Analysis of BFI data - Genre and Classification.

Summary and conclusions of Table 4.1.

From this table, we can see that the Thriller genre is more popular in terms of the number of films released compared to the Horror genre. However, even though there were 64 thrillers released, the 37 horror films that were released generated more profit in the end compared to the thrillers. The horror genre made £57.5 million pound in this year compared to the £29.1 million pounds made by the thriller genre. This shows that the horror genre is not only more profitable but it is more popular then the thriller genre. 

Summary and conclusions of Table 4.2.

This set of data shows us that Horror films were played in more cinemas across the UK and the Republic of Ireland than Thriller films. Horror films were played across 145 cinemas whereas Thriller films were only played across 89 cinemas in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. However, the number of thriller films released (64) was higher than the number of horror films released (37). Even though there were more thriller films released, the horror genre made more profit than the thriller genre did because the horror films released were more popular then the thriller films released. 

 

Summary and conclusions of Table 4.3.

From this table, we can see an average amount of how much money a genre makes in one cinema when a film is released. Sticking to the horrors films, in one cinema, on average makes £10,708 for the whole horror genre. Thrillers however only make £5,127 for the whole thriller genre. Although, the total amount of sites that thriller films were played at in 2013 was 5,667 compared to the 5,367 sites that horror films were played at in 2013. Even though thriller films were played at more cinemas than the horror films were, horror films still managed to generate more profit and more money for the box office than the thriller genre did. 

 

Summary and conclusions of Table 4.4.

This table shows the number of releases of different films from different genres. The ones I've chosen are horror and thriller. Thriller films have 10 more releases than horror film, and the percentage of horror releases is 5.0% whereas the percentage of thriller releases was 12.2%. Horror films generated £14.8 million in this year for the films released ranked by gross box office. Whereas thrillers only generated £4.1 million in this year ranked by gross box office. The percent of total box office for horror films was 5.8% whereas thrillers was only 1.2%. This suggests that even if thrillers were released more, horror were and are still popular.

 

Summary and Conclusions of Figure 4.1.

This bar chart shows the proportion of box office by genre for all films. It shows that again horror and thriller do not generate more box office than action and comedy. The second bar chart shows the proportion of releases by genre for all films. It shows that horror and thriller films were released more then other genres which shows how popular they can be when first released. 

Different roles within film making.

Role allocation:

1. What might the role of a writer be?
Screenwriters create the screenplays for films. They provide the blueprints essentially for the film, however, these can be changed by the creative input the producers, directors, designers, composers and editors. 
They should allow the person reading it to imagine how the film would play out on screen. They should make it include fascinating characters that people from the audience can relate to and an exciting plot that keeps the audience wondering what is going to happen next. It should also fit the format and style expected in the film industry. 
They have to produce highly creative writing, to strict deadlines. If the script is not to the screen writing team's standards, then the script may either be given to another screenwriter or the original screenwriter may just be replaced altogether. Also, if one writer has writer's block then they can pass it onto another writer who can continue writing it. In some cases, scripts can be passed around more than 10 times before it is completely finished because each writer needs help or their work isn't of a high standard.  

2. What is the responsibility of the composer?
Each film has a different style of music so the composer's have different jobs depending on the film. The main role of the composer is to find music to accompany the film, this could be by bringing in musicians or getting rights to a song to put into a film. The composer has to meet with the director and movie producer when the film has been shot and is being edited to discuss what music they want in the film. 

3. What might the role of the camera person be?
Before the filming has even started shooting, the camera operator has to read the script so they know what they are shooting. They have to meet with the director so they can discuss they style in which they want the film shooting in. They have to make sure they know where all the locations are since in most films they have to shoot in different locations. They also have to determine what angles they are shooting from in each scene or shot so that they can get the film right. Whilst shooting the film, they have to be closely involved at all times when setting up the shots in case the director wants to change the shots around at any point. 

