Inspirations:
The next step in the process, was to begin planning for our main task, this meant we needed to firstly chose a thriller sub genre, and some opening scenes under this category to analyse for inspiration and direction, in order to make a narrative for the main task. So we all agreed on looking at psychological thrillers, and how they create and convey ideas to their audience in their use of camera shots, movement, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene. We all chose to look at few films we really like, in fact it seems we have been mainly looking at theses few throughout the project, knowing how much we like their style, sub genre and plots- these are our main inspirations and strong influences:
Sucker Punch (Dir. Zack Snyder 2011):
As the camera slowly pans around, revealing that they are no longer on stage, we see that the weather is terrible outside- raining, thundering and lightening. This really helps set the low key lighting, which hits the conventions of darkness, perfectly. The weather and darkness both function as pathetic fallacy, reflecting the mood of the girl character. This creates another psychological feel to the narrative, with the thought that this world she could have created, is messed up and full of conflicting emotions. Emotions play a good part in psychological thrillers so it would be good to have that concentration on emotions, we could do this through the use of close ups of facial features and expression to help unfold the story. In fact, there is no dialogue in the first 6 or so minutes of the film, which then relies on everything else to present the story to the audience; I really liked this as it allowed the audience to perceive the plot more individually and arguably naturally. I especially like how the weather reflects the emotions; it would prove very effective in our piece to convey the psychological side.
The audience are shot into the narrative, where the scene starts with overly loud crashing waves, later revealing a man washed ashore on the beach, this created a strong sense of confusion in the audience, encouraging them to speculate what may have happened, which in itself immerse them cleverly, but considerable more difficult, which could immediately make the audience exclusive to older males. The setting of a beach and wild waves gives it a raw edge can also make the audience feel at danger at one point, then safe the next, therefore plays with their emotions a little. I really liked the idea of dropping the audience into the narrative, letting them figure out for themselves what exactly is happening. I also liked the idea of a very natural destination with both positive and negative connotations of beauty and danger, as they contrast in ways that can create panic in the audience; they may be unfamiliar with a location which can be scary, but it can be beautiful like the beach, making the viewer feel at ease. Therefore, I think as a group it would be good for us to use these ideas, because they're practical, available, and can help us achieve the psychological genre.
The washed up man (Cobb) played by Leonardo DiCaprio lifts his head and looks at what he can hear, and eye line match is used to present these children to the audience. We hear their childish laughter growing as they play in the sand, creating a strong feel of innocence, contrasting with Cobbs vibe of disruption and disorientation, making him stand out the audience as quite a intimidating character at first. Close ups of his face push the audience to feel more his confusion and relief. He is then confronted by men with guns, suggesting he should not be there, perhaps he's a danger, this idea is strengthened at the sight of a gun tucked in he pants, this can be easily misinterpreted, and again subtly prepares the audience for suspense later on. They alert other authority and the scene switches. I would like to use this idea of innocence vs corruption, portrayed through age and appearance.
A zoom is used to bring the audience forward in to this warm glowing, yet dim room, this makes the audience feel like they are not welcome at first, as the camera is sitting outside the room, yet the zoom slowly enters them. The low key lighting created the idea that the happenings in this room were suspiciously bad. A man is sitting on a chair, central in the large room, with his back to the camera- small use of hidden identity, which is generically used in thrillers. Immediately this shows him to be powerful, feared and perhaps unknown, this also intrigues the audience with the idea that they want to know their possible enemy. He spoke in another language to the people around him, where the audience can naturally feel intimidated or offended for not understanding (subtitles were included) I really liked the dark grande table he sat at alone, because it reflected the yellow lights above, and the close ups of the object that sat on it. The audience can easily recognise the gun, however the other little object remains a mystery, thus intrigues them more. Looking at the colour yellow, in terms of the animal kingdom, is seen as colour used to show danger and warning the other animals not to become involved, take certain insects for examples, bees and wasps which most humans are afraid of in case they sting us.
