The Third Man is a Noir, Mystery Thriller directed by Carol Reed was released in 1949, it is an original British film. Immediately the title sequence suggests cultural signifyers, it establishes location and character traits. The music is called 'the Harry Lime' which is the main character of the film although he is not introduced until at least an hour into the film. The chiemious and the Zither suggest that he pulls strings to get people to do what he wants them to do and won't stop until he does.
At first, the beautiful statues located in Vienna suggest that the film will have a beautiful outcome, however the film instantaneously not all of clip shown introduces the theme of the black market, the fractured ice implies that society or Vienna is broken, the corpse floating in the water represents all those who were killed or died. The footage shown is real footage, highlighting that Vienna really is corrupt. The boat has been bombed, embedding that Vienna is a dangerous place. The low angle of the train shot implies that something will come back to bite him, or surprise him. This could be to do with the main character Harry Limes. The character then walks underneath a ladder, typically associated with bad luck, foreshadowing that he will have bad luck throughout the film. However in contrast to this, it could be the opposite and that the character has really good luck even though he walks underneath the ladder. The high angle shot of Holly portrays his venerability to others in the film. It could also signify that as Holly is on a lower platform that he is in hell, and the other character
6.00 - 7.43 (The killing of Beaumont) The killing of Beaumont starts with one of the main characters sat in the car, a generic thriller convention, it is a confined space, slightly claustrophobic spaces with no escape if it is locked. It is a close up shot of him in the car. The character looks at his gun and polishes it a bit as if it is his child, saved his whole life for that moment. There is a ray of light shining off his face, probably non-ambient lighting unless a well-positioned street light. There is no music just the sound of him twiddling his gun about. It is a close up shot of him in the car.
It cuts to a shot of the front of a car with the headlights beaming, another generic thriller convention. As the car turns in the road the light bounces off it and shines into the lense of the camera. The car races off down the road which we think is the vanishing point. However while this is happening tghe camera is panning out from the low angle shot of the car, to a high angle long shot of a small park. In a way it is also like a tracking shot of the car as it follows it around as it travels. As the shot becomes a high angle long shot, the car enters the park, in it is has a love level lighted building, which it is not clear as to what it is. The car pulls up beside it and the killing takes place.
The camera does not zoom into this scene, it leaves it to the audience's imagination as to what really went on in that car in the amount of time it took them to drive round to the park and what motivated the man to kill him.
Even when the man gets out of the car to kill the guy in the trunk, he still leaves his headlights on, this could represent the man in the trunks life, and as the car drives off you see the red lights fade out into the distance, eventually they disappear alltogether possibly representing Beaumont's life disappearing too.
Jackie Brown was directed by Tarantino in 1997. It is about a Black middle aged air hostess who gets involved in the police and an arms dealer. Jackie's role as the Femme Fatal is a generic convention of a thriller film. For the first one minute and fifty seconds of this opening sequence, the camera simply tracks the character along a moving carpet, typically found in airports. It shoots a profile view of Jackie Brown and follows her all the way to the end of the conveyor. The lighting looks natural however it could well have been studio lighting creating the extra light rays so it could be non-abient lighting. We watch Jackie travel along this conveyor in a medium close up, with the non-diegetic sound laid over the top of the clip, '110th Street'.
The music then speeds up into a high tempo stacato moment of the song, it reaches a climax and the changes the shot to the scanning proceedure of the bags they have to carry out in the airports. It is showing high security proceedures that everyone had to partake in, and the character Jmackie Brown simply walks behind the security desk and carrys on. This could suggest that later on in the film, no one suspects her of committing the crime or helping the criminal and so she does not have to go through the s ecurity proceedures.
It then cuts so a low angle tracking shot of her walking through the airport, however she is walking the opposite way to everyone ele. This could foreshadow that she will be turning against society in order to do what is right, maybe what is wrong. She also does not make eye contact witgh anyone in particular and therefore is inconspicuous to many. This may reflect that no one would suspect her of doing what she does for her boss.
It cuts to a medium close up of Jackie walking towards the camera and the camera tracks her going forwards.The focus of the camera is on her, everyone else is blurred out suggesting that she is the most crucial and vital part of this film.
Soon it cuts to a side on view again highlighting her profile, foreshadowing that she has to look out for herself and only herself as everyone else is still blirred into the background.
