Evaluation

For our task, we chose to make a thriller disguised as a romance film. Our film is a story about a man and a woman who see each other at the train station every day, as the day go on, the woman becomes more involved with the man’s life by leaving him post-it notes and buying him breakfast without ever actually meeting. When they finally meet at the end of the film, we see the two characters flirting with each other, and then disappearing into an alleyway where the woman kills the man, shown by his twitching fingers on the floor as she steps over him with no remorse.

To keep the faces hidden but to show emotion within the characters, we used extreme close ups on the eyes and lips, as they are very voyeuristic features. I thought this was good as it conveyed the emotion to the audience, and is also a key conventions within both romance and thriller genres.  During post production, we had the idea of having the entire film in black and white, all except for the two main characters, however when it came to editing, we didn’t have enough time and were unable to do so.

Stoyboard

Shots

Shots

• Begins with a montage
• Lots of over-the-shoulder shots
• Extreme close-ups of eyes and lips
• Close-ups during the montage
• Tracking shots
• Two shots
• Medium shot

Shot list

Montage - each shot is 3 seconds, on the next montage 2 seconds, on the last montage 1 second.

• Clock    -  close up
• Teeth    - over the shoulder shot
• Hair - medium shot behind
• Lips   - extreme close up
• Stairs in shoes home   - tracking shot
• Key  - key in lock close up
• Train station stairs   - tracking shot
• News paper  - medium shot
• train station clock   - close up
• Train  - medium close up low angle
• Repeat

Bittersweet cinematic ideas

Cinematic ideas

Mise-en-scene

• Lots of red - This links to the genre of both romance and thriller, red links to romance as it connotes with love, and hearts, valentines day. Red also links with thrillers as it is the colour of blood, and danger, and warning. The meaning of red within this film is significant especially to the woman, as it is her signature lipstick look, and also gives her an aura of lust, romance and danger too.
• Newspapers - Inside the newspaper or on the front page, it usually contains a murder or killing of some sort  - this is ironic within the storyline as she is reading about murder, and is supposed to shock or scare her, but in fact she may be planning a murder herself.
• Based around time/clocks - The clock links into the storyline as it is always counting down to the day that the man dies, and is a sense of realism within the story too as clocks are seen around us all the time.
• The aesthetic of a train station, primary colours, trains - The trains remind the audience of the woman’s day to day life, and it is also a constant reminder of how the two meet. The fast rushing of the train can also link to the thriller genre, as thrillers are usually fast paced and dangerous, like a train.
• Asda bag - This is significant to the man, as it is his signature item. He seems to carry this bag whenever we see him, and by seeing this bag, it will constantly remind the audience of the man.
• Post it notes - This links with the narrative as she begins to get involved with the man’s life - it is her way of communicating with him indirectly.
• Eyes and lips - These extreme close ups of the eyes and lips allow us to show the audience the characters reactions without giving away the entire face - this creates a sense of mystery which links with the thriller genre.
• Polaroids - This links in with the narrative at the end, as it shows the audience how many victims the woman has potentially murdered.
• Lipstick - This, along with the red lips, are a convention of the romance genre as lips and red connotate with kissing, and love. This is alo a key signature of the woman.
• Heels - The heels show the womans maturity and sense of style. This links with the romance genre as heels are usually used to make a woman look sexy.

Bittersweet moodboard

Bittersweet synopsis

Our film tells the story of a woman who lives the same, boring, ordinary mundane life every single day with the same patterns and organisation, until one day a strange man stands at the opposite platform to her, and becomes a regular in the mornings, just like her. They begin to create a special sort of bond, almost speaking to each other through facial expressions and gestures across the platforms, never saying a word to each other. She noticed that every morning he carries  the same asda bag containing his breakfast, a drink and a granola bar/piece of fruit. The woman starts to become infatuated with this man and the audience is led to believe that she falls in love with him, as he does her. She begins to take a more forward approach by leaving sticky notes on his side of the platform, leaving a cute message very now and then, always leaving a smiley face at the end. On one sticky note she leaves her phone number, and the man starts to text message her, but she never replies to him on the phone, she only talks to him through the sticky notes. As she becomes more infatuated and slightly involved with his life, she begins to start buying his Asda breakfast for him, even though she has only seen what he had in the mornings from a far away distance. Both characters will have something distinctive about them, for example, the woman may always wear a ed shade of lipstick, and the man will have an asda bag with him - this can help differentiate these two characters from everyone else. In each and every sticky note, it always counts down to one particular date, and even though the man repeatedly asks her what the date means, she would always shake her head, or refuse to tell him. As the day arrives, she leaves a note telling him to meet her on her side of the station platform at night to catch the last train together, so they could finally meet properly. Once they finally meet at the end, we see the man and woman walk into the passageway of another platform, where the woman hides a knife behind her back. She then leaves the station, where we are taken back to her bedroom where she sticks up a photograph of this newfound lover on her wall, surrounded by many other photographs of men and women, fading into a black screen.

