corruption, or disease, which works well with the genre.
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Dawn Of The Dead Analysis
The start opens with the logos of the distributors. We already get aspects of horror due to the jumpy music played over the top. It then proceeds to show a Ana Clark, the main character in the story, doing her shift in the hospital, we gather from the way that doctors instruct her that she is overworked and unappreciated. Ana and the sectary start having a conversation over a patient who was suffering from a bite attack. This is the first clue the viewers get on the infection and fits in with the convention of a zombie horror. Ana finishes her shift and leaves the hospital, as she steps through the doors she sees an ambulance parked up and the back doors wide open with two feet hanging out. At this point the audience have suspicions of the person being one of the infected. As she approaches the ambulance she calls out and the driver wakes up. Just as this happens, the radio in the ambulance asks the paramedics to respond to a bite attack. This is to tell the viewer that the bite attack up in the hospital was not a coincidence and that they are connected to the infection.
As she is driving home she flicks on the radio which is currently doing a news report. The report said “it is not an isolated incident” Ana then without any interest switches the radio onto another channel. Throughout the scene the viewers are given little hints such as the radio, the bite incidents and the thoughts of the paramedic being infected.
As she drives through her neighbourhood to her house a high birds eye view shot shows her route. This shot has not been used not to show isolation but to show a heavy population of what can potentially turn into the infected. The reason this method is done rather than the isolation technique is to allow the viewer to imagine the danger she could soon face. Just before she pulls into her drive she pulls over to talk to a little girl called Viviane, who’s her neighbour and is roller-blading on the road. Because she pulled over to talk this shows that Ana has a good relationship with her neighbours. Ana says “maybe tomorrow after work i will do a few backward laps around the block with you ok?”. This is ironic as we have a good idea that buy that time tomorrow Viviane and a large majority of people will be infected. From the moment we meet Viviane we can see that she and Ana have a very good bond, almost like mother and daughter.
This is a detailed narration of the opening 4 minutes of Dawn Of The Dead. I believe that the opening location was very stereotypical because the whole storyline involves a medical outbreak, in which the opening scene is set in a hospital. This set would have been chosen to portray the outbreak as an undetected and unstoppable virus, we know this because the one place you would expect the virus to be identified is a hospital, but the virus was undetected by hospitals, hence the spread of the virus.
The lighting in dawn of the dead is mainly all natural, although in some scenes the lighting is low to portray an essence of evil and danger. Zack Snyder and Mark Abraham, the directors have used lighting very well and have gained maximum effect it the attack scenes with the zombies.
In dawn of the dead there is diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The music used in dawn of the dead is very deep and contains a lot of bass. The music itself gives the impression of evil, even sometimes before it arrives. In the scene where Viviane approaches the Clarks bedroom, the suspense based music starts before we even see Viviane in a clear form or even in here blood drenched zombie form. As the music so does the suspense until she finally steps from the shadows into the doorway. As Viviane reveals herself the music reaches its peak as there is aloud quick paced beat. This is one of many examples in the way in which the music has been used to build the suspense in dawn of the dead. Through out the film the viewer would pick up on this and come to realise that with the start of that type of music means the start of danger.
The location used at the start of dawn of the dead is the hospital and the residential area. The hospital is mainly used to fit in with Ana’s character. the second location used is the residential area, this is a well chosen set as it gives maximum effect as the virus spreads into a populated area which therefore will create maximum amount of danger.
The start opens with the logos of the distributors. We already get aspects of horror due to the jumpy music played over the top. It then proceeds to show a Ana Clark, the main character in the story, doing her shift in the hospital, we gather from the way that doctors instruct her that she is overworked and unappreciated. Ana and the sectary start having a conversation over a patient who was suffering from a bite attack. This is the first clue the viewers get on the infection and fits in with the convention of a zombie horror. Ana finishes her shift and leaves the hospital, as she steps through the doors she sees an ambulance parked up and the back doors wide open with two feet hanging out. At this point the audience have suspicions of the person being one of the infected. As she approaches the ambulance she calls out and the driver wakes up. Just as this happens, the radio in the ambulance asks the paramedics to respond to a bite attack. This is to tell the viewer that the bite attack up in the hospital was not a coincidence and that they are connected to the infection.
As she is driving home she flicks on the radio which is currently doing a news report. The report said “it is not an isolated incident” Ana then without any interest switches the radio onto another channel. Throughout the scene the viewers are given little hints such as the radio, the bite incidents and the thoughts of the paramedic being infected.
As she drives through her neighbourhood to her house a high birds eye view shot shows her route. This shot has not been used not to show isolation but to show a heavy population of what can potentially turn into the infected. The reason this method is done rather than the isolation technique is to allow the viewer to imagine the danger she could soon face. Just before she pulls into her drive she pulls over to talk to a little girl called Viviane, who’s her neighbour and is roller-blading on the road. Because she pulled over to talk this shows that Ana has a good relationship with her neighbours. Ana says “maybe tomorrow after work i will do a few backward laps around the block with you ok?”. This is ironic as we have a good idea that buy that time tomorrow Viviane and a large majority of people will be infected. From the moment we meet Viviane we can see that she and Ana have a very good bond, almost like mother and daughter.
This is a detailed narration of the opening 4 minutes of Dawn Of The Dead. I believe that the opening location was very stereotypical because the whole storyline involves a medical outbreak, in which the opening scene is set in a hospital. This set would have been chosen to portray the outbreak as an undetected and unstoppable virus, we know this because the one place you would expect the virus to be identified is a hospital, but the virus was undetected by hospitals, hence the spread of the virus.
The lighting in dawn of the dead is mainly all natural, although in some scenes the lighting is low to portray an essence of evil and danger. Zack Snyder and Mark Abraham, the directors have used lighting very well and have gained maximum effect it the attack scenes with the zombies.
In dawn of the dead there is diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The music used in dawn of the dead is very deep and contains a lot of bass. The music itself gives the impression of evil, even sometimes before it arrives. In the scene where Viviane approaches the Clarks bedroom, the suspense based music starts before we even see Viviane in a clear form or even in here blood drenched zombie form. As the music so does the suspense until she finally steps from the shadows into the doorway. As Viviane reveals herself the music reaches its peak as there is aloud quick paced beat. This is one of many examples in the way in which the music has been used to build the suspense in dawn of the dead. Through out the film the viewer would pick up on this and come to realise that with the start of that type of music means the start of danger.
The location used at the start of dawn of the dead is the hospital and the residential area. The hospital is mainly used to fit in with Ana’s character. the second location used is the residential area, this is a well chosen set as it gives maximum effect as the virus spreads into a populated area which therefore will create maximum amount of danger.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
AS Questionnaire of horror/thriller
We will ask the target audience a few questions about horror and thriller conventions, which will hopefuly help us with our specification and ideas.
1) How old are you?