A conversation takes place nearer to end of the opening scene, where over the should shots are conventionally used, helping the audience navigate themselves in the conversation. And we notice how very formally dressed all the characters are, these costumes highlight the serious business side to the plot, which also shows power and knowledge to the audience. I'd like to use costumes to help mirror the personality and background of a character, in order to convey ideas more easily. At the end of the opening sequence we kind of learn how Cobb and his friends are sleeping, therefore in fact dreaming what just happened previously, looking back at the yellow glow in the room, it can suggest the dangers of our dreams. Furthermore, focusing on the reflective table, in terms of conventions in thrillers, I associate reflections as a way of revealing inner darkness to a character or scene. I really liked these annotation, and I'd like to reflect this thought in our piece- a dangerous dream a character cant escape, which pin points the psychological thriller perfectly. I think this was a really good influence and we could take a good amount from this.
What I liked and want to use:
Firstly the audience are presented with a date and location 'Boston Harber Islands 1954', giving them contextual information so they can convey ideas better. The scene begins by leading the viewer in gently, through the mistiness that creates a mysterious feel, that its unsettling at first. A boat becomes visible, where we then go inside it, we meet the first character, named Teddy (again played by Leonardo DiCaprio). Hes throwing up with sea sickness, immediately portraying him as quite weak and unstable in certain situations. He looks up in the mirror, drenching his face in water, he talks to himself 'pull yourself together teddy' this creates a psychological feel straight away, making himself appear quite mental; the first sign of being crazy is talking to yourself, some may say. This subtly suggest that perhaps Ted is mentally unstable, this idea makes a clear appearance late in the film. Mirrors are generically used in psychological thrillers, with the idea that they reflect the inner parts of a person, like darkness, secrets, and raw emotion that isnt clear in appearances. They can make the audience feel tricked almost by the parallel images, messing with their minds more, therefore I think it would be brilliant to include mirrors in our piece. I particularly liked the close up of his face, where you can truly see the seriousness in his eyes, it's quite creepy. I thought it may be good to have an extreme close up of eyes in our piece to emphasise any emotions, thus emotionally involving the audience more. This inspired me to want a character who appears almost mentally disturbed.
After he walks out the bathroom, the camera is positioned behind lots of hanging chains and cuffs, we can the diagetic sound of the clinking, and the camera is focused on them, then Teddy. I thought the blur went really well in this shot and I especially liked how the focus on the chains create ideas of aggressive behavior, pain and danger, probably used as very subtle hints to the plot and the character of teddy. Next a point of view shot is used when Teddy looks over at his new partner, he can see him through the metal wired fence, where this shot forms the idea that how Teddy sees his new partner to be suspicious and untrustworthy, perhaps. I really liked the POV shot to create personal/ bias ideas about other characters or feeling toward the situation, maybe we could incorporate this idea in our work
Sometimes the mind of a mentally ill person is thought to be clouded and suffocating, this prompted me to realise that perhaps that what the mist could mean; knowing this film a psychological thriller. It seems like something the director has purposely done, the ship sail through the fog could be perceived as an allegory for a mentally ill person looking for an answer, somewhere clear, where they can receive help, and make it out of the fog that is their issues. This idea makes more sense knowing that at the end of the film, Teddy is convinced he is insane but refuses to realise it, and that the whole operation was set up to show him how all along he is the one he was looking for... Andrew Laeddis, the man who he thought killed his family, this suggests why Teddy is supposedly insane, because he is Andrew Laeddis, and he made another person up to blame it on. I thought this metaphor idea was clever, so I think it would be very interesting to try and use it in our piece, where the location has more connotations than it looks, in order to ultimately convey better developed ideas for the audience to see.
Moreover, the very silently sharp music playing throughout the opening, compliments the fog and steady acting at the beginning and also gives it a sense that something isn't quite right, despite how normal and natural everything appears. Even the conversation between Teddy and his partner, its calm but somehow the faint sounds of the ship gives it an edge of uncertainty and false security.
