Kieran's Media Blog

Friday, 12 November 2010

Panic room opening sequence analysis

Opening sequence (Panic Room) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqIclb4qsJI

In the opening sequence of the film the director has used an Establishing shot, aerial shot , high and low angles and pan. The director would have used an establishing shot to give the audience an idea of the type of surrounding in which the rest of the film will take place and where the film may be set. The director may have used an aerial shot to establish the location or setting of the film on a larger scale. The director also uses high and low angles in the opening sequence, high angles have been used to make the object focused on and seem more dominant and powerful. Low angles may have been used to give more of a speeded motion and make it seem more inferior. The director would have used a pan from left to right to gives the audience the idea of the location.

The sound/ music in the opening scene is mysterious and eerie. This gives a sense of something is going to go wrong further into the play. It also creates this sort of tension and danger. The sound in this scene is non-digetic sound this is because there is music playing in the background but no sight of instrument or device which it is coming from. The sound of ticking in the scene gives the sense of tension and danger and the tension is leading up to something bad.

The editing which I can identify from the opening scene is the actors name are put into the first scene in a bold text while shooting the surroundings. The shots have also been cut and switched to a new location several times during the opening scene. Also the shots seem to cut when the music changes pace or melody which shows they work in sequence with one another.

In the opening scene there are objects such as Large Buildings, Billboards, Skyscrapers, People, Cars, and Houses. These are the kind of things which you would associate with the city and with it being an American film suggests that the majority of the film would possibly take place in New york city. There are no characters identified in the opening scene, which suggest that the director wanted to keep the audience in suspense. One shot in the opening sequence does show people but because it is a long shot you cannot identify any characters.

From just viewing the opening sequence I believe the location of this film is New York City. I believe this because there are a vast amount of skyscrapers, billboards and people in some of the shots. Also a piece of evidence which supports this prediction is in one of the shots you can see the empire state building.

From the opening sequence it is very hard to identify what the plot of the play is because no characters are identified and no objects which may suggest that the film is about that is shown. But judging from the surroundings the story takes place in New York City in a lab or company and some sort of experiment or discovery goes terribly wrong.

The opening sequence gives off the theme of death and destruction and indicator of this suggestion is the eerie music in the background throughout the opening sequence. The visual style in the opening sequence is a misty effect. Which creates this sort of mysterious atmosphere. Also the bold text across the side of the building also gives an example of the visual style.

Thriller is the genre in which you get from the opening sequence this again comes from the eerie and mysterious music in the background. The fact that no main characters are identified shows that they want to be kept a secret and to keep the audience .

Children of men opening sequence analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTgUq6hzUk ( Children Of Men opening sequence)

In the opening sequence the director while tracking the “hero” uses a series of mid shots and long shots to capture the main character in the initial scene. The director has used a mid shot to capture the torso of the main character and has used a long shot to capture all of the characters body this gives the audience a sense of what the characters about by the way they present their self also how they look and behave. The director has also used a pan camera movement from left to right as the character leaves the shop to give the audience idea of the setting and location. Just before the end of the scene a point of view has been used. A handheld camera may would have been used to capture this shot because there is constant shaking and movement of the camera. The constant shaking of the camera indicates that the shot is supposed to mimic someone running.

In the opening scene there is digetic sound from when the man is in the coffee shop the sound of the T.V is heard and as he leaves the shop the sounds of the coffee shop are left behind and the sounds of street like buses and cars are now being heard, this creates this sense of realism. There is limited editing in the opening sequence because only one cut has been used and this is when the shot cuts from the people in the shot to the T.v. this is a unusual thing to appear in a major film. You would usually expect more cuts and editing to be used in a major feature film.

In the opening sequence there are things such as automobiles(red buses) and black bin bags. These things indicate that the setting/Location of the opening sequence is London. This also tells us that London has become a dirty and unkempt environment. This gives the idea that the rest of the play will consist of drama because the environment shows there is obvious complications happening at that time.

In the opening sequence only one main character is identified, we know this because the camera tracks him as he enters and leaves the shop. It seems that he could be the hero (protagonist) of this film but does not fit the established idea of a hero because he does not show empathy when he hears of the boys death and when the explosion goes off his initial reaction was not to help but it is to be suggested that he is one. The location of the film seems to be London city you get this impression because of the big red buses and black bin bags on the floor and also the british accent in which the news presenter talks in. From the opening sequence the plot of the Children of Men could be this man, our hero has to find a way to help humanity to start producing children or to find someone who can reproduce but throughout the film the man comes up against many obstacles which could possibly stop this from happening.

The theme's of the film from the opening sequence seems to be death, murder and drama and hope. You get this idea because you hear the death of the youngest person alive at the start of the scene and also in the later stages of the scene there is an explosion in the coffee shop. The idea of hope is the people in the coffee shop are hoping for a better future for mankind.

You get the idea of drama because all these events are happening in a short space of time.

The visual style of the opening sequence is a misty effect and dim light which gives the idea that the scene is supposed to give the impression that it is early in the morning.

The genre's of the film appears to be adventure, drama, sci-fi and thriller you get these impressions because it obvious our main character will have to go on some sort of quest or adventure further into the play to find out something. The idea that is sci-fi is because the film is supposed to be futuristic and tells us that it is set 2027. The film also gives the impression that it is going to contain some sort of drama throughout because of all the events which are taking place like the death of the young boy, explosion in the coffee shop and Americans occupying mosques. This indicates that London and the rest of the world are on the verge of complete anarchy.

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Preliminary task

My First practical media objective involved me filming and editing a small clip which had to consist of a match on action shot, shot/ reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. I had to capture the film on a small hand held camera and then edit it on a program called Final Cut Pro. To help keep the shots steady while filming, I used a tripod which could be shortened and lengthened to be able to capture footage at different heights and angles. The tripod also reduce the shaking of he camera and made the shots look more professional.

Preliminary task Working script

“Blair” slowly walks down the corridor towards the door on his left (long shot). blair then turns towards the door and begins to open it as he opens the shot cuts (long shot). The shot then shows the door being opened from the other side. He sits down and the conversation begins.
BLAIR:(Shocked and surprised) He walks over to the chair and sits down.

TONY :I know what you did Blair.

BLAIR:(puzzled while looking at him with guilt.) What did I do Tony.

TONY:(Shouting and with anger) You Murdered your sister.

BLAIR: What Evidence do you have?

TONY: I saw you from my window.

BLAIR:(calmly) Who's going to believe you anyway.

TONY: The police will when I call them.

Storyboard

Thursday, 4 November 2010

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