Credit structure
We were asked to analyse a film's opening credit structure, what is in the credits and what is not in the credits of a typical hollywood movie, so then we can apply this and put this into our credit structure.
Monday, December 13, 2021
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Film openings
Spiderman into the spider-verse opening
Think about the format of the images
Format is a bunch of flashes and small snippets of the character spider man suiting up and getting ready.
how are they constructed
With flashes and glitches which matches the theme of the movie.
What shot types are used
Close ups, medium shots, wide angles.
What filters, effects are used
There is use of a lot of vibrance and glitched effects
Any adjectives you would use to describe the quality of the images.
Comic like, animated, neon
Are there any shapes used?
Shapes, circles
Are there any key colours used?
A lot of neon colours and flashing lights with quick shots
Now start thinking about the imagery
It gives the audience the first insight as to who Spiderman is, the imagery shows the city of New York in flashes. It shows sign posts and a busy street. It also show spiderman in front of what looks like a dirty mirror in a subway bathroom, so from the very start you see that this spiderman is ready for danger in anytime carrying around his suit everywhere
Start taking screen shots from images that stand out for you and then try to gather them in sections
The first group would be spiderman suiting up and flashes of credits thrown on the screen
I would have a second section where there are some actions shots of him doing things in his suit as the second section as well as credits being thrown on to the screen.
Now start to think about what themes or connotation are associated with these groups of images
The theme of superhero is shows a lot especially with the suit.
The theme of being good at what he does also shows through the action scenes, the sort of being a pro theme.
The last theme would be the type of setting being a sort of neon comic like theme portrayed throughout the movie, this is a big part of the introduction as it show what the movie is going to be like.
And start to think what are the links or differences between the groups
I do not really see much of a difference between the themes it just shows spiderman in different ways.
Now start to see if there's other tools from out theory work that might be useful to use:
Can you identify any 'Binary opposites'?
Hero vs villain
Pro vs noob
Young vs old
Can you identify any type of montage?
Flashing montage, rhythmic montage
What do you believe is the 'reality that is being represented?
It shows a lot of fiction rather than reality, but the emotions that are shown is of reality
What do you think is the preferred reading of this representation is?
Cool type superhero beat
Once you've considered all this can you identify the following and justify your reasoning:
What the genre of the shows is (and tone/mood)?
Comic like superheroes, being a pro at what he does.
What the themes of the show are?
Comic like themes, conventions of good vs evil
What is the representation of the setting is?
NYC in the comic like mood/theme
Why do we watch scary films
Why do we watch scary films?
Dolf Zillman
Excitation-transfer theory purports that residual excitation from one stimulus will amplify the excitatory response to another stimulus, though the hedonic valences of the stimuli may differ. The excitation-transfer process is not limited to a single emotion.[2] For example, when watching a movie, a viewer may be angered by seeing the hero wronged by the villain, but this initial excitation may intensify the viewer's pleasure in witnessing the villain's punishment later. Thus, although the excitation from the original stimulus of seeing the hero wronged was cognitively accessed as anger, the excitation after the second stimulus of seeing the villain punished is cognitively assessed as pleasure, though part of the excitation from the second stimulus is residual from the first.
Catharsis
(from Greek κάθαρσις, katharsis, meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions—particularly pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration.
SIGMUND FREUD
The Psychoanalytic community, including Sigmund Freud himself posited that horror came from the “Uncanny” – emergence of images and thoughts of the primitive id that were being suppressed by the civilized ego. Jung thought that horror movies tapped into primordial archetypes buried deep in our collective subconscious – images like shadow and mother play important role in the horror genre.
DAVID J. SKAL
Finally, DJ Skal posits that horror films are a reflection of our societal fears. Looking at the history of horror you have mutant monsters rising in 50s from our fear of the nuclear bogeyman, Zombies in the 60s with Vietnam, Nightmare on Elm Street as a mistrust in authority figures stemming from the Watergate scandals and Zombies again in the 2000s as a reflection of viral pandemic fears.
Ernst Hartmann
Sees dreams as the brain’s sorting through the bits of information it’s gathered throughout the waking hours. But the images and connections we make while dreaming aren’t totally random, they’re guided by our emotions – maybe working through a recent trauma or dealing with angst and fear.
So perhaps watching a film is somewhere between being awake and being in a dream state. Much like play – films are a safe place where we can sort through stuff, learn skills to apply in everyday life. How do you defeat the a slow walking Jason Vorhees – you can’t outrun his slow stride. The only way is to face him straight on. Though a zombie apocalypse is a far fetched reality, the survivorship skills on display in a zombie horror film have some practical merit in our normal every-day world.
Horror movies require us to face the unknown – to understand it and make it less scary. They allow us to see our fears and put them into context, to play what if, and in doing so, they shape our belief systems, how we see each other and ourselves. They are a safe place to explore and for some just a good bit of fun.
Which of these five explanations do you agree with most and why?
