Research 5 - Resident Evil

This screen grab shows an aerial shot with the movie title in a simple but effective style. The music is very dramatic and adds to the build up of tension. If I do a horror/action movie I might use similar titles to these. I also like how the people beneath the title have been slowed down to add to the dramatic effect.

  I love this screen grab as the only colour is the bright red stilettos portraying a female gender tot he audience. I also love how the rain almost bounces back off the ground by her feet as it is still in slow motion. I would love to use this effect in my video.

 

The above 3 screen grabs show that the camera slowly moves up her body, starting at her feet up to her hands, just using low shots and avoiding her face, This builds up tension for the viewers, creating a mysterious female character.

This shows an overhead camera shot of the main character that we have seen in the previous screen grabs showing the audience that there is something unusual about her as she is standing still in the rain while everyone else has umbrellas and is walking around her.

 This is a point of view camera shot, maybe of someone passing by. We get the impression that she is either ill or not human, as she has no umbrella and is standing in the middle of the busy street staring down at the floor.

 This is the first close up shot that we get of her face, which to the audiences delight looks normal, despite the build up. This also makes us wonder why we have seen so many shots of her. In addition the dramatic and action feeling music stops to change to a more low key, quite and mysterious sounding music.

 

These two screen grabs are a point of view camera angle, as the woman is looking at a random man passing by. This then tells the audience that something will probably happen to him, as the camera then zooms in on his face, showing his bemused expression.

  
The camera then cuts to a sudden close up shot, which is the first time we get to see her eyes. Also the lighting in this scene suddenly turns dark and frames her, before she opens her mouth and attacks the man.  At this point the music completely stops for screams to be enhanced and the tension to be built up.

When this aerial shot of the attack scene is shown the dramatic music begins again. What I really love about this scene is how it links in with the movie, as there is a lot of blue umbrellas, which is the colour of the deadly virus created by the "Umbrella Corporation".

 This is an establishing shot of where the attack happened, which shows the audience that it is just int he middle of a city which is an unusual place for this to happen as it is a very busy area.

 This is an aerial shot that shows the disease spreading by the black splodge in the middle of the city, which lets the audience know that this is definitely a horror as the disease spreads across the human race.

 We then see in a more zoomed out aerial shot that the virus is spreading very quickly as the black is nearly the whole screen.

Research 4 - Slumdog Millionaire

The background music is traditional Indian music with drums and Indian singing, which add a cultural sense to the opening. The music speeds up as the children begin to run away from the policemen to build up tension and to keep us engaged.

This is the first shot of the opening scene and it is a close up camera shot, to emphasise that this boy has been beaten and is hung up by his hands.

It then quickly changes to another close up camera shot of a young boy, which by the dialogue we realise it is the same boy. Also the close up camera shot shows his facial expression really well, I might use this in my video.

We then get a zoomed out camera angle of the same boy to show that he is playing a ball game on what looks like a runway. We can now also see his clothes which help create a sense of poverty.

 I like this screen grab beacuse of the oblique camera angle, also how the light shines throught the wheel of the bike. The bike may indicate that they are from a higher class than the younger children running away by foot in the distance.

This looks like an establishing shot as it immediately tells us that these children are poor and live in the slums, by the vast amount of rubbish. Also by the fact that the children are bare foot whilst running across this pile of rubbish.

I love the high and low camera angles used here and would love to try and use some in my video. The low angle in the first shot creates a sense of mischief as they are running across the tops of the roofs. In the second shot a high angle is used to show how they look down on the policeman as if he is vulnerable.

This shows a medium camera angle of the boys running away to a zoomed out long camera angle to set the scene and again build up tension of them running away from the policeman. The fact that they have been running away for so long highlights the size of the slums and that the policeman will never be able to catch them.

The tone of the music now changes to a more upbeat tune, to make the film more interesting and to match the atmosphere of the children who think that it is a game running away from the police.

The aerial camera shots shown here emphasise the vast amount of people living in poverty in the slums.This again is something I would love to use as it creates a dramatic effect on the audience and shows them the setting in an unusual way.

The canted camera angle here adds a quirky edge to the opening. Also the lighting is cleverly done to only have light shown in the street.

This shot immediately tells us that the actor in the car is important and well respected or feared, this is shown by the actor apologising for bumping into the car window, the black sunglasses and the dark surroundings in the car. Also the music in this bit stops when the actor bumps into the window to highlight that he did someting out of line and that this man is very powerful.

Research 3 - The Matrix

Thoughout the video, the music and flashing images changing from the computer graphics to the clips of the movie definitely add to the build up of tension and leave you wanting to see more.

I love this shot as the camera slowly zooms towards the mysterious man. Also how the birds fly away as he is walking towards them creates a sense of power and make the audience feel as if the birds are coming out towards them and help build the suspense as he gets closer to them.

