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In the opening sequence of Children of Men the viewer begins by hearing a narration of what seems to be a TV broadcast of the latest news. The news narrate that the youngest person alive has just died at the age of 18 years old, this narration of facts gives the viewer something to start to guess upon the happenings of this world. The shot has not been presented yet as the narrative goes on a black screen. The sound playing is diegetic as both the viewer and the character are hearing it. There is a cut and the viewer is taken to a shot of a coffee shop, onto this coffee shop there is the TV that has been broadcasting the news of this so young and valuable boy, the place is crowded with people that want to know in full details what has happened to this young boy, everyone at the coffee shop is aged 20+, also everyone is wearing big winter coats, however there is a lack of colours and brightness in the lighting of this shot that tells the viewer that this future in which they are living in is not the very best thing that could have happened to them, the choice of costumes for this shot had to be dull and greyish to add the feeling of monotone life style, sad expressions are also very present in this shot ; as the narrative continues the camera focus on the apparently main character as he enters the coffee shop. This scene is very important to establish the central character. Non-verbal actions are taking into account in this scene; as he enters the coffee shop and differently from the rest of the people that are in the place just to watch the news, he goes straight to the counter and orders himself some coffee; this "odd" action again reinforces that he is the central character. There is a small dialog between him and the waitress and for the first time looks at the TV; then there is a cut. The cut shows the TV news in greater detail and relevant information is displayed here, as this is his POV shot. As he steps out of the coffee shop a 180 degree shot is made to establish the tone of the movie. Here the viewer gets a full view of the city and so they can again guess the whys of the lack of reproduction. The well-known London red bus is in this 180 degree shot which helps to establish were this story is being recorded. As he steps out of the coffee shop the viewer can see the differences between this so called future and our time, animated banners took over the place of normal banners, different styles of cars are present in the street but the major difference between the now day time and this narrated future is the pollution. The sky is no longer blue and the air carries smoke in it. Again the lighting of the shot is quite dull and grey and it contributes to reinforce the lack of "life" in this new era. The main character then quietly walks in the street as the viewer experiences enhanced sounds of cars and motorbikes, he then stops to pour himself a generous amount of alcohol in his coffee, another 180 degree shot is taken here, this shot is important to establish his distance to the coffee shop and once again pin point his location in the street, then a bomb goes off, generous amount of sounds fx are used in this bomb blast and also after the blast when the viewer hear screams and a fire alarm.
In the opening scene of City of God, the viewer is presented with multiple close up shots and cuts of lots of things going on at the same time; a knife is being sharpened against a rock, chicken is being killed, plucked and cleaned; samba is being played and danced, a shot of cooking pan and barbecue, all going on at the same time, but they all represent something different; the knife being sharpened against the rock represents death and danger, sound fx enhance the sharpening sound which gives the viewer the impression that someone will be in danger in this movie, the chicken can be considered a metaphor in this movie, that people that are born in the favelas are always bound to either become part of gangs or risk their lives on an uncertain future off the favelas. The samba being played and danced represents some of the Brazilian culture but it also represents a relaxed weekend in where people gather together for a meal and some entertainment, this makes the viewer guess that even though is a common weekend day something may still happen to someone in this movie. As the chicken observes the other chickens being caught one by one, killed and plucked it starts to pick the thin rope that is tying its leg and frees itself. Again it can be considered as a metaphor that if one fights to get out, it could actually make it happen. The chicken begins its run for its life but the gang chef spots that the chicken has scape and orders some of his men to run after the chicken, various of his men go after the chicken armed, even though is unnecessary to carry a gun to chase a chicken. A close is made on the gang chief face and his expression reveals enjoyment, hes enjoying to see many of his men run after a chicken armed. Then a shot of two boys walking, talking about Rockets need of a good photo for a job opportunity at the newspaper. The other boy adverts Rocket that he may be risking his life status in the favela if he suddenly goes around taking pictures for a newspaper but Rocket is convinced that he must take the risk to finally change his life. Theres a cut back to the chicken chase, here we see that the chicken is starting to annoy the gang chef and he shots to one man in the street to grab the chicken but he fails to do so, he then pushes the man to the side and points his gun at him shouting that he should have gotten the chicken for him. The run continues and where taken to a little shot of Rocket and his friend, Rocket is willing to get this jobs no matter what and even jokes at his friend that for the gang chef to get him first he would have to find Rocket first, this is when they come across the chicken and following the chicken is the gang chef and his man, now face to face, the gang chef shouts at his to get the chicken, Rocket prompts himself to get the chicken and she that all the man are taking their guns out and pointing towards him the gang chef shots at him again to get out and he then realises that the police is on his back, and the gang to his front.
