Change of plans

In light of recent critique of our idea for our opening film, we will be changing the character of the 'Hitman' a little. Instead of him being a hitman, he will instead be a henchman; forced into his violent job by the cartel that murdered his family and took him in when he was at a very young age, the same cartel that are after Tom Longley, the drug dealer. He will be just one of the men sent after Tom Longley by the cartel, but he is the one that we will focus on for our opening sequence. This is because a seventeen year old hitman hired for a serious job has been recognized as being very unbelievable, and we want our audience to be feeling tension that is vital to the thriller genre, that they might not feel if the character is completely unbelievable. A henchman character, asked and made to do his job by the cartel is more believable because it is convenient for the cartel and he is not the only one sent to do the job (which might not be believable because they wouldn't rely 100% on a 17 year old).

This will still be deliberately unclear in our opening sequence. We still want the audience to be left intrigued - wondering who this character is and what he wants so that they would be wanting to watch the rest of the film to find out, but it is always good to have a planned background story for the characters so that we have a better idea of how to mould them when we begin filming and acting.

My favourite film II

My favorite film: discussion II

No Country for Old Men

SPOILERS: 

Javier Bardem playing a psychopathic killer always ends up looking fantastic. With 'No Country for Old Men', the Coen brothers turned a great novel into a great film. 

I think one of my favourite things about this film is the minimalist theme that went throughout. I thought that the lack of a conventional soundtrack, the unnoticeable editing, the quiet and considered main characters, the realism of the mise en scene, the generally simplistic tone - all added to making the film seem that much more realistic and intense. Many long sections of the movie went devoid of music - the film only contains 16 minutes of music! The deafening silence just intensifies the conversations, it helps you to get a better grip of the characters, it's downright terrifying at times as it is noticeably easier to notice just how quiet and efficient Anton Chigurh is as he creeps across the streets or a motel. It just proves that you don't need to have a soundtrack with a heartbeat bass or intense and uncomfortable music in order to have an absolutely thrilling film. 

However, I was none too impressed by the ending. Leaving the film to end so enigmatically and showing the deaths of two main characters in such an anti climatic way did not leave a brilliant taste in my mouth. With time the ending may seem more impressive, but as a user 'DonFishies' states on IMDb, "It speaks volumes to the film's title, but it just does not feel satisfying compared to the rest of what we saw. Even with its enigmatic devices at play, I still cannot come to terms with how the film closes. It does haunt, and in a way, it may prove to be a significantly stronger ending as time rolls on. But as it stands now, it just feels weak."

This certainly wasn't enough to corrupt my overall view of the film. The first three quarters featured some of the most intense moments I've ever felt when watching film, and it's this kind of feeling that I wanted to incorporate into my opening sequence. 

Opening sequence schedule

Note: Some of these activities have already been completed

Opening sequence schedule:

In order to ensure an organised and stress free project, we decided to create a schedule for the pre-production and production of our opening sequence. Our schedule is shown below.

Location recce	Sunday 17th November	Our group will visit Spring Electrical and decide on the final location of our opening sequence.
Costume test	Tuesday 19th November	Our group will decide on what costume our characters would wear.
Opening credits test	Saturday 23rd November	Our group will edit together a test opening credits font, helping us to establish the font types that we will use.
Lighting tests	Sunday 24th November	Our group will meet at Spring Electrical on 24th to conduct lighting tests for our project.
Make up tests	Saturday 30th November	Our group will conduct make up tests onto Joe – as he will be the hitman for our film. This will help us establish exactly how we want the character to look before we start filming.
Voiceover recording	Some time in December before filming, most likely 9th – 13th December	Our group will guarantee to have our voiceover recording completed before filming on the 15th, so we have a clearer vision of what the end product may look like.
Filming	Sunday 8th December, Sunday 15th December	Our group will start our filming on the 8th of December, and then  attempt to get all of our film completed on the 15th, if we have any left over. This helps us to avoid the busy period of late December.
Editing	Monday 16th December – hand in date.	We will attempt to have our film edited and completed as soon as possible, meaning we have enough time to make improvements suggested by teacher and others.

How does our film and its story fit in to Todorov's narrative theory?

Tzvetan Todorov is a media theorist who came up with 'Narrative Theory'. He argued that most narratives can be summed up by a three part structure:

- Equilibrium - Everything is calm and as it should be, order is kept.

