This is my preliminary exercise, for this i had to include; A match-on-action, One hundred and eighty degree rule and a shot reverse shot. In my opinion this preliminary is good, this is because it includes all of the requirements and these are done well. My favorite part of this is short sequence are the match on actions this is because in my opinion these are done well and are matched well. To improve my preliminary i would alter the opening ellipsis, this is because in my opinion, the ellipsis is too slow.

Title sequences: Dawn of the dead vs. Four lions

Dawn of the dead and Four lions title sequence comparison



The style of titling that has been used throughout the title sequence of Dawn of the dead is over black. This is used because the title sequence is used to provide the audience with information of the outbreak of the zombie virus, and having the film cut to the over black title creates more time to give the audience information on the outbreak.

The first title of the sequence introduces the distributor of the film, in this case Universal pictures. Introducing the distributor is a common occurrence within many films, however during the title sequence in Dawn of the dead, trivial roles such as ‘Special make up effects’. This is because of the large amount of information the filmmakers want to pass on to the audience, and to do this successfully they have to add as much information as possible before the main section of the film begins, the information is given by the camera shots in between the title sequences, therefore the more title sequences the more information.

After the title sequence has introduced a contributor to the film an exit animation is used. The exit animation that has been used is a trickle out, this introduces the theme of bleeding, this is because the trickle is a deep red, therefore the texts resembles blood seeping from a cut. This also gives the impression that the film is going to be a gory horror.

In between the titles are clips of what appear to be either surveillance or news reports, the subject of these are the outbreak of the zombie virus, this gives information to the audience about the current state of America. These clips have been edited to give the impression that they have been filmed in a hurry, for example some of the clips are shaky, this gives the impression that the whole of America is in a state of emergency.

Whilst the title sequences are running, a non diegetic soundtrack is being played over the current soundtrack, the non diegetic soundtrack is "The man comes around" sung by Johnny Cash, this track is used to represent the man who comes around as the virus, this gives the impression that the virus is infected as many as possible and you don't have a choice.





Whereas with Four lions, the titles are a lot plainer, this is because the movie doesn’t need to give the audience information about the events. Four lions uses over clip titles this is because they aren’t important, and don’t need to build suspense for the coming film.

Pretty Woman opening sequence analysis

Pretty woman write up.                

The first section of the opening to pretty woman is a fade in of Edward’s party, during this fade in we are able to diegetic dialogue of Edward’s friend talking to a woman in which he says “It’s all about the money” this is used to introduce the theme of money into the storyline. The first shot is a reverse zoom in which we are able to see a magic trick being performed, this trick involves money, reinforcing the money theme, this is also used as motif throughout the movie. To complete the trick, the magician reveals a coin from behind a woman’s ear. At this point a friend of Edward says “Penny for the ear, how much for the rest” this introduces the theme of prostitution into the film. The mise en scene of the party is very posh and upmarket; an example of this is the suits that are worn by the party attendees, and the setting of the party; a grand mansion situated within Hollywood hills.

The diegetic dialogue of the party is important in giving us impressions of Edward, everyone at the party is talking about Edward, this shows us that he is very important and that he’s well known. This also gives us the impression that he is hosting the party. The camera then cuts to a mid shot in which we see Edward on the phone to his girlfriend, in which Non-diegetic sound tells us that his girlfriend “spends more time talking to his secretary than him”, during this, the camera pans behind Edward because of this the audience begins to distance themselves from him. The positioning of Edward is particularly important, he is currently standing above the party thus giving the impression that he is looking down on the party.

After this the camera cuts to a scene in which we see Edward walking down what appears to be a marble staircase, this gives us the impression that he is very wealthy, because marble is an expensive material. Edward then has diegetic dialogue with a work colleague, during this time Edward says: “Japan opened up ninety minutes ago”, this shows us that Edward is focused on his business. This is because he is thinking about his work even though he’s at a party and enjoying himself. The dialogue then changes to between Edward and his previous girlfriend, this show the audience that he is a ladies’ man and likes to flirt with women; this prepares us for future events.

The camera cuts to a long shot of the mansion in which we can see several high priced cars, this shows further the wealth that is in the area of Hollywood that they live in. Edward then commandeers a car because his limousine is boxed in, this shows us that Edward is impatient and when he wants something he gets it. The camera cuts to a mid shot of Edward in the car; this shows us that Edward isn’t fully confident in driving, therefore giving us the impression that he is usually chauffeur driven, this implies wealth.

