Inspiration Research

Today we looked at a clip from the film 'Shallow Grave' it gave us many ideas for our own film opening as it used effective techniques of which we can emulate. The clip uses expertly executed shots but i feel there are aspects of the scene that we can use to improve our own footage.

Shot Types Used In FlashBack Scene.

We used this two-shot during filming to establish a 'face off', which was key to explaining the narrative. By framing both characters opposite eachother it further emphasizes the rivalry and direct contrast.

This point of view shot helps build enigma as the victims identity is concealed. We chose to use a canted angle as it demonstrates disequilibrium and a distorted view.

Over-the-shoulder shots such as this one provide an involved camera angle for the audience. The sense that the audience is involved in the action helps build tension and proximity.

Storyboard

Conventions Of Thriller Genre

A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not necessarily).A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.Themes of identity.Themes of mirroring.Themes of voyeurism.Protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist.Titles often reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonist’s psychological state.There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.Mise en scene which echoes/ mirrors the protagonist’s plight.

Initial Idea

Our initial ideas were to stay along the commonly used genre of film noir, however after further research and discussion we decided to convert our genre to thriller. This was a brave move as the other groups in our class are producing a film noir piece which meant we could not receive the same input as others, when watching professional film noir footage in class.

Initial film ideas:
We took ideas from Anton Corbijn's Control, where the character Ian Curtis (Actor: Sam Riley) confidently walks down a street.

Evaluation of Continuity Task

This task focused on areas of continuity, and how these aspects can be used to create an all-round polished final production. The key areas in achieving perfected continuity are the ‘180-degree rule’; ‘shot reverse shot’ and ‘match on action’. I feel that in our production we showed these three techniques very clearly and achieved a high standard of continuity editing. The first idea for our filming was to use an abandoned great hall, as it would give the footage a characteristic edge and a thriller narrative. This unfortunately was not easy to do, as the location wasn’t available for filming, however the final location also delivered a good backdrop and helped create realistic enigma. The final idea was developed into a much simpler narrative, making it easier to perfect the continuity aspects of filming, I believe that this was a good decision as too much time was wasted on developing plot and narrative. The topic of the filming was a hostage esc style of narrative; this gave us plenty of opportunities to achieve effective match on action shots and other camerawork techniques. Most of the filming was achieved within one day, with post production editing being completed in the following week, the importance on continuity made us pay special attention to tiny details in our production therefore creating a more polished clip of final footage. Improvements in our footage could have been improved by a wider choice of camera techniques, using more shots could have given a series of different perspectives of characters involved. However I feel that the standard of editing on the production was fantastic, as it applies a polished finish to all footage. The important continuity techniques were executed well as the filming flows nicely from frame to frame. In conclusion I feel that we demonstrate the three applications of continuity well and achieved an impressive final product.

Deconstruction Of Snatch Opening

After watching a short excerpt of the ‘Snatch’ opening I was asked to write a deconstruction to explain how camerawork, editing and sound help create a sense of enigma and mystery in the opening scenes. The excerpt begins with three white on black transitions. These represent the credits. This effect has a bold impact as it makes the credits stand out on the screen; therefore the contrast draws your attention to it. When in the room with the three men the camera is moving slowly showing each character except the man who’s head is always facing towards the front. The slow camera action and calm editing signifies the tense atmosphere between the three men and also is synchronous with the non-digetic voice over as the voice is calm and collected. When the Jewish men are in the lift the camera follows the action and direction of the lift. This gives a voyeuristic view of where they are going and them inside of the lift; it makes us feel we are following them. The slow cuts represent the speed of the lift and the music played is typically what we would apply to Jewish people. However when the men reveal the weapons the music changes to action and this establishes that the film follows a gangster, action type genre if we connect that to the connection of drugs that is in the beginning of the opening.The sound that is used while the credits begin is a voice over. A fade is used and this shows us three men in a room. However the fact it is a voice over leads us to the enigma of whose perspective are we listening to. Another factor that creates an enigma is the fact that we can see the back of one mans head and we assume that the voice over is his as a over the shoulder shot is used to show him sitting in front of two other men. This gives the stranger an instant authorities roll as it feels he is intimidating, and the mystery also establishes this point. Using medium shots the camera shows us an individual, and we then realise who is talking when the voice over stays on one of them and he gives himself a name identifying himself to the audience. He then introduces his partner and when he does this a two shot is used to represent the unity of them. Another enigma created is when he says, “ I was happy a week ago” and “what do I know about diamonds?” These two lines make us want to know more about his situation and what kind of trouble he is in. To add to the mystery of this tense part of the opening the lighting is low key. It is evident that this film is based on ‘Barthes’ enigma theory as it sets the audience up with many different questions; one of them is when the Jewish men are looking into it then when the camera pulls out it is another man looking into it then when the camera pulls out it is another man looking and this repeats it elf until the camera returns to the original man who stole them.