Unit 10 Film Production Assignment (By
Connor Crampton)
SECTION 1
For
the task that I have been given I have to analyse and compare the stylistic
codes and conventions of fictional genre film in reference to its target
audience. The genres that I decided to look at are action and horror, the
reason why is because they are the most popular and most recognisable. By
looking at two iconic action movies Die Hard (1988) and Hot Fuzz (2007) I will
be able to compare the conventions and characteristics and see how they are
linked.
As
the most used film genre, action films often use the same conventions these
include; fights, weapons, explosions etc. These have made action films stand
out and always seek attention from an audience, and help them to have an
emotional attachment towards the protagonist. These films would be mostly aimed
at people who enjoy 80’s action movies (Die Hard) or other action movies (Hot
Fuzz). I will also be looking two horror movies (Shaun of the Dead and Saw), and
try to find a link in both movies to connect them together.
There
is a popular theory by theorist Steve Neale suggesting that “genres are
instances of repetition and difference”, this means that cinema genres are made
up of repetition and that often movies include the same things in other movies.
For example, in action movies there are always gunfights and explosions and
that audiences enjoy seeing the same things over because they will be able to recognise
it. Neale’s theory and ideas are seen in both Die Hard and Hot Fuzz where both
movies have gun fights and explosions. These movies both share several
recognisable genre stylistic codes and conventions.
Arguably
the most iconic scene from Die Hard, where McClane kills Hans after shooting a
window behind Hans and killing one of his guards, and Hans stumbles towards the
window but grabs onto Holly’s wristwatch so McClane unfastens it Hans falls to
his death.
The
camera movements when Hans dies are on full display changing from close ups to
a medium shot when Hans is starting to fall from the Nakatomi building, then
finally changes and ends on a long shot of his plummet towards the ground. Also
in this death scene the mise en scene is very clear showing the bright lights
shining on Hans before and during his fall, these lights are also seen on
McClanes face when he’s staring at Hans. In ref. 1 the camera uses a medium
shot to get a clear look at Hans’s body and facial expressions which are both
connoting fear to show that he has lost power, he is also showing worry as he
slowly plummets towards the ground below.
Ref.
1.
Edgar Wright’s action
comedy Hot Fuzz is another film that uses stylistic codes and conventions of
the action genre. While Die Hard is set mostly at night so the lighting is
perfectly visible at certain times but other times it’s low key, for example at
the end where Hans is about to fall to his death the bright lighting is used to
show Hans’s facial expression (see ref. 1.). Whereas in Hot Fuzz, the lighting
is bright and full of colour, this is shown to the audience so that they can
tell that it’s a normal village the movie is set in. (see ref. 2)
In
Hot Fuzz there are many camera cuts and different camera movements (pans and
dolly shots), there is also rapid editing to create a sense of panic and action
to keep the audience enthralled. These are mostly done during intense action
scenes, however there are a few times when there are extreme close ups of the
character’s eyes to show the emotion they are conveying and how much danger
they are in.
Included
in the opening scenes of the movie there are uses of both diegetic and
non-diegetic sound. Firstly, diegetic sound is used when the protagonist walks
through a door to start of the movie, (diegetic sound is sound that the actors acknowledge
and exists in the scene). Secondly, non-diegetic sound is the voiceover that
the protagonist does over the footage of him describing his time as a police
officer (this gives the audience background information about the protagonist).
SECTION
2
Another popular movie genre that people tend to
enjoy watching is the horror genre. This is mostly because people watch these
movies to get enjoyment out of them and to be scared so they can count that
film as being scary. The first movie that I have decided to analyse in the
horror genre is Shaun of the Dead, the reason why I chose to do this movie is
because there is a lot to describe. For example, the mise-en-scene for
locations has lots to talk about because the film is in lots of different
places for instance, a normal street in London, a corner shop, a pub (called
the Winchester) and Shaun’s workplace. Normally in horror movies the
character’s wear dark and weathered clothes so they aren’t spotted by the
killer as easy, however in Shaun of the Dead all the characters are wearing
bright colours so that they stand out amongst the crowds of zombies.
