Prisoners - Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene

Near the begging of the film, the suspect crashes into a tree after being pursued by the police. When found he is appeared with some blood on his face. This blood is make up and is a very effective part of the mise-en-scene. This is done to show the audience that he is badly hurt, but also denotes that the police are more effective and efficient (because they are not hurt).

When found by the police, the suspect hands are clearly shaking badly. This shows the audience that the suspect is very nervous about being caught. This could also show the audience that the suspect is most likely guilty. 

There is one shot that consists of just a silhouette. This is created by the lighting which is another one of the key aspects of mise-en-scene. This silhouette is very effective a creating a suspenseful atmosphere, keeping the audience guessing who the silhouette belongs to. Coupled with the silhouette, dark weather is in the shot. This adds to the overall "dark" and "sad" atmosphere.

Aliens- Mise-en-scene (In Character Analysis)

Character analysation

I have chosen to study the characters who were given enough screen time for me to analyse them.

Ellen Ripley- Ripley has dealt with aliens before so she is exactly aware of what they are dealing with. Because of her past experience, she is seen as serious and stern from the start of the film whereas the military crew are excited and acting childish. Ripley acts overly anxious compared to the others and this creates a sense of foreboding. In the sequence I looked at she is seen to be knowledgeable as she noticed that the bullet types the crew were going to use could lead to a nuclear reaction. The army general, Gorman was not aware of the consequences showing he was not educated in the sciences as well as Ripley and Burke. If Ripley didn't notice, the whole ship would have blown up and killed the whole crew. She never lets her guard down whether she's on the operating tank or on the deserted alien spaceship, we can see this from her body posture and facial expressions, she walks as though she is anticipating something to happen. She is experienced in a lot of things which makes her a good advisor, although she is not always listened to, for example, when the crew were getting signals of movement surrounding them, Ripley was advising Gorman to call them back. He ignored her and when aliens started to attack crew members Gorman was freezing and stuttering and not taking control of the situation like he should, Ripley tried asserting herself into his position but only got shouted at to 'shut up'. She's a natural leader, she took the matters into her own hands and drove the tank to collect the crew, she saved the majority of the crew. From that point on, they took her more seriously instead of just someone who is 'there'.

William Gorman- Gorman was a Colonial Marine officer fresh out of the academy, the mission shown in this film was to be only his second combat operation. He is inexperienced in his field and does not hold a great amount of respect from his fellow marines because of it. From the scenes I watched, he seemed to have control of orders going to Sargent Apone, this meant everything the crew does, comes through Apone, from Gorman. 
We can see that he is clueless and not educated well enough on his sciences as he did not see the risk of causing a large nuclear explosion from shots potentially being fired into the Atmosphere Processor. Gorman does what he thinks is best and does not discuss or take second opinions from his peers, this led to a bad situation where some crew mates were killed. He starts to panick and lose his words and control over the situation when the aliens start to attack the marines, Ripley tries to take over but she is shunned away. This shows that Gorman is too stuck in his ways to have someone else help him or take control.

Jenette Vasquez- Vasquez was a private first class marine and comes across as very tough. She acts macho, possibly to fit in with her male dominated counterparts. Not only does she act this way, she dresses in conflict to how a stereotypical woman would, this is because she is a marine, which is seen typically to be a male role. She wears no helmet but instead a bandana around her short black hair. Every other character wears a helmet, this seems though she does not care much for safety precautions and does not feel that her life is in danger. This could show her optimism of surviving and her arrogance. When the team is looking around the ship, Vasquez is the natural leader, she leads the way infront of all the men, this could show that she is equal or almost the equivalent to them. She is seen to have a boisterous personality, she does not get affected by taunts from fellow marines but instead has a witty and stronger response.This helps her gain respect from the others and proves that she is not weak or a 'damsel in distress' type of person. After realising that the bullets in their guns could cause a nuclear explosion, Sarge Apone was instructed to take all ammunition from the crew's guns. Vasquez was one of the few to complain and did not give all of her ammo and kept some for herself and Private Drake. This tells us that she is not afraid to break the rules and shows rebellion to decisions she does not agree with. She was not aware of the harm that could come to her and her crew mates from firing, so when the aliens first attacked, she recklessly started shooting. This would have been taking a risk of getting into trouble with Sarge Apone as she did not follow orders.  

Aliens- Summary and Mise-en-scene (Costume)

A summary of the story before I write about the desired chapter of the film i chose to study for the mise-en-scene:

In the film before, 'Alien' she and her crew were in a towing vehicle called Nostromo heading back to Earth, intercepts an SOS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not realize the danger they are in.
Ripley was the last to survive and managed to blow the alien out of the spaceship, leaving no proof to be found. 
In this film 'Aliens' Ripley was found hyper-sleeping for 50 years in space, and hasn't aged since she went to sleep. She is taken back to Earth, where she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors -- if any remain.

