The first action thriller trailer I analysed was:
Skyfall
I have analysed the opening scene of Skyfall, which is a very high budgeted film, produced by a Hollywood production company. Skyfall is part of a very long sequel so it makes tremendous amounts of money.
First of all we see James bond being followed through a hallway and down the stairs by a handheld camera. We see that James bond is dressed up in a very smart suit, this instantly represents his status in his job. From the very start of the film we are presented to the agonist actor of the film which is James bond and the antagonist which is his co-worker. We see that he is also carrying a gun in front of him as if he was ready to shoot someone, this suggests that he is hunting someone down and that we are about to witness an action packed opening scene. We then see a medium long shot of James bond, we can see the back of him walking through the door into the city. After we see James bond walk through the door, an establishing shot is used to set the location, we can see two very tight streets either side of the corner where james is stood, which is crammed with lots of people and cars passing through. Followed by a close up on James' face as he looks around to suggest he's waiting or looking for something. We then see the car pull up and the horn beeps, James then gets inside it, and they drive off. We see a subjective shot over James and the drivers shoulder and through the windscreen of the car in front. At this point the pace of the film starts to speed up and the cuts become faster; from the streets, to the two different cars and then too the faces of james and the driver. The quick cuts and the fast paced tense sound track creates an atmosphere for the viewers because it all gives us the impression something crazy is about to happen, this starts off an action thriller very well. We see a contrast between two different locations during the opening scenes. We witness a very serious but calm scene at the headquarters where Dench and her worker is, they are calmly updating the main character where they are situated and where there target is, followed to a fast packed scene where james bond and his worker are pacing through the streets in order to hunt this car down. The opening scenes are mysterious for the audience as we don't quite know why they are chasing the guy in the black Audi. As the two cars part side by side we see them both crash into each other followed by the stronger car which is the land drover force the audi up onto some hay forcing it to tip over, the car then carries on moving at a fast pace into a dangerous area where people are shopping at stalls. This scene has many quick cuts to emphasize how chaotic everything is. We see stalls tip over, fruit and veg rolling all over the place and scared passers-by who are running frantically for safety. Once the black Audi becomes at a stand still, another man dressed in a smart suit rolls out of the car firing a large gun directly at james and his worker inside the car, the windscreen smashes and they roll out and duck for safety. We see James whip out his gun and a gun fight begins. The synchronous noises of people screaming in the background emphasizes the seriousness of the scene and makes the viewers scared for them. The good thing about the opening clip is we witness the main actors of the film which is important because the viewers at home want to know from the start what they look like and what are their roles. The film also starts off at a very fast pace to set the genre of the film.
The opening sequence for Skyfall is very clever and exacting. Non-continuity editing is used at the start so that the film because the opening sequence contrasts between two different locations, the first one is the car chase through the city and the next scene is where Dench and her worker are situated in a relaxed office. The transitions are quick and unnoticeable which is good. There are many quick cuts and the film runs at a very fast pace, this makes sense as the film is an action thriller and straight from the start you are aware that this movie is action packed. Quick cuts from one scene to another make the scenes more dramatic and make it look as if there are many things going on. There are many synchronous sounds used at the start, for example we hear a lot of car horns but we can also see many cars on the street. We see and hear James bond load his gun in the car as he stares at the car in front. This makes the audience start to think he's going to shoot this person in front.
The second film I am going to analyse is:
The Purge
I wanted to find a film that had started of their opening sequence entirely different to what Skyfall had done. It was very hard finding a movie that had started off their film different to Skyfall, but then came across the film called 'The Purge'.
The opening sequence of this film is this film is started by two different quotes on separate clips. It is basically saying about the country of America is changing and is going to be reborn, this suggests that the movie starts off about all the bad things about America and as the movie progresses we start to see a change. After the two quotes the opening sequence is them filmed by CCTV camera. The CCTV cameras are placed everywhere around a normal city. Houses, backstreets, shops and buildings all have CCTV cameras on them, there is no speech at all at the start the only thing you can hear is non-diegetic music, the sound track which plays whilst the CCTV clips are being shown actually sound quite upbeat and peaceful, this completely contradicts the film shown by camera. Maybe this is because they want to keep the viewers interested and if they played quite dramatic and loud music then this may give the viewers the impression the film is quite full on and violent; so it is cleverly done.
