Analysing the film opening for Premonition

The film "Premonition" is an influence for my thriller film opening as it is about a housewife having a premonition about her husband being killed in a car accident as a large truck collides with his car. This is similar to my idea as in my idea a girl has a dream of her boyfriend attempting to murder her by the use of suffocation.

The beggining intorduces the audience to those who distributed the movie by adding their trademark logo to the film. There were three main distributors of this movie, these were, Tristar Pictures (a Sony Entertainment company), Metro Goldwyn Mayer  Pictures and Hyde Park Entertainment. The text gradually appears in a subtle way in a  white, bold font and the dissolves into the black background, this suggest that this movie is going to have a subtleness which will continue throughtout. The Production company is then presented with flickering text which could be a connotation of an abnormality. "An Ashok Amritraj/ Offspring Production. After the production company, the director "Mennan Yapo" is presented in a larger font to show his involvement and importance in the film. The main actor is the presented as "Sandra Bullock", after this the title of the movie is presented to the audience. Whilst the title sequence is presented on the screen, non-diegetic sound is playing as there is an eerie type of background sound to set the atmosphere and mood.

Suddenly the screen then dissolves from a black out to an overhead shot of a woman sitting in her car, at first it looks as if she is crying but she is simply being given a surprise by her husband, we can assume it is her husband due to the body language shown between one another. There is then a close-up and tracking as they approach a house and then the camera changes into a midshot of the back of the couple and the camera zooms out into an establishing shot so that the audience are aware of the characters surroundings and they get a clear picture of the settings. The sign "SOLD" suggests that the male character has bought the house. The camera the shows a long shot and pan of the couple getting ready to settle down into their new home. This scene suggests that they are beggining to settle down, and the scene introduces the characters to the audience.

All of a sudden a pure white flash of light dominates the screen this connotates the idea of her having a dream or premonition. Then it dissolves into a CU of the female character in bed waking up due to the diegetic sound of a church bell, we then are introduced to a little girl running into her mothers room this suggest that time has passed since the couple bought the house, and the couple transformed into a clear nuclear family. The little girl asks her mother when her father was coming home, this automatically creates a foreshadowing effect as she asks about her father and the mother assumes that he will be coming home soon.

An establishing shot of an elementary school is shown on the screen to create a picture of the setting in the audiences head. The camera then begins to track the car as it moves forward and a sthe children get out of the car. The mother is dressed in a typical housewife wardrobe as she wears a sweatshirt when dropping the children to school and she drives a SUV which is a family oriented car. She makes sure that the children do not forget their lunches which suggests her staying in her characters role.

An overhead shot takes over the screen as it tracks her travelling back to her house, as this event is taking place, the non-diegetic background music begins to play to create an eerie atmosphere. The rest ove the credits begin to dissolve in and out of the screen. The camera begins to track her everyday routine. There is a shot that tracks her shadow as she goes for a run.  An extreme close-up appears as she is in the shower almost looking as if she was drowning in her sorrows and the camera follows the water as moves slowly down her neck and then travels down to her back as she turns around.

A general pan of the house is shown to illustrate their current living condition. A long shot is displayed as she it highlights her role as a housewife taking part in domestic labour. A cross-cutting appears on the screen as the female character begins to talk to her friend on the phone, this type of editing is very subtle and continuity is clearly shown when they both are busy doing jobs within the house.

She then gets off the phone to find a message on her answering machine recorded by her husband, the tone of voice suggests that they both had an argument and the camera begins to zoom into an extreme close-up of her face and the phone to capture the emotion on her face. He then rushes off and says the words "is that you?", this implies that he was having an intimate relationship with someone else as his wife and him were having problems, that phone call helps the audience establish what was going on in their relationship.

The doorbell rings and the camera follows her as she goes to answer it. A sudden reaction shot is shown when she opens the door and a sherriff answers the door. The woman is then told that her husband was killed in a car accident, the atmosphere suddenly changes as a non-diegetic drum beat dominates the dialogue. An over the shoulder shot shows the reaction of the female and focuses on her expression on her face as she does not know how to react. The atmosphere changes again as the diegetic dialogue is drowned out to create a form of echoing, this helps the audience understand the characters emotions and feelings as she is in great shock.

