The Shining 1000 word essay

In the movie 'The Shining' there are two scenes in particular that I noticed that are very interesting and also use a lot of camera, angles, shots and framing techniques.

The first scene in particular that intrigued me in 'The Shining' was the scene where the main character Jack Torrance is in a scene with Mr Grady in a red bathroom. What intrigued me about this scene is that the bathroom is 'red'. The colour red is a shared convention used in horror movies as it has connotations of danger, death and anger. The use of the colour red in this scene is very effective because of the connotations and as the whole bathroom is red it could show that the two of them talking could lead to great danger. Then in this scene that intrigued me was the way that the scene was framed and where Jack Torrance and Mr Grady were positioned. The thing that interested me about this is that Mr Grady was on the left side and Jack Torrance was on the right side of the screen so that behind Mr Grady were mirrors and during that whole scene Jack was never really talking to Mr Grady he was talking to the mirror in reflection to himself. This could portray that Mr Grady is not real and is a spirit and that he could also be figment of Jack Torrance's imagination to show that he's losing his mind and in reality he is actually talking to himself or it could also represent that he is still losing his mind but the house is haunted and the house is talking to him creating an illusion in his mind of people that are dead. Also in this scene what intrigued me was the use of props in particular the glass of "bourbon" that Jack Torrance was drinking and this is because as he has entered the bathroom drinking the drink he puts emphasis on the words of saying bourbon which could show that it is a very rich and expensive drink which could also represent class in the scene has Mr Grady is cleaning him as a butler in a formal suit which could show the history of America in particular how important class was socially considered. Then in this scene I noticed that high key lighting is used in the bathroom and what I think is significant about the use of high key lighting in this scene is that the bathroom being bright could represent Jack Torrance in the movie losing his mind and yet also drawing his attention to where the high key lighting is which is at the mirror which could show that Jack Torrance is losing his mind and getting drawn towards it which is what the use of the high key lighting could show. What I also think that the high key lighting could represent in this scene is to show him slowly dying as there is supposed to be a bright light as you die, the use of high key lighting here could show that he is dying or realistically dead as he is not in his own mental state at this point in time of the movie.

The scene where Wendy and Jack are in what appears to be the lounge room of a hotel in particular also intrigued me is because when Wendy first looks at the type writer she is shown at a low angle which is a low angle shot but also shows her reaction to what is on the type writer and as she reads what is said on the type writer the non-diegetic sounds of music in the background get louder and deeper which creates more tension to the scene and builds up suspense. The low angle is used because it also shows what she is looking at without the use of an eye-line match cut. Then in this scene it shows a close up of what is wrote on the type writer which has obviously been wrote in the movie by the character Jack Torrance, this reveals to not just the audience, but also the character of Wendy by what the words say on the paper, which concludes that Jack has lost his mind and gone insane which builds up even more tension in the movie as the audience know now that something bad is about to happen. Then in this scene as the non-diegetic music sounds more eerie it shows an over shoulder shot of Jack Torrance in the low key lighting background (which is a shared convention of a horror movie) looking towards the character Wendy which could show that Wendy is in real danger and Jack is the reason why she is danger. After this there is a point of view shot from Jack and Wendy cutting to each others point of view as the other is talking and this could also show the reaction to each other as they have just spoke to show the fear that Wendy is in and shows the inner psycho of Jack Nicholson's face. Following this as Wendy is walking backwards up the stairs there is a forwards tracking shot from Jack Torrance's point of view from a low angle which then swaps back and forth to Wendy's point of view from a high angle backwards tracking and as this happened I noticed that the carpet is red which could foreshadow the danger that Wendy is in or potentially even the character of Jack who appears to be the more dominant one in this scene even though he is not the one with the weapon. I noticed as the characters of Wendy and Jack were both going up the stairs in this scene above the fire place there was a native American styled canvas with teepees on which also suggest America's past and the war and violence between the native American's and the similarities between the characters of Wendy and Jack.

2 genres 5 conventios and themes

Sci-Fi:
Conventions:
.Advanced technology
.Time travel
.Often involves non existent characters for example Avatar
.Special effects used for example on light sabres
.Usually includes space.