- Disequilibrium - Something comes along, whether it be a villain or something else, and disrupts the order and calmness of the equilibrium. This may also be called the 'Conflict'

- New Equilibrium - The conflict is resolved and order is restored - though it could be a different kind of equilibrium than at the start of the narrative.

OR:

• A state of equilibrium (calm and order)
• A disruption of that order by an event or villain
• Recognition that disruption has occurred
• The attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
• A return or restoration of a new equilibrium

Good examples of films which match Todorov's theory could be the 'Shrek' franchise, or some of the 'Batman' films.

Our film may also fit in with Todorov's narrative theory, although in a unconventional way. The opening of our film actually takes place in the middle of the narrative, during the disequilibrium (a technique called In Media Res - though after the opening of our film, the narrative would take us through the equilibrium - whereby the drug dealer decides to retire and starts to settle down, the disequilibrium - when the hitman is contracted to kill the drug dealer and his family (some of which you see in the opening) and then to the new equilibrium - whereby the story either concludes with the drug dealer escaping with his life, or matters are eventually settled with his death.

Representation of Lady Gaga in 'Fame' Perfume advert

Lady Gaga ‘Fame’ perfume advert

In media, images in adverts are often used to represent and portray different feelings, themes and ideologies by using different techniques from camera work, colours, poses and what the image actually shows. In Lady Gaga’s ‘Fame’ perfume advert, there can be many different interpretations of what the techniques used in the image might be trying to represent and connote.

In this image, Lady Gaga is posing in a way which underlines her sexuality and elegance, leaning nude on her side whilst willingly allowing dozens of miniature male figures to climb and touch her body and more commonly in places which would be considered to carry sexual desire such as her breasts, crotch and buttock areas, where numerous figures of men are stationed. This may go against what McRobbie’s and Gauntlett’s views of female representation are in the media, as Lady Gaga can be interpreted as – despite being casted in an advert for woman’s perfume – a sexual object for the many male figures in the image, as she is passively allowing them to climb her body in a way which connotes that she is a subject of the male gaze, posing in a way that strives maximize visual and erotic sexual impact, supported by the various male figures looking at, admiring and climbing her body.

However, Guantlett and McRobbie’s ideas discuss ideologies that can be found within magazines targeted towards females such as More and Cosmo, whilst Lady Gaga’s advert would also probably mainly be found outside of those magazines, so perhaps it is not fair to say that her advert goes against their views of female representation within such magazines.

Also, Lady Gaga may easily fit in to Freud’s Madonna/ Whore complex as a ‘whore’ as she passively allows the men to climb her body and linger around her most sexually appealing areas with no complaints or protestation, even stretching her arm back which might be interpreted as to allow the many figures to mount her body more easily, clearly showing that she is unashamed of her sexual prowess – and wilfully allows men to admire it. However, she might also be seen as a ‘Madonna’ by some, as is posed with such perfect elegance whilst holding a bottle of perfume (perhaps representing elegance, cleanliness and well looked after for some of the audience), which goes against his complex, as the woman is both Madonna and a Whore.

However, there is room for interpretation that Lady Gaga is actually shown to be controlling, full of confidence and self-aware in a way that may perhaps agree with McRobbie’s and Gauntlett’s and even possibly Mulvey’s male gaze ideas as this text could show dominant ‘girl power’. By observing the way in which the men in the image are blackened and very small compared to Lady Gaga’s much brighter body, the blackness could signify that the men are wrongdoers or sinners as they are tempted by lust for Lady Gaga’s body, showing that rather than the men controlling Lady Gaga with her wilfully playing passive for them, she is instead dooming the men into darkness with temptation in the same way that Greek mythology would use mermaids to tempt heroes and men to the water. This represents an ideology that fits with McRobbie’s and Gauntlett’s because it shows that women can be controlling and hold the power to control men.

Also, the way in which Lady Gaga is so much larger than the male figures in this image could suggest that she holds a goddess-like state to them, and that rather than in some texts whereby the male has clear dominance and is either shown to by taller/ larger than any woman that could be in the image, such as in this Twilight poster https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehcEbE4A1BJkTLObWZYuHMjwJOIytl9-oNHM-FKf-ZMJ0jfnpkf8_10v1wo63vdxdI0FQsBHYUMCLfbwx7s20BmyAoDd9QFd_NO4VlVhhIB_8_CLXvH0nj4vfnsp_5yNN1MzZRS5VJUs/s1600/twilight+poster_4.jpg, the woman is instead the clear protagonist. This also supports McRobbie’s and Gauntlett’s ideals about feminism representation in the media.