There is great amount of continuity in the editing however some of the shots are unstable and you can notice that the camera is shaking. However the crosscutting is extremely smooth and clean.

Analysing the Exemplar Blog

http://cmdiplomayasmin.blogspot.com/

This blog is very successful as it includes and illustrates the students entire
journey. She includes even the little things such as the test shots and the weather forecast.  She continues to add detail in all her posts. You can clearly see that she has put a huge amount of dedication in her work. She has included many clips which have influenced her final outcome, however she has included very little analysis. I will add more influences to my blog to relate to my final outcome.

The blog tells me that I can attempt to create something like this for my own coursework depending whether I dedicate myself to acheive such a clear and clean blog.  Looking at this blog clearly shows me that I haven't been working as hard as I should be and I will use this blog as a template and I will refer to it aswell as the tasks I have been set by my teacher.

Targets I will complete by 16/12/10
Target 1: Re-do the storyboard
Target 2: Create a graphical copy of audience feedback
Target 3: Focus on figuring out what title sequence wl be used.

Applying Propp and Todorov's Theory to Premonition

Propp's Theory

The hero: is the main protagonist who is the centre of the story, usually on a quest, a search or a mission. The hero in the film is Yasmin as the film revolves around her and she achieves her mission.

The princess: the heroes reward or prize at the end of the story. There is no princess as such in Premonition as Yasmins man prize or reward at the end is peace.

The princess' father: rewards the hero. There is no father as there is no princess as such.

The helper: provides guidance and support to the hero. This would be a close friend which Yasmin deeply relies on for advice and guidance.

The dispatcher: set the hero off on a quest or mission. The premonition itself is the dispatcher as this sets Yasmin off to ask why she had such a premonition.

The donor: provides a magic ingredient to move the story on. In this case, the donor could be Yasmins boyfriend as he is the main reason of which she has a premonition. He also provides Yasmin with a source of information which helps her on her quest.

The villain: competes with and tries to detroy the hero. In this case, the villain is Yasmins boyfriend in the premonition as well as the premonition itself as it plays games with Yasmins mind.

Todorov's Theory

Equilibrium: The happy atmosphere as Yasmin wakes up and reads the text from her boyfriend.

Disruption: The disruption is when Yasmin falls asleep and has a premonition which causes her to suffocation by her boyfriend in her dream.

Recognition of Disruption: This occurs when Yasmin tosses and turns in her bed and she is disrupted by this premonition. She suddenly wakes up and realises the realistic premonition.

Attempt to Repair Disruption: This occurs when Yasmin attempts to discover the main reason behind the premonition and whether it would come to life.

A Return of New Equilibrium: Yasmin eventually defeats the premonition and eventually begins to live a happy and peaceful life.

Using Todorov and Propps theories on 'The Nightmare on Elm Street'

The Nightmare of Elm Street is a thriller of murderous passions and it could also be classed as a psychological thriller as it is all about the mind. It is about a serial killer named 'Freddie Krueger' who goes into a series of teenagers' dreams and kills them in their dreams, which then results in their death in reality. The only way they can stay alive is if they stay awake, which is very difficukt for them to do.


I have decided to apply Todorov's model of narrative structure and Propp's theory on charcter roles to the film, 'The Nightmare on Elm Street' this is because this film is the inspiration and similar to the thriller opening that my group and I intend to create.

Propp's Theory

The hero is the main protagonist, who is the centre of the story, usually on a quest, a search or a mission. There are two heroes in the film, Quentin and Nancy, as they are able to survive the vicious dreams that occur throughout Elm Street.

The princess often the hero's reward or prize at the end of the story. There is no real princess as such in this film as no one is seen as a reward.

The princess's father rewards the hero. Quentins father is seen as an authority figure as he attempted to take action, when he found out what Freddie was doing to the teenagers.