The costumes being worn by the crew are camouflaged trousers and shirts, helmets, black boots and a vest holding all of their ammunition. Their uniforms convey a sense of power and showed them as being ruthless, possibly even fearless. The equipment they carried consisted of torches on their shoulder, a headset and mic and guns with ammo.
Ripley, Gorman and Burke were the operating team as they were specialised in handling the ship, ensuring safety measures, they were unarmed. They all wore a more plain outfit, more casual than their peers, they wore light coloured t shirts and jackets on top.
Vasquez is the only character that was not wearing a helmet and because she is a woman, she is the opposite to a generic female character. She wears a red bandana and has short hair, which links to her being a 'tomboy', this would go against the typical stereotype of a woman.
  

Psycho - Mise-en-scene Breakdown & Analysis

Psycho – Mise-en-scene

The mise en scene within the movie is one of the most powerful parts that help to generate the suspenseful atmosphere. One aspect of the mise en scene that Alfred Hitchcock used to create a sense of danger is the lighting. For example the light in Norman’s parlour is dim lighted. This shows the audience that Norman perhaps has a dark personality. This dark lighting also hints to the viewer that Norman is a recluse and doesn’t fit in with society. Also when Marion sits down in the parlour, only one side of her face is seeing able due to the dark lighting. This suggests that Marion is in a potentially dangerous place and that Norman is potentially a threat to her.

Another key aspect of the mise en scene that Hitchcock uses is the Stairs. The stairs within Norman Bate’s house play a key role in helping to generate the suspenseful atmosphere. When the characters travel up and down the mysterious stairs, it makes the characters seem extremely vulnerable, that anything can be waiting on the next floor of the silent building. Also, when the inspector gets stabbed, he falls down the stairs in slow motion. This done to emphasise how tall the stairs are, while making the scene more dramatic. Also, having the scene in slow motion places more importance on the mysterious killer, giving the audience more time to think about whom it is.

Another very effective piece of mise en scene is the owls that are within Norman’s parlour. These owls are placed in the darkness just above Norman when he is sitting down. This is done to emphasise just how weird Norman is. However, some of the owls are in an aggressive pose, perhaps representing how Norman is going to attack the vulnerable prey (Marion).

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3- Title Sequence Analysis

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

The production company is shown as it normally would do, zooming out from the torch to present the statue of liberty. This is shown in a small rectangle in the center of a black background. The rectangle is then zoomed into to show the production company clearer 'COLUMBIA'. While the screen is still zooming in and showing less and less of the black background, the company fades into the first scene showing the city of Manhattan. A thick black line slides across the screen and as it passes, words come out from behind it. Written in block capital black letters 'COLUMBIA PICTURES AND METRO-GOLDWYN- MAYER PICTURES PRESENT'. Another thick line passes 'IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA', another thick line 'A SCOTT FREE/ESCAPE ARTISTS PRODUCTION'. The line and writing is then almost eaten by the screen, the divided city view behind the writing closed over it, leaving just the view. 

The screen lags and loud music starts, bold white text with hints of blue shining over it saying 'A FILM BY TONY SCOTT' slides in and lags on its way in. It lingers in the middle of the screen and then slides out. The city is shown extremely fast, buildings, streets, traffic, city rush. It is all sped up to show the rush of a city. 'DENZEL WASHINGTON' the name slides in, fast representing the speed of a car in the city or a train. 'JOHN TRAVOLTA', the camera focuses on Travolta's character in slow motion, possibly foreshadowing his significance. It shows the sign of the subway, a bag, then a man holding it and another man. There are quick cuts showing all this and eventually shows a train marked 'PELHAM'

The title is then presented in two parts. 'THE TAKING OF PELHAM' slides in from the left and '1 2 3' slides in from the right, both as fast as a train. In the background of the title presentation, there is a subway train going past very fast. The use of sliding in all the title sequence shows the significance of a train in the film, it is fast and unexpected, the scenes and cuts were edited in a fast paced way and it all gave a 'train' feel to it.  