Prezi pitch for our opening film

Completed by whole group

Some lighting tests

Testing the lighting for our film would be very difficult to achieve due to limitations with our location. The black curtains which block the natural light from outside, which will not be present when we start the filming- therefore, we chose to test the lighting in the parts of the shop (and our script) which would realistically remain similarly lit when we actually start filming. The only place we decided might be realistically lit is around the counter/till. 

As our opening takes place during the daytime,we decided it may be best for the lighting in our film to be kept mainly as high key lighting. This leads the opening to look realistic, and the fact that it looks like it took place during day time (it does) may add to the tension of the scene, asit may seem unconventional for an intense and possibly frightening scene to have taken place in a bright setting, much like the"'Heeeeere's Johnny!" scene from "The Shining". However, when the hitman approaches the till/counter, we decided it would be best to utilise the top lighting of the shop in order to exaggerate certain features on the hitman's face and make them stand out - which creates a more sinister character.

Another thing that we decided to do was to leave off many of the lights that the shop usually has turned on, and instead opt to turn on only the lights that were around 4k kelvin. With the curtains open for our actual film to allow in natural sunlight (which would be around the warmth that the lights we leave on are at), this creates a colder and more intense atmosphere than warmer lighting/ lower kelvin would do.

The colder tone of lighting also emphasizes the cold and inhumane nature of the hitman - as it makes him look paler and this leads to him becoming distanced from the audience, insuring that they do not empathize with him.

Location Recce

(Edited from Jake Andrews, photos taken by whole group)
Location Recce: Lighting Shop

Location Recces:

The lighting shop opening scene will take place in a part of the narrative when the trail on Tom Longley has gone cold, and the hitman is trying to find the target by searching around places where the target goes, visits or is familiar with, bringing him to a lighting shop, next to a bustling road. The lights in shop can be used to our advantage as we can easily use them to get effects on the characters to create tension or to develop characters. Certain colored lights for example a greeney-white can be on the characters face to disconnect him from the audience and make him seem inhuman. The shop has a ladder/trolley on wheels - which can be used for steady camera work. The black curtains will be removed, making the location seem more believable and thus more realistic and intense.



The counter will be where the hitman and shop assistant will talk and where the hitman kills the shop assistant. The shelf in the middle can also be used for the camera, by laying it on spaces between the shelves. The lights coming down from the top could be used to our advantage for top lighting, to exaggerate features on the hitman's face or to exaggerate shadows to make him see more sinister or dark. The right of the picture above and in the middle of the image below is the entrance to another room in the shop, where the hitman enters the scene from. A bright light could possibly be used for when the hitman walks out of this room to create a powerful shadow as he comes through. Making the audience feel like the character is filling the room through his presence and darkness.

The till for customers to pay at has all the props to make the shop look realistic: a cash register, accessories, a computer screen etc. 

Target audience and age rating for our film

(Edited from Jake Andrews)
Parental Guide & Target Audience for our film

The target audience for our production is over 18 year olds due to its mature content. The film product should be at this maturity rating as the film contains scenes of fatal shooting, intense scenes which could frighten or disturb younger audiences and the mention and use of drugs. The film's age rating and target audience is decided in these categories:

Sex and Nudity.

• None

Violence and Gore:

• The opening scene contains two innocent people being shot by the hitman. Both deaths are off screen but you can still hear the gun shot.

• The whole film is based around a drug dealer escaping a hitman, meaning that there are life or death situations, and the rest of the film would contain gore. 

Profanity:

• The opening sequence contains no swearing.

• The rest of the film would contain very strong language.

Alcohol/ Drugs/Smoking:

• The films main character is a retired drug dealer so the film would include references to drug dealing, drug taking, drug addictions and how drugs has ruined the lives of many, including the main character. 

Frightening/Intense Scenes:

• The opening scene sees someone held at gunpoint and interrogated - before being shot. This could be seen as frightening and intense to some viewers. 

• The film is about a cat and mouse chase that includes life or death choices and action sequences that could be frightening and intense to some. 

