Casino Royale Clip Analysis

Camera and editing:

The opening/establishing shot of this sequence of Casino Royale is an aerial shot circling an arena in an urban district of town or city in Madagascar. The camera changes to closer shots (MS) of the crowded arena then jumps to a close up on the ferret and snake in the arena. There is a close up of a bookie taking money off of some of the people for bets.

You the get a medium shot (MS) of the mark, the man Bond and his colleague are tailing. From the MS of the mark the camera then zooms out to a long shot of the mark. The focus of the shot then changes as the 2nd agent walks into the shot turning it into a close up. There are then various cuts of medium shots of Bond, the 2nd agent and the mark. Then there is a close up of the marks phone as he gets a text. As the mark leaves he spots one of the agents and chase begins. The spend of cuts increases and the angle of the shot becomes more extreme with low angle shots and high angles shots and a few canted shots. Then as the mark and Bond leave the arena there is an aerial shot of Bond running almost parallel to the mark.

Then as the action picks up more and more pace the shots start to incorporate fast panning and point of view shots all the way from the market to the building site.

Once on the building site the first 10 or so shots are all extreme long shots of the surroundings. Then it jumps to a close up of the mark drawing his weapon.

Then as Bond comes through a building in a truck a small sequence jumping between Bond and the mark commences with the gun being fired and the bullets impacting the truck glass. This obeys the 180 degree rule throughout and the time between cuts shortens until the mark runs for it.

As they start scaling the building the angles again become more interesting with canted, low and high angle shots.

Sound:

At the start the only sounds are the mob at the animal fighting arena and the two agents talking.

As the chase sequence really begins though there is a low note and pitch orchestral beat which I believe is played on drum and strings. This continues and builds throughout most of the sequence and takes a regular beat which does not change enough to be notice. While the case through the arena continues the mob can still be heard shouting and after the 2nd agent discharges his pistol, that shouting turns to screaming as people scatter. As they leave the arena though the rhythm does change and brings in African drums to the music. Over this the sound of people crashing through their environment can be heard. Silence then ensues as Bond disappears but comes back louder than before as he comes crashing through the building site, work men and machine going along in the background. Then as the chase starts to gain height by going up the building work the music becomes even more tense using higher pitches.

Casino Royale Clip

In this clip I am focusing on analysing the first 3 minutes. However, the entire sequence has potential core idea which could become the basis for something.

Self Evaluation of Skills

The following is how i rate myself in the skills and technical skills i have.

(Out of 5, 1=poor, 5=excellent)
Organisation: 4
Deadlines: 4
Reliability: 5

Why i feel i am good at this and what i could do to improve.

Organisation - I feel i am pretty good at my organisation skills however i feel that maybe i could try and communicate more outside of school with my group to help organise more.
Deadlines - I think that i am good at meeting deadlines however i sometimes leave things until the last minute to do so that i can meet them, so i need to try and get things done ahead of time to ensure that i will meet all deadlines 

Technical skills

Camerawork: 4
Editing: 3
Understanding of Light: 2/3
Understanding of Sound: 2/3

What could I do to improve?

I found in the preliminary task that my camera work was not too bad. I came up with different camera angles that were different from the storyboard to make the scene more effective. I do however feel that there is more that can be improved in just by practice.

Editing i struggled with a bit as i found final cut express complicated to use but once i knew the basics i was OK. I need to do more practice with it to feel more confident with using it.

I understand most of the technical terms for both sound and lighting but do not as of yet feel confident with understanding how to put them into a piece. I understand how to analyse these in other pieces but feel i need to think more about at how to achieve that certain effect in my own piece.

'Mission: Impossible 2' Analysis

This film manifests itself as a spy or action thriller. In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or terrorists.

Aiming more towards action thriller, throughout the film very dramatic kung fu/karate is used based primarily on the influences of director John Woo. This is twinned with very "Hollywood-ised" stunts, influenced by the film's target audience and the film industry. I believe there are some key points that can be drawn from this opening sequence clip that would feed in nicely with our coursework.

The first thing I liked about the clip was the scale difference between the subject (Tom Cruise) and the location, although cleverly our focus is drawn to both. I know that it would be impossible to recreate a setting like that, but my point was that the setting added to the sequence as a whole and to Tom Cruise's character. We can see already (just from the opening clip) the character codes. We can see that he is adventurous, daring, strong and determined. All this information on the character can be drawn from just the setting they are in at that time and we can tell the audience a lot about the character just from the location alone. I believe it is vital to get across a lot information in the shortest space of time, as the trailer/sequence will only last 2/3 minutes.

