Jacob Knowles - Research task

Research and Analysis task 5.

Hurt locker:

Editing:

At the very beginning of the sequence, we see the world from the POV of a bomb defusal robot. The fact that it is a remote robot being controlled from elsewhere is heavily indicated by the flickering of colour across the screen, showing disruption in the signal and suchlike. We then have a jumpcut to an outside view of the robot, showing what and where it is. We see many jumpcuts between the defusal robot and the people controlling it, showing intense focus on their faces and indicating that they are involved in a high risk operation. When one of the characters is having to approach the bomb in his suit, the editing pace is increased to match the tenacity of the situation, the increase in editing pace puts the viewer on the edge of their seat and foreshadows the explosion of the bomb. When it is made clear to the viewer that the butcher is going to detonate the bomb the pace increases sharply until it reaches it's peak and the bomb explodes.

The fact that it is a remote robot being controlled from elsewhere is heavily indicated by the flickering of colour across the screen, showing disruption in the signal and suchlike.

Camerawork:

At the beginning, a camera which is attached to the robot is seen through in a POV shot, showing directly what the soldiers which are trying to defuse this bomb are seeing, even though the viewer may not realise what they are seeing at first. There is then a cut to a Medium shot of the robot to explain the previous shot. When the man is planting the explosives on the bomb, there is an ELS of him making the viewer feel distanced from the character and showing that he is far away and isolated. There is a lot of camerawork in the sequence that makes use of swaying and shaking the camera to the effect that it makes it look panicked and tense. As mentioned earlier, there are ECU of the soldier's faces when using robot. This adds tension to the scene as it shows how intensely the soldier is concentrating.

As mentioned earlier, there are ECU of the soldier's faces when using robot.

Mise En Scene:

• The Lighting in this scene is constantly bright to match the environment that they are in. This lighting feels natural for the environment and has a very warm feeling. Although this doesn't attribute to the fact that it's a thriller film, it sets the scene well.
• The set design consists of all of the different civilians and the surrounding area. There are a lot of run down buildings that suggest poverty in the area. The area looks very urban and the surroundings are almost 'slumlike'.
• The costume in this sequence consists of Marine's and then the Baghdadi public. The fact that these costumes are used heavily sets the scene and shows that they are there for the purposes of combat. This is also shown through the heavy weapons being carried.
• There are several key props in the sequence, these include the guns being used, the meat being hung at the butchers shop and the robot.

Sound:

Throughout the whole sequence eerie ambient music is played  

How does this work as the opening to a thriller film?

In my opinion this works really well as a thriller opening. For the first 4 minutes of the sequence there is very little pace to it, however this makes the sequence quite eerie since the viewer is not directly told what's happening and is therefore constantly making assumptions about what is happening. The use of the very sharp increase in pace to an eventual climax is used incredibly well in this sequence and excites the viewer.

Audience:

I'd say that this scene is well suited for it's audience of people 16 years+.

Narrative:

The narrative follows 3 soldiers controlling a robot to defuse a bomb, this robot then breaks down so one of the soldiers needs to go and do it's job for it. A 'pedestrian' then detonates the bomb in an attempt to kill the soldier.

Pulp Fiction:

Editing:

At the start of the sequence within the first 50 seconds, there is little to no editing done in the regard that no transitions are made, the cuts begin when they start talking about specifics on robbing a bank and other shops. The camera begins to cut between the two characters as they are conversing and increases in pace as they talk about robbing the coffee shop more and more, this puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. You can see as the characters become more and more restless the cuts become more and more frequent. The 180 degree rule is followed the whole way throughout this sequence, with the camera being at the same angle for the majority of it.

Camerawork:

The camera is generally at a medium distance throughout the whole of the scene, with some close ups where the characters are conversing. The angle of the camera is slightly low throughout the whole of the sequence, maybe made to indicate that these people are a force to be reckoned with.

Mise En Scene:

• The lighting of this scene, although being the natural lighting of the coffee shop it is darker than usual, this may indicate or foreshadow that there us something 'bad' happening.
• The set design is in a coffee shop with shaded blinds behind the two protagonists, they are sat on an already messy table, this indicating that they've been there for a while still talking about the current subject.
• The costumes in this sequence consist of quite timely clothing from the early to mid 90s and American diner uniforms. This sets the scene well.
• The key props of the sequence are the coffee cups and the guns. The coffee cups are used throughout the scene as the male character uses his hands to exaggerate on what he was saying. The guns are key props as they are used to hold up the shop.

Sound: 

There is a constant ambient noise of traffic and quiet piano music. Both of these help to set the scene as a usually calm environment that doesn't have much abnormal happening in it. Both of these instances of non-diegetic sound are consistent throughout the whole of the sequence until the climax of the pace where some very fast paced music starts playing.

How does this work as the opening to a thriller film?

I'd say that this works very well an opening for a thriller film. It involves two characters very calmly talking about criminal activity with the pace increasing throughout the sequence until it reaches a climax at the end. Towards where the subjects are talking about acting instead of just theorising the camera focuses on their individual facial expression, thus emphasising on what each of them are thinking and feeling. Due to all of these elements put together, this works as an opening to a thriller film.

Audience:

I think the audience that this film is trying to capture is 20 year olds+ due to the fact that from  the opening sequence there is patience required to get to the 'high octane' parts of the film.

Narrative:

The narrative that the sequence follows is two adults talking about criminal activity and ways to make money from it. They talk about this until they start to theorise ways that they plan to act upon until they come to the conclusion that they will hold the diner for their money and the money of all of the customers. They then begin to act upon this and the sequence ends.

