The director, Winsor, uses chiaroscuro lighting in the establishing shot, therefore immediately establishing the genre of the film whilst creating a sense of peril and isolation.
Inter-textual References in Essex Boys:
Noir lighting with a chiaroscuro effect reinforces the generic roots of the film. This is shown in the shot of the garage. Similarly, this effect is illustrated in the film 'Once upon a time in America' when the character Eve switches on her bed side lamp. Also, it is exemplified in 'Jackie Brown' in the scene where Ordell murders Beaumont in the waste ground.
Furthermore, the locations in both 'Essex Boys' and 'Jackie Brown' share similarities. For instance, the marshes in Essex Boys represents primeval and predatory. Additionally, it creates a dull and negative atmosphere, whilst demonstrating isolation. In comparison, the waste ground in 'Jackie Brown' is an isolated area which is very unglamorous, like the marshes 'Essex Boys'
This results in the audience being transported into an isolated world where nightmares become reality.
Writers: Quentin Tarantino (screen), Elmore Leonard (novel)
Star Actresses/Actors: Pam Grier, Samuel.L.Jackson and Robert Forster.
The first action the audience see is a long tracking shot of Jackie and it is clear from her costume that she works in an airport as an air hostess. Tarantino is showing that black woman do have a high status - it looks as if he is representing her as a successful individual. The way she walks when she enters the airport shows she is confident and powerful.This shot is significant as it carries on for a long time, perhaps symbolising that she is a key character that the audience should always watch out for. Ambient lighting is shown in this first shot. Tarantino has challenged generic coventions is by casting a middle-aged black women as the protagonist.
Furthermore, whilst the audience are watching her non-digetic sound is heard where a soundtrack is played in the background. The soundtrack dominates over the character and it references soul music from the 1970'S. The soul music could also be referencing her personality. However, the lyrics in the song mentions the life of the streets - drug pushers, players, pimps.
We are introduced to another two characters called Louis and Robbie. They both appear to be scruffy characters who don't care about what others think, as Robbie's shirt is open and Louis looks scruffy in the way that he hasn't shaven his facial hair. Also Robbie is in a slouched position demonstrating that he is well laid-back and relaxed because he seems comfortable with himself. They appear to be watching a TV show which shows girls using guns, whom are wearing extremely revealing clothing. This shows their attitudes towards woman - they don't have much respect towards them. The dialogue only discusses the guns, and doesn't mention the woman, showing that violence is more appealing to them.
Melanie is later shown in this scene. We see close ups of her feet and her hand without seeing her face properly which could imply she doesn't have a high status and is less important. Alternatively, it implies that there is something mysterious about her. The rings on her toes could infer that she wants to be flashy which could mirror Robbie's personality.
After we see her, we can see she is wearing a bikini which is a vibrant colour. Tarantino may have used this to make her look attractive because the colours are visually appealing. Melanie is comfortably sitting in a chair eating, inferring that she too is lazy and tranquil.
In another scene, chiaroscuro lighting is used, which could be inspired by Film Noir. Beaumont is shown with his back up against the wall and he isn't wearing clothes. This insinuates that he has no protection from others and that he is vulnerable. Additionally, the location of the balcony is non-glamorous; it looks more gloomy, creating a dull atmosphere for the audience.
An inter textual reference for this film is the film 'Pulp Fiction' as both films have used the same low angle shot from the boot of a car. The boot could illustrate claustrophobia or entrapment. All we see is the two characters and a gun.This shot indicates mystery and suspense and represents menace. Also, the lighting here is pitch black, therefore it is non-ambient; this could symbolise fear of the unknown or death, but it mainly generates a negative vibe.
Tarantino challenges generic conventions as Louis shoots a girl (Melanie) in a car park - which is a generic thriller convention, however he shoots her in broad day light. This insinuates that he doesn't care what people think of him which could be another inter textual reference to Jason in 'Essex Boys'. Moreover, it shows that he is mad and that he is dangerous. This makes Louis seem more threatening towards the audience and other characters.
