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CCR 1 How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or Issues? By: Lara Middleton
The Genre of our Opening Sequence – Part 1 • Conventions of Thriller • - conventions for the Thriller genre is that there must be a MacGuffin (a desirable object in which is essential to the plot but is useless). • Antagonist action is personal • Limited time period for protagonist to defeat antagonist • Suspense drives the narrative • Antagonist will not be bargained with • Increasing danger • Character arch • Antagonist is revealed earlier on in the story and the protagonist must stop him • What is a thriller? • - The evasion of death and damnation • Excitement • normally involves a crime or espionage • Plot driven • Dark + engrossing Core emotion = Excitement, Anxiety, Suspense
What is crime? - Crime is commonly fiction however can be a true story - Centers around the crime, the investigation of such crime, the antagonist and their motive Part 2 - Crime Conventions of Crime • There is a crime committed • There is once again a MacGuffin the drives the investigation • Red herrings that the police + Protagonist investigate • The protagonist tries to outsmart the antagonist but fails • The police get involved • Justice most commonly prevails • The antagonist is revealed and is arrested or gets away. • A moment of weakness where the protagonist struggles to uncover the truth. • The antagonist is revealed later and the police are trying to figure out who committed the crime Core Emotion = Intrigue + security that justice prevails
What are the conventions of the Genre you’ve used? • Thriller • The baby is the MacGuffin as it is essential to the plot but obviously cannot actively affect the plot • There is an element of suspense because a child has been taken which is a high stake • The audience see the Kidnappers face and know who the antagonist is. • Eerie music is used to increase suspense • The kidnapper's endeavor is personal to the mother as she is stealing her child • Kidnapper dressed in black clothing portraying her as the antagonist • The audience asks the question of why she is stealing the child • Fast paced editing increasing tension. • Crime • MacGuffin is the child • The crime is committed at the start of the film • Later in the story, we intend for the police to follow a lead to the kidnapper and child's location which leads to nothing (red herring). Our plot past the opening sequence follows the story of the antagonist and why she stole the baby, it is later revealed that its because of her age and economic situation that she could not care for the child and was forced to give it up for adoption but her love for the child compels her to steal the child so she can raise it by herself
Taken was directed by Pierre Morel, and was released on 26th of September 2008 • John wick was directed by Chad Stahelski, and was released on 10th of April 2015 • Prisoners was directed by Denis Villeneuve, and was released on the 27th of September 2013 Films that resemble our opening sequence I felt that these movies resembled our opening sequence because a crime is committed against the protagonist in which all of them seek for justice or revenge. In taken and Prisoners the daughter of the protagonist has been kidnapped which is the same in our plot. John Wick resembles our Opening sequence because he corrects the wrongs that were done to him.
Sound comparison In Prisoners they use a diegetic sound of a police officer reporting a crime on the radio, this is similar to our opening sequence as we used the kidnappers voice on a baby monitor, the same distorted effect creates tension. In John Wick’s opening sequence, they used long deep base notes as a part of the non-diegetic soundtrack, we used a similar sound when the kidnappers' feet appear in our opening sequence. However, each convey different emotions, in John wick it sounds sentimental and sad, whereas ours portrays fear and evil. In this moment of Takens opening sequence they use a creepy non-diegetic soundtrack; this is similar to our opening sequences soundtrack where we use a nursery rhyme which comes across as haunting
Camera comparison In John Wick there is a close-up shot of his phone with a video of him and his wife, this gives insight to the plot and his character, In our opening sequence we have a close-up shot of the mother turning on the baby monitor, this is important because it foreshadows events that are about to occur. All though they are simillar shots they are used for different things. In Taken and John Wick’s opening sequence, they both have close up shots of the protagonist's face whilst they look at something they have an attachment to. Close ups are used in Thrillers a lot because it allows you to make a connection to the character, it also allows you to see specific facial expressions in which communicate the characters feelings. In prisoners, there is a mid shot of the Police officer/protagonist eating alone. In our opening sequence we have used the same shot, this is because it allows us to see their body language telling us how they feel.
Editing comparison In Taken, they used slow paced editing making it feel intimate and calm, in our opening sequence we wanted to replicate this therefore when the mother appears we used slow paced editing to reflect her characters personality. John wick also used slow-paced editing to reflect the feelings of sadness and grief the john wick was experiencing In prisoners the fast paced editing when the killer tries to escape the police increases the tension, this is similar to our opening sequence when the kidnapper enters the baby’s bedroom we us fast passed editing and cross cutting between the mother and kidnapper to add tension.
Mise-en-scene In Prisoners the Protagonist is conveyed in bright lighting showing that he is the “hero”, this is similar to our opening sequence as we wanted to portray our protagonist as kind and sweet. However, in prisoners the protagonist is wearing dark clothing showing that he is pessimistic or antisocial, whereas our character is portrayed oppositely by wearing a light brown dress These shots differ from on another as the location used in john wick is a dirty and worn-down warehouse, whereas our opening sequence takes place in a home. This shot from Prisoners is similar to our opening sequence in mise-en-scene as it conveys the antagonist in dark lighting, conveying that they are evil.
Typical conventions of opening sequences • Title sequences – are essential for setting the tone and atmosphere of the film, alert the viewers to the genre, and feature names of key people in the production of the film. Allows for views to know the time period and location • Insight to the plot, storyline – Dropping clues and draw attention to the subject matter of the story • Establishing shot – allowing the viewers to know where the film is most likely to take place. • Enigma codes – a clue given to draw audiences in but also allowing them to ask questions about what’s going to happen next • Music – helps to aid the tone of the film, foreshadows events that may transpire • Introduction to a character – most likely the protagonist or antagonist, giving insight to their personality and lifestyle.
