Wednesday 9 December 2015

CSI Stri Strangler


CSI: Strip Strangler: Faye Handy

 

How does the opening sequence of CSI Strip Strangler attract the interest of the audience?

CSI: Strip Strangler is about a murderer who goes about sexually assaulting young vulnerable females then strangling them and the CSI team investigate to try to stop him doing it anymore.

The opening of the programme sets up an enigma code which is a convention in every episode and the audience anticipate and try to guess what is going to happen next.

 

The opening shot of this episode is a high angle shot of Las Vegas at night and it plays on audience expectations and anticipation, implying that anyone could be the victim.

The dark mise-en-scène and the thunder and lightning flashing and rumbling in the darkness suggest something is going to happen as it is implying danger.

The second high angle shot is of an apartment building still at night. This indicates the victim could be in there and the murderer is looking there. It shows the door being slightly open showing the building is not secure and the high angle emphasises vulnerability. The building is surrounded by shadows, making the place look trapped.

The camera angle is then positioned looking up through the apartment building as we see someone walking up the stairs who could be the killer making his way to where the victim is.

In this sequence sound is used to build up suspense for the audience.  The sound discords at certain points to create a frightening atmosphere.

Inside the building, the mise-en-scène shows us a dark, narrow hall way suggesting the victim is trapped and there is no escape for her. This builds up tension for the audience as they could be thinking about what is going to happen.

This tracting shot represents the murderer’s point of view as he / she is moving along the corridor to make his way to the victim.

As the camera first goes into the victims room, the audience first sees the young woman framed inbetween the door frame and the door suggesting she’s trapped. As well as it being in a confined space, it kind of isolates her.

 The woman sits up abruptly by the sound of creaking floor boards and she looks around looking at the audience as we have the murders point of view. The audience think something is going to happen as we saw the murder enter the house but she doesn’t know that.

When the lightning flash illuminates the room, the colour red shows up. Red curtains and accessories imply danger and death.

 

Faye Handy

There is a cut to a medium close up of the woman and we see her as a typical young stereotypical, attractive female victim dressed vulnerably.

The cut has changed the angle as she no longer looks at the audience; there is a cut to her point of view and nothing is there but from our point of view we know something will be there from what we have already seen. We also see red which has connotations of impending violence and we think the killer could hide in the wardrobe.

When she doesn’t see anything threatening towards her and as she settles down, the tone of music is low strings which this tells us that something is in the room and it’s not going to end just there.

The frame is filled by the woman lying down, this is because it keeps us in suspense as we can’t see anything in the background to show us if anyone is there.

After another creaking floorboard, she looks afraid then there is a cut to her point of view and we see that it is a dark room. The lightning flashes and we see a silhouette of the killer in black clothing covered all over so we can’t see his face. The killers identity is hidden from the audience has to carry on watching for the big reveal later in the episode.

There is a cut to a high close shot of the woman in fear and pace of editing is used is increased for the build-up of energy, excitement and tension.

Next there is a medium close up of her point of view of the killer and we see him flexing a cable implying that he is going to harm the woman by strangling her, yet again, his face is hidden by darkness.

There is then a cut to a close shot of an iron being pulled off a table, implying that the murderer is going to do something with force.

There is a final cut to the woman as she’s screaming and the camera tracks in from above as the killer is getting closer and closer this makes the woman move back to her bed in a lying down position making her look more vulnerable and it allows the audience to sense her fear!

A crescendo has built up on the last few shots to emphasise her screaming and her fear and we can see the pain she’s in. The scene fades to black because the crim is too gruesome to be shown.

Throughout this sequence, the woman is represented as a vulnerable and stereotypical young female victim who is in a lot of fear and who is isolated!

The director uses a number of techniques to attract the audience including elements from the horror genre, such as a young vulnerably dressed woman in a dark setting and showing us the fear the victim is in. There is also a variety of camera techniques like when there is a high angle shot to show how much fear the victim is in and how isolated they are. There is non-diegetic sound like a crescendo to show when the victim screaming and how much pain is there. The director is setting up an enigma code and playing on the expectations of the regular audience who try to think ahead of what’s going to happen and their anticipation.

