An ident is in the intro to a film it is the logo that we see of the production company before the film starts. It is the way of introducing the production company and leaving their stamp on the film. These idents are usually very recognisable as no two are alike each are unique to the company's own style. The idents can change over time if a company is trying to revamp itself over time to appeal to a newer audience and to bring it into the modern age.
Two of the different types of studio idents Majors and Indies.
Majors- are the big well known companies that have become a trademark in the film industry they have huge budgets and are high grossing in the box office making tons in profit. Making high quality movies that can afford well executed special effects.
Indies- are small independent companies that aren't very well known they make small budget movies with very little profit or popularity. They usually produce movies of poor quality as a result to their budget, that very few people see.
Indies
The history of the BBC's ident and how it has evolved over time. This is a great example of how a studio will change it's ident in order to accommodate it's audience and improve upon previous ones to make them more appropriate as times progress. The BBC was founded in 1922 with the intention of informing, educating and entertaining viewers and still does so today.
Majors
The history of Universal's ident and how it has changed over time. This is a great example of how a studio will change it's ident in order to accommodate it's audience and improve upon previous ones to make them more appropriate as times progress. Universal studios was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle who dreamed of creating a world of entertainment. Starting off as a simple black and white logo with no movement or music, then slowly adding some movement and music in 1941. Then again transitioning to colour in 1959, in 1973 we start to see them moving in the general direction that we see today but gradually improving with each new attempt. In 1997 we are given the ident that we all know and love today with the iconic music and imagery of the close up spinning earth.
This editing technique is used to create a strong link between two actions showing a relationship between the two shots. A graphic match is when two different but compositionally similar objects are cut together between two shots to create the effect of continuity between the shots allowing the film to run smoothly. The objects in the shot can be similar in shape and size or a similar kind of object.
An example of a graphic match is this scene is Psycho.
When looking at the beginnings of thrillers you can see that there are some common similarities between the techniques they use. However there are also some extremely different approaches that are used to create and maintain a certain atmosphere for the audience to convey what type of thriller the film in question is. Today we looked at the beginning of a few thrillers and were asked to analyse different techniques used.
The first thriller opening- No country for old men.
The opening of "No country for old men" starts off using non-diegetic sound, a voice over of a man with a thick southern accent which immediately lets the audience know puts the viewer on guard as stereotypically an accent from the deep south is accompanied by crazy. They are either a cowboy, have extremely creationist views or are just unhinged. This creates a feeling of foreboding for the viewer that something isn't quite right and that what they are about to see will probably be disturbing. The imagery at the beginning is a series of dark landscape scenes of native american land filled with shadows which adds a sinister feel to all of the natural scenery like mother nature has turned bad. As things start to light up as day begins it gives the impression that something big is about to start. After there is a scene where two guys are fighting on the floor, on trying to kill the other. In this scene diegetic sound is used. There is no voice over, no music- nothing but the squeaking of the mans shoes on the floor. This absence of sound cause the audience to feel uncomfortable as there is no distraction from the fact that he is being murdered, making it all very real. During this sequence there is a close up on the villains hands allowing us to see just how physically violent it is.
The second thriller opening- Brick.
The opening of "Brick" starts with non-diegetic western music, which feels a bit weird. The sound is almost trickled into the film but the transition feels unnatural and a little off putting. This is followed by a pan to a close up of shoes which again is a little bit of an odd way to start, it gives the audience very little information about what is going on and makes the audience question why they are being shown shoes. This then transitions to a close up of a face which then cuts to the view of a tunnel where we can see that the face and the shoes belong to a boy and the boy is crouched looking over at the dead body of a woman. He appears to be quite mesmerized by the dead body which is really creepy. This is then emphasized by the western music that is still playing in the background. However the fact that the boy is looking at the woman in this way, and the way that he is positioned on the other side of the tunnel crouched makes the audience curious as to whether he killed this person or if he is just a weirdo with a fixation on dead things. Either way it makes the audience curious while also adding a feeling of discomfort. This continues to be emphasized when the scene cuts back and forth between shots of the boys face and parts of the dead woman body. By doing this it makes it seem that the boy is taking in every little detail of her like he wants to remember it all. Also the back and forth between them both gives them a connection which increases the audiences curiosity concerning what this boy has to do with this dead person making them want to watch on to find out.
The third thriller opening- Zodiac
Zodiac is based on a true story so right from the start it puts the audience on edge because they know all of the events that unfold are real, there is no longer the comfort that it's just a film. The audience feel more sympathy for the characters and more repulsed by anything horrible that happens as they know it's all real.
As the film starts non-diegetic music can be heard over a panning crane shot of the city all lit up at night. The incorporation of the whole city shows that the murders in this movie are carried out on quite a large scale. Also the fact that it is night adds to the danger and sinister feel of the event. The images of fireworks add to this feel of danger as fireworks can be a safety hazard and you have to constantly be on guard around them just incase things go wrong which feels like metaphorical foreshadowing of events that will occur through out the movie. However as it cuts to a tracking shot of a car driving through a neighbour hood, with fire works going off in the background the audience are lulled into a false sense of security. It's the fourth of July and everyone is celebrating nothing bad could possibly happen when everything is so cheerful.
