Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Opening Sequence Analysis - Pirates of The Caribbean 1




  1. Opens with the title of the film with a sound effect with what also looks like embers from a fire floating around the black screen. (You can't see this part in the clip I've chosen.)
  2. Cuts to a shot of water and mist which a ship emerges from. You can hear ambient music in the background (Non- Diegetic) You can also hear the sounds for the water lapping and the creaking sounds of the wood of the ship. (Diegetic)
  3. As the ship draws closer you can hear a little girl singing. (Diegetic)
  4. The camera then tilts and moves towards the little girl until it stops looking up at the girl and stops at a medium long shot of her. 
  5. Cuts to a long shot from behind the girl and the camera moves towards her.
  6. A hand reaches over the screen to touch the girl's shoulder. 
  7. Cuts to and over the shoulder shot to see the man's face as he speaks. 
  8. Cuts to an over the shoulder shot to see the girl's reaction. (The conversation they were having follows the 180 degree rule.)
  9. Another mans voice is heard (Diegetic) coming from behind the two characters on screen they turn towards the sound of his voice. 
  10. Cuts to the man who was speaking. (Medium shot) 
  11. Cuts back to the previous characters. (Medium long shot) ..................................
  12. Cuts to a close up of the girl's face as she looks down into the water below the ship. 
  13. Cuts to a shot of the water as you see something floating in the water. As you change    to this shot the music changes and becomes more mysterious (Non Diegetic).  
  14. Cuts back to a medium shot of the girl as she paces while looking down into the water.
  15. Cuts to a medium shot of the object bobbing on the water so the audience can see what it is. (A parasol) 
  16. Cuts back to a shot looking up at the girl as she's leaning over the edge of the ship looking down into the water.  
  17. Cuts to a shot from the girls perspective, looking down on the parasol which drifts out of shot. 
  18. Cuts back to the girls as she moves her head to look somewhere else. 
  19. Cuts to a shot showing a boy drifting in the water. (This shot is again from the girl's point of view.) 
  20. The cuts then begin to quicken as the characters on board the ship react to the girl seeing the boy in the water. This creates a feel of urgency. 
  21. Then, when they see the burning ship the music changes which creates the feel of danger. 
  22. The shots of the ship are over the shoulder shots and long shots. This gives the audience the illusion that they're standing on the ship and witnessing this scene with the characters. 
  23. The music changes depending what's happening to on screen to create a mood for the audience. 
  • The style of clothing, weapons, hair, language and location show that this film is obviously not set in the present.
  • The lighting is slightly low key and gloomy to create an atmosphere of unhappiness and darkness.   

Opening Sequence Analysis - Corpse Bride



  1. Opens with some music playing (Non Diegetic) 
  2. The Warner Brothers institution logo then appears from a fade from black transition. (Distributer) 
  3. Then, the logo disappears with a fade to black transition.
  4. Cuts to an extreme close up of Victor opening a book. There are credits over the top of this image. 
  5. Cuts to a shot of a picture frame of a photograph of Victor and his dog. 
  6. Then the camera tilts downwards to reveal a feathered quill in ink. 
  7. Then Victors hand reaches across the screen to pick up the quill. 
  8. Cuts to a downwards extreme close up shot of Victor's hand holding the quill as he begins to draw a butterfly. 
  9. Cuts to many different shots of this as the credits continue to roll over the top of the these images on screen. 
  10. Cuts to a  close up shot of the drawing that Victor has done. 
  11. Cuts to a Medium close up of Victor.
  12. Cuts to a medium shot of a butterfly under a glass jar. 
  13. Cuts to a long shot of Victor sitting on his chair at his desk. He then stands up and starts to open his window.
  14. Cuts to a medium close up of Victor as he opens his window looking in from the outside of the window. 
  15. The camera tilts downwards as Victor bends down to look inside the jar with the butterfly in it. 
  16. As Victor lifts the glass the camera cuts to a Medium shot from behind Victor as the butterfly briefly flies around him. As this is happening the title of the film fades in over the top of the image on screen. 
  17. As the butterfly flies out of the window, the camera follows it.
  18. The camera continues to follow the path that the butterfly is flying in. 
  19. The sound of a ticking clock then fades in. (Diegetic) 
  20. This section is mostly filmed in one shot with the occasional cut. This give the scene a nice flow and the camera effectively mimics the illusion of flight because the reason it's filmed in this way is to make the audience feel as though they're flying with the butterfly. 
  21. There are sounds of the street and the bustling of people and the sound effects that they make when they're doing something. (Sweeping, chopping up fish etc.) (Diegetic) 
  • The costume implies that this film is set in what looks like the Victorian era. Also, the houses and the vehicles also connote that this film is set in the Victorian era. 
  • The music used could also show when the film is set. 
  • The characters are animated using stop animation and they are made from Plasticine. This allows the character's designs to be over the top and almost like caricatures. 

