Lighting decisions

Lighting decisions

Daniel Wright

During the interview there will be light source on the table from a lamp which gets turned on early on in the scene. This light will be presented as the single light in the room which lights up the room.

As well as this light source on the table, there will also be a back light behind the characters creating more light which will give the characters/actors more depth in the scene. This extra light can also create more shadows in the scene as it is meant to be  a pretty darkened room only illuminated by the single light on the table.

Prop decisions

Prop decisions

 Tom Peacock
 

Props are essential for any thriller film especially in ours. As you've already seen from the storyboard we will need various props, which we will use to create effect throughout our thriller opening.

 

Below is a list of the props we expect to use, how we will get them and also in what way it will compliment our thriller opening.

 

- Interview table & chairs

- Light (With switch)

- Fake Knife

- Rope

 

Interview table and chairs

The table and chairs used in the interview room should be standard make, nothing special and easy to obtain. We plan to use one of the black rooms at college to film the interview scenes in and we know they will have a table and a couple of chairs there already.

 

 

Light

The light will be used throughout the interview scenes and will also link into our lighting decisions. The light will need to have a switch on it as it's one of our shots. The light should also be on a stand.

 

 

Knife

Bringing a knife into any film carries it's health and safety risks to therefore we will be using a fake knife, which doesn't look like a real knife therefore wont alarm any of the public. The knife will be fairly short and will also be brown in colour, with the blade being silver. Using this prop will help us put across the realism of the murder scene and make our thriller opening more realistic.

 

 

 

 Rope (Zip tie)

The rope will also be used in the opening interview scenes. It will only be shown in 2 of the shots and for the rest of the time it will be hidden. The rope should look like typical rope you'd imagine however we must make sure we don't tie the antagonists hands up too tight because it could cause the rope to cut into his skin.

 

 

All of these props will be brought in through our group. We will need to make sure that the Knife doesn't cause any alarm with the general public when we are filming. As well as this we also need to make sure that the lamp doesn't get damaged while it's being transported.

 

 

Second Animatic Brief Script

Second Animatic Brief Script

Dan, Harry, Tom

1.  In the first shot we start with the shot in a first person view of the protagonist tied up in a chair tied up in a dark room looking towards the other side of the room. You will only just be able to make out shapes that are in the room.

2. The first shot will cut to a medium shot of the antagonist standing next to a lamp that is placed apon the table. The antagonist will slowly reach down towards the light switch on the lamp and this will lead to a match on action in the next shot.

3. In the third shot we have an extreme close up on the antagonists hand which turns on the light switch and the lamp will turn on.

4. Shot four will cut straight back to a first person view or P.O.V of the protagonist which has been blinded by the light but slowly comes into focus with the room and the antagonist will be there standing on the other side of the table looking directly at the protagonist.

6.  The Antagonist will then slowly sit down on the chair that is next to him and the first piece of dialogue will be said.

6.5 The camera will then have an extreme close up on the antagonists face asking the question "Why did you do it" The tone of the character asking the question will be calm.

7. The screen will the dissolve which will signify a flashback, this dissolve will carry on for about 2 seconds.

8. Once the dissolve has finished it will immediately cut to a over shoulder shot of the protagonist chasing a man down some woods. The protagonist will be quite far behind at this point of the chase. During this chase scene there will be dialogue from the protagonist explaining what happened as the sequence unfolds.

9. A match on action will take place as the camera cuts to a very low angle shot of both characters running past the stationary camera the frame will be a medium shot and only capture the characters shoulders and downwards.

10. The last part of the match on action will be a medium shot and the camera will be stationed in front of the characters as they run past. The camera will be hand held (free hand) to give it that more realistic look. The man being chased will have the top half of his body shown on the right half of the frame while the protagonist will have his whole body shown on the left half of the frame.

11. The shot will then cut to a high angle medium shot  of the characters running past with the protagonist running a lot closer than what he was in the first shot of the chase sequence.

