A2 Film: Resource material for MS3 Small Scale Project - 'The American Nightmare'...horror film documentary

For those researching horror films for their MS3 Small Scale Research Project, I fully recommend you watch Adam Simon's superb documentary, The American Nightmare, uploaded here in five parts. Absolutely essential viewing and most definitely one of the resources which should make the annotated bibliography.

The documentary looks at the development of the horror film from 1968 to the 2000s, interviewing important directors working in the genre throughout the 1970s, '80s and '90s, such as George A. Romero (Night of the  Living Dead), Wes Craven (Last House on the Left), Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), David Cronenberg (Shivers) and John Carpenter (Halloween)

Part 1. George A. Romero and the influences and influence of Night of the Living Dead from 1968

Part 2. Wes Craven and his debut horror, The Last House on the Left, from 1971

Part 3. Tobe Hooper highlights the social  influences on his seminal slasher film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, from 1974

Part 4. David Cronenberg talks about the advent of 'body horror' in the 1970s and '80s, in his films such as Shivers, made in 1976

Part 5. The final part sees John Carpenter discussing his influential slasher, Halloween, produced in 1978, and the documentary's conclusion

Two short documentaries on the use of sound in 'Saving Private Ryan'

Following on from last weeks lecture on the use of sound in film, here are two short documentaries regarding Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Both documentaries have French subtitles, so you can learn more about he film and learn a new language at the same time!

The first concerns the musical score, composed by frequent Spielberg collaborator, John Williams.

The second deals with the use of sound design in the film, introduced by Gary Rydstrom, with particular focus on the opening beach sequence and the closing sequence in the besieged village.

Hopefully these two documentaries will help those choosing to do the film for their sequence analysis, but also as a general expansion of your film knowledge.

AS Film - Articles on the use of sound in 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Trainspotting'

Two articles here on the use of sound in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) and Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996).

The Pulp Fiction article concentrates on the many varieties of diegetic sound (music, dialogue and effects), while the Trainspotting article features the creative use of music. The Trainspotting article is quite long, but well worth the read if this is an area of interest for you.

Use of sound in 'Pulp Fiction'

Use of sound in 'Trainspotting'

AS Film - Sound in Film lecture 19/10/12

In today's session  we considered the importance of sound to how 'meaning' is constructed in film.

Sound is sometimes sidelined in analysis or production of film, perhaps due us being very much a 'visual-dominant' culture. However, this medium is vital in projecting emotion, feeling, narrative development and a hundred and one other essential reasons for the success of a director's vision.

In your own productions you might have concentrated more on the visuals, and perhaps left sound to be something which is simply 'there'. Many potentially good student films are let down by poor sound recording, such as ambient background sound or dialogue levels. Sometimes the choice of music can also either make or break a film.

So, whether you are producing or analysing a film, pay attention to the sound in order to discover additional meaning.

Today we discussed as case studies how dialogue was used in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and the use of source music in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting

Here are today's sequences...

Pulp Fiction - Directed by Quentin Tarantino (1994)
1. Royale with Cheese

Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) discuss the merits of taking drugs and eating cheeseburgers in Europe compared to America. All this on the way to retrieving a valuable briefcase belonging to their gangster boss from four very naive young men.

2. Cheeseburger breakfast

Jules questions the young men as to, firstly, the whereabouts of the briefcase, then how much they have disrespected the crime boss. Vincent broods in the background, waiting for the inevitable to happen, as Jules becomes steadily more angry and unpredicatable. The biblical quote spoken by Jules was, in fact, made up by Tarantino, and does not appear anywhere in The Bible

3. Divine intervention

Jules and Vincent survive a hail of bullets from one of the gang, hiding in another room. Jules is convinced that this is a sign from God to retire from his life of crime and murder.

4. "I shot Marvin..."

As Jules further contemplates the 'miracle' which he is convinced has occured, Vincent asks Marvin, whom is on the back seat of Jules' car, his opinion. Unfortunately Vincent's gun goes off by accident, leaving a very bloody mess in the car and a very upset Jules.

5. "A shot of adrenaline"

In a later sequence, Vincent needs the help of a drug dealing friend to save the life of his boss's wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), who has overdosed on some cocaine. The tension of the scene is underscored by the frantic dialogue of Jules and ultimately calmed by the line "That was fucking trippy!", said by the drug dealer's very stoned girlfriend.



Trainspotting - directed by Danny Boyle (1996)
One of the most influential British films ever made, dealing with the harsh realities of heroin addiction in Scotland. Notable for its story-telling, cinematic techniques and its excellent use of musical soundtrack.

