Controlled Assessment - December 2011

Controlled Assessment - December 2011

I chosen to do "Donnie Darko - The Director's Cut" (2004) (original 2001) as my chosen mock controlled assessment. I picked this film as critics highly enjoyed this instant cult-classic thriller sub-genre psychological film. I also enjoyed the film, and found it very interesting.

The thriller genre has many sub-genres. One of these is the psychological thriller. The psychological sub-genre can include normal conflicts between main characters which could lead to violence. This conflict is mental and emotional, rather than physical. As the conflict is mental and also emotional, it can possibly be something that wouldn't be scientifically possible in real life.

The film had many conventions, such as clocks, wide open spaces, lavatories, characters with dark pasts, triangles leading to murder, the interior of vehicles and many more, hence the reason why it's a strong thriller sub-genre film - even through the film has elements from other genres too, such as sci-fi and horror. I also chosen this film because of the response which I was given on my "Thrillers I've Watched" post. You can view this HERE.

However, as Miss pointed out below, the film is more a psychological dioma (drama? dilemma? - hard to read writing) and/or horror.

I understand the response which Miss has given me.

Below I have enabled a "Show/Hide" button so that your browser you are using will not crash while loading due to the file size of the images and CPU usage. Please click on these to show the images. You can click again to hide the images afterwards. I recommend 'showing' one image at a time. 

Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino - 1997)

Jackie Brown (1997) - Quentin Tarantino


Info:
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Release: 1997

A female flight attendant becomes a key figure in a plot between the police and an arms dealer. - IMDb

The Introduction of Jackie Brown

At the beginning of the scene, Quentin Tarantino introduces a character called "Jackie Brown" (actress Pam Grier). Non-diegetic sound has been edited into the film at the beginning. The non-diegetic sound is a soundtrack which is called "Across 110th Street" by  Bobby Womack.


(Here is the non-diegectic soundtrack for your listening pleasures.)



The soundtrack is very upbeat and powerful. The lyrics begin when Jackie Brown enters the scene in a medium close up. This immediately establishes the character of Jackie as being upbeat, glamorous, powerful and confidant - the lyrics support this. Because of the soundtrack, Jackie Brown is represented as being a "Femme-Fatal". This is a thriller convention that establishes the genre.

For the first opening minute, the camera constantly tracks Jackie Brown as she moves throughout the scene. The costume which she is wearing is a Flight Attendant's uniform. The costume is bright blue and white. This colour choice can support the fact that Tarantino is trying to represent Jackie as a Femme-Fatal as the colour is bright, eye-catching and glamorous.


Throughout the opening scene, the camera cuts between medium, extreme and close ups of Jackie Brown each differentiating between low angles and "shoulder" height angles. This signifies that the audience should constantly keep an eye on Jackie Brown. Especially as Tarantino has established her as being a Femme-Fatal - a deviant and dangerous woman who looks innocent. On top of this, within the mise-en-scene of the extreme close ups, Jackie Brown is the only figure who is in the camera's focus. This also suggests that the audience needs to keep a close eye on her, or even that everything around Jackie is insignificant. She is above everyone else, more important and can do anything she wishes - another common characteristic of a Femme-Fatal. 

This is also backed up by the fact that Jackie Brown walks past a crowd of people queueing to scan luggage. Scanning luggage is a protocol in Airports encase of an attack on an aircraft - they search for dangerous weapons or bombs. Because of the fact that Jackie Brown walks past this important protocol, it can suggest that she is going to do exactly the same, but this time, to the police. No one will suspect her committing a crime, or helping anyone who does.

The Shooting of Beaumont 

During "The Shooting of Beaumont", Quentin Tarantino uses the representation of the character's clothing to establish power within the scene. The mise-en-scene shows that one character is dressed and the other 'bare' or even shown as being 'naked'. By doing this, Quentin Tarantino establishes that the character wearing clothes is far more superior then the character without.

As this is a Quentin Tarantino film, he's used his iconic low angle shot. The low angle shot shows the two characters looking into a car boot. Again, the low angle show can represent having superior power as the characters are towering above the camera. 


Quentin Tarantino uses this low angle shot in many other films. This can be seen as an intertextual reference. The reference is that characters, who have more 'power' in the scene tower above the camera. These films include:

Kill Bill Vol.1:

Reservoir Dogs:

Pulp Fiction:

Thelma and Louise (1991) Screen Shot Analysis

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Screen Shot Analysis

Director: Ridley Scott
Release date: 1991

Location:

• The location of the scene is in a car park. This is a classic generic convention which establishes the thriller genre. The car park is used as a confined space that makes the characters feel alone and scared.