My next point is on the camera techniques used, which link into the establishing of the scene and character codes. Throughout the clip, there were many close- ups used: head, feet and hands. I believe these shots intensified the portrayal of the character's struggle. This deepens the audience's insight into this character all before the beginning of the film, we see his determination, his drive, and in a way the maverick inside of him along with his constant thrill seeking.
There was another camera shot that was intriguing, the slow motion shot. This shot is short but it is full of tension, it provides the audeince with a heart-racing moment. This brings the reality and nature of the film straight to them. This is a shot I believe we could use or recreate for our coursework, for instance used as a signal of a flashback or important moment. Towards the end of the sequence, the camera pans around his face (almost moving in and out) heavily signifying his relief. This is another shot I believe we could use to show different to convey a sense of panic or uneasyness in our character.

At the very end of the clip, I felt the titles were interesting. The titles entered the screen at a fast pace, helping to signify the speed and tone of the film that is to come. Also, textual effect that was used was literally very explosive, the way the title of the film fragmented or shattered and then carries straight into the main film. I felt the use of these particular titles was (although flashy) quite powerful.

Character Codes - Phonebooth

At the beginning of the sequence the characters are shown in a large busy street and there are many different types.

These are as follows:

Dancers

Someone playing basket ball

Gangs of people

Gangs.

These are all shown through the way that they are acting and what they are doing. 

The main man is a rich business man and this is shown by his use of dialogue and the fact that he has a PA. He is well known as he has many clients he is chatting with and also has a friend who is a police officer.

Silence of the Lambs analysis

We agree with many of the points made by Grace in both films. 

We want to add to the her views made about 'Silence of the Lambs', I felt the opening sequence was very ineffective when it used the big blocky credits, this in my opinion took the focus away from the story line. I thought the running through the forest lead no where and just confused viewers watching, as to why she was doing it. We also felt the music disturbed the effect of the clip as it was too loud and too bold. 

Comparison of One Hour Photo and The Silence of the Lambs Title Sequences

The 'One Hour Photo' titles i found effective because of the way that they were quick and on a black background and so stood out. These titles were not dragged out. They introduced the companies then the film title then went straight into the film.
The special effects used on the text made them more interesting to be viewed. The text flew in from the left and then flew out to the right but as this happened the text changed from white to red. This made it feel as though there could be something bad about this film.
When the title of the film came on 'ONE HOUR PHOTO' it flashed in different colours - went through the colours of the rainbow - and this fitted with the beat in the background, making it feel fast pace and like there was going to be something interesting happen in the rest of the film.

There was not very many titles making the film come in quickly and I liked this because I found that it didnt drag on too long.



The Silence of the Lambs opening title sequence however was very different. I felt that this dragged on a bit and there was nothing interesting about the font, style or effects of the titles.
The text was big and bold and filled the screen in the centre and was displayed while the start of the film was happening. I didnt like this because i felt that it obscured the action. Also the text was in black making it very plain. It seemed to go on for ages, introducing anything and everything making it boring to watch. There were no special effects used so the text just appeared in the centre of the screen and then dissappeared after so many seconds.

Homework on 'The Happening'

My Homework on Techniques in an Opening Sequence in the Happening is posted below

• Music – slow pace but sped up to create suspense
• Midshot of clouds in sky moving at the pace of the music – darkening as the dramatic music picked up and was faster paced
• Credits at the beginning – actors names, producers names e.t.c while clouds are in the background and are speeding up
• Simple bold font to make the text stand out
• Long shot of the people in the park – establishing shot – introducing the setting
• Jump cut to view through the trees of the sky and high rise building giving audience more info of setting
• Two shot of women reading on a bench – diagetic music of people in background, non-diagetic music over to create mystery and suspension
• Dialogue about killers and crippled girl make the viewer curious to know what she is reading
• Screams are heard in the park – voice over
• Close up of knitting needle in woman’s hair and her pulling it out
• Close up of her stabbing herself in the neck with it

Da Vinci Code Class Notes

In lesson we looked at the Da Vinci Code and made notes on CEMS and how the scene is developed   . Here are my class notes

CAMERA - Close ups were used to show the detail of the museum, Birds eye view was used to show the size of the museum and the location and panning was used to show the features of the museum along with the action. These all add atmosphere to the sequence because it made the audience unsure on what was going on

EDITING - Many fast cuts were used along with jump cuts to create a fast pace sequence that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. The use of cross cutting in the conversation creates atmosphere because we can not always see the expression of the other character.

MISE EN SCENE - the dark dull colour and light creates atmosphere because you cannot get the whole idea of what is happening and the shadows on the walls are only outlines of the character so it is more difficult for the audience to start with to develop the character in their minds. The face of the man with the gun is half illuminated and half in shadow with only the prominant features like the nose being obviously seen create a dark and mysterious character for the audience.
The loaction look very rural and most of the action is set inside the museum at night which creates the creepy, empty feeling that makes the audience curious but also a little scared.

