Local Cinemas and Theatres

Cinemas

Cinemas now a days tend to be a Mutiplexes which means that they have a multiple amount of screen. This is so they can show more than one film at a time which will make more money. The most local cinemas in the Medway area are the 'Odeon' Chatham cinema and the 'Cineworld' Rochester. These cinemas don't often show ameture films because they show the bigger films from the big production companies such as, Universal, Warner Brothers, etc.

Theatres

The theatre that is the closes to us is 'The Central Theatre' in Chatham. It shows a variety of things such as, childrens shows, films, top names in music and comedy and it has some of the 'best tribute shows'. During the summer it also shows recent releases of major blockbusters and family films. It also shows old classics like 'Top Hat', 'Casablanca' and 'Singin' in the Rain'. This theatre is also unlikely to show an amatuer film.

Location Report

Location Report


In the start of the film we start in Jessica's basement. This is the location for the scene when Lora (main character) is tied up on the floor. We chose this location because the basement is dark, damp and has a "trap door." We felt like this was the perfect place for the scene as we want Lora to be in a dark, and scary looking environment.




The next scene, the flashback, will take place at Anam's house. This would be a suitable place to play the house because there is a side door which has netting over it, this would be good to use as we do not want the parents' appearances to be shown. It will create a slight silhouette effect even if you can see them.




Next we will see Lora walking out of the house and down a road. Flashback commences back to the basement. She sees her jacket across the room, reminding her of the kidnapper. she then walks into an alley way and then gets kidnapped.  

Aliens- Mise-en-scene (Lighting)

Lighting

From the beginning of the chapter i chose (52 minutes in), the lighting in the ship is dim, and there is steam/fog coming from some of the ships ventilators. The crew enter in a tank with two bright headlights, they park up turning the headlights off and shine a massive torch ahead, brightening up their path. The ship's lighting is more or less the same through out most of the sequence but different sources of light are shown, for example when the crew are making their way in to investigate, they carry attached torches on their shoulders. There are the odd few lights on the ships ceilings but this does not brighten up the surroundings.
There is more light where Ripley and the operating crew are, perhaps showing that there is less chance of them being in danger, we can see this because darkness is associated with monsters and fear. The crew walk into a tunnel-like area and the lighting isn't very dark, the militants can see but need their torches to see properly. By having a constant dim light throughout makes the audience feel the intensity of what is happening on screen. A bright torch is shone on a human corpse's body to emphasise her grey skin colour.
The camera point of view is used a lot, it shows what the operating team are able to see. The lighting on it is purposely dark and the quality and connection to the crew's camera is bad, this is so the operating crew find it harder to tell what is going on when an incident occurs. After the alien baby is shown and the flamethrower is used, the lighting on the screen and in the surroundings are red and orange, apart from the torches it seems like the new light source. From then onwards the adult aliens start to wake up, when showing this it is very dark so the audience struggles to make out the features. We are able to make out a head and perhaps a tail. It is difficult to see as the walls look just like the aliens' body, it is almost as though alien corpses are used as the interior design.
At this point the crew are wary of their surroundings as it shows movement on their monitors, the audience would be wary because everything on the walls looks like the parts of the alien we saw. This could mean some may even be hiding on the walls, camoflaged. That is exactly what happens and the alien attacks, and once again, the fire is the light source.

Aliens- Mise-en-scene (Props)

Props

Torch- The only light source the characters have.
Guns- Armed to protect themselves, weapons are the only thing the crew have to kill the aliens. Without them they would not survive.
Mic and earpiece- Their way of communication to the operating team and to each other.
Helmets- For protection and uniform
Equipment holding vests- Holding ammunition and any other weapons.
Bandana- Represents tough attitude.
Gorman Army hat- Seen as an army general.
Doll- The comforting mechanism for Newt and her only companion until she was founded.
Camera- Shows point of view shots from each character
Ammo/Magazines- Ammo to reload their weapons
Sarge's American flag on uniform- Representing their home country
Movement monitor- Used to sense any movement around them.
Alien egg- Where the facehugger comes from
Infared eye piece- To see anything of infared energy.
Baby alien- By showing the alien break through the chest of a person, it shows the cycle of how they reproduce. They begin their lives as an egg, which hatches a parasitic larval form known as a facehugger, which then attaches itself to a living host by latching onto its face. The facehugger then "impregnates" the host with an embryo known as a chestburster, which, after a gestation period of several hours, erupts violently from the host's chest resulting in the death of the host. The chestburster then matures to an adult phase within a few hours, shedding its skin and replacing its cells with polarized silicon.
Facehugger skeleton- By finding the skeleton, it gives the characters an insight on what they are dealing with and what they need to avoid.

