Analysis of film posters/DVD covers

Here is a movie poster called 'Gamer'. It has been created in block, red capitals. This stands out against background which is a black and white, close-up photograph of a man's face. In the middle of his face, there is a crack revealing part of another face, as though it is trapped inside. There are shadows on the side of his face, showing evidence of low lighting. The part of the face that appears to be trapped in the man's face, is in colour, contrasting with the main image of the man, suggesting winner's and losers. The man has a serious face expression on his face, whereas the person who looks trapped inside the face looks helpless and lost. The audience are not able to see the trapped person's complete identity creating suspicion.The main actor's name has been written in block red capitals at the top of the poster. This also stands out against the background, which suggests this is a main focus of the whole film poster.

I chose to analyse this poster, as I liked the way the person has been illustrated to be trapped in some sort of crack, and felt it links in with our thriller concept as it creates a sense of being captured or trapped.

Here is another film poster that I feel is simple yet so effective. The title of the film 'Identity', and the main image on the poster is of a hand print that has been made up of 5 people's smudged figures. The palm of the hand print is of half a person's face looking shocked. The bottom part of the hand has been made up of a blood stain. The audience are unable to see the 5 figures, identity's which creates mystery and uncertainty. The hand print may be a victim. At the top of the poster, it has a short, simple slogan. 'Identity is a secret. Identity is a mystery.' which suggest the reason for blacking out the faces of the people.'Identity is a killer' which would explain the blood stains. The background is white, suggesting innocence.

Analysis of "The Silence of the Lambs" directed by Jonathan Demme

The opening starts off with a mid-shot of the tree and its branches. The trees have no leaves indicating it may be winters day.Behind the trees it is misty/foggy suggesting that something ominous is about to take place. Showing the shots of the scene allows the audience to get a feel of the setting. It is a sort of backdrop for the first two opening titles which appear in a bold black, white outlined font. The camera does not start moving until 0:44, changing into an establishing shot, zooming and lowering, to a frame filled with a view of trees from a high angle. It is the backdrop for the title of the film.

At 1:08, a figure appears in the distance. This builds up anticipation as the audience are unaware of who the figure is. and makes her way up toward the camera, as though she is running away from something which creates a tense atmosphere. The establishing shot transforms into a long shot of the character rising; and we get a close-up of the characters exhausted expression. The next frame involves the camera following the character running away through a forest. This also adds to a feeling of apprehension as she is running so fast. At 1:45 the characters disappears into the distance, which turns into various tracking shots. At 2.10 the camera goes back to following the character from behind. Each time, the camera gets a little closer to the character, introducing her to the audience. She looks determined to finish her course, not giving up.

As the character climbs up a climbing frame, the camera takes a 180 degree shot, from the back of the frame to the front, slowly rising while doing so. She then runs away from the camera and disappears into the foggy distance once again. Another character enters into the frame. We get a mid-shot of the back of the unknown character, which creates suspicion, as it gets the audience wondering who the character is. They exchange dialogue. The new characters face is revealed. After the girl runs off, we see his face expression, looking concerned yet so calm. His cap says FBI which may change the audience's perception of the female character, leading them to think that she is part of the FBI, and that her journey so far has just been an exercise or training course. We are left unknown as to where she is going, which keeps the audience gripped.

Th There is then a medium/closeup which reveals four name plates saying 'hurt, agony, pain and love-it.’ These may be the themes that are represented in the film. The name plates seem to also relate to the course. It may be encouraging the person to finish the track, and not give up, however hard it is.

The camera quickly changes into various tracking shots of the girl running to and entering building of some sort. The audience are still left unknown as to where she is heading to, which again creates anticipation. She passes a group of males in black clothing, jogging or climbing up ropes. It looks like a training camp. There is a establishing shot of buildings. The camera lens then focuses on a window of one the buildings that the female entered. Titles are still appearing. The frame then changes into a medium shot of a pair of legs pacing down a staircase.

After this there are various other shots of her walking through the building, showing the audience the surrounding areas. The camera then follows her, as she walks through corridors looking around. She seems in a hurry. This creates tension, as the viewer does not know where she is heading to. On her way, there is a mid shot of her entering an elevator, full of men dressed in red tops. This gives a feeling of being trapped, and uneasiness. The corridors she walks through are quite narrow and cramped. Some dialogue is then exchanged with the women and a man, dressed in a suit.

