FILM ANALYSIS: All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

FILM ANALYSIS: ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE (2006)

dir. Jonathan Levine

BBFC 18 , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 8 minutes

Budget: $750k

Box Office: $1.9 million

Theatrical Distribution: 20 territories

Production Company: Occupant Films

Distributor: The Weinstein Company, StudioCanal UK, Dimension Films 

Synopsis: A group of high-schoolers invite Mandy Lane, an innocent, desirable girl, to a weekend party on a secluded ranch. While the festivities rage on, the number of revelers begins to drop mysteriously. (IMDB)

LINKS: wikipedia, IMDB, Box Office Mojo 

Trailer: 

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Possible Influences For My Film: The slasher archetypes used, inspiration for character of Mandy, blurring of scream queen/final girl trope, using a party setting.                       

Companies/Idents: 

This was the only ident used in the opening, and 

it lasted for 10 seconds. This is conventional as it is a small budget film and there isn't as much risk involved for the companies. 

Opening Shot: 

The opening shot is a close up on an exit sign, a possible sign of foreshadowing as well as being a slasher convention of signalling danger to the audience (privileged pov).  The sign is in the central third of the screen denoting its importance. The camera then pans down and tracks through a school corridor. This is counter typical for an opening shot, as they tend to be ELS to reveal as much exposition as possible. 

Titles:

The only company title shown is the name of the producers, which is in the centre of the screen in a serif font. This denotes a serious film, and the red background connotes blood and danger. 

The main title is against a black background, and is all white to denote Mandy's innocence and role as the hero. There are red animated splatters that appear connoting blood. The name Mandy Lane is capitalised, showing its importance. 

 

Mise-En-Scene/ First Five Shots: 

The shot pans down from the sign into a school corridor. Teenagers are seen on the left and right thirds of the frame and the focus is blurred. 

There is a close up of a blonde girl's chest, catering to Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. The low cut flowery shirt is stereotypically feminine, as well as the long blonde hair. Her position in the central third of the frame denotes her as the protagonist. 

There are close-up shots of students turning to look at her, and the camera tracks their glances, and creates a sense of voyeurism. This focus on the girl further anchors her as the protagonist. Narrative enigma is also built up as the shots are tightly framed.

This medium close up reveals the protagonist's face, providing exposition. She is conventionally attractive and her blonde hair and appearance denotes a stereotypical scream queen. Verisimilitude is created of a school, with the crowded corridor and lockers in the background. 

This medium close up shows a female character staring at the protagonist, placing her as on object of desire for both the genders, denoting a scream queen. The next shots showing a variety of teenagers also allows for personal identification with the target audience of the film.

Sound: The titles are accompanied by sharp, drawn out notes, that force the viewer to hold their breath and create tension. This music is also distorted and creates an uneasy feeling. There are sounds of slashing and splattering when the blood appears on the title. A scream is heard, and then a bell, which transitions to the first shot. A soft pop music soundtrack is playing, and contrasts the tension of the title sequence. 

Film Analysis: The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

FILM ANALYSIS: the cabin in the woods (2011)

Drew Goddard (2011)

BBFC 15 , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 6 minutes

Budget: $30 million 

Box Office: $70 million

Theatrical Distribution: internationally, 40 territories

Production Company: Mutant Enemy Productions

Distributor: Lionsgate

Synopsis: Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods. (IMDB) 

LINKS: wikipedia , IMDB , Box Office Mojo, art of the title

Trailer: 

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Possible Influences For My Film: The character archetypes and isolated location.               

Companies/Idents: 

This was the only ident shown, as the distributor. The ident lasted 20 seconds, which is conventional for a main ident in a film. The ident was animated, and then faded to black, and was adapted to the style of the film. 

The use of a single ident is unusual, but not for a larger budget production. 

Titles:

The titles before the opening shot show the distribution and production companies first. The font is serif to denote a serious film, and elongated to denote horror. The company names are shown through a larger sized font.

The dark red colour connotes danger or blood and is conventional for a horror film. 

The first name shown is Drew Goddard, the director. It is conventional to highlight the director in the opening, and is repeated twice in the opening. 

The first title that appears is of the actress playing the protagonist, in a thinner but similar font, and in the bottom left hand corner. The rest of the titles appear in the corners of the screen, and highlight the cast before the rest of the production crew. 

