British Board of Film Classification

 The BBFC is an organisation set up to regulate the moving image; such as film, DVD, video and some video games. For some of these, the BBFC is under statutory requirements to classify and regulate under the Video Recordings Act 2010. Despite this, they do not purely regulate the moving image because of statutory designated authority but also because they serve a socially useful function. 

Regulating the moving image gives the public information about it prior to the actual viewing, this potentially protects vulnerable viewers from viewing unsuitable or damaging content. There are a set of guidelines, which are updated every four years, that help the BBFC make appropriate classification decisions. These guidelines are accumulated by extensive public research, consultation and experience. They ask questions concerning issues such as language, discrimination, violence, sex and drugs.

U

This stands for 'universal' and is suitable for all ages to watch and has no restrictions whatsoever.  The BBFC stated that a 'U' film should be suitable for anybody over the age of four, and these films should "be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror."

The BBFC has set a list of things that are permitted in a 'U' rated moving image:-
Theme: Problematic themes must be sensitive and appropriate to the younger audience.

Language: Limited use of very mild 'bad language'.

Nudity: Occasional natural beauty not related to anything sexual.Sex: Mild sexual behaviour and references; eg kissing. 

Violence: Mild violence only.

Imitable techniques: No emphasis on realistic weapons.

Horror: Horror effects should be mild and brief and the outcome should be reassuring.

Drugs: No references to illegal drugs or drug use whatsoever. 

PG

Parental Guidance.

The BBFC stated that this was suitable for an audience over the age of 8, however it is advised that the content of the moving image is still assessed by parents beforehand. The 'PG' rating was created to emphasise that it was the parents decision to what they allowed their children to watch, but it was not required that parents had to watch with them. 

The BBFC has set out a list of things that are permitted in a 'PG' rated moving image:-

Theme: More serious issues are allowed to be included; such as crime, domestic violence, racism etc.

Language: More frequent use of mild 'bad language'.

Nudity: Natural nudity with no sexual references.

Sex: Discrete mild sexual activity can be implied.

Violence: Very little violence may be allowed.

Imitable techniques: No emphasis or glamorisation of weapons. 

Horror: Short frightening sequences may be allowed.

Drugs: No references to illegal drugs or drug use unless shown to be entirely harmless.

12

The BBFC introduced this as they realised there had to be something in between 'PG' and '15' certificates. It was defined as the following:
'Passed only for persons of twelve years and over. No person apparently under the age of 12 years shall be admitted to any exhibition at which there is to be shown any film which has received a '12' certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.'

The BBFC has set out a list of things that are permitted in a '12' rated moving image:-

Theme: Mild mature themes are acceptable.
Language: Occasional use of strong language with justification.
Nudity: Occasional nudity with mild and discrete sexual content.
Sex: Sexual activity may be implied.
Violence: Violence without detail. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly indicated without physical detail.
Imitable techniques: Weapons should not be glamorised and dangerous techniques should not be imitable.
Horror: Sustained threat and menace is permitted..
Drugs: Brief use or reference to mild illegal drug taking (eg cannabis) with justification and including the dangers involved.

12A

This rating overtook the '12' after a 2 week trial in Norwich accompanied by extensive audience research. The set list guidelines are same as the previous rating but persons under the age of twelve are permitted to watch whilst in company of a responsible adult guardian. The definition of a 'responsible adult guardian' is wide-spread and does not strictly have to be the child's parents; it can be another family member or close family friend, too.

15

The '15' certificate is currently defined as the following:-
 'Passed only for persons of fifteen years and over. No person apparently under the age of 15 years shall be admitted to any exhibition at which there is to be shown any film which has received a '15' certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.'

The BBFC has set out a list of things that are permitted in a '15' rated moving image:-
Theme: No theme banned as long as it is suitable for people aged 15.
Language: Frequent use of strong language allowed.
Nudity: Nudity is not prohibited.
Sex: Sexual activities are permitted but with little detail.
Violence: Strong violence permitted, scenes of sexual violence must be brief and discrete.
Imitable techniques: Dangerous combat techniques are unlikely to be acceptable. No emphasis on the use of easily accessible lethal weapons.
Horror: Sustained or detailed infliction of pain or injury is unacceptable.
Drugs: Drug use must not be promoted and clear instructions on consumption is prohibited.

18

The '18' certificate has been defined as the following:-
'Passed only for persons of eighteen years and over. No person apparently under the age of 18 years shall be admitted to any exhibition at which there is to be shown any film which has received a '18' certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.'