Pin pointing a good convention of psychological thrillers, when Teddy makes his way to the front of the boat, and talk to his new partner, he has a vague flashback to his now dead wife. In his mind he depicts the memory to be sweet and lovable, although its very silent which adds an unusual effect, that perhaps it's not all real. There are a few close ups of their happy faces which emphasises the loss to the audience, allowing them to sympathise and empathise early on in the film. Flash backs can mess with the audiences mind as well give them an insight to ones past, yet our retrospective memories can be manipulated and distorted, which means when the real past is revealed, the audience have been deceived and tricked, creating a plot twist. I would really like to construct a plot twist in our piece to achieve strong conventions and their affects.
What I like and want to use:
This elegant opening introduces the audience to the protagonist, during a ballet performance, it symbolically outlines the plot line. A spot light focuses on the swan, lighting her white dress that is very much enveloped in the surrounding darkness; creating a strong contrast that shows more dark than light. This can represent how her innocence will be eaten away by the darkness of the world. The feathery costume presents a creature much to pure and delicate to battle the darkness... I liked the strong use of both the low and high key lighting that achieves the contrast, as it can simply form ideas that the audience can understand easily. I thought that when the camera tracked her feet at the beginning was good to show how perfect she appears, in the way that she doesn't put a foot out of line.
Later, the black swan appears on stage, controlling her performance, he begins to physically handle her aggressively as she struggles to escape this horror. The camera movement really compliments this part, as it twists and turns around them, creating confusion and making it difficult for the audience to navigate themselves. This can be symbolic of the psychological changes she will encompass, messing with both the characters and audiences mind, clearly showing the psychological side straight away. I'd like to reflect this chaotic movement in my piece to create similar ideas. The darkness and lightness can easily represent the two swans, also showing an imbalance of power between evil and innocence. I like the idea of perplexing opposites in light and human form because it adds suspense and anticipation for what will happen .
This famous piece of music, known as 'swan lake', paralleled the onscreen action perfectly, from slow and gentle like the ballet dancers movement, then becoming fast and loud, where the white swans struggle against the black swan matched it. This effectively makes the audience feel more immersed and in sync with the narrative, leading them to be emotionally involved right at the beginning. The scene ends with a fade, where the swan is finally free, which suggests a peaceful ending, which I didn't like as much for an opening sequence.
What I liked and want to use:
After discussing our ideas based on our influences, we had a vague idea of what we wanted, but we realised something is missing. We wanted something realistic to contrast with our idea a little in order to help outline our sub genre and add to our plot. So we looked at Blue Velvet's opening (despite not being under the psychological sub genre), knowing that the ideas conveyed in this piece are similar to what we are looking for, so I took a closer look to develop and refine our ideas.
The opening scene shows a seemingly perfect neighbourhood, the sun is shining, everyone seems happy and well, even the children walk in single file across the road. We cut to a low angle of the picket white fence, tilting down to the lovely red flowers. But it all seems too Perfect, creating a sickly sweet appearance, which can suggest that something dark is hidden in the plot, perhaps- like a thorn on a rose, nothing is that perfect. In this opening, there a shot that shows the tv, where a gun is visible, this could foreshadow a bad events like violence and death, that might ruin the perfect neighbourhood. Then the hosepipe knots around a flower stem, this close up could symbolise a near death, corresponding with this the man holding the hosepipe has a sudden heart attack, showing how its not that perfect.
Reverse Dolly Zoom/Vertigo shot:
From learning about these type of shots, as a group we were really intrigued by the illusion they create onscreen. They looked difficult to shoot, yet ambitious, interesting and fun, so we wanted to somehow include this in our piece to create ideas and show the confusion and disorientation in the protagonist, and the audience slightly, in a psychological sense. We thought they would go really well under our chosen sub genre to make the audience feel immersed and impacted upon. So here are two clips demonstrating this shot professionally, from Jaws (Dir. Steven Speilberg 1975) and Lord of the rings- Fellowship of the ring (Dir. Peter Jackson 2001):
This is a very fast vertigo shot, I really liked this one especially, it worked well because of the character onscreen that the camera focused on. It create the idea that he just had a shocking realisation, which makes sense knowing he just saw a shark in the water. This technique conveyed that idea perfectly, which was also really complimented by the long screeching sound.
I liked this zolly even more, as it faced down the dark path, it created an illusion in the perspective which disorientates and creates panic in the audience.
