Analysis and conclusion of genre and classification statistical data from 2014: When comparing the data of genre the focus will be on the genres I have studied, this means that the two genres I am going to compare are Horror and Thriller. In terms of which genre was more popular in the context of amount of films made it would be Thriller as 64 were made compared to Horrors 37. Straight away we assume this is because Thriller is a more popular genre but we have to consider the costs of the film, more may be made due to the genre being more cost effective and in actual fact Horror may be the more popular of the two. However it may literally be the fact that Thriller is in more demand, this may be due to the time as in different time periods different genres tend to do better than others, a good example being Westerns as in the 1970's they were extremely popular but now there were 3 made in the past year, one of the lowest goals for a genre. However the fact is the film makers will probably feel Thriller is easier to sell than Horror, maybe because with most Horrors the age to watch is 18 but with many Thrillers they can have an age rating of 15 so it opens up the market and to those film makers would be conceived as a lower risk. Again due to Thriller having a higher number of films released it also unsurprisingly has a higher percentage of all releases (9.2%) when compared to Horror (5.3%) which again shows that as a whole, in cinemas at least, Thrillers are more popular and over time generally have been because it has more context to reality than Horror because when you think about some of the characters in a Thriller we may often think about a serial killer and there has always been a story or an investigation into a serial killer in real life so to people this real world effect makes it more popular than something like Horror, which like Thrillers is fiction but unlike a Thriller we know that the concept of a lot of Horrors are impossible. However the trend of Thriller being more popular than Horror which has been present so far changes, as in terms of grossing on box office the Thriller genre is low when you consider how many films in that genre were made and it is even more surprising that Horror actually exceeds Thriller in gross box office%. This may be down to the fact that Horrors generally aren't hyped as blockbuster films like Thrillers so they don't do so well in cinema releases, however they are great for seasonal entertainment, such as halloween and other factors such as age restriction may mean that younger people have to wait and to download it to watch with parental guidance. As expected based on the fact Horror is higher grossing on the box office it will have a higher percentage of the total box office which shows that the foothold in the industry is more secure than Thriller, or is it? The fact still remains that although a Thriller will have less of the box office the fact that it does not cost a great deal of money to make a Thriller it is likely that most Thrillers will make a safe profit so are a low risk film which is why more are made even though there are lower grossing percentages from the genre in comparison to Horror. On top of this Horrors were screened in more cinemas when compared with Thrillers so they are seen as more widespread films but at the same time Thrillers had more releases so it shows that even though they are not shown in as many cinemas, the fact remains that Thriller is shown on mass in comparison to sparse showings.