4. What would be the role of the head of casting?
Before the film has started shooting, they casting directors work with the director and producer to assemble the perfect cast for the film. Because of this, they have to have an in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of new and existing talent when it comes to acting. They are responsible for matching the actor/actress to the right roles based on the actor's experience, ability, reputation, availability and their box office appeal. They also work with production accountants to make the casting budget. They organise and conduct interviews and auditions for each part and offer the actor/actress a fee for appearing in the film. They need to be highly selective and extremely demanding so it is vital that they be patient and hard-working. 

5. Who is the producer of the film and what is their role?
Producers have overall control of every aspect of the production of the film. They bring together and approve the whole production team. They steer the film from beginning to when the film is completed. They are often the first person to get involved in a project. The many responsibilities of the Producer span all four phases of production. In the Development stage, Producers are often responsible for coming up with the idea for a production, or selecting a screenplay. Producers secure the rights, choose the screenwriter and story editing team. Producers also approve locations, studio hire, the final shooting script, production schedule and budget. More time and money spent in pre-production can reduce time and money wasting when the production gets under-way.

6. What would be the role of a film director?
Directors direct the film. They are responsible for translating the script into images and sounds on the screen. Ultimately, they are responsible for the film's success or failure. 
They also manage the technical aspects of filming including the camera, sound, lighting, design and special effects departments. At all stages, Directors are responsible for motivating the team to produce the best possible results. Directors must also always be aware of the constraints of the film's budget and schedule and manage the expectations of the film's financiers.

MR JUDGE FEEDBACK

Hi Paige,

• Excellent so far, we just need a few tweaks and additions in certain places. 
• Punctuate stereotypical representations with some images and video clips and a few more images in film noir
• We also need the textual analysis of Se7en

Genre.

What genres became popular?

The western genre became popular after a mass of Cowboy films hit cinema screens. This was a representation of 'dodgy' films and characters but they were popular because of the western theme to them. 

The comedy genre also became popular after Laurel and Hardy appeared with slapstick comedy. Many other comedy films were made after this and now-a-days, they have nearly completely been re-made from the original comedy films that were made between 1900 and 1920.

Horror films also became popular with the release of Frankenstein and Dracula. These films were developed mostly from European stories that were passed down from different generations of families and brought over to America.

Science-fiction genres didn't become popular until 1930/40. There was fear of finding new life at this time so directors and producers thought that by making films where new life was actually found, then it would ease people's minds. They hoped that by making these films that people would have a new perception on the hope of finding new life.

What is the genre of film Noir?

Codes and conventions:

• Monologues - usually detective monologues/narrations - usually non-diegetic.
• Cliché
• Bad guys - Mafia or corrupt cops.
• Usually women involved - femme fatale  - female in need
• Narrative - spider and the fly. The spider is the woman who traps the fly - the fly being the detective. The spider usually has a British accent and is of a high class. She traps the fly and controls him, makes him fall in love with her and he can't escape.
• Omniscient narrations.
• The detective survives - he breaks free from the spider.
• Hays code - gangster gets caught because the good guy always comes out on top.
• femme fatale - killed or sent to prison.
• relationship between the spider and the fly - the man falls for the woman in the middle of the film but she doesn't fall for him until the end when it is too late because he has to either kill her or send her to prison.
• Women are objectified and fetisied.

Lighting: 

• Front lighting - light and dark - hints at the themes - low key lighting.
• music and sound - ambient - sounds of the city 
• jazz music - neutral sound - saxophones - city/urban thing.  

Where did Genres come from?
In the 1900s, films were being experimented with. When the 1920's came, there were a lot of films that were in the industry. Directors were giving audiences what they wanted. Film companies followed this pattern and they found out what films were popular and made films in the same genre so that these films were popular. Film companies gained more money from this because cinemas were selling more tickets. There were five big companies that owned the majority of films that were being made in the 1920's. They were known as 'the Majors' or 'The Big 5'. These companies were 20th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. These are still around today. 

How did the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' re-inforce genres?
At this time, genres were known as the 'cash cows', this means that companies were making money from following the same genre films. They didn't want to stop making money, which is why there are so many films that follow the same patterns and are of the same genres. This re-inforced genres because the same genre of film was being made and this resulted in many other genres not being as popular. This is why, even today, people do not really want to go and see new films that are not of the same genre and don't follow the same patterns. 