The opening sequence begins inside a
theatre, looking at the stage, where a girl (babydoll) is sat in her room on
her bed. This suggests that what we are about to watch isn't real, that it
could be made up inside the girls head. This idea is supported by the voice
overs line 'it's every one of us who holds the power over the worlds we create'
this infers that she has created a world, perhaps in her imagination. Sometimes
our imagination can be at its strongest in a dream, to some, a dream is a world
that our subconscious has created for us to explore, meeting our
desires, facing our fears... The voiceover also mentions a 'fierce dragon'
which has connotations of mythology and imagination, again conveying the idea
that this world is not real. The song playing in the background, a remake of
Eurythmics 'sweet dreams' by Emily browning, which kind of supports the
dreaming idea, which also immediately gives it a psychological feel which
starts to stir up confusing ideas in the audience. I thought it would be really
good to have some kind of dream/nightmare scene to set the psychological tone
and disorientate the audience with suspense, confusion and terror. Perhaps we
could include a chase dream scene.
Our
first sight of the girl, we see that she has blonde hair and is wearing
pink pajamas which this can stereotypically symbolises vulnerability,
innocence and naivety, and she has bleach blonde hair that represents purity. However, the voiceover suggests that we ignore
these, that in fact we should not judge a book by its cover 'but don't let
appearances fool you, they can be as fierce as any dragon' this creates a
contrast in appearance and personality, which can subtly help the
audience prepare to be tricked- this shows the plot to be a psychological
rollercoaster ride. The fact this character has full makeup on, suggests that
she is defined by males, looking good for them. This can hint at a controlling
male figure. She looks frightened and insecure by the way she is hugging her
legs tight to her chest and shaking, as the song constantly refers to abuse
'some of them want to abuse you' perhaps she is being abused by a
male figure, taking over her life, ruining it. I thought this idea was
interesting and would like to include a suggested dominant male figure and
weaker female.
As the camera slowly pans around, revealing that they are no longer on stage, we see that the weather is terrible outside- raining, thundering and lightening. This really helps set the low key lighting, which hits the conventions of darkness, perfectly. The weather and darkness both function as pathetic fallacy, reflecting the mood of the girl character. This creates another psychological feel to the narrative, with the thought that this world she could have created, is messed up and full of conflicting emotions. Emotions play a good part in psychological thrillers so it would be good to have that concentration on emotions, we could do this through the use of close ups of facial features and expression to help unfold the story. In fact, there is no dialogue in the first 6 or so minutes of the film, which then relies on everything else to present the story to the audience; I really liked this as it allowed the audience to perceive the plot more individually and arguably naturally. I especially like how the weather reflects the emotions; it would prove very effective in our piece to convey the psychological side.
It’s
weird how baby doll looks so unsettled in her own bedroom, suggesting the house
isn't a safe place for her, we later see a close up of the letter opener held
by the step father to open the will of babydolls mother; this is strongly
suggestive of violence and danger, that's very easy for the audience to
understand, therefore, I thought this idea would be good to include it in our
piece for similar effects. Dominance was also shown by the stepfather, through
his composition and costume. We only ever see him wearing a suit and tie
suggesting he may be responsible and authoritative. Although this also gives
him a feel of power, we see how he has power over babydoll, in the use of low
angle shots of him and when he stands over her in height. I liked this idea of
an imbalance of power in relationships in physical form, which is very
understandable to viewers.
When
he loses his temper at the will, he throws a bottle of liquor in the
fire, causing it to blaze up uncontrollably, I perceived this as a
foreshadow for something horrible and scaring that he will rashly do in spite.
Its implied he was going to sexually assault babydoll, as he pulls at her pyjama
top, ripping a button off, hitting the ground spinning, a great shot captures
this in slow motion, also blurring out their figures in the background- this
really inspired me to try and make my piece very arty and creative in the shots.
