Princesas (35)

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

In the scene where Caye and Zule are out partying there is a song playing non-diegetically. The main repetitive lyrics is "Me llaman Caye/calle", Caye being the shortened name of the main character. Her full name is Cayetana but she chooses to shorten it to Caye. This is interesting because when said aloud "Caye" sounds like the Spanish word "calle" which translates to street. Caye chooses to work on the street and also chooses to shorten her name.

During this scene the camera work seems to be hand-held and therefore gives the film verisimilitude. It is filmed in a way that makes it seem as if the viewer has a first person view of the scene and gives a claustrophobic feel. The low-key lighting and unstable camera work also add to this aura. The style of film techniques used here impact on the audience by having the intention of making them feel part of the world and as happy as the two main characters are at the time.

Further into the sequence the girls are having a conversation about the guys that they're 'going home with' that night. Whereas normally they would be expecting payment, that night Zule says "hoy no somos putas, somos princesas" which translates to "today we aren't whores, we are princesses"; they expect no payment because its not work. This scene is important because it shows that although they're prostitutes they dream of better things for themselves. "Existimos porque algien piensa de nosotros", we exist because someone is thinking of us.

James Wan - Presentation Script

Does James Wan's use of isolated children in his horror films make him an auteur?

Projector - image of James Wan with The Conjuring theme tune playing over it (10seconds) (Item 1)

Presenter - James Wan is a notorious horror film director who has created such pieces you may recognise like The Conjuring and the Insidious franchises. It is franchises such as these that really show off the quality that Wan has the ability to make. His horror features all share certain traits that it is debated that he could be considered an auteur. The auteur theory is an interesting one as it claims that although directors can create their own film interpretations, it is only a select few who can brag about this unofficial title. Wan's usage of isolated children is common within the horror genre, however fans of his work are able to distinguish between features he has made or not depending on the usage of said children.

Projector - Play clip from Insidious (Dalton's dream sequence) (Item 2)

Presenter - As you can see, our main character Dalton is complete isolated in his significant events and is portrayed as being 'different'. It is this element of 'different' which Wan plays upon.

Projector - Play clip from The Conjuring 2 (On the swings) (Item 1)

Presenter - Although both of these films are not connected they're shot very similarly and are simply identifiable as Wan's work. The Conjuring 2 has much more dialogue from Janet, the main isolated child character, than Dalton from Insidious however both play off of the child's isolation in different ways. In the swing scene I have just shown you it was clear from how Janet acted and spoke she felt very alone and was reserved in how she talked to Lorraine, the other character in the scene. It is because of her isolation that she is preyed upon by the supernatural force around which the feature is in fact based.

Projector – Play clip from Annabelle (Young girl awoken) (Item 3)

Presenter – You have now seen clips from all 3 of my main Wan-made films and you may have noticed similarities in not only the character’s portrayal but also the cinematographic itself. Low-key lighting can be discarded as a similarity as it is a standard horror convention and is therefore present in in 99% of horror films. Wan particularly enjoys playing on the human senses in his pieces as he rarely shows what you should be scared of until the end of the scene, by which point you’re question yourself…Are you scared of the monster or the anticipation of the possible jumpscare? Wan’s high frequency use of mid-shots on his isolated characters is interesting as they show space around them where nothing is lurking which should make the scene less scary for the audience when in fact it somehow manages to add to the effect. Wan is one of the only more recent horror directors to be able to achieve this.

Projector – Play Slash Film interview clip (Item 7)

Presenter - In the interview you have just seen, Wan makes it clear that he is a fan of long takes in his horror films as they build suspense. Does this make him an auteur? Perhaps not. But it is undeniable to say that even if you only watch Insidious and The Conjuring 2 you can tell that they have a sense of familiarity to them that you can’t quite put your finger on until you in fact realise they’re both directed by James Wan. A combination of lighting, tracking shots and building eerie music are all standard Wan conventions.

Projector – Play “James Wan: Sound and Suspense” (Item 10)

Projector - Play “How Wan conjures up a scare” (Item 11)

Presenter- As previously mentioned, Wans signature style is clear here. Specific music cues using the same waterphone sounds to build tension and heighten suspense within the audience. These particular noises are most commonly used by him when showing the isolation of the child characters in the creepier scenes. This link with child isolation and the music is important to note as when we later hear the waterphone sounds our brains picks out Wan’s horror movie franchises like some sort of pop up ad.