The main title of the film, is in uppercase, and appears suddenly 3 minutes into the opening. The title takes up the entire screen and is a jump scare for the audience. The red denotes horror as it connotes blood and danger. 

Opening Shot: 

The first shot is a close-up of blood pouring over a page, and showing ancient Egyptian images. This creates narrative enigma of their meaning, and directly denotes the horror genre. This continues for another 40 seconds. 

Mise-En-Scene/ First Five Shots: 

The previous sequence is sharply interrupted and rapidly pans to a slogan. This contrasts the previous dark and cryptic images. The use of a close-up maintains narrative enigma. 

A hand is seen putting money into the vending machine. This creates a binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) of the ancient opening images, and the modern day ones. 

The camera pulls away, and two men are seen talking by the vending machine, wearing suits and appearing to be in an office. Narrative enigma remains as the faces are not well seen. 

There is a shot-reverse-shot sequence, tightening the focus onto the men and allowing the audience to see their faces. 

There is a cut to an extreme long shot of an office corridor, establishing the setting, but still withholding exposition, as the corridor doesn't have any signifiers that could anchor  the setting.

Sound: 

The beginning ident plays with long-drawn out notes, and an organ and strings playing. There is further sounds of clanking or doors opening, that accompany the animation. This fades and becomes an audio-bridge, adding the sound of strings, and a gradual increase of percussion, creating tension. When the men are introduced, they have a conversation that is heard over elevator music. 

Film Analysis: Bride Of Chucky (1998)

FILM ANALYSIS: BRIDE OF CHUCKY (1998)

Ronny Yu (1988)

BBFC 18 (15 re-rating) , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 6 minutes

Budget: $25 million 

Box Office: $50 million

Theatrical Distribution: US emphasis and internationally

Production Company: David Kirschner Productions

Distributor: Universal Pictures and Good Machine

Synopsis: Chucky, the doll possessed by a serial killer, discovers the perfect mate to kill and revive into the body into the body of another doll. (IMDB) 

LINKS: wikipedia , IMDB , Box Office Mojo 

Trailer: 

.......

Possible Influences For My Film: The use of a blue tint and the dutch angles, a female killer.  The shots using the lockers, and the way the throat slashing is created.                

Companies/Idents: 

This was the only ident shown, as the distributor, also one of the big 5. The ident lasted 15 seconds, which is conventional for a main ident in a film. 

The use of a single ident is unusual, however as this film is from the 90s and of a larger budget it was common to only show one ident at that time. 

Titles:

The titles before the opening shot show the distribution and production companies first. The font is elongated to connote horror, and the serif font is almost a bubble, showing the comedy element. The uppercase highlights the companies, and the sentence case shows the linking words.

The light blue colour denotes coldness, and is conventional for a horror film. 

The first name shown is Ronny Yu, the director. It is conventional to highlight the director in the opening, and is repeated twice. 

The first title that appears is of the main star, in the same font as before and in the bottom left hand corner. 

The main title of the film, is in two fonts. The cursive for the word "bride" connotes femininity and is in binary opposition (Barthes) to the word "Chucky", which is uppercase and ragged, connoting masculinity. 

Opening Shot: 

The first shot is a Extreme Long Shot (ELS) of an exterior of a building and an American flag waving in the wind. The rain serves as pathetic fallacy, and the thunder and lightning create a suspenseful atmosphere. 

Mise-En-Scene/ First Five Shots: 

The shot is at a dutch angle, signifying that something is wrong. The blue tint denotes coldness and eeriness, as well as the supernatural. The evidence depository creates mystery and intrigue. 

The next shots show evidence lockers filled with masks as well as various weapons. The masks shown here are of Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th, 1980) and Micheal Myers (Halloween, 1978). These are both postmodern and intertextual references, and would be recognised by horror cinephiles and an older audience. The dutch angles denote that something is wrong. 

There is a close-up (CU) of a hand pressing a buzzer. This builds up narrative enigma, as exposition is being withheld from the audience. 

The ELS reveals exposition, and shows a police office and a locked evidence section. The low angle is almost at a worm's eye, and is at the same level as a child (or doll). The angle is tilted, and the character is revealed to be a police officer, but there is still narrative enigma as his face has not yet been seen. 

