Action Adventure (Spiderwick chronicles)

Action Adventure (Spiderwick chronicles)

Sound:

At the beginning, there is non diegetic music playing in the background while the jars and creatures are reviled to the audience, this had a magical, big and grand sound to it; this makes the audience seem small and feel helpless towards what even might appear from the shadows. But when we see the man burst in to the room; along with the shortened durations of shots, the pace of the music gets faster dramatically. This gives the audience the feeling that he s in a rush and hasn’t got any time to waste, this is backed up by the quick cuts and the quick movements from the actor.

Another sound appeared when the man stamped down the book, this had the music building up to this shot. This made a massive loud roar which made the audience feel worried, this makes the audience curious and make them ask questions about the book and the roar.

Cinematography:
This used a lot of close ups throughout this scene. When showing the props, it was careful to hide the detail of the room because it will build suspense for the audience. These close ups of props make us feel that he is an eccentric man due to the amount of creatures he seems to have as it is unusual to have so many. A blue tint was put on, to tell the audience that this man is very lonely and he has no companions, with no one to rely on, maybe because of that creature we heard of when it roared might have captured or killed his wife/partner/friends.
A dolly shot was used when shooting a shoot of the man’s face after he had stamped down the book. This showed his shock to the roar and shockwave that occurred. An establishing shot was only used at the ending, which is very unusual because it is normally placed at the beginning of the opening sequence. They hidden the setting through extreme close ups, they made sure that we couldn’t see the man’s face until the end and the setting.

Editing:
There is a use of cross dissolve, this is to let the audience establish that a period of time has passed, we know this because text appears at the bottom of the screen telling us this (80 years later). The scene now looks isolated, more than ever due to the surrounding of trees. Fade in and outs were used quite a lot during the revealing of the jars with creatures in them. This could have been used to let the props be show slowly and gradually to the audience, so that they have enough time to second guess what it could be and why it is there.

Mise En Scene:
During the beginning of this opening sequence, we see loads of props of weird and different creatures. This makes the audience believe that the rest of the film will be concentrating on a scientist; this is due to all the extreme close ups/close ups of the jars filled with little creatures and gives us a feel that all these props would be found in an old fashioned laboratory. Then our minds change to the thought of magic; this occurred when we was shown the little green pixie in the magnifying glass. This idea about the magic is also backed up when the title of the film appears; there is pixie dust/magic dust when it fades in.
Low key lighting was used in this opening sequence to set the scene of mystical, untrustworthy and uncertainty with lots of shadows. The car which later comes into the scene, with the headlights on, brings a lot of light to this dim and dark setting, which seems enclosed with the trees. This could symbolise the hope for the man living here and something with a good sprit to get rid of the evil creatures lurking within these shadows.

Titles:
When the titles appear, it fades in slowly with magic dust floating away from it, as if it has just been created from it. This shows the audience that it will be about magical and mystical things/objects. Also one of the letters is shaped like a tree; this likes with the appearance of the titles when they seem to appear from within the brunches of the tree; it could link to a special feature about this tree as it could come to life or have a special power during the  rest of the film.

Romantic comedy (Bridget Jones Diary)

Romantic comedy (Bridget Jones Diary, 2001, UK, Sharon Maguire)

Sound:
This short scene used almost no diegetic sound, apart from the non diegetic music which turned into diegetic due to her dancing and mining to it (playing air drums), this was done to show the audience her loneliness. This shows the audience how positive she still is even when she is on her own at Christmas. Another affect used in this scene is a non diegetic voice over, this is used to give the audience greater detail on Bridget’s life, she tells us how she is feeling through her voice and the ways she wants to change her life.

One more affect that was clearly noticeable was breaking the fourth wall (Direct Address) this is when the actor looks directly towards the camera and speaks to the audience. The affect of using this so that the audience emphasises that character as someone we should be siding or trusting. Due to this, it makes Bridget’s story connect more with the audience and making them feel more emotion for her.


Cinematography:
Tracking was used at the begging of this clip to follow Bridget walk pass other characters without having much said. The use of tracking showed us exactly where she was, on her own, and who she was talking to. From this shot we were shown that she was interacting with, no one, due to her talking to herself, this reinforces the loneliness of the character.
They then use an establishing shot to give the audience the knowledge of where this film will be set, the outside shot and the inside shot of the building. This lets the audience ask questions and guess where they are? In the outside establishing shot it tilts upwards to show the tall building where Bridget lives in, this could be symbolising the ‘mountain’ she has to climb every day, as well as how small she might feel compared to the rest of the world and others.