12. The camera will now be placed behind the two characters as another medium shot this will also be free hand.

13. It then cuts to a side on medium shot of the protagonist eventually stabbing the fleeing man, we will have an initial shot of the victim getting stabbed, there will then be a close up to the mans face to show his reaction to being stabbed in that back, the man will then fall on to the floor via a long shot and will die on that floor.

14. There will be a cut directly after the stabbing back to the present time, the shot will be a birds eye view of the room. The antagonist will get up from his chair and will walk around towards the protagonist.

15. The shot will the face towards the protagonist sitting down and the antagonist behind him tying him up.

16. There will be another match on action as the shot cuts from the camera facing towards the characters to the audience being able to see the antagonist tying up the protagonist.

17. We then go back to a P.O.V of the protagonist as the antagonist will then walk around the table again to face the protagonist again. He will then move his chair away from the table and lean over onto the table. A shot reverse shot sequence will start.

18. The camera will then reverse to give a close up shot of the protagonists face giving a blank expression and not saying anything.

19. Then back to the antagonist asking a question while still leaning over the table, the protagonist will not say a word and the antagonist will then become angry towards the protagonist.

20. The antagonist will slam his fists down on to the table, looking directly at the protagonist and sternly asks says his next line of dialogue.

21. Another transition same as before will dissolve the screen to the next flashback. This will also last for only 2 seconds.

22. The protagonist is shown pulling the dead body of his victim into a thick hedge. There will be dialogue from the protagonist once again as the sequence unfolds.

23. The protagonist will the walk always from the bush while the victims head is still poking out slightly.

List of Roles

List of Roles

 

Dan, Tom
 

Dan: Camera Operator, Prop manager, Researcher, Script Writer, Director of filming.
 

 

Harry: Story Writer, Researcher, Casting Director.
 

 

Tom:  Storyboard Artist, Location Scout, Prop Manager, Researcher, Director of filming.

 

1st Animatic

1st Animatic

This is our first Animatic, all the shots in this animatic are exact in length of time to what they will be in the final film and in chronological order to the film.

Opening Script

Opening Script

Dan, Harry, Tom

Antagonist:
Why did you do it?

Protagonist:
He murdered my wife. I saw no other option, he had to pay for what he had done. I had remembed his car registration so when given opotunity, I rammed him off the road. He ran. He knew it was me. I gave chase but unfortunately for him he was to slow.

Antagonist:
Where did you put the body?

Antagonist:
You better start explaining more, or I will kill you where you sit!!!

Protagonist:
After his unfortunate tumble, I dragged his body towards some thickly covered bushes. No one will find him for a while...

Locations

Before we start to film we will need to decide on certain locations to film.

Below are the different scenes we will need a different location for.

- Interview scene

- Chase scene

For the interview scenes we will need a blacked out room with sockets available for lighting. The blacked out room isn't decided on yet although there are black rooms  at college in the performing arts studio which we could us. 

We could have a similar setup below, with these features. 

The above setup could be one we use, with the table and 2 chairs. We would also add a light to put on the table and also black the room out to create the blacked out room effect. The light would illuminate the characters faces when we film the shot reverse shots. 

An example of the sort of light we could use is shown above, this sets the typical interview room stereotype as it's often seen in older films with interview scenes. 

For the next scenes (Chase scenes) we will be using the local park near the college. It's a 5 minute walk away and therefore is ideal for our use. 

The park has quite a few paths running through woodland so again it would be a great place to film. 

As you can see from the Image above, it's a recreation ground so it's suitable for filming. It also has multiple paths which go into forest area away from the main footpaths. This area would be ideal for our location as we will be able to film without getting in peoples way. 

It's also idea because it's so near to college and also the train station in Haywards Heath, which is very convenient for everyone as it's easy to get to from both the college and places further away via the train station. As you can see in the picture below the route from college to the park is very simple and only takes 5 minutes walking. 

Health & Saftey

 

  

Health & Safety

Tom Peacock 

 

Whilst filming our thriller opening we will have to consider health and safety throughout.

