Task 2 - Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd - Tim Burton.

Narrative:

• We get a feeling the film is about death due to all the blood.
• In the begining of the film we see mince meat and pies being made.
• Also a red , white and blue pole on the building telling us it's a barber's
• The begining shows lots of chimney's and cobbled houses telling us it's set a long time ago.
• No major company advertised - shows the film is funded by the director and is not advertised by a big company which means a company wouldn't advertise for it or the director is self reliant.
• what is the significance of the pies? the blood? the barbers?
• the dingy shop looks creepy
• the lack of people in the begining sequence is almost scary and makes the audience wonder who owns the house.
• Organ music used to create a atmosphere of fear
  

Mise En Scene:

• thunder, lightening, rain, clouds, chimney's, smoke, barber shop, dirty windows, a chair, blood, trap door, cog's, minced meat, fire, pies, oven rats.
• The lighting is extremely dim and gloomy to show the film is set in the past where they had no street lights etc. Also the film is a Tim burton film and he always using really dark gloomy settings. The lightening in the begining brings some light to the sky but overall the lighting is very dark and dim to give it a creepy feel.
  
  

Camera Shot's and Angle's:

• Dolly - slowly moves across the landscape capturing the sky then slowly moving down towards roof of a barbers.
• Close ups - of all the different shots and objects in the film.
• Long shot - looking down on the chair but it somehow gives it a powerful look.
• Point of view shot - the whole opening sequence is like it is being filmed from a p.o.v shot as your following everything around and it's filmed all in one shot.
• Racking Focus - It goes from the background then moves backwards to show the houses and street.
• Low angle - to capture the weather and make a atmosphere.
• Crane Shot - of chair to highlight it and show it is a important part of the film.

Movement:

• Slow shots of the beginning of the film to make it seem more spooky and create tension and suspense for the audience. The camera follows objects which take over each other e.g blood, meat, rat etc. which our eyes follow.
• A rat is used to show dirtiness and fith.
• The main concept seems to be the blood. A theme of blood trickling down through the darkness of the industrial london. It is a visual journey of dread and eeriness.

Task 3 - Opening Sequence Of A Thriller

Taxi Driver

Genre:

The close up of the eyes create mystery otherwise known as 'enigma' the smoke and the feeling of not knowing also creates a particular image typical of a thriller film.
The music is louder at times and quieter at others this creates a feeling of suspense and leaves us hooked for more which is needed in a thriller.

Characters:

We only see the main characters eyes which doesn't tell us much about the character. The only thing we know for sure through different shots is that he is a taxi driver and the name of the film tell us this.

Conventions:

Red and black coloured titles.
A heavily populated city which is easy to loose someone and hard to find people in which creates a good setting for a thriller.
Tense/suspense music.
A lonely character that holds a grudge against people/nations or organisations.

How It Keeps The Audience Watching:

The tension filled music which increases in pitch and frequency.
By changing from light to dark to change the moods amid atmosphere.

Question's We Want Answered:

Who is the man?
where is he going?
why is he a taxi driver?
Why is he looking out the window?

Analysing Opening Sequences Of A Thriller Film.

Edward Scissor Hands



Titles
In the beginning of Edward scissor hands the first thing you see is the advertising of the conglomerate '20Th Century Fox' which is surrounded by snow to give it a eery effect of a cold desolate surrounding which tells us that's there is loneliness and coldness towards some characters.


The advertisements have thin, long text which looks creepy and old and in a white font which makes us think the film may be frightening or scary. It also may relate to the snow at the beginning and contrasts against the dark background. The size is small for titles of the film as it is harder to read and makes the background look darker and spooky.

The title 'Edward Scissor Hands' creates a sense of thrill as it seems to appear from in front of your eyes and flies towards the back to be viewed and then drifts out. This creates a sense of confusion and in a spooky atmosphere perhaps fear. The text is the same as the advertisements, White, long & thin text which stands out against the dark backgrounds. The title is slightly at a angle which also creates a sense of confusion. The title is the zoomed up on and the text begins to form a pair of scissors which relates to the film Edward Sscissor Hands.

The Names of the actors also rotate slightly in the same font as the rest of the text but the font colour is slightly different. It either goes from white to dark blue or blue to white and then fades out blending with the background. All the while the film is still beginning to show you the first few parts of the film. This carries on throughout the beginning of the film until the very start of the film.