Pan's Labyrinth Essay

The Beginning

The beginning of the film starts with Ofelia’s death. It is introduced with the non diegetic lullaby that is sang later on in the film by Mercedes, and the sound of non diegetic to diegetic breathing is heard. The camera tracks upwards towards the top of the well where we see blood drops flying upwards, to then see a close up of Ofelia’s hand and face, where we see the blood from her nose dribble back into her nose in a rewinded sort of way, to show the story backtracking in order to start from the beginning. The close up shot of Ofelia’s face used here shows the real desperation in her eyes, and makes the audience and I feel intrigued as you want to know how she died. After this close up, the camera zooms in on Ofelia’s eye creating an extreme close up, and cross fades in and out of the next scene. The use of the zoom on Ofelia’s eye is a recurring theme throughout this film, as eyes are a main focus point. The eye is a representing factor of the oppression that people felt during the spanish civil war, as they saw a lot of things that they would not have been able to speak about, such as fascism, hence why they focus on the eyes, to represent seeing the corruption, and not being able to speak about it. Other places where this is represented would be when Ofelia first walks in the country road and picks up a stone with an eye on it, and proceeds to place it into a statue of a horrified face whose mouth is wide open - this again represents the fact that the people were being oppressed, and not being able to speak their own minds. As Ofelia places the eye back into the statue, a grotesque insect crawls out of the mouth, which could also reinforce the fact that Ofelia see’s fantasy all around her, but is also unable to speak about it as people do not believe her - this fantasy world could also represent all of the horrible things going on around her, and could act as a form of escapism for her. Another place where we see the representation of eyes is at the beginning of the maze, where there is a statue of a face with a long mouth and dark beady eyes, again representing the fact that no one could speak of the monstrosities they saw.

