Questionnaire Findings

I conducted a questionnaire to try and help me find out different peoples feelings on Horrors, Romantic-Comedies and Thrillers.

-What their favourite film from each of the genres was
-Which type of killer they most like to see in a horror film
-What their favourite aspects are within a horror film
-Whether they like pre-title sequences or prefer to jump straight into the action
-Which gender they prefer the protagonists in a horror film to be
-What kind of music they expect in a thriller
-Whether they prefer English or American Rom-Coms
-And finally, which of the three genres is their favourite

Out of the 9 responses I got, 2 people picked 'Scream' and 'Saw' as their favourite Horror films. Other choices were 'Jeepers Creepers', 'Case 39', 'The Orphan', 'Paranormal Activity' and 'House of Wax.' This shows that with Horror films, due to the amount, people have very different tastes in Horror Films and different things they like.

With Rom-Coms, 4 people chose Love Actually as their favourite, the other 4 were all different. They were 'Just Like Heaven', 'The Wedding Planner', 'Bridget Jones' and 'The Proposal.' One person didn't vote, showing that they do not like films from this genre. Due to the fact Love Actually is clearly very popular I think its clear that people tend to look for the same thing when watching Rom-Coms.

With Thrillers, 4 people chose 'Seven' as their favourite. Other films picked were 'Saw', 'Scream', 'Shutter Island', and 'Red Dragon.' These results show that some people do not know how to define films, as 'Scream' is a slasher film and 'Saw' is a horror film. It also shows that people like films that have big twists at the end, like 'Seven' and 'Shutter Island.'

When watching Horror films,  of the 9 people I asked, four prefer the antagonist to just be a plain old Serial Killer. Two people prefer the killer to be a Terrorist, two people prefer Mutated Freaks, and one person prefers a Psychopathic Killer. This shows that due to the wide variety of horror films out, people have different opinions of what makes a good horror film.

Peoples favourite aspects of Horror films, for the most part were "when you don't learn who the killer is until the end, as it builds the tension, plays on your mind, and often ends in a twist." Other popular answers were; "the scary parts" and "the killings." I think this shows that most people look for the same thing in a horror film really, and generally know what they are going to see.

5 of the 9 people asked prefer the protagonist in a horror film to be a male character, the other 4 prefer females to be the protagonists. As this is almost a 50-50 split I believe this shows that males asked prefer male protagonists and females asked prefer female protagonists.

When asked what music people expect at the start of a Thriller film 5 of the 9 people said "eerie, creepy piano music that builds up tension." Other choices were "loud, thrashy music" and "jumpy, twisted music." Again I think the limited responses show people think that generally you get the same thing at the start of most Thriller films.

5 people prefer English Rom-Com's to American. 3 prefer American, with the final 1 saying they are the same on the most part and not making a choice. I think people prefer the English versions because they can probably relate to them more, and I think people chose American because they tend to be a lot happier than the English equivalents.

I found that 5 people prefer Thrillers, 3 prefer Rom-Com's and only 1 prefers Horror films. This shows the difference in taste that people had. I am surprised that only 1 person prefers Horror films as usually they are very popular with the 16-18 year old audience, which is the age range of the people asked for this questionnaire.

Love Actually (2003)

 

Love Actually

Love Actually is a 2003 Romantic-Comedy film directed and written by Richard Curtis. The films cast is rather large, but consists of a wealth of well-known British actors such as Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Keira Knightly and Liam Neeson.

The film revolves around the lovelives of 10 couples in the lead up to Christmas, as well as a epilogue set one month after Christmas. Most of the stories intertwine with the other stories in the film as we find that nearly all of the characters are linked in some way. 

The film was produced on a budget of around £30,000,000 and made a gross profit of around $247,472,278 worldwide making the film a huge success. It was nominated for a large number of awards and won a host of them.

Opening Sequence

Camera Angles 

In the opening sequence there are a lot of close-ups used to show happiness in the faces of the people, which shows their love for the people returning to the airport. Then as the characters are introduced we again get a lot of close-ups used to show the expressions on the faces. In some cases they are happy expressions meaning that there is love in their life, but there are some sad facial expressions to suggest that the love is gone from their lives.