Boyle used a variety of source music, ranging from opera, punk, ambient and the contemporary club styles of the mid-1990s, most notably the emergence of trance and trip hop.

1. Choose Life
In this opening sequence Boyle introduces two of the main characters, Renton and Spud, being chased by the police and security guards after shop-lifting to pay for their addiction. To the thumping beat of Iggy Pop's Lust for Life we see Rentn alternatively living something approaching normality (playing football), on the run for some petty thieving, and taking a score of heroin in a grotty room. All the while, his mantra of 'Choose Life' is battling with the beat of the music.

2. The Worst Toilet in Scotland
To the soundtrack of Brian Eno's ambient Deep Blue Day, Boyle shows us the reality and fantasy of heroin addiction when Renton is desperate to find a toilet once the constipation caused by the drugs wears off. You can even smell that toilet!

3. Hospital and Cold Turkey
After a visit to his dealer, Mother Superior, Renton slips into yet another heroin-induced coma. As he floats between hallucination and reality, the sound of Lou Reed's ode to his own addiction to the drug, Perfect Day, accompanies his journey to hospital and yet another shot of adrenaline to bring him round. The silence between himself and his long-suffering parents speaks louder than words. As he undergoes 'cold turkey' to wean him off the drug, Renton experiences a series of terrifying hallucinations, including his friend Tommy, who finally gave in to the temptation of heroin addiction due to Renton's influence and his assertion that it was "better than sex". The hideous image of the dead baby crawling towards him on the ceiling is acting as Renton's guilt of its neglect when it was alive. Boyle matches this disturbing sequence with a contemporary thumping techno/house track Dark and Long from Underworld.

 4. Choose Life (reprise)
The film's final sequence shows Renton making off with the money made from Begbie's drug deal,leaving his psychotic friend to wreck the hotel room. He leaves some money for his best friend, Spud, before making off into the sunny London streets, vowing to choose all the things he criticised at the start of the film. The tune, Born Slippy, by Underworld, plays over these final moments and became the most associated and popular track from Danny Boyle's film.

The complete track can be found below.

AS Film - Cinematography lecture #2 12/10/12

In today's session we began by considering particular aspects of cinematography such as camera angles and movement (framing having been covered last week).

The following clips were chosen to distinguish how the camera has been positioned or moved to obtain 'meaning'. Remember, everything is there for a reason, so what do you think the respective directors were aiming achieve through their use of the camera?

Se7en: directed by David Fincher (1995)
The second sequence used from Fincher's crime/horror film in our studies. There is a variety of different shots used here to create tension, mystery and suspense, notably the long shot of the SWAT team entering the suspect's dimly lit bedroom, as if from his point of view (POV). The close up tracking shot of the decay happening to his body is also vital, in order for the audience to understand just how long he might have been tied to the bed - a year to the day, as it transpires. You might also want to consider elements of mise-en-scene, such lighting (the bright spot lights on the SWAT team assault guns, piercing though the dust of the apartment), the location (a dingy, rancid apartment, in keeping with the mood of the film) and props (the hundreds of air fresheners hung up to mask the smell of decayed flesh).

Cloverfield: directed by Matt Reeves (2008)
Effective use of the hand-held camera to represent 'reality' as a gigantic monster attacks Manhattan  announcing its arrival by launching the head of the Statue of Liberty down Fifth Avenue. Taken from the POV of one of the party goers, this remains a constant motif throughout the film, even to the extent of capturing the death of the character holding the camera at the very end. An 'amusing' moment in this sequence is some people's compulsion to film the iconic statue's head on their camera phones, rather than perhaps running for cover! Perhaps a rather telling indictment of our cultural times?

The Shining: directed by Stanley Kubrick (1980)
Kubrick employs a variety of cinematic techniques to convey, at first, the sense of normality as we follow Danny on his tricycle journey around the hotel's corridors. These shots were obtained through the deployment of the 'Steadicam', where a camera is fixed to the camera person by means of a harness, which allows for freedom of movement and vision. Then, as Danny has the hallucination of the twin girls, Kubrick switches to a mix of long shots, mid shots and close ups, to register the strangeness of the encounter.

The Dark Knight: directed by Christopher Nolan (2008)
The 'interrogation scene' is often widely praised for Heath Ledger's acting (something which Christian Bale as Batman is probably ecstatic about!), but Nolan's use of close ups and reaction shots are also a major feature for the success of the sequence. Note how he also places the characters on contrasting sides of the frame throughout to determine the change of dominance.