2) Name a scary location.
3) When you hear a scream, what do you think of?
4) Are you more scared by a physical monster or a psychological monster?
5) Do you enjoy a high octane chase with zombies, or being kept in suspense?
6) Does handheld scare you? Or do you prefer still?
7) Does the narrative play an important role in a horror/thriller?
8) When we say the word “Horror thriller” what images/film clips/sounds come to mind?
a. Images:
b. Clips:
c. Sounds:
9) What are you most scared by in a horror film?
Violence Suspense Graphical Horror Psychological Suspense
Other (List)
10) Describe a scary forest? (E.g. features of it)
11) When we say “Zombie” name 3 things that come to mind…
1) How old are you?
2) Name a scary location.
3) When you hear a scream, what do you think of?
4) Are you more scared by a physical monster or a psychological monster?
5) Do you enjoy a high octane chase with zombies, or being kept in suspense?
6) Does handheld scare you? Or do you prefer still?
7) Does the narrative play an important role in a horror/thriller?
8) When we say the word “Horror thriller” what images/film clips/sounds come to mind?
a. Images:
b. Clips:
c. Sounds:
9) What are you most scared by in a horror film?
Violence Suspense Graphical Horror Psychological Suspense
Other (List)
10) Describe a scary forest? (E.g. features of it)
11) When we say “Zombie” name 3 things that come to mind…
The difference between Horror and Thriller
We plan to use a bit of both horror and thriller in out movie. We plan to have the suspense a horror gives, but give it a horror storyline. Horror is about invoking fear, gruesome images and out of proportion issues, whereas Thriller is about holding suspense. In a Thriller, the fear is a lot more psychological based, where as a Horror has the gruesome graphics on screen. You could say thriller is based on suspense, where as horror is surprise. We plan to use both these in our film, similarly to what Alfred Hitchcock did. We give it a Horror based storyline, zombies, put a Thriller edge to it, making the zombies smarter than normal, and not showing themselves till necessary.
The lighting in thrillers is mostly studio based, to give an extra emphasis on the scenes although you do get ambient lighting in a lot of Thriller to create realism. In a horror, the lighting is purely natural. The flashing lights or red dull lights are in the scene, such as a broken spark or an alarm. The locations of Thrillers are very wide ranged. You can create suspense in anything if you can do it right, where as a horror needs a proper location to give the true effect of the destruction the antagonist gives, such as a small village is almost wiped out, or a city is in ruins. The storylines in Thrillers are often based around a flaw in the protagonist where the antagonist provokes it. There are many sub plots and sub genres in Thrillers. This is massively different to horrors, where the storyline is set and is purely based on the antagonist and protagonist and the struggle to survive. The camera angles in Thrillers have a lot of low angles and high angles to show strengths and weaknesses of the characters as they progress through the film. There is also a lot of close ups to show the characters reaction towards a certain event. In a Horror the camera angles are often point of view, or you are put in the scene as a person, while the scene takes place. This keeps the audience as close as possible to the danger, rather than trying to distance them from it. Thrillers have minimal editing, except the fast transitions at some points to build suspense, although in a Horror a lot of editing is needed, such as special effects to enhance what is going on in the scene.
To conclude we plan on using both the typical conventions that make a Horror scary, but keep the suspense that a Thriller gives. We plan on making this a whole new way of looking at a film; bringing two very mainstream genres and trying to make them a hybrid. It has worked before. Seven is a film that has both aspects of a Horror and Thriller. You could say the same about 28 days/weeks later, although that verges mostly on the Horror side.
The lighting in thrillers is mostly studio based, to give an extra emphasis on the scenes although you do get ambient lighting in a lot of Thriller to create realism. In a horror, the lighting is purely natural. The flashing lights or red dull lights are in the scene, such as a broken spark or an alarm. The locations of Thrillers are very wide ranged. You can create suspense in anything if you can do it right, where as a horror needs a proper location to give the true effect of the destruction the antagonist gives, such as a small village is almost wiped out, or a city is in ruins. The storylines in Thrillers are often based around a flaw in the protagonist where the antagonist provokes it. There are many sub plots and sub genres in Thrillers. This is massively different to horrors, where the storyline is set and is purely based on the antagonist and protagonist and the struggle to survive. The camera angles in Thrillers have a lot of low angles and high angles to show strengths and weaknesses of the characters as they progress through the film. There is also a lot of close ups to show the characters reaction towards a certain event. In a Horror the camera angles are often point of view, or you are put in the scene as a person, while the scene takes place. This keeps the audience as close as possible to the danger, rather than trying to distance them from it. Thrillers have minimal editing, except the fast transitions at some points to build suspense, although in a Horror a lot of editing is needed, such as special effects to enhance what is going on in the scene.
To conclude we plan on using both the typical conventions that make a Horror scary, but keep the suspense that a Thriller gives. We plan on making this a whole new way of looking at a film; bringing two very mainstream genres and trying to make them a hybrid. It has worked before. Seven is a film that has both aspects of a Horror and Thriller. You could say the same about 28 days/weeks later, although that verges mostly on the Horror side.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Thursday, 12 March 2009
How to make a zombie
If you are going to have a zombie, there are a few things that you might want to consider before you start to make it. First of all, will it be an ‘Intelligent’ or a dumb zombie. We found ‘Intelligent’ ones in 28 Days/Weeks Later, and in I am Legend, whereas there are dumb ones in Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead. The zombie’s personality plays a great part in thrillers, as dumb ones are usually massed and are killed all the time, though many more come, where as the ‘Intelligent’ ones seem to be everywhere, and can interact with the surroundings better. In I am Legend, the zombies are extremely fast, and are also very ‘Intelligent’; in the sense they lay traps and stay away from sunlight. There is also the ‘Intelligent’ ones in 28 Days/Weeks Later, where they mass, run extremely fast and are able to interact with surroundings. The dumb ones are usually used to show isolation due to the sheer mass of them, where as the ‘Intelligent’ ones usually create tension and suspense making the characters attempts seem useless.
When we think of zombie, we get the image of rotten skin, teeth showing, brains, claws, torn clothes and a relentless attitude. When we make our zombie, we will consider all these things, though we can not have very graphical images, so we will stick to showing silhouettes of them, or at a distance.
There is also the zombie “hot spots” such as dark rooms, isolated areas, urban cities and the classic, zombie hand clawing through the window. All these areas need to be thought about when thinking of where to make the protagonist go. A lot of zombie thrillers show the protagonists trying to get to another abandoned building, and must pass masses of zombies to get to them. This is a common theme in zombie films.
IOn our first storyboard, our zombie will wear over sized clothes, though you will only see silhouettes of it running. We will make them extremely strong and fast, making the protagonists seem inferior to them, even though they are still teenagers. We will have masses of the zombies, though we will only show a maximum of 5 in the woods scene. This is to still keep the realism of the zombies actually following the teenagers, and the isolation of them.
