Psycho Shower Scene Analysis

The scene starts with a girl getting into the shower, in a normal way that people do everyday; during the process we see a wide variety of camera angles, shots and compositions. Once the girl is in the shower we get a close up of the shower head, from the girls’ perspective. The head is depicted in the center of the shot. By using the rule of thirds we see that our focus is drawn towards the water droplets coming out of the shower head. This may draw our attention to how important the water is in this murder scene. The shot of the shower head is very unusual because it’s an establishing shot, but also acts as a cut away, also this cut away is used 2 or 3 times in the murder scene maybe to remind the audience it’s in the shower but more probably to remind the audience of how important the water is in the scene. Also the fact that the shot is from the victims’ perspective shows her arrogance towards her ever impending doom.

The next shot shows a the girl (victim) in the bottom right corner of the screen, with her back turned to the shower curtain and minding her own

 business, this shot also shows her arrogance cause we start to anticipate what is going to happen to her as the scene goes on creating a sense of ‘Dramatic Irony’ but it not the same because it makes the audience tense and the anticipation grows. During this shot we see the door open and a figure starts walking towards the shower curtain, but the sound of the door opening and the figures steps are masked by the sound of the water droplets hitting the girl and the floor, therefore making the water a more a part of the murder because the water makes the girl unaware of the figure moving towards her, to seal her ever impending doom. But also the fact that the shower curtain is translucent is also hiding the figures identity and therefore adding to the tension and anticipation. As the figure moves closer to the shower curtain the camera pans slightly to the left and zooms in slowly to make the audience aware that there is actually someone there and that they’re going to be important in this murder scene, cause it the murderer.

As the person gets closer the camera keeps zooming in then as soon as the 

murderer is at the curtain, she pulls the curtain back (we never see the pulling back of the curtain) but it goes to a straight jump cut the a close up of the killers blacked out face. The mise-en-scene of this shot depicts a person with a blacked out face which is also further masked by the water, which also reinforces the earlier point on how important the water is in the killing. Also the mise-en-scene of the knife being held, poised to kill, and that the knife is lit up, shows that the knife is something to be feared and it is the murderers tool of choice. Also the door is open wide shows that the murder isn’t a sneaky murder, but also shows the girls arrogance because she never saw the door open up wide. So she was unaware of the person wanting to murder her. Also the fact that the murder is about to take place in the shower, makes the viewer aware of the familiar, this convention adds to the Thriller genre because it takes an everyday situation and makes us scared and worried about it. Also the bathroom/shower room is normally a bright, white room, which is unusual for a murder scene cause most murders take place in a dark scary place, like an ally way, but by using a bathroom makes for a great place to show the blood and the effects of the murder also adding to the tension. Also the killers plan must be well thought out because she knows when she’s in the shower. Also the shower is normally a place for cleansing, so by making a pure place a murder scene also makes the audience more aware of an everyday process.

After the stabbing, we see the blood and water mixture being drained away, this connotes the girls’ life going down the drain. Also the sound of the water going 

down the plug hole is amplified to symbolise that her life is slowly draining away. We then have a dissolve transition to her eye, which is a graphic match to the plug hole. The camera also mimics the movement of the water as it zooms out from her eye to reveal her face on the cold wet floor, dead. As we zoom out the sound of the water distorts until we see that sees dead then it does back to the original sound of unamplified water droplets hitting the bath.

Narrative Codes

Narrative is the order, structure and the duration of the events (plot)/Time.

Narrative Theory- is were at the start of the film there is a Harmony/Special order/Stability. But as the film goes on the harmony turns into disruption/disharmony/chaos/change. Then at the end of the film the harmony is restored by a 'Hero'

Enigma code- A narrative device that engages the audience by presenting them with a puzzle or problem to be solved. This type of narrative is used to confuse the audience but normally the problem is solved in the film using the 'Action Code' but sometimes the director leaves out the solution to the problem to let the audience solve the problem themselves.

Action code- The event that solve the enigma, e.g. Gun Battle

Binary Opposition- Good vs Bad/Hero vs Villian/Rich vs Poor/Strong vs Weak.

