Research into editing styles - Miss Georgiou

Scream 3- The Cutting Room

In this essay I will be discussing the different editing styles which are used in Scream 3- The Cutting Room scene. Editing styles is different effects which the directors of the film add in to make it more interesting for the audience or to create an effect for example a a dissolve shot is where one image is blended with another to build tension. I chose this particular clip in scream as it shows lots of editing styles and each one has a different effect.

During the clip Scream 3 a Straight cut is used. A straight is a change of shot from one viewpoint/location to another, this may be done to change the scene. In this case they use a straight cut from the room the lady's in which is the victim to the corridor where a man is, they use a straight cut to show the viewpoint of the man and the woman and how there different, also the different locations even though there in the same building and how there different. I believe they used a straight cut editing shot to build a relationship between the characters and the audience and how the places are different as when they show the corridor its much more calm compared to the room the woman's in which makes the audience sympathize for the woman and classifys that she is the victim of the scene. It also makes the film more interesting at it changes the scene so the audience engage more with the film. By focusing on the woman then change the location to a more calmer place allows to build tension for the audience and creates an element on excitement for the audience as they don't know what is going to happen to the woman. Its conventional to a thriller as it builds up tension really well.

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During the clip there are different timing of shots used to build suspense and create an element of excitement for the audience. Timing of shots are where shots are edited to be slower or quicker to add emotional impact or to create suspense. At the beginning of the scene the timing of the shots are really slow to build up the attack of the killer on to the victim therefore it builds up suspense for the audience and makes them more jumpy when the attack is occurring. Towards the end of the clip when the victim is getting attacked by the killer the timing of shots is very quick as it releases the suspense for the audience therefore the fast shots make it more jumpy and conventional to a thriller. Also I believe the timing of shots are slow at the beginning so the audience can focus on the woman to understand she's the victim as the camera is focusing on her and going really slowly therefore proving that she's the main character also. Timing of shots are conventional to a thriller as it builds up suspense really well and releases it quickly which is important in thrillers.

Another editing shot that is used in the clip is a Jump cut. A jump cut is where the camera focuses on something to get the audience engaged with the film. In this clip it focuses on the what the killer is holding which is a knife. I believe they used a jump cut shot on the knife to make the audience sympathize for the victim as its more then likely they will get attacked with the object. It also allows the audience to know what is too come in the film and shows the genre of the film. It is conventional to a thriller as jump cuts creates an element of excitement as they may know what is too come after the camera focuses on the subject and it builds a lot of tension. Its builds a relationship between the audience and the victim as they will sympathize for her as they will get an idea she will be attacked by the knife.

The last editing shot used is slow editing which is when clips are juxtaposed together at a slower pace to create suspense. Slow editing is used when the woman (victim) is going through the room full with the scary suits which builds tension for the audience as it allows them to focus on them properly therefore making the audience more jumpy when one of them pops out. It creates an element of suspense as a quicker pace of shots is used straight after which can make the audience more scared which is conventional to a thriller. Slow editing also allows the audience understand the setting and what's going on in the film better. Its very conventional to a thriller as it builds suspense successfully which is key for thrillers.

I think all the shots and angles are used to mainly build tension for the audience. Straight cut allows the audience to build a relationship with the characters and view the setting of the scene. Timing of shots is useful to build suspense and tension if used wisely. There all conventional genre as they all build tension for the audience successfully and create an element of excitement which makes the film interesting. If I was to change the clip at all i would make the corridor low key lighting so though audience would be more scared. The clip has inspired to use in my own film a killer which has a unknown identity as it makes the film more exciting and wanting to find out who it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hajGYP3CLKo

1) Refer back to your terminology and notes and ensure that you have include the correct point
2) Relate your points back to the conventions of a thriller film in more detail

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Research into cinematography - Miss Miller

In this essay i will be discussing cinematography in a clip of the film prom night. Cinematography is different shots and angles used in a film to mainly draw in the audience or for the thriller genre to build suspense. The clip i decided to use 6 minutes of the beginning of prom night as they are many different angles and shots used within that scene.