It then cuts to a low angle long/medium shot of her continuing to walk through the airport, however this time she is walking faster than everyone else, suggesting that she is one step ahead of everyone in the film and that she knows their next move.
It cuts to a side on medium close up again yet she is standing in the shadows, possibly suggesting that she will become involved in crime and she may be wanted by the police of some other form of felonic person. During this shot she alsdo starts to run, implying that she will be running from someone or trying to hide from someone at point in this film.
Eventually in the clip Jackie reaches the gate, this could suggest that in the end, she comes out on top and the truth outs reaching her safety barrier.
The Amish are a group of Christian church fellowships. They are best known for their simplistic living and plain dress. The Amish people feature in the film Witness and also more recently on a VO5 advert for hair wax. They are best known for their reluctance to accept many conviniences of the modern world.
The histroy of the Amish came from a church in Switzerland in 1693. Today there are over 25 different Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren church groups in Lancaster County, all holding slightly different traditions and their own interpretations of the Bible. The more traditional groups are called 'old order'. They do not use electricity or telephones in their homes. By restricting access to television, radio, and telephones, the Amish are better able to keep the modern world from intruding into their home life. They isolate themselves from modern society.
The Amish have long preferred farming as a way of life. They feel their lifestyle and their families can best be maintained in a rural environment. While they do not permit the use of tractors in their fields, these old order Amish groups do use modern farm equipment pulled by teams of horses or mules. "Amish lifestyle is dictated by the Ordnung (German, meaning: order), which differs slightly from community to community, and, within a community, from district to district." Amish people are true believers in community and they believe that all families are a blessing from god. Their separation from the rest of society helps strengthen their community. The old order Amish groups do not own vehicles, they believe that cars would provide easier access to the ways of the world. You will often see their horses and buggies on roads.
The use of Amish characters in the film Witness means that the characters are very trusting of one another, especially as I wrote that their community is strengthened by their voluntary isolation. The fact that the mother lets her little boy go to the toilet on his own accord did not phase her as they live so far away from society that they are not knowledgeable of the dangers that he was faced to in that toilet.
The camera angle is a medium close up, this means the audience can identify what is going on in the scene very clearly. It is also highlighting the expressions on the character's faces. The female character in this shot is dominating the shot, this suggests that she might also be dominating the situation that is going on. This shot also suggests that they are the only two people in the scene that matter in this frame of time.
Characters
This image portrays that she is the Femme Fatal and it is possible that he has done something to aggravate her for him to be in this situation.Stereotypically, Femme Fatal's only threaten people who have threatened them. An example of this would be The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, when she tattoos his stomach, 'I am a sadistic pig and a rapist.' because he raped her, this gave her an incentive to do what she did.
Props
His shirt may represent his innocence, due to its colour, white, however if we look closely we can see it is an off-white, maybe to represent that fact that he is not so innocent, possibly that he had good intentions at the start but they detiriorated. This could then be a mis-representation, suggesting he has done something to aggravate her for him to be in this situation. The gun represents his life being on the line and whether he should live is down to the woman.
Location
From this shot, it is not clear to see that is is filmed in a car park, however this is a generic film location. It is a good loaction because the ceilings are low, so enclosed in a claustophobic space is always considerd a thriller convention. It could also signify her closing down on him, and facing her fears to stand up to him. Also that fact that they are usually empty, this leaves activities for the characters.
Lighting
This is non-ambient lighting, much like the opening scene of Essex Boys in the garage. It creates a sense of fear and threat to the audience. This lighting also establishes the audience's focus on the characters, especially as the background is blurred. The brightest part of the shot is the barrell of the gun, drawing the focus to that aspect of the shot.
Essex Boys, is a British crime-thriller film directed by Terry Windsor, made in 2000. It was shown at 54 screens throughout the UK, so small independent cinemas. The film was made on a low budget, which often compliments the thriller genre, making it look more real and less like a mainstream film.
Immediately we know that it is a noir thriller, due to the Chiaroscuro lighting, beaming down from behind the character, Billy, this type of lighting implies corruption or threat, in Essex Boys it is foreshadowing future events. Another thriller film that features a lot of chiaroscuro lighting is Fight Club. Chiaroscuro lighting also implies mystery, suspicion, it also gives the audience a point to look at, also a sense of illusion.