Release date: 22 October 2010 (UK- London Film Festival)
Writers: Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz
Star Actresses/Actors: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel
IMDB User review: 'to look at Black Swan in another way, it is an operatic horror film, It has incredible style, but uses it not so much to dazzle but to confuse and intimidate. The paradox of Black swan is that it creepiness is kind of seductive, because it draws you in'
Awards: Natalie Portman won an Oscar for best performance by an actress in a leading role. She also won many other awards for being the best leading actress/outstanding performance.
Natalie Portman plays the role of a ballet dancer called Nina and goes into an intense battle with a new arrival, Lily, played by Mila Kunis who seems to be determined to get her out of the spotlight. Nina desires to be the Swan Queen in a production of Swan Lake by acclaimed theater director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). Both dancers impress him. Swan Lake needs a dancer
who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan,
who denotes deviousness and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role effortlessly
but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. The two dancers develop
their rivalry into a twisted friendship; Nina begins to get more in touch with
her dark side - a recklessness that lurks to destroy her.
This film relates to the aspects of a thriller genre as it uses a dark logo: crosscreek pictures which is recognised a lot in the psychological thriller/horror category of films. Also, the black background is a common feature in these type of films.
Additionally, it shows the leading character dancing alone in a dark room, therefore we see her as isolated from everyone else. The film uses lots of close ups of the protagonist showing a terrified expression resulting in the audience feel uncomfortable. Common features of the film are a dark background, use of make-up on the main character - hiding her identity and focusing on something that is not as it appears with the character. For example, an unexpected change in personality and a crack in the face on the DVD cover. Characters in thriller films can be similar such as appearing fairly normal on the outside but their is something dark or mysterious within.
Peter Bradshaw reviewed this film in 'The Guardian':
"Black Swan is ionospherically over the top, and some of its effects are overdone, but it is richly, sensually enjoyable and there is such fascination in seeing Portman surrender to the madness and watch her face transmute into a horror-mask like a nightmare version of Maria Callas. It is exciting, quite mad and often really scary."
I disagree with this statement as I believe if its effects were not overdone, the film would not be as an intriguing as it is, it would be a lot less interesting if this was the case. However, I agree that it is enjoyable because the story line is unusual, therefore it makes you want to continue watching the film as whilst watching you are full of trepidation but you are captivated, so you want to find out what happens in the end. Overall, I thought this film was very gripping and found the story line to be really interesting as I had never seen a film like the way this film was set out before.
The Woman in Black
Director: James Watkins Release date: 10thFebruary 2012 (UK) Writers: Susan Hill (novel) Jane Goldman (screenplay) Star Actresses/Actors:Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds IMDB User review:Woman in Black is a chilling film, it kept great suspense throughout and had me on the edge of your seat waiting to see what was around the next corner. A great film with good performances and direction, I really enjoyed it a lot.
Arthur Kipps (Daniel
Radcliffe) is a young lawyer who is depressed by the loss of his wife after
giving birth to a son. His son, now grown to a toddler, draws pictures of him
with a sad face. He is dispensed to prepare a large house for sale on a marsh
and travels to a murky village where he is ignored by most of the townspeople.
He visits the Eel Marsh House, the estate of the late Alice Drabow, to look it
over, but finds his job has grown more terrifying as it is haunted by the ghost
of a woman. He learns from the villagers that the ghost of the woman in black
seeks revenge against their children because her child was taken away from her.
Kipps is befriended by Sam (Ciaran Hinds) and his wife Elizabeth (Janet McTeer)
Both who have also lost a son, and they help the lawyer to investigate the
background of the estate and what happened.