Friday, 7 December 2012

Opening Sequence Analysis - The Lost Boys



(Directed by Joel Schumacher)

  1. Opens with the Warner Brothers institution logo. (Distributor) 
  2. Music fades in. (Non Diegetic) 
  3. There is also the sound of a male laughing and the sound of whispering. 
  4. Fast moving establishing shot travelling over the sea as the music kicks in even more.
  5. Some credits appear over the top of this shot. (The order of the credits are: Warner Bros. presents, a Richard Donner Production, a Joel Schumacher film, the the title of the film appears).
  6. The camera then tilts upward slightly to reveal the town which the film is set in. This is another establishing shot.
  7. The camera is travelling towards the town from a bird's eye perspective which gives the impression that we (the audience) is observing the town. 
  8. Cuts to a medium shot of a merry-go-round and a crowd of people.
  9. The camera quickly zooms over the heads of the crowd to get a closer view of the merry-go-round.
  10. Cuts to a mid shot looking downwards at the character David's feet. The sound of the merry-go-round comes in. (Diegetic)  The camera tilts up and then stops at David's face. This shot shows the David is one of the main characters.
  11. The camera stays in this position as David walks out of the shot and David's gang move into the shot. 
  12. The camera then cuts to a medium shot of David while he touches a woman on the merry-go-round's face.  
  13. Cut to a Mid CU shot of the woman's boyfriends reaction. 
  14. Cuts back to previous shot as the boyfriend lashes out. 
  15. Cuts back to the mid CU shot of the boyfriend. 
  16. Cuts to a medium shot of David as he leans towards the camera towards the boyfriend.
  17. Over the shoulder shot of David as he grabs the boyfriend's neck.
  18. Mid CU shot of David as he's retrained from behind my a policeman. 
  19. Medium shot slightly looking down on the commotion. 
  20. Different angle of this shot. 
  21. Cut back to the Mid CU of David with the police man as the policeman says his line.
  22. Merry-go-round music stops and a bell is heard. (Diegetic)  
  23. Mid shot of David's gang to show their reactions.
  24. Cuts back to the Mid CU of David as he responds to the policeman.
  25. Cuts back to Mid shot of David's gang.
  26. Cuts back to Mid CU of David as you see his gang walking past him in the background (out of focus)
  27. Cuts back to medium shot of the woman and boyfriend to see their reactions. 
  28. Cut to Mid CU of policeman as he says another line. 
  29. Medium shot of David. 
  30. Transition from previous shot into an establishing shot of the fairground. 
  31. Shots of different locations in the fairground. 
  • The lighting throughout this opening sequence is low key to due to the fact that it's set at night time. The only lights that are visible in the sequence is the lights from the fair ground rides. 
  • The costume of the characters don't seem seem modern. I looks as though their clothes from the 1980s.
  • The vocabulary the the characters use could also show that this is from the 1980s. 
  • Also, the music shows that this is set in the 1980s. 