 

This is particularly important when we film certain scenes from our thriller for example when we are in the dark interview room and also while we are filming the chase scenes.  

For the chase scenes, we will be in the local park and therefore need to take into consideration some of the following health and safety hazards.

- Mud 

- Animals 

- Slippery paths

- Falling branches

We'll have consider the things such as mud and falling braches especially during filming in this location because of the recent weather we've been having. Getting covered in mud or falling over in mud while holding equipment could end up in no filming being able to be done and damaged equipment, which is something we want to totally avoid. 

Falling objects should be taken into consideration as well because of the recent weather conditions. We could expect falling branches or small amounts of debris due to the stormy weather we've been having lately. 

This in fact is especially important because recently there was a big tree that fell down in the park, which is still blocking one of the pathways, so the reality of something like that happening is very high.

Slippery paths we may also have to take notice of while filming, especially during the chase scenes. It's important to consider this aspect because of how dangerous slippery paths can be. We don't want anyone to fall over, however telling if a path is slippery or not is quite difficult so therefore we will just have to be careful whilst filming and walking to location.

The final thing which we have to consider in terms of health and safety is the animals in the park, which may be running around off their lead and away from their owners. 

Although most dogs are well trained there may be a few that decide to pick things like the camera bag up and run away with it or jump up at some of our filming crew. It's not as serious as the others mentioned but still is important to take into account while filming.

The Story

                                                                    The Story

By Harry, Dan, Tom

 

 

The story begins with an integration between the protagonist and the antagonist in which the protagonist explains what he has done. The protagonist explains that he killed the man he killed because he had murdered the protagonist wife. The protagonist then explains what happened when the protagonist wife was murdered he saw the murderer get into his car and then drive off in a hurry.

 

The protagonist  then went into his house to discover the door had been kicked in. As he goes into his house he sees his wife's body then he realised that he saw blood on the murder's coat. Luckily the protagonist remembered the number plate on the car. A month after this happens the protagonist is driving and spots the murder driving ahead of him he then rams his car off the road and into a wood the murder then gets out his car and runs into the wood.

 

The protagonist peruses him while he is explaining how he killed the man flashbacks occur which show the protagonist chasing and killing the murderer. In the flashback we see the protagonist running after the murderer and when he eventually catches up with him and stabs him to death. The next day the protagonist is walking down the road and gets dragged into the back of a van. He then ends up at the interrogation.

 

 



Plot Opening

Plot Opening

Dan, Harry, Tom

The scene will start off with a first person of the protagonist sitting tied up in a chair behind a table, facing towards the door in darkness. The camera then switches to a extreme close up of the antagonist flicking a switch to turn on a light. The light will then be turned on to the right of the protagonist this shot will be a first person view as the protagonist gets blinded by the light and will slowly get used to it.

The antagonist then comes out of the light to slowly sit down on the other side of the table. The antagonist will then ask the question "why did you do it?" It will then flash back into a murder which the protagonist has committed. During the flashback the interrogation dialogue will carry on over the flashback explaining what he did at the same time as the flashback. In the flashback there will be a chase scene the protagonist will be running after an unknown to us male running away for an unknown reason, to the audience. The protagonist eventually catches up to the male, leaps on him and stabs him to death. The cuts during this scene will be fast to match the pace of the action which is unfolding.

After the flashback has finished and has come back to present time, the shot type will be birds eye view. The antagonist will then stand up from his chair and start to walk around the protagonist without saying a word. As he gets behind the protagonist the shot will then go to a medium shot looking at the protagonist being tied up from behind the chair. The antagonist will then get behind his chair push it under the table and lean over the table towards the protagonist and stare at him for a couple of seconds with a shot reverse shot of them looking at each other.

After the shot reverse sequence of shots the antagonist will then say "Where did you put his body?" "You better explaining more, or I will kill you where you sit." Another flashback will happen while the protagonist explains further the events of the murder while the scene shows the protagonist  dragging the male into some deep bushes then walking away from the scene of the murder.