The BBFC has set out a list of things that are permitted in a '18' rated moving image:-

Having thoroughly analysed the set guidelines for each of the levels of certificates available for a moving image, I have come to the conclusion that our thriller piece is going to be  rated a 15 certificate. I chose this level of certificate because I believe that the most suitable list of boundaries lies with the '15' more so than any other certificate. Our thriller addresses issues such as kidnap, adultery, violence and danger to such a degree that viewers under the age of 15 may feel vulnerable and find some of the scenes unsettling and damaging. However, I felt that the certificate '18' was unsuitable for our thriller as the potentially unsettling scenes mentioned previously are not presented to such a graphic extent that total teenage viewers are unsuitable.


Ivana

Coen Brothers - 'Barton Fink' Guestbook Shot

In our over-the-shoulder letter shot, we tried to incorporate the Coen Brothers style of filming. Following the style of directing from the well-known ‘Barton Fink’, which showed a close up point of view shot of a spinning guest book. This proved aesthetically pleasing. Whilst the guestbook was being spun, the camera movement was rotating in the opposite direction, making the audience feel contempt with what they were consuming and an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. (0.25-8)

We wanted to transfer this feeling to our audience by using this kind of peculiar filming style in our final piece. We decided to use this in our a shot where our main character was opening a letter, this demonstrates the importance of it and how the ‘normal’ object will play such a significant part to our storyline. Also conforming to the theory that establishes a thriller, which Alfred Hitchcock said to be placing an “ordinary person in an extraordinary situation.”

Original clip of letter

After filming our shot for the first time, when we came to edit we noticed that there was flaring of the camera lens. The camera was unable to adjust to the sudden changes in the light, and the variance in the lighting caused the camera to not catch the shot in the way we intended. The change in light caused the camera to catch the glare through the windowpane and as a result, the letter switched between light and dark, due to the shadowing.

Next clip

We then re-filmed the shot, ensuring the camera flaring would not occur again. We prevented this by keeping the lighting consistent throughout the shot, holding the envelope at a steady angle away from the windowpane, removing the chance of the sunlight and shadows affecting the shot and transferring the chaotic light changes onto the envelope. It is essential to achieve the full potential of this shot as in this part the image of the hostage is revealed, and this is the starting point of where the extraordinary events will begin to occur, shaping the story for the “ordinary” character.

Ivana and Ellie

I-Robot Waking up scene ( 1 min 41 - 3 min 11)

We are filming our opening series in a similar way to how the opening of I-Robot is filmed, in that a series of quick shots that seam unconnected to build a plot line. The fast editing builds tension and create suspense.

(analysed from 1 min 41 - 3 min 11)

The establishing shot of him in a bed uses the Rule of 3, placing his face in the centre of the screen, using the third lines as his side of his head. The eye line if in the top third and chin is in the bottom, so it’s appealing to the audiences’ eye, and watchable. The diagetic off screen alarm clock noise allows the audience to understand that the beginning sequences were a dream or not in the same reality. As he rolls over to reveal the time the mid shot reveals he has a gun showing the opposite side to his character. The lighting used shows the lighting on half his face, showing he has a double personality and has good and bad sides. The next shot uses lighting to show the dark side of the room, and the open door adds suspense and tension. He is on the left side of the screen, using the rule of 3 and his facial expression lets the audience know he’s in pain. The pie in the shot n the side of his bed suggest to the audience his characteristics and tells a story, showing the disorganized personality. It then zooms in and the jump cut to the mid shot, from the back which zooms back out, allowing the audience to appreciate the context, and shows his room and its contents zooming out to a long shot. This shows his everyday lifestyle and what his normality is. The eerie parallel non-diagetic soundscape creates tension and suspense and keeps the audience watching. There is then a straight cut to a low angle of him and also using the lighting to place him above the audience. His right shoulder is highlighted evoking how the story has a dark and light side, zooming in and stressing his strength and muscular tone. The straight cut to the stereo exposes it playing ‘superstitious,’ which is contrapuntal to go with the ‘tension’ building aspects of the film and makes the audience question. The song suggests faith in magic and chance and links to irrational thoughts, evoking the tone of the film and how the storyline is twisted and illogical. The rule of thirds allows is again used to position the stereo in the centre if the shot and the lighting cast a shadow, linking to the ‘superstitious’ and peculiar choice of song.  The next shot is a high angled swooping shot tilting to a low angle to show him eating and to show his power. it then cuts to him doing weights, showing his power and masculinity. The empty look on his face suggests he is stuck in a rut in his life and that the storyline will take him out of his normality and into as the narrative theory states, out of normality into ‘disequilibrium.’ His straight arm horizontally abducting shows his strength and power, reinforced by the low and age of the mid shot. The tracking shot across the apartment goes across the pole in the room, showing how it’s cutting into a different situation. His strong pose in the shower shows his masculinity and the lighting behind evokes his almost angelic and god-like, showing his superior. The gun on the shower rail shows he’s threatening and how he lacks trust. It zooms to a low angled close up, showing him singing along with water dripping off his face. The fact he’s singing on shows his normality but still appears threatening. The next shot is a bird’s eye view of his room shows he lives alone from the single armchair and suggests he might feel lonely at times but can’t show it due to the fact he must put on a ‘tough guy’ front. The next shot shows his converses, an expensive brand of shoes, mainly worn by younger people, evoking his youth that he cares about his style and appearance. There is a straight cut to a mid shot of him admiring the converses. The grey plain jumper demonstrates his simple style and grey suggests a dark or sinister side to him. Then there’s a slow zoom, cutting to a close up of his foot, whilst he neatly ties his shoe.  The tilting shot then goes t his face, from a low angle where he says ‘thing of beauty’ which is the only dialogue in the whole intro. The final shot is of him walking down the stairs. It pans round to reveal him with a long coat and that on showing his business like character.