Which genres became popular in Hollywood?
The genres that became popular in Hollywood were: Romantics, Western's and Melodrama's. These genres are still popular today. Some examples of romantic films are: Titanic, Ghost and Pretty Woman. A few examples of Weston films are: Stagecoach, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Red River. Finally, some examples of Melodrama films are: A Fool There Was, That Certain Woman and The Old Maid.

Why do audiences like genre films?
Audiences like genre films because they contain the same conventions, have the same plots and are of the same genre. Some people have a certain type of genre that they like watching. An example of a genre film that has been around for a while and people like watching is James Bond. There has been 24 James Bond films since 1962. Another film genre that is popular and has been around for a while is Saw. Seven of these films have been released since 2004 and because of the popularity of the genre, these films have been popular. 

Origins of Film Noir:
Film Noir essentially means Black Film. It is a term made by French film critic Nino Frank in 1946. Stereotypical film Noirs feature a male detective who wears a fedora and a femme fatale and usually takes place in the suburbs. It is best described as a feeling of visual style of low-key lighting and story conventions. 

Historical Context:
Film Noir developed because of the Great Depression of 1930s America. There were advancements in the 1920s in terms of synchronized sound, panchromatic film and better lighting. These advancements made more people go to the cinema because going was a way for economically depressed citizens to escape their life. Also, Technicolor developed in the 1930s which brought colour to the movie screens. This three strip colour process required more money and more time to be spent on making these films which is a downside to Technicolor being made. As a result of this, movie theatres brought in block booking whereby they paid for at least a hundred movies in order to gain the rights to the film so they could let people view it. There was usually a mix of A list films and uncommon B list films so that profit could be made. Another way that profit could be made was by making different genre films other than crime drama films like film Noir. They began to develop western films, gangster films, science-fiction films and horror films. They also included pulp fiction crime novels which served the basis for any film Noir. 
Film Noir became popular because of German Expression which was where people from Germany were escaping the Nazis by going to Hollywood to become actors. Many of these people succeeded, however many failed at this and had to return home by the time the Second World War started. This German Expression left people disillusioned and numb which many films Noirs also did. Many photographers for these film Noirs were going back to Hollywood after serving in the Military. They brought along new technological advancements post-war. Some of these were: better light sensitive film, compact lighting and many of these photographers weren't afraid of shooting on location.
Hays code made sure that film makers were being suggestive in sexual manners not explicit, essentially, they were hiding the 'ugly' business in the shadows of the scenes. Some elements that contributed to films were: low budgets which meant low-key lighting, nihilism and hays code.  By 1946, the Supreme court of America had banned block booking and many film makers were laid off after this so they went to Television because people were not wanting to leave their homes to watch a film at the movies. After this, film started to battle with TV to gain their audience, so by this time, hays code had been abandoned. By the 1950s, colour films were becoming more popular on set because high and bright background lighting came about. 

Essential film Noirs.
Defining films of the era: the first true film Noir was Stranger on the third floor from 1940, directed by Boris Inkster, written by Frank Partos and Nathaniel West. One other film Noir was Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder in 1944. A recent film Noir is well known to everyone, The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan in 2008. 

- this clip is from The Maltese Falcon, another typical film noir

Se7en Analysis

The sequence starts with a series of short clips, each from different angles. One of these includes the clip of the fingers holding a razor blade.

The extreme close-up makes it hard for us to distinguish what is going on in the clip. However, the extreme close-ups from different angles allows the audience to put together the pieces to create a picture of what is going on.

There are extreme close ups, some of which include unconventional items. Several of these close-ups appear to have metal objects in them, signifying that the criminal in the film could be a in an occupation which involves metal objects. This in turn leads us to believe that these metal objects are the things the criminal uses to kill his/her victims. There is also a large focus on hands in the clips. This could tell us that the killer is very hands on in his killings and gets all the little details right to ensure that he/she isn't caught.