Editing

Editing is when you put a film together by taking all the shots that you have filmed and put them into an understandable order. Editing is the longest process of the film making, it takes a lot of precision work. And it is also the time when you add special effects and sound. There are different types of editing but 'Continuity' Editing is the most used and most focused on. 'Continuity' editing involves:
- Maintaining a spatial relationships in a film
- Calls the audience's attention to specific objects/ Characters/ Events in the film
- Allows the film to shift through time
- Gives the film a general rhythm
- Shows action and reaction.

Transitions are placed in editing to join shots together to keep the continuity and pace of the film. The most common transition is a 'Straight Cut'- where the shot cuts straight to the next shot.

Dissolve is the gradual transition from one shot to another, it is normally a fade effect to the next shot. This helps the continuity cause it shows a move from one location to the next, it is a very good indicate of time passing.

When a film uses the technique of fading to Black/White, it is often to create a sense of time passing or if you do it quickly it can be used to show a flashback. They often fade from Black but in some cases white can work better for the film. It can also create a montage effect. The montage often starts off peaceful, then becomes action packed, then back to peaceful giving a great effect and creating tension at the same time.

'Cross-Cutting' is used between action cuts between two sequences to create links, parallels or contrasts between the two storylines and there settings. This can create tension and suspense.
A 'Wipe cut' is when a line moves across the screen showing a transition from one shot to another. This is used to show a marker of change. Normally a marker of change of location, time and characters.

A 'Jump Cut' is an abrupt cut between shots, the effect of this is to dramatically begin or end an action sequence. But be careful cause if this is done badly it looks really bad! It takes a lot of time to get this one right!

Other things such as 'Shot Reverse Shot' can be used to show a conversation taking place. It is when you edit together two shots from two different camera positions. Normally over the shoulder shots.

Another thing a director can do is a 'Match On Action' which is when shots are editing together to show how the action in a scene progresses through time. This is used to show the cause and the effect of the action.
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Movie Cover

Camera Angles, Compositions, Framing and Angles.

Compositions and Framing
Composition - Where objects are placed/arranged in a shot.

'The Rule Of Thirds' when used in the composition of the frame is when you split the frame in 9 separate sections, by drawing a 3x3 grid over the top of the frame. Like a TicTacToe grid on top of the freeze frame. The points in where the lines cross (Horizontal with Vertical) Is where our we normal focus on in the frame. Directors use this to know where to place certain objects in a frame. It also shows us that our natural interests are not normally set exactly in the middle of the screen.

'The Golden Mean' this is when you take a freeze frame and draw a diagonal line straight through the middle of the frame. Then two points of interest should lay on that diagonal line. For example if you take a picture of a stalk and diagonal like through the frame, then the points of interest should be on the Stalks head and tail. The 'Golden Mean' is used frequently by directors to draw our attention to certain objects in the scene.

'Framing' is when you choose to include certain features in the scene and also which features you wish to leave out of the scene. What a director leaves out can be very vital to a Thriller movie. A Thriller shot might exclude objects to create tension and mystery.

Types of shots;

- Extreme long shot (ELS). The point of this shot is to show the surrounds of the subject. 9 times out of 10 the subject will not be able to be seen or it is not clear where the subject is. ELS' are often used as an 'establishing shot.' This is normally the first shot in a scene used to show the audience where the action is or will take place. It can also be used in scenes where the action is very spread out. For example a war movie will use an 'extreme wide shot' can show the scale of the action.

- Long Shot (LS). This shot is used to show a character in their environment. This is obtained by the subject taking up almost all of the frame. In most cases the subjects feet are close to the bottom of the frame and their head is almost at the top of the frame.

- Mid Shot (MS). The Mid Shot shows the subject in a little more detail than the LS, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel if they are looking at the whole of the subject. Its just like having a conversation with an ordinary person, as in that you would be very interested in the lower part of their body. You'd be paying more to them speaking and not very hard on their emotion but its a good enough shot to see some emotion. It is a shot most used by News reporters. It is seen as an emotionally neutral shot, the MS enables room for hand gestures and some if no movement.

- Medium Close Up (MCU). The MCU shot is half way in between the mid shot and a Close Up shot (hence the name). The MCU shot shows the face more clearly, so facial emotions can be shown, without the audience feeling uncomfortably close.