Jaws-Horror opening: The iconic film jaws followed many conventions of the horror genre in the opening scene/sequence but in some ways it also broke the mould for its genre. On top of this it has been debated whether or not it is a horror movie and in some ways it can be classed as a thriller but the fact remains that any film that can give a whole generation a fear of swimming in the sea should be recognised as a horror. Firstly in the opening of Jaws an extreme long shot is used to show that there is one main character being used, a girl called Carrie, and it shows that she is stripping down to go skinny dipping. The long shot continues to follow her into the water as the same long shot also shows her boyfriend safely passed out on the beach. This shows one convention of horror in the form of gender bias as in stereotypically in horror films the women are the victims and are depicted as weak. The whole scene set up perfectly for the girl to be taken under by a shark and this eventually happened. So this camera shot does help to support gender bias in film, especially the horror genre. The second camera angle/shot used in the scene is a low angle shot that changes to a mid-shot. This is used as the shark swims under the body and this breaks the mould of the horror theme in some ways but fits it in others, firstly it fits it because we are looking from the perspective of the antagonist (in this case the shark). This fits because when you think about horrors and the first death in them it is often the killer looking at the victim, a classic example of this is Norman Bates in the film Psycho when the shower curtain is open onto the victims. So in this way it can be argued that jaws does fit the horror convention for antagonist, however the fact is it doesn’t, it breaks the mould by using a creature/animal as often it will be a white male, possibly British but in this case it is neither human or fictional character but in fact a real life animal and that does really break the mould itself and has led to others having the idea of using other large animals in horrors, examples being Lake Placid and Piranha, so in this sense Jaws was a gateway to using alternative antagonists. So this camera angle shows the antagonists view and the victim, again showing it is a woman. Then it moves to the mid-shot where you see the girl fighting to stay alive as she holds on to a buoy for dear life, this does not fit the gender bias stereotype as it is showing that the woman has strength and at the time it is often the opposite as women are normally overcome easily and the men dominate in the film. So this shows in many ways Jaws mixes its following of stereotypes and bias to the horror genre by different interpretations of the characters roles. In terms of sound it uses diegetic sound in the form of waves crashing as a peaceful sound which works well as it helps the shock that something/somewhere so peaceful can cause so much harm. As mentioned in the introduction this film put fear into people going swimming so by hearing the waves and seeing the death there was obviously a strong association with water to the deaths. This therefore helps with the mystery as it will make the audience feel that beyond the waves we don’t know what there is. The other sound used is non diegetic which is the famous orchestra piece associated with the sharks attacks, this can be argued as something else generic in horrors as in most horrors there is a piece of music that will start playing in the event of a death or in a position of threat and the Jaws theme tune has become one of the most iconic one’s ever used and it helps to time the death scene as we can pinpoint the climax and accept when the character is going to die. In the editing we can only see the lighting effects used to show the girls legs under the water as she is about to be attacked. This is used to highlight the innocence of the girl as it shows her legs crossed which is mostly associated with young women and school students so it makes her look like a more dramatic victim. In terms of mise-en-scene there are two people in summer clothing, this shows us that they are enjoying the holiday season but also that the weather is hot, this explains why they are going for a swim in the night. However the people are more important to the genre conventions than the clothes are as it shows ethnicity bias as even in the small roles only white actors are being cast and there are no black actors in the scene or indeed the whole film. This also fits with the gender bias as well as the girl is seen to be leading the boy to the water, much as a feme fatale would in causing death of herself and possibly others so this again helps to show a convention of the horror genre. In another form of mise-en-scene the lighting helps to show that here is a couple/relationship in the scene as the fading fire in the background helps to show the two briefly holding hands, this suggests that there is a relationship between the two of them. In turn this fits the heterosexual bias as it uses a stereotypical heterosexual couple appose to a homosexual/lesbian couple in the scene, this again is another convention often focused on in horror. As well as this the dim lighting I also used in horror, a great example being in the film se7en where for the first part of the film each crime scene is very dark and in Jaws it is the same during the opening sequence, showing pathetic fallacy to forebode the death of the woman.

Se7en analysis: In the film se7en the two main characters are detectives, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, they are both shown in the pre-title. Then the title sequence involves the villain (serial killer) who is the main focus in this segment. In the title sequence there is an extreme close up of the villain peeling off skin with a razor. This can be evaluated in different ways, firstly the villain could be seen as psychopathic based on the fact they have the urge to bring themselves harm and have a high pain threshold as it is abnormal for someone to do this making it look psychopathic. The extreme close up is used to emphasise the point and show that it is the villain’s abnormality. Another way in which it can be seen is suggesting the characters background as for someone to do this they would need to have suffered emotionally before and the extreme close up may actually be hiding tears, so this would change the whole perspective as in that case this would be seen as a tragic form of self-harm. Alternatively to those two previous points it could be argued that the character is in fact a very intelligent individual, with or without psychopathic tendencies, this is because the extreme close up clearly shows the villain is shaving the top of their finger and also shows that it is specifically the part in which a person’s finger print would be. So this makes the audience realise that this is the smartest technique a criminal could use to evade capture. This therefore helps to show the villain in a completely different light as now we can compare them to the character played by Morgan Freeman as in his bedroom there is a camera pan which looks at a very neat and regimented routine in terms of how the bed is made and the order of accessories on the bed side table. This in essence then mirrors the intelligence of the two characters and almost forebodes an intellectual war between the heroine and the villain.

Another camera angle used in the title sequence is a low angle shot of the villain writing on a note pad. This gives the feeling that the character is feared as they are being looked at from below, as if someone is almost scared to make eye contact. From another point of view we may see the shot as indicating the characters class by showing them in a high position as they clearly have the power to look down on someone. In terms of different representation this shot also shows the fingers and the nails in very good detail, this may help to recognise the gender as stereotypically people will naturally assume a serial killer is male and there is some cause to assume this as in the clip it shows the nails as being filled with dirt and rough around the edge, showing they are not well groomed, something which is more commonly found in men so it tends to suggest the character is male.