One of these short clips is of a book, with the pages being slowly turned. At first, we could say that this connotes an academic profession, however, when the shot and the book is matched with the dark and gloomy lighting, it suggest otherwise. The dark lighting shows that this character is looking through the book in the dark and therefore suggests that this character could have an obsession with someone or something. The tainted edges of the pages and the way the book is put together shows that it is not academic but in fact home-made again showing an obsession or hobby. The non-diegetic sound that goes with this shot sounds like the shooting of a gun in the distance which brings a more sinister tone. Then a scratchy repetitive sound is played which connotes danger and creates tension.

The next shot is a close up shot of a drawing of a distorted pair of hands hat have been stuck down using yellow tape. This represents how the killer is obsessive with his passion for killing in strange ways. The distorted hands resemble his tendency to murder in psychotic ways which therefore confirms to the audience that the film is a horror/thriller.

There are no long shots in this sequence, so it doesn't really allow the audience to see what is fully going on, reinforcing the mysterious plot of the film. Throughout the clip, all of the camera angle are high angles or at eye level which could connote that the film-maker doesn't want to reveal anything that is important yet. This could also suggest that all of the objects shown are of little importance as they are being looked down on.

The Mise-en scene here puts across ideas of what could happen in the film and makes the audience think about what the tone of the film is going to be about. The lighting in the clip is always dark adding to the tone throughout the sequence. There are shadows which could be perceived as someone moving around which keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats because they are wondering who or what these shadows could be. The colours used in this sequence are dismal and consists mainly of browns, greys and blacks. You can see that there is a page where there are words highlighted in black pen. Black connotes death here or evil, so we can paint a picture from this that something horrible is going to happen in this film. Along with the colours, there are small objects that add to the dark mood being created by the colours. Some of these objects are blades and needles. We can gather from this that there is going to be death in the film. The props such as the book and the images that pop up, add to the suspicion the viewer is bound to be feeling at this point and makes them wonder what the person is doing.

In the title sequence for the film, the titles fade up onto the screen. Instead of having the titles fade into a black background, they fade into the darkest parts of the clips on the screen. This allows continuity in the way the titles are shown, without having to repeat the same screen multiple times. This also allows for titles to be seen clearly throughout the whole sequence. This isn't as important as the unconventional exploration of different angles of everyday life, such as the book. The title sequence utilises low-key lighting to create the chiaroscuro effect. The editing starts off with slow-paced shots of objects that aren’t really of any importance. However, it then changes to fast pace cuts showing a variety of different objects making the audience wonder whether they are of importance and what the object is.

The sound used in this clip is mostly non-diegetic, however, some of the sounds in the clip have been made to sound natural. An example of this is, when there is a high-pitched noise in the clip, this tricks the viewer into thinking that it is someone screaming. This connotes danger and it makes us believe that there is someone who is desperate for help. The background music for this opening title sequence sounds like heavy breathing and is quite fast paced. This is usual in a thriller movie as it creates suspense which is what director’s aim to do with their movies. 

Stereotypical Representations in the "Horror" and "Thriller" genres.

A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image of a particular type of person or thing. An archetype, is a very typical example of a certain person or thing.


Horror: 
Focusing on Dracula, Bram Stoker write he original Dracula book in 1897. Since then, Mary Shelley took on some of the conventions of Stoker's Dracula book and also, Bela Lugosi played Count Dracula in the 1931 version of Dracula. 




Dracula does not really change in terms of his age, gender, social class and costume e.c.t. He is usually part of the middle class and is male. He is always around 40-50 years old, although this has varied throughout the years as Dracula has been re-made. Typically, Dracula is always white with an Eastern European accent and speaks broken English. 
In terms of his costume, he always has a black cloak and fangs. Usually, he lives in a castle on the mountains and occasionally, he turns into a bat. This adheres to the generic conventions of horror antagonists. 

