Cabin Fever
(2002):
During the titles appearing by fading in and out, the worn paper
background becomes more red indicating blood and death. This enigma is also
created through the soundtrack as it becomes sharper to create importance on
the final title which stats the film name. An establishing shot of the setting
(woods) is shot to understand where the film will mainly take place. It is set
during autumn time as there are many leaves scattered around because of this
the wood is has very orange and deep red hues indicating death or unease for
its residents. Also the woods connotes the typical horror film
setting and suggests danger will occur later. It also pans across a lake
to give the idea of a calm area with a creepy and eerie feel. The orange hue
continues throughout the opening as we see the young group of friends in a car
to indicate they are on a road trip to somewhere... Presumably the
wood we was introduced to.
We are introduced to a creepy character stumbling through the
woods holding a dead animal suggesting he might bring death later on in the
film. His dark costume and dirty clothes implies a bad atmosphere around him
and this warns the audience of his presence. This presents a bad tone along with
the chain sounds as he is walking implies captivity or no escape. Also as the
camera is a low medium shot of the character walking by shows his significance
and we immediately presume he is a bad character that will cause danger or
death. The character could potentially be the 'murderer' as he
could negatively impact with the other characters later on. He
approaches a dead wolf and begins to inspect it, as he does this suspense
is built through sound of flies and sharp sounds becoming louder. He then moves
the wolf and blood squirts out while a sound bridge is used with his scream to
link the character in the next scene. This creates more enigma
and heavily linking the setting and character to danger also the
straight cut leaves a slight cliff-hanger suggesting what will happen to that
character but used to link the next scene.
Cabin Fever
(2002):
During the titles appearing by fading in and out, the worn paper
background becomes more red indicating blood and death. This enigma is also
created through the soundtrack as it becomes sharper to create importance on
the final title which stats the film name. An establishing shot of the setting
(woods) is shot to understand where the film will mainly take place. It is set
during autumn time as there are many leaves scattered around because of this
the wood is has very orange and deep red hues indicating death or unease for
its residents. Also the woods connotes the typical horror film
setting and suggests danger will occur later. It also pans across a lake
to give the idea of a calm area with a creepy and eerie feel. The orange hue
continues throughout the opening as we see the young group of friends in a car
to indicate they are on a road trip to somewhere... Presumably the
wood we was introduced to.
We are introduced to a creepy character stumbling through the
woods holding a dead animal suggesting he might bring death later on in the
film. His dark costume and dirty clothes implies a bad atmosphere around him
and this warns the audience of his presence. This presents a bad tone along with
the chain sounds as he is walking implies captivity or no escape. Also as the
camera is a low medium shot of the character walking by shows his significance
and we immediately presume he is a bad character that will cause danger or
death. The character could potentially be the 'murderer' as he
could negatively impact with the other characters later on. He
approaches a dead wolf and begins to inspect it, as he does this suspense
is built through sound of flies and sharp sounds becoming louder. He then moves
the wolf and blood squirts out while a sound bridge is used with his scream to
link the character in the next scene. This creates more enigma
and heavily linking the setting and character to danger also the
straight cut leaves a slight cliff-hanger suggesting what will happen to that
character but used to link the next scene.
The next scene is to introduce the main characters to know who
they are and what they are like. They are mainly portrayed as rowdy college
students, who don't really care. This is done through their behaviour as they
are shown swearing and drinking. Also as there is not a clear connection with
one of the characters through camera work it suggests they potentially all are
in danger. The plot is set up as they are driving to the main setting as the
setting before was straight cut to the characters. This is most likely where
the main disruption will take place considering the blood and wolf in the
previous scene connoting bad things will come.
Scream (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKukhIw5eY - link to the
opening scene of Scream.