An obvious thriller convention is the location, which is very un-glamorous, it is also a confined, claustrophobic space, a garage, which can often be intimidating and hard to get out of.
Billy sits in the car, this is again another generic thriller convention. There is also a voice-over of the character Billy, which is non-diegetic. The first line in the film is "I'll try anything once." This is a cultural signifier as you can instantly recognize an Essex accent. This is stereotypically associated with rough geezer type of men, who will "try anything once." However Billy doesn't seem like the type of person to commit crime from what we have seen so far, but this is all from Billy's point of view, so we could be very wrong.
Jason through the windscreen.
It cuts to an amazing medium close up shot of Jason Lock through the windscreen of Billy's car, he looks threatening because of his attire and his expression. He wears rich clothes, leather and what looks like a silk shirt. This is like Bill in Kill Bill when he goes to wipe the Bride's face, showing his expensive shoes, ring, and handkerchief with 'Bill' embroidered on it showing his intense vanity. Through this shot diegetic sound is occurring, this shows realism which means the audience can relate to it. Again the use of Chiaroscuro lighting is still effective giving the impression that Jason is dangerous and a 'bad guy'.
It cuts to a close up of Jason's face, he is squinting through his eyes, maybe representing the evil he is to commit.
Cutting to a point of view shot of the back of the car driving away from the camera and into a tunnel, again another confined space, taking the shape of a barrel of a gun and the car being the bullet and racing through it. Pathetic fallacy plays a large role here, the rain connotes that something dark, sorrowful and maybe a sin will occur, foreshadowing the future. The tunnel has ambient lighting, again making it very realistic to the audience and making it something that they can relate to. As they enter the tunnel there is a 'stop' sign, this could be subliminal messaging to the audience implying that they are embarking on a journey in which they should stop. The car disappears into the vanishing point of the shot.
It cuts to a close up shot of Billy driving the car, however the bars of lights on the top of the tunnel are reflecting onto his windscreen, this implies that Billy will be imprisoned, that he will be entering the criminal world. Jason is sat behind him, just over his shoulder watching him all the time. This is much like in Animal Kingdom when Pope, J's uncle is constantly wanting to know where he is, what he is doing all the time, the restriction gives the young characters no freedom.
It cuts to point of view shot of Jason, preparing to meet his 'old friend'. he gets out of the car leaving Billy inside the car, a confinement of his freedom and values. They are in a factory so again it would be ambient lighting, which lets the audience connect to what is happening as it becomes more real to them. You then see the fight through Billy's point of view, however they are divided yet again by the windscreen, signifying that maybe Jason cannot reach Billy yet.
It cuts to a medium close up of Jason sat next to Billy once again in the car. This is where we can make another reference to Bill from Kill Bill, as Jason's vanity seems through again. He has just thrown a pot of acid on a mans face and he got a little on his shirt, he tries to rub it off. Jason is more worried about the condition of his shirt than the man's wounds in the back of his van. Jason and Billy take the man to the Essex Marshes, this is Jason's land, it has no boundaries, no constraints, no restrictions. It is featureless and bleak, through these characteristics we can link them back to Jason. Jason beats the man up once again and leaves him stranded on the marshes, as it cuts to a long shot of the white van exiting Jason's territory. This is a case of Human Moral Corruption.
Animal Kingdom is an Australian thriller film. It had a budget of 5,000,000 Austrailian Dollars, which in comparison to other films is a very tight budget. The box office collected a total of $6,793,982 worldwide. Even though it was released in February 2011, it is still being shown today November 2011, this shows the popularity of the film. The director was an Austrailian, David Michôd, he also wrote most of the film himself.