This shot reveals the officers face, but the dark lighting still keeps some narrative enigma. The officer looks around before going in, revealing to the audience that he should not be there. 

Sound: 

There is an audio-bridge overlapping the beginning idents of long drawn out strings, resembling the Jaws (1975) or Psycho (1960) themes, which could be an intertextual reference. The heartbeat style of the music suggests a chase, as well as creating suspense within the audience.

General notes: 

- Inside locker shot is simple and effective (to recreate)

- Ellipses created with cuts and closing doors, they move in complimentary directions

- Large range of shots in a short sequence, shorter shots appeal to teen target audience

- Adult authority (police) seen as useless, convention of teen slashers

- Use of abandoned interior with sounds of thunder can be recreated

- Foreshadowing used "curiosity killed the cat"

- Jump scares; truck almost crashing, dropping a cigarette

- Cuts disguised using hands, blood seen on them (to recreate) 

- High heels creating noise

- Male gaze (Mulvey) appeal of female protagonist, comedy of using the murder weapon (nail file) for her nails

Film Analysis: Eden Lake (2008)

FILM ANALYSIS: Eden lake (2008)

dir. James Watkins

BBFC 18 , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 4 minutes

Budget: $2 million 

Box Office: $4 million

Theatrical Distribution: International

Production Company: Rollercoaster Films, Aramid Entertainment Fund

Distributor: Optimum Releasing (now Studio Canal UK)

Synopsis: Refusing to let anything spoil their romantic weekend break, a young couple confront a gang of loutish youths with terrifyingly brutal consequences. (IMDB)

LINKS: wikipedia , imdb , boxofficemojo

Trailer: 

Possible Influences For My Film: The use of jump scares and signals as warnings, the forest location. The cross cutting/images of the opening. 

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Opening sequence: 

I have categorised my notes in certain aspects I am specifically focused on, as well as some general notes on the opening at the end. 

Idents/Titles: 

There are no company idents and the film opens directly on the titles. The red connotes violence, blood, and horror. The titles are zoomed into, and then fill the screen with red. The shaking effect placed on the titles accompanies the shaky shots between them. 

The main title of the film appears 50s into the opening, and before many shots are seen. Being capitalised and having the title in the centre signifies it's importance.  The sharp lettering connotes seriousness, signifying a thriller. 

Opening shot: 

The first shots seen are flickering images of the film, with an overexposed yellow tint. This colour scheme is unsettling, and the fast moving, flickering images confuse and hook the viewer. The images are gruesome and bloody, including a woman screaming which is also heard. 

These flickering images are also known as subliminal messages, a technique often used in horror that affects the viewer's subconscious thoughts, creating fear and anxiety. 

Mise-En-Scene/ First Five Shots:

Before seeing this CU shot, there is an audio-bridge of children playing peekaboo. This creates a sense of eeriness as well as foreshadowing. 

The protagonist is almost immediately introduced, with little narrative enigma built up. She is a young, conventionally attractive woman wearing pink, juxtaposed with her short hair. She is heard shushing the children, positioning her in a hegemonic motherly or caring profession. 

The long pink dress worn connotes femininity, and her role as a nursery teacher is anchored through the mise-en-scene, and the shot of her dismissing the class. 

This ELS shows the exterior of the school. Verisimilitude is created through the use of a lollipop lady. The car shown is also nicknamed a "Chelsea tractor", revealing the area to be wealthy or upper middle class. 

The second protagonist is shown, it is unconventional, (especially in horror), to have a hero's journey (Campbell) with both genders, but this helps in gaining larger marketing or commercial appeal. Horror is often classed as "pop-culture", and older, wealthy protagonists turn the film into a highbrow thriller, and have more potential for theatrical distribution. He is wearing a suit and tie and sitting in his expensive car. He is also seen holding a small red box, indicating a possible proposal. 

Sound: 

The first sounds heard are the screams, accompanied by the gruesome images. There are also sounds of static or slashing, and long-drawn out notes which makes the audience hold their breath. These sounds all clearly anchor horror. The audio-bridge of children playing peekaboo provides exposition of the protagonists job, as well as foreshadowing and having an eerie tone. Exposition is also provided by the radio in the car.

General notes: 

- The conversation in the car and what is heard through the radio exaggerates the exposition needed. 