The institution appears with string instruments being played to
create suspense and a faint heartbeat is also slowly becoming louder and
faster. This instantly links the film to the horror genre as its spooky and
dramatic. A sound bridge is also used as the telephone rings and the film title
appears with a scream ironically at the same time. This stresses importance on
the telephone as it implies bad things may come by answering it. The heartbeat
speeds up even more as a we are introduced to a character straight away
answering the ringing telephone. The female character is introduced relaxed and
seems happy to talk on the phone through her 'flirtatious' tone of voice. Her
bright white costume connotes her innocence and we are connected with this
character as the camera is focused on her often by tracking her. By the camera
tracking it could also connote a creepy tone and imply she is being watched. Although,
the non-diegetic male voice on the phone seems calm, it adds mysteriousness and
a chilling effect implying the voice is important. The character on the phone
and the prop telephone itself has great significance as it is a motif; every
time the phone rings we know its mostly likely them. This creates the ideas
that the character is a villain or has a negative impact on the female
character. This also creates enigma but in a subtle way to tease the audience.
The lack of characters in the opening scene suggests the audience suggests a
mysterious feeling and could imply significance to the female. However, it
could also imply not to get attached to the character as she could
potentially be in danger later on.
The setting is a well lit, high key lighted house while set at
night through a pan shot outside to add to the horror genre. Throughout
the scene there is long continuous editing used to create realism and emphasise
her loneliness in the house. The bright lights inside the house also relates
to the characters innocence. Because the setting is night and dark with her
being the only one in the house it sets significance on the telephone and the
character on the phone as they could be outside looking in. As the phone rings
a third time she finally begins to speak to the 'voice' and becomes more open
with them until in the dialogue he says he is watching her. This is when the
audience first senses real disruption and a short, light piano soundtrack
starts playing to create enigma and build the suspense. The phone calls become
more frequent and both characters tone of voice become more aggressive which
changes the mood and pace of the film. As the pace is faster and more frantic
the female character begins to run throughout the house and lock doors as she
senses he is outside. During this point there is many quick and fast edits used
to convey the frantic pace.
The Purge
In the opening scene of ‘The Purge’ we notice the clear theme of violence and crime, which we interpret to be the narrative for the rest of the film. It creates a high enigma from the use of the CCTV being so mysterious and leaving blank spaces in the viewer’s minds which they would want to fill by watching the full movie. It also leaves the audience on edge because we are helplessly watching footage that cannot be stopped, allowing it to feel like a real crime scenario and verisimilitude. Instantly we notice that this is a horror/thriller film as the violence stands out in comparison to everything else. It gives an insight into what the film is going to present later on and what we should expect. The camera allows us to witness the death and assault of many individuals each shown through a different lens which sets a cruel realistic violent tone very quickly. In my sequence we could depict the idea of the audience instantly knowing that the film is of the genre horror.
Stock Settings
In the opening scene of the purge the general setting appears to beat night time in locations hidden from the public. This is significant as it foreshadows that the purge is a dark violent occurrence and that there are many crimes all around, hidden behind buildings and in isolated places. There is a real sense of mystery due to the fact all the crimes are presented through a bad quality camera, and this could portray that crimes and murder is a blurry area and there are generally many aspects to murders that people do not know like why they committed this act. This relates to the setting as crimes link to dark mysterious areas and it shows that crime in general happens in many places.
Stock Characters
Just from the opening we don’t interact and engage with any characters in particular. This could be a clever technique to pull us in so we can eventually see the characters and follow their story and see how they are coping in such a diseased world. It is almost as though they do not want us to engage with any characters as in some of the poor quality footage the face is blurred out. This ultimately leaves a real sense of mystery to us the audience whom have little knowledge of what is actually going on. Again, the mystery adds to the tension of this horror/thriller which shows that the audience would expect suspense to build up in films that tend to require high suspense.
Themes
The theme used in the opening scene definitely stands out against the softly lit background through the bright white lettering on the screen of the CCTV camera. The use of the bright white colour in the sequence, suggests purity and perhaps innocence, which highly contrasts withal of the violence and crime on the screen through the recorded footage. This could imply the danger even the pure characters are in, foreshadowing that innocent people will be affected later on in the film showing how evil ‘The Purge’ really is. We also see two different credits for different characters that appear at the same time. This could perhaps suggest a stand-off of a fight or some sort of violence, foreshadowing the story-lines of characters later on in the film. The shots are often dimly lit and black and white with a high contrast. This reinforces the CCTV footage effect, and gives the audience a more edgy setting.