Target audience:

Western Europe, UK, America - those who live in similar environment/ culture may be able to relate more closely with some of the elements in the film, even if it means just the weather - this can make the film seem more intense to this audience, as it feels close and real. 18+. Those who enjoy tense films and aren't shocked by gun violence or drugs. If you look towards Katz and Blumler and the uses and gratifications media theory, our audience would probably mainly be watching this film for the use of entertainment. 

My even further developed version of screenplay for our opening sequence

May still be subject to change.

Screenplay for Film Opening With Camera

Test opening sequence shot and opening credits

For our opening sequence, I believe we should use the font 'Agency FB' and white colour for the film studio credit as it is minimalistic and looks professional against the black background- keeping the audience's attention on the voiceover and also because the font fairly 'thin' or 'sharp' - denoting the violent nature of the film. It is also font that might look/ or be associated with police/ government document font - which can be used to emphasize the crime element of the film. I think we should use a yellowy colour and shift the text to the middle right for the credits of the crew and actors/actresses in the film, as it stands out easier in the shot than the white would, so it is easier to see and understand. The colour yellow could also be used to establish a motif to signify danger in our film - as the hitman might drive a yellow car (which isn't made apparent yet through the opening sequence). However, for our actual opening sequence, the shot will be filmed without the curtains over the windows - meaning we may have to change the colour of the font to something darker so that it stands out. 

The camera is slowly moving backwards in a dolly shot from a one point perspective pointing at the door of the shop - showing the bustling road  and slowly giving the audience a sense of environment and setting and not giving them too much in the way of interesting visuals, which keeps them engaged on the voiceover- allowing it to build tension and character.

Missing from the video above is actual audio that we want to use for the scene, the name of the voice over who we want to use (as we haven't yet established who we want to cast for this role), who we will have before 'BETH OVERTON' as he is playing the main character and is also talking at the moment that the credit comes up. The lighting we will use may also be different, as the curtains will be down from the windows, allowing in natural light. 

Mind mapping + planning evidence for our opening sequence to be shown soon

A further developed (from my earlier script) basic script for the group's film opening

May be subject to change

Screenplay for Film Opening

Opening sequence script made from three thriller films put together

Script made from thriller genre

Motifs in opening sequences

Because opening sequences are conventionally used to set the tone and feel of a movie, it's common that film makers use a great deal of motifs to do so. A motif is a recurring structure that helps to communicate the main themes of a film, and it could have great symbolic significance. It could be anything - from a coin spinning in the air, to a car crash.

Example I hope to use for our opening: Two of the characters will comment on how it is about to rain, or how it isn't about to get any brighter, which denotes sadness. This is followed by the death of one of the characters in the scene. Rain and weather was used as a motif to communicate the theme of sadness. 

Another one of my ideas/ examples: If you are doing a film which involves a main character destructively addicted to alcohol, you could have the opening shot of your film to be a close up of a glass of gin and tonic (with ice), with a sharp knife being used to stir the drink. This connotes that the character is fond of alcohol whilst denoting that it could have destructive consequences due to the sharp violent knife being used to stir the ice. 

Famous examples of motifs used in opening sequences

James Bond: The gun barrel sequence:

The gun barrel sequence has always been a prominent sequence in the James Bond series, more often than not appearing at the start of the film. James Chapman, a British media historian, has claimed that the sequence features "the trademark motif of the series",  commenting that he believes that it "foregrounds the motif of looking, which is central to the spy genre."

Shot from the barrel of a gun we presume to be held by an assassin or foe, the sequence connotes that the character (Bond) is quick and dangerous, and will always be the fastest shot in a gunfight, even if the antagonist thought he had him in his sights. The blood denotes that the rest of the film will be violent, with deaths and injuries. 

A Clockwork Orange: Sexual desire:

Indeed, when the opening close-up shot of A Clockwork Orange begins to zoom out, it is hardly a message of love and compassion that is communicated to the audience. The dystopian Britain seems to be based around the themes of dominant sex, 'ultra violence' and crime throughout the film, and the opening sequence does a great job of revealing this through the early motif of sexually repressed woman with the many mannequins posing provocatively in the nude, showing us that men are in charge and that woman are akin to tools of sexual pleasure in the new society - or that woman are viewed at in a way similar to the 'Whore' in Sigmund Freud's Madonna/Whore complex (which I believe to be nonsense, regardless)

Malignant opening sequence analysis

Malignant (With Jake Andrews)

Malignant: Definition - evil in nature or effect. 