In this clip, the Police Officer played by Guy Pearce, is asking Josh to accompany him to ask him some questions. However Josh's Uncle is not too keen for him to go. In this clip, as the audience you also get a sense of danger, because the two main shots they use are medium close up and over the shoulder shots. The shots use the lighting to their advantage, they show the Uncle 'Pope' standing in the dark, doorway to the house, he is standing in the shadows. This suggests to us as the audience that he is the side representing dark and evil, the side that you do not want to be on.Also the positioning of Uncle Pope, the way he is standing behind hiding part of himself behind the doorway, tells us that he has truths to hide, sins and dark deeds that the police officer does not know about, or suspects but can not confirm. Also the clever use of placing the actors so that you can not see them in certain shots. For example, Josh you can't see in this shot, so it looks like Pope is all by himself on the dark side. This is until 'Smurf' the Grandmother comes and joins Pope's side, suggesting that she is also dark and criminal, always living in the shadows because of her criminal family and their reputation. Pope looks very shifty in this scene, Smurf and the Police Officer (Detective Leckie) move around a bit, Smurf enters the shot by walking and Mr Leckie walks around a little at the end of the shot. However Pope and Josh almost don't move at all. I think this could be because Pope wants to connect with Josh to try to persuade him to stick with him and the rest of the family, however Josh knows the danger of staying with them, that is to get shot. Josh makes near to no eye contact with anyone in this clip, trying to work out what he should do on his own, when everyone else is too busy making choices for Josh without his consulting them himself. This is giving Josh no independence, this is why he is stuck in the middle. Although again due to the camera shots, it suggests he has chosen to side with Mr Leckie, as he is featured only in shots with Mr Leckie in. I thin he chose this because he wanted to make his own decisions without anyone else having influence over him.
However, when you see the medium close up/over the shoulder shot of the Police Officer, he is standing in the light, in natural day light, suggesting he is true, there is nothing fake and he is hiding nothing. It also looks like there is a beam of light shining upon him, like an angel or guardian angel. In the shots Josh is also standing in them, this forecasts what is going to happen in the rest of the film. It forecasts that Josh will Talk to The police and be protected by them, he will chose the good side and not fall into the trap set by his Uncle Pope that the rest of his family members have done, and therefore, been killed. During this conversation, the questions the Police Officer puts to him, Pope and Smurf both answer for him every time he does not speak during this clip. This shows how he is being pushed about by his family and that they go to efforts to make sure that he is under their watch all the time, they try not to let him out of their sight, especially Pope.
This film is about an Amish boy who witnesses a murder in a train station, filmed in Philadelphia. It was released in 1985 and filmed in America. It was also directed by Peter Weir. The budget for the film was $12,000,000 and the total gross that was brought in by the box office was $65,500,000. The film won 2 Oscars and was nominated for 25 other awards.
At the beginning of the clip, it shows a little boy with his mother, his costume (in particular his hat), makes it look like he is wearing a halo around his head, the shot is a medium close up at a slightly low angle to signify his value and importance. This shot is highlighting the contrast between the boy and his future. This little boy has such huge importance but at this moment in the film he is still only an innocent boy. There are no bright colours, they are all quite monotone. This could signify that he is still innocent and all he has not a care in the world. The expression on his face tells us that he has never seen anything like what he is looking at.
The shot cuts to a shot of the boy looking up at a statue of an angel helping and holding a wounded man. The shot pans to a very low angle shot of the angel statue. This again is showing the power of the angle in the statue and the importance of this figure to the little boy. Also because he is from an Amish background, art like that would not be a common sight for someone like this little boy. Seeing something like that for the first time must be pretty amazing, I think he instantly has a connection between himself and the statue. Therefore the angel is foreshadowing the future actions in the film, although how yet we do not know. Again there is not a huge variety of colours in any of these shots yet, they are all quite dull colours.
The clip cuts to the previous shot of the little boy looking up in amazement at the angel statue. But then almost instantly cuts back to the shot of the angel with the wounded man. This could be embedding the relationship between the angel statue and the little boy, again foreshadowing the future.
Interestingly, it cuts to an over the shoulder shot of the angel, high angle then a long shot showing how insignificant the child is in comparison to everything else. It looks like the shot it from the angels perspective, showing the audience that maybe the angel is watching over the little boy, keeping watch like guardian angels stereotypically are supposed to do. The shot also shows people pushing past him, again showing his insignificance and that he is just a little boy. It shows the little boy still gazing up in amazement, he is stood still whilst everyone else is pushing past him and not really looking or paying attention to him. His Mother comes over to get him but even as he is walking away he still tries to look back at the statue to get one last glimpse of it.