Based on the two camera angles it may also help to determine the characters day to day life as in the case with the extreme close up where it focused on a finger print being shaved away it suggests a distinct strong knowledge around the subject so we may think they are a forensic scientist. However in the other shot we see the hands are big and also rough in treatment so in contrast it suggests a more labour fuelled job such as a construction worker. The angles are used to a good effect in this way as it keeps the audience wondering about the characters identity and floors. For editing there is a flash in the sequence which is made obvious by the darkened room. This edit can suggest multiple things, firstly it could suggest that the villain is suffering with a mental illness, in this case a good fit for the effect of flashing lights is schizophrenia. This fits well also with the suggestion of the character being psychopathic as mentioned in the first paragraph, this fits well together because psychologically he mind is affected by schizophrenia and this particular illness can cause violent actions in a person, making it fit with the reason of serial killings. However it could also be showing some form of flashback as in other shots there are photos of a young child of 5 or 6 years old which may actually be the villain at a young age and the flashes show them pausing to reflect on the childhood at different times, the fact this flashing occurs more than once in the opening scene tends to suggest that the past may be a reason for their actions now.

The other more commonly used edit is cutting, this is used very effectively in the title sequence as it changes view often using a cut which suggests that the character is moving swiftly to keep something private/trying to hide something, also the erratic movements may reflect the characters actions, this therefore could be a form of foreboding as it suggests subtly that this could be one of the villains downfalls as well as one of their key characteristics. Sound is also used effectively in both the pre-title and the title sequence as in the pre-title sequence it ends with Morgan Freemans character going to bed as there is the sound of thunder (associated with a storm) and this leads the audience to believe that what they have just seen is the calm before the storm and that the movie will now take a more sinister turn. The sound used for this is diegetic as the character is meant to be hearing it, although the reaction does remain unfazed so it does show Morgan Freemans character does not feel easily threatened, in turn this could reflect his policing style. Another use of sound is in the title sequence where the non-diegetic background music has a high pitch noise that echoes through and is the abnormal segment within the piece so it catches the audience’s attention, the high pitch almost sounds like a scream from a woman, this may suggest that the serial killer is reliving a murder and is thinking in specific detail about a person they have killed or in another case it could be foreboding for the next victim and that the killers main pleasure is hearing life being sucked out of their victims or in another case it could be trying to voice public reaction against the character as the noise helps to reinforce fear into the audience. The final technique used is mise-en-scene, in the pre-title sequence this is shown in the clothing worn by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as in Freemans case, being the older of the two his character wears a smart suit with a waist coat and a hat as well as a suitable overcoat to match the suit. He also maintains a simple, neat haircut, in contrast Pitt’s character has a shirt with a scruffy tie and jeans as well as a leather jacket, whilst his haircut is also opposite to Freemans as it is messy and untrimmed. This all points to the idea that the new temporary partnership is so opposite that it could either be a case of opposites attract well and it works or it could be a case of the two suffer the pain of not finding the serial killer.

The other use of mise-en-scene is the use of a book shelf by the serial killer as it is filled with books, this can either show that the killer is very intellectual, which links to the first paragraph where there was the suggestion that the killer shows a lot of intelligence based on their actions and the fact they read backs the point up. Or the fact that in a different scene the character is writing up notes into a book suggests that all of the books are their work, in turn suggesting that the killer has been plotting for years.

Film noir: Film noir means black film and often can be called a dark and light film, otherwise known as Chiaroscuro. So often these films were in complete black and white or only had a small number of characters in colour, these were usually very important characters. This genre usually used a downbeat detective and a villain that was high in power, in terms of society and there is usually a feme fatale. This means that the female in the film is almost like a spider as she sets the trap for an unsuspecting detective/male and is often the murderer that they are looking for but in the end she proves to be a fatal character. However when we talk about fatal characters it generally won’t be a case of the villain wins as in cinema for many years it was prohibited to how a villain overcoming good in the fear it would affect people in society. Another part of film noir is there is often a voice over or monologue from the main character to start with as they often explain what has happened or is happening. This also carries on throughout the film as the story is actually them telling the story of what has happened up until the film catches up to the present, at this point we usually see the twist, in most cases this would be the feme fatale. Film noirs also use many clichés as in the films, for example it generally depicts women as weak and need protecting while also branding their sex appeal as in these films they are objectified. They are also seem to have a British accent in some of the films in order to define class as they want to be seen as higher middle class. This cliché also helps with the objectifying of the women as this is almost a fetish for some men in that time. Genre developed at the time which allowed film noir to take off and it developed because of the industries fierce competition as at the beginning of the film industry there were five big companies, warner Brothers, Columbia, MGM, Universal and Paramount. Due to this competition genre was developed quickly as they had to quickly establish what people wanted to see and film noir became very popular so was established quickly. These companies were all based in Hollywood as during the first and second world war a large number of Europeans migrated to America and the film industry in Europe was already quite big so it meant that the industry in America would almost boom in terms of size and this meant that the film makers from Europe could then make high quality films, one genre already developed there that had some success was by a German who had fled from the war. He was a photographer and had made many photos in that style and it proved to revolutionise film and for that time period it was mainly European people who made the films at the time. Other characteristics of a film noir may be the lighting as it only uses one key light as the whole concept of a film noir is to live in the shadows and to focus on the darkness so it makes sense that they work with minimal lighting. Another common characteristic of the film noirs is the sound, firstly there is ambient sound that is often used in the form of the cities sounds such as the horns of cars or the sound of bars and people walking the streets. The other form of sound used is non-diegetic sound as the commonly used jazz music is added to the films due to the popularity of jazz at the time and its common use in the inner cities similar to the cities used in this genre.