Stereotypical Antagonists:
In many horror films, the antagonists are stereo-typically white, middle aged males. This is a very  recognisable representation, stereotype or a dominant representation. Some examples of these stereotyped horror antagonists are Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street, Mike Myers in Halloween, Jason from Friday 13th and the Clown from IT. 


Horror movies Heroines:
Females in being the heroines in horror films was rare when horror films first came about, however now-a-days, they are, in some cases, more popular than some of the horror films where the male lead is the hero. Usually single, white females virgins are the archetypal victims in the horror genre but their role in films has evolved from being the victim to the aggressor. Some examples of this are: Tomb Raider, Resident Evil and Underworld. 


Representation of Gender/Ethnicity in the "Thriller" Genre.

Cultural Bias:
Hollywood has always 'white' centric, i.e. leading. 
Actors and Directors have always been male and Caucasian with Black, ethnic, minority actors only playing minor roles. Certain actors including Will Smith and Morgan Freeman have broken this theme as they play the leading roles in all of the films they are in. 
In the Thriller genre it has always been common to have male, white protagonists as the key roles. The game changer for this stereotype was Se7en in the 1990s. 

Heterosexual bias: 
Having a homosexual or lesbian protagonist is almost entirely rare even in liberal Hollywood. The idea of a leading male detective, in a film, being openly gay is unheard of. Thomas Harris made nearly all of his antagonists, such as serial killers, have homosexual tendencies and sexual devices. This is a negative stereotype that he has helped to form.

Gender bias:
In the Thriller genre, females have predominantly played the victim role or the femme fatal (the seductive vamp that cannot be trusted). In Silence of the Lambs in 1990, the role of Jodie Foster playing an FBI agent is an example of woman rising above the stereotypical view that woman cannot play the leading role. The representation of women in Thriller/Horror films has been far more challenging. Some examples of these challenging roles are Resident Evil, Tomb Raider and Underworld, the same as those that are horror movie heroines. 

Analysis of The Conjuring opening scene.

This film is one that follows the conventions of a typical horror film, however, some of the conventions have been missed out and turned around to fit the plot of the film.

In the exposition of the clip, all we can hear is the diegetic sounds of the weather. Automatically, this makes us, as the audience, aware that it is a horror film and that something bad is going to happen which will be followed by more horrible things. The fact that the camera is zooming in on the girl in the clip as well, adds to the eerie feeling that we already have because of the weather noises. 

The screenshot above is important in this clip, because this is the part where we begin to notice that something is wrong if we didn't already gather that from the few sound effects and the weather noises in the background. After this clip, the sound effects properly start. The ones used in this film are the typical horror sound effects used in most horror films. It is often that you will find a film with the same plot as another, which is why they use the same sound effects to get the same reaction out of the audience. When the little girl goes outside of her room to find her parents, we still hear the weather noises outside and we also hear the stereotypical horror movie music that is added to make a movie seem more terrifying than it actually is. 

When the little girl says "mommy? daddy?", it is quiet in comparison to the thunder outside. However, as the plot thickens and the camera starts to zoom in on the girl coming down the stairs, her voice gets louder and louder. This shot starts off with a long shot, which is one of the reasons why her voice is so quiet. This long shot could represent the fact that the girl does not yet understand what is going to happen and does not yet know that anything is wrong. Then the girl starts to walk down the stairs and the camera starts to zoom in on her creating a medium shot. Using a child as the character at the beginning of the film, where things aren't going as smoothly as they should, creates the hook that reals the audience in from he beginning so that they continue to watch to find out what is going to happen to the girl. 

The next part that foreshadows horror is the clip of the room that the girl goes into where all of her father's haunted objects are, including the Annabelle doll that is of the haunting events that happen in the film. Here, we see the medium/close up shot of the Annabelle doll case that is empty. This is the biggest sign that something terrible is about to happen or will happen in the film at some point. While this is going on, we can still hear the weather outside which is still adding to the eerie feeling we have from the beginning. After this, the lights start to fade and the weather noises are completely drowned out until later on. 

This is also where the sound effects properly come into play. These non-diegetic sounds add to the feeling we get while watching the film. 

