Opening Titles Comparison

Comparison of Opening Titles

I looked at two opening titles to see what was similar and the differences. I chose to study recent titles which was ‘World War Z’ and ‘Fast and Furious 6’, which was two minutes and ten and two minutes seven seconds long, therefore useful to compare to see what was different in the two minutes as they was similar times.

Firstly, ‘World War Z’ had a lot more diegetic sound in as the opening titles included a news report with a lot of talking and in public places, the train station for example, which made the opening titles seem more realistic towards the audience. Compared to ‘Fast 6’ which was more unrealistic events that would happen, for example the car chase which included going underneath lorries and flipping the cars into rivers off trains, interesting but not realistic.

However, ‘Fast 6’ was more gripping for the audience to watch. It included a lot of action that has happened in the past Fast and Furious’ therefore showing the audience the storyline which may encourage them to want to watch ‘Fast 6’. Whereas ‘World War Z’ was slow paced with a more general feel to it, feeling like it could take some time to get to the main action of the movie, as it would make the audience question why there was a news report and making them ask questions about what happened for it to be such a disaster.

Being extremely fast-paced the opening title to ‘Fast 6’ makes a lot of tension for the audience to watch as a lot of action happens in such a short amount of time with names entering and exiting the scene throughout all of the opening sequence. Although, ‘World War Z’ did introduce a lot of names quickly, they was entered into the scene in a different way through the mystery ‘Z’ shape that was panning across the screen throughout the entire title sequence showing chaos and being secretive as there was so many people in the sequence it was not entirely clear of what everyone was doing. However, ‘World War Z’ had a lot more dialogue than ‘Fast 6’ implying that the audience was told the story as in ‘Fast 6’ they had to work it out just through what they had seen. The dialogue in ‘World War Z’ got faster towards the end creating a build up to introducing the film suggesting that it has suspense throughout.

Both of the opening titles contain a signifier that will represent the film. ‘World War Z’ has the ‘Z’ shapes fading in and out of the screen whilst introducing people showing that they title sequence is coming up and clearly implies that the film is starting. In comparison, ‘Fast 6’ introduces new locations, the main actors and scenes through tyre screeches, brakes and car parts to link the two separated scenes together.

Overall, the two sequences are of the same length but a lot of different action happens in both of them, both being fast paced however different types of action being realistic and others being an unusual lifestyle. Both of which may suit the same target audience as they are both popular thriller films that have good ratings.

Stigmata Pitch - Audience Profile

Shot List - Pre Lim

Moovly Animation - Shutter Island Sound Analysis

Psycho Essay

How have the cinematography, sound and Mise-en-scene been used in the ‘Psycho’ shower scene to build up tension?

 

Through use of the low key lighting it helps disguise the antagonist’s identity. From looking at the shot once it gives the impression to the audience that it is a woman. We think this because the long hair signifies that it is a blonde woman. However, as a man is dressed up as a woman, it is playing with gender stereotypes as it confuses the audience of who it actually is.
A golden mean is used here from the knife to their face to the lightening effect on the side, covering the identity. The knife here would be the first object that you look at signifying danger and that there will be a death implying that we know whose it is going to be, we know what is going to happen before the victim does. A close up shot is used to usually show emotion and reaction, however here it is used to but to disguise who it is, giving the audience time to try and work out who it is, but also ask questions of why they are going to kill this woman. The costume here comes across as what a female would wear, for example, a dressing gown what it looks like here as it is unclear because of the interrupted lighting suggesting that it may not have been planned but also it would look more casual and easy to miss as the victim was in the shower which would hide that someone is actually there.

The way the villain is holding the knife is in a violent way implying that they know what they are there for, the grip on the knife is tight implying anger towards the victim. Again the theme of the colours red run throughout the scene, as the clothing that the victim is wearing, stripes of red running throughout, showing that they are linked to the murder.

