Blocking and Staging in films

Blocking and Staging:

Blocking and staging in films can be useful to show who has power and who in charge of a scene. It can also make the audience choose between sides, depending on how a shot it shown. The way the camera is placed in accordance to the characters can unknowingly make the viewer pay more attention to a character more than others. It can also make a divide on the views of characters, for example wether they agree with something or not.  

This can help upcoming directors to make their films more interesting and mean more if they stage at it subconsciously gives the viewer more to think about.
I would use staging in my film to represent power and status but also views. I think. it. is interesting to change a viewers mind on a character or make them choose who they support by the placement of actors and the camera.

Analysis of a Hitchcock film

Vertigo (1958, Hitchcock)

We start off by seeing the opening title credits of Universal, Paramount and Vista Vision. It then goes on the show an extreme close up of a woman’s cheek and mouth, as is pans across her lips an actors name pops up in the middle of the screen, as her lips are twitching we can see there will be a theme of anxiety portrayed throughout the film. It then pans up her face reveals that she is looking around with only her eyes which can convey to the audience that she is scared of whats in front of her. The close up of her face can show the. Audience that she is going to be one of the main characters. The camera zooms into her right eye and the lighting goes red as her eye gets bigger which can intensify the feeling of her being scared as red signifies danger, this also creates suspense as the audience don’t know what she is looking at. The pupil of her eye is replaced by a turning swirl which gradually gets bigger and fills the screen until it goes black. This could represent the inner workings of her mind. For the rest of the opening sequence, there are many different shapes and colours of swirls while name credits are shown, this can represent there are different layers to someone personality and identity. When the viewer looks at the spiral it can make them feel dizzy. and another word for this is vertigo which is also the name of the film. There is non-diegetic intense violin strings are being played. Violin strings can be used to make the viewer feel unnerved and uncomfortable. The chimes that are in the background increases the tension which can reveal that the genre will be a mystery-thriller. 

Film Ideas

Possible Film Ideas:

Idea 1:

This article is about a man who was accused of killing his wife after a deep fat fryer fell on her at their family run chip shop.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50474374

For this film you could be the genre court case thriller that shows the husband being arrested and then getting a female lawyer who helps him through the court case, after the case goes on for a year he gets let off because they found evidence that supports him being not guilty. Turns out she was drunk while being at work and pulled the fryer over herself. When the lawyer and husband go out to celebrate, they end up falling in love.

For this film idea I'm using the example of:
A Few Good Men by Ron Reiner

Idea 2:

In this next article it is about a mormon family of nine who were shot dead in Mexico while travelling from their home of La Mora to a near by settlement.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-50339377
To create this film we could film what they were thinking and because there is no conclusion to what happened yet, we could make up a story line that includes the shooting of the family but one of the children survives and wants to reek revenge on person who killed them all.

For this film idea I'm using the example of:
Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino


Idea 3:

In the final article it is about the very sad story of the Parkland school shooting in Florida. This happened when student Nikolas Cruz opened fire in a school killing 17 of his peers.
https://nyti.ms/2BYUXv1

For this plot we could base it on one of the students day and see how the shooting happened and what they felt like while bullets were flying at them.

For this film idea I'm using the example of:
Heathers by Micheal Lehmann

Sweded Thriller Film

My group and I decided to choose Bird Box by Susanne Bier. We chose this film because we had all watched it and thought that we might understand the plot better than if we had chosen a new film. We also chose this because we really liked the settings they used, like the woods and the supermarket. 

We chose to take certain shots because we thought these ones were the most important to the film and help portray what the film is about.

The filming of this has definitely taught me that you don't just need to hold the camera still but you can move with it to give the sequence more texture, and also the creative process that goes into making them, by that I mean the angles they use, wether they are high or low, far away or close up.

The editing for this we did cut shots and added in a black screen to create tension for the viewer. The sound we used swell is mostly non-diegetic sound effects but there is also some dialogue that can show the viewer the characters feelings.

Audience questionnaire and interviews about thrillers

Media questions 

1. What do you like about watching thrillers?
2. What sub-genre of thriller are you most drawn to?
3. What would you expect to see in a thriller?
4. What makes thrillers appeal to you?
5. What is your favourite thriller film and why?
6. What do you think builds suspense in a film?
7. In the opening of a thriller how much of the plot should be shown?
8. Where do you like to watch movies the most? Why?