Themes:
.Religion used for example in Star Wars
.Good vs Evil Rebels and Imperialists
.Revenge between different people
.Friendship between certain characters and togetherness
.Artificial Intelligence

Gangster:
Conventions:
.Set in urban city locations
.Props including: Guns,Cigars,Drugs and Money
.Formal outfits like suits and dresses
.Colours in the movie are often dark.
.Leaders of Mobs: A Don/Kingpin.

Themes:
.Murder
.Conflict between two sides
.Revenge against others
.Envy between people
.Love can often occur and get people killed

Horror sequence Reflective analysis

During the short horror movie sequence that I did there were many different shots and angles. At the very start of this sequence there was an over shoulder shot in which you could see someone behind someone else in this shot. The reason this was used was because it added to it being a horror of a shared convention that there is someone watching the victim at the start without that character actually knowing.




Soon after that a forward tracking shot was used on the villain walking down the corridor. The reason this shot is used is because n a way it sums up the villain directly to the audience to show that characters features and what they look like and who they really might be, so the viewer can guess what the villains story is.




Then a panning shot is used on both the villain and the victim as the villain is chasing the victim. The reason this shot is used is because a panning shot is a typical shot for a chasing scene and adds to the effect that someone is running down the path with them.




The next thing that happened is that there is a low angle shot of the victim character running up the stairs. The reason this shot is used is because as the victim is running up the stairs it makes it seem that the villain is watching the victim run up the stairs and it also shows that the victim is close and starts to get very distant for the viewer.




After that there is a high angle shot of the villain running up the stairs. The reason this shot is used is because it makes it look like the victim is watching the villain run after him and it also asserts the villains dominance in this sequence as the villain comes from distance and gets closer and closer as the villain comes up the stairs which makes it appear to viewer that the villains character is getting closer and closer to the storyline.




In the follow up to that there is an extreme close up on the victims hand opening a door. The reason this extreme close up is used is because it shows the importance of the door being opened and gives tension to the viewer and makes the viewer think if the door could be opened to hope or to doom.


 there is a point of view shot. The point of view is from the villain watching the victim run towards three doors. The reason that the point of view shot is used is to make the viewer see what it is like from the villains perspective seeing the victim run towards the doors and could foreshadow that the victim is at their doom and is trapped.




Concluding this there is a reaction/ spectator shot. The reason it is both of these is because it looks like the viewer is watching the victim run back away. The reason that this shot is used is because it gives effect to spectator viewing the victims reaction as the victim is being grabbed by the villain which then ends the scene. The reason that scene is ended here is so that it gets the viewer engaged and connected with the scene and they want to know what will happen next so it ends on a cliff hanger.

Inglorious Basterds Essay

Inglorious Basterds Essay

In this particular scene of "Inglorious Basterds" which has conflict with two characters one a woman all in red and the other a man who is a nazi, there is a lot of different angles, shots, sounds, lighting and editing. In particular one part of editing I noticed through this scene was parallel editing at the start of the scene going from the nazi to the woman dressed in red. I think this editing happened to represent their inevitability during the scene to eventually meet so that they are perhaps involved in a two shot. The woman perhaps is wearing red to represent the danger or conflict that is to come between these characters whilst watching the scene. A shot that I noticed during the scene was an over shoulder shot which kept a recurring simple cut back and forth between these two characters and from when the nazi was looking towards her, the camera was at a high angle, whereas when the scene cut back to her it was a shot from a low angle which I think may have been used to represent the fact of making him look superior or perhaps even to have a high status as it makes it look as if he is looking down on her so therefore she is looking up at him which could also represent the conflict between them as they do not have a normal angle straight on at each other.

Sounds was another thing that I thought was very interesting in the scene especially diegetic sounds that appeared to be in the movie, from non diegetic sounds that created tension and conflict between the scene. However the extreme close up of the bell that eventually rang which could have represented a siren or an alert to the danger that was about to happen between the woman in the red dress and the nazi, also as she was watching the movie as she thought she had killed the nazi there was another diegetic sound of the movie reel as clicking as the movie was about to end which could represent/reveal the end of her life. Not just the movie which is why I thought the sounds were effective in this scene as the diegetic sound of a bell alerted which signalled danger the diegetic sound of the movie reel showed the danger was about to end and the conflict as she was about to die.

