Textual Analysis: Red Lights.

Red Lights is a 2012 film directed by Rodrigo Cortés

At the beginning of the titling sequence, it begins with bright, small circles quickly fading in onto a black background and then disappearing as the fist name comes on the screen, in small white letters. This all happens relatively quickly, suggesting to the audience that the film is going to be fast paced. These fast-paced transitions are accompanied by discordant music which ranges from high to low pitch as the titles appear on the screen. Scratching sounds can be heard within the music, making it uncomfortable for the audience to listen to and already has them on edge.


An image of a shadow of two hands flashes up very quickly whilst another title is added on the screen. This image is in black and white, still with the black background as before, making the audience potentially question what they have just seen, making them on edge and anticipating the next part of the film. 

As the title 'Red Lights' appears on the right of the screen, in the center in capital letters and white writing, large red circles, which look to be lights, quickly flash up around the title, and then disappear randomly. To the left of the title, large white circles flash up and move around slightly and fade away quickly, which could make the audience feel rushed or shaken. 

An extreme close up image of an eye appears in large to the left of the screen in black and white, so the audience can see the veins and the eye in detail. This could make the audience feel uncomfortable again, yet it makes them wanting to know why this is relevant for later in the film. 

More images flash up on the screen randomly, some having been edited to that they jerk around the screen and some staying still, yet all in black and white. These images vary from an image of a Polaroid with a woman on it, to an image of a woman with tape over her eye, and an x-ray of a skeleton. These are all in black and white, suggesting that the images are hiding something that could be seen when in colour, for example, blood on a woman's face. By engaging the audience, this keeps them in suspense, all the while the discordant music is playing in the background, continuing to make the audience feel uncomfortable. 

Harry Potter Studios.

Recently, I visited the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London. The knowledge I gained from going to these studios, is useful for both my exam and coursework. On the visit, I gained an insight into the depth and detail that went into the production, writing and post-production of the films.

I learnt that many of the props and models had been created and designed before the sets were created during the production process. Make-up and costume was prepared and planned carefully and many hours were spent in doing this. Special effects were created using green screen, and computer editing.

Whilst on this visit, my group and I learnt the importance of preparation and production, and we realised how much is possible just through editing and using a green screen. This is something we will definitely consider when making our film.

Six Stages of Media Production.

In order to gain full knowledge and understanding of how to produce a film, i studied the 'Six Stages of Media Production'. On the prezi below, I have indicated what I found the most important, and how i think my group and I will accomplish each stage. 

Audience Theories.

Uses and Gratifications.

In 1974 two theorists, Bulmer and Katz developed a theory: Uses and Gratifications.
This theory suggests that audiences use media texts for various reasons:

• Diversion (escapism) -To escape from everyday life.
• Personal identity: Create their own identity from characters/celebrities in media texts, and learning behaviour and values.
• Personal Relationships: Use the media text for emotional and other interaction.
• Surveillance: To gain information and knowledge.
• Entertainment: As a means of relaxation, enjoyment and emotional release.

We will consider these theories when we are considering our target audience.

Hypodermic Needle Theory.
This theory is: according to the theory, the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes, and beliefs into the audience, who as a powerless mass have little choice but to be influenced.

The two-step flow.
This theory is an improvement on the hypodermic needle theory, suggesting that the information doesn't flown directly from text to audience but is interpreted.

Active V Passive.
Active: This makes you think about the film afterwards.
Passive: This doesn't affect the audience, and therefore they don't think about it afterwards.

I intend to think about these theories when producing out thriller.

A Case Study: Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock is the acknowledged master of the thriller genre he basically invented. He was an English film director and producer. Between 1940-1960 he was nominated for best director 5 times, he never won an Academy Award. In 1919 he began his film making business by illustrating title cards for Paramount Famous Players-Lasky studio in London. Whilst working here, he learned editing, art direction and scripting, and in 1992, he rose to assistant director.His shots were framed in order to maximize anxiety, fear or empathy. Later that year, he directed an unfinished film, No.13 or Mrs. Peabody. Hitchcock/s first completed film as a director was The Pleasure Garden (1925), an Anglo- German production filmed in Munich. 

His breakthrough film was The Lodger (1926), was a typical example of the class Hitchcock plot: an innocent protagonist is falsely accused of a crime and becomes involved in a web of intrigue. 

His creation of "subjective sound" is an early example of Hitchcock's technical virtuosity, in Blackmail(1929), which was his first film including sound. In "Blackmail" and in his 1930s film "Murder!", he first made the connection between sex and violence. He directed more than 50 feature films during his career which lasted over 6 decades. 

Often regarded as the greatest British film maker, he came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph, which said: "Unquestionably the greatest film maker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (form his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock) 

The following image contains a complete list of Hitchcock's films:

Sources:

http://hitchcock.tv/bio/bio.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock#Filmography

A Brief History of Thriller Films.

In order to gain knowledge on how to produce our thriller film, I did some research on the history of thriller films, seeing how they've developed over the years.

Media Timeline:

Source: http://www.disabilityplanet.co.uk/critical-analysis.html 




One of the earliest thriller films was 'Safety Last' by Harold Lloyd, which was made in 1923.
The making of thriller films began to increase from here:

• The Bat Whispers (1930)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
• M (1931)
• Murders in the Zoo (1933)
• Gaslight (1944)
• Laura (1944)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

Source: http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html

Lighting Practice.

We did a lighting practice to gain understanding of how to use light to get different effects. We went in the music practice room, which was incredibly dark, and used artificial light from the torches on our phones, to get different effects. We also used natural light from the corridor to get different effects.



We also used the torch from our phone with this image. We positioned the torch below Carmel's face, and also one behind her head to get the background lighting.

We used our torch from our phone to make this shot. We positioned it slightly higher than Carmel's head and to the left of her face.

We positioned Carmel up to the door, with only the natural lighting from the corridor shining on. This shot helped show the different features of Carmel's face.

We also positioned Carmel up to the door with natural light on this one, however we didn't hold the camera as close with this image. The light is emphasised on her forehead and right side of her face.

Textual Analysis of Se7en.