Research - Scream analysis - Mr Smith

Scream analysis

In this essay I will be analysing a famous part in the film scream. I will mainly focus on four micro elements. I will also discuss about the audience response and how micro elements make the audience feel while watching this scene.I will also discuss how the editing is being  used for example what editing is being used to make the audience understand the story line, what makes the audience want to watch the film from only one scene. At the beginning of the scene there’s a young woman dressed in cream and white, her hair is blonde and she is attractive. This is stereotypical to an opening thriller as the audience would have faith in the female victim as she is expected to be blonde and innocent.

The scene opens with a non-diegetic sound when the title appears, the audience can hear a girl screaming and this suddenly changes into a phone call. This allows the audience to have an idea of  genre this movie is and this will engage their attentions to find out about what the movie is about and whats going to happen during the film. This scene is set in the female victim's home, through the establishing shot, this reveal the location of her house which was set in the middle of nowhere which this highlights that the atmosphere is dangerous and this makes the audience feel disturbed because they will expect someone to pop up out of nowhere. However, this leads the viewers to have an idea of the female victim will not be heard if she's in danger, despite the victim's feeling safe when she's at home. This gives the audience an idea that she's innocent and vulnerable. As the audience will see that she's home alone in a big isolated house, this makes them feel sympathy towards the female victim and expect something bad to occur.

Furthermore, as the female victim received a phone-call, the female victim appears with a very calm and relaxed  in a cream blouse and a pyjama trouser which portrays her pureness and vulnerability and physically weak, plus security within her own home. In addition to this, when the female is being attacked, the use of iconography which is blood contrasted with the white clothing which produce a much more dramatic effect than if her clothes were to be in darker colour. Therefore, this makes the audience feel content as she's enjoying the conversation and look very comfortable within her own home. During the phone-call at the start, her body language appears to look sloppy and her facial expressions appears to be flirty and smiling. This makes the audience to not anticipate anything to happen to her yet because she's casually enjoying what she's doing which she was planning to have a movie night for herself. Again with her casual body language which she looks very relaxed and comfortable, this helps the audience to easily identify her as the victim.

Moreover, as the antagonist enters the house, the use of low key lighting within the scene allows the killer to look invisible and mysterious which creates suspense and excitement towards the viewers as they can hardly see the killers movements. This helps to boost up the audience curiosity and makes them feel excited to find out who the antagonist is and what the antagonist is going to do this also makes the audience feel sorry for the female victim because she doesn't know whats coming to her. The lighting also allows the tension to be built up and change the mood in the scene when the characters are in a dark area and the film has been taken in the dark at 9-10 pm This helps to create vulnerability and creates fear additionally to the audience as they observe the scene.

Initially, the antagonist appears with a white mask and a black cloak which contrast to the female victim's clothes, this represent the sense of 'good vs evil'. This shows that the killer is trying to hide his identity and represent evilness & dark through the black colour and also the blood look invisible in black which makes him more mysterious and scary. This helps the audience to easily tag him as the antagonist and because of his hidden identity, this creates fear and excitement towards the viewers as they will be curious to find out about him. The antagonist is being presented as big, tall and holding a knife showing that he's going to kill the female victim. The use of iconography which is the knife makes him look more dangerous and powerful. This makes the audience to anticipate that he's going to commit murder. 

Research: Questionnaire - Miss begum

Questionnaire

what is the importance of primary research? 

The importance of a primary research such as my questionnaire is to find out what the target audience want in the thriller film that i will make. Also this primary research is important because it means that i can find out which a specific target audience want in my thriller. Also this questionnaire will give me a lot of feedback and it will give me good idea if my thriller idea can be suitable to what the audience want.The advantages for primary research is you can research exactly what you want, how you want, and don't have to rely on other peoples work, and you can interpret the results how you want, and don't need to rely on other peoples interpretations. The disadvantages of primary research is it could take a lot of time and might turn out wrong, some people might not be able to be independent and might not be able to research themselves. 

How did you ask and why?