Characters:

• Within the mise-en-scene, both characters show different emotions.
  
  - The female character looks shocked. We can tells this by the over expressing of the eyes. Eyes are important features within thriller films as they show fear and tension within the scene for the character. The reason why the eyes are over expressed in this scene is because the female character - The "Femme-Fatale" is stepping out of place from a male dominated world, she is worried about what will happen to herself. 
  
  - The male looks worried and stressed about the actions of the female. He is worried about what she would do in a male dominated world. Especially as she is holding a gun. The gun is often used to symbolise male power. The female character shoots the man in the heart. This can represent that the males in the film have no respect for female welfare. 

Lighting:

• The lighting within the image is ambient which is very dark and is almost shown as a Noir-like thriller. This could of been used to represent the female presence within the male world, by doing this the female character is dressed in colourful clothes whereas the male is dressed plainly.   

Camera Angle:

• The camera angle used is a medium close up. The medium close up is used to capture both the male and the female's emotions at the same time. This is important as the emotions shown represent the characters personality in the scene.

Props:

• The only prop used in this scene is the use of a gun. The gun is often used in thriller films as it is a generic item found within the thriller genre. The use of a gun symbolises male dominance, however, as a female is holding the gun the director is challenging the generic convention.
  
  

Other Notes That I Find Important:

Inter-textuality:

• During the ending scene of the film, Thelma and Louise are on the run from the police. They decide it is in their best interests to drive off the edge of the Grand Canyon than being court by the police. I haven't seen this film before but I remember a scene from an episode of "The Simpsons" which follows the same plot of the film. 
  
  This episode is called "Marge On The Lam". This is when a character called "Marge Simpson" becomes friends with "Ruth Powers" who has moved next-door. Ruth Powers drives a blue convertible. The blue convertible is an intertextual reference as it is the same colour and type of car which is used in "Thelma and Louise (1991)". The blue convertible can also represent that both characters are Femme-Fatatles. They are stylish, glamorous, attractive and eye catching.  
  
  Near the end of this episode, the two girls are being hunted down by the police in a wild car chase and they decide to drive off the edge of the Grand Canyon. This is also an inter-textual reference as the film and episode have similar endings and story plot. 

           

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (2011) - Intertextual Reference

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (2011)
Intertextual Reference

Today (30 Nov 2011) I went shopping for some secondhand films to buy. I came across a film which I've only seen once. This film is called "7 Pounds" and stars Will Smith as the leading role. The film was released in 2008 and was directed by Gabriele Muccino. I thought this film was very art-like and very enjoyable.

An aerospace engineer with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers. - IMDb

After I bought this stunning film, I found an intertextual reference by looking at the front cover of the DVD. It reminded me of the posters which advertised "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (2011)".

Below is a comparison of a poster for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (2011) and 7 Pounds (2008).

Reasons Why I Believe It's An Intertextual Reference

• Both posters have the leading actor from the film in the center looking directly at the viewer.
  
• Both posters use "secret code words" hidden within the poster:
  - 7 Pounds (2008) have edited the names of key characters into the poster which appear in a bold colour.
  - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (2011) has also edited in key names and code words such as "Soldier" and "Tinker" which appear within the poster.
  
• Both posters use the colour red to signify important words.
  
• Both posters have wording/lettering behind the actors.

Heavenly Creatures (1994) Ending Scene

 Heavenly Creatures (1994) Ending Scene

Info:
Tilt of film: Heavenly Creatures

Released: 1994 (UK)
Director: Peter Jackson

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

"Two girls have an intense fantasy life; their parents, concerned the fantasy is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge." - INDb

Generic Characters:

• Innocent Victims
• Twisted relationships/friendships leading to murder

Generic Locations and objects:

• Confided spaces
• Clocks
• Wide open spaces
• Interior of motor vehicles
• Narrow pathways

Ending Scene

Heavenly Creatures starts with a circular narrative which is based on a true story - The circular narrative starts with events which take place after the ending scene at the beginning of the film. A circular narrative is used in many other thriller films to establish the genre. Some key examples of thriller films which use this are: Donnie Darko (2001) and also Once Upon A Time In America (1984).

At the beginning of the ending scene, the two girls - Pauline Parker (actress Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (actress Kate Winslet) exchange convocation about the upcoming events. In this scene, there are many medium close up shots and zooms. I noticed that during this scene where the two girls are in the bedroom that the camera seems to get closer and closer to the girls. This movement can represent the suspense and tension which they are going through.