The helper provides guidance and support to the hero. The film focuses on Nancy as she is the main chracter and Quentin helps her figure out the background of Krueger and why he was going this to these innocent people. He is relied on to give the main character support and sticks by her.

The dispatcher sends the hero off on his/ her task or quest. There is no real dispatcher as such as no sets the characters to defeat a certain subject. In my opinion, you could argue that the dispatcher could possibly be the dreams as they make the teens want to find out how to overcome them and defeat them.

The donor provides a magic ingredient to move the story on. I believe that the donor could be said to be Nancys Mother, this is because she provides Nancy with relevant data such as photographs which help Nancy to discover that those she met in high school, have been in her life for longer, since she was in pre-school. This suggests a certain link between the past and the present dreams.

The villain competes with and tries to destroy the hero. The villain was Freddie Krueger as he stalked the teenagers in their dreams and murdered them.

Todorov's Theory

 Equilibrium: The happy atmosphere when the teenagers were young and they did not have a care in the world and enjoying their lives. This is when they have fun and begin to learn about life and new experiences.

Disruption: The disruption is when Freddie Krueger is introduced to the children. He begins to try to get close to the children when he gets a job at the school which they all attend.

Recognition of Disruption: The parents discover that Freddie Krueger did abnormal things to them while they were at school. He took them to the 'magic cave' which was a secret place where he would molester them and scratch their clothes. The children then re-discover Freddie Krueger when they begin to have very strange nightmares about him.

Attempt to Repair Disruption:  The two main characters, Nancy and Quentin discover a way to beat Krueger at his own game. They conjour up an idea of which one of both will stay awake whilst the other sleeps to attempt to stop these nightmares by killing him.

A Return of New Equilibrium: There is no surreal new equilibrium as Krueger changes his pattern of murder, this is a sign of torture. He decides that he will not kill Nancy and Quentin, but he would murder those closest to them. This suggests that there is no real happy ending or return of new equilibrium as the villain is yet to be defeated.

Audience Research

Questionnaire Media

Pitch for thriller

Untitled

Two film Openings Analysis

The Silence of the Lambs
The film opens with a mid shot of an eerie, branchless tree and the surroundings of the outdoors. It is a still image in black and white which transitions into a slow pan which establishes the location and teaches the audience about the surroundings and atmosphere. Several titles such as the production company and the cast appear on the screen in a bold, black, upper case font to signify the uncanny atmosphere portrayed in the film. The shot tranforms into an establishing shot of the wooded atmosphere showing the nature in a gloomy way. In the centre of the shot we see a blurred figure moving towards the camera, she is rope climbing and it looks as if she is struggling but has no choice but to go on. The character walks into the shot and the character suddenly moves a few steps back to create a method of tracking.

The camera then focuses on the expressions on the characters face by using a mid shot. The camera then stays in one position as the character carries on her hike, this depicts the idea that the forest has a hidden secret or a supernatural atmosphere.

The camera rapidly tracks the girl from behind as she runs further and further away from the camera.There is a foggy trail which creates the idea that the forest was an unknown mystery. This track then leads into a slow pan to depict the character climbing a frame, the camera starts from the side the charcter begins to climb and as she gets to the top of the frame, the camera works its way to the other side. Whilst it is panning peacefully, the camera catches the natural light from the sun which can suggest a sign of warmth or being safe.

The camera then remains stationed and the character runs out of the shot to illustrate the fact that she is moving alone and she is beginning to loose the audience which shows that she may feel alone and this could foreshadow a future event. For example, a kidnapping or death. A male character then runs after the female, the camera tracks the male to profile the character.

A trapped atmosphere is then created as the camera emphasises the height of the skinny, naked trees, this makes the forest look as if it is claustrophobic and the trees are almost closing in on one another. As the camera begins to swiftly move down, we notice that there are words on one of the trees which adds to the uncanny atmosphere. The character is then tracked as she enters a building.

An establishing shot of a building is then illustrated and the camera zooms in to focus on a particular part of the building to maybe portray that something was about to occur in that area. Following this, the location changes to the inside of the building as a pair of legs walk down the stairs, the camera focuses on a particular spot on the stairs to create a mysterious image for the character, the camera then pans to see the full image of the character.