During prom night there are a lot of shots and angle used. Right at the beginning of the scene an aerial shot is used of the setting which is a large city at night time. It pans over the whole city giving the viewer an idea of the setting and the genre of the film however the setting in prom night isn't stereo typically conventional to a thriller film, it looks just like an ordinary town which in this case is a good thing so the audience will be more scared when something scary happens. I believe the shot is used to show the setting but to also trick the audience into believing it wont be scary so it can build up more suspense in the later scene.Its used specifically at the beginning of the film to show the setting straight away to the audience therefore they know what genre of the film it may be. It also gives the audience to focus on something for example in this scene it focuses on the car when the camera is in the air panning over the city which therefore can mean something could happen to the car giving the audience an idea of what is too come. An aerial shot is conventional to a thriller genre as it shows the setting which builds up suspense and tension for the audience as they don't know what is too come which is a key factor in a thriller film. The use of this angle doesn't really allow the audience to build up relationship with the characters other then giving them an idea of who is the victim as the aerial shot focuses on the car with a women in it which shows they may be the victims of the scene. Its conventional to a thriller as it shows the audience where its set which is a dark city meaning that its set in a stereotypical place.


Aerial shot.

At the end of the clip, there is a close up used of the young girls face (victims) It zooms up to the girls face to show her facial expression which is shocked.  It shows her emotion after her mum is attacked. It builds tension and suspense for the audience, they can also see she is very frightened which makes the audience feel exactly the same. Also using a close up shot allows the audience to build a relationship with the victim as they sympathize for the character because they can see she's upset. Its conventional to a thriller as close ups help show the genre of the film because facial expressions show what is happening and how the character feels. They can build a relationship with the characters as they can see how they feel meaning that they either sympathize for them or feel hatred towards them. Its conventional specifically to a thriller as its used on mainly victims which show there scared/hurt/upset therefore it builds a relationship between the audience and them because the audience sympathize for them.

close up of victim

During prom night a shallow focus shot is used on the killer at the end of the scene to create an element of excitement for the audience. It makes them more scared as they cant see who the killers identity is which also creates an element of suspense. I believe the shot is used to make the audience feel uncomfortable as they don't know who the killer actually is. The shot is used when the mother has been killed by the killer and the young girl (victim) runs outside to find the killer is behind her. This is a good use of shot as they audience would think that they would show the killers face clearly when really they keep the audience in suspense to create more excitement and to be more interesting. Its conventional to thriller as shallow focus shots are used to build tension and create suspense because the audience cant see all part of the scene which is key in thrillers. The shot doesn't really allow the audience to connect with the characters just to build suspense really well.

shallow focus of victim.

The last shot that is used is a Steadicam.. It is used mainly throughout the whole clip until it starts to build tension. Straight after a handheld shot is used to build lots of tension for the audience. Steadicam just helps to keep the film in order and so its easy for the audience to focus on something in the film. In this particular clip it uses a Steadicam camera shot on the victim through out the beginning of the scene to let the audience focus on her without any distractions. Its conventional to a thriller film as it allows the audience to focus on something for a long time then out of no where the camera jerks which builds tension and creates excitement for the audience which is key in thrillers. It allows the audience to build a relationship with the person there using a Steadicam on as it allows them too see there the main character of the film meaning they will focus on them.

I believe all the shots are used to mainly build tension and suspense especially a shallow focus and a Steadicam whereas a close up is used to create a relationship with the character and a aerial shot is used to show the setting of the film and what genre the film may possibly be. I believe all these shots are used because they all create different effects which make thrillers interesting for the audience. The only thing i would change is too make the inside of the house quite dark by using low key lighting to build tension. The clip has inspired me to use a shallow focus on the killer to create an element of excitement.

Individual ideas for a narrative- Miss Georgiou

-Inspiration from other films
I have got inspiration from prom night as in the beginning it is set in a normal house where anything scary is unexpected to the audience. So for my thriller opening I will try to trick the audience into thinking its not the thriller genre by using high key lighting and bright colours therefore when something happens in the film which is scary it will build tension and suspense really quickly.I also have got inspiration from the film scream as there identity is hidden which is a good idea to build suspense and tension for the audience.
I have inspiration from saw as it uses low key lighting throughout the film which is a good way to build tension and suspense.

My idea of the opening scene is that this young six year old girl gets bullied at school or at home as a result she tries to murder the person therefore she ends up in  a mental home. A month later she escapes and comes back to haunt the family/school and ends up killing the whole year/family. The six year old girl will be very innocent and will have typically have blonde hair whereas after she has been at the mental home she will look distorted and look completely different as this will build a relationship between the audience and the character as they will have sympathy towards her and it will show she has changed and become even more mental. It will be set in an urban area because its not typical and will interest the audience more. The main concept of my idea is for it to be jumpy as this is conventional to the thriller genre. My idea is different to typical thriller films as the character is both the victim and the killer so that the audience will engage with the film more as by having one character but being two role will interest them. The main conventions of the scene will be the use of low key lighting throughout and the murder weapons. The victims will look really innocent before with blonde hair but after the incident of her murdering someone and going to a mental home she will look completely different by looking older, having darker hair and wearing dark clothes so the audience are aware that she has turned into the killer and can see the contrast in characters. I will use low key lighting throughout as its very conventional to the thriller genre and will build high suspense. I will rate my idea as a 15 as there will be slight violence, dangerous weapons and blood which young viewers may find offensive. 