At the end of this scene, there is a extreme close up of a bag. This bag contains the murder weapon which the girls are going to use. The extreme close up tells the audience that this bag is very important. The director - Peter Jackson who is recognised for the directing the Lord Of The Rings trilogy wants the audience to keep an eye on this bag, as it'll become very important. Inside the bag is a brick, the brick could represent the girls during this scene. They are hard, rough, emotionless and cold.     

During the ending scene, there is two zooming in extreme close ups of clocks. Clocks are a generic thriller prop/convention which is used to show that time is an issue. In a court case they would ask you when and what time did the events take place. The extreme close ups of the clocks can represent this as the girls may be going to a court case in the near future.

First appearance of the clock in
Heavenly Creatures

Second appearance of the clock
in Heavenly Creatures

The first appearance of the clock is very different to the second. The second appearance of the clock is more zoomed in, it's far closer to the clock then the first appearance. This can also support the fact that time is an issue. The clocks make the whole scene feel more natural and realistic.

Donnie Darko - Close up of clock

Heavenly Creatures isn't the only thriller film which uses clocks to establish the genre. Donnie Darko (2001) for example has an extreme close up of a clock during the opening scene just before the airplane's jet engine falls through Donnie's house. This extreme close up can be seen as an intertextual reference as both films show clocks just before some kind of threatening danger occurs.

During the ending scene (at about 3:20, video at the top) Peter Jackson has edited in a non-diegetic soundtrack. The soundtrack is from an opera called "Madam Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini. The soundtrack, which is called "Humming Chorus" is rather dramatic yet very beautiful. This non-diegetic sound builds up suspense for the audience. Not only does the soundtrack set the mood of the scene, it also creates a sense if being in a dreamworld reality. This dreamworld reality is the world in-which the girls are living in during the final scene.

Below is the soundtrack "Humming Chorus" for your listening pleasures.

Peter Jackson challenges classic thriller generic conventions during the end scene. One of the main conventions he challenges is the use of wide open spaces with narrow pathways. This is when the girls and the Mother are walking down the narrow pathway in a wide open space. The lighting is ambient which creates a sense of the events being more realistic and far more threatening. The narrow pathway is very claustrophobic, this makes the Mother feel isolated. Narrow pathways is another generic thriller convention which is often used to make the characters feel that there is no escape. 

There are many different close ups and tracking shots of the girl's and the Mother's feet walking down the pathway in the ending scene. These are used to show that the Mother is walking to her death. These close ups and tracking shots are filmed in slow-mo. The slow-mo is used to represent that the girls are in an almost dream-like reality as the girls want to be together without the Mother. The slow-mo is also used when the camera cuts to close ups of the character's faces, the camera can then capture every single thought which is running through their minds just before the crime is committed. The soundtrack is also used to show this, as mentioned above.

Opening to our Thriller Film (Idea 3): Final Concept + Shot list

Opening to our Thriller Film:
Final Concept + Shot list For Our Third and Final Idea

Due to the fact that we can't use the shipping container for our previous idea, as they are now currently locked. Myself and James have came up with another idea. This idea of ours will be our final idea as we believe it is possible to create and is not over complicated. We will still use our same location and characters.

Final Idea:

A young innocent, trouble-free, "down to Earth" teenage boy around the age of 16 will be taking his daily walk in a park. The teenage boy will then become thirsty and will need a drink, he'll put his bag down next to the shipping container and will then take a bottle of water out from his bag and drink it.  Then, suddenly we watch a mysterious walk through the entrance to the park. The mysterious figure will then grab hold of the boy and will force him to the ground by hitting his head on the metal container (we will edit and carefully film this scene so no one gets hurt in the process). The mysterious figure will then pull the teenage boy along the ground behind the shipping container. The audience will not see what is behind the area, this can be used to signify an enigma - what is going to happen now? whats behind the container? Why has this happened? This will be our thrilling cliffhanger. 

However, when we start to film our opening, if the shipping container is open, unlocked and empty,  myself and James will film both ideas. By doing this we can then compare this idea and our previous idea to see which is better. Also, we will make two final outcomes, one in black&white and the other in colour. Then we can compare them both to see which creates more suspense to our Opening To A Thriller Film. 


Shot List:

• Shot 1) Camera pans down from the sky to a tilted long shot which shows a vanishing point. The vanishing point will be the end of a pathway with tress either side of it. The young teenage boy walks down the pathway and past the camera. Myself and James thought this would be an excellent shot for the opening. The shot was inspired by the ending scene from the film "The Third Man" (1949).
  
  
  
• Shot 2) Pan shot of the boy walking past trees.
  
  
• Shot 3) Boy walks towards the shipping container.
  