The way in which the opening sequence is filmed provides realism for the viewers at home, everything that is seen on these cameras have occurred during an a normal day, no actors have been used at the start which is clever because it makes the audience feel quite sad because they are now aware how brutal life can be. The start of the film shows violence and un human like behaviour. We see large groups of people beating up people in the streets, we see people firing guns at each other and at car windows and buildings. We see large buildings and shops on fire which have obviously been started by gangs, so by watching the first minute or so to this film we have been given the impression that this involves a lot of violence and crime, with gangs ruling cities maybe? The directors have been clever by starting off a film this way because this intrigues the viewers because we want to know why we have been shown this and how it is relevant to the film we are about to watch. I have been given the impression that by the way the people have been introduced and the clothes they wear (jeans and vests) that the film is situated in the poorer parts of the country and perhaps have less money so they lead to crime. The mise en scene in the opening clips relate to the genre of the film, throughout the opening scenes we see baseball bats, guns and fists used to beat up people, this shows violence at its worst.
The editing style used at the start of this film is continuity editing, this makes the opening sequence flow smoothly so that it can tell the storyline. The transitions are unnoticeable and it just fades from one scene to another, the audience pays more attention on what the film shows than how it diverses from one scene to another.
The fact that the opening sequence is filmed by CCTV may suggest that the film is orientated around the government and the way in which crime effects people and the country. This makes the audience want to know who is behind these cameras and why they are not doing something about it.
The opening sequence also suggests that it is a low budget film because of the way they have decided to film the opening sequence. Usually high budget films would start off by producing a spectacle of an opening scene by showing off a variety of different camera angles but this film starts off by CCTV recording which is different.
The next film I am analysing is called:
Shutter island
Shutter island's opening sequence was very clever because it made the audience want to know more to what happens next from the very beginning. We start off with a zooming in shot on two men who are standing on a pier. As the camera gets closer it becomes obvious that these two men are policemen, they look like they are very strict and are guarding something important. In the background we can also see two more men either side dressed in the same clothing, this suggests that this is a very protected area of land where nobody should go. This makes us want to know what these men are guarding and why are there so many of them. The sound track is upbeat, of a rather fast and dramatic pace and sounds like suspense music. Straight after we see a pan shot of two men dressed in beige suits and hats, there are two policemen either side of them which makes us think they are not welcome and that they are here for a serious reason, we are given the impression that these two men are detectives, although you'd think the policemen would be nice to them if they were effectively on their side, close ups on different policemen faces says otherwise. The police seem to follow and pay strict attention to these two men, with back up policemen behind with large guns. Guns tend to pay a massive part in almost every thriller, this is a very common way of making the storyline gripping and exciting, because usually people are shot with guns compared to other ways of death. eye line shots of the policemen furthermore show that they are never taking their eyes off of these two men.
Once the two men hop into the jeep, we then see a medium close up shot of the two men as they gaze up at a sign, the sign says "Remember us for we have too lived, loved and laughed" this quote may have some part to play in the film, we do not know. Above we can see that the sign says hospital and cemetery, this automatically gives me the impression that these two men are hear to solve a mystery of someone's death, I have got this impression by the clothes and hats that these two men are wearing. We notice that in the opening sequence we are presented to the two main characters in the film, an extreme close up on the protagonists face after seeing the sign shows us that he is worried and focused. We then see a pan shot as the car drives past us from right to left, in the background we can see a very large wall that goes on for miles. This suggests that this piece of land is a very well guarded and protected area.
The editing style used in this clip is continuity editing, the opening sequence flows smoothly and makes sense, the storyline flows smoothly as we are aware that these two men have been brought to this place and are here for a specific reason and need to be watched. As the jeep approaches the hospital the suspense sound track gets louder and faster to make the arrival of these two men more dramatic. Only synchronous sounds are used for example you can see and hear the car, there are no sound affects at the start which makes everything natural.
The start of this film is brilliant, as the plot and storyline is set straight away, we know that all these guards and policemen are hear to protect something and guard the place from intruders. The we have instantly been introduced to the main characters which is part of the codes and conventions of a movie. We know that the two characters are here for a specific reason because they are dressed like detectives and they look like they are of a high status, when see the sign saying about hospital and cemetery we are given the impression that these two men are hear to analyse a dead body maybe? and find out how the death of someone occurred.
No comments:
Post a Comment