Mise-en-Scene

The first letter of each actors name is in red type, red is often a sign of love and passion so it fits with the title of the film.

  The wedding at the start of the film epitomises what the film is about as to get married is the ultimate sign that you love someone. There is a lot of light in the church which shows that it is something good happening. In fact, all throughout the opening a lot of high key lighting is used.

  At the very start, there is a montage at the arrivals gate of Heathrow where we see real people meeting their partners, family and friends and you can see the love and happiness of everyone.

Editing

There are a lot of cuts used in the montage so that the audience can see just how many happy people there are at the airport. There are also a lot of cuts used to introduce all of the characters which has to happen due to the number of them.

Sound

There is a voice over from Hugh Grant, who is one of the main characters, as we see the montage and he talks about how love is part of everyday life, and no matter what bad things may happen, love is always a prominent thing. He also says the words "love actually" which then turns into the title.

  As we see the montage there is a very soft, quiet piano playing a song to show the delicacy of love.

Scream (1996)

Scream is an American Horror film directed by Wes Craven that was released in 1996. The film tells the story of the fictional town of Woodsboro, California being terrorized by a masked killer who enjoys tormenting his victims with phone calls and movie references. The killer's main target is Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a teenage girl whose mother, Maureen, fell victim to a brutal murder one year earlier. The film takes the form of a "whodunit" mystery, with many of her friends and townspeople being fellow targets and suspects.

Drew Barrymore being terrorized by Ghostface

Scream was a box office success, grossing $173,046,663 internationally in it's 15 years and also spawning 2 sequels with a third sequel soon to be released and also a further two films in the pipeline. Scream is famed for revamping the Slasher genre, much like Halloween did in the late 70's using its standard Horror steretypes with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.

The film clearly takes notes from Hitchcocks' 'Psycho' (1960) from it's use of a maniac with a knife, to killing off one of the better known actresses in the first five minutes, which was considered very strange when Drew Barrymore's face had been a focal point of the film posters and alot of the advertising.


Opening Credits

Camera Angles

The scene starts with a close-up of a ringing telephone, which is quickly answered by Drew Barrymores' character. We then get a close up of her face as she talks to the mysterious male on the other end. We get a pan to show is the exterior of the house which then leads into a long shot from the outside of the house showing a swing set in the garden, which is gently swaying, perhaps to suggest that it is a windy night, or more likely to suggest someone has just been on/ near it. As 'Casey' becomes more frustrated and agitated by this mystery caller we follow her through her house until she stops and turns suddenly at which point we get a close-up of her face which shows fear, which allows suspense and tension to build. Other notable shots come as exterior shots, firstly we see fog in the garden, which is used to a creepy, tension building effect to suggest a dark, broody atmosphere, we also get a shot of 'Steve' tied up and bloodied which makes it evident something is about to happen.

Mise-En-Scene

The title shows up first in white on a black background, but then as we hear a gunshot becomes red which suggests blood and is more conventional with a Horror film. The location of the house is the American Suburbs, we can tell this by the exterior shots of the house used, which sets the very conventional 'girl alone in a quiet neighbourhood, in distress' situation. The girl in question, 'Casey Becker' is a very stereotypical ditzy blonde often found in Horror films, this is because Scream itself is meant to parody and make fun of the generic Horror film. 'Steve', 'Casey's' boyfriend is again a Horror stereotype being a jock, however unlike most Horror films this jock is shown as weak as he has already fallen to 'Ghostface', the unseen killer, meaning he will not be swooping in to save the damsel, which is what normally happens. While in this section 'Ghostface' is not seen, he is mentioned, all be it subtley. When asked what her favourite scary movie is, 'Casey' responds with "Halloween, you know, the one with the guy in the white mask?" This exophoric reference, while refering the Michael Myers, also refers to the antagonist of Scream.

