Thriller Opening Analysis 1: The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Identity


Camera Work

The extract begins with an under sea long-shot  facing upward to ward a man floating in the sea. This shot does not show that much but still reveals to the audience an awful lot. The shot connotes that scene is set in the middle of a stormy sea as the shot shows shimmers of lightning above the sea's surface, also connoting that the surrounding area is stranded as the man has not yet been rescued. When the shot then cuts to being above the ocean, the audience is exposed to an establishing shot where they can see faintly a fishing boat in the distance. This shot is used to start show the audience where the scene is taking place, which is in the sea and aboard the fishing boat. Eventually once the man is rescued and is on the fishing boat, the camera work changes. The establishing long shots that are used to start the film are then juxtaposed by the use of lots of hand held camera work. This would have been done to give the watching audience an example of a POV shot, showing what these events would have looked like through the point of view of the sailors themselves   Once one of the sailors starts to examine the body, lots of close up and POV shots are used to show facial expression of the sailor and to show the attitudes of the sailor towards what he finds out about the man he's trying to save.

Editing

The type of editing actually changes though out the first few minutes of the film. At the start of the film, the pace of the cuts and the use of dark filters on the establishing ocean shots helps to create suspense and establish importance of the floating body in the first minutes of the film. Then is then drastically different to when the floating man is eventually spotted by the boat crew. Then the editing becomes very fast paced. The time between shot cuts are drastically reduced and this combined with the use of the hand held camera shots increase the intensity and urgency of the scene while still maintaining the dark, suspense filled start to the movie.

Mise-en-scene

The man in the water is wearing all black with a utility belt on. This connotes that he may have been on some type of 'mission or task' before being passed out in the sea. The director has done this in the first shot of the film too show that this character will been the main character in the movie and also that there is a back story that the audience do not yet know about, foreboding that we might eventually find out why he was in the sea. The men on the boat all appear as dirty and un-groomed, showing that they may have been out on this boat for days, maybe weeks. Also, the props used when a sailor is cutting open the main characters clothing (Pliers, knives ect) are significant, showing that the sailor has had to of done some sort of thing like this before, weather on a man or animal the audience don't know but this use of props help to give depth and suspense to the scene.

Sound

Through out the beginning of the film, non-diegetic orchestra music is played. First it is slow and calm, building tension and suspense. Then it becomes fast and frantic, signifying the urgency and pace when trying to save the man from the water. Diegetic sounds are also throughout. The sound of the crashing sea along with the sound of thunder and lightning help to the set the scene and build tension in the first minute or so of the film. Also, the use of diegetic dialogue from the sailors is used. There speaking in foreign which is then subtitled in English  This use of foreign language rather than English forebodes that further on in the scene, the main character and sailors may not ne able to understand and be able to communicate with each-other.

Discuss the ways in which Cameron has used binary opposition to create meaning in The Titanic. - Essay

Discuss the ways in which Cameron has used binary opposition to create meaning in The Titanic.

In this extract of The Titanic, Cameron uses an example of binary opposition in the very first shot of the film. The first shot is of the sunken Titanic under the sea that then fades into the newly built, promising Titanic ship. This immediately is presenting the binary opposites of failure and success. The newly built Titanic is a feat of engineering brilliance, while the sunken ship connotes that the ship was a huge failure. The juxtaposition between the sunken ship and the brand new ship is an indexical sign, showing us (in brief) the ships fate in the film. The presentation of the sunken Titanic ship signifies that there is going to be disaster in the film and this being shown at the very start then forebodes this event. The Titanic's sinking was an iconic event that actually happen in April 1912, so Cameron has seemed to have structured it this way to give the audience of the film an indication that they should know that the ship sinks even before the film starts. This use of iconography shows the audience something that they are familiar too, the sinking of The Titanic, and keeps the interested to find out the story behind it all (well, Cameron's version). All of these elements are what helps Cameron to set the tone for the start of the film. Starting with the sunken Titanic quickly turning into the new Titanic gives the film a sense of narrative before the films even gotten started. 

Rose's arrival reveals an instant example of binary opposition. Rose arrives in a golden trimmed car, denoting wealth before we've even seen her. This denotion of wealth is then supported when Rose exists the car. Her hand, laced with a black glove first appears exiting the car to grab the hand of the driver helping rose form the car, showing her upper class. She then exits and her appearance supports this denotion of wealth. She wears purple and white, both signifying wealth and purity. Her first impressions of the ship are not good, she feels that the ship is not as impressive as described and you can tell this by her initial facial expressions when looking at the ship, where as the working class men and women on the dock stare in awe at the ship showing there excitement a long with hints of jealousy of the people who are on the ship. When comparing the working class men and women also on the dock to Rose and her party, we see the binary opposite of rich & poor. The audience can see by the working class peoples flat caps and dark, dreary clothes that there is a very visible barrier between the rich & poor in the scene and most likely throughout the film. The indexical signs that present a juxtaposition between the rich & poor in this scene connote that there will be a bringing together and possibly a clash between the two classes at some point during the film. This scene gives the audience there first introduction of a main character and lets them start to make there own impressions of her, which seems to be that she is a very well off woman who is used to the best in life and isn’t always grateful for what she has.