Projector – Play waterphone video (Item 12) (10 seconds)

Projector – Play interview “Director James Wan discusses Insidious”

Presenter - The main point you may or may not have picked up on was that Wan said he shoots films as if they were from his perspective. They've got to scare him in order for him to see them as effective to any degree. By putting himself into the eyes of his characters he connects with his work and truly makes it his own creation. Wan's use of isolated children could possibly be attributed to his strange upbringing. He was born in Malaysia and is of Malaysian-Chinese descent, later in life he moved to Perth in Australia and gained Australian citizenship. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he plans the majority of his films. Due to this erratic movement early on in life it could be said that he felt/feels isolated as a child because of moving to such different communities in a relatively short time frame. Wan portrays himself through his films by using isolated children to depict the fear and loneliness of his youth. In the that interview he also mentions Saw, a franchise that has not been included in this debate thus far as Wan himself calls it a thriller, not a horror. The differences between Saw and Wan’s horror flicks are evident in every possible way, from characters to lighting to setting…the list goes on.

Projector – Play clip from Insidious (Dalton at the hospital) (Item 2)

Presenter – Even in the scenes where there are no particular horror factors like in this clip, Dalton’s isolation from not only his family but everyone is evident as a) he is in a coma, obviously, and b) the literal glass wall separating him from the rest of humanity it seems. The initial separation from people sets a precedent for the rest of the film as it is not until the towards the end Dalton is seen not only with his family but in the same shot as him therefore showing a sense of connection between them. This elaborate kind of isolation really supports my motion of James Wan being an auteur as no other critically-acclaimed, original idea based horror films from other directors perform in this manner.

Projector - Play clip from The Conjuring 2 (The Wilkins’ interview) (Item 1)

Presenter- As seen in a previous interview you have been shown, this particular clip is extraordinary in its shooting as although Janet is in a relatively small room with several other people, when she is shown on camera she looks distant from the rest of the characters. This incredibly long take shows Janet partly in the background behind Ed throughout the interview using a shallow depth of field to show the physical and mental separation between them. This scene has a cinematographic charm to it as it is so simple yet so effective. Nowhere else in the horror film industry will you find a sequence that this is based until, as an individual piece it is impressive but as part of a feature length film it is extraordinary! Wan really takes the time to connect with his actors in order to pull of a piece like this without it looking cheap and tacky. A book by the name of The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead: A Mortal's Guide to Making Horror Movies (Item 4) contains a short interview with Wan where he explains how he believes that in order to truly connect with the story and the camera he speaks to the actors as though they were their characters, as if he were method acting but...method directing.

Speakers - Play waterphone music (audio only) (5 seconds) (Item 12)

Presenter - I bet you all thought about Insidious just then right?! Point proven. Ignoring the obvious observes paradox by the fact I only told you minutes ago that you would think of Wan’s movies upon hearing that sound, you should now understand what I mean about the brain’s easy association. As this presentation now draws to a close I hope you all now appreciate James Wan’s use of isolated children in his horror films and will notice the trends throughout his works that rightly award him the unofficial title of auteur. Thank you for listening. 

Chunking Express (35)

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?


In the second half of the film officer 633 is shown drinking a cup of black coffee in smudge notion. He moves in un-edited slow motion whilst the world around him is sped up dramatically. This effect shows the large importance of time within the film. It suggests that 633 is stuck in the past and does not want to change; with contextual knowledge it is possible to link 663's actions to the fact that at the time the movie was filmed Hong Kong was in nearing to its handover from British rule to Chinese.

Westernisation is evident within the film as in many of the shots there are McDonald's logos and the fact that the Midnight Express, the main focal point of the film, serves no real Chinese food. The menu includes such items as fish and chips, pizza and chef's salad.

Time is clearly seen throughout the entire film and is considered the main factor. Shots of a digital clock are frequent and and in the first story the cans of pineapples are date marked to further solidify the idea of time passing but things staying the same.

The impact of this film is only effective if the audience are aware of the social context at the time but can also make them think of changes in their own lives such as past relationships.