Checklist

Checklist



Dan
Harry
Tom
Everyone




-A completed storyboard for the entire opening (preferably having used ‘post it’s), including initial ideas about title placing. 

-This needs to be made into an animatic of approximately the same length as the final film will be (shots to be timed carefully) with a voice-over explanation and embedded onto the blog.

 

- a synopsis for the whole film narrative from which this will be the opening (about 100 words)

- the script for any dialogue

 

- list of roles (see pre-production planning advice)

 

- images of locations and decisions about locations

                                 

- prop research and justification in terms of character and story

 

- health and safety, including risk assessments for filming and use of equipment.

 

- lighting decisions. 

Girl with the dragon tattoo - Tom Peacock

 

Girl with the dragon tattoo

Tom Peacock

 

 

The above screenshot is from the opening scenes of the film, Girl with the dragon tattoo. From this scene we immediately see that the director is trying to put across the illusion of mystery to the viewer. We can tell this by the fact he's used very restrictive shots here, only showing us the hands of this person. He also uses extreme close-up shots to perhaps signify that whatever is in this package is important. Guiding the audiences attention to the package as well, creating the thriller theme.  

 

 

 

Mise en Scene is also used here to create effect. We can see from this shot, that the room uses a lot of dark colours as well as the character dressed in black. These dark colours could of been used in conjunction with what's happening in the scene to have a greater meaning. So for example, the character in this scene is crying uncontrollably and the room around him is covered in dark colours. This could either symbolise death  and the crying would explain this or it could symbolise that as soon as he looks in this package, his life wont be the same and the black colours represent 'The walls closing' around him.

 

 

 

Following from this, the sound used here also suggests the same thing. The director has used slow paced cinematic music, which was played in the 1900's. The dark appearance of everything in this scene may furthermore suggest that this scene may be set in the past, however it has an important part in the later story because of how the camerawork focuses in on the picture he receives in the package.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Thriller film target audiance

 

Thriller film research

Zodiac

 

 

Dan, Harry, Tom

 

As shown below the age rating on the bottom left are the different categories of ages who are viewing this film. As you can see below the age which viewed this film the most was 15-24 which take up 42% of the total audience who viewed this film.

 

Similarly we can also see that the female:male ratio in terms of people who viewed this was 60:40 in per cent.

 

We can also see that the class rating on the right side in the table categories shows that this film is most popular with people in the C1 class. C1 is the lower middle class, typically roles within supervision or junior management.    

 

 

 

 

 

 From this research we have decided that we will target our film at an audience aged 15-24, Male and of C1 class. We feel this is the best spread and will help us when we make our film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



No Country For Old Man - Daniel Wright

No Country For Old Man

The opening scene starts off with a "sheriff" as he says narrating about him, talking about the past and the present of his life. From this narration we can gather that the film will revolve around police officers and murder. The opening clips are shots of the landscape, more than likely where he either currently works or lives, using these landscape clips it allows the audience to focus on the narration rather than any action which could of been happening instead.

The officer takes a what seems to be an oxygen tank from the arrested suspects car. This creates an Enigma as the audience and the police officer both do not know what it was or is used for and why. We later find out what it could be used for but we don't know if it is really the intended purpose of the object.

During the scene where the officer is on the phone he is framed in the center of the camera and has a medium close up shot on his face, very slowly tracking in towards his face. This is so we can see what the arrested male is currently doing behind him. This is a form of dramatic irony as we know that the character has managed to bring his handcuffs around to his front and he starts walking towards the officer. We know from that point onward what the intention of the arrested male will be as it turns very dramatically to the officer being strangled by the cuffs in which the arrested male is wearing.