The Pale Man

The scene begins as Ofelia draws a door onto the wall, where we hear the diegetic sound of the chalk scraping along the wall accompanied by the loud non diegetic dramatic music, which gives the indication that she is about to embark upon a dangerous quest. We are soon shown that we are about to enter Ofelia’s fantasy world, as the camera zooms in on the chalk, using an extreme close up to show the chalk bubbling like acid on the wall. As this does so, we hear the diegetic sound of the chalk bubbling and fizzing, but we also hear the non diegetic music begin to rise and intensify as Ofelia pushes the concrete door inwards, where we hear the loud grotesque sound of the concrete sliding inwards. Once the door is open and she looks inside of this fantasy world, the non diegetic music reaches it’s climax and becomes deeper, and low toned, giving the new world an eerie atmosphere. Here, we hear the non diegetic sound of the pal man breathing for the first time. The camera tracks back and uses a cross fade to show how long the hallway that Ofelia is placed into actually is. The colours shown within the fantasy world are very dark, the colours red and stone are used to indicate how old and aged this fantasy world is, the colour red could also represent the danger that she is getting herself into. As ofelia looks back onto the hourglass, a close up is used on the hourglass to represent its importance, as Ofelia must get back into the real world before the time runs out. As Ofelia continues to walk down the hallway and into the large room, we are introduced to the mass amount of mise en scene in this scene. With this single long shot, we see a long table covered in food and drink, with the Pale Man sat at the head of the table. There is a fireplace behind him that burn a bright orange, both the fire and colour representing the danger that lies within the Pale Man. This shot is almost identical to earlier on in the film where we see The Captain sat at the head of the table that is covered in food, and it even has a fireplace behind the captain too. As this fantasy world is largely made up around Ofelia’s imagination, this could be an indication as to how she see’s The Captain as a monster, or some sort of evil doer. The camera tracks alongside Ofelia as she walks along the table covered in food and stares at it longingly, as at that time in the film, food was something quite rare and hard earned. Here, we only hear the diegetic sound of the fireplace crackling, until Ofelia sees the Pale Man up close for the first time, where both Ofelia, the camera, and the non diegetic sound jumps in shock. The edit cuts to a close up of the eyeballs on the plate, as Ofelia picks them up and looks at them in disgust, putting them back down. This close up could indicate to the audience that this will be used, or shown later on within the scene, and have meaning and purpose. The camera then uses a close up of the Pale Man’s face, then to Ofelias face to show the true look of horror and disgust, and also freight that Ofelia feels when looking at the Pale Man, making us a an audience feel it too. Non diegetic sound of children crying in pain and fear is then used softly underneath the sound of the fire crackling, as the camera moves towards the images on the wall of the Pale Man stabbing, and eating babies and children - indicating to Ofelia that this creature is dangerous and should be feared. The camera then shows a close up of a pile of childrens shoes on the floor, which again reiterates the fact that this creature eats and kills children, giving him more power within this scene. Ofelia then releases the fairies/helpers, who fly toward a se of three little doors, and point toward the middle one. Ofelia tries the key, but it does not work - this could show that even though the fairies, or helpers, are there to guide and to help her, they do, and will, in fact betray her, and lie to her, which is key to remember within Ofelia’s fantasy world - that the people or creatures within it can betray her. As the scene continues, the Pale Man awakens and takes ahold of two of the fairies and eats them - this could have another deeper layer of meaning. If the fantasy world is an over exaggerated, grotesque version of the real world that she lives in, with the Pale Man representing The Captain and the fairies representing the people Ofelia trust, such as Mercedes, The Doctor and her Mother - this could show how at some point, The Captain will find out about her helpers, and will potentially destroy them, which is foreshadowing what is to come further on in the film.

Trainspotting Analysis

The worst toilet in Scotland

The scene is introduced with a quick fade in, followed by a long shot taken at a low angle, which shows a large proportion of the main restroom and how disgusting and grotty it is, as it is covered head to toe with dirt, filth, urine and faeces. By having low key lighting, and fill lighting, it creates a darkened more gloomy effect to the restroom making it look even more disgusting than it already may be. By having this scene shown very early on in the film, it immediately gives the audience and I an insight into the aesthetics of the entire movie, and the over-exaggerated filth of the toilet also creates a sense of hyperrealism. Mark, the main character, is framed between a sink and some urinals, using the rule of thirds so that my attention is mainly on him. The mise-en-scene of the broken sinks, dirty unwashed urinals and mucky floor all adds to the effect of this being the “worst toilet in Scotland”, adding to this effect of hyperrealism. The only sound heard so far in the scene is the sound of leaking dripping from the ceiling, and other diegetic sewage sound effects. Another part of the mise-en-scene to consider would be the hair and costume shown on Mark. Mark has a buzz cut hair style, also known as a skinhead. He also wears quite scruffy and old looking clothes; this stereotypical look immediately tells the audience that he would be considered underclass. This shot cuts to a bird’s eye view of the of the toilet, quickly followed by a cut to a low angle medium close up of Mark, giving a comedic reaction shot. As Mark proceeds to sit down on the toilet, the camera is held at a neutral shot at a medium angle; as well as this, Mark is framed very compactly inside the cubicle, again making him centre of attention. The mise-en-scene of the grimy walls and litter on the floor adds to the disgusting aesthetic that the film creates and continues throughout. The only sound heard is the diegetic sound of Mark excreting in a very over dramatic and over the top way, which adds to the comedic side of the film. As he does so, it cuts to a close up of Mark’s face as he is wide eyed and full of horror as he realises that he had lost the drugs in the toilet. After this realisation, it cuts to a medium close up of Mark rummaging around inside the toilet, pulling faces of disgust and revolt, gagging and spitting. As he looks for the drugs, there is a slight matching on action edit used as the camera cuts to various different angles of him searching inside of the toilet bowl. The camera returns to the medium shot that is taken side on, as Mark leans into the toilet and begins to plunge his whole body down the toilet. This could be a metaphor for two things; this could show how the effects of drugs, on young people especially, drive them to addiction and having a sense of need and dependency upon them. As Mark dives into the toilet after the drugs, it could physically show his life going “down the toilet”, and how his life is going downhill due to his drug addiction. However, this could also be the film physically taking its first plunge into hyperrealism, which would be classed as something out of the ordinary for social realism film. As all of this happens, we hear the diegetic sound of water sloshing around, but the first part of non diegetic sound is introduced as a classical stereotypical song used when a character is in triumph.

