The Shining

In this scene "Jack's nightmare" from The Shining, The director uses many cinematic techniques such as lighting, sound and camera shots to build tension and make the audience feel uncomfortable. Firstly we see a long shot of Jack sat on the edge of his chair, This may have been to illustrate how the director wanted us to feel on edge at this moment. In this long shot we can see that on the bottom of the table are banisters shaped like a cross , this may be to convey a sinister mood. Referencing religion is a common convention in the horror genre, that is seen throughout many horror films for example in  the classroom scene in "It Follows"  the window panes look like inverted crosses. The camera then slowly zooms in on Jack, cutting everything else out of the shot other than his face, this concealed his surroundings and created a sense of claustrophobia and played on people's natural fear of being trapped/claustrophobic. This is also a common convention seen throughout the horror genre, playing on people's natural fears. As the camera is zooming in there is a shallow depth of field, which also makes the space feel more confined because every think in the background is out of focus. Whilst the cameras zooming Jack is screaming out in fear, however as an audience we don't know what he is scared of, this made me scared because it plays on my fear of the unknown. At this point in the scene, the director also uses non-diegetic sound as well as diegetic sound. He uses very low music played by only one instrument at the start of the scene, then we start to hear a shrill violin sound as Jack's screams get louder and more disturbing. The use of this music almost convays Jack's dream to us because we know that when his screams get worse his dream is obviously getting worse and at the same time the music gets progressively more disturbing, illustrating that his dream is becoming more disturbing. As a result I became even more scared because I knew that something very bad was going on in his dream due to the progression in the music. This made the scene more dramatic and sinister.

After this it cuts to Wendy running through the kitchen, trying to find Jack. Although she is actually running through the kitchen, I believe that this part of the scene foreshadows Jack's dream. Firstly, the director uses low-key lighting, another common convention of the  horror genre, so low that Wendy has become a silhouette and it almost dehumanises her and makes her look like something out of a dream. Furthermore, the director uses a handheld tracking shot, this shot implies that there is someone following her and she is running away from them, just like she would be doing in Jack's dream and will be doing later on in the film. We also know that later on in the film she managed to escape from Jack and I think this is portrayed through the lights at the end of the corridor that she eventually runs under. Moreover the low-lighting creates contrast between light and dark and showdows. When Wendy is running she looks as though she is being followed by her own shadow as her shadow is directly behind her, due to the lighting in front of her. However her shadow is quite blurred and not very sharp, this could illustrate that her shadow represents a ghost. Throughout the film there have been many references to imply that Jack Will 600 become or was a ghost, therefore this supports my earlier point of the idea that it is Jack who is following her and that this part of the scene represents his dream. 

Later on in the Scene, when Wendy finally finds Jack, she wakes him up and he falls to the floor in fright. It cuts to a mid-shot of them both on the floor, but the camera is positioned under the table and as a result of this we get very strangly angled natural framing. The director uses the table leg and the underneath of the table to naturally frame the shot. This framing almost makes it look like a Dutch angle, which could me to represent how messed up and wrong his dream was. On the other hand the framing could have been done to portray how Jack felt/feels trapped during and after is dream or to represent how the family are trapped in the hotel and are I'm danger, for me it gives a very clostriphobic feeling and a sense of being trapped and not being able to get away. The table leg and face could also depict the idea of a monster hiding under a bed because I've mentioned that perviously Jack could have been the one behind the camera, maybe it is trying to show that Jack is the moster under the bed because that what he is turning into. This also plays in people natural fears of a something being under their beds and playing on natural fears is a conversion often seen in horror. Also as Jack is composing himself and getting ready to tell Wendy his dream the director uses very minimal, deep music, then just as he says "I had a dream that I killed you and Danny," the music once again moves to a very shrill sound of violins. For me this made what he was saying more sinister and disturbing. As he starts getting more upset we being to hear other instruments sliding from one low note to another and the music beings to sound quite cluttered, just like Jack's thoughts would be. 