We are using a similar filming style for our introduction to introduce the character and set the scene. This allows the audience to establish the setting and understand the context of the film, whilst getting to know the main character as a whole.  Before watching I-Robot, we had the idea to film a series of quick shots of him getting up in the morning, using quick editing to building tension. The first shot is of the alarm clock, showing him waking up, similar to in I-Robot. The rule of thirds is used, with the clock at a slight tilt making it appealing to the eye and easy to watch. The red table in the shot shows danger and evokes panic. In I-Robot, the alarm clock was red, also showing the danger and panic. Next we have a series of waking up shots, none of which show our actors face to create a sense of mystery. In initial ideas, we had the thought of having a digital alarm, coming on to the radio, and an upbeat parallel upbeat song, showing how the mood drastically changes. We decided we would refer an analogue clock, to evoke the type of old-fashioned, slightly dim, bit-of-a-loser, unlucky type of character, which is very different o the character portrayed by will smith. And by using a similar style of shots it allows the audience to establish the characteristics he possesses and what makes him who he is. We didn’t want his to be turning on a stereo and so decided the song playing would be better to be non-diageticly, and he would get ready in silence. When we filmed it we only had a few clips, showing him waking up to the alarm, taking his feet out of bed, and then a shot of the shower. We then had him pouring breakfast when the letter comes through the post. From watching I-Robot, it was evident we needed more clips of longer clips to make it more effective, filming in a similar style to that. The entire wake up scenario from I-Robot lasts approximately 90 seconds, whereas ours was only about 30 seconds long. We decided to add in more clips, also allowing us to re-film the letter part.

Ellie

Semiotics and Binary Opposition

Semiotics

Semiotics suggests how an idea or concept is portrayed through signs, symbols and motifs. A semantic field shows how many words are linked together through a semantic field, which all suggest a recurring theme throughout the text or film. The Cohen brothers used a lot of motifs and symbols to suggest a hidden topic or theme through the film. Often the words in the semantic field are binary opposites and for example a semantic field of money might have (wealth, poverty and capital), where wealth and poverty are binary opposites.

Binary opposition

Binary opposition is the way a word has meaning, and how these meaning are associated with them, the positive and negative connotations evoke how a word is understood. It is used in the media and in literature and is often used in poems to demonstrate controversy and conflict in ideas, a theory introduced by Claude Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes.
In filming, it is a common dramatic technique used to bring 2 ideas together and using the difference to suggest possibility or conflict.
The meaning assigned to a word is ‘culturally constructed’ and so a word has more meaning when you consider its opposite, and the connotations of the word, brings more meaning than the word itself. For example ‘hero’ and ‘coward’ these words are binary opposites and using one with the other provides some of the core meaning, and each meaning is ‘shaped’ by the opposite lexis, for example the way the youth is viewed and represented in a film, changes dramatically through how the idea of old age. A poor person might be judged and looked down upon and the negative stereotypes associated with the poor are reinforced and maintained through the ideas associated with being wealthy, and how everyone would rather be wealthy than poor. Masculinity is often more valued than femininity. And this is an example of how 1 side of the opposition tends to be viewed slightly higher than the other. Jacques Derride recognized why we judge one side of the opposition more than the other, finding that one of the words is more culturally ‘marked’ as being positive and one can be ‘unmarked’ so has less positivity or can be ‘marked’ negatively. For example, one word can be more privileged, shown in the table.

