Hi, I'm Dillon O'Connor and welcome to my blog which will track the production of LS29's debut production, Red Run.

Friday 16 December 2011

Halloween Opening Analysis

First ident "A compass international pictures release" followed by "Moustapha akkad presents" fades to a lit pumpkin with the camera moving very slowly towards it from a extreme longshot as more titles are shown. There is also a audio bridge across all of thios, a unsettling piano tune made to add suspense and is slowly getting louder. Each title shown also fades out to a red clour symbolising blood and that this is a horror film.
Inside the pumpkin there is a programmed light that is made to flash on and off to add effect and keep the viewers eyes fixed on the film.
This then fades out and fades into "Directed by John Carpernter".
the musicpitch and sound then changes as it goes to the title "Haddonfield, Illnois." this then tells us the location and that its quite serious as a serif font is used. Title then changes again to "Halloween night, 1963" Thia tells the audience when this is taking place and also relates to the title of the film. Children are also singing in the background as this is taking place changing the mood of whats happening.
Title fades out and music abruptly stops.
2:18 in, opening scene starts, extreme longshot of a house and a steady cam is being used so it can reinact the view of someone walking without jolty movements. This is moving towards a house, the house is terraced and looks like a urban setting. Over this there is also no music. This gives a a creepy atmosphere. First 2 characters are then seen at 2:31, as the cam is moving towards the house you briefly see a young couple kissing through the front door window. This tells us that these people are going to be victims as they are unpure and possibly sexually active. The steadycam then moves round the side of the house to a window, here you can see the couple from before kissing on the sofa and then go upstairs shortly after to possibly have sex. From this now you definatly know that one or both of them will die in this opening scene.
The steadycam goes back round the the front of the houseand looks up at a upstairs window, as the light then goes off in that room a sharp piano note is played ringing, and the steadycam/potential killer then moves quickly to the back of the house.This then moves through thr backdoor turning on the kitchen light and takng a knife out of a draw. By this we know that this is a POV shot and we also saw the killrs arm as he reached out for the knife. By showing a knife this also show's that this film is going to be a slasher.
The killer then walks through the house to the stairs just when the male is coming back down the stairs and leaving the house. The killer then walks up the stairs finding a mask on the floor and putting it on. This emphasises the POV shot as it shows that the camera is the killers eyes. as the mask makes a shadow template onto the camera.
The killer then walks into the girls room up behind her, when the girl turns around her reaction is of as she knew him "screaming michael" Killer then repeatedly stabs her not showing much graphic shots so it still gives a realistic look. Killer then walks down out of the front door where a car is just pulling in. 2 adults then come out of the car walking towards him, also knowing who he is they say "Michael?"
Camera then changes from the POV shot as the man takes off the killers mask zooming out showing a small child wearing a halloween costume holding the knife.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Cry Wolf Opening Analysis (GB)

Director: Jeff Wadlow
Year: 2005
Budget: £1m

IDENTS


  • Rogue Pictures
The opening begins with diagetic sounds of a high pitched screaming denoting that the voice is of a female. 
The first shot is a dark side on medium shot of a girl running through an isolated woods at night time (this is denoted by the darkness). 
There is an extreme long shot of the girl running past and then a torch light on the right hand side following the girl, denoting that she is being chased. 
The next shot is a long shot head on view of the girl (in which we first see her facial features, she has blonde hair, denoting that she is a scream queen and connoting that she will die). The girl runs diagonally past the camera and the subject with the torchlight is following her. (The audience can still hear diagetic sounds of her out of breath and screaming) 
The girl falls into a heap full of leaves, the audiences hears diagetic sound of a twig breaking which could possibly denote that she has a broken bone, connoting that she is unable to move. 
A P.O.V shot is shown of the person with the torchlight searching for the girl, moving the torchlight across the leaves, connoting that she is his prey.
There is a close up shot of a phone, anchoring the time era, the subject scrolls down his contact list and stops at 'Becky', the then rings the phone. 
The scream queens phone starts ringing, using exposition to tell the audience the scream queens name, and also denoting that the predator and scream queen have a relationship, they know each other. 
There is non diagetic sound of a siren like sound, building tension, as the music gets faster, there is a dutch angle (denoting that something is wrong) of a medium close up of the scream queen crying. 
A diagetic sound of a gunshot is heard denoting that the girl has been killed. 
a Transition is used straight afterwards to denote the ending of the opening. 
THE OPENING LASTS 2.02 MINUTES 
(Which is similar to the time allowed for the AS student opening of a slasher film)

Peeping Tom Opening Analysis

Peeping Tom (1960)
Michael Powell (Director)
£135,000 (Budget)

The opening shot of the film is of a closed eye, blinking as if it's going to open and then it does open, suddenly rather than slowly as if the person's shocked and has been distracted by something and this connotes that there's something wrong. Once the eye's open int keeps opening wider and wider as if the person's seeing something that they can't quite believe. It's such a close up view of a blue eye that it's hard to imagine whether the eye belongs to a male or female, let alone what they look like.