The shot cuts to a long shot and a slightly low angle shot of the Mother and the little boy, however no one is there, they are alone in the station sat on a bench, maybe people chose not to sit near them because of their traditional image. People are brainwashed today with an image that we have to look like, the perfect dress size, the colours etcs, but the Amish go against this and have done for many years as they chose to isolate themselves away from modern societies and technologies. This shot and positioning shows the venerability of the characters. The boy then gets up and walks towards the vanishing point of the shot, towards a door. The Mother is not fussed at all that he is going to the loo by himself even though he is still small and at this moment, insignificant. However the Mother runs after because he forgot his hat, this shows he priorities, you think she is going to accompany him which would have been the safer option even in modern society and no threat of murder.
It then cuts to a low angle close up shot of the little boy to show significance and importance. The fact that the Mother sends the boy to the toilet by himself shows that she doesn’t think there is any threat of harm in doing so due to their culture and the way they were brought up in the Amish community. Ambient lighting is used in this shot and diegetic sound makes it more realistic it also adds to the tension in the audience. There is no dialogue though, this again would add to the tension within the audience.
It cuts to a slightly low angle of a man, acknowledging that the little boy just entered the room, he nods towards him showing that the little boy has entered the room.
Then it cuts to a medium close up of the little boy taking in his surroundings and smiling back at the man. This angles shot is at a slightly low angle, again re-iterating his power. He then walks forward and out of the shot.
As soon as he walks out of the shot it cuts to a shot from behind the little boy, establishing the mis-en-scene. It clarifies that they are in a bathroom, quite a dingy place. The little boy walks forward as the man washed his own face, maybe suggesting that he has just done something that made him sweat or work for, maybe he committed a crime. The boy walks to the edge of the shot and then out of it completely. The effect of waiting until someone has walked out of a shot is tension throughout the audience. It leaves you wondering what he is going to do? where is he going to? what is the other man in the shot going to do? Weir used the rule of thirds very well in this shot.
The scene then cuts to a shot of two cubicles but there is a gap in which you can see the little boy through, showing that maybe the man has forgotten he is there, that the little boy is just in the background and again a little insignificant. The little boy glances back at the man who is still washing his face.
Straight after that it cuts to a medium close of the man washing his face but looking over at the door, maybe because someone just entered the room. The subject looks slowly down at what he is doing, what does he know/realised? In the same shot we see the creases in someone’s clothes, but we cannot see who it is, at the moment he is left anonymous as we can't see his face. Within the same shot we see a man in the Mirror entering to make use of the toilets. By the expressions on the man's face, he feels threatened by these people who have just entered. Are they his enemies? The man by the urinals in a black man, but we still cannot see his face. Again this leaves him anonymous much like the other man.
It suddenly cuts back to the medium close up of the boy through the crack in the cubical. The little boy turns back round to face the wall, not able to see what is going on behind him.
Cutting to a medium close up of the black man who we can now identify him, because we see his face and expression. He nods to the other man in the room, (the anonymous man?) and turns back around preparing himself for something.
It cuts to a long shot, enabling the audience to be able to see the three men in the room, Weir does this because apart from one, the other two men do not know that the little boy is in the room and would not be able to see him, so he is not in the shot. The anonymous man starts to walk off, but he pulls his jacket over the man's face disabling his vision.
It cuts to a shot of a dagger flipping out, the black man is holding it, this establishes that he is going to make a stab at the venerable man. It cuts back to the medium close up of the black man, he makes a lunge for the venerable man. This tells the audience that maybe he is going to be murdered.
It cuts to the medium close up of the little boy peering through the crack in the door, and then a point of view shot from the little boy, it reverses so that you can see his facial expressions and his head and shoulders. We see a medium close up shot of the little boy backing away from the edge of the door, maybe realising what he just witnessed. A shot of the dying man is trembling on the floor, this is a medium close up. The it cuts to a shot of the murderer backing away with the knife in his hand and blood on the other. He tries to take a paper towel to wipe the evidence away. It cuts to a shot of a man's arms, showing he is trying to take the dead mans identity. However the shot pans up to the black man still trying to dispose of the evidence. Another medium close up of the little boy shows he is becoming more and more anxious and nervous about the situation he is in and that he just witnessed. A close up shot of the lock on the door shows that the door is unlocked and that he is in danger. The boy goes forward to secure the lock on the door and try to protect himself. After that it cuts to a tracking shot of the villain’s feet, this shows where in comparison to the little boy he is. This again shows his innocence is at risk and it will be taken after he saw the murder. He is in danger.
