Film Research- Exam

Camera

Extreme close ups- these seem to be used throughout the film extensively, but it seems that during the initial scenes they are used primarily to focus the movements and actions of the 9 candidates, it allows us within the first minutes of the film, to gather a knowledge of the different personalities featured in this film, by doing this it then makes the events that take place within the room all the more powerful, as to see how these personalities change under the pressure of the situation is one of the most interesting thing about this films basic idea.

Pan- due to the fact that this film is set in a single room, the use of pans across the room as situations unfold are extremely important as they exaggerate the changes that take place between the ‘candidates’.

Gradual zoom- also used often throughout this film, this mainly seems to have been done because of to the large number of characters in the small space, the zoom forces the audience to follow what each character is saying and of what importance this has upon the other characters as the situation continually unfolds.

Sound

The sound in this film is quite simple for the most part, it seems that the diegetic speech has more impact than the music altogether as this film is not about the action or the emotion but rather how personalities change and adapt under pressure. The non-diegetic music that is used however, is mainly quite orchestral, the jumps of violins and gradual beats of drums build up the tension along side the camera angles and editing used.

Often in this film the tension is created through the silence as opposed the sound, this is done as it seems to exaggerate the choices the characters take and let it pan out in such a way that we are not distracted by fancy editing or non-diegetic sound.

            Editing

The use of security cameras to film in a way that creates a real sense of a figure above the ones in the room is very interesting to me as it really sets apart these type of physiological horrors for the very mundane horrors you often see, this film in particular uses this method very well as we are at no moment unaware of the omniscient character that is watching all these candidates.

Black and white filming is used during one point towards the end of this film as a way of showing a flashback, this method seems to work effectively as the audience are not allowed to consider the situation that is taking place, somehow by removing the colour for the image the emotion is removed too, we are simply being reminded what has happened and why that is effecting what is not taking place.

            Mise En Scene

This film has some very prominent features that really seem to exaggerate the overall style of this film. For example the use of very bland, basic colours within the square room used for the near entirety of this film is very interesting because it conveys a tone that seems to purposely juxtapose what this film shows about different personalities, yet it seems that this purposeful juxtaposition makes for a very powerful message.

In all I think the techniques used in this film have been placed in such a way that they only add to what this film shows about the different sides to people and how they react and crack under pressure.

Film Research- Panic Room

Camera

The establishing scene from this film use slow pans and gradual zooms of city scapes in order to both set the scene for the placement of the story, but also to establish the tone of the film, we see shots of a very modern, rich looking city, with huge sky scrapers and beautiful classic manors. This is significant as it shows the audience that this film is not based within the ghettos of a city, rather we realise that who ever the key figure is within the film, they are from money and live a life luxury or comfort.

Point of view shots are used when the mother and daughter first enter the house the majority of this film is set within, these shots are fairly conventional as they establish the environment from the point of view of the character, thus making us more emotionally engaged with them, but also allowing us to see experience the situation from their point of view.

Again, another conventional shot used in this film is the master shot (a two shot of the characters interacting, then over the shoulder shots of either characters faces as they react to the conversation taking place) this shot is effective as it aids the flow and pace of the film whilst also letting the audience understand how the emotions of the characters develop.

When the burglars first come to the house the use of a low angle zoom into the antagonists face is employed, this shot, alongside the music shows dominance and creates tension or apprehension, making the audience understand instantly that this character, whoever they may be, is not here for a good reason.

Editing

An interesting editing technique used in this film is to use the amount of wine within a glass to show how time is passing, when the scene starts we see the mother pouring herself a glass of wine, but as the scene continues, every minute or so there is a cut back to the glass, always with a noticeable depletion of liquid.

Another piece of editing that proves incredibly effective in this feature is the use of a low level tracking through the building when the burglars start to surround the house, the shots work their way around the house, moving through walls and under or between objects in a way that gradually builds the apprehension to the point where we see the antagonist enter the house, and the pressure drops entirely.

Sound

Throughout this film the use of orchestral music is used heavily, these pieces of music often build pace gradually, to aid the story and editing used to create tension, this is of course very conventional but extremely effective for films of this genre.