The next shot is down a dark alley covered in litter with a woman looking into a shop, she looks vulnerable and then turns around dressed in a skirt and top looking like she works the streets as a mysterious man in a long coat walks down the road. It's sunset so it's either late night or early morning connoting she could be working the streets as it's too late for shopping and she's looking into a shop window. The next shot is of an old fashioned camera, it's hidden in a coat a similar colour to t he man's coat who walked past the possibly hooker connoting that he's a creep and that he's filming her.

Original poster.
The camera zooms into the lens of the camera until the screen's black and then the next shot is of the woman on the street being filmed and the viewer can see through the camera's point of view as he walks up to her and checks her out suggesting he could be a pervert before she says 'could be 2 quid' and then walking down another alley in which he follows, still through the camera's point of view. They then go into a house an upstairs denoting that she's a prostitute as she undresses. He then moves closer and closer to the woman as she's lying on the bed and she starts screaming 'NO NO' as if he's got a weapon such as a knife in his hand. It's still being shown through the camera's point of view as if the viewer is enjoying seeing through the killer's point of view as if it's them doing the killing.

The film then skips from the killing straight into a completely different scenario of a man sat in chair watching back the video made of the woman being killed. This connotes that he's the killer. His identity is kept secret in the opening of the film but from the back he looks young and also rich as he has a big screen to watch his film back on; it looks like he has his own cinema room.

Wednesday 7 December 2011

'Scream' Opening

Opens with a close up of the telephone with diegetic sound of the phone ringing. The phone is answered by a hot blonde teenage girl who could possibly be the scream queen because she is blonde. After putting the phone down and being called again, the teenage girl puts the phone down for a second time after making a joke about there being a sex line number that he should call instead. The fact she talks about a sex line connotes that she's sexually active and this is another example as to why she could be the scream queen. A shot of the outside of the house is then shown with the rope swing moving on it's on. The shot shows that the house is worth a lot of money and looks to be quite private and desolate which makes it a good setting for a slasher movie and for killings to take place. Also, no one else can be seen which denotes the girl is on her own and is vulnerable. The girl says she'll call the police but he tells her that they'll never make it on time suggesting that authority figures are useless like most over slasher films.

The vulnerable, blonde, sexually active, alone teenage girl then gets another phone call from the secret man after putting on some popcorn. The girl continues to talk to the man even though he's weird, creepy and stalking her slightly; she tells him what she's doing and that she's about to watch a scary movie with some popcorn. The man on the phone takes interest in the fact she's going to watch a scary movie and asks her what her favourite movie is; she then plays with knifes, this is supposed to be a joke as she's playing around with a deadly weapon as if it's nothing.

The man on the phone gives away the fact he's looking at her which completely changes the feel and mood of the situation; it becomes tense as the girl becomes worried and panics. She gets angry with the man on the phone and as her fear rises, so does the popcorn. When she puts the phone down on him once again, the door bell rings and it sounds like a teasing little tune and when the girl is running around the house, the drum beat in the music gets louder and louder and faster and faster, making the audience feel more tense as their heartbeat speeds up. The girl makes a comment about her boyfriend, proving that she was lying earlier and she describes him as a jock, connoting that she's sexually active if not even denoting it. This is even more reason to believe she's a scream queen therefore she's going to die.

There is non diegetic sound of heavy drum beats, making the atmosphere intense and they're heard when the man on the phone tells the girl to turn on the patio lights. With her boyfriend tied up on the patio, the man on the phone tells her to play a game which is ironic as she's not enjoying it much. The question he asks her is to do with Halloween, her favourite slasher film and because it's a slasher film it's post modernism of Scream being a slasher film too. She gets the question wrong resulting in her boyfriend being killed and as he dies and she crawls away from the window, scary music made with string instruments is played over it. After the man breaks into the house, chases the girl around it and then outside again, the girl sees her parents but they don't notice her as they drive past in a car and this is another example of authority figures being of no use in slasher films. As the masked man catches up to the girl as she runs across her garden, he stabs her in the breasts with a long sharp knife, this is a phalic object.