The scene cuts to a low angle long shot where we see Mark swimming around under water, as he searches for his depositories. Here, there is backlighting used to create the light coming from the top of the toilet bowl, to create a sense of realism within this hyper realistic scene. The colour of the water is a blue colour, which makes everything look very serene, which is also emphasised by the non diegetic, soft, calming music. This angle may have been used to show how serene and calm the situation is, and perhaps reflect Mark’s feelings and emotions as he knows he is close to finding his drugs. It cuts to a tracking shot of Mark swimming downwards towards the pills, where he bypases a stereotypical underwater bomb, which he looks at but stays clear of. This could represent the danger of drugs and how at any moment, his drug usage could become too overwhelming and perhaps destroy his life - it could go off at any moment, just like a bomb. However, it could also represent the dangers that drugs can have, and could even be seen as a warning to not take the pills - however, he decides to look at and ignore this warning sign, continuing to swim down to collect the pills from the bottom of the ocean floor. As he retrieves the drugs, they appear to glow, as they are surrounded by rocks. This gain could be a metaphor for Mark hitting rock bottom within his drug use, as he feels dependant on them, and relies on them to help him come out of his addiction. The connotations around the glowing drugs could perhaps show how Mark see’s them as something holy, or he feels like his life is lead by the light, which in this case, would be drugs.

The Recovery

Later on in the film, Mark is recovering from an overdose, where he is kept at his parents house in his old bedroom. Here, we are first introduced to a long shot at a neutral angle where we see Mark tucked in bed which is located between a chair and a chest of drawers, conforming to the rule of thirds, making Mark the centre of attention. There is both the diegetic sound of Mark kicking around in the duvet and grunting and squirming from the pain of withdrawal and cramps, as well as the non diegetic sound of upbeat music playing and a voice over of Mark as he tells the audience the symptoms of drug withdrawal and the pain that comes along with it. This voice over is a type of exposition. The camera zooms in to a close up of Mark’s face as he look distressed, and then cuts to a long shot of the bedroom from behind Mark’s head, keeping him in frame. Here, there is a zolly used, keeping the focus upon Mark’s body and head, whilst the rest of the room distorts and warps around the subject of focus. As this zolly is used, the beat of the non diegetic music kicks in, creating a sense of suspension and action as we see Mark battling against his symptoms and illness. Here, as well, we see the mise en scene of the room. The room is quite bare and simple, with a green wardrobe at the end of the wall, his bed, a chair, and his chest of drawers - but most importantly, we are exposed to the wallpaper that is covered in trains. This is an overall metaphor for the film, and the title Trainspotting, and links in well with Mark’s recovery. Trainspotting is an activity in which a person will stay at a station and watch trains all day, logging their numbers - an addictive activity. However, Trainspotting is also another word for when a heroin user injects heroin into a vein, and it leaves a dark linear line on the side of the affected vein, also known as “tracks”. Both of these descriptions can link to the film, as heroin is an addictive activity or substance that leaves tracks upon your veins. The shot cuts from the zolly to a longer take of a close up of Mark’s face, as we see the sweat forming on his forehead and the exhausted but highly awake expression on his face. The lighting used here is quite dark and leaves shadows on his face, which could perhaps suggest that there is a metaphorical dark cloud above him, and that this recovery will not be easy. The use of the actor's sudden jerks and movements ties in with the jumpy upbeat music, which makes the scene feel much more alive and exciting. The beat of the non diegetic music dies down and the sound of Dianne singing a soft yet choppy song; the shot cuts to show her sat on the end of his bed in her school uniform singing, which then cuts back to Mark, pushing his head into the pillow as the sound of Dianne’s voice dies down too. Although it is only slight, Dianne is shown in a little more light than the rest of the room, including Mark, within this scene - this could show that even in his hallucinations, Mark can see that Dianne had been the brightest part of his life during his drug addiction, even if their experience together was only brief.