Interviews:

Interviewe 1:

1. The anticipation that u don’t always know where the storyline will go, in other genres you can usually tell where it is going to go.
2. Crime, psychological , and spy
3. Tension, good vs evil element, makes you think and raises ur blood pressure 
4. Escapism: different from real life, 
5. Girl on the train, it plays wit your perceptions of the characters and a big awakening which shifts the beliefs you had a bout the characters.
6. The sound, lighting, the camera angles and way it is shot(hand held angles where it is shaky)
7. Enough for it to incise you but you don’t want to be able to guess the full plot line, (if the ending can be guessed in the first 5 mins, its disappointing instead of trying to figure it out and it be revealed at the end)
8. In the living room at home with curtains shut but with the tv box near by, if its too tense, in my own space can have any type of reaction to the film without feeling judged 

Interviewe 2:

1. They are exciting and they can make your heart race in certain parts of the film.
2. Crime thriller
3. Tension between characters, usually the main or more important ones.
4. The action they present and they way it makes you think.
5. Joker, it was made to feel very realistic and showed us an insight into a psychopaths brain.
6. The storyline and how it can take a turn at any moment.
7. Not much but enough for it to make you want to watch more.
8. In my bed watching Netflix, I can have my own space and pause it whenever I want. I also don’t have to focus all my attention on a film and I can change the film if I don’t like it.

Interviewe 3:

1. The suspense and how in depth the characters can be, it can be exciting 
2. Crime thriller/ sci-fi thriller
3. Tension between characters and in the plot, constant ambiguity 
4. How exciting they are and how there’s usually not many boring moments
5. Taxi driver, in depth analysis of someones mind and how far someone is willing to the edge
6. Ambiguity involving the plot, as well as key music
7. Not too much, only enough to entice you.
8. In the cinema, the surround sound a great big picture. Also the atmosphere and zero distraction.

Interviewe 4:

1. The  adrenaline it can give you.
2. Sci-fi thriller
3. Depending on the sub-genre, the possibility of death and also tension between characters.
4. The action 
5. A quite place
6. The music as depending on the tone it can make you feel different things.
7. Not a lot 
8. At home so then I can eat my own food and be able to pause it and rewatch parts of it, its also cheaper to watch films at home.

Interviewe 5:

1. They’re scary and give an adrenaline rush
2. Crime thriller
3. Clowns blood gore
4. That they’re scary 
5. Gone girl, the way the characters are presented at the start isn’t who they are at the end 
6. Not knowing the plot straight way 
7. Not a lot 
8. in the cinema so I can enjoy the film without being tempted to go on my phone or talk to others and miss bits of it.

Interviewe 6:

1. It can give you an adrenaline rush
2. Mystery 
3. Psychos and the  tension between characters
4. The fact that in engages the audience
5. The joker - encourages audience to think for themselves instead of being lead in the move
6. Cliffhangers 
7. Very little should be present 
8. in the cinema because the experience is always good

Interviewe 7:

1. The excitement and tension that the film can give you.
2. Psychological thriller
3. The Plot twists that can shock you and sometimes make you feel uncomfortable.
4. They make you think give you time to escape from there real world and just focus on the film.
5. Black swan - because its dark and it makes you think.
6. The Silence 
7. Not very much such be shown
8. in the cinema so I can experience the good quality and sound that comes with it, also then I can eat the cinema popcorn

Interviewe 8:

1. They’re exciting and can make your heart race
2. Psychos thriller 
3. Suspension and mystery
4. They’re isn’t a boring moment and they have a mix of different main genres
5. Hush because it’s scary and a unique idea , films that could happen In real life are exciting to watch.
6. Not knowing what going to happen having certain options about different characters
7. Not a lot because it would ruin the film if more was shown
8. on my bed so I can have the comfort of my own space and feel 'safe' to have my own reaction.

Conclusion:

In conclusion I have found out that for a thriller, you need to only show a small part of the plot, but enough for the audience members to be intrigued by the small portion you have shown. It has shown me that you need to portray the themes of suspension, mystery and anxiety. You also need to make it exciting and potentially give the viewer an adrenaline rush to keep them interested. 

4 different types of opening sequences

Discrete Title Sequence:

Is like a mini film before the film and helps to get the audience into the mood of the film but not tell you what the film is about. It can give you an idea of the tone and the genre of the movie. A ‘discrete’ opening sequence also is often animated and includes a lot of editing work. For example, Se7en or The girl with the dragon tattoo.