- The couple are presented as sexually active, and would be immediately killed in a slasher, it is unconventional that they are expected to survive. 

- The gender roles are hegemonic (Gramsci), and clearly defined; driving (control) given to man, female protagonist has no underarm hair, "man or a mouse"...

- Surrounded by working class children and parents, while commenting on their rowdiness. 

- Binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) is created; smoking, violence, separate sides of the lake, drill music, colourful hair, strong language. 

- The beer Stella Artois is seen, also known as "wife-beater", choice reflects Hall's reception theory. 

- Unconventional narrative; teenagers seen as villains and adults as heroes, this is typically flipped in slasher films. 

- Use of a privileged POV and signals; GPS saying turn back, text behind sign saying "yuppies".

- Boy trapping insects foreshadowing what will happen to couple. 

- Music subtly transitions from ominous to peaceful. 

- Rule of thirds used; couple on the beach at the side of he frame, leaves them vulnerable.

Initial Pitch

Genre: Rom-Com/ Horror

Working Title: Gobstopper

Synopsis: Group of girls accidentally murder their friend

Comparable To: Do Revenge (2022), Jawbreaker (1999), Heathers (1988)

Here is my initial pitch powerpoint:

After my initial pitch, I have decided to make some changes:

1. Firstly I am reworking my narrative and overall idea with Sasha as we had a similar genre and style in mind. This would also decrease our individual workload as well as using different ideas and cooperating with each other.  

2.  There are too many locations planned, for example the church and funeral would be hard to accurately replicate. There could also be issues with people in the background as these are public places, and it could be a complicated space to set up kit in. This means that I have to rework my narrative and find separate alternatives for this scene. 

Hand Of God Technique

The famous opening of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film, Psycho begins with a birds eye view of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The camera pans across the city and shows the houses and cars, to create mise-en-scene. The camera begins moving in and focuses on a building, zooming until it reaches a window that leads the viewer into the opening interactions of the protagonists. The blinds are closed, leaving only a small gap in which the viewer looks into. 

This sequence is known as the hand of god, in which the audience plays the role of God, and has the advantage of seeing what happens to the characters. This technique allows for the voyeurism of the viewer, while also creating fear, as the protagonists seem to be randomly chosen. This allows for the moral codes of horror to resonate with the audience.

We practiced using the hand of god in our prelim exercise. 

Inspiration for my film: I don't want to include this technique in my opening, as I find it takes too long to set the scene for the short time I have available. However, I am using an adapted version taken from Cherry Falls (2000) that gives a similar effect, and denotes a small town and seemingly random chosen characters. 

Practice Productions (Continuity and Genre)

PRELIMINARY TASK: Continuity Edit

In this post I will discuss and evaluate my first shooting task. 

TASK 

Our task requirements were:

- 2 characters

- a filming outside of and including a door

- engaging in a conversation including a shot-reverse-shot sequence and respecting the 180 degree rule

- film over 20 shots

- use of narrative enigma within the story

PLANNING

We created a basic shot list sheet as a rough guide, and a script. We created two characters of a director and actor as the Proppian hero and villain, but wanted to blur their roles. 

Equipment wise we used:

- monopod and tripod

- dolly tripod extension

- SONY A58 DSLR camera

- 2 lenses

- focus and zoom rings

We based our opening sequence on Hitchcock's "hand of god" technique seen in Psycho (1960). This helped us create a solid base for the opening as well as experiment with the equipment. 

THE SHOOT

As a group, we all took turns shooting and directing as well as having equal input into the shots and planning. I spent time using the camera specifically in the dolly shot and window zoom, and acted in the ending scene. 

THE EDITED FILM

We downloaded the clips off the SD cards, and then each separately edited, I used FCPX and chose to not use sound apart from the dialogue to focus on the continuity and footage. 

Here is the final continuity edit: 

REFLECTION

In this video I discuss my overall evaluation of the process and result, as well as what I would do to improve and what I have learnt through the shoot. 

PRELIMINARY TASK: Genre Edit

For the genre edit, I chose Horror as I found it was the easiest to adapt the footage for. I used the opening music of Psycho (1960) and a black and white filter for intertextuality and to cement the Hand of God technique. I also added diegetic sounds such as footsteps and the tripod thud to create more suspense.