Train-spotting Context

What was the Poll Tax and why was it introduced into Scotland first?

The poll tax was a fixed tax per adult resident, it was introduced to replace the domestic rates in Scotland in 1989. It provided for a single-flat rate per person on every adult at a rate set by the local authority. 

Why was the Thatcher government so unpopular in Scotland?
She was so unpopular because her economic policies damaged and destroyed Scottish industries such as coal mine, steel working and ship building without the interest of replacing jobs or helping the unemployed. She was also unpopular as she used Scotland as a guinea pig for the new tax system for a year, rising the tax before introducing it to Scotland or England. 

How does the film reflect the social conditions of the day?
It shows how these sort of people had to suffer due to the new taxing system and how it made young Scottish people rose up to rebellion against the government, as they did not agree to being tested upon. 

What are the conventions of social realism?
Social realism is a film genre which focusses on showing the audience what true life is like. It uses more low budget type feel and non professional actors with a range of location shots and realistic imagery, and explores wider social issues through the emotional and dramatic individual stories. it is all very real. 

What kind of political ideologies are most associated with this style of film making?
The underclass is often exposed in these softs of films, focussing on the communist/socialist societies. 

What is Hyperrealism? 
Realism in art characterised by depiction of real life or a striking manner. Taking real life and pushing it further - the worst toilet in Scotland. 

Prisoners Analysis

Prisoners Analysis

The scene begins with an establishing shot of a diner with a car parked in front of it dead centre to bring the main focus to the car, using the rule of thirds. There is low key lighting used outside whereas there is a glow coming from the diner, as it is lit up, emphasising the fact that this scene takes place at night. The only sound heard is the diegetic sound of the thunder and rain, which is a common convention in drama/thriller films. The use of the establishing shot gives a sense of location and time for the audience, whereas the attention brought towards the car gives me the implication that it may have a sense of use and meaning within the sequence. The shot cuts to a long shot of the diner from a high angle, showing a man sat at a table by himself with his back towards the camera. This could suggest that this character, Detective Loki, is a lonely character; which could also be interpreted through the pathetic fallacy of the diegetic thunder and rain coming from outside. There is bright lighting within the diner as you see the detective eating, with the diegetic sound of cutlery clinking together over the sound of the diegetic rain as the camera very slowly and gradually zooms in on the detective, as a waitress comes around to serve him coffee. This long shot slowly zooming in may be to reinforce the fact that he is the only customer in the dimer, the camera zooming in could perhaps be used to create gradual suspension. As the waitress talks to the detective, the camera does not focus on her but stays focused upon the detective, even though he has his back towards the camera, meaning that hat he says must be of importance as the rest of the background, including the waitress, is slightly blurred. There is a slight eyeline match as you see the waitress looking down at the detective, then cuts to the detective looking down at the piece of paper he is looking at, then looking at the waitress which is done with handheld camera movement which makes the scene more life like.

The shot cuts to another long shot but this time from a high angle to the left of the detective where a diegetic radio buzzes, but then the sound of the actual radio announcement becomes non diegetic as the edit cuts to the first establishing shot as the detective gets into his car. The shot cuts again to a close up of the detective's face as he listens to the now diegetic radio announcement, picks up his radio and replies to the announcement. This close up on the detective’s face allows me to see the reaction he has to the announcement, and to also grasp on whether they are close to the climax of the film or not - reaction shots like this are often used in the drama genre as it creates more tension and suspense. There is low key lighting used here to create a shadowy effect on everything in the car, including the detective, apart from his face which is lit up by the light from the dimer directly in front of him. This could have been done to create an eerie tone to the scene and to build tension.

Parallel editing is used here as we are now taken to the man in the RV who has supposedly committed a crime, and then back to Detective Loki who is now at this new destination, shown by an establishing tracking shot as he drives through a petrol station, just in front of the woods where the RV is also parked. The editor will have done this to show that whilst the detective was driving to this new destination, the man in the RV had been found. The detective stays in the car and the shot cuts to an over the shoulder perspective shot of the RV; here, the first non diegetic music is used to begin building suspense and tension. It is a very slow song which immediately indicates to me that this action sequence will also be very slow, however, it also could reflect the thoughts and feelings of the man sat in the RV. There is another eyeline match used as you see the detective looking at the man in the RV from the over the shoulder shot, which is reciprocated as it cuts to the wind mirror of the RV, where the detective in his car is in pure sight. When we see the car in the wing mirror, the backlight created from the petrol station behind the detective's car could represent the fact that he is bringing justice, the light behind him could portray the ‘light in all evil’ or a clear differentiation between good and bad.