The little boy then takes of this hat to show his halo has fallen; his innocence has been taken and ripped from him. (Medium close up shot) Harrison Ford then enters with bright light behind him symbolising he is good and maybe the angel helping the wounded man. (Being the little boy)
Thriller films are types of films known to promote suspense, intense excitement high level anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films have similar characteristics and key features. Typical conventions of a thriller would be features like location, costumes, set, actors (if they are well known for playing a role in a famous thriller film, this may draw the audiences attention to going to see the film in the first place.
Key camera shots featured in the thriller genre at the beginning a tracking or panning shot to interest the audience. Also another typical camera shot in a thriller is the close up/extreme close up, it builds suspense and mystery, especially in the beginning. Also low level and high level angles are a popular camera shots in thriller shots. Through these camera shots portray power and venerability. Thriller films use a wide range of camera shots to enable the audience to try to comprehend with what is going on. It also gives a different view to the audience to show something that the character wants to keep a secret. Clever camera angles work to the advantage of the director’s wishes. Especially in Tarentino’s Kill Bill vol. 1, the opening scene, where it focus’ on a close up of The Bride, and involves the tracking shot following ‘Bill’s’ feet.
Lighting is also a key aspect promoted in thriller films. Ambient lighting is a popular choice in thriller lighting. However in a majority of the films they have very dark lighting, almost none at all. In some scenes in thrillers, much like the opening scene in Kill Bill, it is featured in Black and white. This could be because they want to pay tribute to the 50’s thriller films but also, because then her wounds may look more realistic to the audience. Also it lets you focus on what you are watching rather than the wounds or the costumes. That scene is to establish that Bill tries to Murder the Bride.
Editing often works in favour of creating obstacles mysteries and anxiety for the audience. Jump cuts are often popular, it fills the audience in and create maximum effects; it is also visually pleasing for the audience.
Diegetic and Non-diegetic sound, especially in thriller genres is very effective. Music in the beginning creates a sound bridge this then becomes non-diegetic sound. Music can create effects without having any dialogue; especially in an intense scene music can carry the play forward.
Quentin Tarantino has very cleverly crafted the first scene of Kill Bill. The first thing you come to notice is the black screen that Tarantino produces. The first signifier is of the sound bridge and also diegetic sound of a woman, very heavy breathing. The film then cuts to a high angle close up shot of the bride's face. This shot reveals wounds and injuries. The shot is in black and white, or noir lighting/Chiaroscuro lighting. It may be in black and white as to pay a tribute to the 50's thriller films. Another reason is that it is a flashback, also the blood and injuries look far more realistic in noir lighting then they would in normal coloured lighting.
The film then cuts to a low angle tracking close up shot of a mans feet. The shadows of his feet are very visible and the diegetic sound adds to the effect of this man being a villain.
From The handkerchief we
immediately know it is Bill.
It cuts back to the shot of the bride's face, this shows the power struggle between the two characters. The two different shots also establish a relationship or link between the make and female. "Do you find me sadistic?" is the first line in the film. This line implies that he has committed these injuries to her, that he has hurt her. It continues to stay on the close up of the brides face and her heavy breathing. This establishes a relationship between the bride and the audience. The man then goes to wipe her face, with a handkerchief embrodered with the name 'Bill' on it, she cringes and flinches at this action, you can tell from her expressions that she is uncomfortable with what he is doing. Immediately we know this man is Bill. From what Bill is wearing and his voice we as the audience can tell what kind of man he is. He has boots with a Cuban heel, so he cares about the way he looks and what people think of him they were probably expensive shoes so he is showcasing his wealth. He is also wearing a bracelet, maybe a family or gang symbol, that implies he is a dangerous man. Finally we see his Handkerchief with 'Bill' embrodered onto it. This tells us that he is a vain enough to have his name on his handkerchief. The name of the film is 'Kill Bill' so from this scene only we know that, 'Bill' has hurt the bride, who potentially, is going to try to 'Kill Bill'. However at the end of the clip, the bride speaks, her first line of the film "Bill, it's your baby". Just as she finishes the sentence, he shoots her in the head. This re-enforces the idea that he is a part of a gang or something similar. We also know that he carries a gun, so he is a danger to society.