Another cut I noticed in specific about this movie other than the parallel editing between the two characters as they was both in the movie room when there was a point of view shot from either of the two characters there was an eye line match cut which met each others characters eyes when they was about to say something to each other or to show the conflict between each of them which I think could have shown the conflict between them that it had to constantly cut between each of them to show the anger and aggression between them. Another thing that I noticed during this scene was the rule of thirds at some point during the scene when they are talking to each other, the woman in red is on the left of the screen and the nazi character is on the right of the screen which I think could represent that there is so much conflict between these two characters that there has to be a certain degree of space between these characters at all times.

A focus within the scene that I noticed was on the movie that the woman in red was watching a movie which consistently came up in the scene which I thought kind of foreshadowed and also was kind of ironic to what was happening in the particular scene. I thought this was ironic and foreshadowed the scene because the movie that the woman in red was watching was based on war and people dying. This could have been to represent the conflict between the two characters in the scene and the irony of them both dying at the end of the scene, also from a point of view shot of her watching the movie, as the scene started it was a close up and from each cut from her to the room she was in then back to the movie, her point of view of the movie got further away from a close up to a long shot which I think could suggest her distance falling from her life and her going from a fantasy world of conflict and death of the movie to the reality of death, conflict and war between the nazi and the woman in the red dress, which is what i saw that was ironic and clever about the portrayal of the movie.

Another shot that I noticed during this scene of "Inglorious Basterds" was an overshot at the very end of the scene and still even though they have both died there is still a gap between the two characters and this could show the conflict is that much it even goes through death. The reason I think there is an overshot after both of these characters have died is because it shows focus between the two characters and their contrasting sides of conflict, also because it represents that death was above all and at the end of all the conflict neither of them was a victor, so death was the only true winner throughout this scene of "Inglorious Basterds".

horror movie genre of movies 500 word essay

Horror Genre 500 word essay

The “horror” genre is a very interesting genre of movie in my opinion because it often uses a lot of non-diegetic sounds to build up suspense in particular, music. This allows our mind to know when a jump scare or something scary is about to happen within the movie. This makes the genre an interesting one because even though we know exactly what is about to happen it still makes us jump, so this means that the “horror” genre is affecting our minds psychologically. The horror genre is also interesting and this is because within horror movies there is only two ways the movie ends or the last movie of a sequel which is that the murderer gets away with it and then lives on, or the murderer murders all but one who gets away and the murderer then gets caught. Horror movies is also an interesting genre because all or at least most horror movies have the shared conventions that they are often set in small and isolated areas and buildings and also the bad guy in the movie has a specialist weapon or mask such as Mike Myers and his knife and ghost face and his mask or even hell raiser, it and much more evil horror movie villains.

Another way that the horror genre is a very interesting genre of movie is because in our minds we know that horror movies are not real and it’s all fake and made up however during the movie we still jump and no-one really knows why and it affects our minds constantly and movies always make us think different questions however horror movies make us think the same question every time as to why do we get scared when we know that it what is happening in the movie is not actually real, which is why, in my opinion I find the horror genre a very interesting one. Another reason I find the horror movie genre a very interesting genre of movie is because unlike most movies of a genre the plots can be very much more unique and different than most other genres like spy, action, sci-fi movies share the same plots and even more so rom-coms share the same plot nearly every time and feature the same actors such as Hugh Grant. In particular one horror movie that has a totally unique plot to any other is Sinister as he watches videos and finds a murderer that doesn’t actually kill people himself but gets into the kids minds and gets them to murder the family and takes the kids into his own world/universe behind the screen of a video and records them to show future residents of that house that magically reappear in whichever attic of a house that he lives in no matter where he goes. This is why overall I find the horror genre a very unique and interesting genre of movie.

