Task 2- Research Into Existing Products

Textual Analysis and Conventions of Film Genres.
Codes and conventions of a romantic comedy..

A romantic comedy, ('romcom' or 'chick flick' as it is sometimes labelled as as it aims at a female audience) has certain codes and conventions which helps the audience identify its particular genre.
These are usually:

*Prologue introduction into love theme- usually romantic upbeat music and occasionally a voice over.
*The two main characters are introducer.
'Boy meets girl'.
*Hints that they may be a good love match
*Parts ways because of an argument/disagreement
*Ultimately reunite
*'Live Happily ever after'.

An example of a romantic comedy is '10 Things I Hate About You'.

Codes and Conventions of a thriller...

The codes and conventions of a thriller are usually created by mis en scene, sound and editing. This mainly involves:

*Chlostrophobic spaces/Entrapment (e.g Narrow Alleyways)
*Sound- Music that creates tension.
*Lighting- Dark and Shadowed.
*Quick cuts and change in camera angle.
*Aims to play with audiences mind.
*Flashbacks/ Pass of time sequence.

An example of a thriller is Kill Bill.

Codes and Conventions of a Horror...

It is difficult to define the conventions of a horror film, as to create and enhance a feeling of fear in the audience, there is usually an element of mystery and surprise. A horror will mostly combine a supernatural element with reality. Many other genres are commonly incorporated into horror films. The main conventions are:

*Usually involves a victim
* A mysterious death
*A failed act of heroism
*Screams/ Fear
*Blood/Gore
*Darkness and Shadows
*Dark colours used- black, grey, black and white
*Stormy/ Bad weather
*Terrifying Climax to the story
*The evil is usually defeated, or the characters 'think' it is, which sometimes leads to a sequel.

An example of a horror film is The Ring.

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Textual analysis of the the opening sequence to a thriller

Panic Room.

‘Panic Room’ opens by setting the scene with an establishing shot of the city. The mis en scene appears busy as there are several long shots filled with tall, old buildings built closely together, giving it a claustrophobic feel. The font featured in the opening credits is big and bold, which corresponds to the buildings. The music used is slow and low pitched which changes into faster, music with a violins and clicking, which can be associated with the ticking of a clock, used to create tension. The colours used in the mis en scene and background characters clothes are bland (brown and grey). The audience’s attention is drawn, as the camera focuses in, to two women wearin glasses which shadow their eyes and are framed together in the centre of the shot, establishing importance over the background characters. Background characters walk past between the characters and the camera, as if the audience is following and eavesdropping on the women. The camera cuts to a medium shot of a man standing at a door, who the women shout to. The camera tilts up towards the man at the top of the stairs, showing dominance, which gives the impression they require his services. The man is in a white coat, which contrast against the old,, dirty, almost gothic appearance of the building he’s standing outside. As the women approach the man, the camera cuts to a medium close up from behind the door, showing the darkness of the room inside the house and the light peering in through the net curtain. As the others walk in, there is a close up of Jodie foster’s characters face, looking at the street, with an unsure look. As they walk in, a long shot shows the dark, shadowed room with all the curtains closed. As the mis en scene has changed, the white room contrasts against the woman’s black clothing and she stands out. There is a medium shot of her son crossing the house on his scooter, from behind the banister at a low angle, once again as if the audience is intruding. The camera follows the boys movements on his scooter around the house, showing that the mis en scene of all the other rooms match the first room we see. In the background, the man’s voice is heard, describing the house and its features. This establishes his character as an estate agent. As the opening credits focuses on the woman in black and this particular house , we are given the impression that they both have significance in the film and the dark shadowed atmosphere foreshadows that something bad is going to happen within the house.

