Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Timed Analysis - Poltergeist


0:00-0:05: Introduction of the Producer and Production.

0:06-0:10: High angle-wide shot of the car driving along the road. There is also a use of panning to follow the car.

0:10-0:13: Static high angle-long shot of a row of houses with a man on a bike cycling past, connoting a relaxed atmosphere; everyday life for this specific town. The lighting is bright to connote a peaceful day.

0:15-0:17: Medium shot of a woman in a child's bedroom organising the toys, showing her nurturing side. This is a stereotypical role of a mother due to her having to stay at home to do the housework.

0:17-0:20: Two-person mid-shot of the parents in the bed having a conversation. The female is looking down on the male, connoting power.

0:20-0:23: Close-up over-the-shoulder-shot used of the parents having a conversation in the bedroom, the female and audience are looking down on the male character connoting vulnerability to the male.

0:23-0:25: Two-person mid-shot used of two children having breakfast at the dinner table. The camera is mainly focused on the teenage girl rather than the younger boy, therefore the audience can focus on her facial expressions and body language more. This also links to Mulvey's theory of the "Male Gaze", which is where women are mainly focused in the media for sexualisation. However this is portrayed within this shot as the teenage girl is not shown as a sexualised image, although she can still attract teenage boys.

0:25-0:27: Close-up on the younger boy, which emphasises his facial expressions which in this case are positive as he is smiling and laughing.

0:27-0:28: Close-up of a little girl throwing her cereal towards the younger boy, which connotes a stereotypical child's behaviour due to children sometimes disobeying the rules.- delinquent youths.

0:28-0:30: Close-up of a dog eating food out of one of the children's hand, which connotes the lack of training which the dog has, and also a lack of respect which the children have by giving food to the dog at the table.

0:30-0:32: Close-up shot of a young girl walking towards the camera, whilst the camera slowly looks up to form a low angle shot to connote vulnerability to the audience.

0:32-0:34: Medium shot of the little girl and a use of panning whilst following her towards the TV.

0:34-0:36: Static close-up of the mother and siblings walking down the stairs in fear.

0:37-0:38: Shot-reverse-shot back to the young girl walking towards the TV. This creates a eerie enigma due to this being unusual activity.

0:38-0:40: Extreme close-up shot of the young girl staring towards the camera with the flashing lights from the TV reflecting from her face. The lighting is dim, which signifies that something eerie is about to occur (Barthes Enigma Theory).

0:41-0:44: A close-up of the younger girl placing her hands onto the TV, signifying that something wrong is about to occur due to the eerie atmosphere being created by these usual events occurring.

0:44-0:49: Four-person mid-shot used of the mother talking to the children at the dinner table. Also, the lighting is bright which connotes that there is an ordinary, chilled atmosphere occurring.

0:55-1:04: Two-person mid-shot of the parents talking towards the camera (eye-line match of the other character about to be shown). Also, the male points his finger up at the female to connote power and stop her from talking. This links to a stereotypical relationship due to the female obeying the male's orders (patriarchy).

1:07-1:10: Three different shots are shown with flashing images, whilst characters are in panic. Two close-up shots and one medium shot are used in this order, which builds a tense atmosphere due to a series of paranormal events occurring.

1:13-1:17: A mid-shot is used when the door opens (showing a beaming light), whilst the camera spins and panels, then remains static at the young girl whom is in her bed staring at the door. Using Barthes Enigma Theory, the Proairetic Code being used. Also, the Semantic Code is used. This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.

1:25-1:26: An extreme close-up is used of a seismometer for paranormal activity. This detects waves of paranormal action. This causes fear to the audience due to the waves becoming larger and quicker the longer that it was shown. This links to Barthes Enigma Theory due to the Proairetic Code being used. This builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the audience guessing as to what will happen next.

1:27-1:37: Flashing lights are used in a dark room, which connotes the paranormal activity occurring. This is a convention of a horror movie due to the use of paranormal activity, and  the flashing lights and use of screaming. This links to Barthes Enigma Theory due to the Proairetic Code being used. The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the audience guessing as to what will happen next.


1:51-1:53: Wide mid-shot of the cupboard with the gleaming light coming out of it dragging props such as the toys into it. This is a convention of a horror movie due to the use of children's toys such as dolls and the use of usual activity within a household.


2:09-2:14: Name of the film shown.

2:15-2:24: Credits.


Evaluation
From the film trailer of Poltergeist (1982), it has given me ideas of what to include in my own film such as the dim lighting as that is a key convention of the horror genre (mise-en-scene). Also, the use to close-up's and extreme close-up's on objects and characters to create a tense atmosphere, which will make my target audience want to watch more. This links to Barthe's Enigma Theory due to the action code and symbolic code being used. The proairetic code (action code) builds tension, indicating that something else is going to happen. This code works with the hermeneutic to develop the story's tensions and keep the watcher interested. The symbolic code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.
However, my film is very different to Poltergeist (1982) due to my opening including deaths and a walk around the house showing different horrific images, whilst Poltergeist focusses on the main character (the little girl) and tells majority of the story plot, whilst mine leaves the audience to wonder what's going on ad therefore want to watch it.

The mise-en-scene used in Poltergeist (1982) are the costumes for the characters which are casual wear (which I will also include in my film opening); the use of props such as normal house equipment such as drinking cups, sofa, table and chairs etc. This will be included in my film trailer as my film is based on a sleepover, which is based at a normal house. Also, dim lighting is included which is the proairetic code as it makes the audience watching wonder what may occur next, which is a key convention within the horror/thriller genre films to create and build a tense atmosphere.


In addition, the editing used are many fast cuts, which builds tension in the scene and creates a tense eerie atmosphere for the audience watching. Also, flashing lights were used which shows the characters fear and confuses the audience of what's going on, as well as them feeling like they're involved in the scene. Many zooms were used too which may emphasise the panic in each characters faces as well as showing scary toys which come to life. I will be using zooms in my own film opening only on the victims and murderer's bodies as I want the target audience to guess who these characters are.


Furthermore, the cinematography used are close-up's of the characters faces to emphasise their emotions and therefore the audience can sympathise with them. I will be using close-up hsots for mainly showing the teenage victims faces when they die to frighten the audience watching. Also, medium shots of characters to emphasise their body expressions as well as their facial figures to help the audience understand more of what is going on and the emotions which the character is showing. I will use this in my film opening by showing the murderer walking through the house but facing the back of him to not show his face and therefore keep the audience guessing of who the murderer is. 


Timed Analysis Conducted by Rebecca Harris

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