Sound

The first three sounds we hear are a phone ring, a scream and a gunshot. The phone ringing, which starts as non-diegetic but moves to diegetic, sets the first shot of the movie, the scream clearly links with the title, and the gunshot is used to turn the title from white font to red. We also get a conversation, where as the scene goes on, one of the participants becomes distressed which is used to create suspense, also during the conversation we get a monotonus, loud drum beat as the situation becomes worse.

Editing
The only editing used in this scene really is simple cuts from shot to shot, when there is supposed to be suspense and tension the cuts are quicker than normal. There are a mix of seamless and continuity cuts used throughout the scene.

Halloween (1978)

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode

Halloween is an independant horror film, released in 1978, directed by John Carpenter and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her first film role. The film is set in the fictional suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois, USA on the holiday of Halloween.

A psychotic murderer, institutionalized since childhood, escapes on a mindless rampage through the town while his doctor, Doctor Loomis - played by Pleasence, frantically tries to stop him from killing - his main target being the teenager Laurie Strode, played by Curtis.

Halloween was produced on a budget of $320,000 and grossed over $41,000,000 at the box office in the USA alone. As of 2008 this figure is the equivalent of $150,000,000 making it one of the most profitable Indie films ever made.

Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Hitchcock's 'Psycho' (1960). The film originated many cliches found in low-budget horror films of the 1980's and '90's. However, unlike the later horror films Halloween contains little graphic violence and little gore - which allows it to remain different to the many slasher films out now.

Opening Credits

Camera Angles

The scene starts with an establishing shot of a house, with a pumpkin lit up on the porch which instantly links with the Halloween theme. We then get a handheld zoom to a close-up of the house where we can see two teenagers, a boy and girl, embracing. The camera then pans to the right, where we get a medium close-up of the pumpkin, which shows the audience it's sinister, evil expression which makes the audience think that perhaps something evil is lurking, waiting to strike. As the camera moves through the house, we realise that it is a point-of-view shot, we see this when the person picks up a knife, and puts on a Halloween mask. The angle of the p.o.v shot is high so it suggests that the person is of a tall stature. At the end of the scene when the killer is unmasked, there is a backward tracking shot that is also a crane shot as it progresses, which fits the house, young Michael and his parents in and allows the audience to see the whole scene.

Mise-en-Scene

During the opening credits the colour theme with the text is orange and black, which clearly links with the title of Halloween and horror. The style of the text is sharp-edged, like that of a knife - which links with the method that the killer uses all throughout the film.
  As the the scene takes place at night there is a very limited use of light in the house, for most of the p.o.v shot we are led through dark rooms in the house until the murder is committed which adds tension, as we cannot really see what is going to happen up until that point.
  The costume choice for the young Michael is interesting as it shows just how young he is - dressed as a clown on Halloween. But also, this could have been used because it is well known many people have a fear of clowns and so this is a very clever move by John Carpenter.

Sound

The single note piano track used during the credits is a very ominous tune and as it plays the pitch gets deeper and deeper as it builds to a crescendo. This allows the music to build a lot of tension. Then as the scene is set for the opening we here small children singing a Halloween song, this is often used in horror films now - for example in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) when the children sing a rhyme about Freddy Krueger. This was one of the first uses of the 'innocent' children singing being involved with a horror film. As the light is turned off in the older sisters bedroom there is a loud, sharp and shrill music note played which suggests something bad is happening or will happen. The noise is almost like a scream.

Editing

There are not many cuts used between shots as most of the scene is from a handheld shot which allows the scene to flow continuously without breaks. This is effective because all the action comes in one chunk rather than being broken up by cuts between shots. It allows the audience to see every single part of the scene so nothing is missed.

Seven (1995)

 

Seven is an American Thriller film directed by David Fincher. It stars Brad Pitt, as Detective David Mills, Morgan Freeman, as Detective William Somerset and Kevin Spacey, as John Doe. There are also supporting roles from Gwyneth Paltrow and R. Lee Ermy.

Mills and Somerset are police detectives working in an un-named, crime-filled city, where they become deeply involved in a case involving several sadistic and horrible murders. The murders all correspond with the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Greed and Wrath.

Seven was produced on a budget of around $30 million dollars and, to date, its gross total revenue is $327 million dollars. Making it one of the highest grossed films in 1995. It received many positive reviews from critics when it was released. It also comes in, in the top 30 best films on IMDBs prestigious Top 250 Film List.