Lastly, as an aspect of mise-en-scéne, the director has filled the large lobby with many arm chairs and wooden chairs, the fact that they are all unoccupied, other than the one that Jack uses, makes me feel asif it is very lonely and a very uncomfortable situation to be in. The multiple empty chairs are a constant reminders that they are alone and trapped which makes the scene and the film in general more scary for me. 

Jurassic world

Jurassic World is one of this summers biggest blockbusters, making money faster than any film in Hollywood history. The sci-fi film is on the way to becoming the highest grossing film ever made. To overtake James Cameron's, Avatar, Jurassic World would have to gross in excess of around £1.7 billion pounds. There are numerous reasons as to why Jurassic World was so successful. Firstly, the success of the directors ideas obviously had a significant impact on the overall success of the film. The Director succeeds at letting the film steadily gain momentum over the course of its three-act narrative. Also the cinematography allows the story to unfold like an amusement park ride. Obstructive camera angles and shots are used to build up a sense of intrigue, as details are gradually revealed. High-key lighting is used in scenes showing majestic dinosaurs in motion, brought to life through the use of CGI. These scenes are juxtaposed with the scenes where they used low-key lighting to portray terror and destruction, in action scenes of the Indominus Rex on the Hunt. The director also uses Easter eggs, set pieces and music to link the film to the rest of the Jurassic Park sequel, which was also very successful. Therefore the good ideas and decisions made by the director helped to make the film successful. 

Moreover Jurassic World was due to be released in the summer of 2005, but instead they spent a decade alternating and improving the script. This helped to make the film successful because it got countless positive reviews from various film critics, who commented on how well it had been written. I think the fact that it was announced that the film would be released in 2005 but then got pushed to 2015, made the Film more successful because of how many Jurassic Park fans had to wait to continue their epic adventure on the fictional island of Isla Nublar. As a consequence of this I feel it made people very eager to want to see it by the time the release date came. Also during the development of the script, many famous actors such as Keira Knightley, dropped hints that they may be pursuing a role in the upcoming film, therefore it was already publicised, to Jurassic Park fans, as I 'Must see film'. 

Furthermore the filmmakers spent far too much money on the making and production of the film, to not splash out on the advertisement too. After all how could they expect the film to be a massive hit if no one knew about it? They knew they had to do something big. Universal spent a total of $34.9 million on TV advertisement for the film. Jurassic World teamed up with big companies such as Mercedes-Benz, in an attempt to gain more publicity for the impending release. Universal also took it one step further when they put a dinosaur container, from Jurassic world, in the middle of Waterloo Underground, as a reminder of the sequels upcoming release.

In conclusion, all parties involved in the making and production of this film worked extremely hard to make it a successful Blockbuster and it clearly paid off when it busted Box-Office records, upon its release in May 2015.

Favourite film

The film I have picked is The Lord of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings is my favourite film for many reasons. My first reason is how it was such a big risk to film. New line cinema took a huge gamble when they funded the project because at first the film was seen as unfilmable. People thought that it would be impossible to take such a successful and magical book and turn it into an equally successful and magical film. There was also some worry about Peter Jackson being the director because he was an unproven commodity, famous for directing low budget B-movies, therefore at the time it was seen as a massive risk for all parties involved.

Moreover the film is famous for revolutionizing special effects, winning 3 Oscars for Best visual effects. One of the most publicized effects that they used was the use of motion capture to create the creature Gollum. Serving as Frodo and Sam’s guide to Mount Doom. Gollum was at times sympathetic, malicious and friendly. Struggling with an internal conflict as he plots to take back the ring, his role in the hobbits quest added an extra dose of tension to his scenes in the films. Not only did he keep the viewer on edge, he also portrayed what Frodo could become if he kept possession of the ring. The film would not have been possible without the advancement of CGI, neither would it have been possible without the use of practical effects, for example techniques such as trick photography and miniatures, which helped bring Middle-earth and its inhabitants to life.