Cast List

Cast List


Lora: Anam Raza
Kidnappers: Jake Whiting and James Prince
Mysterious Silhouette- Connor Biesterfeldt-Woods
Make-up artist- Elle Seymour
Camera person- Jessica Pond, Connor Biesterfeldt-Woods and Anam Raza
Parents- Kimberley Brown and Connor Biesterfeldt-Woods
Director- Connor Biesterfeldt-Woods
Co-director- Anam Raza
Editors- Jessica Pond, Connor Biesterfeldt-Woods and Anam Raza

Location Pictures- Anam's house- Beginning scene

The stairs that will be used for the opening scene

These are the stairs Lora will be seen coming down from in a rush because of the arguing which will be heard by her parents in the background.

These are the curtains and door she will pass through to leave the house. The computer station would be cleared for this scene

From the stairs, we can see the steps she would take to travel down the stairs to get to the door. Nothing will be in the way for this scene e.g. plant, dustbin, mess on floor

This is the door from the outside, we could either see Lora walking out and pan the camera to follow her as she walks past or have the camera positioned on the inside and watch her leave down the driveway

This is the driveway, when filming, the cars would not be there. Lora would angrily walk up the driveway towards the white fence and onto the road

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three- Mise-en-scene (Lighting, Costume and Props)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three- Mise-en-scene

The beginning of the film, the build-up to the train heist is what i will be looking at. It begins showing a man heading down the stairs of a subway, in the setting the lighting is dull. This gives off the 'everyday' subway feel to it, there are tired looking people in office wear waiting for their train. This makes the setting look normal and does not come across as unusual.
The characters' costumes were all alike to each other, this was to establish the antagonist group members. They seem to have set a dress code consisting of casual work clothes; a shirt and tie, this was to fit in with the commuters travelling to work, a long jacket which conceals most of their body and a hat, moustache and glasses which keep their faces well covered, a common classic get up for those who wish to appear inconspicuous. The colours worn were khaki, grey and beige-brown, light colours. The rest of the passengers were wearing khaki and beige coloured clothing, this helps them to fit in. They hardly show any skin making them seem more formidable. This shows their intent as well as the planning that went into the upcoming train heist. Their clothing also very clearly dates the film as this would have been more appropriate attire for older men at the time. Its possible they could be younger than they're letting on so they could be playing up their age to seem less threatening therefore less suspicious. All of the men wore gloves, this would protect them from fingerprints if something were to go wrong and authorities were called.
The props used for the costume were a fake moustache, glasses, a hat and a briefcase. The moustache could have been perceived as real until we saw the first man sneeze and affix it, from this point we know it is not real and the audience would wonder why he is wearing it, is it for a good reason or bad? This begins suspicions for the man. Glasses are seen as a stereotype for a intellectual person instead of a violent person, this ties in with the whole look of being unobtrusive as you wouldn't expect someone dressed in office clothes to hijack a train. By wearing a hat and carrying a briefcase, it makes them look well dressed and professional, thereby giving the impression that they are just like everybody else. The train operators wear a light blue/off white shirt along with a navy tie, blazer and hat. The protagonist and antogonists both wear uniforms of a sort, for example they both wear a shirt and tie, this is standard working attire. A difference between them is the coat, the train operators wear a thick blazer instead of a coat, which is more of a professional thing to wear on top of clothes. By wearing a blazer it shows formal-wear and from this we can see that they would be the good guys in the situation, as they are both fighting for control. Another difference is the hats. The antagonists wear trilby/fedora/flat caps which seemed to be popular for the time whereas the train operators wore grease top hats with a logo which shows them to be in a more proper uniform and is highly recognisable for someone in control of the train.

Dexter- Title/Opening Sequence Breakdown and Analysis

Title Sequence


Dexter





Dexter isn't a thriller film but it is a thriller TV show and I will be looking at the title sequence.
It starts with the Production company which is Showtime. It shows an insect on Dexter's arm, he then slaps it dead leaving a patch of blood on his arm. He then smiles. This denotes he enjoys killing things. 
Then the title comes up and it starts off written in a light red, a drop of blood lands next to the 'R' in Dexter. After this, a red liquid rushes through the 'DEXTER' written on the screen. This is done to symbolise blood and how Dexter is responsible for why it being there. On the 'X' the colour is smudged slightly as though water is cleansing it away.



The film then starts with the credits going over it but they are all written in red and are placed in places where you can see them but they aren't distracting from the sequence. While the first name appears it uses camera shots that are extreme close ups or normal close-ups of Dexter doing his morning routine. When the shots change to a different part of his routine, a different name of a cast member appears.


 The next scene is an extreme close-up of Dexter's beard. He wipes oil on it and proceeds to shaves. The next shot is of Dexter shaving. It is a close up of Dexter's beard and shaver running up his neck. The next shot is a extreme close-up of Dexter's neck and a magnified drop of blood running down. The next shot is of the drop of blood falling onto a sink. The blood is magnified to emphasise the theme of gore and danger within the TV Show. The next shot is of another drop of blood sliding down Dexter's neck with Dexter's hand slowly pushing a small piece of paper towards the blood. The next shot is connected with match on action and is an extreme close-up of a piece of tissue absorbing the drop of blood. This is again done to show how violence and gore is a key theme of the show while reinforcing the idea that Dexter is comfortable and knows how to deal with blood.