The lighting here starts to fade dramatically and we can tell here that there is something supernatural going on here and this thing is powerful enough to make all the lights fade. The editing in this clip is very powerful to the audience, especially the two clips that have been edited together to make it look like the darkness is dragging the girl backwards. If you look closely enough, we know that this is not the case, she is in fact just moving backwards to get away from whatever horrid thing is happening in her house at that moment. 

The above screenshot shows the girl with her back towards the camera. When watching this part of the film, there is constant banging noises that seem to  be coming from the opposite side of the door. It is obvious here that the supernatural being is trying to get through the door, but does not possess enough energy to go through the door or open the door just yet. 

However, if we carry on watching, we see the Annabelle doll on a chair with a woman whose breathing sounds she is dead. The doll is the main thing that the girl needs to fear at this point. However, adding the woman to the clip as well tells us that this is the point where things start to go worse. Through the jump shots in the next few scenes, we see this as there is a lot of film captured into a short space of time just because of the jump shots. The moving chair in the clip, whether that be it just rocking by itself after the woman and the doll leave, or the chair moving when the door finally gets opened, makes the audience hooked even more and we are left wondering what is happening here. 

The clip goes outside to the parent's car after the Nan tries to open the door for the girl. The noise of the weather comes back and the mother states that she knows something is wrong. This is a powerful line in the short clip of the opening of the film because it gives us an insight to what the mother is like. The movie speeds up now, every clip is edited together to make it look like there is more going on in the film than there actually is. Doing this can be confusing at times but this is a conventional editing technique used by most directors and producers in horror films. The establishing shot of the house shows that the house isn't the most important setting in the clip. This is shown through the fact that instead of being at the beginning, it is in the middle of the clip. It represents the fact that setting is not important in this film because this doll follows you wherever you go and brings all of her haunting events with her. 

We know that this film follows some of the typical horror movie conventions because of the supernatural aspect and the eeriness that the film brings with it. However, it doesn't follow all of the typical conventions as most horror films do not have much action until the last twenty minutes whereas this film has action throughout. Overall, this film follows the stereotypical horror movie rules, although it is far different from Bram Stoker's horror film Dracula. 

Mr Judge feedback

Complete the following tasks ASAP

5.    ADD BLUE VELVET SCREEN GRABS IN PLACE

6.    ADD BLUE VELVET VIDEO EMBEDDING IN PLACE
TWO MORE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF FILM OPENINGS

Maltese Falcon Film:

Maltese Falcon is a film which was released in 1941. It uses traditional black and white, low key lighting which lets the audience know that the film is a film noir even though by this time colour film was popular.

The film features a detective called Sam Spade who is visited at his office By Mrs Wonderly. She claims that she is looking for her sister who appears to be with a man called Floyd Thursby. There are rumours that this man is supposed to be dangerous. When Mrs Wonderly says that she is supposed to go and meet Thursby, another detective, Miles Archer, says that he will shadow them so that he can find the missing girl.

Film noirs were very popular in the 1900s because audiences enjoy this genre. They enjoy it because they all follow the same story line which is what most people like to watch. It allowed people to escape the war and depression that was going around at the time. It is obvious that this is a film noir because of the certain features it has that will be discussed throughout. One of these features is the spider and the fly theory. This is when the main male actor is infatuated by the femme fatal who draws the male character into her web of lies. This emphasises that the female character is these films is quite a dangerous and very manipulative character. The manipulation is shown through the opening scene of the film, where the female character explains what she needs help with. The two detectives involve themselves so much to the point where they are leaning towards her, which proves that they are interested in what she has to say. However, it also shows that they are trying to get close to her because they find her attractive. This results in them both being drawn into her web of lies.

The narration of the film is very restricted. As the audience, we only see and know as much as the detective does because we are seeing and hearing the film from his point of view. We end up finding things out throughout the film along with the detective.

In any film noir, there is an enigma, also known as a hook. In this film, the hook is when Miles, the partner detective, gets shot when he goes out to shadow Thursby. This is what draws the audience in because the want to know who shot the detective and what happens with the case itself.