Narrative
The Purge definitely uses the narrative correctly to create a high enigma for the rest of the film. The opening sequence includes an icon called the purge feed, shown in the top right corner of the screen with every violent occurrence that happens, allowing us the audience know that if the purge is causing this then it must be bad. People who have not seen the film and have no knowledge of what the plot is would feel a high sense of mystery as this purge feed icon allows us to understand the narrative is going to be full of violence, crime and death throughout, just like the opening.
Iconography
One of the most significant uses of iconography is the credits as it flickers in and out on the screen; however these flickers are not very noticeable to the audience whose prime focus would be on the murderous acts. The flicker suggests that the lives of the people dying are perhaps unimportant, reinforced by the mass killing which is shown through the CCTV footage. Occasionally there are two different credits which appear at once at the opposite ends of the screen which could foreshadow later events in the movie of perhaps a stand-off. I think this is deliberate hints used by James DeMonaco and analysing this opening sequence gives us inside knowledge of clever techniques to give out clues to the audience of what might happen later on. In my opening sequence I could use similar iconography of perhaps a stand-off through characters or even credits, hopefully making my sequence to be more believable and authentic.
Creation of enigma
In the opening scene of the purge, The short narrative creates an enigma through the use of iconography in the top right corner called ‘The Purge Feed’. This would constantly make the audience question firstly why is it being shown, what is the purpose of it and what is the purge? This enigma is added on top of all the violence which is an obvious use of enigma being created as we the audience want to know why all this violence is happening. The way the credits show so much violence is becomes normal and expected for us to see someone dying and we want to why and how a world could become that corrupt and is it due to the purge. Therefore this overall enigma would make the audience want to carry on watching to find out what happens next throughout the whole film, who is the protagonist and how will they deal with ‘The Purge’?
Setting up the plot
The plot in the purge is very much left as a mystery to the audience, and all we gather from the opening sequence, is that the violence and murderous acts will follow through to the actual film, preparing us for the death ahead. It sets up for us that perhaps innocent people will get hurt and from the credits it appears it will be from all destinations. Generally in a film we follow the protagonists story, therefore it sets up the plot for the protagonist and we want to see how they deal with these violent circumstances. However the opening scene is ambiguous when we try to identify the plot as a clueless audience who don't already know the plot, as could interpret it in different ways. On the one hand from the opening sequence we may think the plot is going to be all violence and hopefully understanding the reason for all the death. However on the other hand it could be a film of a single protagonist surviving in this chaotic world and avoiding all the death we see instantly from the opening sequence.
Pace and Rhythm (Editing Mise en Scene)
We instantly know that the genre is horror because of the good use of mise en scene of props like guns and murder and violent acts being played out through a verisimilitude CCTV camera. Also the jump cut editing is very fast paced which ultimately creates a sequence making the audience feel on edge with a lot of suspense. The mise en scene has also successfully contrasted the different colours very well. The use of a dark atmosphere through the camera creates a sinister feeling and there is little light areas showing the films will have little acts of kindness. However there are aspects of white outfits towards a man getting attacked showing his vulnerability towards the attackers. This would give us the impression that the audience would be teenagers as they are highly associated as being rebellious.
The violent occurring on screen through the CCTV camera in this opening sequence instantly depicts the film as a horror with thriller aspects. The props that are visible like the weapons in the opening scene, also link closely to these genres such as guns and axes which are highly associated with violence and danger. All of the characters that are shown in the opening sequence are either participating in violent acts of crime or victims of it. This immediately sets the mood of the film and lets the audience know what they are in store. Mise en scene through setting is also evident through the use of smashed up cars and burning fires. Another aspect of mise en scene is the way it presented. The use of CCTV shows us the date time and location of the area. This allows us as the audience to see that the crimes vary from England to places like china, showing the purge is a global system.