Drive:

Editing:

The beginning of the scene is edited to have a low amount of cuts, with most of the camera moving or changing positions being done through the use of panning with the camera. This starts the scene with a very low pace giving it a lot of room to build up throughout the rest of the sequence. The editing pace increases with the pace of the music. There are intermittent cuts to a view of the city from a helicopter throughout the whole of the sequence, this helps to set the scene as it shows the viewer the surrounding area of the protagonist. As the robbery is taking place the cuts become significantly more frequent in an increase of pace to show the tension and despair of the situation.

Camerawork:

At the start of the sequence the camera pans from the table up to the protagonist of the sequence the camera continues to pan around the room and show the viewer the hotel room and further setting the scene. The camera stops panning when it reaches a bag and the protagonist is then seen to leave the room with the bag. The camerawork at the beginning of this sequence is designed to show and explain the current goings on to the viewer without giving anything away about the whole story. When the camera follows the protagonist in his car, we see an over the shoulder shot where you can clearly see his eyes and  part of his mouth. This showing that the character is not expressing much emotion on the situation. The camera then goes to some low angle shots and shows the character's face and upper body from the bottom of the right seat. This shows the expression of the character again and confirms what they may have thought earlier. We later see a long shot camera angle looking out of the car window out towards the action of the robbery outside.

Mise En Scene:

• The lighting of this scene is incredibly dark throughout the whole thing, almost all of it consisting of ambient light from the television set and the street lamps surrounding. This gives an eerie feel to the whole scene
• The set design is in a hotel room with very little objects in it, the main features being the table with the map, the two windows, the television set and the bed. The set then moves into the city with most of it being the interior of a car.
• The costumes in this sequence consist of very dark clothes that consist primarily of leather. There are also balaclavas and other clothing to protect the identity of the thieves, emphasising the fact that it's a robbery.
• One of the key props of this sequence is the mobile phone which is used to make the call at the start. Since this phone was thrown away it shows that the protagonist is committing some kind of illegal action. Another of the key props in the sequence is the bag when one of the thieves is running as it shows that the man has taken something and it's in that bag. 

Sound: 

Throughout the sequence there is a drum beat with synthesised tones played, at most points this is pretty low key but it then increases to a fast paced song at other points with a lot happening in it. The song reaches a crescendo at multiple times. When the song hits a crescendo the editing pace increases in a similar way.

How does this work as the opening to a thriller film?

This works reasonably well as a thriller opening, it is fairly calm throughout the whole sequence with multiple peaks where a character is doing something against the law or about to do so. Due to these peaks, the viewer is made to be on the edge of their seat throughout the system because of the foreshadowing.

Audience:

The audience for this film is likely to be for people aged 16 and over, this is due to the intense nature of the opening sequence and the fact that a lot of assumptions need to be made by viewer at first, however I expect that these assumptions will be pieced together by the narrative over time.

Narrative:

The narrative of this sequence is of a man who picks up a car from a garage, this car is then used as a getaway vehicle to rob what looks like a building in an industrial estate. 2 men come out of this building, the getaway begins and the sequence ends.

Alice Creed:

Editing:

In this sequence, the editing immediately starts with a fade, then quickly cutting between several different shots of the car park that the protagonists are in. The pace starts immediately high due to a combination of both this and the music.  There are many subsequent jump cuts showing a lot of action within a short period of time, jumping to various scenes including changing the license plate of a car, buying things at a hardware store and beginning to renovate a home. All of this happens within the first minute of the sequence. This immediate pace is due to the planned continuation throughout the rest of the sequence. The editing pace slows down slightly when the camera is in the bedroom, however as soon as the protagonists are back in the scene the pace increases back to it's isual high speed.

Camerawork:

At the very start of the sequence, the camera shows the surroundings and then immediately cuts to the protagonists stealing a van with a medium close up shot. Due to this shot type it shows that they are trying to do the activity in a lot of secrecy. We then see a camera angle as if it was attached to a car coming in the other direction, showing that the public would not have seen or noticed anything. There is an establishing shot of the scrapyard. We see an extreme low angle shot with a limited focus on the wheels of the shopping cart, this then pans up to a medium shot of the two protagonists walking around in the hardware store. We see extreme close ups of each of the items that the protagonists are going to buy, this is a narrative technique to explain the story. There is a long pan around the desolate room showing what the assumed criminals are going to be converting. Later in the sequence we see a camera angle inside of the van which is stolen earlier, we see the protagonists enter the van and alter the inside of it. In the whole sequence, any shot with one character in will also have the other. I believe this was done on purpose in order to show that the two men are trying to work as efficiently and as goal oriented as possible.

Mise En Scene:

• The lighting in this scene is fairly dark throughout, with just enough light to emphasise shadows. This shadiness may be indicative of the criminal activity that the two men are involved in. 
• The set design here covers a variety of locations within a short amount of time, ranging from a car park, a garage, a hardware store, and an apartment. The very fast change in sets may indicate that the protagonists cannot stay in the same place for too long else they may get caught doing something.
• The costumes that the protagonists wear here are generally very dark, yet casual clothes. Towards the end they begin to very smart, suit clothes.

Sound: 

Throughout the whole of the sequence there is a drum beat playing with some other instruments over the top. The music holds the pace throughout the whole of the scene, at the points where the music crescendos the pace of the scene increases accordingly 

How does this work as the opening to a thriller film?

This works very well as the opening to a thriller film due to the the constant fast pace which was set at the very beginning of the sequence, the pace then gains at certain points in synchronisation with the music. Due to this, the viewer is constantly on edge waiting for an event of significance.

Audience:

The audience for the film is around ages 14+ judging by this sequence, it seems to be more pure action than anything else you can see in the sequence.

Narrative:

The narrative follows two male protagonists which are preparing to commit some kind of illicit activity. It follows them setting up the activity and preparing to commit it then the sequence ends.