There is gender equality in the film which is shown in the opening scene. There are two different opinions on how the femme fatal is represented. In any traditional film noir, the femme fatal gets herself into trouble with the detective and either dies at the end or has some other negative ending. This shows how women can be negatively represented in films. On the other hand, she can be represented as powerful, which is a positive representation of women. It is usually up to the audience to determine which opinion they want to have on the femme fatal.

Within the opening scene of this film, few camera shots are used. One of these being an establishing shot. 
This is also used when the audience sees where the film is set, which is in San Francisco. This is a very typical location for film noirs, as most are set in an American city. Within this, there is an office which is where the film will be set first. By setting the scene, the audience can relate to the setting the scenes. Another shot that was used is a medium shot. This was used when the femme fatal was explaining her problem to the detective. It showed the facial expressions of the woman which meant that the audience could see how she felt whilst she was speaking. The audience could then sympathise with the character since they knew how she was feeling. One other shot that was used was a three shot. Within this shot, the camera focused on the two detectives and the femme fatal. This allowed the audience to see what the characters were wearing to get a sense of what they wore in the 1900s. This also showed how the detectives were leaning into the woman due to her attractiveness. This meant that the audience understand why the men were attracted to her which foreshadows tragedy at a later point in the film. This is because the detective should be acting professional and not have a noticeable attraction to their client as it causes problems for the cases they are working.

Sound was used at the beginning of the scene. The music was used when the establishing shot was used as well. The soundtrack is incidental music because it fits the scene when it is being played. The music sets a pleasant atmosphere as there are clips being shown of the city. The instruments used within the music are strings, mainly trumpets and xylophones. Put these together and they create an upbeat soundtrack which portrays the city as a happy place to be at the time. The backing track can only be heard when there is no dialogue because it is so quiet which also creates a positive atmosphere for the audience. Because of this, the audience do not expect the tragic events that happen later when the detective’s partner gets shot. The music doesn’t foreshadow what happens later in the film.

In any film editing has to be used to ensure that the film flows properly between the scenes. At the beginning of this film, the scene fades as it is showing pictures of the city. These fades make the film go a lot more seamlessly even though they are noticeable in the film. For the rest of the opening scene, the editing has continuity put in. This is when there are cuts between shots that are barely noticeable unless you edited it yourself. This means that the audience continue to be interested in the film as it flows from scene to scene.

Mise-en-scene is important in any film like this one because it keeps the audience interested. In the opening scene of this film, the costumes of the characters are extremely important. As with any typical film noir, the detective wears a suit which is always neat looking. As well as this, when the detective is outside, he wears a coat and a hat which adds to the smartness of the outfit. In the opening scene, the detective wears this outfit. This lets the audience know that it is a film noir because of the custom of the characters. It also tells the audience that the detective is tidy person who likes to present himself well. The femme fatal wears a very specific kind of audience which is usually a flattering dress. This gives the impression that she is dangerous. In a colour film, the dress would be red which symbolises the ‘Scarlett Women’. This woman is known for having little to no morals and reveals that she is a wild person. In the opening of the film, the femme fatal wears an expensive looking outfit.  This is because she wore fur which usually symbolises wealth due to the fact that real fur is an expensive type of material due to the way is made into clothing items. There is also a prop that is used in the opening scene of the film. This prop is a cigarette. The detective was seen rolling a cigarette in the beginning of the film. This represents danger which could foreshadow an event later in the film. Another prop that was used was the Falcon at the start of the film. This shows many things. It tells the audience where the location of the film is before they find out with the establishing shot. It shows that the film is set in America because the Falcon is considered to be connected to high authority within America. It also foreshadows treasure. This is because at the start of the film, the falcon is described and it is said that it is valuable. This could foreshadow Mrs Wonderly wanting to use the detective in order to find this falcon. This gives the audience a feeling of suspense and mystery.