This shows how they represent reality but labels represent the directors version of reality, and what they want to portray, showing they’re ideological, they act to reinforce judgments.

Strong Weak

Dominant Submissive

Active Passive

Truth Lies

Calm Moody

Tough Gentle

Logical Emotional

Peaceful Aggressive

Examples

Hot fuzz uses binary opposition between old and young, the children cling onto what the policeman is saying, showing his authority over them.

In the ugly truth, binary opposition between male and female is evident, showing how Gerand Butler feels he is superior and manipulates women.

In the freedom writers, the binary opposition of black against white shows the battle against racism and the freedom and justice that they deserve, which white people just acquire.

In our film, we are using binary opposition through masculinity and femininity, similar to in Mr and Mrs Smith. The hostage is a female icy blonde, a choice often used by Alfred Hitch-cock, and the male character at the beginning who then manipulates the two women, suggesting he feels he is superior to them. We also use the binary opposition in the dark and light, as the hostage is filmed in darkness, with the use of light spotlighted on her face, showing she's a good character shoved into a bad, dark situation and the lighting shows her good side.

Ellie.

Vladimir Propp's Narrative Theory

Vladimir Propp's narrative theory was created in the early twentieth Century. It involved the analysis of Russian folk tales, breaking them down into their simplest and irreducible narrative forms. After analysing 100 folk tales, he discovered that all of the evident characters could be categorised into 8 broad types of different characters:

1. The Villain - Struggles against the hero.
2. The Dispatcher - Character who informs the hero on lack and sends him on his quest.
3. The (magical) Helper - Helps hero during quest.
4. The Princess/Prize - Hero deserves to marry her, but cannot throughout the film because of the villain, often the quest is ended with the Hero and the Princess getting married.
5. Her Father - Gives Hero task and identifies False Hero, Propp noted that the Princess and the Father cannot be clearly distinguished.
6. The Donor - Prepares the Hero
7. The Hero or Victim/ Seeker Hero - Reacts to the donor and gets married to the Princess
8. False Hero - In order to marry the Princess, he takes credit for the Heroes actions to impress her.

Despite clearly stating the different categories of characters found in tales, Propp did not state that these had to apply to every one separate character; the villain could also be the father etc. Using Propp's theory, when a character has been correctly identified within a story, it is always predictable to what that character will do throughout, as each character has a sphere of action. After the initial situation is depicted, any story can be broken down into 31 different functional sections that supposedly incorporated all of the plot components that a story needed. According to Propp, a cohesive story can be created by the use of these 31 functional sections.