After, babydoll manages to escape, pushing him out the room. He turns his focus
to the younger sibling, he decided to lock babydoll in her room, as we last see
her eye in the key hole of her door, we zoom further into her eyes reflection,
watching the stepfather make his way into the little girls room. I also really
loved the creativeness of this shot, and how it linked scenes through an
extreme close up of an eye, I felt inspired to use close ups of eyes and facial
features in my idea to intensify the scene and make it more creative. In
babdolls attempt to save her sister, she has no choice but to climb down her
drain pipes, ultimately showing the audience her desperation and determination
to save her. This toys with the audiences emotions as they sympathise even more,
quickly developing an emotional attachment, which keeps them hooked so they can
see what happens next. I thought I could include a character in distress to
achieve the same effects. Sadly, babydoll accidently kills her sister, creating
a plot twist that keeps the audience interested and shocked, which basically
leads to the plot of the film.
What I liked and wanted to use:
- The idea that it might not be real (dream)
- The weather to reflect emotions
- close ups to intensify emotions
- Colours for representation
- Vulnerable female and dominant male figures
- High and low angle shots for power imbalance
- Suggestive violence
- Suitable costumes
- Reflections
- Plot twist
- corresponding music
- Deep meaning and creativity
- Contrast
The audience are shot into the narrative, where the scene starts with overly loud crashing waves, later revealing a man washed ashore on the beach, this created a strong sense of confusion in the audience, encouraging them to speculate what may have happened, which in itself immerse them cleverly, but considerable more difficult, which could immediately make the audience exclusive to older males. The setting of a beach and wild waves gives it a raw edge can also make the audience feel at danger at one point, then safe the next, therefore plays with their emotions a little. I really liked the idea of dropping the audience into the narrative, letting them figure out for themselves what exactly is happening. I also liked the idea of a very natural destination with both positive and negative connotations of beauty and danger, as they contrast in ways that can create panic in the audience; they may be unfamiliar with a location which can be scary, but it can be beautiful like the beach, making the viewer feel at ease. Therefore, I think as a group it would be good for us to use these ideas, because they're practical, available, and can help us achieve the psychological genre.
The washed up man (Cobb) played by Leonardo DiCaprio lifts his head and looks at what he can hear, and eye line match is used to present these children to the audience. We hear their childish laughter growing as they play in the sand, creating a strong feel of innocence, contrasting with Cobbs vibe of disruption and disorientation, making him stand out the audience as quite a intimidating character at first. Close ups of his face push the audience to feel more his confusion and relief. He is then confronted by men with guns, suggesting he should not be there, perhaps he's a danger, this idea is strengthened at the sight of a gun tucked in he pants, this can be easily misinterpreted, and again subtly prepares the audience for suspense later on. They alert other authority and the scene switches. I would like to use this idea of innocence vs corruption, portrayed through age and appearance.
A zoom is used to bring the audience forward in to this warm glowing, yet dim room, this makes the audience feel like they are not welcome at first, as the camera is sitting outside the room, yet the zoom slowly enters them. The low key lighting created the idea that the happenings in this room were suspiciously bad. A man is sitting on a chair, central in the large room, with his back to the camera- small use of hidden identity, which is generically used in thrillers. Immediately this shows him to be powerful, feared and perhaps unknown, this also intrigues the audience with the idea that they want to know their possible enemy. He spoke in another language to the people around him, where the audience can naturally feel intimidated or offended for not understanding (subtitles were included) I really liked the dark grande table he sat at alone, because it reflected the yellow lights above, and the close ups of the object that sat on it. The audience can easily recognise the gun, however the other little object remains a mystery, thus intrigues them more. Looking at the colour yellow, in terms of the animal kingdom, is seen as colour used to show danger and warning the other animals not to become involved, take certain insects for examples, bees and wasps which most humans are afraid of in case they sting us.
A conversation takes place nearer to end of the opening scene, where over the should shots are conventionally used, helping the audience navigate themselves in the conversation. And we notice how very formally dressed all the characters are, these costumes highlight the serious business side to the plot, which also shows power and knowledge to the audience. I'd like to use costumes to help mirror the personality and background of a character, in order to convey ideas more easily. At the end of the opening sequence we kind of learn how Cobb and his friends are sleeping, therefore in fact dreaming what just happened previously, looking back at the yellow glow in the room, it can suggest the dangers of our dreams. Furthermore, focusing on the reflective table, in terms of conventions in thrillers, I associate reflections as a way of revealing inner darkness to a character or scene. I really liked these annotation, and I'd like to reflect this thought in our piece- a dangerous dream a character cant escape, which pin points the psychological thriller perfectly. I think this was a really good influence and we could take a good amount from this.