Mood and tone (non diegetic music)
The mood is very much negative and disturbing; however it is highly contrasted with the delicate happy non-diegetic music in the background. It is very unique and is a piece by Nathan Whitehead and it definitely stands out to the audience due to the contrapuntal type of music. The relaxing music almost creates more of an enigma because its as if it is normal and relaxing for all this violence and murderous acts to take place. The mood is very uneasy because not only are we confused but we witness so much death in a short amount of time for what appears to be no reason. As well as this , the music also highlights the violent and upsetting acts we are seeing, instantly connecting the audience on an emotional level.
Institutions
The purge is presented by: 'Universal pictures'
Produced by: Platinum Dunes/Blumhouse/Why Not
'The Purge' opening sequence- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0lcdgDCytA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKukhIw5eY - link to the
opening scene of Scream.
The institution appears with string instruments being played to
create suspense and a faint heartbeat is also slowly becoming louder and
faster. This instantly links the film to the horror genre as its spooky and
dramatic. A sound bridge is also used as the telephone rings and the film title
appears with a scream ironically at the same time. This stresses importance on
the telephone as it implies bad things may come by answering it. The heartbeat
speeds up even more as a we are introduced to a character straight away
answering the ringing telephone. The female character is introduced relaxed and
seems happy to talk on the phone through her 'flirtatious' tone of voice. Her
bright white costume connotes her innocence and we are connected with this
character as the camera is focused on her often by tracking her. By the camera
tracking it could also connote a creepy tone and imply she is being watched. Although,
the non-diegetic male voice on the phone seems calm, it adds mysteriousness and
a chilling effect implying the voice is important. The character on the phone
and the prop telephone itself has great significance as it is a motif; every
time the phone rings we know its mostly likely them. This creates the ideas
that the character is a villain or has a negative impact on the female
character. This also creates enigma but in a subtle way to tease the audience.
The lack of characters in the opening scene suggests the audience suggests a
mysterious feeling and could imply significance to the female. However, it
could also imply not to get attached to the character as she could
potentially be in danger later on.
The setting is a well lit, high key lighted house while set at
night through a pan shot outside to add to the horror genre. Throughout
the scene there is long continuous editing used to create realism and emphasise
her loneliness in the house. The bright lights inside the house also relates
to the characters innocence. Because the setting is night and dark with her
being the only one in the house it sets significance on the telephone and the
character on the phone as they could be outside looking in. As the phone rings
a third time she finally begins to speak to the 'voice' and becomes more open
with them until in the dialogue he says he is watching her. This is when the
audience first senses real disruption and a short, light piano soundtrack
starts playing to create enigma and build the suspense. The phone calls become
more frequent and both characters tone of voice become more aggressive which
changes the mood and pace of the film. As the pace is faster and more frantic
the female character begins to run throughout the house and lock doors as she
senses he is outside. During this point there is many quick and fast edits used
to convey the frantic pace.
The Purge
Stock Characters
Iconography
One of the most significant uses of iconography is the credits as it flickers in and out on the screen; however these flickers are not very noticeable to the audience whose prime focus would be on the murderous acts. The flicker suggests that the lives of the people dying are perhaps unimportant, reinforced by the mass killing which is shown through the CCTV footage. Occasionally there are two different credits which appear at once at the opposite ends of the screen which could foreshadow later events in the movie of perhaps a stand-off. I think this is deliberate hints used by James DeMonaco and analysing this opening sequence gives us inside knowledge of clever techniques to give out clues to the audience of what might happen later on. In my opening sequence I could use similar iconography of perhaps a stand-off through characters or even credits, hopefully making my sequence to be more believable and authentic.