Raging Bull: directed by Martin Scorsese (1980)
Filmed in black and white by Scorsese to represent the 1940s setting, he keeps Robert De Niro in the centre of the frame at all times in this superb use of the 'continuous tracking shot'. Scorsese emphasises the importance of this world title fight for Jake la Motta (The Raging Bull) by not cutting away, but making the audience follow his journey from dressing room, passing through the cheering crowds until he reaches the ring. Scorsese keeps the continuous motion going by using a crane dolly to go for a slight high angle shot as la Motta enters through the ropes.

Compare how Scorsese uses the 'continuous tracking shot' from his 1990 gangster classic, Goodfellas.

In this sequence, based on the real life gangster, Henry Hill, the character of of Henry (played by Ray Liotta) is setting out to impress his new girlfriend, Karen (Lorraine Bracco), by going to the famous Copacabana nightclub in New York. However,  to really impress her, he takes her through the back way to show that this is something ordinary people cannot do, and only the well connected are allowed. It also helps that he belongs to the most powerful crime family in the city and can pretty much do whatever he wants. In order to show this, Scorsese tracks the couple as they travel through the kitchens without any edits, until they jump the queue in the main dining area and are given one of the best seats in the house. A complimentary bottle of champagne is also on hand from another high level gangster, as Karen cannot help but be impressed by the respect shown towards Henry, as "The He Kissed Me" by The Crystals is played out over the soundtrack, in keeping with the 1960s setting. Scorsese pulls us into Henry's world by this brilliant use of the camera and attention to mise en scene detail.

Another example of the 'continuous tracking shot' is taken from Alfred Hitchcock 1972 thriller, Frenzy.

In this sequence, the charming but completely psychotic serial killer, Robert (played by Barry Foster) leads his next female victim to his London apartment. In this three minute sequence, Hitchcock cuts the action twice up to the point when the couple enter his apartment block.  At 1.41, Hitchcock allows the camera to track Robert and his next unknowing victim up the stairs to his apartment door, all the time keeping Robert just behind so we are able to see his face, as he knows what he has planned once inside. Hitchcock then discreetly pulls the camera away as Barry leads his victim inside with the chilling comment "You're my kind of girl". The camera then tracks back down the stairs and out through the front door, leaving the audience to only imagine what is now happening inside his room, as London carries on, oblivious to what is about to take place. Certainly a case of 'what you don't see can scare you more'.

AS Film - Cinematography lecture 05/10/12

In this entry you will find the sequences studied today with regards to cinematography. Remember, we considered the size of six different kinds of shot - the extreme long shot (xls), the long shot (ls), the mid shot (ms), the head and shoulders shot (hss), the close up (cu) and the extreme close up (xcu).

In the films you watch independently of class try to recognise these shots sizes, how they have been used and  to create what kind of meaning.

Shaun of the Dead - Director: Edgar Wright (2004)
In this sequence Wright uses a variety of different shot sizes to represent Shaun and Ed's first encounter with the zombies in their back garden. The stand-out shot (achieved in post-production during the editing sage) is the point of view of the two friends through the open wound of Mary's back.

The Notebook - Director: Nick Cassavetes (2004)
Cassavetes opens his film with the titles set against various extreme long shots and long shots of a rower winding his way down a North Carolina river. The slow, languid movement is set against a burning red sky at sunset, which gives it an almost dreamlike quality. The cut to the interior of the house allows a different perspective, taken from the point of view of the elderly woman. The head and shoulders shot of her allows the audience to perhaps relate to her emotions and the theme of 'loss'. The geese flying in slow motion towards the house helps to direct our eyes towards the woman's position in the upstairs window.

Jaws - Director: Steven Spielberg (1975)
One of the classic horror films of the 1970s, and the film which propelled Spielberg into the big time. The use of camera to represent the anxiety of the police officer, Brody (Roy Schnieder) is gained through a series of close ups and mid shots, and one very memorable use of the zoom. A sequence with a number of cinematic techniques and tricks to draw the audience in. Note particularly the 'editing' technique of having a blurred figure pass by Schneider three times at the beginning of the sequence, each time allowing us to get closer; the false scares associated with the horror genre such as the floating lady on her back with what looks like a shark fin coming towards her, only for it to be an elderly swimmer with a bathing cap on; also the young woman screaming at the antics of her boyfriend beneath the water. Spielberg opens the sequence with a long shot of the lady entering the water and close it with a long shot of the chewed up remains of the yellow li-lo; however the sequence is most famous for its use of the 'reverse tracking zoom' as Brody realises that the shark has just attacked the young boy, Alex. Borrowed from Alfred Hitchcock's use of the same shot in Vertigo (1958), Spielberg unsettles the audience with this iconic use of the camera to demonstrate Brody's sudden realisation that his worse fears are about to come true.

Part two of cinematography, focusing on camera movement and camera angles next week.