The next shot is a extreme close-up of a knife slicing through a piece of meat. This kind of shot happens three more times. The knife piercing the meat is emphasised, showing the audience that the meat symbolises someone's flesh. The next important shot is an extreme close up of an piece of toast going into Dexter's mouth. Dexter then bites off a piece of the toast and chews it. Having this shot as an extreme close-up makes the every day routine of eating a piece of toast look violent. The next shot is an extreme close up of an egg being cracked on a frying pan.


The next shot is a close up of the egg on the frying pan. The next shot is a close up of a knife slicing into the side of the egg. The next shot is a close up of the side of the egg with a drop of, what looks like ketchup falling onto the plate. The ketchup falling on to the plate is used to symbolise blood. This is done to show the audience that whatever Dexter does has blood/violence involved. The next shot is a close up of a knife running through the centre of the egg, ripping it apart. The next shot is a close up of a drop of sauce being flicked on the plate. Dexter then uses his spoon to wipe the egg over the sauce. This is done to make the egg look like a mopping, cleaning away blood. This is done to show how skilled dexter is at getting rid of the evidence of his crimes. The next shot is a close up of the knife being left on the plate with a final drop of ketchup landing on the knife.

Cape Fear - Title Sequence Analysis & Breakdown

Cape Fear - Title Sequence Breakdown & Analysis

1. The production company appears “Universal.”
2. The production company fades away with water wave effects – transition.
3. Mid close up shot of waves in the background while cast names appear/ fade onto the screen.
4. The text in a strange font. The font is similar to that of the Psycho title sequence. This font is perhaps used to convey the same thing as when it was used within Psycho. This is to show that the character may have a disjointed personality, a common trait of a Psycho.
5. Water fades away slightly to show a eagle/bird of prey flying. This is perhaps done to show that someone is going to be hunted.
6. The ripples of the water change shape.
7. The words “CAPE FEAR” fade onto the screen.
8.  Water becomes more transparent to show an extreme close up of a eye. The iris of the eye appears to be dilated. This could be done to show that someone is scared or shocked. The iris of the eye also looks around really quickly. This reassures me that this eye is in the title sequence to show that a character is terrified and has to stay alert.
9. The ripples of the water then change again.
10. More names appear
11. Water becomes more transparent.
12. Extreme close up of an open mouth.
13. The camera then zooms in on the mouth gradually so that only the teeth are visible. This is perhaps done to show that a character is screaming.
14. Mouth fades away, back to showing names.
15. Water becomes more transparent.
16. Close up of a sinister face.
17. Fades back to names appearing on the screen.
18. Pattern of ripples changes – becomes more complex
19. Pattern of ripples change again. However, this time they do not fill the whole screen.
20. Hazy red figure appears behind the ripples. Hard to see.
21. Ripples then change again
22. Names return to appearing on the screen.
23.  Half of a mysterious silhouette appears behind the water.    
24. Names return to appearing on the screen.
25. Water fades red with a drop of liquid falling in the background. As this water falls down the screen the rest of waves turn red. This is done to symbolise blood.
26. Waves remain red while names start appearing on the screen again.
27. Waves fade away but the red remains.
28. Close up on a pair of eyes fades onto the screen. These eyes combined with the red gives the impression that these eyes are the eyes of a killer.
29. Eyes remain on the screen, but the colour switches from red to white. This could be done to symbolise how the killer can change his personality to appear as being innocent and pure. –links in with the “disjointed” personality.
30. Eyes and colour then fade away into the eyes of a girl. The camera then zooms away so more of the character is visible.
31. Behind the girl, there appears to be falling water. This could be done to hint to the audience that she is going to get killed, and that it is her blood in the water.
32. This then fades away back into waves and the words “CAPE FEAR” reappear on the screen.  

Panic Room- Title Sequence

Title Sequence

 

Panic Room

 

The first thing that you see is the biggest production company which is Columbia Pictures which has its own background which creates its logo.  It then goes on to say all of the smaller production companies that got involved, all of these are over the skyscrapers

The background changes to New York skyscrapers with all of the main actors names appearing in order of how famous they were at the time of the film. The skyscrapers could have been used to show where the film is going to be set. Their names all look like they are big banners hanging over the windows of the skyscrapers. In between some skyscrapers the title of the film then appears in mid-air. All of the other smaller actors names then appear but there are a couple at one time.

The production teams names and jobs all appear such as editing team, producers, writers, etc. Then the directors name, David Finchers, appears over a long shot of the skyscrapers and a park. Then the film starts without anymore credits running over.