The camera then cross-cuts to a scene in which we see a drug deal taking place, this scene is a mirror of the magic trick that takes place at the party; this is used to give the audience the impression that these two life paths are going to cross. The drug deal gives the impression that the scene is set in the underworld of Beverley hills. After this the camera cuts away to show prostitutes and a shop with steel shutters that have been vandalised, this gives the impression that the current location is poor, and has a high crime rate therefore isn’t a safe place to be. During this scene non-diegetic ambulance sirens can be heard, this gives us the impression of crime and violence.

After this scene, the camera cuts to a long shot of a hotel, on the edge of this hotel is a sign that reads ‘Hotel’ however, only the ‘h’ and the ‘o’ are lit, this gives the impression of prostitution because ho is a derogatory term for a prostitute. The camera then cuts to a pan of a hotel room in which we can see several photos, these photos have had faces removed from them, this is used to give the impression that this person has had a bad past so the audience sympathises with them.

After the camera has completed the pan, a diegetic alarm clock is heard this gives the impression of prostitution because the alarm is ringing in the middle of the night. The camera then cuts to a mid shot in which we see Vivian colouring her boots, this gives the impression that she is poor and can’t afford replace broken clothes. The camera then cuts to the outside of the room and we see Vivian walk out and notice the landlord collecting rent. Vivian then returns and opens the toilet to check her money, this gives us the impression that the area in which Vivian lives is rough and crime is very prominent.

The next scene is within a night club, in which we see Vivian addressing her flat mate about spending the rent money on drugs, this makes the audience feel that Vivian is a good person and doesn’t want to break the law. This is shown further by the dialogue that Vivian and her flatmate exchange, during this Vivian says that she doesn’t like drugs, this makes the audience realise that Vivian is different to other prostitutes. Vivian also says “don’t you want to get out of this?” this shows that she doesn’t like being a prostitute and wants to find a different job. The feeling that Vivian is different to other prostitutes because she says ‘I don’t want a pimp’ this shows us that she wants to manage her own life instead of be controlled.

Silence of the Lambs: Mise en Scene

Silence of the lambs analysis.

Mise en scene is a very effective media technique that has been used effectively throughout this section of the film ‘Silence of the lambs’.

When Clarice first enters the cell block in which Hannibal Lector is contained the camera shows the audience that there is a set of bars that separate the guards’ outpost from the corridor which holds Lector. This creates the impression that Clarice is all alone, and if something was to happen, she has no escape. This sense that she’s alone creates tension; this is because the audience knows that she could possibly die if something was to go wrong. This tension is built up further by the dimly lit corridor that faces Clarice.

The material that the walls are made from help’s to give an impression of how society views the inmates of the cell block. The walls are made from plain brick with no decorations; this gives the impression that society has no respect for these people and has rejected them.

Clarice’s character is shown as a professional character that is serious about her job; this is because of her attire when visiting Lector. Her clothing is interesting because she’s wearing a suit, this gives the audience the impression that she isn’t very feminine, but she likes to wear practical clothing. However a mid shot of Clarice allows to the audience to evaluate her facial expression, her facial expression gives the audience the impression that she’s nervous about entering the cell block.

Clarice then turns to face the corridor, in which the camera changes to a point of view shot, allowing the audience to see the corridor containing Lector. The lighting of the corridor is very dark and dingy, this creates the feeling of suspense within the audience, and this is because the dark naturally creates tension. However, there’s a lit staircase at the end of corridor, this staircase symbolises the escape route, but to reach it she must first venture past the various inmates.

The chair that has been provided for Clarice to use to interview Lector is a very basic chair. This chair is used to back up the feeling that Clarice is alone in the corridor; this is because it’s in the open and is the only one in the corridor. Because the chair is very basic it gives the audience the feeling that Clarice isn’t very important and isn’t a well qualified FBI inspector, if she was an important inspector the chair would be more complex.

The first cell that contains an inmate is a very dark and horrible place, these is because the cell isn’t very well, the walls are plain and have no decorations, this gives the impression that this character doesn’t mean anything to society and has lost his basic human rights.

The facial expressions and clothing of this character are very important as to giving the audience an impression of this character. The facial expression of the inmate help to give the audience the feeling that this man is completely insane this is because he has a crazed expression. Also as Clarice walks past his cell, he tries to reach out and grab her, this shows that he has been locked up for a long time, this is because his actions show a lack of human contact. The prison uniform that he wears helps to back up the impression of this insane man because it isn’t well kept and is very dirty. This shows that this person doesn’t care for himself anymore.