Visual: the light settings in this movie begins a bit dull, the dullness of the beginning represents lack of life, also as the viewer follows to the image of killing chickens to eat, this light setting helps to picture the lifelessness of the situation, however plenty of sunlight is present to represent the Brazilian tropical weather. The choice of costume is also chosen to match the circumstances of the habitants of the favela, to point its extremes, to point the poverty, the need to get out of such place, this all favours Rockets wish to become part of the newspaper photographers. Aural:
Many diegetic sounds are present in this opening scene, the constant sound of a knife being sharpened at the beginning of the scene indicates the dangers of such place as the favelas, also enhanced sound fx and Foley has been used for the plucking of the chickens and the actual killing and cleaning of it. The dark atmosphere of the beginning of the scene establishes that the movie is going to be in some parts dark. Verbal: Only after the chicken frees itself and run is that we begin to hear the voices of some of the characters, we hear the gang chief ordering his man to run after the chicken and later in the scene we hear the dialogue between Rocket and his friend. Non-Verbal: Some non-verbal expressions are taken into account in this opening scene, the gang chief seems quite amused at first when the chicken runs but then he turns a bit annoyed, later on the run when he pushes the man on a corner his action of pulling the gun at the guy just because he wasnt able to catch the chicken for him implies that hes a quite merciless and aggressive guy. Rockets expression when hes in between the gang and the cops is one of the most valuable ones of this movie; it shows fear and a little despair as well
dialogue with a 180 degree cut and again a whole location cut, while talking the man behind the desk then steps up and the camera is slightly behind the narrator man, as the camera follows the second man whose moving towards the narrator man, it crosses the back of the narrator man and breaks the 180 degree line, the dialogue continues and various 180 degrees cuts are made in this part of the scene until the two man come to an agreement, the second man half embraces the narrator man and the camera moves along to the side of then, the second man is leading the narrator man out of the room, they reach the door and the narrator man leaves. The second man then gives a few orders to the third man while sniffing the rose on his suit.
180 degree rule is basic guideline which determines where the character will be in the shot, for example 2 people are talking the first will always be on the right of the second person and the second always to the left of the first, the camera can move along one side this axis that connects the two characters, therefore making the 180 rule, when the camera moves to the other side of the axis, its called jumping/crossing the line.
Camera Technique:
Camera techniques is very unnatural in horror genre, low camera angles usually imply the vulnerability of the character toward the creepy, POV shots are taken to make the audience empathise or feel that characters feelings (usually fear) at that moment, running or speedy handheld shots usually disorientate the audience making them believe that they have left behind that brief moment of safety (if any occurred) for the unknown that lies ahead, this usually makes the audience unsettled. Close ups are quite effective to give the audience that big jump if the monster is creeping behind the character.
Lighting:
Lighting is very important for the horror genre, dim light creates a disturbing feeling for the character and audience as their eyes cannot see everything that surrounds them, this makes easier to manipulate the audiences feeling and to maintain them in constant uneasy. Focal lighting also enables the area to become quite creepy looking as the light will be focusing at one specific point where everything else remains in darkness.
Sound:
The use of diegetic sound is very important on horror movies because we want the audience to hear what the character is hearing and make them anxious. Any sounds from loud bangs to quiet footsteps are very important to engage the audience and make them feel connected to the character. Non- diegetic sounds such as soundtrack are equally important in the horror genre; a creepy rising lullaby in the background unsettles the audience and makes them feel aware that danger is around and coming towards them.
Editing/Manipulating Time:
Quick cuts on a chasing scene makes the audience feel the rush of the character and even its fear if it is being chased by something, slow-mo. cuts are equally important as it makes the audience feel the unsettledness of the character (footsteps approaching slowly as the character is hidden but listening to it).
Interview with a vampire: in the film interview with the vampire, less iconography is used
compared to Draculas film, however in the first couple of minutes and increasing dramatic non-
diegetic song is being played therefore building up tension on the viewer. As the camera follows up the building we see that there is a person looking out of the window, the shot follow to the back of this person, it is a man in a rather fine looking suit, his hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and from here the viewer might begin to wonder if this man is a vampire. This doubt is soon confirmed to be true as the interviewer guy asks the man what do you do? and he answers Im a vampire, also as he moves with quite a quite superfast speed to turn the light on so they can speak easily. His eyes are quite colourless and his face is very pale. Louis states that vampires love the light, this is rather a controversy of his situation as he or any other vampire can no longer walk under the sun, he tries to abstain himself from human blood quite a lot of times throughout the film and most of the time he refuses to kill for pleasure as Lestat does so often, this again contradicts with what he actually is, a vampire, by giving him a more human approach toward life itself. Some generic conventions were applied on this film, as Louis quotes coffins unfortunately are a necessity. As Claudia tries to kill Lestat but he comes back to life because she did not stab his heart, further as we see Louis and Lestat putting fire in the vampire theatre and all those vampires come to and end, further on we see that Claudia and the new made female vampire dies from being exposed to the sun.