1. Absentation
- This section usually includes a member of a family to leave the security of their home. The instant division of family/lack of security at such an early stage in the film immediately injects the storyline with tension. This particular character usually ends up being the hero/heroin of the story, and usually returns to rescue a member of their family. The hero will be shown as an ordinary person in this section but will be perceived in a different way after they overcome a courageous situation and prove everyone they are the rightful heroes.
2. Interdiction
- The hero or main character is given an interdiction and warned against doing something. An example of this would be where there is a sign prohibiting access to a particular place, and at this point the hero has to decide whether to carry on in his quest or not. The hero always ends up taking the prohibited/dangerous route, this helps arise suspense for the viewers.
3. Violation of Interdiction
- When the hero has entered the prohibited place, the villain is introduced. This usually results in misfortune and involves many obstacles for them to overcome. The whereabouts of the villain is not always clear to the hero; this is because usually the villain is lurking around without hero knowing. Another probable situation is to place the villain at the heroes’ family home threatening to cause harm to the family members.
4. Reconnaissance
- The villain attempts to reconnaissance. Usually, the villain tries to find valuable family possessions or even take the children or young family members to obtain desired information. Children are often taken because they are perceived to be vulnerable and helpless, which may be the villains’ tactful thinking as he can obtain the desired information with ease. This also gives the chance for the hero to shine as he can save them from the evil grasp of the villain. However, this technique is often undertaken by the villain to lure the hero into confrontation and result in the meeting of the two vital characters.
5. Delivery
-Villain seeks to meet hero, already knowing why he is special. At this point the villain receives some of the acquired information, usually through the innocent and frightened family member.
6. Trickery
-Often at this particular point the villain and hero/victim have yet to meet, or have only briefly met prior to this point. Tricking takes place in this section, usually this includes gaining the confidence of the hero/victim by using tactful tricks and disguises. This is done to fool the hero/victim into the villain is in actual fact a friend. At this point the villain has also taken somebody close to the hero/victim as a hostage and requires the hero to supply the villain with certain information or possessions.
7. Complicity
-Hero/victim is taken in by the villains’ disguises and deception. Due to the false confidence that has been provided by the villain they naively help him without knowing that the information he is obtaining from them is working against the good.
8. Villainy or Lack
-Either friend of hero or family member desire or lack something that can be provided by the villain. Villain usually offers what is desired in exchange of some important information on the hero. An alternative to this is that usually the villain inflicts pain onto one of the characters closest to the hero. This can range from forced marriage to death.
9. Mediation
- Villainy or lack is discovered or made known to the hero.
10. Beginning Counter-action
-At this point, the ordinary person needs to make an important decision which will set out a course of strenuous obstacles that will define the mantle of heroism.
11. Departure
- Hero leaves home.
12. First Function of Donor
- The donor tests, interrogates and attacks the hero which allows preparation to defeat the villain.
13. Hero's Reaction
-Hero reacts to what is being inflicted by future donor/helper; this could be by failing tests presented to the hero or even refusal to submit entirely.
14. Receipt of Magical Element
- Hero acquired consumption of a magical element.
15. Guidance
- Heroes location changed to lead onto whereabouts of an object of the search.
16. Struggle
- The hero rebels and forms situation that leads to a confrontation with the villain, which usually results in direct combat.
17. Branding
- The hero is 'branded' by the villain during the combat; this is usually a serious wound that leads the audience to believe that the villain may win the battle. This helps arise suspense and tension for the audience.
18. Victory
- After 'branding' the hero somehow finds it within him to gather enough strength to defeat the villain and claim his rightful victory.
19. Liquidation
- The villainy or lack is resolved or overcome by the defeat of the villain and normality is replaced.
20. Return
- After the quest is over, the hero returns to his family home.
21. Pursuit
- On the way back to his home, the hero is pursued. The pursuer usually intends on killing or seriously harming the hero.
22. Rescue
- The hero is rescued from the pursuer; this is sometimes done by using obstacles and delaying the pursuer or by the hero going into hiding.
23. Unrecognised Arrival
- Hero is placed in an unfamiliar place, usually in another country, where he is unrecognised.
24. Unfounded Claims
- The false hero is now introduced, interpreting original heroes’ acts.
25. Difficult Task
- The hero is proposed with difficult tasks to prove that he is who he claims to be. This can be done through various tests and riddles.
26. Solution
-The tasks and riddles proposed to the hero are successfully overcome and his identity is reclaimed.
27. Recognition
- The hero is recognised, usually through the 'branding' earlier inflicted by villain.
28. Exposure
- False hero is finally exposed by the real hero.
29. Transfiguration
- The hero is given a new appearance; this is usually done by the use of new garments resulting from his courageous act.
30. Punishment
- Villain/False Hero is punished. This is usually done by imprisonment or banishment.
31. Wedding
- Hero marries and is rewarded for completing the torturous quest and overcoming the villain and other evil characters.
Despite being so detailed, Propp's theory remains heavily criticised. This is partially because it fails to take into account the fact that there are many contributions to change functions and character types within a narrative. Despite the fact that folk tales are usually oral, it removes all verbal considerations alongside tone, mood, character and anything that comprehends one story to another. However, his task was not to find elements which made each storyline different, but to find the typical basis that built up a suspense-filled narrative structure.

Despite being so detailed, Propp's theory remains heavily criticised. This is partially because it fails to take into account the fact that there are many contributions to change functions and character types within a narrative. Despite the fact that folk tales are usually oral, it removes all verbal considerations alongside tone, mood, character and anything that comprehends one story to another. However, his task was not to find elements which made each storyline different, but to find the typical basis that built up a suspense-filled narrative structure.

Hitchcock's Film Theories in 'Rope'.

There are many theories and techniques that directors use within their thriller films to create tension and suspense for the viewer to ensure the movie is engaging. Some of the best thriller directors such as Alfred Hitchcock use techniques such as specific and specially selected camera angles to kept he viewer interested in the film as the plot slowly unwinds and unfolds. For example, a classic theory that Hitchcock used and that we have adopted for our thriller movie , is the pull focus technique. In Hitchcock’s film ‘Rope’ , he constantly switch focus between the chest and dinner party proceeding behind it , to continuously remind the viewer that one of the main characters has been murdered in the box. The image below has been taken from the film ‘Rope’ and displays how Hitchcock combines the aspect s of two separate events, a murder and a formal dinner party, in the same shot using the pull focus technique:

