'Bringing It All Together" - sequence analysis from 'Alien'

In today's session we considered the four different cinematic elements of mise en scene, cinematography, sound and editing, and how they work together to create 'meaning'.

Using 'The Third Junction' sequence from Ridely Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror classic, Alien, we were able to identify how the four elements work in conjunction to create an overwhelming mood of tension, suspense and fear.

This session has been the culmination of the past eight weeks study, so you should now be seeing how film works on many different levels in order to manipulate the audience's emotions.

AS Film - more examples of editing

Here you will find some more examples of interesting uses of editing techniques to support the previous blog.

Examples are taken from Up, Kill Bill 1, and Casino Royale.

Up - directed by Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson (2009)

Forget that it is an animated film, this sequence uses every cinema trick in the book to wring out the emotion.

A beautifully constructed montage of how Carl and Ellie's relationship from the innocent first meeting as small, adventure-obsessed children, through to their marriage, moving into the iconic house, planning a family and the miscarriage, through to retirement, old age, and Carl, finally alone with his memories of Ellie.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 - directed by Quentin Tarantino (2003)

Two sequences from Tarantino's take on the martial arts genre.

In the first sequence, The Bride (Uma Thurman) battles to the death with schoolgirl assassin, Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). The action and tension of the battle is reflected by the changes in pacing of the editing.

In the second sequence, The Bride now faces surely insurmountable odds against the might of the 'Crazy 88' yakusa martial arts assassins (the yakusa is the Japanese version of a gangster, and there is certainly more than just 88 of them which The Bride has to face). Again, the pacing of the editing reflects the movement and speed of the action, taking the sequence to an almost 'cartoon' level of violence and bloodletting.

Casino Royale - directed by Martin Campbell (2006)

A new Bond film - and a new Bond - needs to have a memorable opening, and this one makes sure the audience is firmly enthralled as our hero and his target battle their way to the top of a sky-scraper construction site, and then down again, ending in a explosive sequence finale in a police station. The rapid pace of the editing and the amount of individual cuts, adds to the thrill and tension of the action.

AS Film - Editing lecture - 09/11/12

In this week's AS Film Studies session we considered the impact which editing can have on a film.

Part of the session was to recreate one of the most famous sequences in film history - Alfred Hitchcock's 'shower scene' from his 1960 horror film, Psycho. The results of this exercise in creating a digital storyboard was designed to help you understand the principles of editing, how meaning can be made through the choice of shots, and how a skilled editor is priceless when it comes to assembling a film.

In this blog you can refresh your knowledge of the principle editing terms, with visual examples taken from the session and additional sequences.

The editor works closely with the director in post-production

Affects how finished film looks

Add or change ‘meaning’ to scenes and sequences

Editing Terms

Cut

A visual transition - one shot is instantly replaced on screen by another

Cross cutting

Cutting between two or more scenes of action, indicating they are happening at same time

Examples below of cross cutting in Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now:

Here we see the character of  the mother, Laura, reacting with her hands playing across her mouth in the house, while the next cut takes the action outside, where the daughter does a similar action when her ball goes into the water.

As the brother of the little girl drives his bike over some broken glass, the next shot is a cross cut to the father, John accidentally knocking over a glass, spilling liquid over his slides.

Three shots which are happening simultaneously, and related to each other. John sub-consciously reacts to something happening outside the house, which happens to be his daughter drowning, as his son races towards the house to alert him of the tragedy.

Dissolve 

Gradual scene transition - overlaps end of one shot with the beginning of the next one

Represents passing of space and time

Eye line match

The matching of eye lines between two or more characters

Establishes space and continuity 

Platoon - directed by Oliver Stone (1986)

In the following sequence, taken from Oliver Stone's film, Platoon, we see the young

new recruit, played here by a young Charlie Sheen, arriving for his first tour of duty in

the Vietnam war. After witnessing lines of dead Marines zipped up in body bags, and

being loaded onto aircraft, heading back home, he catches the eye of an older,

more experienced soldier who passes him. The is no need for dialogue here, as Stone

uses an eyeline match as the two soldiers pass each other; the older marine perhaps

looking into Sheen's eyes as if to tell him that he has no idea what he is letting himself

in for.

