Jaws
Stephen Spielberg, 1975
It's a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn't sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy's mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they're going to need a bigger boat.Written by garykmcd (Accessed on IMDb)
Representation and Mise en Scene
As the camera pans over the group of teenagers, you can see fire which the students are sitting around. The fire is added into the scene as it is an element and connotes safety and warmth, this is effective as the audience can guess and focus on the character that is in the most danger and unsurprisingly the character that was sitting the furthest away from this symbolism of comfort is ironically the first to get injured.
Sound
In the opening of Jaws, the music used is very significant and is successful in creating the suspense filled atmosphere of a typical thriller genre. The director chose to allow the audience to hear the non-diegetic music before the image emerges from the black screen, this creates a huge amount of tension as the audience senses are restricted, they cannot see what is happening but the dramatic and mysterious music indicates that the following events will not be good. The tempo of the music fits well with the camera movements, as when the camera (tracking the shark) speeds up as if the shark is hunting its targeted pray, the music speeds up and increases in volume. Then, just as you assume something is about to happen the music changes as camera suddenly cuts to a completely contrasting shot where you hear diegetic sounds of people communicating, kissing, laughing and making music normal teenage things, completely oblivious to the dangers in the water that we as the audience know about. The characters are making their own music using raw instruments like guitars and harmonicas; this is done to create and emphasise the contrasting shot of these people relaxing and having fun.
Opening Titles
The opening of Jaws doesn’t hold much back and tells the audience the production company,
distribution company and the people that made the film possible with the title of the film all before
the action unfolds. This is a successful start as it gives all the information away when the
audience are waiting for the film so they will not just over look it and the title helps the audience
to discover the point of view shot is from the point of view of the shark. Furthermore, they are
shown over the iconic soundtrack to ensure they don't lose focus, the beginning of the soundtrack
begins quiet and the text at the start suits and fits in well helping to create the build up. In addition
the font used is very basic and bold and the colours are basic black and white keeping to the thriller
convention of dull dark colours creating a mysterious atmosphere as if to prepare the audience.
Kill Bill Vol.1
Quentin Tarantino, 2003
The lead character, called 'The Bride,' was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, led by her lover 'Bill.' Upon realising she was pregnant with Bill's child, 'The Bride' decided to escape her life as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, who, on the day of their wedding rehearsal was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later, 'The Bride' wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She, then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby. The saga of Kill Bill Volume I begins. Written by JD (accessed on IMDb)
Camera, Mise en Scene and Representation
Black and white is used in the opening scene to represent a flashback, this helps to create a complex narrative that is common within some thrillers, namely films like ‘Fight Club’ and‘Memento’. This immediately establishes the genre because Tarantino is using a generic thriller convention that pays tribute to early noir thrillers such as ‘The Third Man’. Tarantino uses Chiaroscuro lighting to create a strongly contrasting shadow across The Brides face, this helps to connote mystery and engages the audience as they are yet to see the character fully. This effect was most likely created by using non-ambient lighting, this is deductible by the full range of tonal values within the mise en scene and this could easily created by using bright non-ambient lighting. Tarantino is again establishing the genre early on by using this technique as it can be seen in classic noir thrillers to create suspension and mood, as can be seen in the picture to the left. A close up shot is used to show only the feet/boots of Bill.The close up shot is used to engage the audience and place them within the mise en scene as though they are with the characters, but this time it could be perceived that Tarantino has used the close up shot to purposely conceal the identity of Bill. A similar shot is used in the film ‘Witness’ (toilet murder scene) to build tension amongst
the audience, therefore Tarantino is establishing the genre by making reference to this. Tarantino uses the close up shots throughout this whole scene, this ensures the pace is kept and the audience are put within the heart of the action. Close up shots also help to place the audience in the mise en scene and in doing so, engages them with the film. In this particular shot the close up is used to show the emotions of The Bride, this creates a connection between the character and the audience, allowing them to feel sympathetic towards The Bride and immediately marking her out as the
‘hero’ or ‘good guy’. The shot could also be considered a POV as it seems
the audience are put in the shoes of Bill when looking at The Bride, this positions the audience in the mise en scene and further captivates them
Sound and Representation