Another theory that Hitchcock adopted within his films was the Auteur theory. This suggests that when a director is filming , the content of the movie reflects that of the directors creative vision. If the author (Auteur) of the film is a strong director , he portrays his own visions and creative ideas within the production. However if weak , they use outside inspiration and ideas to influence the content of the movie. Hitchcock is seen as a ‘strong’ director and he uses this style in many ways throughout his productions. His views could be seen clearly by both the way in which his stories were told , and by the mise en scene throughout his pictures. For example, Hitchcock uses the reoccurring theme of building tension within a film slowly , until it is expected by the viewer. However, Hitchcock does not release the tension at this point, yet waits until a further place in the movie where the release of tension is not expected. In ‘Rope’ Hitchcock’s murderous characters Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan begin to be questioned by Rupert Cadell. Following Hitchcock’s build of tension then the suspended release of it , Rupert questions the pair intensely and it seems as though he will find out the secret they have been hiding for the duration of the dinner party. Just as the viewer feels Rupert has unearthed the murder, the tension is released and saved until a further place in the film.

Another theory that Hitchcock adopted along with his Auteur theory is a formalist film theory. The formalist theory is the technical elements of a film , for example the lighting , soundscape and set design. The formalist theory is closely linked with mise en scène of a film. This theory further breaks down into ‘Hitchcockian themes’ which Hitchcock used regularly in his films to convey his creative visions ( Auteur theory). For example, Hitchcock uses Hitchcockian themes such as violence when unexpected, and the ‘cool blonde’ character such as in ‘Rear Window’ (Grace Kelly). Hitchcock uses the lighting in his films to convey his creative ideas. In ‘Rope’ the apartment the movie takes place in has dim lighting , whilst the background ( city skyline) is bright and vibrant.  This gives the effect that although everything seems well and good on the surface , darkness and suspense lies below. The image shown previously illustrates the dull and soft colours used on the props , whilst the sky scrapers lights span across the background. In our thriller, we will use a weak directors stance on Auteur theory , as we are attempting to incorporate Hitchcock’s views and ideas into our production.

Hitchcock also uses a film theory called the ‘Macguffin’ in his productions. This technique is a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of the movie forward. The Macguffin is an aspect of the film (e.g an object or conclusion) to which the characters will sacrifice anything to obtain. In ‘Rope’ Brandon and Phillip are trying to obtain victory and survival throughout their hosted dinner party. The pair have placed David Kently in the chest and invited others to their apartment in an attempt to challenge the ‘perfection of their crime. Their ‘Macguffin’ is therefore to survive the night and prove to themselves that they have created the perfect crime , therefore feeling victorious . In our media production , the Macguffin of the film is for our leading actor to solve the mystery of the crime and find the kidnapped woman. He will need to overcome the potential threats that stand in his way as the story unfolds and reaches a  climatic ending.

Alfred Hitchcock also uses a lot of cinematic experimentation within his films. In ‘Rope’ he experimented with the camera shots to make the film appear as one long take to the audience. This gives the production a more flowing feel and creates tension as it tricks the viewer into believing the chest is in every shot. Similarly in our film , we experimented with camera shots to create an appropriate mood to the opening scene up until tension arises. For example, we tried to create a seamless camera shot whilst the actor picks the letter out of the post and opens it by using an over the shoulder shot. This gives the impression that the audience is right in the room with the character and therefore should feel similar emotional ties to the leading actor as he unveils the hostage picture.

Another theme used is Hitchcock’s ability to blur the distinctions between the innocent and the guilty. Although , Brandon and Phillip are the murderers within the film , the viewer finds themselves developing an emotion attachment to the pair , and a willingness for them to succeed is felt toward them. This therefore creates a haze into who is the hero or villain of the film. The images below first shows the two placing David into the chest and then later in the film , being interrogated by Rupert. The two show the distinct change in emotion felt by the viewer as by the second shot, the viewers hae learnt more about the characters and changed their perspective on the film:

The film that we are producing also aims to merge the good/bad characters in a number of scenes. For example , the main characters boss is first shown attempting to help him , yet as the plot evolves it becomes clear that the letter was in fact placed through the actors letterbox by the boss and the clear distinction between innocent and guilty is therefore challenged.

In conclusion , Alfred Hitchcock uses many film theories and techniques such as the Auteur and Formalist theories to engage with the viewer. The suspense he creates in films allows the viewer to feel part of the production and connect emotionally to the film and its actors alike. This is why our media production is aiming to re-create some of the themes that Hitchcock has adopted and perfected meticulously through his experienced years in filmmaking. We hope to adopt the strategy that Hitchcock did , where the audiences views on the characters are constantly challenged and changed as this keeps the viewer entertained throughout the production.