City of God (35)

ATTEMPT 1

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

The cinematographic techniques used within City of God depict the character of Rocket as a person who is trying to escape the crime within the fevela. Whist everyone is shooting with guns, he shoots with a camera in order to capture the truth behind the gang warfare and thus discovering the truth in the corruption of the police force. Rocket tries throughout the film to evade crime through his choices.

In the scene where Rocket is thinking about holding up and stealing from a shop he changes his mind after the girl behind the counter give him her number. This signifies that love can drastically change situations, unfortunately Rocket later on smokes the paper that the number was written on showing that drugs come between possibilities for a better life in the fevelas.

Life is very different outside of the fevelas as is shown by the scene in which rocket is shouting at Marina in the office for stealing his pictures. Marina, being a woman, would be expected to cower and apologise to Rocket if she was from the fevelas where women are more like second class citizens. In this scene Marina actively fights back against Rocket and then offers for him to stay at her house for the night. Events unfold and the two end up sleeping together. In earlier scenes of the film the men are always the ones to initiate sex whereas here Marina is the one who says "there is only one bed so you're sleeping with me".

ATTEMPT 2

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

One of the main points about City of God's cinematographic techniques is that the entire film is filmed in a way that immerses the audience in its world. This is achieved through several clever tactics, one of these being that the film is shot to represent a hand held camera. The camera itself becomes an entity and the entity is as scared and confused as the rest of the residents are within the film. There are several instances where the camera double takes and looks around its environment, not for the audience but because it is acting as the audience. 

There are many characters in the film that all, at some point, have interacted with each other be it in the present or in a flashback; everyone is somehow linked. It is this use of a large cast that gives the piece verisimilitude. The sense of realism is evident throughout the film as, even though it is a non-linear narrative, it spans across 15 years. As we watch the characters grow so does the city. There is no clear plot but instead just follows the lives of a large amount of residents. 

La Haine (35)

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

Scene: Opening scene

The impact La Haine has on the viewer depends not only on the subject matter but also on the use of several distinctive film techniques. The cinematography of this film is highly innovative as there are several scenes in which the the movie is shot in a way that makes the viewer believe they're seeing someone other than what is really there. It was a low budget movie but it still managed to impact on the audience through clever techniques such as fake mirrors, time markers and a sense of documentary authenticity.

In the opening sequence the entire credits are shown over real footage of riots with the song Burning and Looting by Bob Marley playing non-diegetically over it. The use of real footage gives a larger impact on the viewer as it gives the later story a sense of meaning and realism to the world. All footage used was in black and white, this removes racial divisions and points the focus more towards the social class issues. The riots would have been a terrifying experience to witness but with the music choice it not only relates to the original story of the film but also mellows out the mood as if these riots were normalised after they had happened. Being portrayed by the media in this documentary style mood, the audience is impacted substantially by beginning to understand the problems and differences between stereotypical Paris and the real Paris.

In a later scene, Vinz, Said and Hubert are sitting around together quietly and bored in a park together for hours on end. A news van shows up and begin recording; the footage they're recording is shown in order to represent how the media view the youth of the time. The media do not care that the boys were causing no trouble, they needed some footage that presented youths from the projects as malicious and violent so they provoked Vinz and only used parts of what he said in order to twist his words into a new meaning and further demolish what little respect the underprivileged youth had left from middle class society. This impacts on the viewer as they begin to realise that not everthing the see on the news should be taken as face value. The way this scene is shot links to the opening credits in a documentary style, although it is of course not real documentary footage is it filmed as if it could be. The camera is always watching them from a slight distance or from behind in order to make the documentary style of filming a reality and further comparing the film to the original Paris riots.

La Haine - Short task

Bleak - Throughout the film the outlook for the three main characters looks pretty bleak as no matter where they go there is violence and a lack of safety. Even at the end of the film when the day is ending for them Vinz is killed, Hubert's fate is unknown and Said is left alone to witness the shooting of one or both of his best friends.

Sexist - The boys from the estate don't know how to speak to women respectfully, apart from Hubert who is slightly more gentlemanly due to the fact he is the father figure in his family and speaks to his mother with respect in contrast to Vinz who acts incredibly rude towards his grandmother. In the art gallery scene where Hubert approaches two women in an attempt to set up Said the conversation starts of respectful and ends up with screaming and shouting sexist remarks towards them. Throughout the film only a small number of women are seen and they're all in a position of lower status compared to the men.