Mise-en-scene:

An industrial area with a ghost/ monster presence. The rustiness and roughness of the site creates a feel of isolation, creating tension as the audience wonders what could happen to the character, as well as why the area is abandoned

Presents the audience with four teenagers that stumble across the site, connoting a conflict which creates intrigue. This is also use of dramatic irony, as the audience already knows that there is a paranormal presence/ entity.

The area is encapsulated by a barbed wire fence, which emphasizes that you cannot escape from the site, and connotes that the fence may be keeping something within.

Camera:

Camera Panning: Shows the Keep out sign across to building. Shows the danger and remoteness of the area.

Point Of View Shot: Used when approaching the girl. Puts in you in perspective of the character making you feel more vulnerable creating tension and fear on the audience.

Sound:

Throughout the opening sequence there is a non diagetic eerie piano backing. This is conventional of horror films and creates an uncomfortable atmosphere with high pitched sharp violent sounds every so often.

When approaching the girl from a long-shot to a close up, the music quietens down before ultimately stopping. This builds tension as it creates a more exposed atmosphere for the audience, as they're no longer protected by the non-diegetic sound as the girl turns around, creating a climax of tension which had been building up from the start.

Editing:

The animation of the opening credits is very difficult to visualize. However this could connote the paranormal sideof the film, as the credits are designed to look mysterious/ghostly. As ghosts are difficult to see and you never see a ghost clearly.

The paranormal theme is further emphasized by the mysterious figure popping up, creating tension as the audience wants to see what this thing is.

Horror/ narrative signifiers:Ghostly antagonist - conflict of film will probably be centred on this aspect
Walking through the woods
First victim in the first few minutes
Helpless teenagers - assumed to have to go up against the ghost later on in story
Mysterious music
Point of view shoAnimation/ font design of opening credits – ghostly

Enigmas:

What is the strange paranormal presence?
Why is the area abandoned?
What happens to the first character?
What happens to the teenagers?
Why is there a paranormal presence?

These are all questions that the audience may be asking which drive them on to watch the rest of the film.

Se7en/Seven opening title sequence

Seven is a film of the horror/thriller genre directed by David Fincher, following two detectives as they embark on an investigation to find a serial killer whose murders are based around the seven deadly sins. The opening title sequence features an obscure approach to narrative using uncannily eerie camera shots and editing whilst focusing on creepy body language - creating a suspenseful and intriguing opening title sequence. 

Mise en scene: 

The opening title sequence from Seven focuses around a character (presumably a man) psychotically fiddling with grimy instruments such as needles, razors and tweezers, frantically putting together photographs and notes, or scribbling nonsensical lines into a notebook. This crazed imagery shown throughout the whole opening title sequence connotes that the man we see is the murderer/ antagonist, without confirming whether this is true. This builds tension as the audience feels that they need to find out who's hands they have just seen. 

Another notable thing about the mise en scene is the man's hands, or more specifically his fingers. His finger nails are encrusted with what looks like dirt or blood, with him eventually placing plasters over his fingers which further denotes that he has been doing 'dirty work', adding an eerie sense to the opening sequence. 

The frenetic nature of the work that we see the man conducting and the way that he does it as well as the appearance that we are aware of (his hands), leads the audience to believe that this is probably the villain of the film - in line with Propp's character theory - as everything that we see in the scene hints towards a most likely dark and evil nature. 

Camera

Most if not all shots are taken from a close up or extreme close up in Seven's opening title sequence. This is vital to have a continuous effect of building tension and suspense, as it's important that they don't give too much away to the audience about the character, place - or situation. It is a great technique to build tension because it leaves the audience guessing what the wider picture is, and continuing to watch through the film to find out.

Another affect that the close ups have on the audience is creating a feel of isolation and confinement with the unpleasant activity that the man is engaging in, making the opening sequence uneasy and tense. 

Many of the shots are also at a dutch angle, which is a fantastic and widely used technique to disorientate the audience and create a disturbing feel for the film and show that something is wrong. 

Audio

Though there doesn't seem to be any natural/ diegetic sound in the opening title sequence, Kyle Cooper makes excellent use of non-diegetic music over the top. A remixed version of Nine Inch Nails song "Closer", the song is made up of a harsh beating bass noise, sharp high pitched sounds and a strange static noise, which denotes the violent nature of the actions being taken, and denoting the harsh personality of the character in the scene. By having no diegetic sound, it leaves it to the audience's imagination, which might create a better affect than actually having the sound.