 When the detective was in his apartment, there is a still shot that shows the background next to his bed. In the background, the curtains were blowing which could represent danger. This is because the wind is blowing towards the detective which could also then foreshadow that something happens later in the film. As discussed earlier, a medium shot was used. This was used to show the facial expressions of the femme fatal. The facial expressions of the female foreshadowed the events later in the film. The female seemed to not be able to make direct eye contact with the detective when explaining what happened to her sister. This is a clear sign that the femme fatal was lying to the detective. This shows that she would be caught out near the end of the film. 

Blue Velvet Analysis

Blue Velvet Analysis. 

In the opening of the clip, the music played in the background creates a peaceful tone, making it seem like the film is going to be equally as peaceful. The birdsong and the blue sky in the exposition of the clip add to this peaceful tone being created. It creates a sense of a utopian society, which adds to the view that America is a tranquil place to be. When the camera pans down to the roses and the white picket fence, all of the colours contrast together creating the red, white and blue American flag. This adds to the utopian society view on America in the beginning of the clip.

The peaceful tone is carried on when the fire truck is brought into the clip. The fire truck isn't one that we would see in today’s society and there wouldn't be a dog on the side or even room for anyone to stand on the side. This is how we know that the film is set in the 1950s and it is around the time of the American Dream.  The slowed down transition put on the fire truck as it is going past the camera creates the tranquil environment. However, it almost seems fake and dream-like with the effect put on it which could symbolise the fact that America is and never was like it is depicted in the film. The transitions in the scene of the fire truck are coherent; they are supposed to be there as it makes part of the film. The transition brings an establishing shot of a house in the suburbs. These particular houses are stereotypical horror movies houses. For example, there is a similar house to the one in this clip in the movie Scream. This could foreshadow something severe happening to one or more of the characters in the film.  

In the next scene in the clip, the male character, who seems to be the protagonist in the film, is shown being the stereotypical, working man of the house as he is tending to his garden. This part of the films shows that during this time, people didn't have to worry about anything unspeakable happening as it was a utopian America, completely different to how America was depicted in many other films set in the 1950s. The stereotypical gender roles carry on in the film, moving the scene into the house where the female character is sat on her sofa, drinking tea, watching a crime drama programme on the TV. The fact that she is watching this type of programme and there is a gun on the TV that is made extremely clear to us could also foreshadow something horrible happening throughout the film.

Going back to the male character in the garden, we focus on the sound and the editing. The peaceful music is still playing, however, there is a diegetic sound edited over the top of the music; this being the sound of the hose pipe that he is using. This is a contrapuntal sound as it goes against the peacefulness of the music in the film. Here, there is a close up shot of the hose, this creates a sense of importance as we find out that the hose is the weapon that kills/injures this character. When the character has been hit by the hose, there are no close up shots to show that it is an important event in the film, which signifies to the audience that there are bigger events in the film to worry about. As the character is lying on the floor, the hose pipe is still on, there is a dog drinking the water and there is toddler wandering over to him. This tells us that it is a different time in America, as children now-a-days, wouldn't be left free to walk about by the roads. When the camera focuses on the dog drinking the water, there is a slowed down transition put on the clip. This signifies the fact that the dog doesn't understand what is going on, he just cares about the water and playing about with it.

After this, the music dies down, which creates an eerie atmosphere and leaves the audience wondering what is going to happen next. This is the hook of the film, it makes the audience want to carry on watching to find out what happens. The eerie atmosphere is continued as the camera zooms in on the blades of grass; this could be because what is underground is the main focus of the film. There is a low-pass filter when the camera zooms into the grass, the scene slows and fades into the monotone sound that has been edited into the film. As the camera moves through the grass, the picture becomes darker and darker, which creates a sense of danger which, if we watch past the end of the clip, we find out isn't very dangerous at all however, it is confusing and creepy. This clip was out here to tell the audience that there is more to the world than meets the eye or in this case, the camera. We soon find out that the camera is zooming in on insects which foreshadows danger in the film at some point.

This whole clip focuses on the fact that the director of the film, David Lynch, had an all over the place narrative when it came to the unusual films he has made.