As people are arriving and attempting to board the Titanic, we see another example of the binary opposite of rich & poor in effect. The first thing the audience notices is that the working class people are forced to get a health check before boarding while the upper class do not. This shows that the poorer people are thought to be possibly dirty and infested by the upper classes and people in charge of the ship. This is juxtaposed when the upper class party’s, such as Rose and her family, board the ship. The upper class are free to enter the ship with no check and are even allowed to bring animals such as dogs on board the ship. The likelihood that the animals are less likely to be infested than the poorer people boarding shows a real separation between the rich and poor in this time period. As well as this, the upper class board at the top of the ship and the lower classes board at the bottom of the ship. This, along with the top of the boat being painted white and the bottom of the boat being painted a sickly green colour, symbolises an obvious divide between the rich and poor when boarding the ship. 

When the audience are introduced to the second protagonist in The Titanic, Jack, there is another example of binary opposites to be seen. Jack is first portrayed playing cards, betting all his money in game of poker taking place In a bar full of working class men (We can tell they're working class due to the iconography of their clothing and location). He speaks the line when playing cards 'If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.' This piece of speech and reckless approach to the card game shows that Jack is an example of a free spirit, someone who doesn’t take life to seriously.  This is juxtaposed when the other protagonist, Rose, is boarding the ship and we hear her say in her head that she feels as if she's 'chained'. This is an example of the binary opposites of 'Freedom & Restriction'. We see that when jack wins the tickets aboard the Titanic that he is very excited and happy where as Rose feels as if she's being forced upon the ship. This is the first hint too the watching audience that the two main protagonists in the film will at some point have a clash of opinions which will lead to an interesting narrative between the two. These two difference in opinions by Jack and Rose when boarding the ship also shows the binary opposition of 'Grateful and Ungrateful'. The introduction of these two obviously very different types of people are what keep the audience interested. The audience know their will be some type of clash or conflict between the two characters.

The Dark Night Rises - Binary Opposites

Even though I have seen the entire film, their are many binary opposites just in the Dark Night Rises Trailer. I will be listing the various binary opposites and explaining why and how they are binary opposites along with where they can be seen when watching the trailer.

1) 0:11 - We see Batman driving through the night which hows the binary opposites 'Light and Darkness'. There would be light if everything was dark and vice versa. If it was always dark we wouldn't call it dark, we would just call it normal.

2) 0:44 - As the police appear and also too do the escaped prisoners we start to see the binary opposition of 'Good and Bad'. If there were only good people in the world, would they still be considered good if there were no bad people. They would be considered just to be regular people.

3) 1:10 - Snow starts to appear n gotham showing the cold temperatures which is a sign of the binary opposites 'Hot and Cold'. If it was always cold, it wouldn't be thought to be cold, its just the norm.

4) 1.27 - Bruce Wayne flies off in his Batwing flying machine, this shows his wealth which opens us to the binary opposites 'Rich and Poor'. When everyone has the same amount of wealth, there is no such thing as being rich poor.

Dark Night Rises Trailer

An Introduction To 'Genre'

Genre - A set of conventions, recognisable usually through iconography, familiar narratives, mise-en-scene, actors and style of representation.

I have learnt that genre is a way of categorising films, books, music etc. Audiences recognise genre in films through different conventions. These type of conventions consist of things like:
- Visual Imagery
- The Plot
- Music and stars
- Modes of narrative development

- Character
- Setting
- Iconography


I have learnt that genres are not static but constantly renegotiated between industry and audience through the 'Genre Cycle'. This resulted in films of a certain genre having  a combination of familiar reassurance but with new and slightly altered plots and new twists. Genre is constantly developing, we can see this as, for example, if a horror film is shown to audiences today that was made 40 years ago its not scary as the type of characters and story's in the films are no longer scary. Film producers constantly have to be thinking of new ideas to keep the audiences interested whilst still trying not to push them away.

Genre is a way of working through important myths and fears by repetition, a variation and resolution. I've realised that genre offers comforting reassurance in an uncomfortable world. Threat is resolved, outlaws become civilized, gangsters are punished. Genre is a way of tidying up the mess of life within film.

Producers of film, tele, books ect. use genre to target specific audiences, they know if they produce a piece of text of a certain genre the same audience and new ones will spend there time and money on the text. For example: if producers of a sci-fi film make sure they include science fiction icons, familiar plots and settings, fans of sci-fi will recognise this and want to go and see that film.

The concept of genre also expands into the original 'Hollywood Studio System'

The hollywood studio system started in the 1930's with the 5 major film studios at the time: 

-Warner Bros

-RKO

-Paramount

-20th Century Fox

-MGM. 

As well of the 'Big 5', there was also three small studios known as the 'Little 3':

-Columbia

-Universal

-United Artists.

Each studio were known for there own 'house style'. For example, Universal was known for horrors. This is when genres were prominently static and there was no change in the genres, they had the same narrative structure and the audiences had expectations of the particular studios and this is how each studio targeted their particular audience. In 1948 this system took a big hit due to the introduction of the television and colour view. This resulted in actors not being associated with one studio. They became freelance causing actors and producers to start making different genres of films with different studios. 

My Coursework Main Task

The main task for my coursework is to produce the opening 2 minutes of a new fiction thriller film including titles. All video & audio material must be original, produced by myself, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free or royalty free source.