She then enters a room, which is what seems to be at the end of the corridor. It is an office. She wonders around the room. As she does this, the audience is able to get a view of the office, seeing different objects that may reveal or represent the genre. The actress then stops, and the shot changes into a close-up of the lady's face expression which looks speechless. The shot changes, into a long shot showing many murder articles and images pinned to a wall.

Screengrabs from Terence Fisher's films

Screen Grabs

DVD Cover analysis - 'Funny Games'

DVD Cover Analysis

'Man-on-the-run'

We were given the task of creating a plot called the 'man-on-the-run'. We had to base our movie on a spoof, and so to help us, we watched the openings of a few movies such as 'The fugitive' and 'The Bourne Trilogy'.




The plot that our group came up with is as follows:

• The scene starts off with a bus riding on a long, narrow, deserted road. The setting of the movie will be quite dark to create an eerie atmosphere. The audience are made to think that something ominous is about to take place.
• The bus is holding prisoners that are being transported to another prison.
• All of a sudden a small pair of lights appear in the distance heading in the direction of the bus.
• The bus crashes into the car. The bus driver is not able to control the bus and so it skids and rolls off a hill. 
• The car has crashed and hits a big rock. Many of the prisoners on the bus are dead. 
• At this point the audience meet the main character. He is one of the prisoners. 
• The prisoner manages to escape out of the bus through a hole. 
• He makes a runner and travels to the nearest town.
• In this next scene, he is on the phone to his friend. The audience discover that the prisoner has been wrongly convicted of doing a crime. 
• In the scene, we meet a man hiding amongst the crowds, eying the prisoner. He has a gun. 
• The man shoots, however misses as the prisoner realises his shoe lace is undone and bends down to re-tie it.
• The prisoner ends his phone conversation and walks away, not noticing that he is being aimed at. 
• The man shoots again, failing to hit yet again. The prisoner realises he has been shot at and runs for his life. The chase is through a market place. They destroy everything while running, tripping over things too. This adds a bit of comedy.
• The prisoner turns the corner, walking into a sweet shop crowded with demanding customers. The shooter looses track of him. 

Analysing 'The Birds' Scene

How many shots are there?
17 shots were used


Where was the camera positioned for each shot?
1st shot - Long Shot
2nd shot - Mid Shot
3rd shot - Medium Long Shot (tracking)
4th shot - Low angle Mid Shot turning into a Long Shot as she walks
5th, 6th shot - Mid Shot
7th shot - Medium Close-Up
8th shot - Wide Shot
9th,10th,11th shot - Medium Close-Up
12th shot - High Angle, Wide Shot
13th shot - Medium Shot
14th shot - Close-Up
15th shot - Long shot turning into a Medium Long Shot
16th - Long shot turning into a Low Angle, Close-up

1. What principles of continuity are used here? How successfully? Refer to specific shots / screen grabs.
The continuity is quite successful in this scene as it flows fluently. Examples of this is when the lady looks from the kitchen into the hallway. The first shot is taken from the side of the character looking into the hallway from the kitchen. The second shot is taken from the hallway of the character looking in. The shot creates apprehension and suspense, keeping the audience feeling tense.

2. What is the effect of the editing on the viewer? What are we meant to feel at different stages?
The editing helps to keep the viewer attention and focus on the film. This has been done in many ways in the sequence. When she first knocks on the door no one opens the door. The door then appears to be open which is quite suspicious and gives the viewer a hint that something omnious may be in store. Once the character has entered the house, we come to learn that the glasses are broken which create even more tension and dubiosity. We also see the character moving quite slowly and cautiously, which creates even more apprehension. When the lady enters one of the rooms, we see that the room has been wrecked, everything has been torn up. In this part of the sequence there are 10 shots. In every other shot, we are shown the characters reaction. The viewer is able to experience the characters emotions in a way. The sequence does not use any music, which builds up tension as the audience does not have any clue on what is going to happen next.

3. What is the 'best bit' for you in this sequence in terms of learning new techniques and why?
I felt the best part of the sequence was when she entered the room, and saw how it had been destroyed and torn up. The camera shots enabled us to get a reaction from the character while the frame slowly uncovers the mess that has been made, and of the man covered in blood. This part of the sequence flowed really smoothly.