We could consider using fake blood and wounds if we were to use a close up, although due to our budget, we will stick to keeping them at a distance.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Preliminary Task
We were told to do a preliminary task based around a person walking into a room and exchanging conversation. Me and simon decided to have a gangsta style one, and it turned out pretty well.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Filming Location
Pitching the Location
In order to make sure we know where out setting and location will be, we decided to go up to the woods that we plan on filming in to take some shots that will be included in the film sequence. This makes sure that when we go up on the day, we will know where to set up our shots. It also gives us ideas to work though and show where we are so far in ideas for pitching out movie. Unfortunately due to the weather, we only have shots of the settings in the snow.
Consideration
We plan on filming our movie in the woods near where we live. This will provide us with easy access, and a powerful convention used in horror and thriller movie. The woods are perfect for our move, due to the gnarled aged trees and giant landscape. There is also the isolation of it. The woods near some open fields. We will need to consider the weather when filming in this location. Due to the muddy ground, we cannot film on a wet or rainy day as this will make filming and acting extremely difficult.
The entering the woods scene
We will need to find an opening in the woods, with a tree outside giving us cover to film the teens as they venture into the woods. There will also be a juxtaposition of the open field and the cramped woods.
The camping scene
We will need to find a small open clearance in the trees when in the woods to film and build the camping scenes. The opening must be big enough to fit a tent but small enough for trees to hang over and surround it. We must also make sure there is safe ground to build on, such as a hard surface, no hills.
(Pictures to still be uploaded)
Gnarled Tree-
We are using a picture of a gnarled tree which is a typical semiotic for bad things. This tree will set the genre of the movie when it is seen in the shot while the camera shows multiple shots of the teenagers walking up the path.
Camping location-
This will be the area that we will have the tent and camp set up. It is close to a path for easy access, and it is also flat enough for room for setting up a camp. It is also near a few trees that will be perfect for framing the camp sight in for one of our ideas.
Another shot of the camping location used to show the trees in the background.
Opening in trees/Enterance-
This is another easier to see shot of the enterance.
Here is a picture from behind a bush. This shot may be used unless we find a better way of hiding the camera from the teens as they enter the woods.
Framing of trees-
Here is a shot we will use from behind a tree watching the teens as they have entered the woods. The camera will pand as they walk from one enf othe tree, through so the camera cant see them, to the other end of the tree, back into view. This will give the idea of the teens being watched, and the audience being of an advantage to the teens.
This is a shot of the other side of the panning from behind a tree, after the teens have passed.
This is another of the multiple shots from behind a tree while the camera follows the teens up the path to their camp.
This is a shot we will use the style of for shoting the teens in the camp. It will symbolise how the teens will be trapped in the middle of the action.
Here is another shot showing trees either side of the camera composition. This shot could be used at the end when the teens realised they have been followed.
Here are some shots of the location we will be filming at. These will not be used, but give us an idea of the area we will be working in.
In order to make sure we know where out setting and location will be, we decided to go up to the woods that we plan on filming in to take some shots that will be included in the film sequence. This makes sure that when we go up on the day, we will know where to set up our shots. It also gives us ideas to work though and show where we are so far in ideas for pitching out movie. Unfortunately due to the weather, we only have shots of the settings in the snow.
Consideration
We plan on filming our movie in the woods near where we live. This will provide us with easy access, and a powerful convention used in horror and thriller movie. The woods are perfect for our move, due to the gnarled aged trees and giant landscape. There is also the isolation of it. The woods near some open fields. We will need to consider the weather when filming in this location. Due to the muddy ground, we cannot film on a wet or rainy day as this will make filming and acting extremely difficult.
The entering the woods scene
We will need to find an opening in the woods, with a tree outside giving us cover to film the teens as they venture into the woods. There will also be a juxtaposition of the open field and the cramped woods.
The camping scene
We will need to find a small open clearance in the trees when in the woods to film and build the camping scenes. The opening must be big enough to fit a tent but small enough for trees to hang over and surround it. We must also make sure there is safe ground to build on, such as a hard surface, no hills.
(Pictures to still be uploaded)
Gnarled Tree-
We are using a picture of a gnarled tree which is a typical semiotic for bad things. This tree will set the genre of the movie when it is seen in the shot while the camera shows multiple shots of the teenagers walking up the path.
Camping location-
This will be the area that we will have the tent and camp set up. It is close to a path for easy access, and it is also flat enough for room for setting up a camp. It is also near a few trees that will be perfect for framing the camp sight in for one of our ideas.
Another shot of the camping location used to show the trees in the background.
Opening in trees/Enterance-
Here is a shot that we probably will not use due to the obviousness of the camera shooting location of the entarence to the woods.
This is another easier to see shot of the enterance.
Here is a picture from behind a bush. This shot may be used unless we find a better way of hiding the camera from the teens as they enter the woods.
Framing of trees-
Here is a shot we will use from behind a tree watching the teens as they have entered the woods. The camera will pand as they walk from one enf othe tree, through so the camera cant see them, to the other end of the tree, back into view. This will give the idea of the teens being watched, and the audience being of an advantage to the teens.
This is a shot of the other side of the panning from behind a tree, after the teens have passed.
This is another of the multiple shots from behind a tree while the camera follows the teens up the path to their camp.
This is a shot we will use the style of for shoting the teens in the camp. It will symbolise how the teens will be trapped in the middle of the action.
Here is another shot showing trees either side of the camera composition. This shot could be used at the end when the teens realised they have been followed.
Here are some shots of the location we will be filming at. These will not be used, but give us an idea of the area we will be working in.
28 Days Later opening + location analysis
Title: 28 Days Later
Year it was made: 2002
Director: Danny Boyle
28 days later is a Zombie Thriller/Horror. It starts with activists who try to release monkeys who were infected by a deadly disease called Rage. A monkey bites one of the people as they let it out, and within moments you turn from being sympathetic to the chimps to terrify of them by this act. During the arrival of the activists the chimps are all crazy banging the cage, then the camera follows the views of what a monkey is being forced to watch. We then see the activists see the monkey in this table strapped down with monitors above it. On the monitors we see violence. As one of the activists takes pictures, the camera flashes and we see what the picture was taken looks like. During the pictures, there are sound bridges of the monkeys screeching to keep the action moving. This keeps the audience tense and stops them loosing interest. At this point, the music is slow and quite eerie, but is slowly building speed and suspense. Once the cage is opened, the camera goes wild and shows a first person of the monkey charging at the woman where it ends up as a close up of the monkey biting this woman. Within moments, she pukes up blood, and acts like the monkeys were like, crazed and angry. You can tell the tension of the film by the yelling of the scientist. The editing is very powerful in the way the fast transitions are done and the shots of the camera angles. You would expect the camera to be distance and away as far as possible from the danger, but in this movie, it shows you the danger as close as possible. This is what makes 28 days later a horror type, rather than thriller, the fear is created in the physical viewings rather than mentally. The lighting that the special effects create is very powerful. There are very dark red ambient lights in it to show blood, rage and anger. There may also be a dark red filter put over the top. This whole sequence leaves you wanting to watch more and more of the movie, as you are kept in your seats with the powerful music and fast transitions, never showing you the finished result.