What I liked and want to use:
- Dream sequence
- Innocence vs. corruption
- disorientation through different concepts
- Colour representations
- Close ups
- Costumes
- reflections
Firstly the audience are presented with a date and location 'Boston Harber Islands 1954', giving them contextual information so they can convey ideas better. The scene begins by leading the viewer in gently, through the mistiness that creates a mysterious feel, that its unsettling at first. A boat becomes visible, where we then go inside it, we meet the first character, named Teddy (again played by Leonardo DiCaprio). Hes throwing up with sea sickness, immediately portraying him as quite weak and unstable in certain situations. He looks up in the mirror, drenching his face in water, he talks to himself 'pull yourself together teddy' this creates a psychological feel straight away, making himself appear quite mental; the first sign of being crazy is talking to yourself, some may say. This subtly suggest that perhaps Ted is mentally unstable, this idea makes a clear appearance late in the film. Mirrors are generically used in psychological thrillers, with the idea that they reflect the inner parts of a person, like darkness, secrets, and raw emotion that isnt clear in appearances. They can make the audience feel tricked almost by the parallel images, messing with their minds more, therefore I think it would be brilliant to include mirrors in our piece. I particularly liked the close up of his face, where you can truly see the seriousness in his eyes, it's quite creepy. I thought it may be good to have an extreme close up of eyes in our piece to emphasise any emotions, thus emotionally involving the audience more. This inspired me to want a character who appears almost mentally disturbed.
After he walks out the bathroom, the camera is positioned behind lots of hanging chains and cuffs, we can the diagetic sound of the clinking, and the camera is focused on them, then Teddy. I thought the blur went really well in this shot and I especially liked how the focus on the chains create ideas of aggressive behavior, pain and danger, probably used as very subtle hints to the plot and the character of teddy. Next a point of view shot is used when Teddy looks over at his new partner, he can see him through the metal wired fence, where this shot forms the idea that how Teddy sees his new partner to be suspicious and untrustworthy, perhaps. I really liked the POV shot to create personal/ bias ideas about other characters or feeling toward the situation, maybe we could incorporate this idea in our work
Sometimes the mind of a mentally ill person is thought to be clouded and suffocating, this prompted me to realise that perhaps that what the mist could mean; knowing this film a psychological thriller. It seems like something the director has purposely done, the ship sail through the fog could be perceived as an allegory for a mentally ill person looking for an answer, somewhere clear, where they can receive help, and make it out of the fog that is their issues. This idea makes more sense knowing that at the end of the film, Teddy is convinced he is insane but refuses to realise it, and that the whole operation was set up to show him how all along he is the one he was looking for... Andrew Laeddis, the man who he thought killed his family, this suggests why Teddy is supposedly insane, because he is Andrew Laeddis, and he made another person up to blame it on. I thought this metaphor idea was clever, so I think it would be very interesting to try and use it in our piece, where the location has more connotations than it looks, in order to ultimately convey better developed ideas for the audience to see.
Moreover, the very silently sharp music playing throughout the opening, compliments the fog and steady acting at the beginning and also gives it a sense that something isn't quite right, despite how normal and natural everything appears. Even the conversation between Teddy and his partner, its calm but somehow the faint sounds of the ship gives it an edge of uncertainty and false security.
Pin pointing a good convention of psychological thrillers, when Teddy makes his way to the front of the boat, and talk to his new partner, he has a vague flashback to his now dead wife. In his mind he depicts the memory to be sweet and lovable, although its very silent which adds an unusual effect, that perhaps it's not all real. There are a few close ups of their happy faces which emphasises the loss to the audience, allowing them to sympathise and empathise early on in the film. Flash backs can mess with the audiences mind as well give them an insight to ones past, yet our retrospective memories can be manipulated and distorted, which means when the real past is revealed, the audience have been deceived and tricked, creating a plot twist. I would really like to construct a plot twist in our piece to achieve strong conventions and their affects.
