Dirty Pretty Things

This film gave me various different inspiration gains from the way that shots were angled, sound was placed in specific areas and they way that different locations were used. The film is set in central London, a busy capital where there is a high presence of police presence and very little corruption within businesses and within the authorities. The storyline of this film works its way into the emotions of the viewers as they are able to bond with characters at the beginning of the film which then creates a relationship throughout the film where the audience do not want the 'good characters' to get hurt. Dirty Pretty Things is successful as a thriller in the sense that it takes a familiar setting of a hotel and places the unthinkable in it. Also, the use of the stereotypical urban gritty location is used.

Firstly, the low angle shot that is used when the male protagonist finds a human heart in the toilet of the hotel was effective due to the mise-en-scene that was also used within the scene. The white clinical scenery of the bathroom is an aspect of a hotel that the audience can recognise and relate to, however when a heart is pulled from the toilet the audience are shocked as something irregular is placed within their comfort zone. I feel that this is effective as the director has purposely chosen the location of the hotel in order to create a relationship with the viewers as nearly everyone has stayed in a hotel. When the heart is found in the toilet the audience will feel uncomfortable and uneasy as they can picture themselves placed in a similar position.

A second scene which stood out was when the female protagonist is in the factory being raped by the owner. The prop placement of the clothing rails created a sense of entrapment for the female victim. This conveys the thriller concept of placing a vulnerable victim in a dangerous situation where the viewers can emphasize with the character. This creates suspense within the audience, it is as if the director is pulling on a string attached to the gut of the viewers as the are wondering what is going to happen next or if someone is going to save the victim. I feel that this is effective because it takes the fear of all members of the audience and places it in a place where they can recognise as a safe location. Within my trailer I am going to aim to include a quick shot of a scene where viewers can notice a location where they feel they would be safe and away from danger and place an unthinkable thought in it.

At various points throughout the extract low angle shots are used on the most victimised character in order to portray the vulnerability of the character. These shots focus on facial expressions, allowing the audience to feel empathy. Shots that focus on the facial expressions of the characters are effective as they allow the audience to understand how the character is feeling at a specific moment in time. Therefore I feel that shots including close ups within my teaser trailer will be effective as the audience will be able to gain enough information through the trailer to make them want to go and watch the film.

The low key lighting throughout the film was shadowy and dark, creating a grey and oppressive mood throughout the film. It also makes the viewer realise that there are things going on around London that aren't shown through the media or brought to public attention. The setting also seems hidden and secretive. For instance, the location of the flat, hotel car park and the cab office are all on the backstreets of London.

Sound seems absent throughout the extract with occasional parallel sound ; for example the heartbeat in the hotel room when operating. This works effectively  as silence is sometimes more effective than sound. The absence of sound allows the viewers to relate to the characters and concentrate on the events occurring within the film. Therefore I feel that when deciding on what sound to include with my trailer I will need to decide whether the absence of sound will suit the story line more effectively than dark creepy sound.

The most inspirational scene of this film in the graveyard scene where the male and female protagonists are taking place in an argument. This is because the location is in the middle of London where as a viewer you would believe that you are the most safe. This graveyard is located in the local area of Old Street and I feel that my group should consider filming a scene here as the mise-en-scene needs no editing or tweaking. The placement of the railings and gravestones surrounding the characters create the feeling of being locked in an area that no one would like to be trapped in.

The Shining

The shining works well in the way that the directors and characters have taken the everyday fears of their target audience and adapted them with the film in order to play on consumers fears in order to create suspense and tension. For instance the setting of a hotel is highly effective as a hotel is stereotypically a location where people tend to feel safe. The shining took a place that the audience would recognise as place within their comfort zone and inserted their darkest fears to create that gut feeling of fear as the audience are able to relate to the viewers and will end up on the edges of their seats screaming 'no, don't go there; run the other way!'. Also, the director has placed three very vulnerable characters inside this location; a mother, father and young son. This therefore creates victims from the beginning of the film and the audience are able to bond and relate to the characters before the horrid experiences start happening to them. The audience are therefore able to recognise from the beginning of the film that something is going occur later on during the film where these characters are placed within victimising situations.

I believe that this film would classify as a 'horror' rather than an 'ultimate horror' as the fear of the unknown is not used and the film solely relies on the relation between characters and the audience. Another way the the shining utilises the concept of horror is through a clear evil character being created close to the beginning of the film where Jack (the father) is established as becoming a 'little crazy'. The audience are then able to distinguish the good characters away from the bad characters.