The camera is set as if it is a person standing idol in the scene, switching from first person to third. This is creating a very dizzy effect on the audience, as they don’t quite know where they are. Are they in the scene or are they a character in the scene? This is also related with the music. Due to the high strings sound, and distorted feelings we get from hearing this music, we feel uncomfortable watching this. The way the camera switches from one view to another, while the music still, slowly drones on with slight highs keeps us watching for more!
The location is very typical of a horror in this. They managed to get pictures very early in the morning of New York landmarks with nothing or no one there but destruction and wreckage. They use these locations as it scares us. Some people, usually the target audience, use this place daily, and know how busy it is, and seeing it in this state, scares them. The animal testing facility is also very strong in the way that you never know what horrors they will be doing to the animals. This is also a controversial issue at the time this movie was created, therefore it linked in well with the timescale It was created. The lighting is one of the things that make this movie and other horror movies powerful. There is lots of flashing lights showing close ups of the faces of the victims and the zombies, making it a very hectic situation, and instead of showing a slow whole shot with no transitions, it shows snap shots of the danger. The natural daylight is also very good in the way it creates an eerie atmosphere when the man is outside the hospital. There are dress codes used in these scenes that give us a clue to the genre as well. We first see the protagonist in a hospital, completely naked. The semiotics of being in a hospital enough shows how vulnerable this man is, yet he is completely naked, isolated, being the only one in the whole hospital. The scientists are first seen coming in drinking what we would think as coffee. We drink coffee when we are tired, and due to the lighting, it looks like night. This tells us that the scientist must work late nights, and is probably really stressed. His body language also shows this. He is very submissive, yet anxious about letting the monkeys out. During this, you would expect the camera to show lots of low angle shots at him, due to the other characters yelling and swearing at him, although the camera is always shot grouping him with the other characters. This is bringing all the characters together, showing that there is no pro or antagonist in this scene, that they will all be attacked by the chimps similarly.
(Unfortunately we could not get the opening sequence)
Chimp Scene:
Location + Music:
Year it was made: 2002
Director: Danny Boyle
28 days later is a Zombie Thriller/Horror. It starts with activists who try to release monkeys who were infected by a deadly disease called Rage. A monkey bites one of the people as they let it out, and within moments you turn from being sympathetic to the chimps to terrify of them by this act. During the arrival of the activists the chimps are all crazy banging the cage, then the camera follows the views of what a monkey is being forced to watch. We then see the activists see the monkey in this table strapped down with monitors above it. On the monitors we see violence. As one of the activists takes pictures, the camera flashes and we see what the picture was taken looks like. During the pictures, there are sound bridges of the monkeys screeching to keep the action moving. This keeps the audience tense and stops them loosing interest. At this point, the music is slow and quite eerie, but is slowly building speed and suspense. Once the cage is opened, the camera goes wild and shows a first person of the monkey charging at the woman where it ends up as a close up of the monkey biting this woman. Within moments, she pukes up blood, and acts like the monkeys were like, crazed and angry. You can tell the tension of the film by the yelling of the scientist. The editing is very powerful in the way the fast transitions are done and the shots of the camera angles. You would expect the camera to be distance and away as far as possible from the danger, but in this movie, it shows you the danger as close as possible. This is what makes 28 days later a horror type, rather than thriller, the fear is created in the physical viewings rather than mentally. The lighting that the special effects create is very powerful. There are very dark red ambient lights in it to show blood, rage and anger. There may also be a dark red filter put over the top. This whole sequence leaves you wanting to watch more and more of the movie, as you are kept in your seats with the powerful music and fast transitions, never showing you the finished result.
The camera is set as if it is a person standing idol in the scene, switching from first person to third. This is creating a very dizzy effect on the audience, as they don’t quite know where they are. Are they in the scene or are they a character in the scene? This is also related with the music. Due to the high strings sound, and distorted feelings we get from hearing this music, we feel uncomfortable watching this. The way the camera switches from one view to another, while the music still, slowly drones on with slight highs keeps us watching for more!
The location is very typical of a horror in this. They managed to get pictures very early in the morning of New York landmarks with nothing or no one there but destruction and wreckage. They use these locations as it scares us. Some people, usually the target audience, use this place daily, and know how busy it is, and seeing it in this state, scares them. The animal testing facility is also very strong in the way that you never know what horrors they will be doing to the animals. This is also a controversial issue at the time this movie was created, therefore it linked in well with the timescale It was created. The lighting is one of the things that make this movie and other horror movies powerful. There is lots of flashing lights showing close ups of the faces of the victims and the zombies, making it a very hectic situation, and instead of showing a slow whole shot with no transitions, it shows snap shots of the danger. The natural daylight is also very good in the way it creates an eerie atmosphere when the man is outside the hospital. There are dress codes used in these scenes that give us a clue to the genre as well. We first see the protagonist in a hospital, completely naked. The semiotics of being in a hospital enough shows how vulnerable this man is, yet he is completely naked, isolated, being the only one in the whole hospital. The scientists are first seen coming in drinking what we would think as coffee. We drink coffee when we are tired, and due to the lighting, it looks like night. This tells us that the scientist must work late nights, and is probably really stressed. His body language also shows this. He is very submissive, yet anxious about letting the monkeys out. During this, you would expect the camera to show lots of low angle shots at him, due to the other characters yelling and swearing at him, although the camera is always shot grouping him with the other characters. This is bringing all the characters together, showing that there is no pro or antagonist in this scene, that they will all be attacked by the chimps similarly.
(Unfortunately we could not get the opening sequence)
Chimp Scene:
Location + Music:
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Target Audience
Our target audience is 18-30 years old. We plan to keep a young adult age for our movie, due to the actors being a young age, and the audience is able to relate to some of the issues and events that will come. We will need to keep to 18 plus due to the violence we plan to have in our film, but due to our equipment, we will have only suggestions of it, rather than showing the graphical scenes. We will keep our audience hooked with our suspense that seems to last from the beginning. This is similar to some of Hitchcock’s greatest films. He was restricted to 10 minute filming scenes, due to the cameras, and he overcame this with a dark object passing by as he put a new camera reel in. This meant he could keep the audience in suspense for more than 10 minutes without making them bored. We plan to do it for 2 minutes. We will use editing such as fast transitions, but only before the suspense breaks, and we plan to keep a lot of the POV so the audience is kept as close to the danger as possible, and only know what the characters know.