- Close Up (CU). The Close Up shot is used for showing detail, the frame is normally taken up by a certain feature or part of the subject. A Close up of a person usually means a close up of their face. This normally emphasises the persons emotional state. The audience is drawn into the subjects personal space and encouraged to share their feelings.

- Extreme Close Up (ECU). This shot shows extreme detail like a watch in a situation where time is the key. You normally need a specific reason to use the ECU on a person cause it normally shows general reactions or emotion except in very dramatic scenes.

- Cut Away (CA). This normally shows something that's closely related to the reaction, but is not involved. For example a cat when its owner is the main subject in the scene. It could also be a close up of a different part of the subject like the hands of the subject, or it could be something else. The CA shot is used as a 'Buffer' between shots, usually used to help the editing process, or to add an interest or information.

- Two Shot (TS). The TS is used to establish the relationships between two subjects. For example when you see two presenters facing the screen, you get the idea that these people are going to be the shows co-hosts. As they have an equal role in the frame and they will provide an equal input.

- Over the Shoulder Shot. This shot is framed from behind one of the subjects as they come into conflict with another subject. You can normally see half of the back of the head of the first subject, that should occupy about 1/3 of the frame and you should be able to see the face and top torso of the other subject. This shot helps you gain a perspective of where each subjects are with each other from the point of view of one of the subjects. Its a common to cut between these shots during a conversation, alternating between who's speaking.

- Noddy Shot. Very common within interviews, this is a shot of the person listening and reacting to the subject. Normally interviews are shot with one camera, so the normal routine is to shoot the subject (using OSS or one-shots) For the entire interview, then shoot some noddy shots of the interviewer, these can then be edited into the interview so it can be cut, but it still flows.

- Point of View Shot. This is a shot that shows something from the viewers perspective. It is edited in such a way that it is obvious whose POV it is. But in films such as Thrillers they may use a POV shot to create tension and suspense cause we know that a subject is being watched but we don't know who by.

Camera angles and Camera movement. These are used to show how big, little, fast, slow things are. They are done by various techniques such as:
- Low Angle Shot. This shot is taken below the subject looking up at it. Thus giving the sense of size, power and authority. It puts the viewer in a helpless, inferior position.

- High Angle Shot. This shot is taken from above the subject looking down at it. This makes the subject an appearance that it is helpless, lack of power, inferior. Thus putting the viewer in a position that gives them power and authority.

- Pan Shot. When the camera moves in across the screen while being held still on a tripod, following a subject. This gives a sense of movement or speed.

- Tracking Shot. The camera moves on a dolly in sync with the subject. Thus giving a sense of speed and movement with the action.

- Tilt Shot. This is when the camera pans vertically - up and down. This can give a sense of size and height.

- Canted / Dutch Angle Shot. Where the camera isn't straight, it is slightly offset, it is not straight to the subject. This can give a sense of chaos, insanity or things being slightly out of the ordinary.

- Zoom In / Out. When the camera focuses zooming in or out of a key detail. Can highlight significant objects to audience.

- Steadicam / Handheld. The camera moves around with the action. It gives the viewer a sense of realism (being part of the film). This can create tension / excitement when used in a chase / suspense scene.

- Crane Shot. The camera takes a high angled shot looking down onto the subject. The crane can track, pan and tilt. This gives a sense of size and scale of how the subject fits into the setting.

- Aerial Shot. Where the camera is positioned in a plane or helicopter to get an ELS high angled shot. It gives a sense of location / scale / size.
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The 'Thriller' Genre

The Thriller genre, is a category of literature, film, video and television program that uses conventions such as suspense, tension and excitement as the main conventions. They focus heavily on the viewers moods such as:
- High level of anticipation
- Heightened expectation
- Uncertainty
- Anxiety
- Suspense
- Excitement
- Tension
- Terror
Devices such as 'red herrings' and 'cliffhangers' are abused extensively to mess with your head to create the above emotions and moods.