 

The golden mean is used again in this shot to show the audience that there is someone actually there and that she in oblivious to who it actually is. The line would start at the top left corner where the murders face is blurred straight through the shower down to the victims face.
The use of the shower curtain here is to make it harder to see if someone is there, plus the diegetic sound of the shower which means she won’t be able to hear if anyone is there. The audience can see that someone is there building up suspense as we know what is going to happen. The victim’s unawareness adds to this as it makes the audience want to tell the victim what is happening.
There is high-key lighting here, showing that is a exposed place, which exposes the victim as she is ‘pure’, linking to the fact she isn’t wearing anything so she can’t protect herself with anything, but also as it was so unexpected. This shot is a close up of her face which suggests she is unaware and doesn’t suspect anything, but also a close up of the hidden identity as it can be seen but not enough to know who it is. We see this from a third persons point of view to lead into seeing what her reaction would be but also what the antagonist will do, therefore we see both sides. On her hand she has red nail varnish on, red representing blood, death and danger, but also power which she doesn’t have here. The camera movement here is used for zooming to the person that is coming behind the shower curtain but also panning left to right to show that the innocent victim doesn’t know what is going to happen, therefore being exposed but also that we then know what is going to happen before she does.

 

 

 

Again, this shot is from a third person’s point of view. We see what is happen and what reactions are given also to show the scale of how big the area is that this takes place. From this high-angle shot we see who has the power as the villain is stood up and is in control of the main prop the knife, the villain is the dominant person in this situation. The shower is used as a prop here to so how hard it would be for her to defend her-self as the running water is slippery but also a distraction. She is also portrayed as being pure as she hasn’t got any clothes on so she can’t use any of them to help her.
The high-key lighting runs throughout the bathroom which could suggest innocence, meaning that she may not have done anything wrong or is an easy victim to have. The lighting of the bathroom may mean that there is going to a contrast in colour compared to what it was, for example, from a pure, clear white to a bloody red. Her nail varnish on her hands and toes is red implying that something was going to happen before she go into the shower as it is seen as a deathly colour, as it is the only vibrant colour that she has on her body other than purity.

The only diegetic sound here is the shower running, the water and the screams of the woman; other sound is added, for example the thunder and violins to create tension for when it is going to stop. The violins link into when the stabbing takes place which creates more of an affect for the audience as then her reaction would be worse. Water is usually something to link with calmness and relaxation like a shower should be but however the twisted reaction to what has happened changes what the water would signify.

The villain has no reaction here as the audience does not get to see their face implying that they are getting pleasure out of giving someone pain, giving the audience more confusion of why we don’t see the killer but also why this is actually happening. The body language of the actors conveys meaning by showing who the innocent party is and that the anger is from the killer. The victim cannot fight off the killer as she is too weak and exposed to them; she has nothing to protect herself.

ISL Week Four - Mise-en-scene

Media ISL – Week 4

Mise-en-scene

 

Mise-en-scene is the process of setting a stage, with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.

I have chosen to look at the television programme ‘Friends’ to see how Mise-en-scene is used to create the programme but also what affect it has on the audience. ‘Friends’ is set in New York City. The show is mainly set in Monica and Chandler's Apartments, is one of the two most used set pieces in the show, creating a link to the audience that means that’s where the drama is set, being a generic place to film the show. As the show is on a set, Mise-en-scene is crucial to have so it creates a ‘real-feel’ to prove to the audience that it is actually happening, convincing enough to be a real place.

Joey and Chandlers apartment is the typical stereotyped male’s apartment. ‘Friends’ set have created this by putting the typical male items in there, for example the football table, the huge television screen etc. As well as having the usual props the locations that they go to show how the typical male is for example, they eat at the breakfast bar, unlike Monica who cooks fresh and eats at a table, it shows the contrast between the two genders, showing how unorganised the men are and are like children who need everything doing for them.

However, in Monica’s apartment it is very homely with photos all around, decorated parts of the house, a nice lounge with the sofa with pillows and blankets, all the personal touches that a female would give her house. She tends to make homemade food and wants to have feedback from it, implying she is proud of what she cooks. Stereotypically, a female is the homemaker and does do the cooking but as she is alone she spends her time cooking for friends, implying she wants people to know how proud she is that she can cook as it is part of her career in the TV show too.