Editing:
This clip uses mainly cross dissolves, these are used to show time passing by, this is used very well in this genre because it can show time passing and show small changes in the scene such as Bridget moving around on the sofa, this gives and effect that time is moving on slowly. The long durations of the shots also support the effect of time passing slowly, this is because the shots seem dragged out. It also connects with Bridget’s feelings, being unhappy, depressed and down, this then makes the audience feel more sorry for her and can connect better with her and her emotions.

Mise en scene:
The costume of Bridget, pyjamas, normally refers to being depressed and feeling down, the costumes show the audience how she is feeling in a visual way. Also the colour red can represent the anger she could have inside of her at herself for being lonely on Christmas.
Low key lighting has been used throughout this clip, this refers back to the feelings of Bridget, feeling dull, and makes the audience feel sorry for her and makes them want to find out what changes she might make in her life to change it for the better.
There is a shot of a Christmas party hat, this is a good use of props. The party hat seems smash and broken, this could represent how Bridget is feeling at the moment. As well as it being damaged it is also all alone on the pole, away from everything else.

Titles:
These titles are look like someone’s hand writing, this links back to the title of the film ‘Diary’. This lets the audience know that this is her personal view of her life.

The clip has used rule of thirds for most of the shots, this allows space for the titles to appear while the clip is playing in the background, without interfering with the clip.

Wallander (Firewall, 7th December 2008, BBC1)

Wallander (Firewall, 7^th December 2008, BBC1)

Sound:

Many different sound effects were used to add and create suspense with the shots. A sting was used because there was a sharp noise which increased in volume rapidly to add emphasis to the part when the girl dropped the knife, this was used to tell the story and to show the audience and make them ask questions about the significance of the knife? This way of not showing the whole story about the girls lets the audience piece together what's happened. During this piece I noticed another sound effect used, this is a hyperbolic sound when the two girls were walking away from the cab, you can hear their footsteps on the ground. This would be hyperbolic because the noise made would not be heard if you were actually there, the use of this makes the audience believe that they are in the middle of no-where because it is quite enough to even hear their footsteps.

Cinematography:

Many different camera shots and camera movements are used to help the audience aware of what's happening with each scene. One camera shot used was the helicopter shot, when the camera tracked into the shot of the minicab from the sea, this was used so that the audience could notice and know that they were in the middle of the country side where no-one was around. This would lead the audience in asking many questions such as, why has the passenger asked to go here and how are they? Another use of cinematography/camerawork which made the scene more dramatic and added tension would be the over the shoulder shot, this showed that the two girls wasn’t talking which made us as an audience believe that they have committed or done something possibly dreadful, this left the audience asking more questions about what may have done.

Editing:

The most common editing technique used was quick cutting. This was used when showing the cabdrivers possessions, this is to show the audience some background information about the driver and the innocence of him; the key ring with the two boys looking happy on it, gave the impression that the cabdriver was a loving and caring father. This was also used when cutting between the two girls walking away from the cab and the driver. This told the audience and gave them a link that the two girls both had something to do with the death of the driver.

Mise en scene:

From the way the girls are dressed it shows the audience that they weren't meant to end up were they are now, they are dressed in normal clothes, they look out of place in the rural area and look like they have just come from a city or town. The girls dress sense reflects on stereotypes of being a punk/rebel trying push and break the boundaries, the red highlights in the girl’s hair might have been an indication of what was going to be reviled. The audience know this because she is wearing a leather jacket, has pink/red and has an old razor blade or dog tags around her neck. The most noticeable use of mise en scene used was the knife in her hand, this was covered in blood as well as blood splatters on her face, this told the audience that she most defiantly committed the murder due to the lack of people around shown in the first helicopter shot and them walking away from the cab breathing heavily.

Brick (Johnson, 2005, US)

Brick (Johnson, 2005, US)

Cinematography
The use of low shots make it hard for us to gain great detail, this includes hiding the face of the man during the beginning, this makes the audience ask questions, who is he? What has he done and why can’t we see his face?

A focus pull has been used. As well as an establishing shot, which still hides the man’s face, after all the other close ups, this is not normal because this will normally be in the beginning before any shots to show you where the actors are and where they are all placed. This makes us ask questions about what don’t they want us to see?

There is a use of crabbing and tracking, crabbing was used while focusing on the man’s shoes, tracking was used when focusing on the girls bands, this showed us that these bands will be important during the rest of the film because the bands are a way to identify that character.