Later in the film, Sheen's character has a similar experience with a new, young recruit,

having seen many terrible things during his time in the war. The truly frightening thing

is that it is merely weeks after this initial encounter takes place, not months or years.

The eye line match Also matches character reaction to what a character is seeing, as in jungle gym

sequence in The Birds.

The Birds - directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1963)

Up to this point in the film, a young woman visits her boyfriend on the island

where he lives. She has come from the city so might be viewed as an 'outsider'. Her

style of dress and the car she drives marks her out as being different. However,

what she brings with her from the city, sparks of a host of violent acts - not from

people, but from the local bird population. The present she brings her boyfriend is

that of two lovebirds, again 'outsiders', not welcome on the island by the local

birds. The birds begin to attack the inhabitants of the island with frightening

regularity and increased violence. Being attacked by one bird might not seem

overly worrying; however when hundreds of birds all attack at the same time, then

Hitchcock racks up the terror and suspense. When will they strike next? 

In this sequence, the young woman drives out to the local school to assist the

schoolteacher escort the young children to safety once school finishes for the day.

As she waits for the school day to finish, she decides to smoke a cigarette on a

bench outside. The children are singing a repetitive song, which Hitchcock uses to

increase the tension. The woman turns round anxiously each time she thinks the

song is about to end, not realising what is happening on the climbing frame behind

her. 

The eye line match occurs when the young woman's attention is taken by

something in the sky - Hitchcock cuts to what she sees - a solitary bird....

Fade

End of shot fades to black, followed by fading in of next shot

Often used to indicate a change in time and place

Match cut

A cut joining two shots whose elements match, helping to establish strong

continuity of action

Example: The Ring – Katie turns door handle, cuts to interior of bedroom

with Katie looking in

Shot/reverse shot

Used for dialogue scenes with over-the-shoulder shots, showing each character speaking

Shot/reverse shot example from The Ring

Montage

The editing together of many brief shots – often fast cuts

Examples: the shower scene from Psycho and the petrol station gun

fight in Romeo and Juliet


Psycho - directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

One of the most notorious and influential sequences in film history - and one assembled by

the effects of montage editing.

Marion Crane is on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer. She pulls into 

roadside motel for the night, which displays the welcoming sign that it has vacancies. In 

fact, it is nothing but vacancies. The owner of the motel is a young man, called Norman 

Bates, who makes Marion a light supper. After some conversation, Norman leaves. 

Marion decides that she must return the money and take the consequences, hoping that 

her employer will understand that she did it out of desperation.

She decides to take a shower, as a way, perhaps of ‘washing away’ her sins.

Hitchcock’s use of montage editing, combined with a variety of different camera angles, 

effective use of mise en scene (the location of the shower was the first time it had been 

used in such a way), and the iconic music, all add up to present to the audience something 

they had never seen before. Horror films, editing techniques and narrative construction 

would never be the same again

Here is the sequence again, with and without the music.

What differences are there to the 'meaning' of the action without the music?

Does it draw more attention to the editing techniques?

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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.

Examples of short films from lecture 28/09/12

Here are the short films featured in today's session on short films and 'idea generation', including the three from Paris Je T'aime

Snap - a man 'steals' a camera, but displays the resulting photos at an exhibition

Sign Language - finding love and friendship in the unlikeliest of professions

The Exam - students should always remember that their teachers are often smarter than they are!

The Elevator - be careful which one you pick, because you never know what might be waiting when the doors swish open...

Madelaine - Elijah Wood meets his dream girl...or in this case, his nightmare.

Bastille - a husband falls back in love with his wife, a little too late.

Tulieres - avoid eye contact with strange women in Paris...and kids with pea-shooters...

AS Film - Mise en Scene: Lecture 3 - 28/09/12

Third and final week of focusing mainly on mise en scene.