The graphics used in the first shot are really well done as they resemble the character we see in the next shot as it merges into the real life shot, who we then realise is the narrator throughout most of the movie. He has a deep and slow voice which helps add a sense of mystery and mystery to the opening. 

 Again I like these graphics as it looks like rain pouring down the screen. If you zoom in on them it is lots of changing letters and numbers, which tells you that it could be a sci-fi genre. This may be something I could use in my video if I decide to do a sci-fi.

I love how we get a feel for the tension building up in this car chase with the skid marks of the car in front and the over the shoulder camera angle, which makes you feel as if you're a part of it all.

I like the tunnel effect used here and the way you feel as if you're running with them, by the point of view camera angle.

This is my favourite screen grab as it looks like you're inside DNA which adds to the sci-fi genre of the opening. Again we have the tunnelled effect with a black hole at the end and brightly glowing stands, which help grab your attention and draw you in.

Research 2 - The Notebook

I was unable to embed this movie opening, so here is the link to watch it on YouTube 

(finish at 2.50):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=0N_QAiztJCE

The music throughout the movie has an enchanting and relaxing feel to it. Most of the lighting shown in the opening is a red/orange colouring from the picturesque sunset in the background.

This screen grab highlights the small titles, which are simple and clear to read so that they don't draw our attention instantly so that we focus on the lake.

This is a lovely screen grab where the sun is in full central view of the camera with a beautiful reflection across the lake. We are then drawn to the boat just about to cross the suns' reflection across the lake. Again we have the small and simple title, which ties in beautifully with the picture.

This camera angle shows the rowing boat more clearly, almost as if you were sitting in it or behind it. The lighting is dark and gloomy, but with the peacefulness and serenity of the music, calm water and red sunset it makes it a romantic setting.

This camera angle shows the reflection of the rowing boat in the calm lake water which helps to build up the serene feel of the shot. This shot also lets us know that it is a man in the boat, which gives us the idea that maybe this romantic movie is based on his love life.

This stunning shot sets the scene and portrays the beautiful location tot he audience. By having of these birds flying towards the grand house creates a sense of wealth and freedom.

This is my favourite screen grab as it captures the view beautifully by using an over the shoulder shot. The actor creates the feeling that she is watching the stillness of the outside world and remembering her past adventures.

Even though the inside of the house is shown here the only light is from the sunset shinning through the windows. We can see in these two shots that the camera has zoomed in on the house to the top right window to show that there is an elderly lady watching over the lake, perhaps at the man in the rowing boat.

The two shot used here immediately lets the audience now that the actor is playing a sad and ill character at this moment in time as the nurse comments; "Come on honey lets get you ready for bed" . Also any thoughts about the house being a home are corrected when the nurse enters the room and highlights that it is a care home.

Research 1 - The Cape

At the beginning of "The Cape" the music starts with the comic clips, it is very dramatic and immediately tells us that this is an action movie.

I like this screen grab because it feels like he is looking straight through you, adding a sense of evil and mystery to the opening.

I love these two screen grabs as it changes from an animation to the real life actor, creating a realistic feel to the movie. This also helps to introduce the characters to us in a creative way.

Here is another shot of how it changes from an animation of the character to the real life actor.

I like this medium camera angle as it is very effective and makes you feel as if he is shooting you. Also the main lighting comes from the gun, which helps to draw your attention to it.

The first thing that grabs you're attention in this screen grab is the bright silver knife, as it is the central focal point of the photo and it contrasts with the dark and gloomy surroundings. This also indicates a fight scene with the dark setting and weapon, but what creates an unusual twist to this scene is that the cape acts as a hand wrapping itself around the knife.

I like this shot as the only lighting is the ball of fire building up behind him and highlighting the walls either side of the character with an orange glow. This makes the movie appear very dramatic, exciting and fast paced to the audience.

This screen grab shows little colour and lighting to make sure that our focus is on the dark black shadow jumping out of the window. Also the smashed glass grabs the audiences attention immediately with the bits of glass flying everywhere almost as if we are there.

This shot is thrilling as the actor launches himself into the air to get away from the fire explosion behind him. The lighting here is done really well as it only comes from the fire showing us that this is happening during the night.

This title is bold and slightly hidden, as the shadows make it look like a mysterious movie. The lighting skims the top of the words to draw our attention to them. The cape in the background also moves swiftly, like it is being whipped away. 

 The last shot in the opening of "The Cape" is a slight low camera angle looking up at this eerie looking character, which portrays a powerful demeanour about him and adds a sense of drama to draw you in and watch more.

Throughout the opening the music builds up gradually as the action increases. This builds up the tension and adds a excitement to the viewers.