Real - Not every story has a happy ending, especially in real life. La Haine portrays real aspects of life in the projects with constant conflict from police and from other citizens. The film tackles hard-hitting subjects like police brutality, corruption and drugs which are all aspects of an underprivileged upbringing. In the scene where the boys go to Paris and Hubert and Said are caught by the police and subsequently abused by them in custody it represents the corruption that goes on behind closed doors when too much power is given to the wrong people, a problem that probably occurs more often than you would hear about.

Tense - In the final scene where Vinz lies dead on the ground and Hubert is pointing the gun at the police officer that shot him there is a high tension in the air. Any slight movement could see the end of someones life and Said knows this. He looks on from behind the two with fearful eyes and when a single shot is heard the screen goes black. Without knowing who it was that died, if it was Hubert, the police officer or both, the tense atmosphere is held.

Reflective analysis - The Meeting

My goal was to create a photo-storyboard depicting the ending sequence of a psychological horror called 'The Meeting'. My target audience was between the ages of 16 and 25 as they are the main movie goers of the horror genre. Through my use of micro features I believe I represented this genre to a good standard by adhering to the conventions. If my storyboard was used to create the scene physically I personally think that it would hold the tense atmosphere I strove to project. The sequence plays on the idea of meeting your own inner demon as if it were a physical being and closely links to a stalker type theme as the main character is trying to escape from their past.

In order to convey the apparent tranquility, the first two shots have no non-diegetic sound; birds tweeting can be heard in the background to symbolize nature and calm. I selected the wooded area shown as it fits the forest setting that is well-known within the horror genre and can create a suspense within an audience if shot well. The fact that the shots are so quiet create a sense of realism and make the sequence come across more genuine. The character looking highly uncomfortable makes one interested in the story line I believe; this is because due to the mysterious nature of the surrounding area and unknown background of the character.

Non-diegetic music comes into play by the 3rd shot; a low beating sound that appears to be building shows the once tranquil scene to start to become more sinister. The low beat aims to symbolize a steady heartbeat and if done again I would add a heartbeat sound instead of the music to make it more obvious. The noise disrupts the setting and adds an unsettling air to the sequence. It is not until later on that the high pitched string music makes an appearance as it fits the conventions of the horror genre and builds tension. As the character runs through the woods, leaves can be heard crunching underfoot; this represents the calm nature being destroyed by panic. I think if I had to re-do the photography for this shot I would possibly add some ominous looking mist in the distance as if something was behind the character. Tracking the character during this shot adds a feeling that they're being chased or followed by something, or someone.

The shift from natural lighting to low-key lighting during shots 5 and 6 implies that the mood has now become more sinister and the character could face a danger of some sort. Low-key lighting triggers fear as not all areas are fully visible. Shot 6 is of the building itself; although it is only a dilapidated old shed it looks a lot bigger and scarier due to it being shot from a low-angle. The shed, I feel, because of its dark colour palette adds depth to the mise-en-scene as darkness represents evil. Upon entering the building it should become apparent to the audience of the evil presence as not only is the lighting low-key but also has a glowing red tinge quality to it. Another thing that perfectly fits the horror genre is the animals used within the sequence; snakes and spiders are two of the most iconic horror creatures so their inclusion was a must. These animals should enact some sort of fear within the audience as arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias.

The types of shots I used effectively exhibited the most important features of the shots I believe. The over the shoulder shot makes the audience feel as if they were perhaps cowering behind the character thus feeling more involved whilst extreme close-ups, for example on the eyes in shots 13 and 14, allow the audience to see minute details and further connect with the characters.

Due to the fact the whole point of the sequence is that you're meeting your inner demon it would make sense that your inner demon looked like an evil version of yourself. Therefore I edited two of myself in different outfits into the shot so that the differences between them are clear. The main character is wearing a white t-shirt to symbolize purity and good whilst their demon is in all black with a large snake around their neck to represent evil. With better editing equipment and possibly a green screen I believe this shot could have looked even more realistic. The demon sees in a form of broken thermal vision, this was inspired by the movie Predator; thermal vision gives off a animalistic and hunting vibe.