Institutions
The purge is presented by: 'Universal pictures'
Produced by: Platinum Dunes/Blumhouse/Why Not
'The Purge' opening sequence- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0lcdgDCytA
The Purge
In the opening scene of ‘The Purge’ we notice the clear theme of violence and crime, which we interpret to be the narrative for the rest of the film. It creates a high enigma from the use of the CCTV being so mysterious and leaving blank spaces in the viewer’s minds which they would want to fill by watching the full movie. It also leaves the audience on edge because we are helplessly watching footage that cannot be stopped, allowing it to feel like a real crime scenario and verisimilitude. Instantly we notice that this is a horror/thriller film as the violence stands out in comparison to everything else. It gives an insight into what the film is going to present later on and what we should expect. The camera allows us to witness the death and assault of many individuals each shown through a different lens which sets a cruel realistic violent tone very quickly. In my sequence we could depict the idea of the audience instantly knowing that the film is of the genre horror.
Stock Settings
In the opening scene of the purge the general setting appears to beat night time in locations hidden from the public. This is significant as it foreshadows that the purge is a dark violent occurrence and that there are many crimes all around, hidden behind buildings and in isolated places. There is a real sense of mystery due to the fact all the crimes are presented through a bad quality camera, and this could portray that crimes and murder is a blurry area and there are generally many aspects to murders that people do not know like why they committed this act. This relates to the setting as crimes link to dark mysterious areas and it shows that crime in general happens in many places.
Stock Characters
Just from the opening we don’t interact and engage with any characters in particular. This could be a clever technique to pull us in so we can eventually see the characters and follow their story and see how they are coping in such a diseased world. It is almost as though they do not want us to engage with any characters as in some of the poor quality footage the face is blurred out. This ultimately leaves a real sense of mystery to us the audience whom have little knowledge of what is actually going on. Again, the mystery adds to the tension of this horror/thriller which shows that the audience would expect suspense to build up in films that tend to require high suspense.
Themes
The theme used in the opening scene definitely stands out against the softly lit background through the bright white lettering on the screen of the CCTV camera. The use of the bright white colour in the sequence, suggests purity and perhaps innocence, which highly contrasts withal of the violence and crime on the screen through the recorded footage. This could imply the danger even the pure characters are in, foreshadowing that innocent people will be affected later on in the film showing how evil ‘The Purge’ really is. We also see two different credits for different characters that appear at the same time. This could perhaps suggest a stand-off of a fight or some sort of violence, foreshadowing the story-lines of characters later on in the film. The shots are often dimly lit and black and white with a high contrast. This reinforces the CCTV footage effect, and gives the audience a more edgy setting.
Narrative
The Purge definitely uses the narrative correctly to create a high enigma for the rest of the film. The opening sequence includes an icon called the purge feed, shown in the top right corner of the screen with every violent occurrence that happens, allowing us the audience know that if the purge is causing this then it must be bad. People who have not seen the film and have no knowledge of what the plot is would feel a high sense of mystery as this purge feed icon allows us to understand the narrative is going to be full of violence, crime and death throughout, just like the opening.
The Purge definitely uses the narrative correctly to create a high enigma for the rest of the film. The opening sequence includes an icon called the purge feed, shown in the top right corner of the screen with every violent occurrence that happens, allowing us the audience know that if the purge is causing this then it must be bad. People who have not seen the film and have no knowledge of what the plot is would feel a high sense of mystery as this purge feed icon allows us to understand the narrative is going to be full of violence, crime and death throughout, just like the opening.
Iconography
One of the most significant uses of iconography is the credits as it flickers in and out on the screen; however these flickers are not very noticeable to the audience whose prime focus would be on the murderous acts. The flicker suggests that the lives of the people dying are perhaps unimportant, reinforced by the mass killing which is shown through the CCTV footage. Occasionally there are two different credits which appear at once at the opposite ends of the screen which could foreshadow later events in the movie of perhaps a stand-off. I think this is deliberate hints used by James DeMonaco and analysing this opening sequence gives us inside knowledge of clever techniques to give out clues to the audience of what might happen later on. In my opening sequence I could use similar iconography of perhaps a stand-off through characters or even credits, hopefully making my sequence to be more believable and authentic.
