Group: Research and Analysis Evaluation

FILM ANALYSIS

Shutter Island (Scorsese, 2010)
- Use of music to anchor the on-screen image
- Neo-noir style is interesting and makes the opening more authentic
- We could use both of these in our film opening


What Lies Beneath (Zemicks, 2000)
- Use of slow cutting rate creates and heightens tension
- Selective sound such as breathing sustains the tension
- We could use slow cutting rate in our film opening, however fast cutting rates also build tension


I Am Legend (Lawrence, 2007)
- Creating realistic characters from a realistic cause or purpose, for example infected people instead of zombies to add to the verisimilitude
- We think we will use infected people to make the opening more realistic than using zombies. Also the audience are more likely to feel sympathetic towards infected people rather than zombies (which aren't real)


Dawn of the Dead (Snyder, 2004)
- Fast cutting rate & rhythmic sound heighten tension
- The abscence of sound (silence) connotes fear and hints that something is wrong
- Sound is an important factor to consider for our opening sequence, effective techniques such as silence or music or non-diagetic sound effects will create and build tension


Zombieland (Fleischer, 2009)
- Slow motion shots are effective
- The use of an unconventional hero or heroine is controversial
- The use of voiceover is effective because it sets the scene and introduces the audience to the protagonist, antagonist and characters
- We should consider all three of these points to use in our opening, especially the use of slow motion shots. We could use the program 'Twixtor' to emphasise slow motion and make our opening look semi-professional by raising the production values


28 Days Later (Boyle, 2002)
- Negative representation of zombies as antagonists
- High production values make the opening look professional and cinematic
- We think we will try to make our opening look less like a 'media project' and more like an actual film opening by making it look cinematic


Misfits (Crowe, 2010)
- Industrial look due to buildings, sharp edged architecture and grey, bleak colours
- Desaturated filter which compliments the urban area
- We are going to apply a filter or colour correction to our opening to make it look more authentic, and we are thinking about using an industrial, urban location


The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)
- Clowns (antagonists) given prevalence
- Neo-noire style similar to Shutter Island (Scorsese, 2010)
- We will consider who is given prevalence and whether it will be the protagonists, antagonists or both

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Inception (Nolan, 2010)
- Fast cutting rate creates tension and makes the opening look much more cinematic
- There is movement in almost every shot which also makes the opening look more cinematic but has also showed me that static shots may look amateur and boring

What Lies Beneath (Zemicks, 2000)
- Extremely slow cutting rate (first shot is 1:44) and there are only 4 shots in 2 minutes
- The long duration of shot heightens the tension and entices the audience and is different to most films which have shots of roughly 6 seconds long

28 Days Later (Boyle, 2002)
- The positioning of the camera affects the mood of shot and the audience's perception of the characters
- Low or high angle connotes power or hierarchy