  
• Shot 4) Boy puts bag down, close ups will be used here. Takes an item such as a bottle of water out from his bag and drinks it.
  
  
• Shot 5) Mysterious figure walks up behind the boy, close up of feet walking will be used.
  
  
• Shot 6) The mysterious figure will "smash" the boy's head against the metal container (editing and cleaver acting with good camera work will be used to stop anyone from being hurt during filming). Extreme close ups and close ups will be used here to show suspense.
  
  
• Shot 7) Close ups of the mysterious figure dragging the stone cold body round the corner of the shipping container. I use "stone cold" because the audience will not know if the boy is either dead or knocked unconscious. Our film will cut to a black screen where the titles of the film will fade in or suddenly appear - much like the titles in the trailer for Animal Kingdom (Animal Kingdom trailer - click here).

Once Upon A Time In America: Opening Scene

Once Upon A Time In America (1984): Opening Scene

Info:

Title of Film: Once Upon A Time In America

Released: 1st June 1984 (USA)

Director: Sergio Leone

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

"A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to Brooklyn over 30 years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life." - IMDb

The opening to Once Upon A Time In America has many generic locations and characters which can be found in the thriller genre. These include:

Generic Characters:

• Criminals
• Innocent Victims
• Characters with dark pasts
• Twisted relationships/friendships
• Characters on the run
• Cops
• Gangster/s

Generic Locations:

• Confided spaces

The opening scene to "Once Upon A Time In America" starts with a circular narrative - often used in thriller films to give the audience a glimpse into the dark past of the character or characters within the film. In the first scene, we see "Eve" (actress Darlanne Fluegel) walk into a darkly lilt room. This opening scene is almost Noir-like due to the non-ambient lighting, this could also suggest that Eve is hiding something as her face is the only thing we see in the mise-en-scene whereas the rest of her body is in the darkness. This can represent that her beauty shines through. 

Because of this beauty, Eve can be seen as a Femme-Fatale. A Femme-Fatale is a woman who is seen as being mysterious and seductive. This is also represented as Eve is wearing pearls. White pearls have a historic symbolical meaning of purity. This can show us that she is innocent and without sin. However, as we can not see the rest of her body in the mice-en-scene this suggests that she is trying to hide something through her purity, or even that her looks can be deceiving.

(Improvement paragraph)

"Eve's" entreance can seen as an intertexual reference with Harry Lime's entrance from "The Third Man". Harry Lime appears from a narrow doorway, with only half of his face exposed to the Noir lighting and the rest in silhouette darkness. This can be seen as an intertexual reference as both Harry and Eve's faces appear from doorways/archways with only half of their face exposed to the camera and the rest in darkness.  

(End)


The sound within the opening scene is non-diegetic as it has been edited into the scene. The sound during the scene could also be seen as being diegetic, this is because when Eve goes into the room, there could be a radio which is playing a song called "God Bless America". This song has been edited into the opening scene to represent the mood and irony of the upcoming moments.

                                 Audio/MP3 - "God Bless America"

                   


During this scene, after Eve has walked into the room, she turns on a table lamp. The table lamp being turned on is representing Eve. The light from the pale cream glass reflect on Eve's face, which happens to be almost the same tone. This shows us that the lamp and Eve are the same, they are one within this scene.




Eve then spots an outline of a body made out of bullet holes on a bed. The camera angle is a high angle shot, this could be seen as a warning of danger, intimidation, and how little power Eve has over others. However the angle could even suggest a point of view shot of someone watching her. The outline of the body on the bed can also suggest a link to the police and authorities in America and how they can be corrupted and take matters into their on hands. 



We learn this latter on during the scene when three men in tweed coats walk into the room - they are cops. Their outfits represent that they are all together as a gang. The middle man carries a gun around with him, this gun is a symbol of male authority within this thriller film. The gun is pointed at a photo of a man, because the gun is pointing at the man in the photo, it could represent the man in the photo is being hunted by them and is on the run.


During the final shot of the opening scene, one of the cops shoots Eve. This can represent the cops as taking the law into their own hands, just like as if they are criminals on the run who will do anything to gain information which blocks their path - a common event in many thriller films. Also, the power statues of the three men outweigh Eve. Three v.s. one can be seen as another male authority over woman, this is used in many thriller films, an example of this is "Thelma & louise (1991)" where the women in the film are living in a dominated male world.

After Eve dies, one of the cops turns off the table lamp off which symbolises Eve. This is done to show that Eve's life has came to an end. The room then returns to darkness as the ambient lighting is no longer present and returns to an almost Noir-like thriller.