The 3 actors will engage in typical conversation that people of that age would have, to keep to our target audience. We also plan to keep the idea of having them camping out with a camera to record their journeys, which links in with the target audience as well.
Quick analysis of Thriller/Horror conventions
Opening titles
The titles are typically worn away, and are fairly dark. The titles are bold, faded and quite distort. The font is very thick, and has a print effect to it, as if it’s been painted on a long while ago. The title sequence is dark and spooky, where the music is building suspense to the tune of the titles. The titles and music works together to create tension and fear for the viewers. This is because when we typically think of a zombie thriller/horror we think of a worn down civilisation close to its end, with a zombie outbreak destroying everything. The titles seem as if they have been there for a while and are worn down by the destruction of it all. The titles are often a prologue to the events that have jsut happened in the past, such as a disaster that mankind was almost wiped out by. This is to inform the viewers of what happened.
Music
The music is typically eerie and jumpy. Lots of drums and always needs to build suspense. The music comes on when the monsters near.
Mise-en-Scene
Location: Typically urban, either close to civilisation or completely isolated. This is to link in with the theme of the end of the world.
Lighting: Ambient lighting, dark, and never enough light when you need to see things. The monster is always near when something malfunctions. This is to keep suspense and only show enough to scare people. They fill in the rest of the ideas.
Props: Normally many props in an urban area, such as plastic bags and destruction, but if inside, quite minimal, due to the isolation theme.
Costumes: Casual clothing, to standardise the daily life that has gone wrong.
Narrative: The protagonist is exposed to a world on its edge, where the antagonist thrives. The protagonist stuggles to survive, usualy alone, against the overwhelming antagonist, and succeeds in the end. There is usualy an equilibrium in the end, unless the movie plans on a sequel, where some of the issues are unsolved.
The titles are typically worn away, and are fairly dark. The titles are bold, faded and quite distort. The font is very thick, and has a print effect to it, as if it’s been painted on a long while ago. The title sequence is dark and spooky, where the music is building suspense to the tune of the titles. The titles and music works together to create tension and fear for the viewers. This is because when we typically think of a zombie thriller/horror we think of a worn down civilisation close to its end, with a zombie outbreak destroying everything. The titles seem as if they have been there for a while and are worn down by the destruction of it all. The titles are often a prologue to the events that have jsut happened in the past, such as a disaster that mankind was almost wiped out by. This is to inform the viewers of what happened.
Music
The music is typically eerie and jumpy. Lots of drums and always needs to build suspense. The music comes on when the monsters near.
Mise-en-Scene
Location: Typically urban, either close to civilisation or completely isolated. This is to link in with the theme of the end of the world.
Lighting: Ambient lighting, dark, and never enough light when you need to see things. The monster is always near when something malfunctions. This is to keep suspense and only show enough to scare people. They fill in the rest of the ideas.
Props: Normally many props in an urban area, such as plastic bags and destruction, but if inside, quite minimal, due to the isolation theme.
Costumes: Casual clothing, to standardise the daily life that has gone wrong.
Narrative: The protagonist is exposed to a world on its edge, where the antagonist thrives. The protagonist stuggles to survive, usualy alone, against the overwhelming antagonist, and succeeds in the end. There is usualy an equilibrium in the end, unless the movie plans on a sequel, where some of the issues are unsolved.
Why do we watch thrillers?
Thrillers are made up of many different amounts of sub genres, making them viable to appeal to almost anyone. We also like the jumps and rushes we get from watching a character being chased or walking slowly to meet their demise. We know what will happen, but not how, or when, giving us suspense to look forward to. A thriller is also very common for showing the suggestion of something scary, but then we find out later, it was nothing, but we know there was something there and still is. A thriller can take part as the point of view of the main character(s) or it could be a sort of documentation of something that has already happened, showing the viewers more than what the characters know.
The characters are typically seen as very good at their job, very strong and quite heroic looking, but the villain is always better equipped, and seems to be cleverer than the hero, until they are inevitably caught. You can either get the ‘I don’t care’ thriller lead, or the ‘all I think about is my job’ lead, and the villain always sees the flaw in the hero and at one point or more in the movie, will exploit it, such as in the movie face off, his son was shot by the villain, and it is frequently brought up on the hero. The themes of thrillers are almost always exaggerated and only include crimes in a much larger scale, such as an alien invasion, mass murder, terrorists or assassinations, identity,
Main plot points include violent confrontations, saving the Femme Fatale, themes of mirroring past events, and recent, or the villain mocking or arguing against a flaw in the modern society that they do not like. More modern types of thrillers are psychological thrillers, where the villain could be less superior to the hero, but knows well of the heroes flaw, and is stronger only intellectually, making a whole new different way of scaring the audience. The monster in psychological thrillers could be anything; an inferior physical force made superior only by their intellect, a supernatural entity, aliens or serial killers.
Sub Genres
Action Thrillers consists of a race against the clock, lots of explosions and chases. The antagonist is exposed the whole time, and the protagonist is usually searching for something. The hero isn’t always a good guy in this; they could be someone who we just cheer for due to his characteristics.
A Crime Thriller is usually based around the crimes the villain creates, rather than the characters themselves, we are only given the characteristics of the villain by what crimes they create. The good guy is usually very good at his job, and it is his last job he has to solve, but always the worst.
A Disaster Thriller is based around natural events where the protagonist may be a group of people who are stranded and the antagonist is not a physical being, but the idea of the reason why the natural event came, such as in The day after Tomorrow, the antagonist is us, due to global warming.
A Drama Thriller is based wholly on character relationships and twisted plot lines. The crimes in these are usually quite controversial, and take a very long time to develop.
A Horror Thriller is a mix between physical, mentally and emotionally conflict between characters. The thrills are created through fear and gruesome images rather than a psychological wait created by suspense. The protagonists are usually up against an overwhelming force, and will soon become victims themselves, and the antagonist is a monster, of physically or mentally being.
A Psychological Thriller is based on an emotional and mental side of the heroine’s character. The antagonist exploits the flaw in the protagonist and eventually, they have a showdown where the flaw is overcome by the antagonist’s defeat.
A Spy Thriller is much like an action thriller, in the fact that the hero is often a government agent who has to take action against an overwhelming force against the government.
There is also Science-Fiction Thrillers where the villain is an alien or supernatural force. The hero in this is usually well equipped with powerful weapons, or completely exposed with only their intelligence and coincidental events that assists in the defeat of the villain, such as in Signs and Jurassic Park.