Mise En Scene

This film is not colourful at all; it is noticeable that throughout the entire film we mostly see plain greys, blacks and white. All the clothing worn by all characters in plain and either black or grey, the lighting used is not yellow but rather pale white, and all the objects within the house have little to no colour at all. This could be seen as conventional of the genre but I feel that it is such a necessity to this film's atmosphere and tone that to not follow this convention would have been almost foolish.

Of the three burglars seen within the film, one wears a black ski mask for nearly the entirety of the film, this makes the character dangerous to both us the audience but also, of course, the protagonists in the film. This is because of the sense of unknowing that surrounds him, by not being able to see his facial expressions his emotions become clouded and thus his intentions feel entirely spontaneous.

Short Film Research- DoodleBug

Camera shots
Throughout this short film the pan shot is often used, this is very interesting as it gives the audience a sense of how diverse the single character's personality is. Perhaps this is a purposeful metaphor to how the many different sizes of himself who are chasing one another are stronger as well as weaker the the one below and above himself. Although by arcing round the character we are forced to not only focus upon the emotions he is clearly feeling, but also the persona of the man, we do not need to be told that the man is weak and confused, rather through his feeble body and poor posture we can connote these attributes. In relation to this, the use of high angle shots also pushes a feeling of weakness from the man, this also emphasises the feeling if the larger and smaller versions of the man being continually above him.

Editing
The very original, climactic ending to this short thriller is one that relies upon simple editing skills, having said that i think the simple editing maybe its draw back. However, this short film is nearly 20 years old, and the software to edit with has improved dramatically since then and thus the quality of this film at the time is very good.
The title scene to this film uses the two O's in the word doodlebug as the eyes for the main, and only character in this film, this then fades into the first shot of the piece, this editing technique is a seamless way to enter the film.

Mise En Scene + Sound

Taking place in an undesirable apartment, Nolan sets the mood with sounds. The clock ticks, the alarm goes off, the phone rings. Each time, the man ignores these distractions and focuses on getting rid of the foreign object running around in the room. It turns out that the "bug" is the man displaced a few seconds--every time the man kills the "bug" he is in turn killed.
There are many interpretations of this, but to me the essence of Doodlebug is that by attempting to establish control over other things and eliminating influences (killing the bug, throwing the phone in the water), the man is sacrificing control of himself.

Short Film Research- Room 8

Room 8 is a short film that cleverly uses the idea of a location and scale to manipulate the characters form. By focusing on the single room, with the quiet older man reading a book, and the furniture being no more than a metal desk and bunk beds, we as an audience establish a sense of security within the 4 square walls.

Camera Shots


The establishing shots is extremely important in this short film, the low angle shots of grey brick walls, with barbed wire curled around the top instantly puts us, the audience in a position of misunderstanding, it possess questions of how and why the character has been placed into this situation, and what is the situation itself? The shot then fades to an image of a tall wall of a building, with equally spaced barred windows. It is at this point we realise the location of this short film, a prison. The scene then invisibly cuts to the main location of the short film, a prison cell. As the two character first begin to converse we see close up, and mid shots used between shot reverse shots, this convention use of filming is an effective one as it both shows us the point of view of the character, but also allows use to see how they respond to the speech or the point of view itself. Furthermore, it is not till later in the film we first see the face of the antagonist, prior to this we in fact only see the back of his body as it is hunched over the desk. This is a conventional method is used often in thrillers as it creates a shadowed or mysterious character to the audience, and often adds to the suspense we already are feeling, or on the other hand first hints at us that this person maybe the root of the evil beings at hand.

As the ‘box’ becomes more and more obviously important the use of gradual zooms seems to also increase, this most likely has been done by the director in order to aid the suspension we would already be feeling, it seems to again exaggerate the questions we as pondering as an audience, and creates a bridge between us and the character themselves as we visually see them doing the same. Also, it seems the use of extreme low angle shots are vitally used, this evidently has been done to keep the box, and ceiling in shot in order to allow the audience to see the effect it has, although in the process of this we also see the protagonists response to the situation and how the them go on to act upon this.