True Blood (season 1): in true blood season 1 we see that lots of modern things were
adopted on the vampire theme giving a new twist to old traditional vampire movies. Thanks to Japanese scientists that have created synthetic blood vampires are now able to leave the shadows and reveal their existence to humans as they no longer depend on living off human blood .As vampires are allowed to live within society normally and are given similar rights unless they come to kill a human, vampire and human relationship supposedly was to be though quite normal, however many issues are exposed such as the struggle for equal rights, discrimination and violence against subgroups and homosexuals, drug addiction, the power and influence of faith and religion, the control/influence of the media, and the importance of family. The TV series does not carry many conventions with it but still had the fundamental ones that remind the viewer that those are vampires, such as day light restrictions, problems with silver, the traditional method of changing a human onto a vampire, by sucking them dry and replacing their blood with vampire blood. In True Blood, Bill the vampire acts and tries to fit into the small town to live in the house that belongs to him following the death of his last relative, he then fall in love with Suki a telepathic girl. The human vampire relationship is well enforce in this series as firstly Suki takes an interest over Bill and he then falls in love with her and wants to protect her from any type of evil that may befall her. Many other forms of supernatural is presented on this series as well as the vampire.
metaphor
Sound:
The sounds used in this opening scene are quiet ambient sounds or loud bangs and/or screams, completely opposite types of sound but yet they work perfectly to create suspicion and tension in the audience.
Camera:
A good range of shots have been taken onto account on this opening scene it varies a lot between close ups, long shots, medium shots and others; however not many scenes seems to be hand held shots, so even though close ups offer a space for the audience to sympathise with the characters you dont feel completely on their shoes at some points that it would be quite useful.
Mise-en-scene:
As for Mise-en-scene the whole of the imagery contributes for a scary feeling; this horror story is being shot at winter, where everything seems to be frozen and dead. The night only hunts creates that feeling that going out at night alone is dangerous and that one should remain safely indoors until the sun is up again.
Theory of equilibrium:
I could not quite see an initial equilibrium on this opening scene; therefore I believe that it already begins at a disequilibrium point and then follows on to the equilibrium (ending)
Character archetypes:
Again it is very difficult to categorise the characters of this movie as they do not follow the convention codes for the horror genre. However as we do spend quite a lot of time with the boy and girl we begin to believe that the two of them are the protagonists.
Binary opposites
The binary opposites for this film are a bit messed to identify as the boy who is human possesses the looks of the vampire stereotype, and the girl who is the real vampire villain possesses the looks of abnormal human kid; therefore I think of them as a complementary.
Sound:
The characters barely speak and instead diegetic sounds fills the scene and let the audience thinking why the characters are so mysterious.
Camera:
As for camera techniques, the choice of shooting the scene on a carrousel makes the audience imagine that they are there with the character as well because all the rest of the background is circling with them. Most of the shots are long to medium shots.
Mise-en-Scene:
The whole of the scene is quite bright and colourful as the shot is happening at a fun fair, the characters move slowly in contrast with the carrousel which is moving quite quick, this gives a sense of mysterious to the characters indicating that they might be dangerous.
Equilibrium Theory.
From the small sequence I saw I believe that the equilibrium started with the darkness prevailing, the disequilibrium would follow with the introduction of a hero and the new equilibrium would be restored when darkness was defeated.
Character archetypes:
Its quite easy to identify characters on this opening scene; we have the villains (the troublesome looking guys) the helpless victim (the girl in the carrousel) and the authority.
Binary opposites:
As no hero has been introduced yet the only opposite to compare is the villain to the victim.
Directors.
Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and business magnate. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing humanistic issues such as the Holocaust, the transatlantic slave trade, war, and terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks movie studio.
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, (13 August 1899 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, renowned as England's best director
Timothy Walter "Tim" Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director, film producer, writer, poet, and stop motion artist. He is known for his dark, gothic, macabre and quirky horror and fantasy films such as Beetle juice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie, and for blockbusters such as Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Batman, its first sequel Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.