The characters are typically seen as very good at their job, very strong and quite heroic looking, but the villain is always better equipped, and seems to be cleverer than the hero, until they are inevitably caught. You can either get the ‘I don’t care’ thriller lead, or the ‘all I think about is my job’ lead, and the villain always sees the flaw in the hero and at one point or more in the movie, will exploit it, such as in the movie face off, his son was shot by the villain, and it is frequently brought up on the hero. The themes of thrillers are almost always exaggerated and only include crimes in a much larger scale, such as an alien invasion, mass murder, terrorists or assassinations, identity,
Main plot points include violent confrontations, saving the Femme Fatale, themes of mirroring past events, and recent, or the villain mocking or arguing against a flaw in the modern society that they do not like. More modern types of thrillers are psychological thrillers, where the villain could be less superior to the hero, but knows well of the heroes flaw, and is stronger only intellectually, making a whole new different way of scaring the audience. The monster in psychological thrillers could be anything; an inferior physical force made superior only by their intellect, a supernatural entity, aliens or serial killers.
Sub Genres
Action Thrillers consists of a race against the clock, lots of explosions and chases. The antagonist is exposed the whole time, and the protagonist is usually searching for something. The hero isn’t always a good guy in this; they could be someone who we just cheer for due to his characteristics.
A Crime Thriller is usually based around the crimes the villain creates, rather than the characters themselves, we are only given the characteristics of the villain by what crimes they create. The good guy is usually very good at his job, and it is his last job he has to solve, but always the worst.
A Disaster Thriller is based around natural events where the protagonist may be a group of people who are stranded and the antagonist is not a physical being, but the idea of the reason why the natural event came, such as in The day after Tomorrow, the antagonist is us, due to global warming.
A Drama Thriller is based wholly on character relationships and twisted plot lines. The crimes in these are usually quite controversial, and take a very long time to develop.
A Horror Thriller is a mix between physical, mentally and emotionally conflict between characters. The thrills are created through fear and gruesome images rather than a psychological wait created by suspense. The protagonists are usually up against an overwhelming force, and will soon become victims themselves, and the antagonist is a monster, of physically or mentally being.
A Psychological Thriller is based on an emotional and mental side of the heroine’s character. The antagonist exploits the flaw in the protagonist and eventually, they have a showdown where the flaw is overcome by the antagonist’s defeat.
A Spy Thriller is much like an action thriller, in the fact that the hero is often a government agent who has to take action against an overwhelming force against the government.
There is also Science-Fiction Thrillers where the villain is an alien or supernatural force. The hero in this is usually well equipped with powerful weapons, or completely exposed with only their intelligence and coincidental events that assists in the defeat of the villain, such as in Signs and Jurassic Park.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Se7en
Seven, also known as Se7en was directed by David Fincher in 1995. There are many conventions and semiotics that suggest to us the genre of the film in the opening of the film.
To start, we know it is a thriller by the soundtrack. The music is quite distorted. This gives us a sense of the films substance, where the narrative is shown to us through what we know as media students is a scary soundtrack. It starts off with a pendulum ticking. This reflects the personality of the character and makes the audience seem unsettled, due to this regularity of the ticking. The soundtrack is slow at first, with very eerie creaks and a low drum sound. The squeaky sounds give us the idea of dementia, as well as the things on screen showing this as well. The music slowly builds with drum beats and eerie sounds through out, and ends with the words “You get me closer to god!” in a distorted voice. This reflects the narrative of the film, where the murders are related to the seven deadly sins. Religion is used a lot in thrillers, as it gives the audience a sense of a higher being, far superior to them who are in control of the antagonist making them bend to the religions “rules”. The rules may not be the actual rules, but the antagonist bends them making them seem correct to them. There is a lot of digetic sound in the opening sequence, such as the yelling of people outside the window, the sirens of the police cars, the car alarms and the barking dogs. These sounds are all taken as conventions of a crime genre, and we know of them as a danger. These all contrast to the formality of the ticking of the pendulum.
The lighting in the whole title sequence is all through lamps or torches. It is very dark and is hard to see throughout the whole of it. The light always seems to focus on the important parts of the scene as well, and darkens out the rest of it. There is flashing lights throughout, which are very unsettling and makes the objects on screen seem threatening. We would think that the room the person is in is very dark, and all they have to see is a lamp, which barely works. This may work with the religion theme, of having only what you need, bare necessities.
The location of Seven is unknown from the title sequence, but it seems to be a run down town or city. We know this by the typical set of an apartment, and the yelling and sirens of a police car. You only see the sets of 2 apartments, both of the 2 main characters, where they both contrast, the messy, informal man with his wife, and the neat, formal man on his own. We do not see the setting of the antagonist, which gives us the sense of not knowing what it to come. It is also typical of a thriller to not give any valuable information on the antagonist at the beginning of it, or else it would ruin the plot. We are more scared of a thing which we don’t know much about.
There are a few props we see in this sequence, such as a bible, pen and sharpened piece of metal. These are powerful semiotics that tell us of religion and danger, which are themes in this film. It looks like a bible what the first book shaped figure that appears on screen, or it may be a diary, but either way, we do not know, and we cannot read what he writes, except the words “D 35” which appears on screen. This is unknown to us at this moment, but later on we find out is a record of one of the murder plots. The sharpened metal is used by the person to cut the skin off his fingers. This is to hide finger prints they may leave behind. It also tells us that they are sick and twisted as a person, to do it. The pendulum shows us the formality of one of the characters, which is part of his characters personality, which is a contrast to the other character. The pictures the person is cutting out are actually pictures of one of the victims of one of his murders.
The transitions are all very fast during the part with the unknown person. It starts off with a sort of establishing shot of the room. It then shows us a close up of the pendulum and then the characters glasses being placed on the bedside table beside him, then moves up following his hand, ending on the pendulum. The next shot is a slow zoom into the character who may be reflecting on the sound of the pendulum or the sound of the sounds outside. It then quickly changes to the pendulum again, then continues the zoom on the character, and then finishes zooming slowly on the pendulum. There is then lots of fast paced close ups of the unknown persons work place, with the book/diary, pen, pictures and fingers. The sequence closes on the other main character waking up next to his bed as a medium shot. There is lots of fast, almost subliminal shots of important props and signs through out the sequence, which is very chaotic.
The titles are all shown in black, contrasting to white. The text is worn down, and is very shaky. When the text Se7en is shown on screen, it is first shown really far away, and then is immediately forced closely to the screen, and shakes with distortion with rapid white lines flashing. The font is very worn down, and looks ruined.
The 2 main characters are very typical of a crime thriller, the cop who is very good at his job, and the one who is very “unsettled” where you can see that the antagonist will provoke this flaw, where as the cop which is calm, has no visible flaw. The antagonist, who is the person we are not told of in the sequence, is not shown in any way, but the music, lighting and other conventions and semiotics we see tell us he is a bad character, who is sick, and twisted.
Se7en is a thriller, but has signs and slight overlaps of the conventions of a horror. We get the sense of suspense, but we also get the visible gruesome graphics of a horror.