This film indicates a thriller genre as again the logo showed in the trailer is crosscreek pictures. Also, the trailer uses a voice over of a child narrating which signifies the innocence and purity through the nursery rhyme the child recites. The nursery rhyme is quite menacing and is played at the same time images from the film are being displayed. This creates an apprehensive atmosphere towards the audience which highlights the thriller genre. Additionally, several close ups are used. The close ups show toys, this makes the viewers uncomfortable as this is the only thing they have to focus on. The appearance of toys may be unexpected as they are displayed in an unusual way to what an audience would expect, creating a sinister atmosphere.
Furthermore, the trailer uses the sound of a children's music box for incidental music throughout. The music is slow and calm and makes the audience feel edgy rather than relaxed as it is played in time with the movements of the toys. The tune is repetitive, therefore it could possibly be foreshadowing that the 'woman in black' is always there.
Additionally, the mise-en-scene setting illustrated is quite dark and everywhere seems quite isolated which makes the audience fear for what could happen. The trailer shows that the houses in the village are surrounded by bars which gives the idea that the characters feel trapped. Children are shown behind the bars which suggests that they are trapped by the Woman in black. The colours used in this film are often dark which might link to death. The lighting used is dark as well. This creates tension as the audience and characters in the fim are unaware of what could be about to happen. As the lighting is mainly dark, it creates a negative and dull atmosphere.
Xan Brooks reviewed this film in 'The Guardian':"I'll confess that James Watkins's exuberant joy-buzzer direction had me jumping in my seat and clutching pathetically at the armrest."
I agree with this statement. I found the film very exciting to watch because it created a lot of tension and made me nervous as to what was about to happen;it kept me very entertained and interested as it made me want to see what I was waiting for. Also, I thought that Daniel Radcliffe was a brilliant actor as he demonstrated that he was anxious and quite frightened at appropriate moments throughout the film. Overall, there was a lot of suspense but it made the it was very enjoyable and exhilirating.
Orphan
Director: Jaume Collet-SerraRelease date: 7 August 2009 (UK)Writers: David Johnson (screenplay) Alex Mace (story)Star Actresses/Actors: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman IMDB User review:Orphan REALLY surprised me. I expected some stupid pg-13 movie that somehow got an R rating. That was not the case. Let me tell you, Orphan is very disturbing at parts, and pretty gruesome. The movie overall is excellent, has some great acting, an amazing script, and excellent execution. The movie really has a lot of suspense and the twist is pulled off very well and packs a big punch to the viewer.
The tragic loss of their unborn
child has devastated Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard), taking a
toll on both their marriage and Kate's delicate consciousness as she is plagued
by nightmares. Struggling to regain some impression of normality in their
lives, they decide to adopt another child. At the local orphanage, both John
and Kate find themselves peculiarly interested to a young girl, Esther
(Isabelle Fuhram). They quickly welcome Esther into their home. Then a shocking
series of events begins, leading Kate to believe that there's something wrong
with Esther. The apparently angelic little girl is not what she seems to be. Kate
is concerned for the safety of her family and tries to get John and others to
see past Esther's sweet disguise but her warnings go unnoticed until it may be
too late for everyone.
Orphan illustrates the thriller genre as on the cover for the film, it shows the young girl. There is a contrast of light and dark colours that focus on her to make her look more threatening. Around her eyes and jaws it shows a dark shadow which makes her seem creepy or mysterious. The background is green which could maybe symbolise paranormal or envy. The writing is red and white. Red could represent danger and white could demonstrate that the girl is innocent. However, the white font is unique and looks as if someone has scratched it on which could indicate violence. This could highlight that the young girl isn't what she genuinely first appears to be.
Furthermore, the main plot line focuses on a mystery that needs to be solved. For example, in this film 'Orphan' the plot concentrates on finding out why the protagonist behaves the way that she does. Throughout, this film there is an atmosphere of creepy menace and sudden violence. This thriller presents society as dark, dangerous and corrupt. Esther is interpreted as a psychotic individual as in her past she was a murderer and then sent to a mental institution but managed to escape. The picture below highlights how she is psychotic as she is supposedly a young child and she is using a weapon - a gun. In the film she actually aims and shoots at characters, this is abnormal for a girl of her age. Also the blood on her hand demonstrates that she is dangerous.