The setting that they are in is New York, some of the show is filmed in Central Park, which has its own touch to the set of showing people coming together showing how close the cast are together, and the types of relationships between the cast. The setting of being in New York is a big city where it is busy all the time and doesn’t stop, implying that’s what they cast of ‘Friends’ do. 

 

Here in this shot, Mise-en-scene makes the scene seem real even though it is on a set. You have the typical house layout of a lounge and a kitchen with all of the typical elements in it. The lighting here is very bright so we see what is actually going on in the set like we would a normal house.
They are wearing the typical costume that normal people would wear on a day to day basis, casual showing that they are relaxing with no extraordinary make up that changes the way they look.

It is a very calm scene with no huge events that is happening portraying that they do live a normal life.

The camerawork shows between a mid and long shot showing the audience the relationship that the actors have with each other making it seem more realistic.

 

 

 

 

However, in this still it is showing the audience a major event that is happening in their life and showing how they go about it. The white dress shows purity and the bridesmaids dress showing a theme throughout the shot, gold being the main colour.

The props that are used are the flowers that the bridesmaids are holding as well as the costume implying where they are going what they are doing and what type of day it is.
The four characters being together shows the close relationship that they have, with the high-lighting, suggests it is a special moment they share as they are close friends and go through big events together.

 

 

 

 

The theme of big events shows how special the moments can be throughout the television series and how much they and us as an audience can change. They are in a key location of the apartment where most of the acting happens, as well as everyone being together to see how close they all are and what happens on a normal day. The costume and make-up that they are wearing is all very normal and something you would expect to see people wearing on a day to day basis proving that they go through events as normal people.
The camerawork shows how everyone has come together for the babies, implying the friendly relationship they all have by showing the main actors all together, possibly and ending scene and a big part of the show for everyone to witness.

 

ISL Week Three - Haunting in Connecticut 2 Analysis

Media ISL- Week 3
The Haunting in Connecticut 2 – Ghosts of Georgia

This 2013 horror is about a young family who moves into a historic home in Georgia, learning they are not the house's only inhabitants. They find that they end up in the presence of a secret rising from the underground and anyone that goes down their path would be a threat to them and will be brought down. For it only being a 5.2 rating I found that the film was fascinating to watch as there was scares throughout and it kept me interested.

 

This long shot of the main character, the little girl shows how innocent she is, we see this by the teddy she is carrying and also the look on her face. The dark lighting is used as it builds up mystery as we cannot see what is going to happen, however light is only shown on her face, implying the only thing that is important here is the reactions on her face, like here, looking terrified. As she is a little girl we know as an audience she isn’t strong enough to help herself but as it is only her in the shot it builds up suspense to wonder if she is going to get out and how she will do it.

 

 

A two shot here shows the relationship that they have between each other. The taxidermist becomes a threat to the female, implying that she isn’t strong enough or has the power to defend herself, showing gender representation of a female to be weaker than if it was a man.

The high-lighting emphasises the dangerous situation that she is in, creating more tension by not hiding everything from the audience so they can see what is happening as soon as she does.

 

 

The father of the little girl is a police officer, often seen as a protector implying that she is going to be safe. The gun that he is holding suggests he knows that something is wrong but is also ready to protect his family.
The mid shot is used to show his stance but also part of the setting that he is in, a deserted area, suggesting he wants to be the protector of his family. In this shot there is a golden mean, showing that the audience the gun first, then to show he is a police officer, then to the truck, which may suggest more of an easy way to get away from whatever the danger is in the movie.

 

 

Here there is high-lighting even though it is at night when this happens, emphasising what is going on outside. The two shot showing the shock of what’s going on by the female in that background whilst seeing her sister dead shows she is in danger and cannot protect her family.

 

 

 

Religion is also used in the film showing how it can protect people but also to rely on religion that they are going to be safe. The little girl is the main focus of this mid shot as she is the one in danger. The vicar is the only person wearing red which implies he has the power to stop the danger by saving this little girl. The low key lighting shows the audience this is happening at night which makes it harder to find the path therefore it being more challenging for the family.