Firstly the opening three minutes of Steven Spielberg's war epic, Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan - Director: Steven Spielberg (1998)
In this opening sequence Spielberg establishes a clear setting and location of an elderly man searching in a war cemetery  The American and French flags clearly indicate that this is likely to be Normandy in the modern day. Attention should also be paid to the positioning of the various characters in relation to the older man and within the frame itself. The final shot of his bloodshot eyes brings together two other aspects of 'film form' - the extreme close up introduces cinematography, while the sound bridge of crashing waves alerts us that the action might be heading in a very different direction.

In the second sequence Spielberg places the audience directly on the beach and often, it seems, in the line of fire. Given the 'documentary' nature of the sequence, the desired 'realism' is maintained throughout with the mise en scene of quite literally 'hell on earth'. This is a sequence perfect for film studies with its combination of graphic imagery, hand-held camera work for verisimilitude (realism), montage editing (quick cuts from scene to scene) and surround sound - all combine to give the audience as close to the actual experience of what it was like on the morning of June 6th 1944. seen primarily through the eyes of Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) we see the death, destruction, bravery and barbarism of war in an all-too realistic representation.

Schindler's List - Director: Steven Spielberg (1993)
In telling the true story of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved hundreds of Jewish concentration camp prisoners, Spielberg decided to shoot the majority of his film in black and white. He did this mainly to preserve the sense of time in which the film is set (1940 to 1945), but also to make this particular sequence stand out. Schindler (Liam Neeson) witnesses from a hill top, the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. His shock and bewilderment is heightened with the vision of a young girl in a red coat. She seems to 'ghost' through the streets, seemingly un-noticed by those around her, particularly the German soldiers whi are executing Jews en masse. Her eventual escape to a hiding place is the one solitary moment of relief in the sequence, although Spielberg was criticised by some for his use of how the little girl looks - almost angelic with her blonde ringlets and pretty face. Others saw it as a symbolism of hope. For film studies, it is a brave splash of colour in a very grey, hostile environment.

The Godfather - Director: Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
Acclaimed by many to be 'The Greatest Film Ever Made' (the author of this blog being amongst them), the opening sequence sets the tone of dark menace, respect and the undercurrent of violence which can erupt at any given moment. On the day of his daughter's wedding Don Vito Corleone, the most powerful Mafia boss of 1940s New York, is approached by a local undertaker, Bonasera, to help in a family matter concerning his own daughter.

Coppola employs a very low level lighting set up to establish mood and tension as the undertaker grovels in front of Corleone (Marlon Brando). The location of a dimly-lit study is accentuated by the dark wood paneling and the formal dinner suits.The playfulness of a cat who is on Corelone's lap provides only temporary relief as the Don exerts his power - not through violence, but sheer presence of his personality. Coppola places Corleone at times on the more 'weaker' right side of the frame, but always above the subservient Bonasera. Brando's representation of a Mafia boss who can strike fear just in a simple shrug of the shoulders or a hand gesture became one of THE iconic acting performances in cinema history.

Next week we shall be focusing primarily on cinematography - the use of the camera.

AS Film - Short film examples from 21/09/12 lecture

Here are the short films I showed during Friday's session. Hopefully they will show the 'less is more' idea I was talking about.

I'll post up some more over the coming days and weeks to help you.

Just - Radiohead

The Werewolf Solution

Seconds

Love Sick

Office Love - my all-time favourite short film!

AS Film - Mise en Scene: Lecture 2 - 21/09/12

In this blog you will find MP4 files for the film sequences studied in today's session, along with a few more which I did not have a chance to show.

Hopefully you are now looking at film in a different way - you should also be thinking of particular sequences I have now shown which you may wish to do for your coursework analysis. You need only do one, but having a few possibilities might not be a bad thing at this early stage.

The Ring (2002) director: Gore Verbinski
Note how Verbinski uses everyday props within the mise en scene, such as the phone, the television, the remote control and the fridge, to create tension and suspense. The setting and location are also typical horror conventions, which allows the audience to immediately respond to the intended meaning: two girls are alone in a house at night and it is raining...this may not end well! Finally note where Verbinski places the character of Katie in the frame before she ascends the stairs - why might this be significant? W shall also cover this particular shot in Week 4's look at Cinematography.