Another effective technique used within this film is that the theory of the male gaze is applied at many different points. The most clear use of this technique is when Wendy (the mother) is holding a baseball bat towards Jack whilst slowly backing away from him. This utilises the concept of the male gaze as the female character is being portrayed as a strong woman whilst in a position of vulnerability.

Although i have identified this film as horror movie there are some clear ingredients of thriller that have been used. For example, taking a familiar setting of a hotel and creating a film based on something the audience would not expect. Also, thrillers tend to use limited amounts of blood and gore and 'The Shining' used a very limited amount of bloody scenes during the entire film. Furthermore, the use of normal everyday characters that the audience are able to connect with is a key ingredient that thriller movies tend to include. For example Jack, Wendy and Danny appear as a normal family being placed in a new location until the terror begins.

Elements of the bomb theory are recognisable throughout the film. For example the audience can see jack becoming mentally ill a lot earlier than Wendy and Danny, this relates to the 'knowing more than the characters' ingredient of the bomb theory. False plateau was used towards the end of the film in the scene where Wendy is locked in the bathroom with Jack trying to break his way through the door with an axe. The audience can see Jack approaching the door with the axe and can also interpret Wendy's emotions to embrace her vulnerability. The audience are able to know more than the characters and will want to help the characters after creating an earlier bond with them. This technique is also applied to the scene where Danny is being followed by Jack in the maze.

Sound was used in almost every minute of the film to make the viewers feel specific emotions and feel certain ways about each character. Sound was also important as it was used in parallel to the actions taking place in scenes. For example sound used when jack is on screen tormenting his family members was quite low tempo and fast creating pace and suspense whereas when jack is playing on his bike through the hallways the sound used is a lot more upbeat. Another example of the effective use of sound is in the scene where the camera is tracking Jack through the kitchen towards Danny and there was non-digetic parallel sound being played. The sound being played was deep, loud and fast making the viewer sympathize with Danny who is hiding from jack in the cupboard.

Mise-en-scene throughout the film was used very effectively through the use of prop placement and character costume. This is specifically noticeable in the bathroom scene where the walls are painted red; symbolic of danger and blood. Also, the costume of the bartender and Jack show binary opposites and create realisation to the viewers. This scene was most influential to my group as we felt the colour of the walls and the clinical feel to the room was an effective way to portray the danger quickly approaching the family.

In conclusion I feel that my group has been able to gain a large amount of inspiration from this film from the use of tracking and quick shots through to prop placement and the locations used. I aim to include a location which looks safe and that the viewers believe that characters will be safe in order to create a sense of bonding between characters and the audience. Also, the bathroom scene with Jack and the bartender is my most favourite scene throughout the whole movie as i think the mise-en-scene is aesthetically pleasing to the viewers eye. I believe that by including a a quick shot of a scene which includes a location similar to this will allow my teaser trailer to include a high level of sophistication whilst also creating that clinical feel to the scene.

The Early Horrors; Nosferatu 1922

When horror began, the element of colour and dialouge were non-existent and horror films focused on using music as a way of creating suspense and getting the audience scared. Chiarscuro, italian for light and dark, was also a key element of the first horrors produced. This is because the absence of colour meant that directors had to focus on using light and dark to make the viewers feel certain things and specific ways. This is clearly shown in the extract above where light and dark are used in specific scenes to allow the viewer to feel the tension and upset within a specific scene.

Also, I feel that the way the Nosferatu uses shadows works very effectivley. Throughout various scenes the placement of characters represented the type of character they are. For instance, the 'bad' characters tend to be loacted in a frame which has a low, dim and dark lighting however the 'good' characters are usually placed within yellow and bright lighting. This is evident in a scene at the middle of Nosferatu where the male protagonist is walking behind Dracula and he is walking through a dark passage way. This has inspired me on the basis that the representation of characters in this scene through light and dark works really well as the audience are able to identify Dracula as the evil character.

Sound is also a key aspect of Nosferatu that has inspired me.The way that the director has used the tempo of sound in relation specific characters to give the audience an impression of what is going to happen o each character and when something bad is going to happen.The use of parrellel sound within Nosferatu creates suspense and unease, something of which I would like to include within my groups teaser trailer. Therefore when selecting sound to be used within my teaser extract I am going to aim to find sounds that I can use within the extract when something is going to happen. For example a screaming noise could be a clue to the audience that something is going to happen. This noise could be repeated through the extract as a sign of evil coming closer.

Although I did not enjoy the story line of this film and found it hard to watch due to the lack of dialouge I feel I have gained some needed inspiration based on sound, lighting and chiarscuro.