Rope

Rope

Rope is a psychological film. it was adapted from Patrick Hamilton's Play which appeared 1929. The play was based upon real life murderess Leopold and Loeb who killed an innocent man to see how it felt. The case became very famous in America. It was linked to the ideas of Nietzsche and his of notions of "Superman" a morally superior being. Nietzsche ideas influenced Hitler and the rise of the Nazis.

Alfred Hitchcock

The film was made in 1948 and directed Alfred Hitchcock. The unique and interesting thing about the film is the editing. Hitchcock wanted to film the story as one long continuous take so it like watching a play and the audience felt they were living the action. However, before the digital, film came in ten minute rolls. Hitchcock had to compromise and each unedited scene is ten minutes long. Changes between scenes appears rather "clunky" to a modern audience.

Using this editing technique creates a feeling of claustrophobia. The actors and the audience are both trapped in the film. The trunk with the body in the present throughout which adds to the tension. Because both the audience and the actors whether or not the trunk will be opened or if Philip and Brandon be discovered.

Another fascinating element to the film is the way homosexuality is portrayed. The strict censorship of the 1920s meant that the subject could be implies not openly stated. 

Thrillers use such devices as:

James Stewart

• Suspense- We constantly for the body to be discovered in the trunk
• Cliff hangers- At the end of the film with Rupert Cadell( played by James Stewart) be killed by Brandon and Philip?

Source Code

Psycho

Janet Leigh

Psycho is a psychological thriller. its a film in two halves. in the first half we see Marion Crane(Janet Leigh) steal money and flee to be with her adulterous lover. she is murdered halfway through the film which shocks the audience because she was meant to be the main character.

Anthony Perkins

The second half of the film is about Norman Bates(Anthony Perkins)trying to cover the killings of his "mother".

Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock used the device of the Mcguffin to move the plot forward. The audience doesn't care about the McGufin but rather the hero and what happens to them. In this film, the McGuffin was the stolen money.

This film was made in 1960 and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. As often happens in Hitchcock's films there is a blonde woman and the blonde woman in this film was played by Janet Leigh  to be the victim as they look more innocent and any danger seems worse when its happening to them. In this film Marion Crane is brutally murdered.

Unlike other thrillers there is no hero

Thrillers are villain driven plots. 

Norman Bates

Norman Bates is the central character for the second half of the film. He is an unusual villain in that he appears so normal and likeable.

Thrillers use devices such as 

 

• Suspense- Marion Crane buying the car with the policeman watching.

Red Herrings- We think Normans mother is the killer.

Cliffhangers- Is Marion's sister going to be killed in the basement at the end?.

The shower scene is one of the most famous in cinema history. The very fast editing and discordant soundtrack by Bernard echoes the knife entering the body. In 1960 the scene was so shocking and Janet Leigh, the actress claimed to have never had a shower since. 

Colour and Lighting

Colour: Denotation And Connotation

Denotation is the literal description of an idea, concept or an object.

Connotation is what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object.

Red Denotation is the colour itself red. The literal meaning.

Red Connotations

• Danger
• Death
• Anger
• Blood
• Love
• Romance

Blue connotations

• Pure
• Sea
• Sad
• Calm
• Cold

 Lighting

Standard Lighting setup includes:

• Back light
• Reflector/ Filler Light
• Key Light

The KEY LIGHT is the brightest and most influential.

The BACK LIGHT helps counteract the effect of the key light or creates an outline or silhouette. 

FILLER LIGHT helps soften the harsh shadows that use of key and back light creates.

UNDER LIGHTING is when the main source comes from below the subject. Used in Thrillers and Horror Films.

TOP LIGHTING is when the main source of lighting comes from above- highlighting the features- used to create a glamorous look.

Low-key And High-key Lightning

LOW-KEY LIGHTNING is created by using only the key and back lights. This will produce a sharp contrast of light and dark areas on the screen as very deep, distinct shadow are formed known as Chiaroscuro(from Italian for light- Chiaro and dark- Oscuro

HIGH-KEY LIGHTNING

• Here, more filler lights are used. Lightning appears realistic.

Camera Techniques Thriller

 This is a short film made to show camera shots. The first camera shot we see in the first seen of running is the high angle because it is been shot from a height angle and it enables the audience to know how vulnerable the person running is.

Camera Techniques Exercise and Evalation

We done this work so we could show the different camera angles. Some of the camera angles that we done were:

The story of this was that Stefan was getting chased by Patrick and Stefan injured himself in the process. This led to Stefan falling over and patrick punching him out and Stefan waking up on the bench without any memory of what happened. Alexandra found Stefan and checked on him

Use of the Camera

In this blog I am going to talk about the use of a camera. There are two types.

Camera shot
Camera movement

CAMERA SHOT

 This is an example of a long shot. A long shot is used to show an entire object or figure when filming. it can also be known as a full shot or a wide shot. they are used to set a scene or show when something is going on.

Medium shot: A camera shot in which the subject is in the middle distance, permitting some of the background to be seen

This picture is an example of a medium shot

Close up shot:  In a close up shot, a certain feature or part of a subject takes up most of the frame. a close up of a person emphasis their emotional state.

This is an example

Extreme close up shot:  this is used to focus on a particular detail of the subject.
Here is an example











Point of view shot:  it is a short film scene which shows what the character is looking at which is represented through the camera

Here is an example of a point of view shot.






















Low angle shot:  it is a shot from the camera angle positioned low on a vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line looking up.
This is an example of a low angle shot


















High angle shot: it is where the camera looks down on the subject high angle and the point of focus often gets swallowed up. These type of shots can make the subject seem vulnerable.


This is an example of a high angle shot





CAMERA MOVEMENT







Pan: it is when the camera is turned horizontally so that it can sweep around the scene.

this picture is an example of a pan.















Tilt: this is moving the camera up and down without changing its horizontal axis.

This picture here is an example of tilt












Tracking shot: this is when the camera follows a person or an object physically moving with the subject.

This picture here is an example of a tracking shot














Crane shot: This shot is used to view the actor from above or to move up and away from them. Also a common way of ending a movie.

This picture here is an example of a crane shot








Steadicam: It is a brand of camera stabilizer mount for motion picture cameras that mechanically isolates it from the operators movement.

This picture here is an example of a Steadicam.







Rolling shot: This is used to show car motions in a scene

This picture is an example of a rolling shot.