The most common methods in 'Crime' thrillers are mainly:
- Ransom
- Captivity
- Heists
- Revenge
- Kidnapping

'Mystery' Thrillers normally focus on:
- Investigations
- Whodunit Technique

The main thriller type 'psychological' thrillers uses techniques such as:
- Mind Games
- Psychological themes
- Stalking
- Confinement/Deathtraps
- Horror-Of-Personality
- Obsession

'Paranoid' thrillers use elements such as:
- Fringe theories
- False accusations
- Paranoia
- Action (Sometimes)

A standalone thriller, is a film that provides such things as thrills, and keeping the audience at the 'edge of their seats' through cliff-hangers and the audience should get further towards the edge of their seats all the way through the film as the plot closes towards the 'climax.' The tension usually grows when a main character(s) is placed in:
- A tense situation
- A mystery
- A trap (in which seems impossible to escape from)
Life is normally threatened in a thriller movie when a character is unsuspectingly or unknowingly in a dangerous or potentially a very deadly situation.

The plot of a Thriller movie normally entails the characters which coming into conflict with each other or come into contact with outside forces (The treat is sometimes abstract or unseen). 'Crime' Thrillers, normally keep attention away from the criminal or the detective, the audience are more focused on the suspense and danger that is generated in a situation.

Thriller movies that exploit the thriller genre the most are movies such as:
- The Talented Mr. Ripely
- The Silence Of Lambs
- Eden Lake
- The Last House On The Left
- P2
- Captivity
- Funny Games
- Joy Ride
- Unknown
- Hostage
- Cellular
- A History Of Violence
- Firewall

'Conspiracy' Thrillers which use all the right conventions are:
- Awake
- Snake Eyes
- Edge of Darkness
- Absolute Power
- Marathon Man
- In the Line of Fire
- Capricorn One
- JFK

'Crime' Thrillers are normally hybrid genres. Good 'Crime' Thriller movies are:
- Seven
- No Country for Old Men
- Silence of Lambs
- Untraceable
- Mindhunters
- Kiss the Girls
- Along Came a Spider
- Copycat
- The Asphalt Jungle
- The Score
- Rififi
- Oceans 11
- Entrapment
- The Killing
- Reservoir Dogs

Good 'Erotic' Thriller movies are:
- Basic Instinct
- Chloe
- Colour of Night
- Dressed to Kill
- Eyes Wide Shut
- In the Cut
- Lust
- Caution
- Single White Female

The 'Legal' Thriller, good movie list consists of:
- The Client
- Fracture
- A Time to Kill
- Primal Fear
- A Few Good Men
- Presumed Innocent
- The Juror

'Political' Thrillers good movie list entails movies such as:
- The Sentinel
- Topaz
- Notorious
- The Man Who Knew Too Much
- The Interpreter
- Proof of Life
- State of Play
- The Ghost Writer

'Psychological' Thriller movies that hold all the right credentials are:
- Suspicion
- Shadow of Doubt
- Strangers on a Train
- Blue Velvet
- The Talented Mr. Ripely
- The Machinist
- Don't Say a Work
- House of 9
- Trapped
- Flightplan
- Shutter Island
- Secret Window
- Identity
- Red Eye
- Phone Booth
- Psycho
- The River Wild
- Nick of Time
- P2
- Breakdown
- Panic Room
- Misery
- Cape Fear
- The Collector
- Frailty
- The Good Son
- Funny Games

'Rape and Revenge' and 'Supernatural' Thriller Films are a sub genre of Thriller movies, they use all the same conventions. Some good movies in this category are:
- The Last House on the Left
- Irreversible
- A Cruel Picture
- Baise-moi
- Spit on Your Grave
- Lady in the Water
- Fallen
- Knowing
- In Dreams
- Flatliners
- Jacob's Ladder
- The Skeleton Key
- What Lies Beneath
- Unbreakable
- The Gift
- The Dead Zone
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Lesson Overview 08/09/2011

Today we learnt what are the main conventions of a Thriller movie. Some of the main conventions are, tense music, cliffhangers, action and mystery.