A close-up i presented as she begins to walk someone, this leaves the audience in the dark as to where she is going. The idea of the camera having to keep on catch up with her suggests she is in a rush to get somewhere yet we are intrigued as to where. A mid shot of her entering a packed elevator full of men is portrayed. The doors of the elevator then close slowly and she is positioned exactly in the middle as it closes she looks stuck. Again this technique of the elevators closing suggests that she is trapped and there is no where that she can escape to.

A sign is then emphasised as she walked past. The camera focuses on it as it is an important asset of the sequence it tells us the location where the scene is set. The character then walks into a narrow corridor which again shows the idea of being trapped. The camera follows her to an office. Both her and the camera begin to attempt to acknowledge their surroundings, as the character begins to turn around the camera emphasises the reaction on her face by zooming smoothly into her face.

An extreme long shot of murder articles and photos of murders are seen on the screen. The camera then suddenly captures her observing the pictures and her curiosity. The camera then diagonally pans the pictures using close-ups, this suggests that something horrible has happened.

A side view of the characters face overpowers a blurred unknown figure in the background this creates an introduction of this new character. As the male character begins to talk, the camera lurks over the shoulder of the girl implying he is going to say something very terrible or negative.

Overall, the opening sequence has been building suspense and tension about the characters history and purpose in the story. The idea of entrapment is depicted broadly in this sequence it show that the character is stuck or closed in on and there is no possible method of escaping. The camerawork really compliments iscolation of the forest and buildings etc.

Cape Fear



The opening sequence starts with a stationary focus on the ripples of water which then eventually tranform into vicious waves becoming very rapid and angry. The titles of the production company and the director are depicted in small white font on the left hand side of the screen suggesting maybe a sign of peace or a ghostly atmosphere. Suddenly. the ripples of water stops and the water becomes what seems as  an asset for a reflection shot of a type of bird flying independently, this represents the idea of freedom. However, it is actually a dead crow floating in the water which symbolises bad luck.

The names of the cast cross dissolve in and out of the shot in small font so that it did not overpower the actual picture. The water begins to ripple again and it then transitions into what looks like an abstract art form but in fact could be the sharp reflection of the water.
Up until this point the music is very slow but still mysterious, then the title appears as if stamped on the screen and the music changes into a very violent and rapid tone. 

An extreme close up of a pair of eyes cross dissolve into the abstract art and then automatically fade out, this creates an idea of fear. Then an extreme close up of only one eye as it looks around this is blended with the atmospherical art, this depicts how scared and horrified this particular character is.

The screen refers back to the rippling water and begins to introduce more cast memebers. A face then appears in the water showing a very emotionless reaction. Then a blacked out mid shot of the waist of a male in dissolved in the water, this illustrates a very shadowing atmosphere and creates dominance as it looks like the male is about to harm the audience an dcommit a crime. The water then turns black suggesting a form of innocence being destroyed or impurity.

The screen then scrolls into a bloody red and a drop of blood begins to drop. A negative close up of a young female occurs on the screen to portray her being ruined. The camera then zooms out as she begins to talk directly into the camera about a past event, behind her we still see this idea of ripples and waves.

A close up pan dominates the screen, it portrays a wall of pictures and old history books, as this occurs on the screen, the violent and harsh music occurs again, this portrays a negative atmosphere.

The camera then zooms out to see the back of a man exercising in a prison cell, we can tell that this is a prison cell as the character is exercising in between bars. The door opens and he then walks out which suggests he is being let out of jail. As the character walks out of the jail the camera tracks his journey out of the jail and the character walks out with pride and dominance.

An establishing shot of the character free out of the jail is then presented, as you can see we can see the weather is grey and very dull, this reflects the idea that something bad is about to take place or evil has been set free.

Overall, the opening sequence creates tension as the idea of impurity dominates the sequence. The dead crow foreshadows the release of the fugative and the problems which will occur due to this.