There are also many moments when the sharp parts of the track fit nicely onto the actions of the man. For example: When the man slides his finger across the paper to make sure that it sticks into place, the music plays a continuous airy hiss sound. This makes certain actions stick out, creating a scary atmosphere. 

Editing

The titles that are shown are made up of sharp irregular fonts which feel violent and jagged - adding to the atmosphere of the scene. They flicker on the screen often suddenly and non-rhythmically - disorientating the audience and adding to the awareness that something is wrong. 

The opening title sequence also uses a montage effect for shot transitions, switching from viewpoint to viewpoint quickly before the audience has the chance to establish what they are seeing properly. Again, this is disorientating and confusing to the audience. It also gives Seven the opportunity to show the various tools, equipment and terrifying resources to properly portray the character to be the villain of the film. 

Genre signifiers

- The use of dark atmosphere created by low key lighting.
- A very dark and villainous character created by grimy and stained sharp props connoting cuts and injuries, connoting that the film will be focusing on darkness and violence.
- Sharp and jagged looking font to symbolize violent nature of film.
- Barbed audio, with sharp rises in pitch, similar and comparable even to the opening title sequence from classic horror films such as Psycho (1960). 

Narrative enigma

One of the reasons why the sequence is so effective is due to the suspense and tension it created through narrative enigma. By not revealing the character but only his hands, it gives just enough detail of the crazed nature of this character that it encourages the audience to watch further to see what else he is capable of. 

Another enigma that is manufactured by this opening title sequence is what exactly the man is planning or compiling, making the audience ask questions like "Why?", "Where?", "What?" - and leading them to be enticed into the mysterious narrative of the film. 

Audience reception

This opening sequence is famed for the way that it establishes a tone for the rest of the film. Audiences would have enjoyed this opening sequence as it satisfies the need for entertainment as they might find it to be well-put together and aesthetically pleasing for the horror genre. They might also enjoy it as it increases intrigue towards the probable 'Villain' of the film. 

No Country for Old Men opening sequence

Note: Video below does not include opening titles, they can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbW26Atp6eM

No Country for Old Men Opening Analysis

Stanley Kubrick trademarks and techniques

I have already gone into depth on Stanley Kubrick's great works, so now I will go into what techniques he regularly uses that help to make his films so successful and iconic.

Long tracking shots

Pretty much all of Kubrick's films has, at some point, had a very long tracking shot. A lot of the time this is facing the characters whilst moving backwards. This technique can have the effect of slowly establishing the mise-en-scene and the situation, which creates tension and can be very dramatic if used well, like the Trench scene in 'Paths of Glory'. This can be found in other Kubrick films such as 'The Shining', as the camera follows Danny when riding his Tricycle - which gave an disorienting and uneasy feeling as the boy rode through seemingly endless empty corridors or in circles.

The Kubrick stare

Kubrick was a master at creating delusional/evil characters, and one of the key ways that he did this was with 'The Kubrick stare'. TKS was a facial expression whereby the actor/actress tilts their head downwards or the camera shot is taken from slightly above, and the eyes remain heavily fixated on a point just below their eyebrows. It was perfect for developing villains or dangerous characters or even just obsessive characters, because it looked detached menacing - and sociopathic. Examples of this may include 'Pvt. Leonard' in Full Metal Jacket, as he is just about to commit suicide and potentially harm others, putting the audience under great stress. This has been paid homage to in many genres, such as Star Wars Ep 3, 

Slow, protracted scenes

Another thing that Kubrick is well known for is his long and delayed scenes of drama. He keeps scenes of excitement and action going for extended periods of time, building up more and more tension as he goes. This is used to great affect in 'The Shining''s "Heeeeeeere's Johnny!" scene, as he seems to take forever to break down the door - constantly building tension as we speculate on his wife's next actions and if she will survive. Maybe that's why it (unofficially)won the 'most scary scene' award!

One-point perspective

You could say Kubrick had a bit of an obsession with the one-point-perspective shot. As Lauren Davis states, "There are some directors whose movies are instantly recognizable, and Stanley Kubrick is easily among them.". The one-point perspective shot is one of Kubrick's most recognizable traits, as it is used regularly in basically all of his films. He often used it for dramatic effect, to focus the audience's attention onto one spot, or to create the feeling of being trapped in a scene, rather than just watching it - through the use of perfect parallels and perpendicular lines which sometimes feel like being caged in. 