This then conveys to the audience that this is the antagonist of the film and the one we should hate and dislike. This is then further demonstrated as he kills another man with the oxygen tank which was an unexplained object before hand until now.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opening - Research Task by Harry Speer

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

 

 

Editing

• When the man goes through the door there is a cut to show him entering the room from inside which makes the scene work well.
• Cut to establishing view of cityscape of Budapest in weak colours conveying dullness of eastern Europe

  

 

Camera work

• Over the shoulder shot to give the view the that the character is getting
• Long shot allows the flat to be seen

  

 

Mise en Scene

• Flat is dark and cluttered to give an insight into the man who lives there and how he lives his life
• Decoration and colouring of the flat helps to establish the time in which the film is set

 

 

Sound

• Opera music paying on the radio establishing the man is at home
• No added music adds to the bareness
• Music then comes in as the narration turns to Budapest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kill Bill opening - Research Task by Harry Speer

Kill Bill

 

 

 

 

Editing

• Quick shot to the man's walking feet and back to the woman's face shows he approaching her
• Sequence ends with gunshot and cuts quickly to opening credits for dramatic emphasis

 

 

Camerawork

• Black and white to separate from the main story to show the opening sequence happened in the past
• Majority of opening is close up of the woman's injured face creates a sense of mystery

 

 

Mise en Scene

• Blood on the woman's face shows she is injured
• Veil indicates a wedding
• handkerchief with name on it to establish who the character is and links it to the title of the film

 

 

Sound

• Footsteps off camera, slow and emphasised to create suspense
• No music makes the scene appear bare
• Sound of gun being prepared creates tension

 

 

 

Inception opening - Research Task by Harry Speer

Inception

 

Editing

• Cutting to children playing and back to the character to show he is imagining them
• Cut between bright outside and dark inside creates contrast between scenes 

 

 

Camera work

• Close up on face showing the character is dazed and exhausted
• Slow motion on waves establishing the setting
• Slow motion on children playing to show that the character is imagining or remembering them
• Shots of the back of the character creating mystery

 

 

Mise en Scene

• Oriental-looking house to establish where in the world the story is taking place
• Oriental interior of house showing wealth and status of the owner
• Smartly dressed people in the house shows wealth and contrasts with the main character's wet and scruffy clothes

 

 

Sound

• Sound of waves to reinforce where the character is
• Dramatic music creating
• Sound of children's voices distant to make it seem like he is imagining them being there
• music used to build up tension

 

 

 

 

 

Bourne Ultimatum opening - Research Task by Harry Speer

Research Task by Harry Speer

 

Bourne Ultimatum

 

Editing

• quick cuts makes the pace fast
• action jumps forward which speeds up the story
• flashbacks provide back-story and show Jason Bourne's disturbed state of mind
• continuity editing

 

 

Camerawork

• extreme close ups shows emotions and used to link to flashbacks
• hand-held camera makes viewers feel they are there
• flashbacks distorted to show what the memories are like in his mind
• wide shots show location

 

 

Mise en scene

• shot on location makes it seem more realistic
• snow, vehicles, train, police uniforms reinforce the location in Russia
• grubbiness conveys his situation
• flashbacks settings are clean, clinical and brightly lit contrasting with dark and grimy present

 

 

Sound

• sirens reinforce that he is being chased by police
• music fast paced and adds to excitement, helps creates suspense
• train sounds emphasise his location
• dramatic music during flashbacks
• echo used during flashbacks to make it seem distorted as Jason Bourne cannot remember properly

 

 

 

The American - Daniel Wright

The American

 

 

As the opening scene starts the cuts between shots begin very slow with no background music. It is silent which give the impression of peace as the camera slowly zooms into the surrounding areas. The background music then starts as quite tranquil and sets the mood as the camera moves into the cabin with the two characters sitting by the fire.

 

 

 

 

 

When the time turns to day (the next morning) they get shot at by some person that the audience do not know and why. This instantly creates an enigma as the audience would then question why are they being shot at? The cuts between shots increase in frequency which matches the action that is unfolding during the scene.

 

 

 

After the Male main character shoots the unknown assassin another question is raised, The male character uses the following dialogue "Go to the house, call the police." He then shoots the female character which raises the question why did he shoot her? What was the purpose?

 

 

This will more than likely come to the audience as a massive shock, as it seemed with the first minute of the film that these two characters were in love as set in the cabin with the fireplace and the woman naked on the bed. This is a very clear attempt to shock the audience and it works very well. 



