Tuesday 13 December 2016

Opening Scenes

I am Legend
0:03- Crane shot of city that is abandoned and desolate very eye catching establishing shot to almost set the tone for the film.
0:10- Close up of man holding the gun however as its a mid shot, close up it doesn't reveal identity
0;13- Mid shot of main protagonist (Will Smith) while he is driving a mustang which shows his skilful driving however it can be seen that he is almost driving his own future. along with this there is no dialogue only the rustling of leaves and the car sound creating and emphasising the ominous silence.
0:17- close up of dog which establishes the protagonists companion.
0:23- the medium shot of the boot of the car tracking it almost is symbolic that we will be on this journey with them.
0:26- POV shot of someone in the back seat which creates an immersive experience and with the birds flying across and the deer ruining out in front of the car shows the stereo type of the mans skill in driving.
0:37- low angled tracking shot of drift showing more driving skills but also how desolate the city such as New York is very oxymoronic.
0:42- close up of 'god still loves us' poster still symbolises that religious element that is associated with post apocalyptic films.



The Book of Eli


The first frame in the film is a bright white light, this is then slowly filtered into a close up shot of trees with a green filter on the camera, this gives the audience the feeling of suspense and makes them think that something bad is going to happen by the contrast from a bright light to the dark green. There is also a non- diegetic flash/bang as the light fades to darkness to add to the suspense.   
The camera then tilts down to the ground showing flakes of ash and fog, this shows the convention of a horror film and as the tilt is very slow it gives the audience a feeling of suspense and anticipation. There is no noise in this scene and this builds suspense further.

The animal that we presumed to be a bad creature, can now be identified as a cat like creature and we associate cats with domestic pets which means we do not see the animal as a threat but more of a scavenger. As it goes straight to the man’s toes we can see that the animal is very cautious of the body and this makes the audience think why it is cautious of a dead body. The music further loudens and at this point because of the music the audience can tell something bad is going to happen to the cat like creature. The camera still shows a small amount of focus in the background which means that we are still looking at the unknown wilderness in the background.

There is then an extreme close up of the arrow tip with a very shallow focus so that we concentrate on the arrow and the audience knows the man is about to fire and from the last two shots he is going to kill the cat, there is also no sound in this shot to further signify how silent this man is in his task and how good of a hunter he is.

This is a low angle shot and shows the man getting up from his hiding place, the amount of dust and ash coming off him shows the audience how long he had been waiting for the cat and shows how patient the man is, there is a non-diegetic heroic sound to again signify how strong the character is.

The man then walks over to the cat and we see a close up of him pulling the arrow out of it, there is a sickly sound of the arrow being pulled out, by the way the man treats the cat we know how important the catch is to him and how desperate he was to catch it.



Kill Bill Vol.1



0:00 to 2:00- In the first two minutes of the first instalment, you hear non-diegetic sound of a woman breathing desperately. This then turns into diegetic as you see a close-up of what appears to be a “bloody” bride. Here you can see that the Bride’s face has been subject to a technique known as masking in where the right side of her face is in darkness. The opening sequence is very shocking as it engages the viewer using a sensory technique, through the laboured breathing, which immediately silences anyone who is watching the film. This makes it interesting as it is quite unique and risky to use in an opening sequence and also very different as it successfully pulls the audience in more than it would with any other film. The blood on the bride is symbolic as it contrasts with the purity of the white which shows that the bride has a dark past.

The Bride’s breathing then returns to a labouring manner as he begins to wipe her face with a hand kerchief with the name Bill on it which shows that the man who is speaking is Bill and therefore the cause of the Bride’s bloody rampage which occurs later on in the film. The bride then calms down as he stops wiping. However this calmness is short-lived as you hear clinking in the background and she pulls her face out of the masking to show an expression of pure fear and shock as her eyes widen.

It appears to be the non-diegetic sound of him filling in his gun with bullets. The opening sequence is in black and white which subliminally suggests the whole good vs evil concept. Her breathing then calms down after the sound of footsteps and you see a close up of a man’s feet and what appears to be broken glass which provides some amount of information. It the jumps back to the Bride and you see the fear in her eyes as you hear the first proper dialogue, “do you find me sadistic?” This is interesting as it shows that the man speaking is the main protagonist as he doesn’t rush to her side and call for help but instead slowly and casually walks to her which shows that he doesn’t wish to help.

However, instead of acting as a saviour for a damsel in distress, Bill supposedly kills her. The Bride represents women and what is mainly associated with them such as marriage and child-bearing. This is reinforced by the fact that she is dressed in white which is generally a pure colour. It also enforces the supposedly gentle nature of women as well as the Bride is not doing anything to encouraging any kind of violence to this at all. However it is hinted by the fact that she is smattered in blood which shows that she isn't as pure as she should be because the red is somewhat devilish. Bill, who is dressed in dark colours, shows that he is in power which signifies the patriarchal sense of society.



Green Street



In the first 2-5 minutes of the film, the main boys from the West Ham firm are walking up to a platform for a tube station, having a laugh with each other and kicking can’s around. When they get to the top of the platform they look across to see some of the Tottenham firms members, they mock each other across the platform for a bit, then a train pulls in between the two fans so they cannot see each other. It then switches shots to the two firms fighting each other in the street. After that the film goes to America where it shows Matt Buckner (the American Harvard student) packing up his personal belongings as he has been expelled from Harvard university for having drugs on him, however he believes strongly that it was his room mates stash of cocaine.


The camera work used are shots such as extreme long shot to show what they are wearing and most importantly their background and surrounding. This gives the audience a good idea of where there are. Over the shoulder shot is also used when the camera is behind the West Ham firm and pointing towards the Tottenham firm, this could be so it makes the West Ham fans look bigger and more powerful. Shot reverse shot is also used whilst exchanging dialogue and mocking each other from across the platform. Medium close up is also used when the Tottenham fans are talking which is peculiar because when the West Ham fans are talking they use a long shot which fits in most of the main people from the firm. This could be used to show dominance by the West Ham fans and to try and get the point across that they mean more ‘business’ than the Tottenham fans.

The viewers see a fight happen in a location which would be familiar to a lot of people who live in London. Their accents are regional and there is very harsh, but typical and expected football banter between the two firms. These things could signify to audiences that this film is Social Realist, supposed to highlight violence due to something so trivial as to which football team you support.






No comments:

Post a Comment