Sunday 28 October 2012

Analysing Film Openings - The Others

The Others

The piece opens with three company logos, these help show the viewer who made the film and to use the production company’s reputation to reassure the audience. The piece then cuts to the opening credits, with a voiceover acting as a narrator underneath them. The voiceover is used to give the viewer an idea of the story it gives information and sets the tone for the film as the voice of the narrator is creepy, indicating to the audience that this film is a thriller and could be scary.

During the credits, images/ illustrated drawings appear behind them; these are images that relate to the story. Lighting is used on the images to draw attention to certain parts of the image that could show important parts of the films story. The lighting has a feel of candlelight as only half of the images are lit, and the lights flicker. This makes the images more mysterious and adds to the theme of the film as we wonder who is using the candle to read.

The rule of thirds is used to show the shots of the images because it shows the audience the whole picture, when certain parts of the images needed to be emphasised clever compositions and close ups were used to clearly show the viewer should be focusing on a specific part. After the credits an establishing shot is used to show the location of the film. This establishing shot is also aerial showing the whole picture and to emphasis the large amount of land surrounding the house. Along with the establishing and aerial shot, text is used to tell the viewer exactly where the piece is set and the date, this just helps the viewer understand where the film is set and refocuses the viewer to turn them away from the illustrations they have seen in the credits.

When the main character, the women screaming, is introduced, a canted angle helps to show that she is in distress, as the camera is at an uncomfortable angle for the viewer. There is a close up used on the women’s face so the viewer can clearly see her facial expressions, again it makes the viewer uncomfortable as it feels like the women is screaming directly in their face.

Use of Sound

The titles and company logos are played in silence. When the credits appear non-diegetic music is played underneath a voiceover of the narrator. This gives a ‘creepy’ feel to the piece as the music is often used in horror and thriller films, portraying to the viewer that the opening credits are supposed to leave them in suspense and anxiety. The non-diegetic music also relates to the time period that the film is set and the time the opening illustrations portray. This music continues during the establishing shot, this helps link both sections together, although the music has faded during this part to help the viewer recognise that the film is beginning. The voiceover is speaking dialogue and this helps set the scene for the viewer and helps them understand what the story is going to reveal. When the main character screams the non-diegetic music ends giving this a dramatic feel and ends the calmness of the piece linking in with the canted angle and this representing a distressing moment for the women.

 
Here are the company logos, these are used to help the viewer recognise who made the film, to advertise the film company producing the film and give them a reputation.


Here are the opening credits and the illustrations underneath them. The illustrations indicate the events of the film. Non- diegetic music is played in the background of this piece along with a voiceover, making the images seem more threatening to the viewer as the music is creepy.


This is an establishing shot of the location of the first scene; it is also aerial showing how large the land around the house is. This sets the scene for the viewer and shows a completely different perspective of the film from the opening credits.


This is a canted angle, its helps emphasis the distress of the women’s it makes the viewer feel uncomfortable as shots are not normally on an angle.

Overall

We will not be working in this genre but this was still useful to watch. Many of the elements are quiet and calm but the overall atmosphere is very creepy. I think this is important - you do not have to have lots of action or movement to create the atmosphere. Nothing particularly significant happens in our opening either but we want it to set the right tone.

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