What I like and want to use:
- Mirrors
- Psychologically disturbed character
- Mysterious setting (allegorical meaning)
- Suspiciously too calm scene (emphasise shock)
- Close ups
- Eyes
- Pathetic fallacy in weather
- Flash back
- Point of view (bias ideas)
This elegant opening introduces the audience to the protagonist, during a ballet performance, it symbolically outlines the plot line. A spot light focuses on the swan, lighting her white dress that is very much enveloped in the surrounding darkness; creating a strong contrast that shows more dark than light. This can represent how her innocence will be eaten away by the darkness of the world. The feathery costume presents a creature much to pure and delicate to battle the darkness... I liked the strong use of both the low and high key lighting that achieves the contrast, as it can simply form ideas that the audience can understand easily. I thought that when the camera tracked her feet at the beginning was good to show how perfect she appears, in the way that she doesn't put a foot out of line.
Later, the black swan appears on stage, controlling her performance, he begins to physically handle her aggressively as she struggles to escape this horror. The camera movement really compliments this part, as it twists and turns around them, creating confusion and making it difficult for the audience to navigate themselves. This can be symbolic of the psychological changes she will encompass, messing with both the characters and audiences mind, clearly showing the psychological side straight away. I'd like to reflect this chaotic movement in my piece to create similar ideas. The darkness and lightness can easily represent the two swans, also showing an imbalance of power between evil and innocence. I like the idea of perplexing opposites in light and human form because it adds suspense and anticipation for what will happen .
This famous piece of music, known as 'swan lake', paralleled the onscreen action perfectly, from slow and gentle like the ballet dancers movement, then becoming fast and loud, where the white swans struggle against the black swan matched it. This effectively makes the audience feel more immersed and in sync with the narrative, leading them to be emotionally involved right at the beginning. The scene ends with a fade, where the swan is finally free, which suggests a peaceful ending, which I didn't like as much for an opening sequence.
What I liked and want to use:
- Symbolic lighting
- Colour representations ( black and white)
- Chaotic camera movement (complimenting)
- Paralleled music
- Contrast
- Tracking feet
- Costumes
After discussing our ideas based on our influences, we had a vague idea of what we wanted, but we realised something is missing. We wanted something realistic to contrast with our idea a little in order to help outline our sub genre and add to our plot. So we looked at Blue Velvet's opening (despite not being under the psychological sub genre), knowing that the ideas conveyed in this piece are similar to what we are looking for, so I took a closer look to develop and refine our ideas.
The opening scene shows a seemingly perfect neighbourhood, the sun is shining, everyone seems happy and well, even the children walk in single file across the road. We cut to a low angle of the picket white fence, tilting down to the lovely red flowers. But it all seems too Perfect, creating a sickly sweet appearance, which can suggest that something dark is hidden in the plot, perhaps- like a thorn on a rose, nothing is that perfect. In this opening, there a shot that shows the tv, where a gun is visible, this could foreshadow a bad events like violence and death, that might ruin the perfect neighbourhood. Then the hosepipe knots around a flower stem, this close up could symbolise a near death, corresponding with this the man holding the hosepipe has a sudden heart attack, showing how its not that perfect.
Reverse Dolly Zoom/Vertigo shot:
From learning about these type of shots, as a group we were really intrigued by the illusion they create onscreen. They looked difficult to shoot, yet ambitious, interesting and fun, so we wanted to somehow include this in our piece to create ideas and show the confusion and disorientation in the protagonist, and the audience slightly, in a psychological sense. We thought they would go really well under our chosen sub genre to make the audience feel immersed and impacted upon. So here are two clips demonstrating this shot professionally, from Jaws (Dir. Steven Speilberg 1975) and Lord of the rings- Fellowship of the ring (Dir. Peter Jackson 2001):
This is a very fast vertigo shot, I really liked this one especially, it worked well because of the character onscreen that the camera focused on. It create the idea that he just had a shocking realisation, which makes sense knowing he just saw a shark in the water. This technique conveyed that idea perfectly, which was also really complimented by the long screeching sound.
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