These are just some of Kubrick's most famous techniques, and the fact that I am even discussing it shows just how influential he has been. 

First attempt at screenplay for film opening - Genre: Crime thriller

Note: A lot of the stage directions and camera shots are not in yet.

Screenplay for film opening with camera.docx

Stanley Kubrick: notable work

Stanley Kubrick: Some of his most notable work in film

In the 'My blog' post, I briefly mentioned two directors of whom I was currently interested in. One of these directors was Quentin Tarantino; whom I felt fairly comfortable with at the time. The second director was Stanley Kubrick. 

Stanley Kubrick was born on July 26, 1928, and died aged 70 on March 7, 1999. He was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, and editor, and his work has been described by film critics such as Michel Ciment as being "among the most important contributions to world cinema in the twentieth century". Although many his films were controversial with mixed reviews at the time, it's now easy to say that Stanley Kubrick was a once in a lifetime talent.

Starting off as a photographer, Kubrick moved onto short documentary films and feature films and begun making a name for himself with his always-obvious unique talents for working with film. 

From there; Kubrick's next two films Killer's Kiss (1955) and The Killing (1956) put him firmly on the radar of Hollywood, for his impressive unconventional multi-perspective storytelling and script. Generations later, The Killing has gained a bit of a 'cult' following among noir films for its influential and stylish nature, even though at the time it was a financial failure, making a loss. 

Having attracted Hollywood, Stanley Kubrick was asked to direct 'Paths of Glory'; an anti-war film starring legendary actor Kirk Douglas. It was only an average box office success, but once again it earned Kubrick much critical acclaim, being nominated for a BAFTA Award under the category Best Film. This success propelled Kubrick onto another film with Kirk Douglas, 'Spartacus' - a film about Spartacus the gladiator. Taking command of the project, many of the crew complained that Kubrick was taking over their jobs, the cinematographer, Russell Metty,claimed that Stanley apparently told him to “sit there and do nothing”! Comically, Metty ended up winning Academy Award for Best Cinematography!

It was with Kubrick's next film, Lolita, that he begun to show his tremendous versatility. So far in his career he had made documentaries, a 'film noir' on a heist, a historical epic, an anti-war film and more,and now he was moving onto a black comedy. The film, which was centered around a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with a teenage girl - attracted criticism for its controversial nature, but following the pattern of Kubrick's other work - garnered praise and several nominations and awards. Kubrick's next film was "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (we'll just call it Dr Strangelove!) was also a black comedy, satirizing the nuclear threat of the Cold War, and was a massive success. Winning many BAFTA Awards including best British film.

And again; Stanley's ability for versatility was put on display with his next film. Five years in the making; 2001: A Space Odyssey was the first ultimate classic of the science fiction genre. Creating a huge legacy with its inspired use of special effects, before unseen depictions and ideas for future technology and excellent choice of music. There has even been a documentary starring sci-fi greats such as George Lucas named Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001. Legacy.

Always wanting to stretch what was conventional in cinema, he moved onto 'A Clockwork Orange'. Polarizing yet ultimately successful, 'A Clockwork Orange' was popular in the States, yet a series of crimes which had been linked back to 'A Clockwork Orange' as copycat crimes (I think it is ridiculous to blame TV, film or games for violent crimes) led to Kubrick withdrawing the film from British production. It was a science fiction crime film which used violent imagery and ideas to discuss a dystopian future Britian... in creepy ways. As you can see below I'm sure.

One of the genres that Kubrick had not yet explored was horror. When offered a seemingly perfect opportunity however, being asked to direct the sequel to The Exorcist, it was baffling. His ability showcased in 'A Clockwork Orange' to create a bit of an 'ergh' feeling would have been suited perfectly to horror. Well it's because Kubrick decided to adapt Stephen King's classic 'The Shining'. Having recently been awarded top spot on a study claiming that the "Heeeere's Johnny!" scene is the scariest in movie history, 'The Shining' clearly went down a (trick or) treat. * The film quickly took in a cult following, with many of them nit picking and various scenes to find an overall meaning of the film, even producing radical ideas such as it being Kubrick's admittance to filming the oh-so-obviously-faked moon landings. Yeah... no.

With the influence that so many of Kubrick's films have had on television and film making, it'd be hard to choose which one had the greatest impact. If I had to choose, it'd be '2001: A Space Odyssey', for paving the way in special effects and technology in science fiction.