To start, we know it is a thriller by the soundtrack. The music is quite distorted. This gives us a sense of the films substance, where the narrative is shown to us through what we know as media students is a scary soundtrack. It starts off with a pendulum ticking. This reflects the personality of the character and makes the audience seem unsettled, due to this regularity of the ticking. The soundtrack is slow at first, with very eerie creaks and a low drum sound. The squeaky sounds give us the idea of dementia, as well as the things on screen showing this as well. The music slowly builds with drum beats and eerie sounds through out, and ends with the words “You get me closer to god!” in a distorted voice. This reflects the narrative of the film, where the murders are related to the seven deadly sins. Religion is used a lot in thrillers, as it gives the audience a sense of a higher being, far superior to them who are in control of the antagonist making them bend to the religions “rules”. The rules may not be the actual rules, but the antagonist bends them making them seem correct to them. There is a lot of digetic sound in the opening sequence, such as the yelling of people outside the window, the sirens of the police cars, the car alarms and the barking dogs. These sounds are all taken as conventions of a crime genre, and we know of them as a danger. These all contrast to the formality of the ticking of the pendulum.
The lighting in the whole title sequence is all through lamps or torches. It is very dark and is hard to see throughout the whole of it. The light always seems to focus on the important parts of the scene as well, and darkens out the rest of it. There is flashing lights throughout, which are very unsettling and makes the objects on screen seem threatening. We would think that the room the person is in is very dark, and all they have to see is a lamp, which barely works. This may work with the religion theme, of having only what you need, bare necessities.
The location of Seven is unknown from the title sequence, but it seems to be a run down town or city. We know this by the typical set of an apartment, and the yelling and sirens of a police car. You only see the sets of 2 apartments, both of the 2 main characters, where they both contrast, the messy, informal man with his wife, and the neat, formal man on his own. We do not see the setting of the antagonist, which gives us the sense of not knowing what it to come. It is also typical of a thriller to not give any valuable information on the antagonist at the beginning of it, or else it would ruin the plot. We are more scared of a thing which we don’t know much about.
There are a few props we see in this sequence, such as a bible, pen and sharpened piece of metal. These are powerful semiotics that tell us of religion and danger, which are themes in this film. It looks like a bible what the first book shaped figure that appears on screen, or it may be a diary, but either way, we do not know, and we cannot read what he writes, except the words “D 35” which appears on screen. This is unknown to us at this moment, but later on we find out is a record of one of the murder plots. The sharpened metal is used by the person to cut the skin off his fingers. This is to hide finger prints they may leave behind. It also tells us that they are sick and twisted as a person, to do it. The pendulum shows us the formality of one of the characters, which is part of his characters personality, which is a contrast to the other character. The pictures the person is cutting out are actually pictures of one of the victims of one of his murders.
The transitions are all very fast during the part with the unknown person. It starts off with a sort of establishing shot of the room. It then shows us a close up of the pendulum and then the characters glasses being placed on the bedside table beside him, then moves up following his hand, ending on the pendulum. The next shot is a slow zoom into the character who may be reflecting on the sound of the pendulum or the sound of the sounds outside. It then quickly changes to the pendulum again, then continues the zoom on the character, and then finishes zooming slowly on the pendulum. There is then lots of fast paced close ups of the unknown persons work place, with the book/diary, pen, pictures and fingers. The sequence closes on the other main character waking up next to his bed as a medium shot. There is lots of fast, almost subliminal shots of important props and signs through out the sequence, which is very chaotic.
The titles are all shown in black, contrasting to white. The text is worn down, and is very shaky. When the text Se7en is shown on screen, it is first shown really far away, and then is immediately forced closely to the screen, and shakes with distortion with rapid white lines flashing. The font is very worn down, and looks ruined.
The 2 main characters are very typical of a crime thriller, the cop who is very good at his job, and the one who is very “unsettled” where you can see that the antagonist will provoke this flaw, where as the cop which is calm, has no visible flaw. The antagonist, who is the person we are not told of in the sequence, is not shown in any way, but the music, lighting and other conventions and semiotics we see tell us he is a bad character, who is sick, and twisted.
Se7en is a thriller, but has signs and slight overlaps of the conventions of a horror. We get the sense of suspense, but we also get the visible gruesome graphics of a horror.
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker, but he was best known for his work in film title sequences. Bass has worked with many of the world’s greatest directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, who also is a famous director known for his work in title sequences. Bass is also a graphic designer, is well known for designing logos, such as the Quaker Oats and the 6th AT&T Bell System logo, in America. Bass studied at the Art Student's League in Manhattan and during his work there, he realized how important film title sequences can be.
Bass was a very well experienced film maker by 1959, where he created a title sequence for one of Hitchcock’s best films, “North by Northwest” which is suspense film about identity. Hitchcock was well known for keeping the audience well in their seats with his choice of music and camera shots. The title sequence in this film shows a grid of lines that are laid out to give the effect of a building which appears after it. There are many clues in the theme of this film by the opening titles, such as the mirror reflection on the glass of the building as a theme of identity.
Bass was also responsible for one of the most well remembered murder scenes, which includes a silhouette of a person being killed in a bathroom through the curtains. You only get shots of locations in the room, such as the plug with the red water running down it, giving you a clue as to what has happened.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
Life and Awards
Alfred Hitchcock was an extremely famous film maker and producer. He was particularly famous for his techniques of creating suspense. He directed more than fifty films in his life, and remains one of the most well known producers of all times. Being very famous, Hitchcock did receive many awards, such as Best Director for Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945) and Read Window (1954). He was also considered as the ‘Best Film Director of all time’ by The Screen Directory, and, was knighted in 1980. His most famous works were; Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, and Psycho.
When Hitchcock was young, his father sent him to the local police station asking them to lock him away for ten minutes as a punishment for behaving badly. The idea of being treated harshly or wrongly accused, and many other life events Hitchcock experienced were reflected as plots in his films. His father died when he was 14, and that same year Hitchcock left to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in London. Once he had graduated, he became a draftsman and an advertising designer for a cable company. While working there, he became more and more intrigued with photography, and began to work in film production in London as a title-card designer for what would become Paramount Pictures. He eventually received a full time position at Islington Studios as the designer for titles of silent movies.
Films
Shadow of a Doubt is one of Hitchcock’s personal favorite films. It features a young woman who suspects her Uncle of being a serial murderer. It was filmed in Santa Rosa, California, which is portrayed as a peaceful, small American city.
Psycho is without a doubt one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. It was acclaimed as one of the most effective horror films, and is now a genre defining film, and almost every scene is legendary. Many of the scenes have been copied or parodied, including the hugely controversial scene of the shower murder, which has been studied, discussed and analysed countless times on how it is so truly horrifying. The scene shows only three, almost subliminal frames of film showing the penetration of the knife. This gives it a whole new look into the psychological side of the thriller/horror genre, making you suspect the worse, never actually seeing much. There was also the music to take account; the short stabbing high pitched screeching sounds, as if it’s the knife piercing the air or skin. This tune is probably one of the most well remembered conventions for the music of thriller/horror having almost anyone who knew the film remembering it.