Silence of the Lambs

The opening sequence to 'Silence of the Lambs' is effectively representational of the film itself. The genre of the film is clearly established from the start, with it opening with a long shot of a dark, shadowed woodland. The non-diegetic music is slow and deep and has a sinister aspect to it. The opening credits are in black block capitals and in the background there is diegetic sound of birds screeching and general wildlife noises, giving the impression that the woodland is deserted. The camera tilts downwards, and there is an animalistic element presented in the scene as the long shot from up in the trees is almost like a predator stalking it's prey. A young woman comes into focus from the distance as she pulls desperately on a rope to make her way up the hill towards the camera. The camera then switches to a medium long shot of the woman (Jodie Foster's character) jogging. Although her costume is sports clothes and trainers and it is obvious that she is out jogging, the camera is following her from behind as she runs. This imitates a convention of a chase sequence used in opening sequences of some thriller/horror films . The mis en scene around her shows that the woodland is extremely misty, indicating that the scene is in the early hours of the morning. The audience become aware of her heaving breathing as it changes to a medium close up of the woman and then the fast pace in which she is running when the cameras switches to a medium close up of her legs. Perhaps this could foreshadow that the character will experience fear and a race for survival in the film. The camera returns to the position behind the woman running in a medium shot as she approaches an obstacle and climbs over it. Unusually, the camera remains in it's position beside the obstacle and follows her movements. Up until this point, the audience is given the impression that the woman is alone in the woodland, and it then becomes clear someone is trying to catch up with her as there is a diegetic sound of a mans voice shouting her surname. The man jogs past the camera, which follows his movements from behind in sync with him. The woman turns round and pauses to rest as the camera zooms in on their conversation. He tells her that 'Crawford' wants to see her. The woman runs off out of vision and the camera focuses in on the mans facial expression. The sequence ends with a medium shot of a tree posing four signs reading 'hurt', 'agony', 'pain' and 'love it'. The woman runs past the tree and the camera follows her direction where she runs into a building in which a group of people dressed in black are jogging outside.

Mirrors

The opening sequence begins a blackout with a diegetic sound of a man panting and breathing heavily. The camera fades in to a tilt upward at a mans face, which is shadowed and we see the week lighting above him. This shot could have been chosen to appear as if the camera is on his body, to indicate that the man is alone. He is running at a very fast pace and there is a close-up of him looking behind him, which indicates his fear of what appears to be chasing him. The surroundings are dingy, run down and is built up of mainly black and white colouring. There is a close-up shot from behind railings focusing on his frantic expression as he runs up and desperately pulls on them. The character is shown as isolated and vulnerable, which identifies him as being the victim. The camera then switches to a medium shot of the sideview of a train passing and the audience can clearly see through the windows that it is empty and that he is in a desserted train station. The train passes out of view and we see a long shot of the man running down the platform in another direction, obviously trying to escape. As he turns the corner it cuts to a shot of the mirrored ceiling, which vaguely shows his reflection and the mans distraction with the ceiling as he runs. We see from behind the character's view of the corridor he is running down, it is in darkness apart from a single light over the red door, which contrasts against the mis en scene. He approaches the door but it is locked and the camera switches to a medium close-up sideways of him grabbing a fire extinguisher and breaking the lock to open the door. The audience is kept in suspense as they are unaware what he is running from in the chase sequence. He dives through the door, shuts it and we see a close-up of his terrified expression as he sweats profusely. The lights repeatedly flicker, which increases the mans fear. He finds a fire exit door and opens it to find it blocked off. It becomes clear the man is trapped within the room. The camera cuts to a close-up of a locker and a diegetic screeching sound as it opens on it's own, which draws our attention to it. From behind we see the man stop dead in his tracks as he hears the noise and slowly turns his head. The lighting and diegetic sound are used successfully to build up tension. The rest of the lockers open simultaneously to reveal mirrors that all face the man. There is a long shot and we see a mirror framed in the centre of the screen, so it becomes significant. The man edges towards the mirror slowly. From behind the mirror we see a medium close-up of the mans reaction as the mirror begins to crack. This viewpoint shows that the man is no longer alone. Special effects are used effectively in the last part of the sequence to enhance the audiences fear and establish the film as being a horror. A piece of the mirror falls off and the man begins to plead with it. He bends down to pick up the piece and his reflection doesn't move with him, but stares at him. A close-up of the piece of mirror shows that is shaped like a tool and the man takes it. The camera tilts down at him as he rises, once again showing his vulnerability. There is a shot reverse shot of the mans fearful expression and the evil expression on his reflections face. The reflection stabs the mirror piece into it's neck and rips it open, and the mans neck is torn open in sync with the reflection. It carves a cross into it's neck and blood pours violently out of the mans neck, completely covering the mirror. The end of the sequence is marked as the opening credits appear. The severeity of the blood and gore shown so early on in the film identifies it as being as horror. Plus, as it begins with a violent and mysterious murder, we are given the impression that numerous killings will follow it in the film.