Director Research- Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13 August 1899. He was born in Essex and had a very lonely childhood. One memorable event of his childhood was that he was sent to prison at the age of    by his father. Going to prison has said to have undoubtedly contributed to Alfred’s fear of police. This is most likely one of the reasons that within many of his films, characters where wrongly accused of crimes and imprisoned. His first piece was "Gas" (1919), published in the first issue, in which a young woman imagines that she is being assaulted one night in Paris – only for the twist to reveal that it was all just a hallucination in the dentist's chair, induced by the anaesthetic. Alfred Hitchcock is an English movie director. He is most commonly known his thriller films such as Psycho and North by North-West. Alfred Hitchcock is regarded as the “Master of Suspense.” This is due to all of his films containing very gripping and suspenseful scenes that perfectly fit the thriller genre. Alfred Hitchcock was the pioneer of many of the codes and conventions that define thriller films. Alfred Hitchcock is also known for having various red herrings and plot twists within the movies that he directs. Alfred Hitchcock had directed over 50 feature length films in just over 60 years. Alfred Hitchcock is also well known due to his cameo appearances in his own movies and TV shows.    Alfred Hitchcock has been called “the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else.” He has also been described as being “the most influential filmmaker of all time.”

Taken- Title Sequence

Taken

Shows production company logo, 20th century fox. All the writing here onwards is written in block capitals. On a black background written on two lines 'TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX PRESENTS', it floats in, each line from a different side. The first scene of video tape starts.
'A EUROCORP M6 FILMS GRIVE PRODUCTIONS CO-PRODUCTION'. Then 'WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF CANAL+, TPS STAR & M6'. Both lines fade away.
As the camera first shows the main character, the actors name floats in from the side 'LIAM NEESON' it then introduces the director 'A FILM BY PIERRE MOREL' 
The writer's credits 'WRITTEN BY LUC BESSON & ROBERT MARK KAMEN'. The film title is shown in large, clear block capitals 'TAKEN'.

Director Research- Coen Brothers

Director Research

Coen Brothers

The Coen Brothers are Joel, age 60, and the other is called Ethan, age 57. They are both American film directors, screenwriters, producers, and editors. From 1984 to 2013 they have produced a total of 18 films and they are still making films.

Their films include:

 

• Blood Simple (1984)
• Barton Fink(1991)
• Fargo (1996)
• The Big Lebowski (1998)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
• No Country for Old Men (2007)
• Burn After Reading (2008)
• A Serious Man (2009)
• True Grit (2010)
• Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Together they have been nominated for 12 Academy Awards and then they have both been nominated for 1 individually.

They won the awards for Best Original Screenplay for ‘Fargo’ and for ‘No Country for Old Men’ they won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Psycho - Title Sequence Analysis and Breakdown

Psycho - Title Sequence Analysis and Breakdown

First appears the production company, Universal. This then fades into a grey screen. Directly after, black, horizontal lines begin to travel across the screen. These lines can be interpreted as blood running across the floor. Another possible connotation is that the black lines, in contrast with the grey background, represents the split personalities of the “Psycho.”  These lines then carry along fragments of letters which then form “ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S.” this happens again and spells the title of the film, “PSYCHO.” The word “PSYCHO” remains on the screen for around two seconds then the structure of the letters break up. This is perhaps done to represent the psychos’ unstable mentality and disjointed social appearance. These horizontal lines then rush off of the screen while vertical lines rush across. After the lines slide off, the words “STARRING ANTHONY PERKINS” appear. This happens again but instead shows “VERA MILES.” This happens again but instead shows “JOHN GAVIN.” The lines then switch back to traveling horizontally. Within one of the horizontal lines, the words “CO STARRING” can be scene. The lines then slide off of the screen and show “CO STARRING MARTIN BALSAM & JOHN McINTIRE.” This happens again to show 3 other actors names. The next time this happens, it displays the words “AND JANET LEIGH AS MARION CRANE.” Compared to the other actors name “JANET LEIGH” is written much larger on the screen.  This is done to show that Janet Leigh is one of the more important and famous actors in the film. This sequences of the lines and text then happen again frequently, showing the names and roles of the other people involved in developing the film such as: “ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.” Once the sequence of the lines and text stop; the screen fades into a horizontal pan shot of Phoenix Arizona. This shot gradually zooms in until it reaches an apartment window. This could have been done to show how what it about to happen in that apartment will affect the entire city. It is important to note that throughout the title sequence there is generic fast paced music. This is done generate a suspenseful atmosphere and make the audience feel uneasy.

Youtube Research

YouTube

YouTube is a video sharing service that gives the user the ability to post, share and view various videos. YouTube is also used to show many amateur movies, this is why we will be posting our video on YouTube. Also, another key reason for us wanting to post our video on YouTube is so that we can receive valuable feedback from other people that watch our film. YouTube is a great service to use because it gives the video the potential to go “viral.” This means that the video gains a lot of attention in social media. This is effective and appropriate to what we are looking for. This is because it allows the user to instantly post a video free of charge. Another great feature of YouTube is that a lot of people use it compared to other video sharing sites.

   

Director Study- Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, producer, and actor. He is characterised by non-linear storylines, a satirical subject matter, and an aestheticization of violence, features of neo-noir films.