Creation of enigma
In the opening scene of the purge, The short narrative creates an enigma through the use of iconography in the top right corner called ‘The Purge Feed’. This would constantly make the audience question firstly why is it being shown, what is the purpose of it and what is the purge? This enigma is added on top of all the violence which is an obvious use of enigma being created as we the audience want to know why all this violence is happening. The way the credits show so much violence is becomes normal and expected for us to see someone dying and we want to why and how a world could become that corrupt and is it due to the purge. Therefore this overall enigma would make the audience want to carry on watching to find out what happens next throughout the whole film, who is the protagonist and how will they deal with ‘The Purge’?
Setting up the plot
The plot in the purge is very much left as a mystery to the audience, and all we gather from the opening sequence, is that the violence and murderous acts will follow through to the actual film, preparing us for the death ahead. It sets up for us that perhaps innocent people will get hurt and from the credits it appears it will be from all destinations. Generally in a film we follow the protagonists story, therefore it sets up the plot for the protagonist and we want to see how they deal with these violent circumstances. However the opening scene is ambiguous when we try to identify the plot as a clueless audience who don't already know the plot, as could interpret it in different ways. On the one hand from the opening sequence we may think the plot is going to be all violence and hopefully understanding the reason for all the death. However on the other hand it could be a film of a single protagonist surviving in this chaotic world and avoiding all the death we see instantly from the opening sequence.
The plot in the purge is very much left as a mystery to the audience, and all we gather from the opening sequence, is that the violence and murderous acts will follow through to the actual film, preparing us for the death ahead. It sets up for us that perhaps innocent people will get hurt and from the credits it appears it will be from all destinations. Generally in a film we follow the protagonists story, therefore it sets up the plot for the protagonist and we want to see how they deal with these violent circumstances. However the opening scene is ambiguous when we try to identify the plot as a clueless audience who don't already know the plot, as could interpret it in different ways. On the one hand from the opening sequence we may think the plot is going to be all violence and hopefully understanding the reason for all the death. However on the other hand it could be a film of a single protagonist surviving in this chaotic world and avoiding all the death we see instantly from the opening sequence.
Pace and Rhythm (Editing Mise en Scene)
We instantly know that the genre is horror because of the good use of mise en scene of props like guns and murder and violent acts being played out through a verisimilitude CCTV camera. Also the jump cut editing is very fast paced which ultimately creates a sequence making the audience feel on edge with a lot of suspense. The mise en scene has also successfully contrasted the different colours very well. The use of a dark atmosphere through the camera creates a sinister feeling and there is little light areas showing the films will have little acts of kindness. However there are aspects of white outfits towards a man getting attacked showing his vulnerability towards the attackers. This would give us the impression that the audience would be teenagers as they are highly associated as being rebellious.
The violent occurring on screen through the CCTV camera in this opening sequence instantly depicts the film as a horror with thriller aspects. The props that are visible like the weapons in the opening scene, also link closely to these genres such as guns and axes which are highly associated with violence and danger. All of the characters that are shown in the opening sequence are either participating in violent acts of crime or victims of it. This immediately sets the mood of the film and lets the audience know what they are in store. Mise en scene through setting is also evident through the use of smashed up cars and burning fires. Another aspect of mise en scene is the way it presented. The use of CCTV shows us the date time and location of the area. This allows us as the audience to see that the crimes vary from England to places like china, showing the purge is a global system.
Mood and tone (non diegetic music)
The mood is very much negative and disturbing; however it is highly contrasted with the delicate happy non-diegetic music in the background. It is very unique and is a piece by Nathan Whitehead and it definitely stands out to the audience due to the contrapuntal type of music. The relaxing music almost creates more of an enigma because its as if it is normal and relaxing for all this violence and murderous acts to take place. The mood is very uneasy because not only are we confused but we witness so much death in a short amount of time for what appears to be no reason. As well as this , the music also highlights the violent and upsetting acts we are seeing, instantly connecting the audience on an emotional level.
Institutions
The purge is presented by: 'Universal pictures'
'The Purge' opening sequence- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0lcdgDCytA
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