Mitchell.

Establishing Shots

The establishing shot is usually only a few seconds long, takes place at the beginning of a film, and is generally demonstrated with a medium or long shot. The establishing shot in any type of media is believed to be a fundamentally important part as it sets up a scene/setting for the audience and is usually a wide or distant shot which informs them on the situation, the location and surroundings of the upcoming text. It is also sometimes used to introduce certain characters or symbols which have little to no meaning to the viewer whatsoever, however these usually appear throughout the text and the importance of these is usually made clearer whilst it is being consumed. Recently, establishing shots have been in decline, a major reason for this is to avoid losing tension in mysterious texts, where they try to obscure a scene and characters to make them come across as they are something else to what they really are, thus skipping the establishing shot to avoid any type of clarification to the viewers. 

Alfred Hitchcock's film 'Psycho' (1960) was one of the first major thrillers and turned into the basis of which all thrillers followed. At the beginning of the film, Hitchcock incorporated the credits and did so in such a way that made the audience wonder about the upcoming film. For the text he used three colours, black, grey and white. These three colours where separated and came together using a 'jagged' effect, almost portraying the split personalities of the character all merge into one, adding mystery in the viewers mind even before the film has begun. When the title of the film comes onto the screen the 'jagged' effect is more abrupt and harsh, illustrating that the film that is about to be watched has many twists and turns and this is done to make the audience feel uneasy and make them more curious to what the film entails.

The use of the vertical lines within the credits is incorporated into introducing the first scene, the establishing shot. In this particular film, the establishing shot is an extreme long-shot of a highly industrialised city which is at a slight high angle. This shot is used in many thrillers and is done so to familiarise the audience to the overall settings and surroundings of the film. After the abrupt and harsh portrayal of the title of the film, showing the establishing shot in a high-angle shows that the city is somewhat vulnerable, and the use of this portrayal encourages the viewers imagination to start making assumptions to what is going to take place within this film.

We have decided to use a fairly similar start to the thriller we are going to compose in our main task. We have taken the element of beginning credits from Alfred Hitchcock, but have decided to use a symbol as our establishing shot instead of having a long shot of the setting or surroundings. We decided to start our thriller with an alarm clock slowly ticking until the morning alarm is activated, instead of the usual surrounding long shot, as the time is going to be a reoccurring theme throughout our thriller; to increase tension and give the viewers the ongoing impression that time is quickly running out. I believe that using a concept rather than a location is more effective as it can be portrayed into many different ways depending on the audience consuming it. 

Preliminary task

For our preliminary task we tried to use the 180- degree rule, to enable the audience to visually connect with the characters. The 180 degree rule is shown in this diagram, and when filming you must try and stay on either the red side of the green side, to stop the characters appear to be moving around the screen.

For the establishing shot we had a hand, appearing to open a door. We found that the sound was good as we got the ‘unlocking’ of the door to be loud and build tension, however the cut between the door opening and the steadi-cam camera entering the room wasn’t smooth and the straight cut appeared jumpy, when we wanted an invisible cut. The ‘hostage’ section was quick and the variety of shot angles and types with fast editing to create tension and build suspense. The red coloured lighting was to evoke the danger of the situation and the blood on the hand of the person when opening the door.  The situation wasn’t really explained and we hoped this would build tension and create anxiety.

The dialogue exchanged left an unknown to create and apprehensive atmosphere. The over the shoulder shot allowed the audience to relate to the situation. The confusion of the hostage appearing to be normal makes the audience question what was going on and want to know the rest of the plot line. The birds-eye view shot of the spinning tape makes and interesting view for the audience and evokes the coen brothers’ style of direction and filming.

The only sound was diagetic and therefore seams more realistic. We were going to add a backing track, but it made it sound fake and created a loss of tension and so so we decided it would be better without it.

Ellie.

Our Style Of Filming

In the beginning of our clip, we used a series of cutscenes to show the sequence of the main character during his daily morning routine, with things such as; showering, brushing teeth etc. and we did this by using fast cuts of the equipment, without ever seeing the characters face, as it isnt important towards the story, as we progressed with this idea, we noticed it had been used before in movies such as shaun of the dead, in this scene we see close ups of objects such as the feet in the car, and the finger on the doorbell. this will add emphasis towards to motion of the characters and their decisions in the story.

Analysis of Rope (1948)

Rope is a 1948 American crime film based on the play Rope (1929), and was directed by Alfred
Hitchcock. It is the first of Hitchcock's Technicolor films, and is notable for taking place in real time
and being edited so as to appear as a single continuous shot through the use of long takes.