We also learnt what a Genre is. A 'Genre' is a type of film or the category in which the films conventions suit. The 'Genre' helps us classify a film and identify it so we can, create it, choose it and understand it.
Film Genres include:
- Horror
- Slasher
- Shooter
- Thriller
- Comedy
- Hybrid (Mixture of major Genres)
- Parody
- Drama
- Spin Off
- Action
- Romance
- Sci-Fi
- Fiction
- Fantasy
- Animation
- Adventure
- Documentary
- Mockumentary

We also learnt the different classification of Genres.
Major Genre - The dominant genre, should be obvious and easy to define.
Sub Genre - A minor, subdivision that is closely related to its major genre
Hybrid Genre - A combination of Major Genres
We also learnt the concepts of Genres: - To attract an Audience
- To give the film an Identity
- To attract a mainstream audience
- Target a niche audience
- What the characters, storyline or Stars involve
- Sell the film

We also got taught how to recognise the genre. Certain genres have different generic codes and conventions which are signifiers that are established through time, through the use of mise-en-scene, the characters and the storyline.
Signifiers are the physical aspects which the film uses to create meaning (Contextualise).
Mise-en-scene is that we see in the film, it is a break down of, the set, the props, the costumes and the landscape inside a freeze frame of the film.
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Fast and The Furious Review: The final 'Heist'

I know I've skipped about 1 hour of the movie out, but I wanted to get onto the best part and Thriller filled part of the movie, THE FINAL HEIST! We start this part off by Mia watching the tracker screen to see where the CIA's Top dog is. He's apparently on the other side of the city, HEIST TIME! As the thrill of the heist starts to kick in, a SUV screams into the garage, with the Top dog, Hobbs, in it. Therefore killing the tension, but creating another type of tension cause we all start to wonder about what's going to happen, is the heist still going to go ahead? But then 'the Fast Five' are taken into an armoured Truck and as they are being taken down to the Police Station, sad music kicks in, which builds to the tension, then out of no-where they get ambushed and an RPG fired at the truck in front, which makes us wonder what the hell is going on? Is Dom behind this? What's going to happen to 'The Fast Five'? We soon get our answer when agent Hobbs is blown 7 feet through the air by an RPG hitting a truck, it leaves us only hearing what his blown out ear drums can hear. The muffled sound of gun fire and explosions. As he watches his fellow men get shot and blown to pieces. This adds the tension and Thrill cause we wonder what's going to happen now.
But then Dom and Brian, come out of the armoured truck armed with shot guns to help Hobbs. They then go back to the garage and Hobbs joins them on the heist, a bit strange I know but let's just go with it.
We then find out what Reyas has prepared for the fast five which adds to the tension, but also Reyas doesn't know what they've got in store for him. As they then use Hobbs' armoured truck to smash their way into the vault room of the police station, where Brian and Dom attach their Dodge Chargers to the vault and drag it through the streets of Rio De Niro, not the smartest thing to do when they smash through a bank cause they lose control of the massive 50 tonne vault, but can they out run the cops?
They use the vault to smash the pursuing cop cars off the road but tension builds once again as Mia tells the boys through the radio that there are more cop cars inbound, surely this must be the end? But no they battle on for another 5 minutes until Roman and Han use the cop cars they stole earlier to ram the remaining cops off the road. Leaving them a 10 second window.
We now come to final bit of the chase, the bridge, where Reyas has joined into the chase in his swanky 4x4, Dom and Brian realise they're cornered if they stay on the bridge, so Dom decides to let Brian go cause soon he'll have a family to look after. Dom then does a 180 degree hand brake turn in his Charger, and goes full power towards Reyas and his crew. The tension builds up more and more as Dom approaches Reyas, Dom weaves his way through police cars, which once they've dodged Dom, they're nicely greeted by a 50 tonne Vault to slam into. Dom gets into range of Reyas, everything goes slow motion to build the tension, Dom pulls the handbrake swiftly, even looking fast in slow motion, the car swings round, so does the vault, which eliminates Reyas' friends car, Dom bails out of his Charger and the charger land straight on top of Reyas. The tension of the slow motion gave the film the Thriller status it deserves, a movie that has everything building up to a big end is a good way to make a thriller movie.
But the Thrill doesn't end there, Hobbs gives Dom and everyone 1 week to run, Hobbs then turns to the vault and its open? He looks inside nothing? Where's that 100 million dollars? Well in that 10 second window earlier they switched the vaults, and the one with all the money in was already home and dry while that one was ready for the dump yard. That piece of clever directing also added to the tension and Thrill. Over all the movie was an on the edge of your seat, action packed, Thriller movie. And a credit not only the Fast and The Furious movies but a credit to the Thriller Genre!
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The Fast and The Furious 5 Review: Vince was Behind it?