I made a questionnaire and decided to gather information by asking reasonable questions such as "what sub-genres do you prefer in a thriller move". I've chosen to do a questionnaire because i believe that i will be able to gather information very quickly and it can have a huge impact on my idea because I've based my questions on my idea i have. And by doing a questionnaire i have made sure my idea links to the answers i have gathered together.

My questionnaire 

What is your age?

Under 12             13-17            18-20                21+    

Are you a male or female?

Male       female

1. Have you recently seen a thriller movie?

Yes     no       a few not many

2. Which sub-genres do you find the most appealing?

Action thriller        crime thriller             sci-fi thriller           psychological thriller        political thriller

Horror thriller         religious thriller     drama thriller          spy thriller                       adventure thriller

3. What thriller have you watched?

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4. What do you find builds up suspense within the film?

Sound         music       lighting      pace      camera angles   camera shots  

5. What do you find to be the most important element within a thriller?

Settings    props    clothing      hair and makeup     plot    sound

6. What gender would you expect the antagonist to be? And why

Male,

Female,

7.  What gender would you expect the protagonist to be? And why?

Male,

Female,

 8. What film rating do you prefer to watch?

U       PG     12A   12       15      18

10. Where do you tend to watch thriller movies?

Cinema    TV    purchased DVD     school     other

11. Where would you like the thriller movie to take place? And why

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12. What do you think the antagonist should wear? And why

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13. What do you think the protagonist should wear? And why

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14 .would you want the antagonist to be hidden identity

Yes         No  

15. Do you like film in colour or films in black and white?

Colour         black and white

16. What age would you want the antagonist to be?

7-10         11-14       15-18       19-22        23+

17. What do you think has the biggest impact on the audience?

Tension        surprises        suspense

18. Would you classify thriller as your top 3 genres?

Yes         No  

19.   What colour would you expect the antagonist to wear?

Black     red      dark green   dark blue    purple   orange

20. What colour would you expect the protagonist to wear?

white         red     grey      pink     yellow  orange

Who did you ask and why? 

I asked pupil around the age of 15 because my production is aimed at 15 year old's. I asked both genders because my production is aimed at both genders.

Conclusion:  The research from the questionnaire has been very beneficial as the feedback that i have got from the questionnaire has helped me understand what the target audience that my thriller film will be aimed at want to see in the film. It has also helped me understand how i can make a thriller film that will be very successful with in the target audience.

Research: results from questonnaire - Miss Begum

Results from questionnaire

What is the importance to get and analyse feedback?

The results from the questionnaire was done so that the results can help me get a better and in depth knowledge of what the target audience would like to see in my thriller and also it was also a way that i could get information to see what the audience know already about Thrillers.

Graphs 

Conclusion: By researching i now have an idea of what my thriller should be and what the audience would want to see in my thriller video. By researching I've gained more knowledge about what people think about thriller movies and what movies are suitable for teenagers.

Research - Age cerificates - Miss Begum

Age Certificates

hat is the role of the BBFC and why are they important to the film industry?

All  the decisions are based on public consultation and the BBFC's Guidelines, which form a contract between the public, the film industry and BBFC. BBFC's aim is to ensure that children, and all filmgoers, are protected from harm and illegal material, and that they can make informed decisions about their viewing choices. BBFC insight offers succinct information about the issues raised by the film. It is written especially for parents and those responsible for younger viewers.

What are the different age certificates?

U: It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. U films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

 

PG: General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.



12: These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.

12A: The 12A category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12A may see a 12A may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult,  and films classifies 12A are not recommended for a child below the age of 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.

15: Content may have some controversial elements to it, but on the whole, there shouldn't be any discrimination, drugs may be touched upon, but not promoted, violence can be displayed but cannot dwell on injury and pain, there may be use of frequents bad language and nudity can be shown, but only where appropriate. 

18: At 18 the BBFC's guideline concern will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.