Traditional: 

In this type of title sequence, films use sound and font to create the mood of the film.
For example Drive by Nicolas Winding Refn

Straight into a film:

A film, that goes straight into the story and doesn’t has an extra title sequence. A very good example of this is the title sequence of Wes Craven’s Scream. There are no titles at all and the film starts directly with then action of the opening scene. This type of title sequence is far less commonplace and is more likely to be seen in action or horror.

Stylised opening sequence:

A stylised title sequence is a combination of straight into it and discrete. The opening of the film starts straight into the action and then followed by a ‘discrete’ title sequence. The best and most famous example for that are the James Bond openings. This type of opening is often used in stylish action films such as Casino Royale or Mesrine. 

Generic conventions of a thriller presentation

The Shining - Analysis of a film opening

The Shining

The opening sequence of the shining begins with an extreme long shot which shows the audience where the setting is. It shows mainly nature in a wide empty space, this can present the affect of no no one being around so being very isolated. In this shot there is non-diegetic music being played, there are instruments such as guitars, piano and violins. With the echoes these instruments make it helps to emphasise the loneliness and horror genre. The setting is surrounded by mountains which can give a creepy intention as they are high up and very dark between the trees and valleys. This builds up tension for what is going to happen later on in the film. As the genre of the film is horror it is quite unusual for the title sequence to be in daylight but this can relieve the audiences tension in the beginning therefore making the horror and gore that is yet to come more shocking and intense. There is a high angle shot of the car driving up the mountain roads which are empty, this again enforces the feeling of isolation. Further on in the sequence we see lots of fog, this is used in horror films to help hide something or someone. This will help build up tension for the viewer. Later on in the sequence there is snow on the ground, the white of the snow can be seen as innocence and may refer to the victim later on in the film. At the end of the sequence there is an establishing shot of a big house with the mountains in the background. With this shot it can suggest that this will be the main setting for the killing and horror to go on at. 

Skyfall (2012) - Analysis of a film opening

Skyfall (2012) 

The title sequence starts off with the protagonist descending into the sea from a low angle shot, which then pans to a high angle shot. This can show a change of power from a superior, higher position to an inferior, lower position of status. The camera fades into a black colour which can foreshadow death. The protagonists body is seen to be lifeless which can show a tone of dread and suspense from his unresponsive physique. There is a large hand that continues to pull him down which can influence the thought of a controlling influence that will battle him. The next shot is of a big black whole which puts the audience in a first person perspective. Because the viewer doesn’t know where the protagonist will land, it creates and builds tension. The next sequence is of a target whole that has been shot through, the hole then starts to bleed which can foreshadow the character being injured. With the mise-en-scene of the protagonist, whom is dressed in a suit can signify he is a serious character and shows he has a high position in the film. There are also weapons, guns and knives that keep falling and make a gravestone which can imply that violence and death will be big themes throughout, which can tell the audience that action may be the main genre. We can tell there will be a psychological issue in the film as the protagonist is seen shooting his own shadows. The final sequences we see in the opening title is a  medium close up of a girl holding a gun which is in a point of view shot.  With this the viewer can then assume that this female will be the antagonist. The music that is overplayed is non-diegetic and is repeated piano chords played to be a human heartbeat. It is also a repeated with the lyric of ‘this is the end’  this foreshadows what will happen at the end of the film.

The International Analysis

The International - 2009 - Tom Tykwer 

In the opening of The International, there is a close up of one of the characters which we can then assume will be the main character as he has about 10 seconds of screen time where he just stares at another character. We can tell this will be a thriller-mystery as there is an eyeliner match so the audience can tell who may be the villain as we don't see all of his face. The fact that there is a murder within the opening of the film, we can tell that it will most likely be a sub-genre of a thriller-mystery because there was talk about finding out information so there could also be aspects of undercover spying and criminal conspiracy to try and figure out who committed the murder.

The camera work that goes on is quite important, the y use a butch tilt to show the journalist has died and to highlight the importance of his death to the narrative. The sound in the scene can give us quite an ominous outlook on the film as it is a diegetic background noise of rainfall, this rainfall also continues as the two guys fall over in the street but fades out into an ambient sound, it doesn't fade out all the way as it tell us that both aren't dead but matches what one of the men can hear. This sound would be non-diagetic and can signify the guys heart beat and it also intensifies the scene and can tell us something big will happen.