Zodiac - Tom Peacock

Zodiac 

Tom Peacock

The opening scene from Zodiac is very cinematic and creates the impression of a grand entrance. The director here has used extreme long shot and also a tracking shot.

We also see some fireworks in the background which are bright colors. These bright colors make us think its something worth celebration going on so therefore we're naturally drawn to it and want to know more.

Above we can see a close up show of a character approaching the car, which we see driving along the road. The director has used a well positioned camera here to show the character in full view. We can also see some good lighting used here too. The right side of his face is lit up by the key light and the other side is in shadows. 

This immediately raises questions, as his character is half in the shadows. This could suggest to the viewer that he has an evil side or that he isn't to be trusted or even that part of his character is being kept away in the dark. We can also assume this from the clothes he wearing, very dark and simple clothes which again suggest mystery.

Furthermore we see a complete contrast in this scene. This shot is establishing the scene using a medium shot. We immediately see bright lights which we associate with being safe or something going on. The music here is upbeat and very typical of the time it is set in .We could assume from the previous shot that there is something going to happen at the restaurant because of the contrast.

We see a dark character in the previous shot with a girl in the car then skip to a happy scene at a restaurant. 

Collateral - Tom Peacock

Collateral

Tom Peacock

Straight away here we get involved in some action. We see here a restricted shot, with us only seeing his upper body and face. It's also a closeup with the main focus intending to be on his face. The director here has also used a focus pull to allow us to focus on the main character instead of all the other people. This has been done intentionally and would suggest that the character has a significance in the story line.

Here we see the use of parallel cutting to create effect. At first we are hinted that they might be in the same place, however it's not certain. The editor then uses quick cuts to increase the speed, increasingly making us think that they could be in the same place. Close ups here are also used to convey that the convosation is also important, making us think that they could be main characters in the plot. The collision of these two characters could have a metaphorical meaning. For example they both appear to be main characters and when they collide in this scene it suggests that it could represent the collision of them again but in bigger terms later on in the film.

Sound is also widely used here. After they switch briefcases, a short montage of clips comes on the screen with some background music. The music is non diegetic and helps to make the transition go faster. The transition between the clips is fades, which gives the impression that the sequence is quite slow and sleepy, meaning time is passing slowly too outside the clips. The sounds added to this are also slow paced, not very upbeat and give the same impression and idea's to the viewer.

Jack Reacher - Daniel Wright

Jack Reacher

Straight away during the first and third scene the director has chosen to use restricted views of both the bullets and the lever. Hey has made them restricted by using close up shots to hide anything from the viewers eyes apart from what is in front of them. This creates an enigma straight away as the viewer wants to know... "Why are there bullets in that sorting machine?" and "who is pulling that lever and why?"

Enigma No.1

Enigma No.2

We then see a character driving in a van on a highway. His face is never shown whilst driving the vehicle by the use of Restricted viewing once again. After the character is revealed to us we see him with a close up shot, this is probably to make it so we remember his face . He starts to shoot at people from a high building. This is another Enigma but this time it is done without using a restricted view. The use of the Close up on the face will more than likely stay in our minds for when we next see the character, that is more than likely the intended purpose.

While the character is driving the vehicle and the opening credits are being shown there is very dramatic music which gets louder and louder and gradually calms down again, prompting for when the man is ready to do his dirty work.

Drive - Tom Peacock

Drive 

Tom Peacock

The opening scene to Drive is very interesting because normally in thrillers you'd expect there to be an opening filled to with action or at-least something to get the viewers interested. 

The above shot is taken from just after the introduction. We straight away see that there has been the use of restricted narration to introduce the character we see here. Our first impressions are straight away ones of mystery and confusion. We don't see or learn anything about the character in these first scenes, we don't know if it's female or male, what they're doing, why they're there. This is great way to start the opening because it doesn't give anything away and keeps up the theme of suspense. The use of Low angle shots as well as close ups helps to solidify this.