Sound

During the initial establishing shot, the use of the diegetic speech is critical to our understanding of the context in which this drama is set. The diagesis of the uncredited extras who act as prison guards gives us as an audience an ability to not only see the environment in which the film lies, but also sets a definite tone for the rest of the drama to follow on to. An example of this tone is within the non- diegetic screech of the violin as the main protagonist begins to understand what it is that this box can do.

Editing

Reaction shots are used heavily; this mostly is because of the nature of this drama, by this I mean the box and the character first witnessing the power it holds proves to be key to how the rest of the film plays out, furthermore by the audience being able to visually see the cause and effect of the situation they are able to relate, understand and most importantly emotionally respond to what happens within the story. Shot reverse shots are also used often in this short drama, this is important because of the lack of characters used throughout the story means that the two shown need to form some sort of relationship in order for the story to move onto the ‘box’. In addition this technique is also used when the box comes into the story, although the shot in not used between the two characters, but rather again to show the cause and effect of the box being opened.

Mise En Scene

Low key lighting is used extensively within this short film, this creates an initial, but also continually noticeable vibe of a dark and mysterious nature within this short film. This has been used as it seems to reflect the ideas surrounding both the box and the antagonist who we can assume owns the box.

Very grey- matchbox stands out more.

Short Film Research- The Room

THE ROOM

Camera shots

High angle shots are used often in this short film as well as within this genre, this is mainly done as it creates a sense of intimidation and fear within the character, in this instance, by using this fearful shot we begin to understand the situation this person now faces, in addition it is noticeable that a fish-eye lense camera shot is also used at a high angle at specific points in within the drama, as well as creating a sense of intimidation, it also seems to connote this idea of a higher being, or observer of the situation at hand and although this idea is not brought up within the short films itself, their seems to be a number of hints towards this idea.

Close ups are also used extensively in this picture, this has been done to allow us as an audience to relate to the characters individual emotions, rather than the emotion we sense from the sound, or the mise en scene of the entire situation. In addition the hand held filming used gives us a sense of individual meaning within the drama, it helps us to engage and relate to the characters but also allows us to react to the situation along with them.

Blurred images are also used to aid us an audience in this film. It seems that although we do not see this situation from the eyes of the character, when the camera blurs and we loose the ability to visually see the room in picture we feel just as lost within the situation as the characters do themselves, this feature forces us to ask questions about the storyline, it makes us consider why the people have been put within the room, and how for that matter also.

Sound

Non- diegetic sound is an incredibly effective technique used in this motion picture, it is the main way tension has been created, and due to the nature of this thrilling genre this is clearly a very important aspect to bring into the film. A sort of eerie humming noise is featured heavily, and by allowing the pitch and volume of this noise to heighten as the situation worsens we as audiences are forced to experience some sort of fear along with the characters at hand.

In addition, the diegetic speech between the two characters is key as from this we are able to witness how the one has an affect upon the other, particularly as the story unfolds to the realisation that both characters are in fact trapped in the rooms, the change from a very stubborn and narrow minded woman to a weak and worried one is most noticeable, which thus poses the question to us, if not her, who has put these people into these rooms?

Mise en scene

This entire 12 minute film is set within two single rooms, both identical but both completely separate. Within these rooms there is no natural light entering (shown by the bricked up door and windows). The dim, low key, artificial lighting used seems to reflect and exaggerate the mood of the entre piece, but also I feel it is important as the darkness has direct connotations to the unknown and the fear that surrounds it.

Also, due to the limited ‘artificial light’ used the difference between the light and dark areas are emphasized dramatically and the amount of colour seems to be drawn from the shots, due to this we often witness images where the face of the characters are split in two, one side being unreadable, the other bright and clear. I think this connotes a real sense of misunderstanding within the situation; it keeps us asking questions and helps, rather than draws away from the tension that is constantly being built up.

Editing                       

The opening, establishing shot for this short film seems rather surreal in nature at first, the images cross-dissolve from blackness to one and then to the other, this method seems to connote a dream like nature, as though as the character awakes from sleep, we, the audience do also.