Friday 16 October 2015

sound

Diegetic - Within the scene
Non Diegetic - Added afterwards in post production
Crescendo - Build up of sound / music
Dimuendo - Gradual 'die away' of music
Sforzando - Sudden sharp sound

In the scene where all the kids go swimming, there is diegetic sound in the scene and the boy goes in the sea on his yellow floater and other kids join him. Soon the sound dies out as they get further away  and non diegetic sound is added when the shot of the camera changes to the sharks point of view. The sound stays non diegetic while the shark gets the boy.


 
 
The Godfather.
In this scene there is diegetic crescendo as Michael is thinking about whether to shoot Sollozzo and McCluskey and while thinking, you can hear the trains in the background as it is set in London. You know something will happen as he takes the gun from behind the toilet and the was he walks out of them and the way he looks at them when he gets back to the table.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday 8 October 2015

Editing

Main Edits-
  1. Cut
  2. Dissolve = Time passing
  3. Fade to black / white and fade up- pace can be changed on this one (often time passing)
  4. Jump cut - When the camera cuts then cuts to the same object but a closer shot
  5. Graphic match - The image of one object fades / dissolves / cuts to another that is similar




Psycho- Alfred Hitchcock:

Pace of cutting - Most when the sequence of stabbing happens because in those days you couldn't have nudity or 'graphic images' even though it was filmed in black and white.

Graphic match - Plughole and eyeball - they match because they are both rounded and it shows her death going down the plughole.

Wednesday 7 October 2015

Basic Camera Angles

Extreme close-up - A very close shot that emphasises a reaction.


Close-up   - Face and head; shows details of character.

Medium close-up     - Head and shoulders.

Mid-shot   - Just above or below the waistline.     

Mid-long shot      - Usually just above the knees.


Long shot     - Full length of figure - head to toe.  


Extreme long shot / wide shot     - A scenic shot that shows location , setting etc.

 


 
 
























Friday 2 October 2015

Mise-En-Scene Opening scence of jaws.

  1. Sharks point of view as it swims.
  2. We hear non-diegetic low, stringed music- associated with the shark.
  3. Camera tracks past kids around camp fire.
  4. Fire is source of light.
  5. Girl and boy on edge of group- marked outsiders.
  6. Medium close up of the girl- bars around her suggesting 'trapped'.
  7. High angle shot - Boy and girl leave circle and run off into the darkness where there is no light.
  8. Camera shows them running off to the sea and the wooden posts /  bars trap them, as their running further away, the music fades and the sea and their voices become more clear.
  9. Long shot- sea is calm and the moonlight is reflecting on it- looks peaceful.
  10. Sunset symbolises that its the end of the day / in this case the end of life.
  11. Cut from long shot to close shot that makes the audience more involved
  12. Long shot from girl in water, music comes back in and we have the sharks point of view.
  13. Keeping the suspense and the music builds up.
  14. When the girl goes under, the sound goes down as if no one / nothing was there - music suddenly drops as she dies.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 18 September 2015

Importance of Genre:

Neale (1980)- Much of the pleasure of popular cinema lies in the process of ' difference of repetition' I.e, recognition of familiar elements and in the way those elements might be orchestrated in an unfamiliar fashion or in the way that unfamiliar elements might be introduced.


Genre Boundaries:

Genre boundaries are flexible to allow for creativity and creative interpretation by the audience. There are many sub-genres and generic hybrids.
 E.g.: Back To The Future 3.
  • Sci-fi
  • Western
  • Comedy
  • Romance

Typical Settings for a horror story-

In most horror story's, there is a lot of setting you could use to make it intense.
Abandoned Hospital.
Churchyard.
Isolated forest.
Old Fair Ground.
Old Mansion, loft / attic or a basement as it would be isolated.


Characters:
In most horror story's, there is most likely to be a:
Killer.
Victim. Sometimes maybe a young female who is dressed vulnerable.
Ghost.
Clown.
Spirits.
Psycho.
Hero.
Young Children.
Supernatural beasts.
Ware wolves.


Horror Story Plots:

1- A family member who died in a car accident comes back to haunt the rest of the family and tries to possess amongst other thing that gets the tension high.

2-  A bunch of teens sneak into an abandoned fair ground for the night and decide to play 'Bloody Mary' but what happens next is a un experienced night ahead. Bloody Mary visits the teens but who knows what happens next and if they will escape the horror.