The diegetic sound of the footsteps are very important in this shot. The sound of foot steps help to connote fear or menace which helps to create suspense within the audience, especially as only the heeled boots can be seen and thus engaging the audience. Another important diegetic sound is the shallow, panicked breathing coming from The Bride. This can be heard over the opening titles and throughout most of the opening scene and it helps to create tension as it shows the vulnerability of The Bride in comparison to Bill. Also as Bill walks the floor creeks (diegetic), this makes Bill seem sinister, especially as the sound is real. Bill is seen to be wearing cowboy boots, this could possibly tell the audience that he is a ‘redneck’ or comes from a southern state.This gives the audience a little hint about Bill’s character, this leaves the audience speculating and helps to captivate the audience. This is an effective device, known as an enigma, which means a person or object that is mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand. In this case the enigma is the character of Bill as the audience to getto make the connection with the face of Bill. The shadow created by Bill’s boot creates a sense of moral ambiguity and a general feeling of fear. This helps to add to the idea of the enigma as it makes Bill appear to be more mysterious, which of course, draws in the audience. The dark tones of what Bill is seen to be wearing could suggest his morality within the film, much of his clothes are darker colours (this also fits with the films soundtrack Bang Bang by Nancy Sinatra, especially the lyrics “he wore black and I wore white”) and this could lead to suggest that Bill may be what some may consider a sadist. These small hints can help to intrigue the audience as they are left guessing about Bill. The sound of a gun being loaded can be heard quietly in the background, this subtly prepares the audience for what is about to happen. Although the prior warning, the sound (non-diegetic)of the gun fire is used to make the audience jump, this intrigues the audience as it comes as a shock. Guns are generic conventions as they are used to symbolise death, as can be seen in ‘The Killing’ or ‘Natural Born Killers’ and so Tarantino is using this to establish the genre of the film.
Alfred Hitchcock, 1960
Phoenix office worker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother.Written by Col Needham (accessed on IMDb)
Representation and Mise en Scene
Marion in the characters opening shot looks passive, she’s the one lying down on the bed and that is her fate as that is the way she shall die – lying face down on a bathroom floor barely dressed. At first when we see her she is dressed in white which has connotations of innocence. In a later scene this changes and we see that she is wearing black underwear when she gets dressed to leave with the money that she stole. Immediately the earlier white’s connotations of her innocence are sullied as has our perception of her character. Once again whilst Norman Bates is watching her change through the peephole, she is wearing black underwear – she is a doomed woman. In addition, his watching through the peephole reflects the beginning of the movie where the audience watched Marion secretly through a window in her underwear, hinting that Norman is the killer.
Camera
The beginning is one long panning of the establishing shot with no cuts – then a very sudden cut, jerking. It lulls the reader into a false sense of security expecting further panning then ripping them away to a new sight, interrupting the fluidity and reflecting the state of Norman Bates mind. There is a close up high angle shot of the open window, zooming in – we are not going in through the door but unseen through the window, for a glimpse of someone’s private life. It gives a very voyeuristic feel to the viewing. The camera feels as if it is scanning across the city and the window it chooses quite random – choosing a victim, watching their behaviour through a window. It makes the audience feel uncomfortable as it is as if placing them within Bates’ mind, and the camera is shaking very slightly as it zooms in on that window, not entirely stable as neither is Norman. There is a medium opening shot of the characters, mid-level. The blonde woman Marion Crane is the primary person seen, and this tells us that she is our main character as all you can see of her lover Sam is his torso.
Sound
The non diegetic parallel music which plays in the beginning is very dramatic, the string instruments being played at a very fast pace. It is dark, discordant and full of suspense, giving the feeling that time is running out and you are being chased. Even the music seems to have no idea of where it’s going, sharply plucked high pitch strings one moment and then very low pitch the next, it is wild and unpredictable.
Titles
Establishing the setting is the place (Phoenix, Arizona). Then there is the date which has no year with the effect that the film feels still very relevant, as if the events within it could happen at any time and place, today, now, this year. The time is written in words, and makes it seem like a police file within the aftermath of a crime and contradictory to the effect of the date missing the year, marking when everything happened precisely – again an indicator of the split personality of the film. When the opening credits roll the screen and text are at random being split into bars, into two and then are moving around constantly. Even the bars are unstable, sometimes splitting sideways and other time vertically these too are changing all the time – everything is unstable. This reflects the dual nature of Norman Bates, hinting at the later revelation of his split personality.
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