The film opens with two collegial friends murdering a classmate for the purpose of an intellectual
exercise: they want to prove their superiority by committing the “perfect murder”. They then hide
the body inside an antique wooden chest; the two friends Phillip and Brandon subsequently host a
dinner party at their apartment, which has a panoramic Manhattan skyline view. The guests include
the victim’s father. Brandon uses the chest as a dining table for the guests. In this subtle move, when
the guests arrive, Brandon utters the phrase “Now the fun begins”. In this short segment of the film,
we see the chest as a motif; it is almost always in the camera’s view and acts for many purposes
throughout the film.

Segment	Length	Time-Code	Start	Finish
1	09:34	00:02:30	CU (Close-Up), strangulation	Blackout on Brandon's back
2	07:51	00:11:59	Black, pan off Brandon's back	CU Kenneth: "What do you mean?"
3	07:18	00:19:45	Unmasked cut, men crossing to Janet	Blackout on Kenneth's back
4	07:08	00:27:15	Black, pan off Kenneth's back	CU Phillip: "That's a lie."
5	09:57	00:34:34	Unmasked cut, CU Rupert	Blackout on Brandon's back
6	07:33	00:44:21	Black, pan off Brandon's back	Three shot
7	07:46	00:51:56	Unmasked cut, Mrs. Wilson: "Excuse me, sir."	Blackout on Brandon
8	10:06	00:59:44	Black, pan off Brandon	CU Brandon's hand in gun pocket
9	04:37	01:09:51	Unmasked cut, CU Rupert	Blackout on lid of chest
10	05:38	01:14:35	Black, pan up from lid of chest	End of film

The film is known for its use of long takes to give the effect of one continuous shot. Hitchcock shot
for periods lasting up to ten minutes continuously panning from actor to actor, though most shots in
the film wound up being shorter.

Thrillers and Alfred Hitchcock.

Thrillers are a well established popular genre of film, which aims to keep the audience on edge with the use of cliff hangers and twisted plotlines, building towards the climax. Thriller and suspense films tend to promote intense excitement, tension and establish a high level of anticipation. They all consist of a main character that is put in a life threatening situation, which seams un-escapable.

Thrillers are when “ordinary people in extraordinary situations”

Some thrillers, for example the work of the Cohen brothers, use semantics which is using signs, symbols and motifs to produce meaning, often used in a montage, linking these semantics to demonstrate something mysteriously, often a characters qualities or a past.

Sub genres:

            Conspiracy

            Crime

            Disaster

Erotic

Legal

Medical

Mystery

Political

Psychological

Rape and revenge

Religious

Supernatural

Techno

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock is a well known English filmmaker, who specialised in suspense and psychological thrillers. He began his career with silent films and early talking films. He has a recognizable directing style, making viewers identify with the ‘normal’ character, by using certain camera angles, mimicking a person’s gaze and view. He used innovative editing to establish the point of view and framed shots to maximise the anxiety and manipulate the feelings of the audience creating suspense ad tension and the audience feel fear and empathy. He often incorporated an icy blonde female character and usually had twisted ending with violence, crime and murder and through his time, directed more than 50 films, with the daily telegraph awarding him with greatest ever film maker in 2007.

Early thrillers included:

Safety last (1923)

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

The Bat Whispers (1930), M (1931)

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)

Murders in the Zoo (1933

Ellie.

Software/Equipment

In our Preliminary task, we were given a JVC Camcorder to use, this was effective, as it was easy to use, and did exactly what we needed to accurately shoot our project. We were also given extendable tripods so that we could shoot from different heights, which gives more depth when it came to the shots we could use in our production. We were also given a blank cassette tape which allowed us to store all of our individual clips, so it would be easier to edit when we needed to. The editing software we used was Final Cut Express, which is far superior than other editing software such as iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, the programme easily allowed us to trim and add effects to all the clips, and considering we had never used the programme before, we could quite easily pick up on how to use all the necessary features we needed to create our preliminary task. Using the iMac Desktop was also helpful as the user interface is incredibly easy to manouvre around and find what you want to do, this saved time, as our project was always easy to find on the computer as the aesthetics allowed us to quickly find our work. When we needed to create a soundboard for our project, we used Garageband, this was incredibly helpful because it had sound effects built in, and its easy to use the drag-and-drop functionality to drag different sound files and snap them together to create a flow of sound, we used Garageband mainly for non-diegetic sound, but we had the ability to use diegetic sound effects, such as a door creaking in the first scene.

 <-- Garageband

 <-- Final Cut Express







Harry.