The type of shot that is used makes it looks like it is from Bill's point of view, when he was talking to her, this is what he would see. It also makes it look like the bride is in a very claustrophobic place, there is no where to go, she is stuck and in danger. Also they types of character used and the strong use of shadows initiates it is going to be a very dark film.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a typical example of a thriller film. This clip shows a very rapid overview of what you shoukd expect to find in the film. If you have watched the film befre, then you would realise that a huge majority of the storyline is exposed in this trailer. It exposes, criminals, victims, the revengeful woman, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, twisted relationships, missing person and female fatales. The physical side of the trailer shows, dimly lit, rainy scenes, torture basement, desolate roads and interior of cars. (tight spaces.)
They spent $2,382,534.80 on this film it did them justice. The film is brilliant and the trailer exhibits that. Their use of shots and how they have cut the trailer is very clever. Also the use of sound is innvoative, and of course there is a narrater. The trailer shows states on venerability, on 0.17 seconds there is a shot of Lisebeth Salander following/chasing a criminal which shows the criminal is venerable. It is a great shot because it shows the side of the car and the full view of the motorbike, showing that she is gaining speed on him. The shot the cuts to a close up of her helmet, (the audience don't know who is on the motorbike) it then cuts to a shot of the side of the motorbike and the back of the car in full view/ or a long shot of the car. this again is showing the venrability of the character and the audience know that something is about to happen. However the sound on the last scene (from 0.17 seconds) there is a narrater and faded sound of the motorbike, it cuts to a quote and some graphics, then cuts back to the motorbike scene, but the sound is a lot louder and really emphasises the desparation of the victim in the car. The girl on the motorbike the takes off her helmet and her identity is revealed. Unexpectely it is a gothic/punky girl who is chasing the victim.
The sudden change of image is quite alarming, the loud strike of the match comes as a surprise, the screen goes black, all you can hear is the sound. this is possibly because thhey don't want to give away what happens of who causes the next scene. An explosion is the next visual image. However the film implies that whoever had the match causes the explosion. It then cuts back to the road with a 'point of view'shot, with the typical conventions of a thriller film, a darkly lit, rainy desolate road. This shot tells the audience that something is about to happen, that someone is going to do somethng. In contrast to the typical thriller shots, it also has graphical shots of text, possible emphasising the story line to a further extent. it gives a structure to the trailer and cuts up the film. I think it makes the audience anticipate and maybe surprised by the next scene of what is to come. The screen of "a missing GIRL" is closely followed by shot of Lisbeth Salander and Blomkvist (the journalist), her image is quite alarming. Then it continues to an extreme close up of, who we assume the missing girl is, a pretty young lady.
It cuts to the graphical text again "a brutal MURDER". By putting the word "murder" in capital locks, this really emphasises the point that it is going to be a thriller film, that it is going to be a bit scary and the missing girl was murdered. This is closely followed by a long shot of a car, establishing the mise-en-scene to be snowy, isolated and very cold. It also shows the venerable state of the car and whoever is in it. The trailer then cuts to an clip of the Vanger household, a big daunting looking house that is very old, suggesting that this is where the "brutal MURDER" took place.
Following that shot is the image of a dead womens feet, sticking out the end of a barn, this leaves the mind to wonder who she is, is it the missing girl? is she really dead? when was she murdered? who murdered her? is it at the Vanger mansion? (etc) Then as expected a generic location of the thriller genre, the inside of a car, raining which is another convention. The murdered girl exaggerates the point that Blomkvist and Salander (the two people in the car) are heavily involved with the missing girl/the murder. Blomkvist turns to look at Salander, this implies that something did not go to plan, or something else has happened that has put a fault in the plan. The graphical text appears again "an unsolved MYSTERY". This text suggests that maybe she wasn't murdered, somebody definitely murdered, but was it the missing girl or somebody else? was it a mistake? etc.
To put a twist on the trailer there is a flashback, which the audience assume it is the missing girl and the start of her story and what happened to her. However we don't know if the two main characters know of this memory/story. It shows that the girl in the scene is worried, scared, and running from someone. "how CLOSE can YOU GET" followed again by a long shot of a car passing over a bridge, but showing different weather, this implies that Blomkvist and Salander have been working on this case for quite some time. (through different seasons)
In the next shot, the sound of the music heighten, getting louder as the intensity of the trailer increases. A panning shot of Blomkvist shows confusion, maybe realisation, something to do with case, this suggests that something major has happened within the storyline that they do not want to expose int eh trailer, but simply imply. The shot cuts to a loud sound of glass breaking and the moving image to go with it. Blomkvist has broken into someone's house, maybe to uncover some secret or to investigate something. "to the TRUTH" suggests that the truth does out and it is unveiled to all. However it cuts to a scene of Salander being attacked, which twists the storyline once again.