Luckily Dom and Brian survive the fall of death, which would kill any normal human, but these guys are actors, so let's just go with it ay. When they climb out of the river they are greeted by some no good gangsters, who take them away and tortures them until they tell them where that GT40 is, Reyas threatens to kill Mia, then somehow, Brian and Dom escape and find Mia in a abandoned garage inside the favela. The gang wanted the GT40, why? Yeah a 4 million dollar motor, but why would a gang want that? Well at this point, Vince comes back. He tries to steal the ECU chip but Dom catches him. This must be what they wanted! And it turns out they did want it cause it contained information about every single one of Reyas' sweatshops and his clients and where to find his money. One thing they didn't want to go missing. Dom uses this chip to set up the perfect Heist. To take all of Reyas' money. But was Vince really behind what happened on the train...?
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The Fast and The Furious 5 Review: The First 'Job'

We are welcome backed to the movie by a train thundering along the tracks, in the middle of a very remote desert. Brian and Mia are already on the train which is carrying the 3 precious cars they wish to 'boost.' The job starts, the tension is built up with music and an old ragged flat bedded truck quickly closing in on the train. The truck pulls up along side of the truck, and they use plasma cutters to cut a hole into the trailer where the cars are being held. Brian and Mia are there to meet them, Dom and Vince step off the truck and into the train, then another guy steps off the truck and demands he takes the Ford GT40. Who's this guy? What's he going to do with the car once he's in it? Vince takes the first car and drives off into the desert, Mia then climbs into the GT40. The Brazilian gang member who wanted to take the GT40 talks to he amigo, probably that he wanted that, but then Mia drives off in the completely different direction to Vince. Oh well now this is when it all kicks off! The Brazilians turn on Brian and Dom, hitting, shooting. Brian jumps on the truck to try and steal that while Dom is left to take down 4 of the Brazilians, who end up shooting 3 CIA agents. Brian wrestles with the 2 in the flat bed truck a little too much and the truck ploughs into the side of the train, and when petrol meets fire we all know what happens, Brian is then left hanging off the side of the Train. As Dom finishes off the last of the Gangsters, he dives into the 'Chrome Chevrolet Corvette Stingray' and drives out the side of the train. He drives up to Brian, and in classic Tomb Raider style, Brian jumps into the back of the car. But its too late. They carrier off the cliff of the canyon ...
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The Fast And The Furious 5 Review: The Beginning

After a the 4th movie in the Fast and The Furious movies was a let down, the world didn't expect much from the 5th movie, dubbed 'The Fast Five.' But after about 30 seconds the film turned into a Thrillfest of car chases and on the edge of your seat action. We kick the movie off with one of the main characters, Dom, getting convicted. Yeah I know, not very thrilling, but the bus that was supposed to take him from the court room too the prison gets intercepted by, his sister, Mia, and her husband and Dom's closest friend, Brian. The chase lasts about 1 minute, ending with the bus rolling. This is then followed up by about half a dozen different News reports about the bus, which adds to the tension, of what happened to Dom? Where has he gone? But we all know that we'll find out soon enough.

We then join Brian and Mia in Rio where the rest of the movie is set. A long drive up a hill, through Rios many towns of Favelas, accompanied by nail biting music, this adds tension and puts on edge for what they are making their way up the hill to do. When they reach the top of the hill, they are greeted at gun point by a group of gangsters. Vince, Doms brother, then pushes past the gangsters to meet Brian and Mia. The tension then grows as Vince talks about a 'Job' which involves stealing 3 million dollar cars. Vince says its easy money, but nothings as easy as people make out these days.
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E-mail blog test

E-mail Blogging test. To see if e-mail blogging works
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AS Media Studies First Post 7/9/2011

First ever post for my Media Studies coursework, guess its all 'ay okay'