 

Spiderman

Spiderman originally had an age rating of 12 however later after further analysis from the BBFC it was seen as it was not suitable for a 12 year old to watch spiderman by themselves. The reason why the age certificate was though about again was that sipderman had excessive violent scenes in the film which can have a negative impact on children. In this short clip of sipderman it shows why sipderman's age rating had to be brought up to a 12A. It shows that violence is acceptable as Dr octopus puts many civilians lives at risk just to carry out his vendetta against spiderman. This shows the children that this level of violence is acceptable and civilians lives can be put at risk and the civilians lives are worthless as they can be used as objects when two people are fighting because they don't like what each other stands for.

what age certificate would I give my thriller?

 

 I would give 15 ratings to my thriller movie because I would be making a thriller about gangs and it  will relate to the matters in real life teenagers go through. I will be including a lot of blood and crime which is not appropriate to children under the age of 15.

 

Thrillers age rating

Thriller tend to get the age certificates 15 and 18 mostly. The reason why thrillers mostly get age certificates of 15 and 18 is that there is a lot of violence and graphic scenes. A thriller that is 15 will be a lighter thriller where there will be some bad language and nudity where appropriate. There will be violence and murder scene but the scene will not be dedicated to an attack and it will not show the slow and painful death the victim has deal with. A 18 thriller is much more detailed in its content which it shows there are violence scene which show graphic images and injuries. There are a lot of sexually motivated attacks shown and other sexual assaults. This is only suitable for 18 and over.

 

conclusion:
I have learnt that age certificates need to be followed by everyone because there are a wide range of films that the audience can enjoy within their ratings. I will be having scenes that are appropriate for my audience which are teenagers and the age ratting would be 15.

Research - Mise en scene - Costume, have and make-up, body language andfacial expression - Miss begum

Mise en scene - Costume, body language, facial expression, hair and make-up

Costume, hair and make up, body language and facial expression are all important conventions because all together they make the film look processional. Costume, hair and make up can make it easy for the audience to identify they're role and they're personality. However, body language and facial expression allow the audience to identify they're emotions and thoughts.

A characters costume is what they will be wearing during the film. Costume allows the audience to figure they're character, job and status out such as a male antagonist will wear dark colours such as black this allows them to represent they're evilness within they're clothing options.Therefore, in thriller movies antagonist wear similar clothing because the audience will expect the antagonist to wear particular clothing and colours such as an antagonist will look scruffy with dark colours. The connotation of wearing black clothes such as a black long coat this connotes that the character is evil.
Therefore, a male protagonist will wear a neat suit that is either white or blue this connotes that they're powerful.

The protagonist's are both wearing suits that makes them look professional and powerful. 

Body language describes what the character is thinking or what they are going through. In thriller movies the male protagonist will always have a serious and upright body language this shows the audience the protagonists strength and this allows the audience to trust the male protagonist through out the film.The female victim will have a frightened body language this shows that the female victim is innocent and weak.

The body language of the protagonist shows the audience that they know what they are doing and that the character knows that they are powerful which makes the audience trust the character.

Hair and makeup also describes a characters personality without the hair and makeup it will be hard to figure out the difference is between characters because if characters wear the same clothes by they're hair and make-up the audience will know what character is who. The stereotypical  male protagonist has  short neat  hair or if they have long hair they will jell it to a side which will make the male protagonist look professional and organised. The stereotypical female antagonist will have long straight hair that has not been brushed out. Therefore, the female antagonist will have a lot of make up on which hides they're identity.

The make up hides the characters identity. The hair is very messy and short which is a stereotypical of a antagonist. 

Facial expressions make the audience believe what the character is going through or what they feel. The stereotypical female victim needs to make the audience feel how she is feelings by her facial expression she will need to show her fear with her facial expression to make the audience believe that she is frightened and is hopeless.Therefore, the protagonist needs to have a calm and relaxed facial expression this will show the audience that he is reliable and knows what they are doing.

facial expression of the female victim highlights that she is scared and has no hope this also shows that she is weak.