Pre-title Sequence Analysis
During the pre-title sequence of Seven we learn several things about both Detective Mills and Detective Somerset.

Detective Somerset 

Morgan Freeman as Detective Somerset

Just from the pre-title sequence we can see that Somerset lives alone, in a small apartment in the middle of the city. We can assume this because he sleeps in a small, single bed, and because the non-diegetic sounds of the cars and sirens from the street outside show this.
  We also learn that Somerset has some obsessive-compulsive tendencies, for example he picks a piece of lint off of his jacket, his bed is made perfectly, (which also suggests a military background) and everything he needs for the day (badge, flick knife etc.) is all lined up on his dresser in a specific order.
  The chess board that Somerset has in his living room shows us that he is obviously quite an intelligent man, very patient, a good strategist and also quite old fashioned. All qualities that can lead us to believe that he is a very good detective.


Detective Mills


Brad Pitt as Detective Mills



Detective Mills is quite dissimilar to Somerset as is shown by his creased shirt, loosely knotted tie and leather trench coat. While Somerset dresses like a detective from the Film-Noir period, Mills takes a more modern styling. This could also reflect on their respective policing styles.

  At one point in the sequence Detective Mills, while conversing with Somerset, gets distracted by a woman wearing a red coat, show that he is easily distracted, and also, just after this incident, a man bumps into Mills, who stops walking, turns around looking at the man like he was ready to shout something. This shows Mills to have a short temper.

  Mills is also quite short in the way that he talks to Somerset, as he makes an assumption as to why Somerset is retiring and also interupts him a few times, his lack of respect is instantly disliked by Somerset, which shows a friction between the two.

Opening Credits

Camera Angles
An extreme close up of the mysterious book shows us various words, some of which are crossed out. For example "Transexual," this could be highlighting this mysterious persons prejudices. We also see a picture of a young boy, first with the eyes scribbled out, then the whole body. This could be to suggest that the person who scribbled out the eyes maybe felt guilty about something they had done to this person, as 'the eyes are the window to the soul.' Or it could be to suggest that this young boy is that person, and he is ashamed of what he has become, and is now unrecognisable.
  We also get a close up bandaged fingers, and see someone peeling there fingerprints off. This is done to make us question why the person is doing it. Obviously it makes us think that this person is trying to hide something.

Mise-En-Scene
As the opening credits roll, the font looks almost as if it has been written by a child, but it is only the names, not the jobs (director etc.) This could be meant to link with the book, perhaps the person who is writing in the book is childlike?
  A lot of the names flicker as they appear on the screen, which shows an definite lack of stability. This could also be a link to the person who is writing in the book, suggesting that their mental state is unstable.
  The killers name does not appear in the credits at all, meaning that as the film goes on we are introduced to all of the characters showing us all of the different actors names we saw except the killer. This means that from the opening credits you can't figure out who the killer was, unless you were to assume it to be one of the main characters.
  From the dingy lighting used in the credits we can assume that there are not many windows in the room, or if there are, they are covered over. There are lots of photo negatives hanging around which suggests that maybe it is a dark room specially used to develop them. Also if there are windows and they are covered over it shows that this person likes to keep themselves private, which again makes the audience question why?

Sound
The thud of the metronome as the credits start suggest the 'calm before the storm.' It tells us that something is going to happen. It shows us that 'the time is upon us.'
  There is no real flow to the music used, it is all sort of scratched together and rather distorted, which again could be to suggest the mindset of the person we are seeing. The music however becomes clear at the end of the credits where we hear "You bring me closer to God" which suggests there is a religious overtone. Perhaps this person is motivated by religion. Hence the scribbling out of the word "transexual."

Editing
The only notable editing in the credits are all the different jump cuts, from book to hands, to pictures and back again. These cuts are often erratic and very fast which again suggests a lack of stability. Also there is a lot of distortion, in the writing and also in some of the scenes, which is also a sign of lack of stability.

Se7en from Metal Bocek on Vimeo.