SOUND - the music used is very deep and dramatic creating a real tension building atmosphere. Also the diagetic noise of the outside makes it clearer to the audience that it is more rural because of the cars in the distance.

The 'Da Vinci Code' Analysis

(View until 3:07) This 'Da Vinci Code' sequence is very good because it brings you straight into the film and the heart of the action. There are several things I liked about this clip.
Firstly, I liked the voyeurism that is shown when the is running away from (something) and then we see the shadow of hooded character. It makes the audience anxious as well because they are scared for the character who is being chased. So, immediately there is a connection made between the audience and the piece of media itself.

Secondly, I liked the cutting/editing of this clip and it cross-cuts between the man and the religious pictures possibly indicating that they are watching him as well - he cannot escape. This created even more suspense as it swapped between the man (in the action - who is very active) to the painting (which is still - so it is very passive) is great because of the contrast between the two.

Thirdly, I liked the lighting and costumes of the characters. I believe the dark lighting added to the thrilling affect of the opening as you could really see around corners (so things may be hidden) this is feeling of the viewer. If it was daylight in the church the audience would be a lot more relaxed and the film wouldn't conform to the arcitypal thriller films. Also, I like the costumes of the evil character (the hooded coat) as it hides his identity, until he chooses to reveal it. This raises questions in the mind of the viewer who is this man? what are his intentions? why is he doing this?

Entrapment Analysis

This is the scanned images of the analysis of Entrapment that I have done.

Thriller Genre, Plotline

There is some good research here. As an initial reaction I liked the crime thriller and action thriller.
The crime thriller could involve agents, gangs (mafia, mobs) - stealing, on the run, government conspiracy.
My inspiration for government conspracy came from the film 'Enemy of the state' where the main character is a target.

Se7en Thoughts

I was not in the lesson but watching this clip I can see where you are both coming from.
After watching the clip one of the things that catches my attention is the build up of diagetic music. The way that it is layed in the small clip before the titles. The clip starts with the sound of the cars outside in the distance and then when the metronone starts ticking this dominates the sound. It ticks like a heart beat creating a creepy and mysterious atmosphere. When the titles appear the music changes and to me it sounds a bit like a music deck because of the scrating noise that is occationally heard. The music has a distinct heart beat base noise to it and this fits with the movement of the titles as they flash on and pulse like a heart.

Suspense is built up throughout the sequence and music contiburtes to much of this. One thing i noticed was the limited colour palette and many of the images have a red hue to them making the sequence seem quite dangerous and this fits in with the images of the fingers and the blade (removing the fingerprints) and the danger of the tools and impliments that are being used within the sequence.

One other feature that caught my eye was the font style of the titles. I noticed that it was like handwriting and this linked with the backgroud images of a handwritten text and the style looked similar. This made the sequence more interseting to watch.

Se7en: Key Plot points & Camera Angles

We watched this title sequence during a lesson this week, this gave me some ideas that could be used for our thriller coursework. Some ideas came to mind.
First of all I liked the metronome used as a continuous focus point in the sequence. This was possibly being used as a 'MacGuffin', whereby the object seems unimportant but actually is used as returning point in the sequence.
My second point was I liked how close-ups were used; focusing on the man's hands. This intrigues the audience by leaving the story unanswered as it cuts between the title text images and the video clip itself.
Also I thought the music was deep and powerful, it helps to set audiences expectation for the film. The opening sequence gives a insight into the characters methods and thoughts, linking in to the film's plot.

When watching the clip some words/phrases came to mind:

Limited Colour - black, white and red (adds to the chilling effect), red - signifying the possible danger and goryness of the film
Creepy
Dark
Thrilling
Disturbing
Mysterious
Cold/Chilling
Methodical/Routine/Planned

Se7en: Thoughts

This is one of the clips that we analysed during a lesson.
There were two particular parts that I thought added a sense of atmosphere to the clip.
One of these was the transition effects and the effect used whenever text was placed across an image. this is superimposition. The text appears in literally a flash, glowing and out of focus. It then snaps into focus so to read it. It happens within 2 seconds and imitates the pulse of a beating heart. This timing and speed enhances the tension of the text building the suspense.
There was another effect used with the text transitions which is something that often is seen on war documentries: that is secondary images behind the main image and lines, blanks and dots scrawled across parts of the tape. A grainy effect. These would usually be caused by damage to the tape.
This affect creates a much darker and mysterious amosphere and to me, creates questions like; what was recorded on this tape before? Where was it filmed? Why is it damaged?
Combined these two effects highten the audiences sense of tension, suspense, fear and intrigue.