As the non diegetic music intensifies, we are shown a medium shot within the RV where the man sat in the driver's seat looks both left and right at both the police officers and the detective, building the tension for me as an audience member, as it is unclear of what he will do next. There is backlight used here in a more subtle way, as the headlights shine onto the trees, all that can be seen is the silhouette of the man in the RV, which gives a much more eerie and creepy tone to the scene. Using a silhouette is a common convention within drama/thriller films as it builds to the suspense of what the silhouette actually is, and if they will ever be revealed. A little later on within the scene, the man in the RV crashes into the trees in the woods in an attempts to kill himself or escape. As he does this, the non diegetic music stops and you can hear and see the detective shouting loudly and aggressively, much different to how he was acting at the beginning of the scene.

Crimson Peak Analysis

The scene begins with a medium close up on the main character, Edith, with the camera slowly zooming out to expose the mise-en-scene in the room, which instantly tells the audience that this film is set in the Victorian era as most of the mise-en-scene in the bedroom is wooden and older looking. The use of the medium close up to begin with really brought attention to the character and focused on what she was doing, which is important to the narrative as it gave a reason to her waking up. There is low key lighting used which also indicates that this scene is at nighttime, and is also an implication that something scary might happen soon, which is also a key convention or horror/thriller films. Also at the beginning of this scene, there is the diegetic sound of Edith clutching her stomach and gasping, and also of the dog barking - however after about 8 seconds, non diegetic orchestral music is included quite quietly but begins to build up as the scene goes on to give a creepy mood to the scene, this is also another convention of horror films as it creates intensity and suspense for the audience. As the character turns over in the bed, the camera pans around her to the empty side of the bed, putting the character in isolation and making her seem more vulnerable, adding to the suspense of the scene; at this point the non diegetic music also starts to build. This has purposefully been shown to emphasise the fact that this character is alone, and the use of the music suggests that something bad may happen and that she has no one to defend her.

The camera then cuts to Edith standing up and the camera tilts from a low angle to a mid close up, to reveal her holding a candelabra, which is currently the only light that is shown in the scene so far. The fact that the only new part of mise-en-scene that we are introduced to in this scene, the candles, is held by Edith could give some significance of the candles to the character and her surroundings. It could possibly suggest that in this dark and dreary house, she is the light and hope of everything that has happened so far in the film, and in this sequence. There is the diegetic sound of the dog barking which makes Edith walk over to the balcony door where she looks out, which is then directly followed by the non diegetic sound of another door creaking open. This creates suspense and a bit of thrill for the audience as the door appears to have opened by itself, and so the camera tracks Edith as she walks through the door into the hallway. Once she’s there, we hear the diegetic sound of the wind coming from the hole in the roof, and the orchestral music fades out. The camera tracks Edith as she walks down one of the corridors towards an archway in one of the walls where the lighting on the other side is red and flickering, which would connote with evil and demons perhaps. This single mid shot of Edith from the bedroom all the way to a corridor keeps the subject in focus, and makes sure that the audience is watching her and are not distracted by anything else on the screen. There is more non diegetic barking from the dog which is what lures Edith into the hallway, we see this from an over the shoulder tracking shot. Again, the low key lighting used within the hallways shows the eeriness of the whole building and how old and scary looking it is. There is one moment where the camera slightly zooms in on Ediths face as the camera pans around her, almost giving a reaction shot as more non diegetic creaking and barking is heard, showing the confusion and anxiety through her face.

Scratching and whining is heard from behind a door, and the camera zooms in on Edith’s hand as she opens the door, this is done to create emphasis the action she is doing, which is then followed by a close up of her face creating a reaction shot from a low angle as she hears the dog barking. This close up allows the audience to see the fear and confusion running through her face, which also builds the suspense and fear factor for the audience as they too wonder what is behind the door.