Here we have a wide shot of the room, with credits of the cast. The wide shot makes clear of the location acting as an establishing shot How have I followed these conventions Here we have the main title of the film, as we have the Kidnappers feet appearing. This is also where the music starts to become darker • I have used contrapuntal music but using a nursery rhyme however it slowly becomes more distorted paired with the use of base notes creating this haunting atmosphere creating tension. • We all used titles featuring fake names of the production company, the cast names, the directors name, the name of the film etc. • Although we didn’t directly use an establishing shot its clear the location through using various wide shots. • In our opening sequence a kidnapper comes to take a child, now as the kidnapper hold the child she says “it’s your mummy”, making the enigma code: why did she give the baby up in the first place, why is she stealing the child • Our opening sequence sets up our film. It introduces us to 3 characters, the protagonist (mother), The antagonist (Kidnapper) and the MacGuffin (baby). The events give clear insight to what the rest of the plot of the movie will be and how it surrounds this event. In this shot we establish that the baby is the MacGuffin, and we gain an inside view between the relationship and the baby. We are also introduced to the mother/Protagonist In this shot we are introduced to the Kidnapper. We see her face for a specific reason as we want to showcase her gender and age as it is essential to the plot. The kidnapper is stealing the baby, giving clear insight that the films plot surrounds this event. This also links to Barthes enigma code, as it forces the audience to wonder “why is she stealing the child”
Social groups represented in our opening sequence Gender - Women Women are a social group which we have chosen to represent in our opening sequence. We have used an all-female cast, Women are typically represented in media as weak and defenseless, and in most cases play the victim. Women typically are sexualized in the film industry and serve only for the “male gaze”. However, in our opening sequence we didn’t want to conform to the stereotypes, therefore we cast our kidnapper as a female. Both women in our Opening sequence contrast each other, the mother is soft and calm and represents the stereotype of women and women in relationships in film whereas the kidnapper represented as evil and reckless. When a woman plays a villain in Film they are normally stereotyped as manipulative and cunning, using seduction to get their way, we wanted to avoid this stereotype and portray our kidnapper more independent and impulsive making her more of a threat
Social groups represented in our opening sequence – Part 2 Youth - teens Parents - mothers Teenagers are portrayed in the media in most cases quite negatively, they tend to be portrayed as reckless, stubborn and selfish. Mothers in media are Stereotyped as organized loving and affectionate people. They tend to have their life in order and are portrayed positively in the media. They are also stereotyped as a stay-at-home mother whilst the husband is normally portrayed as the provider, working a job. Our mother in our opening sequence does follow the stereotype of a mother. We have chosen to follow this stereotype because we wanted to show the contrast in the characters, and we wanted the audience to see themselves in this character creating more tension. Our kidnapper is a teenager, and we wanted this to be apparent, our kidnapper also does fit this stereotype. We made a choice to follow the stereotype because it may make audiences feel more sympathetic to the kidnapper.
Representation in Mise-en-scene however, she is not wearing a mask, showing her face in which she wears minimal make-up and jewelry, we made this choice because we wanted the audience to see that she is a woman. It also allows for the audience to see that she is a young teenager. We wanted to ensure this point got across. The kidnapper is portrayed as a stereotypical teenager with her behavior being erratic and impulsive. the Mother is portrayed as a stereotypical woman. The light brown dress conveys her as kind and gentle. The mother wears natural looking make-up to show she cares about her appearance and that she looks after herself. The mother wearing glasses represents that she is not ”dumb” or “stupid” which is how women are portrayed a lot in the film industry but implies she is clever. This is a stereotype of “geeks and nerd” that we wanted to implicate into the mothers Mise-en-scene. She also wears a wedding ring to imply she is married, yet she still works therefore representing her as a strong woman. The kidnappers costume is dark which conveys that she is a villain subverting stereotypes of women in film. The dark clothing communicates that she is evil and clearly places her as the antagonist.
Representation in camera In this close up shot we see the mother typing on a laptop, conveying that she is a fully working woman which subverts the stereotype that mother’s don’t work and look after their children full time. This is a Point of View shot from the baby’s perspective, this shot was not featured when the mother put the baby down, this is because this shot forces the audience to feel uncomfortable, it also emphasizes the danger the baby is in as we realize that she is a teenager and that she doesn’t comprehend the consequences of her actions. This shot is handheld and therefore reflects the manic and chaotic state of the teenager. This is a wide shot of the mother sat at the kitchen table working. The shot is a tripod shot which reflects her stability and calmness. Women in media can sometimes be portrayed as crazy but the stability of this shot contradicts this stereotype.
Representation in editing In our opening sequence we used representation through editing to convey different emotions. For example in this moment where the mother is putting the baby down, we used slow paced editing to show the intimacy and love the mother has for the child, it also represents her age as she is calm and collected. Where as when the teenager is with the child we used fast paced editing and cuts between the mother and the teenager to create suspense and showcase the lack of experience the teenager has compared to the mother, touching on the stereotype that teenagers are reckless and impulsive.
Representation in Sound Through sound we managed to represent the social group of mothers. The non-diegetic nursery rhyme we used has connotations of motherhood as it creates a calming and nostalgic presence. We have a diegetic sound / dialogue of the kidnappers telling the baby “hi it’s your mummy”, this plays in the shot of the kidnapper continues to play through the baby monitor whilst the mother is working. This sound gives insight to the plot and represents the kidnapper as more reckless rather than evil, conforming to the stereotype of teenagers in media. As the kidnapper's feet appear the soundtrack become more distorted, and some longer deeper base notes are used, representing that the teenager is the antagonist. This is a parallel non-diagetic sound as it supports the narrative and foreshadows the kidnappers actions