Another thing that stands
out in Shaun of the Dead is the props that are used throughout the movie. The
props that are used are mostly common household items, but once they leave the
houses and move onto the pub (The Winchester) they find pub related weapons
(darts, pool cues, Winchester rifle, fire extinguisher etc.) See ref 3 & 4.
Ref.
3.
Ref. 4.
Another
thing that stands out to the audience is the way that the camera is constantly
moving to find action and always making the audience think that something bad
could happen at any time and that any character could get killed off. This
would stand out because it follows the same conventions that most if not all
horror films follow where there is a “shaky cam” effect to emphasis the action
scene or that there could be danger.
Tzvetan Todorov, once had a theory about narrative
saying, “that all narratives follow a three-part structure”. The way that this
is set out is that at the beginning of a “traditional story” everything is as
it should be, then there is an event that happens disrupting the equilibrium,
the third step is that the event/disruption is recognised. The fourth step is a
way to fix the disruption and the final step is everything goes back to normal.
This theory works very well
in Shaun of the Dead, with Shaun going about his normal working life
(equilibrium), then on the bus home he sees someone collapse and swat their
hands at pigeons but they (“zombie” and pigeons) disappear when another bus
goes past. This then sparks the beginning of the zombie apocalypse with the
news talking about how people should barricade their homes and isolate loved
ones if they have been bitten (disruption). Then Shaun and Ed are attacked by
three zombies, one that walks in the front door and two others who are in the
garden and break some windows. After killing these zombies, they remember that
their flat-mate Pete was bitten when he came home from work and they suspect
that he is now a zombie. (Recognition of disruption)
The
next part of the movie is about Shaun and his group (Ed, Liz, David, Diane and
Barbara) trying to find somewhere to stay (The Winchester) until this mess gets
sorted. This is also where things start to go wrong for the group as zombies
start to invade the Winchester, cornering and cutting off the group as some of
them fall to the zombies. The zombies continue to cut off Shaun’s group as only
Shaun, Liz and Ed are the only survivors, then the army show up to eliminate
the zombies outside of the Winchester (an attempt to repair the disruption)
then it cuts to Shaun in his flat with Liz with their lives back to normal. (a
return to equilibrium)
The
second movie under the horror genre that I am going to be analysing is World
War Z (2013). The reason why is because there is a lot to write about the
different camera techniques and most importantly the narrative. In the opening
scenes of the movie, it shows how peaceful the normal world is but then that
contrasts with the issues that are affecting us in the “real” world.
In the opening news report,
“Researchers still don’t know what’s causing dolphins to swim ashore” sprawls
across the bottom of the screen informing the audience that something unusual
is happening or about to happen. Like most horror movies World War Z, also uses
Omniscient narrative (this is when the audience knows what’s happening then the
protagonist finds out). This is commonly used in horror movies to add tension and
to make scenes more tense for the protagonist and the audience.
Additionally,
in World War Z establishing camera shots are used throughout to let the
audience know where the characters are in reference to the story. These camera
shots that are used are used in a way to show comparison because it shows
people living normal lives and showing the audience how happy life can be but
then show the horrible realisation of this new world that the characters have
to live in now. This is a well-done comparison as it could be related to
today’s society as there are positives but many negatives.
Also,
the sound that is used in the movie is different to what would normally be used
in horror movies. Normally it would be screeching and loud bangs to get the
audience’s attention however in World War Z piano music is used which normally
connotes peace and relaxation, but it’s used in a way that it’s unnerving and
quite unexpected. The way how it is unexpected is because it’s used when a news
report is on a tv and the music on a news report would normally be kept to a minimal,
so the audience would be able to hear the news reporter.
The way how the news is presented is also
different because in “the real world” the audience is told one news story at a
time, but in World War Z the news is shown overlapping each story to build
drama and tension as the news goes along with the music which keeps building up
how loud it can possibly go.
Websites
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