Thriller scene analysis

In the film seven (the beginning of the scene) the protagonist shows that he is powerful within his facial expression by having a straight face the whole time and controls the protagonist with his body language the body language of the protagonist is very upright and antagonist shows his strength. The protagonist  is wearing a suit which is a stereotypical of what the protagonist should be wearing so the audience could figure out the role of the character.Therefore, the protagonist  has short neat hair and has no make up on to hide his identity which highlights that he is rave enough to show the protagonist his face.However at the end of the scene the antagonist's facial expression changed into a male victim but this makes the audience feel sorry for the protagonist and it wouldn't change the audiences mind on what they think about the protagonist.

conclusion
In my thriller video that i will be making, i will make my antagonist have long straight hair that hasn't been brushed, have black make up on to hide they're identity, have black clothing, facial expression always straight to not show how they feel and have body language that doesn't give away they're plans or how they are feeling. By making my antagonist have these needs my antagonist will look like a strong and heartless character and this will make the audience scared of my antagonist.

Research - Miseen scene: setting and iconography - Miss Begum

Miseen scene: setting and iconography

definition for setting and iconography

 Iconography is the use of images and symbols to portray a subject, movement or ideal. It can also be the use of certain symbols that convey certain genres such as religious iconography.

setting is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.

Why is setting and iconography important and how can it help the audience with the understanding of the film

Setting and iconography are important because the film would not make sense without iconography and setting. Iconography and settings give hint to the audience of what the film is about or what is going to happen next therefore iconography and settings give a huge hint of what type of gender a film is. Without iconography and settings the audience wouldn't understand the film because the film wouldn't look professional. Settings and iconography help understand the film by giving hints to the audience such as if the audience see a knife they would straight think of blood, crime and death. Iconography and settings change the feelings of the film. Setting and iconography are important because they create numbers of different connotations and denotation based on just one location and how it looks. For example, the connotations of the house would be haunted, abandoned, isolated, death, rape etc. This makes the audience have so many different thoughts and this will make the audience feel petrified. Therefore, for example, if the antagonist is holding a gun, this would make the audience understand the intentions it creates from the antagonist and the connotations from this would be murder or suicidal. this makes the audience feel uncomfortable and have so many thoughts about the antagonist.

What are typical thriller settings and why?

Typical thriller settings are in a haunted house  the connotations from the audience of this location would be haunted, isolated ghost and death. This will make the audience feel scared and they would expect something to pop up. Therefore the denotation is a old scary looking house. If a scene is located in the forest the connotation from the audience will be dangerous. and intimidating.



settings and sub- genre

Setting also dependent on different sub-genre to make the movie more interesting and engage more actions to build up tensions and create sensational/ suspenseful actions.

sci-fi settings would be:

1.space

2.fields/ parks

3.factory

4.schools

Action thriller settings would be:

1.streets

2.cars

3.underground

4.air planes

crime thriller settings would be:

1.forest

2.old house

3.bank

4.streets

What are typical thriller iconography and why?

Typical thriller iconography would be blood, knife, gun and medicine. Iconography in thrillers are also include different sub- genres. The sub- genre makes the audience enjoy the film more and it also makes the audience more interested  in the film.

Iconography in action thrillers would be:

1.guns

2. knife

3.cars

4.cigarette

Iconography in sci-fi thrillers would be:

1.aliens

2.robots

3.spaceships

4.electric weapons

Iconography in crime thrillers would be: 

1.blood

2.knife

3.guns

4.drugs

Thriller scene analysis

In the film seven i have chosen to analyse the first scene. In the first scene we can see the police coming in with guns and blood which is are iconography used to show the audience that the police are after someone dangerous.The weapons and blood  give a chilling response to the audience.Therefore, the setting in this scene is in a old dirty house which makes the audience get ready to expect something scary to pop up.The iconography that has been used in this scene highlights that the sub- genre is action and the setting describes a thriller setting.


Conclusion:  When i make my thriller video i will be using a different range of iconography such as blood, drugs and weapons. I will be setting my scene in a forest  and in a hospital.I have chosen a different range of iconography because i believe that using a different range of iconography can give out different feelings.I have chosen to have my video set out in a forest and hospital because my video will be thriller and the settings will match my story line.