Forrest Gump (1994) director: Robert Zemeckis
In this opening sequence consider how Zemeckis uses a simple prop of a feather to track the 'action'. It floats from one character to another before settling on Forrest, who adds it to his collection - these are also important props which are used to tell his incredible story. Note how we first see Forrest placed at the edge of the frame at 1.23, as if the feather is searching out someone, but he does not yet have any importance.

Consider how the setting of 'small town America' represents possible meaning, along with Forrest's costume, particularly the worn out running shoes.

Don't Look Now (1973) director: Nicholas Roeg
Roeg's background as a painter is highlighted here with his constant use of the colour red in this disturbing and enigmatic opening sequence to his psychological horror film. Note also the significant use of water, the cross-cutting between shots of the little girl by the lake and the actions of her parents in the house (we shall consider cross-cutting in more detail when we look at Editing in Week 8), and the use of the red coat as costume.

Seven (1995) director: David Fincher
Fincher contrasts the two detectives, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, by placing them at different heights, angles and positions within the frame, as both to try gain initial dominance over the other. The contrast is also extended to the mise en scene of costume and props, with Somerset, played by Freeman, being fastidious and minimal in his clothes, domestic environment and what he needs to be a detective. Mills, played by Pitt, in contrast, is wilder, brash and informal.

Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) director: Sharon Maquire
In this first sequence from the film, Bridget is initially seen as a independent young lady exiting from a taxi; however, within moments upon arrival at her mother''s middle class setting, she is transformed into a more awkward, self-conscious singleton, all through the choice of costume. Colin Firth's character, Mark, fares no better with the Christmas jumper from Hell.

Maquire's use of setting and costume helps to put the audience firmly inside Bridget's world of unhappy love affairs, unfulfilled dreams and a battle with nicotine, alcohol and her slimy boss.

The following credits sequence allows us another view of Bridget, at home, in her cosy pajamas, drinking wine alone, and waiting for a phone call which will never come. The setting here of a single room gives us the sense that Bridget is isolated from reality, even though her flat is in the middle of London and all its possibilities.

AS Film - Mise en Scene: Lecture 1 14/09/12

Welcome to the supporting teaching blog for your AS Film Studies.

In today's lesson we considered one of the major cinematic techniques - Mise en Scene. This, as you will remember, translates as "everything in the frame". Mise en Scene includes: setting, location, costume, props, lighting and character placement, and has a vitally important role in how meaning is constructed by film makers, and consequently understood by the audience.

 In this blog entry you will find MP4 files of the sequences shown today.

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Lurhmann (1996).
Consider how Lurhmann provides a modern take on a classic play in order to engage the contemporary audience. This is achieved by its modern setting, costumes and props, while still retaining the original language. Note how the repeated visual motif of fire set up the violence ahead.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by Steven Spielberg (1977)
Think about how Spielberg shows both fear and wonderment of the alien contact, through the eyes of the mother and her son. Note how ordinary, everyday objects ,or props, take on a new life in this extraordinary setting. You should also note how Spielberg uses creative lighting techniques to endorse the meaning of the sequence.

28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle (2002)
A sequence full of meaning, which Boyle achieves with his creative use of a deserted London as a setting, the use of costume and props, together with how he places the main character within the various locations.


You may choose one of these sequences for your 1500 word coursework analysis. Other film sequences will be shown in the lectures the coming weeks which you can also choose from, as well as those which I did not show in the lessons.

IMPORTANT: You will be required to undertake a short 400-500 analysis of one of these three sequences as part of your initial review on the AS Film Studies course. This will help me assess your analytical and written skills in order to progress further onto this AS Level course.

Consider how directors use Mise en Scene in other films which you have watched.

More on Mise en Scene next week.

'The Mafia? I've shit 'em!' - the ending to 'The Long Good Friday'

The closing moments to the film where Harold dismisses Charlie and Tony in customary Cockney fashion, before being driven to certain (and a very painful) death by what looks like a twelve year old Pierce Brosnan...one of the most memorable and iconic sequences in the film.