Reflective analysis of our film, "The Concealed"

Reflective analysis of our film, "The Concealed"

Within our film, we used both the horror and thriller genres; these were included as they usually get the most reactions from the viewers. Due to the fact that nearby there was an abandoned floor in a building, we thought that this was a perfect opportunity that we had to take advantage of. A total of 10 shots was used with a variety of camera techniques. Moreover, after we had finished the production of our film we decided on giving it the title of, "The Concealed".

We wanted the title to give the audience a clue as to what the theme of the sequence would be, however we did not want the title to give away what the whole film is about. In order to go along with this, we decided on making the title very short so that there was no big giveaways. Although this gives a clear clue as to what the sequence is about, it also gives a sense of mystery to the viewer as they do not have an idea to what is 'concealed'. The title allows the audience to know that something within the building is in hiding, however it makes the audience want to know more about the film and what, or who is concealed from the outer world.

Additionally, we used a number of horror conventions to enhance the successfulness of our sequence. For instance; we used fears and anxieties through using low key lighting throughout the most of it as it is common to be scared of the dark, dissonant music was used as non diegetic sound throughout the sequence as this increases the tension in the audience so that they feel on edge and frightened about what is to come, treating situations were also used at the end of the sequence when there is a shot of the dangerous figure as it reaches out to the camera due to the fact that this can be seen as quite vicious and threatening; this engages the audience as they also feel a little threatened and intimidated by the character.

Throughout the film, we managed to include a variety of techniques that would result in a successful sequence. For example, the starting shot is one that is tracking down the corridor as we wanted to give the audience the impression of mystery and horror through the use of setting. 

The first shot is a mid shot used to show the location we also she characters shadow walking in the centre of the screen. This is from the characters point of view so the audience can empties with him. We used a handheld camera shaking as the protagonist walks to show the characters nerves and makes the audience fear what is in. 

We used a close up of a box being open by a hand to create mystery of what is going and subtly showing more of the killer. The next shot is a long shot of the protagonist going into the room where the box is open we don't know it is that room until the camera pans down to the box implying the killer is close. The shot also shows all of the room seeing all the details.

There is a mid shot showing the killer from behind walking menacingly around the room this doesn't showing his face and builds tension for who he is. The scene uses low key lighting in dark room to show he is a mysterious character and is evil.

We then used a close up on a hand banging on the window showing the protagonist fear and creating a shock for the audience when the diegitic sound of the banging interrupts the non-diegetic music used throughout.

We then use another  mid shot of the killer this time turning his head cutting the next shot before showing his face. The creates more tension for the audience shows the killer has now caught up to the protagonist and implies something bad will happen soon.

There was an extreme closeup of an eye to show the emotions of the character so that that the audience has the chance to empathise with them. This is the first time we see any of the main character as throughout he is just holding the camera we did this so that anybody can relate to him no matter who you are. 

The final shot is a close up of the killer which is used as a jump-scare to instantly frighten the audience the shot ends with the killer grabbing the camera implies he has attacked or killed the protagonist. This happens for a short duration of time so it stays in the audiences mid and that don't have enough time to process what it is. It is used as a frighting image. There is alight on the killer contrasting the low key lighting used throughout the film this makes the killer seem abnormal and out if place.

It then cuts to black for a long duration so the audience can process what has just happened and calm from the shock they have expreinced.

Train Spotting Group Analysis

Train Spotting Group Analysis

The sequence opens with a long shot to reinforce that the setting is a nightclub. The loud, diegetic music shows that the setting is an upbeat environment in a nightclub. Also, the characters within the shot are placed very close together with low-key lighting, showing the intimacy of the club. There is also coloured lighting creates an almost 'trippy' feel to show the effects of the drug use which is shown throughout the sequence.

The next scene is a wide shot, which is used to show multiple characters around a bar, from the waist up and also we can see a significant amount of the background. In the mise-en-scene there is a board showing names of drinks and prices in the background. There are drinks named "Penis Enlarger" and "Pure Shag", showing the characters casual attitude towards sex, this is further emphasised through a couple standing below the board flirting and touching each other in a sexual way. 

Mark Renton is shown standing in front of a painting of Robert De Niro from 'Taxi Driver' in a wide shot. Mark is framed in the centre of the shot with others around him which could suggest that he is at the centre of the violence and drug use in the film and draws other people into that lifestyle as the character he is standing in front of in 'Taxi Driver' uses a lot of drugs and is violent, this could foreground the idea that Mark is a violent drug user. This puts him in a position of power as he has two guns painted next to him and gives him a sense of masculinity.

Subtitles are used to emphasise the loud volume of the music and the extreme party atmosphere as it is too loud to clearly hear the dialogue.

The shot is a long shot which zooms in on Spud and Tommy into a close up. This allows us to listen to their intimate conversation they are having about sex and the lack of sex they are having due to their girlfriends control. The camera shot is a high angle shot making them look weak and  inferior. 

As it cuts to the next shot, there is another reference to 'Taxi Driver' in the girls bathroom and the shot is tracking the girls moving to the sink in a mid shot. There is also other women shown walking in front of the camera during the shot showing that the club is a busy place.

Next, there is a low-angle mid-shot of their girlfriends showing that they have authority over the men, this reinforces the girls dialogue saying that they won't allow their boyfriends to have sex with them as "watching them suffer is too much fun". This also contrasts with the low-angle shot of the men shown seconds before as it reinforces the idea that the women have power over the men.