Furthermore, one thing that The Lord of the Rings has in common with most blockbuster franchisers is an iconic music theme. The composer had a terrific grasp on what music was needed for each scene, using a variety of tones throughout the three films. By doing this he was able to create an assortment of tracks that set the mood as ominous, epic, or emotional, for example “The Return of the King” caused viewers to get swept up in a moment of celebration, without this music the films battles and intimate moments between characters would not have had the same feel.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy features some of the strongest characters ever created. Throughout the film we see sufficient character development for each member of the Fellowship. The actors who played these characters were very carefully and well selected and when it came to bringing their characters to life, they went above and beyond to make that happen. Ian Mckellen made Gandalf both authoritative and fatherly. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin developed one of the most famous friendships in cinema, between their characters Frodo and Sam.

All of these aspects and many more make The Lord of the Rings the most enjoyable film that I have seen because it really brought to life the concept of Middle-earth and all the creatures within it, even though it was based on a fictional book.   

Horror

A Horror is a genre of film that aims to create a sense of fear, dread, alarm and panic. The purpose of a horror film is to evoke a negative emotional reaction from the viewers, by playing on their natural fears. Horror films are usually centred on an evil force, event or person. Many horror films include supernatural creatures, such as zombies, ghosts and vampires.  Traditionally, Horror films incorporate a large amount of violence and gore into the plot. Though it is its own genre, horror often overlaps other genres and form sub-genres, for example teen-horror or comedy-horror.

When making a horror film there are curtain camera shots, angles and movements that are used to makes the views feel curtain negative emotions and to portray meaning and emotions.

 Extremely wide/long shots are commonly used to establish the surroundings, convey loneliness and helplessness.

 Close up shots are used to emphasise characters, their emotions and reactions and to create suspense for the views because they do not know what is going on outside the frame. 

Slow pans are used to make the views feel frightened and anxious because they don’t know what is about move into the frame.

Hand held camera shots are used to make the scene(s) more realistic and it makes the viewer feel like they are part of the film and experiencing the horror first hand, which sparks more genuine emotions.

No music/soundtrack noise is used in some scenes, which helps to draw the viewer’s attention to the diegetic sounds featured in the scene. On the other hand loud sinister music is sometimes used to build tension as it suggests that something is about to happened which makes the viewer’s more scared. A good example of when sinister music was used to build tension is the Jaws theme tune.

Low-key lighting creates shadows and harsh contrasts between people, creatures and items on screen. Shadows add depth to the scene and creates a fear of the unknown.

Quick, straight cuts add a sense of urgency and chaos and they are also important because they can portray multiple character’s emotions in one particular moment, which is crucial because it can help manipulate what the viewers are feeling. Slow cuts can create the feeling of tranquility stability, which can create a false sense of security for the viewer’s making the upcoming events more emotionally effective.     

High and low camera angles depict one person’s weakness and insignificance and another person’s dominance.

In conclusion all of these camera shots, camera angles, camera movements, lighting, and editing techniques are all commonly used in the genre of horror to extract many negative emotions and to convey characters emotions and general emotive themes throughout the film.        

The Bourne

The scene opens with an establishing shot, which shows the surroundings and sets the scene. The camera is at a high angle and it is an extreme long shot, this enables them to be able to fit more of the surroundings in the frame. It was filmed on a cold winters day, therefore it creates a tense and gloomy mood. The lighting is naturally quite low key, however the white snow causes it to be slightly high key.

After this opening shot the camera pans from left to right, towards the building where the man descends from. After panning the camera lowers, which is known as a crane shot. The camera lowers to eye line level as the man is walking down the steps.  It then cuts straight to a medium shot of him on the phone, and follows by zooming in to a close up shot using a hand held camera. This could be to show that the phone call is significant. After this scene there is a straight cut to a close up on a woman and then back to the man. This shows that he is suspicious of everyone around him because he knows he is wanted.  After a sequence of tracking shots, we see two pans one after the other of an ambulance which foreshadows that there is dangerous to come. 

When he gets Into the bank there is a sequence of close up shots Switching between the man and the woman at the desk, this built tension because she was delaying him from completing what he wanted to do.