Psycho is without a doubt one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. It was acclaimed as one of the most effective horror films, and is now a genre defining film, and almost every scene is legendary. Many of the scenes have been copied or parodied, including the hugely controversial scene of the shower murder, which has been studied, discussed and analysed countless times on how it is so truly horrifying. The scene shows only three, almost subliminal frames of film showing the penetration of the knife. This gives it a whole new look into the psychological side of the thriller/horror genre, making you suspect the worse, never actually seeing much. There was also the music to take account; the short stabbing high pitched screeching sounds, as if it’s the knife piercing the air or skin. This tune is probably one of the most well remembered conventions for the music of thriller/horror having almost anyone who knew the film remembering it.
North by Northwest is a suspense film about a tale of mistaken identity where an innocent man is perused across America by agents of a mysterious organization who want to stop his interference in their plans to smuggle out some microfilm. (Tiny Documents). It could be seen as one of the first James Bond films, due to the main characters characteristics.
The Birds is about a wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. It is a horror film based on a book by Daphne du Maurier around the theme of the revenge of nature.
Hitchcock used a specific camera zoom in many of his films, one being remembered as the Hitchcock Zoom, which has the camera on a dolly zooming back where the main picture stays the same, but the background moves,. This was best known in his film called Vertigo, where it gives the effect of Vertigo, an emotion causing the person so see images distort and change in panic.
Another of Hitchcock's devices is incorporating the number 13 into scenes for its superstitious nature. For example, in Psycho, Norman Bates first chooses cabin 3, then turns to cabin 1, for Marion Crane. She is spotted driving in a car where the license plate numbers add up to 13. 13 being an unlucky number, you know what will happen to them, if you can spot it. Hitchcock also used suspense much more than surprise in his films. In surprise, the director assaults the viewer with frightening things. In suspense, the director tells or shows things to the audience which the characters in the film do not know, and then artfully builds tension around what will happen when the characters finally learn the truth. Hitchcock once said "There's two people having breakfast, and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't..."
Alfred Hitchcock was an extremely famous film maker and producer. He was particularly famous for his techniques of creating suspense. He directed more than fifty films in his life, and remains one of the most well known producers of all times. Being very famous, Hitchcock did receive many awards, such as Best Director for Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945) and Read Window (1954). He was also considered as the ‘Best Film Director of all time’ by The Screen Directory, and, was knighted in 1980. His most famous works were; Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, and Psycho.
When Hitchcock was young, his father sent him to the local police station asking them to lock him away for ten minutes as a punishment for behaving badly. The idea of being treated harshly or wrongly accused, and many other life events Hitchcock experienced were reflected as plots in his films. His father died when he was 14, and that same year Hitchcock left to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in London. Once he had graduated, he became a draftsman and an advertising designer for a cable company. While working there, he became more and more intrigued with photography, and began to work in film production in London as a title-card designer for what would become Paramount Pictures. He eventually received a full time position at Islington Studios as the designer for titles of silent movies.
Films
Shadow of a Doubt is one of Hitchcock’s personal favorite films. It features a young woman who suspects her Uncle of being a serial murderer. It was filmed in Santa Rosa, California, which is portrayed as a peaceful, small American city.
Psycho is without a doubt one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. It was acclaimed as one of the most effective horror films, and is now a genre defining film, and almost every scene is legendary. Many of the scenes have been copied or parodied, including the hugely controversial scene of the shower murder, which has been studied, discussed and analysed countless times on how it is so truly horrifying. The scene shows only three, almost subliminal frames of film showing the penetration of the knife. This gives it a whole new look into the psychological side of the thriller/horror genre, making you suspect the worse, never actually seeing much. There was also the music to take account; the short stabbing high pitched screeching sounds, as if it’s the knife piercing the air or skin. This tune is probably one of the most well remembered conventions for the music of thriller/horror having almost anyone who knew the film remembering it.
Psycho is without a doubt one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. It was acclaimed as one of the most effective horror films, and is now a genre defining film, and almost every scene is legendary. Many of the scenes have been copied or parodied, including the hugely controversial scene of the shower murder, which has been studied, discussed and analysed countless times on how it is so truly horrifying. The scene shows only three, almost subliminal frames of film showing the penetration of the knife. This gives it a whole new look into the psychological side of the thriller/horror genre, making you suspect the worse, never actually seeing much. There was also the music to take account; the short stabbing high pitched screeching sounds, as if it’s the knife piercing the air or skin. This tune is probably one of the most well remembered conventions for the music of thriller/horror having almost anyone who knew the film remembering it.
North by Northwest is a suspense film about a tale of mistaken identity where an innocent man is perused across America by agents of a mysterious organization who want to stop his interference in their plans to smuggle out some microfilm. (Tiny Documents). It could be seen as one of the first James Bond films, due to the main characters characteristics.
The Birds is about a wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. It is a horror film based on a book by Daphne du Maurier around the theme of the revenge of nature.
Hitchcock used a specific camera zoom in many of his films, one being remembered as the Hitchcock Zoom, which has the camera on a dolly zooming back where the main picture stays the same, but the background moves,. This was best known in his film called Vertigo, where it gives the effect of Vertigo, an emotion causing the person so see images distort and change in panic.
Another of Hitchcock's devices is incorporating the number 13 into scenes for its superstitious nature. For example, in Psycho, Norman Bates first chooses cabin 3, then turns to cabin 1, for Marion Crane. She is spotted driving in a car where the license plate numbers add up to 13. 13 being an unlucky number, you know what will happen to them, if you can spot it. Hitchcock also used suspense much more than surprise in his films. In surprise, the director assaults the viewer with frightening things. In suspense, the director tells or shows things to the audience which the characters in the film do not know, and then artfully builds tension around what will happen when the characters finally learn the truth. Hitchcock once said "There's two people having breakfast, and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't..."
Placing an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances is a common element of Hitchcock's films, as well as the mistaken identity as a common plot device (such as the plot of North by Northwest). Sexuality often came in as a strong theme in many of his films, such as the plot line of Psycho; the sexual feelings are expressed with violent behaviors. To emphasize suspense, he commonly used Silent Scenes, where he used graphic rather than dialogue to portray the narrative.
Famous Quotes
“The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.”
"There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it."
"In films murders are always very clean. I show how difficult it is and what a messy thing it is to kill a man."
"Suspense is like a woman; the more left to the imagination, the more the excitement."
"I have a perfect cure for a sore throat: cut it."
"Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints."
"I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach."
"Some of our most exquisite murders have been domestic, performed with tenderness in simple, homey places like the kitchen table."
"The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture."
"Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.
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