Thursday, 6 December 2012

Directors research - Guillermo Del Toro




GUILLERMO DEL TORO

  • Guillermo del Toro was born on October 9th 1964.
  • He's from Mexico. 
  • He is a director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer and he started off his career studying special effects and special effects make up. 
  • He first got involved in film making when he was eight years old where he used his father's camera to make short films with his toys. 
  • Guillermo del Toro has directed a variety of films such as comic book adaptations, fantasy and Horror films.
  • Guillermo del Toro was hired by Peter Jackson to direct the 'The Hobbit'. However he later had to step down from the project because of an extended delay because of MGM's financial troubles. Although he removed himself from directing the film, he continued co-writing the screenplays.
  • In 2009 Guillermo del Toro's first novel 'The Strain' was released. It is the first part of an apocalyptic vampire trilogy co-authored by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The second volume 'The Fall' was released in 2010. The final novel, 'The Night Eternal' followed in 2011. Guillermo del Toro has expressed an interest in adapting the trilogy as a TV series.
Films that he's directed include: (Films I've seen)

The Devil's Backbone (2001)


Hellboy (2004) 




Pan's Labyrinth (2006)







(Information from Wikipedia & Youtube videos seen above.) 

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

Directors Research - Stanley Kubrick




STANLEY KUBRICK
  • Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor. He is thought of as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
  • His films, were often adaptations of novels or short stories.
  • Stanley Kubrick's films were noted for their dazzling and unique cinematography and  attention to detail.
  •  Kubrick's films covered a variety of genres, including war, crime, romance, black comedies, horror and science fiction.
  • Kubrick was also known for being a perfectionist. He took great care with scene staging and he worked very closely with his actors to achiev the best results.
  • He started off as a photographer which explains why his films are so visually exciting and interesting. 
  • He spent most of his life living and filming in the UK. 
  • His home was his workplace. This allowed him to have almost complete artistic control, but he also had the advantage of having financial support from the Hollywood studios.
Some of the films he's directed include: (These are the ones I've seen)

The Shining




  • The Shining is a psychological horror film that was made in 1980.
  • The film is based on the Stephen King's novel 'The Shining'.
  • The narrative of the Shining is about a writer (Jack Torrance) who takes a job as a caretaker at an hotel which is situated in the middle of no where. His young son has psychic abilities and he is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts that haunt the Hotel. Soon after the family move in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm. Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence. He slowly spirals into madness and attempts to murder his wife and son.
  • The Shining is seen as a classic of the horror genre. 

Clockwork Orange




  • Clockwork Orange was made in 1971.
  • The film was based on Anthony Burgess' novel 'A Clockwork Orange' (1962).
  • The film includes scenes of disturbing/ violent images and one of the main plots of the film is that it focuses heavily on psychiatry and mental illness and madness. Youth gangs are also a huge part of this film because the influences of the youth gangs on the main protagonist Alex could explain why he acts way that he does.
  • The narrative is about the crimes that the main character's gang take part in and then how the main character is captured and brainwashed.
  • The main character Alex narrates the film. 
  • The language used is a key part of the film. There is a constant use of Nadsat, which is fractured teenage slang using a combination of Slavic, English, and Cockney rhyming slang.
  • Clockwork Orange features a soundtrack of mostly classical music selections (Mostly for Beethoven) and Moog synthesizer compositions by Wendy Carlos (Walter Carlos). 
(Information from Wikipedia) 

Thursday, 15 November 2012

Directors Research - Tim Burton



TIM BURTON
Tim Burton is by far one of my favourite directors. I've loved every single one of the films that I've seen that he's directed. 
Tim Burton's films are all in a very clear Gothic style. His style is so clear that when you see one of his films, you'll instantly know it's by him within the first few seconds of the film because his style is so unique. 
One style that Tim Burton specializes in is his beautiful stop motion animated films where he uses puppets instead of actors. This is an effective way to show his style because there is a lot more diversity in character design because you can make the puppets in whatever form you want. This is a good thing because the characters have a particular style to them that has been created by the beautifully twisted mind of Tim Burton. 
The characters designs were first hand drawn by Tim Burton himself, then the drawings were given to the artists to create the perfect character design. When the final design was finished the characters would then be molded and brought to life.

For Example:
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Tim Burton directs films with many different genres. Some of the genres he was worked in are Romance, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Action.. etc.  Even though he makes many different types of films, all of the films he makes have their unique style and flair that make them appear to be a Tim Burton film.

Ahhhhhh.


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