Sound
The non-diegetic music at the start makes the audience feel hope, sadness and realisation due to the high pitched guitars and bells ringing. They have also used diegetic sounds of footsteps when at the school/collage.

Editing
The durations of the sequence are quite long which gives the audience enough time to take in all the details as well as ask some questions about the actors.

The sixth sense (Shyamalan, 1999, US)

The sixth sense (Shyamalan, 1999, US)

Sound

The clip music starts off slow and cold like, with uncertainty, this makes the audience on edge and worried for what they may see next. But then a piano starts to play which makes us have a feeling of hope, this could be telling us the story through the music, an uncertain start with a hopeful ending. The hyper-bolic sound of the light bulb coming on, this tells us the importance of the bulb because the bulb is old which means that no one goes down there. This could be because of something which is down there e.g. a ghost. Another hyper-bolic sound of her footsteps when she is walking down the stairs makes us realise that she is isolated and on her own.

Cinematography
They use a track in which moves the camera further towards the actor; this is to get a closer look of her facial expressions as well as showing the sense of realisation that someone is watching her. A crane shot is used as well, this follows her looking at the different wines, this is another indication that someone is watching and following her every move.

Editing
A ghost shadow goes across the title of the sixth sense; this gives the audience something to think about and tells them what the movie will be about. After this they use a long duration shot of the old light bulb; this lets the audience have time to ask questions. There was a sound breach during the beginning, when the light bulb was turning on and the door opening. They have used match on action, first shot showing her starting to turn around and the next shot she continued to turn, whilst applying to the rule of thirds. The duration of the shot start off slow but then suddenly get faster when she here the sound behind her, this gives the audience visual actions of the fear the woman is feeling.

Mise en scene
Dark, dusty and dull room tells us that no one has used that room for ages and that there could be anything down there which on one will know about. The costumes tell amounts of detail; she is dressed for dinner and expecting company, this is also to make her stand out while down in the room, the purple dress stands out from the dull walls and other surroundings.

Memento (Nolan, 2000, US)

Memento (Nolan, 2000, US)

At the start of the opening sequence we are shown the titles which is played along with some music, the titles faded in fast in a pale blue and then turned to a dark blue when fading out. This gave the audience a cold and death like approach towards the next scene. The titles also fade in and out in timing of the music which creates a calming atmosphere effect, but the use of serif font shows the audience the seriousness of the coming scenes.

During the beginning of the opening sequence of Memento, the music playing in the background gave us as an audience a great insight of what the film was going to be about and gave us a idea of what we would expect when the picture arrived on screen. The music playing was very slow paced and dragged out which set the mood for the viewers, a sad and depressed place where a feeling of death is upon us. In our heads the music gives us a thought of death or someone dying due to the slow rhythm, which would later be revealed, when the man gets shot in reverse (the film seemed to be rewound, so we saw the ending instead of the beginning).

This then leads to the scene being non-linear, this scene starts off with the ending and showing us the story in reverse to what actually happened, we notice this in the first long duration shot where the character is looking down at the photo he has just taken and the ink disappearing.

This photo he has just taken gives us a clue of what has just occurred and what is about to be shown, the image fades out very slowly giving the audience enough time to realise what is in the photo, ask questions, guess what has happened and to connect to the character; from the camera angle being an close up, over the shoulder which makes us believe that we are seeing through the characters eyes.

Then we are introduced to the hyperbolic sounds used in the killing scene, the exaggerated sound of the bullet casing rolling across the floor back into his gun. The diegetic sound of this has been increased, this tells us that the place/area they are in is very quiet and has no one around, and this leads the audience in asking even more questions. Where are they?

In memento, they have used a vast range of different shot types and angles just during the opening sequence. These include close ups and extreme close ups which show the audience the importance of the object/action shown, they also show the facial expression of the actors. Low angle shots this emphasis the amount of power/hierarchy the character actually has, The first/main character is shot with the low angle shot to show the power and authority he has over the other man, as well as him being on the floor. High angle shot which is the opposite to the low angle shot, which show the lack of power and authority. Also, the mid shot which just shows the whole character so that you don’t miss anything and you can clearly see what they are doing and what’s going on.

By the end of this opening sequence we/the audience are asking many question like who is he? Where are they? Why did he kill him? What has happened to lead to this? The last question is the main/important one, so that you continue watching the film in order to answer it.