Additionally, the main location in Orphan is the house of the family where Esther goes to live with them. The house is in an isolated area, this makes the audience aware that they are distant from other people, meaning that it would be a struggle to get help quickly if anything went wrong. Also, it shows a winter setting as we see snow in most parts of the film. Winter could symbolise death due to the outside world being very cold and desolate.
Philip French reviewed this film in 'The Guardian': "Although slightly overlong, the film sustains the escalating horror and keeps up its sleeve a truly shocking revelation that's carefully prepared for, though not signalled. Isabelle Fuhrman is astonishing as Esther. "
In my opinion, the film was not too long. I think it need this time to enable hints to the audience and make the audience understand up until the most shocking thing is revealed and the mystery is solved. I agree with the review because I also considered the revelation to be extremely surprising as it is so unexpected, although there is many hints throughout the film that she is insane but you never fully understand until the end. I also considered Isabelle Fuhrman to be an amazing actress as the character of Esther as she always kept me intrigued even though I was afraid of watching her because of the series of events she made happen. This was the intention of the this character, therefore it was brilliant acting. She caused a lot of nerve wracking tension but you would still carry on watching as you wanted to know the solution to the mystery- why she behaved in this certain way that would keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Overall, I really enjoyed this film as it was quite terrifying but still made me want to know what happens. This film definitely stimulated a high level of anticipation and created a lot of anxiety but this made it fantastic to watch.
What planning did you do for your
filming task, and how did this planning aid the filming?
In order to prepare for the
preliminary task, I practiced all the different camera shots that we might have
used as I had never done this previously; therefore I wanted all the shots to
look good in our final edit. Our group also created a storyboard. This would be
helpful to us we would have a rough idea of what we would want to happen in
each scene and where each scene would be located. It was a brilliant idea for
my group and me to understand the actual story of our preliminary task.
Additionally, I produced a shot list which indicated which camera angles we
were going to use for each scene, the location and which characters were going
to be filmed. The locations we chose were outside the arc, the canteen, corridors and the study hall. We chose to start outside the arc as this is where the two characters had originally planned to meet but the other character did not show up. Therefore, we showed the main character trying to search for her friend by running through the canteen to get to somewhere. We used corridors so the audience could see where each character was heading. We used the study hall because the other character was actually revising and this seemed like an appropriate location.The characters in our group made sure that they wore the same
outfit each time they filmed to avoid mistakes and confusion towards the
audience. We planned the conversation to be an argument, for that reason we
wanted it to be quite dramatic. When the conversation occurred, we made sure
that we stuck to 180 degree rule and included shot reverse shot when each
character spoke.
What is the 180 degree rule, and how is this rule
important to the filming task?
The
180 degree rule is a basic rule that should imply that the two characters have the
same left and right relationship to each other. Therefore, it was important to
film the task by shooting on one side to illustrate continuity and avoid
switching sides that the focus was on so the audience were not confused.