4.    ADD BLUE VELVET SCREEN GRABS IN PLACE

5.    ADD BLUE VELVET VIDEO EMBEDDING IN PLACE

ADD AT LEAST 4 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OPENINGS OF FILMS

Blue velvet: In blue velvet the establishing shot shows a white picket fence, red flowers and a blue sky. This represents two things, the urban peace and tranquillity in 1950’s America and the American flag which sets the location. It is trying to show the ideal American life that we think about in the 50’s such as children having the safety to play in the street, quiet roads, friendly neighbours, and happy families, however there seems to be an oxymoron as latter in the film many of these ideologies are turned on their head. On top of this the colour red is mentioned and it is reoccurring in the rest of the opening, this could symbolise the spillage of blood through violence and possibly gang related incidents. In the next scene there is an extreme long shot of the man watering his flowers , yet he had but a box around a segment of space which is for grass to grow, this is also the position that he falls in so it makes it look as if he has an outline around his body, similar to the chalk line that is commonly drawn around a dead body so it may be foreboding for the future events, suggesting the man is either dead or dying and that possibly death is a reoccurring scene in the film. It also shows that death and danger can come from some strange places which is why it fits with the theme of the film so well because the film is set in a nice family environment but the film is about the crime and the fact what seems can equally be dangerous, much like the presumed heart attack the man has just suffered in this extreme long shot. In another scene there is also an insight to future events, in this case it is a gun on a screen in an over the shoulder shot. This suggests that crime may play a part in the rest of the film as it is clearly being idolised by the3 fact it is shown on television so may have an influence on others. The fact it is an over the shoulder shot can also suggest that it is symbolism that the people in the town must sometimes look over their shoulder when living there as it may not be the safest of environments. There is also a worm shot in the final scene which shows that even in a perfect world there is always a dark underworld as it shows under the grass there is a large amount of beetles, this to the man and his perspective would be a blemish on his lawn (similar to the way crime is a blemish on society) so it shows that the use of this worm eyes view shot at a low angle is acting as a metaphor for crime.

Preliminary task evaluation

The 180 degree rule:

This means that when filming you cannot change the angle of the camera by more than 180 degrees as the audience will see the action from one perspective but then if it changes the characters will be in a different place with no explanation. To break the 180 degree rule you must show the camera clearly moving out of the 180 degrees into a different 180 degrees or begin a new scene.

Shot reverse shot:

This is where the shot is at one person then moves to another person, normally in their view then it goes back to the first person.

Match on action shot:

This is where the perspective of the camera changes but the scene continues to flow.

Eye line match:

This is where the eye line of one character must line up with another one, so if one character must look to the left the person next to them who is looking at them must look to the right.

 

The eye line shot was maintained in the final scene where two characters look directly at each other. While the match on action shot was maintained while the character walked up the stairs and then the camera moves to around the corner where the character appears from.

The shot reverse shot is also in the final scene where two characters hand over a document where one looks at the other it reverses to the other to ask a question and then turns back for the answer. On top of this the 180 degree rule is used when the villain and heroine walk past each other as it maintains the view from one side of the 180 degree line.

The filming process went well as we kept to the scenes from the storyboard and the timing was good in itself. The fact we were filming around the college was good as well as we knew where there were good spots for specific scenes and it allowed us to be imaginative. Then the only problem was that the break caused noise and disruption so we had to stop for ten minutes whilst this happened.

I have learnt how to add the title scenes and how to move the music from the website to the editing software. I have also learnt how to add fades and different textures to the music as well as transitions to the film.

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