Research into mise-en-scene-Miss Georgiou

In this essay, i am going to write about how Mise-en-scene is presented and used in a 5 minute clip of saw V. Mise-en-scene is basically 5 elements merged into one, these 5 elements are: 

Setting and iconography.

Costumes, hair and make-up.

Facial expressions and body language.

Lighting and colour.

Positioning of characters within the frame.

All these elements make up mise-en-scene which all films use to show what genre of film it is.  I chose this saw clip as i believe it uses all five elements very well and includes all five. Its also very conventional to a thriller film and is very stereotypical to a thriller film. Mise-en-scene is very important for thriller films as it basically sets the genre of the film. Setting and iconography is important as it shows the audience where the film is set and gives the audience an idea what may happen. Costumes, hair and make-up is important as it shows the audience the different types of characters for example killer and victim. The lighting is important as it builds tension for the audience. Positioning of characters in the frame is also important as it makes the audience aware who's the main character and who to focus on.

During the clip of saw v, the setting of the scene is very dark and gloomy which indicates to the audience straight away that its going to be a stereotypical thriller film. The setting is in a small dark room with only backing light to produce contrast in colours. The denotation is that the setting is a dark room however the connotation is that is may indicate something sinister may happen because of the darkness. The room is really gloomy which is very conventional to thrillers as they are normally set in a dark room. The room is very dark so the audience focuses on the victim who is lighter then the room. This relates to the thriller genre as it builds up tension and suspense for the audience as the victim is in the light so they focus on them therefore something bad may happen to them. Having a dark room can also show of the victims body language and facial expressions which can interest the audience more. Having the victims being light in a dark room can also make the audience feel sorry for them as they can view them clearer which is conventional to a thriller genre. 

Victim bright in dark room.

Throughout the whole scene there is very little lighting as I briefly discussed in the paragraph above. The only lighting there is low key lighting. I believe they have used low key lighting to keep the setting quite tense and to produce contrast of light between the background and the victim in the middle therefore showing the victim quite bright to build suspense for the audience. Its conventional to the thriller genre because the audience can see the victims facial expression and body language clearly to build more tension.By having low key lighting it creates suspense for the audience as they cant see what is around the character meaning that they could become scared easier which is key for thrillers. It also makes the thriller more interesting for the audience because they can see the victim whereas they cant see around him meaning that they will engage more with the film. Its conventional to thrillers because dark lighting hides parts of the room which creates suspense and a sense of mystery and a eerie feeling for the audience.

During saw v, the victim is in the middle the whole time so the audiences focuses on them building a relationship with them also classifying there the victim of the scene. In this scene the victim is in the middle with no other people in the background showing that he is the most important character and the victim. Having a character in the middle of the scene can give the audience something to focus on and to interest them into watching the scene. This is conventional to a thriller genre as it defiantly shows the victim and whos the main character to focus on. Also if the audience focus on a person, something in the background could happen which builds suspense and tension.

The male character in the scene has no costume, however he is only wearing black trousers and is topless. The denotation of this is that to show more blood when the man is cut and the connotation is that as hes half naked it could possibly mean hes pure therefore showing hes the victim of the scene. Its conventional to the thriller genre as different costumes can produce different meanings and in this case as hes topless it will show more blood when hes cut so it makes the audience feel more vulnerable. 

Facial expressions and body language is very important in thriller genres as it give the audience a feel of what there feeling. At the beginning of the scene the victim is panicking trying to escape the table which enables the audience to sympathize for him building a relationship between them. In the middle of the scene when the blades start to move the victim is even in more of a scared state. 

End of scene. 

Facial expressions and body language is very conventional for a thriller genre as it enables the audience too see how the characters are feeling which can build a relationship for them. It also builds suspense for what is too come if they for example there facial expression is very panicky. 

These five points are elements of the Mise-en-scene and all enable to build tension and suspense for the audience especially facial expressions and body language. Lighting is also key in thrillers as you need to create the right effect for the audience to understand what genre of film it is. Where you position people and costumes are important as well as the audience can tell who is the most important and who they should focus on. If i was too change the clip i would add in background extras to make the victim stand out even more. Its inspired me when i make my thriller opening scene to use a dark setting with a bright victim to show there important and to make there actions stand out more. Also i will defiantly use low key lighting to build suspense for the audience and to make it more interesting for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnQ1Mnivo58