Tarantino grew up an obsessed film fan and worked in a video rental store while training to act. His career began in the late 1980's when he wrote and directed 'My Best Friend's Birthday', the screenplay of which formed the basis for 'True Romance'.

In January of 1992, first-time writer-director Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend immediately.
The film was regarded as a classic cult hit, it was called the 'Greatest Film of All Time' by Empire. Two years later, he followed up Dogs success with Pulp Fiction (1994) which premiered at the Cannes film festival, winning the coveted Palme D'Or Award. At the 1995 Academy Awards, it was nominated for the best picture, best director and best original screenplay. 

Films Quentin directed/helped with:

• Reservoir Dogs
• Pulp Fiction
• Jackie Brown
• Kill Bill
• Death Proof 
• Inglourious Basterds
• Django Unchained
• Sin City

Research on Film Festivals

Film festivals

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events.

The most well-known film festivals are the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the latter being the largest film festival worldwide, based on attendance. Venice's festival is the oldest major festival, and the longest continually running one. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the oldest in the world.

Cannes International Film Festival an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is one of the most prestigious and publicised film festivals in the world.

The films selected and the professionals whose work is recognised at the festival come from around the world, and there is international coverage of the event in the media. Only those who are invited can attend, it is not open to public.

Successful films which broke through using film festivals:

1. The Blair Witch Project (Debuted in 1999) - $140.5M
2. Little Miss Sunshine (Debuted in 2006) - $59.9M
3. Saw (Debuted in 2004) - $55.2M
4. New Jack City (Debuted in 1991) - $47.6M
5. 28 Days Later (Debuted in 2003) - $45.1M
6. Napoleon Dynamite (Debuted in 2004) - $44.5M
7. In the Bedroom (Debuted in 2001) - $35.9M

Directors who made it big through film festivals:

Quentin Tarantino
Christopher Nolan
Colin Trevorrow 
Marc Webb
Steven Soderbergh
Jonathan Levine
Kevin Smith
Mark and Jay Duplass
Shane Carruth
James Ponsoldt
Derek Cianfrance 

Prisoners - Opening Sequence Analysis and Breakdown

Prisoners

Café with the ambient sound of the rain amplified. this is done to emphasise the bad weather and re-inforce the reason why the character is sheltering in the café.

On the police radio "all units, all units, an RV was reported matching the description." makes the audience feel alert and helps build the tension. Also this dialogue makes the character look vulnerable.  


In the beginning you cant see the police man's face. This is a key convention because it generates a mysterious atmosphere and keeps the audience alert and engaged from the very beginning. 


When the police man goes outside we can clearly see it is very dark. The only thing the audience focuses on is the RV. This is important to know because it conveys to the audience that the RV is of specific importance to the film. 


Surrounding the RV there are several police vehicles. This again highlights the importance of the RV but also suggests that there is something inside it that the police want or is potentially dangerous. Having a sense of danger builds suspense as the police approach it.


From when the RV is spotted the pace of the editing is very slow. However, when they approach the vehicle the editing gets faster. When the vehicle reverses,the editing gets even faster.


When the mysterious man is confronted the police man shouts "where are those girls!" this gives us uncertainty about this mysterious man and what his purpose was of being there.

Planning & Evaluation

Before we started to create our thriller film we did some research on the conventions that a most commonly used within thriller films. We did this research to further our understanding on thriller films in general. Also, we did this research to generate ideas for our own thriller film. We watched films such as, 'The Taking Of Pelham 123', 'Psycho', 'North by North-West'. After watching these movies we all realised that the most common convention, suspense. The suspense was used to create an atmosphere that makes the audience feel vulnerable, which in-turn makes the audience extremely alert and immerses them further into the film. The suspense also creates the constant threat of danger and impending violence. from this, we knew that we should implement suspense in our film. Because we wanted to have suspense in our film, I did further research on how to implement it effectively.

After doing some research, I found that suspense is generated by clever camerawork., editing, soundtrack and even some parts of the mise-en-scene. From the movies that we watched we found that within many thriller films the lighting would also be very dark throughout certain parts of the movie. 

The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 - Codes and conventions in first scene

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3


Director: Joseph Sargent 

Date: 1974

• Dramatic music- makes the audience uneasy.
• Suspicious people
• Threat of violence

Mystery- who rides in a yellow cab to catch a train? 

Odd looking suitcases

Vunerable victims- children being highlighted as vunerable through repitition, and people going about their everyday business.

Male protagonists (x4)

Things hidden- The use of the disguise and obvious fake moustache, used to hide their identity.

Lack of music

The Forgotten - Prop List

Prop List

1. Fake blood
2. Handcuffs
3. Rope
4. Distinctive jacket
5. Chair
6. Bloodied shirt
7. Mask
8. Hoodie
9. Dark Clothes