At 1.00 there is a blurred shot to show that someone is a villain, to show tht they are in the wrong and what they are doing is criminal However their identity remains hidden throught the blurry shot. "before YOU" graphical text, is contacting the audience directly and making a link between the audience and the film. The graphics are followed by a medium close up shot of Salander looking fearful and worried about something this tells the audience that she is possibly in danger. It then cuts to a long shot of Salander with a man, implying that she is fearing the man that was suspected in the previous shot. He closes the blinds implying that he wants to find out or to do something very private as they are the only ones in the room. In contrast this, the following shot is of Blomkvist lying in his bed, and a wedge of light grows wider on his face, clearly a door opening, someone trying to get to him. To the audience this could mean that both the main characters are in danger, and that there might be an un-expected twist in the plot. The clip cuts to a violent shot of the man we saw closing the blinds about to hit something or someone. This suggests that because the audience think the main characters are in danger, that is could be either of the two in peril.
"become the TARGET" is the next piece of text. The fragmented sentance creates a really big effect on the audience, it tells part of the plot as well, giving hints about the film. Therefore expectedly the next shot is of Blomkvist looking venerable and scared for himself.He should be scared because the next section of the clip implies that there is some kind of torture device involving rope (A wince, a hangmans nouse) being wound up tighter and tighter. After that, there is another shot of Lisbeth walking across the bridge, alone and looking like she is in a hurry. The weather is grim and dark. After the peacefulness of the bridge that she walks over, in contrast to this there is a sudden scream and a clip of Salander screaming, the audience were right in thinking she was in danger, quite clearly, something happened to her.
Surprisingly it cuts to a shot of Blomkvist jogging through a forrest, alone, then it instantly cuts to the car that we saw right at the beginning of the clip again, to re-iterate that mystery, but that scene was also there to break up what Blomkvist was doing in the forrest, he gets shot at but misses the bullet and falls to the mossy ground. However it then cuts to an image of Salander lying, naked, suspicious of something, but in a comfortable environment.
Changing the tone of the clip, we see a figure smashing/breaking the rope that the audience thought would have put Blomkvist in danger. The audience probably suspect Salander of saving him, as the rope snaps and we see Blomkvist fall to the floor. Then the scene cuts to a shot of Salander running out of a building with a weapon initially to hurt somebody, we instantly see her smash a car window of somebody trying to get away from the scene.
The clip then shows Salander topless, looking deviant, almost instantly it cuts to an image of somebody with a tattoo of a dragon on their back, bending down, (who could this be?) Possibly contradicting the whole film, Salander and Blomkvist kissing. It represents love and compassion for one another, also because they have enforced so much hatred upon those who were the villains. This must confuse people to, as they are known as work associates.
Out of the blue, a plane lands in the sunny plains of a rural area in a warm climate. However the audience do not know exactly where it is, although they know it is different to where they have spent at least 3 seasons. The audience then know that someone has made a discovery in another land. Possibly to do with the missing girl. However contradicting that, we then see someone holding a gun to Blomkvist, one of the Vangers, maybe threatening Blomkvist because of his find in this far away land, maybe even because he murdered the missing girl.
The clip cuts to a car crashing, clipping the end of something. A flash of the country in warm climate, maybe where the discovery has been made, and then back to the man in the car, which is a generic convention of a thriller film. He is losing control of the car, a flash of Blomkvist is bright light, which shows the contrast between the two situations, then back to the car that we saw as one of the first images, rolling down a hill. Cuts to somebody getting out of a car in sunlight, again showing the contrast between the two situation. Also the low angle camera shots shows the importance of the person. Then an extreme close up of who we assume to be Blomkvist, opening a cupboard to reveal pictures, of who we can not see the identity, and then an extreme close up of Salander.
Finally the last image is of the car that was seen right at the start, rolling down a hill at speed, crashing, probably to its death. Ending with daunting graphics "the girl with the dragon tattoo".