I agree with the first explanation because I can relate to what he is saying about why we watch thrillers. We watch thrillers for the emotions we experience throughout the movie, we enjoy having these emotions especially when we get a satisfying conclusion. And what gives us these emotions is an initial stimuli which creates an initial response within ourselves. Zelman explains that no matter what stimuli it is, we still experience some sort of emotion, this is what gives us the drive to watch thriller films, for the excitement, the emotions of happiness, sadness, guilt, revenge, hatred. As we experience theses emotions we experience what the characters in the movie are feeling, which makes you feel more engaged within the movie whilst watching it.
Can you provide any personal reasons why you think this?
As I said before, I agree with the first explanation. I relate to it as I watch a lot of thrillers. The main reason I watch them is to be entertained and to be satisfied with a good movie. Throughout watching a movie thriller I feel different emotions depending on the story, and an initial stimuli makes me feel this way, causing an initial response in me. So I feel like I can relate to what he is explaining
Which one do you disagree with and why?
I disagree with David J Skal as he talks about Horror films being societal fear. I disagree with this because everyone is different and has their own fears, although a majority of society has the same fears. Yes the movie does do better with the more common fears like Ghosts, Demons, killers etc... But it is the unique movies like The birds by Alfred Hitchcock, demonstrates the fear of birds, although not many people are scared of birds, Hitchcock portrays "the birds" in a scary way to the audience so the movies still does well. Everyone has their own fears, but a majority of people have the same fears.
Thriller conventions
Thriller conventions
TASK 1
Google 'top thrillers of 2021' select 4 and watch the trailers.
Then embed the trailers into your blog nd slides and answer the following:
What do these films have in common?
Most of them have some sort of violence, conflict or disturbance within the theme or plot of the story.
They have scenes where they show not tell
They use cinematic wide camera shots to portray setting tone and mood
What are the differences?
The type of setting
Characters
What time period the movie is set in
TASK 2
Find 2/3 definitions of the Thriller film genre (not literature). Cite them and put them in you blog/slides. Then summarise what they have in common in your own words.
why is it hard to define a Thriller film?
Thriller films cover a lot of subtopics and subgenres to the point where there is a bit of thriller in every movie. Thriller covers such a big range of genre that it really is hard to find a specific definition of thriller, every thriller has its own differences in its own unique ways.
TASK 3
Sub-genres, Research the different types of sub-genres of Thriller.
Choose FOUR you would like to explore (preferably one that might relate to your final product), find definition, conventions and examples.
Mystery Thriller:
Most mysteries reveal a crime and then require their main characters to work backwards to figure out who committed that crime. In a thriller, the bad guy is often established early on, and the main characters must work to stop them from doing evil.
Conventions:
The antagonist makes their actions personal to the protagonist: The antagonist must victimize the protagonist in order to get their MacGuffin.
The protagonist actively investigates and chases clues (including false leads/red herrings) in order to find or trap the antagonist.
Action Thriller:
Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock.
Conventions:
The antagonist makes their actions personal to the protagonist: The antagonist must victimize the protagonist in order to get their MacGuffin.
The protagonist actively investigates and chases clues (including false leads/red herrings) in order to find or trap the antagonist.
- Crime Thriller
Crime thrillers focus on the exciting elements of both successful and unsuccessful crimes. Unlike police procedural, they focus on a criminal or a group of criminals rather than law enforcement.
Conventions:
The antagonist makes their actions personal to the protagonist: The antagonist must victimize the protagonist in order to get their MacGuffin.
The protagonist actively investigates and chases clues (including false leads/red herrings) in order to find or trap the antagonist.
Science Fiction Thriller
A sci-fi thriller wants you to explore the moral dilemmas, human hubris, and hidden agendas that could change your real life—for real. ... A good sci-fi thriller will blend fiction to a credible reality. A good sci-fi will bend implausible reality to explore a fundamental human truth.
Conventions:
The antagonist makes their actions personal to the protagonist: The antagonist must victimize the protagonist in order to get their MacGuffin.
The protagonist actively investigates and chases clues (including false leads/red herrings) in order to find or trap the antagonist.
TASK 4
Try to find out what is the difference between a Horror film and a Thriller film. Explain the difference with examples.
The difference between a horror film and a thriller film is that Horror is mainly focused around fear and the subgenres of fear, whilst thriller does not focus on a specific topic, it covers all types of emotions and has many emotions within a subsequent timeline
TASK 5
Can you create a bullet -pointed checklist of what audiences should expect when they see a Thriller film.
Conventions
Different types of emotions the characters go through
A plot
A narrative
Main character, sub characters
Fears and Monsters
Fears and Monsters
Write down the following
Things that scare you:
The mystery of not knowing what you are afraid of
Things that scare your parents:
Their loved ones getting hurt
Things that scares society:
Terrorist
End of the world
Apocalypse
Future
Climate change
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Props There weren't a lot of props we needed to use as this was a very physical scene where props were not needed. We just used a hand ...
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Thriller conventions TASK 1 Google 'top thrillers of 2021' select 4 and watch the trailers. Then embed the trailers into your blog...