The great thing about the opening of this thriller is the fact that they use a voice over and non diegetic sound as well as lighting together to furthermore increase the viewers sense of mystery. We see the director here using the 3 set up for lighting, using the key light to light up only one side of the character, the rest of him is in shadows. This is clever technique to show the side of the subject which you want the audience to see. Below is a diagram showing how this was achieved using the key light.

Sound is also used here to good effect. We firstly hear the voice over talking over while the first few shots introduce the character. We then hear the background music fade in, which helps pick up the pace of the opening. That transition helps to represent the change in rythem and also that the main story line is picking up.

Costume also helps convey mystery in the opening scene, with the character here wearing dark colors. The room is dark lit as well and only a few things like the bed here and the TV in earlier shots show us any sort of color. This could've been done to make the appearance of the character here stand out a bit more to the viewer, presenting questions such as "Why is he dressed in black". Black is also a color, which could represent death and this could be a possible use of  Iconography. 

Hurt Locker - Tom Peacock

Evaluation of thriller openings. 

Tom Peacock

Hurt Locker

Sound is also very important in thrillers and here we can see some great examples.The director here has used great examples of non diegetic sounds to create mood and atmosphere.

For example in the clip above we hear the sudden introduction of some drum beats gently getting faster and faster. The sudden increase in the beats would suggest that they've been added to create a mood of suspense. It makes the viewer feel as though this scene is the quiet before the storm and that a big event in the story line is about to happen, which it does. 

An example of how the beat increases can be found below: 

As the action in the scene reaches the tipping point, the beats and music is at the top right of the diagram below - Creating suspense and atmosphere as mentioned above.

The above scene is the opening to Hurt locker, a thriller film which is set in Baghdad. In the opening scene we see the director use very Disorientating camera shots. We see shots such as the low angle shot and we also are the viewing what we later see as the robot, in first person. Using first person here furthermore expands on the point that the scene is very chaotic it doesn't really give much away to the viewer in the first few scenes, which creates a sense of mystery.

The director has also used Iconography here. After this scene we see the bomb disposal robot driving itself to where its going. This is a good example of Iconography because it symbolizes danger because most people will associate a bomb disposal robot with bombs, which are dangerous and threatening. This furthermore will entice the viewer to pay more attention to what's happening as there is an element of danger there.

The theme of distortion carries onto the following scenes, the camera angle here is a medium shot however the camera is not on a tripod while filming, it's freehand which makes it very shaky. This was most likely done on purpose to create the theme of confusion, which is used cleverly because the scenes show people running around, soldiers, which makes the viewer think about what's going on.

Mise en Scene also is used here to good effect. The costumes, which the characters are wearing give us yet more feel of confusion. There's two distinctive sorts of people here, the soldiers and then people who live there, both wearing very stereotypical clothes. Yet again the viewer will question why there are soldiers and civilians running around frantically and also because of the costumes they are wearing, why there are soldiers in Baghdad.

Gravity Opening - Daniel Wright

Gravity Opening

Daniel Wright

The film Gravity is set at a space station up in space, the end of the opening scene is where the main action unfolds. During this 1 minute and 10 seconds there is not one single cut, the whole duration it one continuous take where the camera fixates around the main character as she try's to break free from her harness.

During the time she is attached to the "arm" in the frame she is Put to the left hand side of the frame, by doing this the audience can see all the chaos which is unfolding in the background. The music which is accompanied with the Scene is parallel to what is happening within it. 

The music is very fast paced and dramatic. Still on the subject of sound, no sound is heard from the destruction behind the main character. This is to simulate what you would really hear up in space. The only things diegetic sound can be heard for the character are the voices of all radio transmissions. This is to put the viewer into thinking this is more of a real life situation than just a film.

In terms of Iconography, there is not really anything that would represent this to being a thriller film before the chaos happens. The characters are all suited up in astronaut suits this does not denote to us on what the film will be about and can't make judgments on what it will be on if you had never heard of the film before.