The second cell contains a much more reserved inmate, we know this because of the inmates body language and living conditions.  This inmate is slouched over and doesn’t react to the arrival of Clarice, this shows that this character is reserved and likes to keep himself to himself. In this slouched position the audience is unable to see the face of this inmate; this creates the feeling that this inmate has been separated from society and is undeserving.

The cell that this inmate is locked in is very basic, and has little appliances within, this shows that this character isn’t valued within society as he has been deprived of the basic human rights.

The inmate that is contained within cell number three seems to be completely insane and has absolutely no regard for how he looks and his living conditions. This inmates face seems skeletal, this gives the audience the impression that this man has completely lost it and doesn’t know how to look after himself properly. This idea is backed up further by the condition that this inmate keeps hair, scraggly and doesn’t care at all for it.

The final cell is the cell which Hannibal Lector is contained within, this cell is very different to the rest. The first major difference with Lectors cell is the appliances and contents of the cell, an example of this is Lector’s bed, the bed has a pillow and is well kept, this gives the impression that Lector looks after himself, this creates the impression that lector is a clever man and takes pride in himself. The feeling that lector looks after himself is proved further by Lector’s hairstyle, slicked back and well groomed.

Lector is also proven to take care of himself because of the possessions that he neatly keeps on his table within the cell; this creates the impression that Lector is different from the rest because he’s allowed his personal possessions within his cell. Lector’s cell is also different because of the material that is used to contain him; the other three inmates have iron poles whereas Lector has solid Perspex glass to contain him. This gives the impression that lector is a lot more dangerous than the previous inmates, this is because the Perspex blocks him from being able to reach out of the cell, this gives the impression that Lector is prone to harming guards as they walk past, this then creates further suspense as it shows that Clarice is facing an extremely dangerous villain.

Star Wars IV: A new hope.

Star wars IV: A new hope.

Opening sequence analysis.

The very first scene of the opening sequence is a title sequence, during this sequence the audience is given background information about the time period that the film is set in it also gives the audience an impression as to the reasoning behind fighting and the events that are going to happen throughout the film. Whilst this is happening the all important sound motif is being used as the soundtrack, the iconic Star wars theme tune, this music is used to build tension within the audience for the eventual action and attack on the Jedi.

After the titles have rolled to the back the camera performs a vertical tilt, and the black background of the titles leads onto the vast expanses of the universe and a planet, this is a wide angle shot. Then computer generated imagery is used to produce the space ship in the planetary area. The audience is then plunged into the action as beams of light are shot across the sky and this creates tension within the audience, computers are then used further to impose a large star cruiser onto the screen. Because the small ship was the first on the screen, the audience automatically sides with the smaller ship, the audience then realises the battle the battle that the heroes are currently facing.

The camera then cuts to the inside of the smaller ship after it is has been hit by the star cruiser, this makes the audience realise how vulnerable the ship is, this is because we see the insides of the ship shake vigorously. We know that the hit has caused chaos within the residence of the ship because of we see a group of soldiers sprinting to guard the doors, this gives the impression that the ship is going to be invaded.

The camera then cuts to the soldiers hiding behind positions facing the door to the ship, which further gives the impression that something is going to enter the space ship. Next, non diegetic sound is used as the ship is sucked into the tractor beam of the space cruiser. This gives an impression of power of this ship.

The camera then cuts so that we can see the smaller ship being sucked into the boarding area of the space cruiser. This further gives the impression of how underpowered the spaceship is compared to the cruiser. As the camera cuts back into the smaller ship we can hear the non-diegetic footsteps sound, this is used to create tension for the initial attack from enemy troops onto the ship. The camera then performs a two shot, with decreasing cut times, between the soldiers and the door.

The door is then blown of using pyrotechnics; this gives the impression of the power the imperial army possesses. This power is then shown further by the actions of the storm troopers: the trooper’s storm into the ship without any thought, giving the impression that they are superior. The camera then cuts to a long shot of the door that was invaded, from the smoke, Darth Vader emerges. From the black armour that Darth Vader is wearing, we know that he is evil, also, because of his differentiated colour from the storm troopers we know that he is powerful and a higher rank within the imperial army.