In the mise-en-scene, the bathroom is painted pink, showing femininity as it is a female area and also, the female characters are talking about intimate subjects in there, this illustrates the closeness between the characters and also again, the casual attitude towards sex.

The bathroom scene cuts, ending with the dialogue "useless motherfucker" and the next shot opens with tommy shouting "useless motherfucker, that's what she called me". Here we can tell through his language and his dominant position in shot that he is angry and dominant over Spud as he takes up more space in the shot and also he is placed higher up, almost shouting down to Spud. "useless motherfucker" was said differently as Tommy said it aggressively and his girlfriend said it casually, this shows that she is being insulting towards him and he feels upset by her insult, again reinforcing that she has power over him.

The next shot is an eye-line close up of Mark and we again see him standing in front of the Taxi Driver painting, he is shown as nervous as he is looking around to see the others before he decides to move, smoking a cigarette to calm himself. The shot cuts to other people, so we are seeing the action from Mark's point of view. The shot then cuts back to looking at him in a mid shot and we see him drinking a pint, mimicking what we have just seen others do in the club when we were watching through his point of view. 

The next shot tracks Mark's movement through the crowd of people dancing in the club from multiple perspectives including Mark's perspective. The tracking is made up of multiple shots which are short in duration and they are also shot with handheld cameras. This makes us feel involved with the film as we are watching him move from the perspective of other people within the nightclub.

The next shot cuts back to the bar, again with a mid-shot at a wide angle. In this shot we see the same couple laughing whilst the man is putting his hand down the woman's top, again reinforcing the intimate nature of the nightclub.

The shot cuts back to the handheld camera in a close-up of Mark, we see he is looking at something.

The next shot we see a couple kissing whilst taking drugs in a two-shot close-up. This shot lasts for two seconds which conveys the quick, erratic behaviour which you would expect to see with party drugs. And then the shot cuts back to a mid-shot with Mark in the right of the frame and a couple kissing which takes us the centre and the left if the frame. The couple have red lighting on them which could be seen as symbolising love and passion, however the red light is not on
Mark, suggesting that he could be a loner. The idea that he is a loner would reinforce why he was stood in front of Robert De Niro's character from Taxi Driver as he was a loner in that film. 

In the next shot, the camera pans around mark with a mid-shot, whilst zooming in on him slightly. This shot duration is around 4 seconds long which is double the length of the shots building up to this shot where we can clearly see that Mark is focusing on something. 

The next shot we are looking at Diane from Mark's perspective in a long-shot, and as it is from his perspective we are able to see what he is looking at in the previous shot. Diane is leaning on the bar, alone in the background of the shot, however there is someone in the left of the shot in the foreground however the camera is focusing on the background, not the foreground and the other person in the shot is blurred showing the depth-of-field. 

 showing looking at something in a  him looking building up to the appearance of Diane. In a median shot the camera is focused directly on Diane with a white light shining on her this shows how important she is. It cuts between a close up shot of Mark staring at her while she looks bored and disinterested in her shot. As she walks away the light is still on her show he is still watching her as the camera is still tracking her.

There is a two-shot of her with another man who speaks to her and then a median shot of Mark showing through his facial expression that he may be jealous. The camera stops for a duration of time to focus on Mark's emotion.

As she is leaving there is a long shot with the large red building as a background. There is a lot of the colour red in it with the background, the door and her coat. Red is often used to symbolise love and this shows love leaving. 

This cuts to a slightly wider shot which includes the club's title "volcano" this parallels what is happening. Mark is moving around a lot showing his nerves. This contrasts Diane who is calm and walks strait on showing she has made up her mind. There are close together showing that there are comfortable around each other.

It cuts to a two-shot close-up showing both there faces on either side of the screen looking at each other. The scene uses symmetry showing romance between the two characters.

Kill Bill scene analysis

The scene is shot in black and white showing that it is a flashback set in the past. This is often used in film noir. Low key lighting is used to create shadows using both light and dark to make it mysterious. This sets the scene for the rest of the movie and tells the audience how it all began.

The scene starts with a median shot showing the bride walking through a church. The camera is tracking backwards as she walks to follow her and show her movement. She is shown as happy as she is visibly smiling. This establishes the good mood and the calm religious location with the church imagery around her. There is then a point of view long shot of a doorway showing outside which is lighter focus on that showing she is should go there.  Her expression changes with a reaction shot, when she hears the sound of a flute; she has a panicked expression on her face and is clearly breathing heavily. This gives the scene an air of tension, as the audience know that something ominous is about to happen and that the bride is afraid.  This shows whatever made the sound is bad news. She walks out to the door with her back turned to Bill showing she doesn’t want anything to do with him.

There is a montage of close ups on the bride and Bill’s faces. This is similarly used in the good, the bad and the ugly (1966) as it goes back and forth between the two shots as the music builds: this creates tension between them. The close ups are used to show purely the characters’ emotion in the scene and the small changes that happen. The screen is split through the middle between the actor and the background. The bride is always on the left side which contrasts to Bill who is always on the right side: this is to show distance between them. On the opposite side of the screen to them, there is always negative space insinuating a difficult past between them.

It shows both characters standing still in individual shots with the camera panning and tilting while they walk. It shows both of the characters feet as they walk – this is a trademark of Quentin Tarrantino. When they come together it becomes a two shot scene being symmetrical using rule of thirds for framing. The mood has changed from being uncomfortable to being relaxed around each other as they are now looking into each other’s eyes and smiling. This shot goes on for a long time and they use it to show the exposition through dialog.