This diagram explains how in a dialogue scene between two characters, character
one in the orange top, frame left in the diagram and character two in the blue
top, frame right, the camera can be placed anywhere on the green 180° arc and
the structural relationship between the two characters will be consistent from
shot to shot, even when one of the characters is not on screen. Changing to the
other side of the characters on a cut, so that character two is now on the left side and character one is
on the right, may disorient the viewers. What shot types and camera angles did you use
in your filming task, and to what effect? Our group used a range of different shots and camera angles in order to make our film look more interesting and show the characters emotions. For instance, we used close-ups shots because we wanted our audience to understand how the characters our feeling. The close-up shots that we used indicated that the characters were angry or irritated. Furthermore, we used a few tracking shots so the audience could follow the story, these shots allowed us to let the audience know where each character was heading. When filming the conversation, we used a range of shots to make the story more engaging. For example, we used shot reverse shot - showing one character talking then flipping the camera back to show the other character speak. This was effective as it clearly focused on one character at a time, so the audience know what they should be concentrating on. We also used an over the shoulder shot which enabled the audience to see that the character was facing the other character whilst they were having a conservation, this was effective as it is shown from this characters point of view, putting the audience in their place, so they directly understood the conversation. Also, we used close-ups - when one of the characters was frustrated because their friend refused to give them answers to a test and and we used extreme close-up so the audience could comprehend how each character was feeling. For example, in our preliminary we showed one of the characters was annoyed because she was fed up of always having to give her friend answers, so this time she refused to give in. Once, we had filmed everything we watched all of the clips back and realised that we crossed the imaginary axis in the 180 degree rule, so we accidentally broke the rule, therefore we filmed again where we needed to which solved this issue. We used the 180 degree rule when filming the conversation. This was important as it let the audience know which side the character was on. For instance, I was on the left and Nature was on the right, meaning we had to make sure that the audience always saw the characters in these positions at all times, otherwise it would confuse the audience.
What editing skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the editing
programme?
To edit our preliminary task, we used a programme called 'premiere pro.' I thought that this programme was fairly easy to use once we were told how to use it. I have never used an editing programme properly previously, therefore I have learned how to make clips shorter and cut parts out that we didn't want to use. Also, I have learned how to use transitions when moving from one clip to another in order for the story to flow instead of just cutting straight from one part of the story to another - the cross dissolve effect allowed us to do this. A skill I would like to improve is how to add music to the background of the film and how to change the colour of the film to black and white. However, once I learn this I believe it will be an easy thing to do. Overall, I am confident with using the editing programme as it it is very simple. Updated - going over the preliminary task again, we managed to add music. This was effective as it built up tension towards what was about to happen. However, we didn't keep the music at the same volume the whole way through. For example, we played the music from the beginning up until the conversation. When the conversation was about to happen we made the music fade to a lower volume as we wanted the audience to hear the conversation and it would be unusual for music to be loud whilst people are trying to listen to a conversation. Additionally, we used slow motion when one of the characters kicked her bike and fell back. We did this to make it seem even more dramatic. Also, we made a clip of a close up of one of the characters face black and white. We considered this to be a good idea because it could symbolise how this character was feeling negative and down in the dark.
To prepare for our preliminary task, we created a storyboard which showed what would happen in each scene. Our story is about a student who wants to cheat on her exam, therefore she is looking through her friend who is revising as these two students had planned to meet up for the cheater to get the answers. However, the person revising refuses to give her the answers which results in the two of them having an argument. After the confrontation, the cheater leaves in a bad mood without the answers. Scene 1: Arc. Cheater waiting impatiently for the reviser to show up ( worms eye view of the main character then a birds eye view of this characters phone - expecting a call) Scene 2: Canteen. The cheater runs from the arc to the canteen in a panic, unaware that the reviser is in the Study Hall. Change over to the reviser to let the audience know that there is another character and understand what the cheater is searching for. Scene 3: Canteen. Cheater looks to see if reviser is there, see's she is not and continues to run through corridor. Scene 4: Study Hall. Finds reviser and enters pod she's in. Scene 5: Pod. The two characters get into an argument, the cheater in a temper asks for the answers that the reviser is refusing to give. Scene 6: Bikes. Cheater is very exasperated, therefore runs to her bike to leave.
Noir lighting with a chiaroscuro effect reinforces the generic roots of the film. This is shown in the shot of the garage. Similarly, this effect is illustrated in the film 'Once upon a time in America' when the character Eve switches on her bed side lamp. Also, it is exemplified in 'Jackie Brown' in the scene where Ordell murders Beaumont in the waste ground.