My favourite film of summer 2015 500 words

My favourite film of summer 2015

My personal favourite film of the summer of 2015 was the Marvel made movie Ant Man. The reasons that this was my favourite movie of 2015 other than the fact of me being a huge super hero fanatic it was brilliant because when I first heard the title of the movie I thought to myself that they had ran out of ideas for names of super heroes and that it was going to be a big success especially if you are comparing it to the likes of Marvel’s other big hit movies such as; Avengers, Thor, Iron Man and many more. When I first seen the trailer to the movie I thought that there might be some hope for the movie as it appeared to be interesting and unique. Come to the time I watched it in the cinema the storyline behind it and even the main characters purpose of becoming the super hero Ant Man was so much more unique than that of the likes of Spider man getting bit by a spider then gaining his powers. Another reason behind the fact that I loved this movie so much is that his powers as the Ant Man were also unique as he could control the ants into doing different things like architecture and riding them and understanding the creatures.

I also thought to the movie Ant Man that Michael Douglas who initially made the Ant Man costume played his part in the movie very efficiently and effectively in the manner of the fact of how he set up for Scott Lang to get the costume during a robbing to become the next Ant-Man which is very good especially to the fact that he was only doing the robbing to support the welfare of himself to keep paying and seeing his daughter after just coming out of prison and not being able to get a job. I also like the fact that during the movie he went to the Avengers’ ‘Falcon’ and fought him in that movie and at the very end where Marvel usually put a secret ending as a teaser for the next movie Falcon appeared in that ending saying that he knows someone referring to Ant Man and that ending afterwards saying to be continued. The fact of the movie being so unique made me want to watch it again and I was delighted at the end to see that there was going to be a sequel to the movie unlike the reboot of Fantastic Four which didn’t show a secret ending which could go to show that they are not going to be making a second movie of that franchise. Overall this was my favourite movie of the summer holiday as it left on such a cliff hanger of Michael Douglas’ daughter seeing a costume which is likely to be in the sequel of the movie that she will work alongside Scott Lang as likely to be named Ant Woman.

Jurassic World 500 words

How Jurassic world became a box office success and how a film’s success is measured

Jurassic World became a box-office success based on the fact from its previous movies franchise before it (Jurassic Park) being a big success itself in the 90’s . The Jurassic Park being a successful franchise is the main reason why Jurassic World became such a big-box office success. Box-office success is measured by the number of money spent by the studio to sell one ticket, this may have affected the fact of Jurassic World being a big box-office success as it all depends on how much the tickets are being sold for and also the fact that as years go on cinema tickets are becoming more expensive and therefore it is earning more money in comparison to the making of the movie. The age rating of the movie could have been a source of the films big box-office success as because the age rating is fairly low, it is a good way to go out as a family with adults and kids therefore the movie will get more viewings as a wider variety of people are available to go and watch the movie and more income of money will be made.

A reason why Jurassic World most likely became a big box-office success is due to its trailer before the movie had even come out. ‘Cinema blend’ described the trailer as intense, thrilling and terrifying. Due to the fact that the trailer for the movie was so exciting this may have lead more people into watching the movie as it had received such great reviews. Another reason ‘Cinema Blend’ said what could have caused Jurassic World’s huge box-office success is the movies reveal of its new dinosaur which is bigger than a tyrannosaurus-rex and said to be more terrifying which could have made the movie to have a more exciting plot to its story line. Another reason said by ‘The Guardian’ which could have been a cause to Jurassic World’s big box-office success is because of its distributor ‘Universal’. ‘Universal’ being one of the biggest movie distributors there is, making movies of the likes of; the fast and furious franchise, Hulk and much more great movies. This would have caused a bigger box-office success as some people are big fans of ‘Universal’ movies which would have caused even more people to go and watch the big hit movie. Another reason why the movie has been said to be such a huge box-office success is because of how many cinemas it featured in globally. The amount of cinemas it appeared in and the amount of times it was shown was such a great amount that it was viewed for a longer period of time allowing more people to get a chance to watch the movie therefore more tickets were sold causing it to be the huge box-office success that it was in the first opening days of the movie.