Case Studies- The eye

The director seems to be demonstrating random shots into a sequence unknown to the viewer. This creates tension and confusion in the viewer, this is typical of the thriller genre. The director also uses spatial relations, spatial relations is a technique used which requires the viewers to link one shot or scene to another. Spatial relations does not show events as they happen in a real life fashion. The reasons for the director doing this could be to move any typical extraordinary things happening in ordinary situations. This frightens the audience more as well as linking the scenes together it is the confusion that scares them the most. Hitchcock also uses this technique in his methodology of filming but the director of this film creates confusion also more obviously to someone analysing this film.

In the opening credits before we see moving images, non-diegetic eerie drums is present creating suspense in the viewer as we are wondering what is happening and how the film will pan out. After we are then introduced to images, allowing us to make inferences. The mise en scene is the dark and grimy setting and introduces us to a less privileged working class setting .The use of low angles also reflect this minority group in American society. We see the character struggling to do something, the director helps us to feel her frustration by showing some kind of rope and then a close up pf her face and then back and forth, until we link the shots together and infer that she’s hanging herself.
The use of a close-up conveys strong emotion onto us as we can see this characters eyes and her tears and this thus projects a feeling of distress onto us. The director here is strengthening the connection between us and the character Then suddenly there is a transition from suspenseful and unsettling music to flute and guitar non-diegetic sound. There is also light strings and choir singing this reflects normality and tranquillity. This in effect creates a sense of contentment within the viewer, they may infer that the narrative will move towards a more balanced structure. The director is using two contrasting elements within the narrative, the audience were already focused on the momentum of the first scene. There then is more opening credits and then a tilt from the sky connotes change and new beginnings.
The use of slow motion makes the audience feel as though we are experiencing some kind of dream. The slow motion added with the blurred effect is a demonstration of surrealism. Surrealism is a director or auteur’s attempt to portray the unconscious mind this is typical of the thriller genre.

Wednesday 23rd December- Case studies

The Birds
The film starts with a mid-shot of the birds the basic black and white mise en scene allows the viewer to concentrate on the non-diegetic music. This creates a uneasy effect and suggests danger which heightens tension for the viewer.
The scene continues with the birds flying in a very disorganised fashion.
Barthes narrative theory states that a message is encoded by the producer or broadcaster and thus decoded by the consumer. The encoded message of the montage is that montage is being used to transfer the menace from the screen into the mind of the audience. It is part of the code and conventions of the thriller genre to allow the viewer to ponder what exactly is happening and the director is supposed to (through technical aspects). make the viewer feel different emotions.
In this case a point-view mid shot is used, through this you feel as though you are experiencing what the protagonist is. If there had been use of the camera cutting between the barbarism of the birds and a character ,the audience would be able to feel as they know that it is someone else that is first hand receiving this fright not them. However because such camera techniques were not used, they feel as though they are the ones being trussed into this menace and so the feelings of tension is heighten to the maximum. The tracking of a female character suggests normality This is typical of Hitchcock.

Women during this era tended to be represented in the media as sexual objects from a voyeuristic perspective. We see this through the medium- shot which allows us to see her code of dress. It consists of a black suit and black patent high heels, this connotes sophistication and class. Through the change from the scene of the character looking at the birds to this one allows the viewer to forget about the barbarism of the birds, as the juxtaposition is so vast that the evil or disruptive birds trivialised because of the elite construction of the female character. Also the fact that in the previous scene we do not see what she is looking at shows the insignificance of the birds. The camera angle used is a medium shot emphasising her significance.In this first scene when the female character recognises the screeching of the birds is typical of a Hitchcock thriller. Hitchcock does a various amount of things to evoke tension and suspense. For example point of view editing (or shot reverse) when the female character exchanges dialogue with the shopkeeper character. Through point of view editing you are making the camera subjective or putting ideas into the consumers head. When the camera is focused on the shopkeeper already the viewer can make the assumption that she is a trivial character, her high pitched tone of voice and the fact that she is of old age strengthens the assumption in the viewers mind that she is a trivial character. The shot reverse emphasises this feeling.

Overall Hitchcock uses information to create suspense, he does this by opening the film with the montage of the birds this is something that the audience see and the character do not. The barbarism of this birds is something that could potentially harm the characters. By continuing the rest of the scene and having constant reminders of the looming danger builds suspense in the mind of the audience not the characters. This enables the viewer to connect with the characters as the normality continues they become more and more fearful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgiD0ZVEoeQ

In this video at o:16 seconds you can see clearly through the wide shot the voyuersitic characteristics the camera has taken. We can see her professional and sensual code of dress. From 0.24-0.28 the camera quickly follows here through panning movements, the way in which the camera is positioned is behind all the tograophical references we see for example she walks past the San fransico newstand. She then stops outside 'Davidson's pet shop' what Hitchcock is doing through these references is emphasisig the minority of this character in that she is in a scoiety which she is used but we know this soon to be disrupted.

Coursework and Main task planning

Since the last lesson we broke up for the christmas holidays. Over the holidays I have completed my case studies on my website simulation and created hyperlinks onto another document consisting of more case studies into the analysis of thriller films. During the holidays I have been considering ways to improve our main task and have written out narrative structures and compared them to see which is the most enticing. Opal and I plan to meet over the holidays to finalize our plans,so that we are ready for the next task when we get back to sixth form.