The car then pulls up at a house and a boy runs up to the car and starts talking to the girl driving the car. It's a just regular conversation that doesn't really mean anything and eventually the boy gets in the car and they drive off. They drive to a car-park but they both agree it is to crowded and that they should go somewhere quite. Which leads them to pull up in a remote car park in the middle of nowhere, the scene is dark and all you can really see is the car. Due this the audience know they are alone which is unnerving as being isolated in the middle of no where means that anything could happen and there is no one around to know about it. Thats when a the sound of a car pulling up is heard which causes the audience to become nervous about who it is and what they intend to do. This is made worse when the car can be seen turning off it's headlights like it wants to go unnoticed. The boy starts to make comments about the car getting worried which confirms the audiences suspicions that there is something to be worried about. The out of no where the car leaves, although this does not get rid of the feeling that something is going to happen in fact it make it worse. As the diegetic sound of the tiers screech away and the girls face is shown to be worried we know that is not the last we will be seeing of the car.
At this point we start to learn that the female is quite typical to one found in these types of movies: she's blond, she's the one getting them into trouble as she had the idea to go somewhere remote, we find out that she's married yet out in the middle of no where with a guy and she keeps acting shifty all of which automatically causes mistrust as the audience begins to suspect that she has something to do with car that we just saw. We hear the tiers screech again and we know that things are about to get bad. This car is returning for no reason making it anxious to think about what this person might do. It takes a long time for the car to pull up allowing the people in the car to panic not knowing what is going on. This makes the audience sympathise with them as we know that they are about to be killed. The guy gets out of the car goes over and just starts shooting over and over and when he runs out of bullets he gets more and just continues shooting like it's no big deal this is extremely chilling as everything just seems so mundane to him and he's just taking his time which means that he has not concern over killing them he doesn't even bat an eyelid. He then casually walks away and it fades to black leaving the audience feeling uneasy and questioning what will happen next.
The standard lighting set up consists of the key light, the fill light and the back light. Each light is used to create different effects by manipulating the light to shadow ratios.
Key light- this is the most powerful light it is the brightest. This light creates quite big shadows behind the subject.
Back light- this reverses the effects of the key light eliminating the shadows behind. It can also be used to create outlines or silhouettes of the subject. The back light is usually placed behind the subject.
Filler light- this helps reduce shadows that are created by the key and back light.
Under lighting- this is where the light is placed under the subject it makes the subject look ominous and sinister.
Top lighting- this is where the light is placed above the subject pointing down, this effect highlights features and creates glamour.
Low key lighting- is the use of only the key and back lights which creates contrasting light and dark areas as shadows appear. This is known as Chiaroscuro.
High key lighting- this is when the key, back lights and more filler lights are used to make the lighting in the picture more realistic.
Mise-en-scene means everything on the screen such as the
setting, props, costume, hair and makeup. Basically anything that you can see, where it is on the screen everything is positioned very carefully to create a certain atmosphere. Looking at the mise-en-scene in Casino Royale to compare and contrast Bonds first two kills.
Looking at his first kill everything is very brightly lit up, this can show that Bond is extremely involved in the act taking place, still very much there in spirit, not detached or distant he is very much aware and a part of what is happening. It is all very real to him and it is clear that Bond is still very unfamiliar and uneasy with the act of killing. As it is his first kill the idea of him being a rookie comes across, he does everything clumsily breaking through bathroom stalls, mirrors and even a few sinks. There is nothing dignified about the way that Bond carries out his first kill it's all very hands on and physically involved in the action which is pretty rough and physically violent. Which shows his inexperience and lack of planning. After the kill we can see by Bonds facial expression that this first kill has really affected him with his agitated expression everything feels quite grim.
Whereas when we look at the second kill we can see that Bond has become much more confident and closed off to it all. Everything is very dark which visually increases the tension. When comparing this with his previous kill which was well lit, this darkness creates an air of unease and uncertainty as to how everything will happen, unlike in the previous when we were quite certain that Bond would make the kill. However when we look at the attitude of the people in this scene we can see that they are much more laid back and relaxed than in Bonds first kill where everyone appeared to be agitated. This shows the level of confidence and sophistication in the men, Bond sitting back with a smug expression making him appear much more experienced after just one kill. All of his actions have become calculated all very smoothly carried out with ease- as apposed to the rough and physically exhausting actions that were used in Bonds first kill. Also when Bond carries out his second kill there is no air of unease in actual fact he seems rather amused by the whole situation indicating that he has become closed off and detached to the act of killing. After just one kill he has become impartial and unaffected by it which allows us to see the dramatic change in Bonds character.
