The Conjuring and Vantage Point analysis

THE CONJURING - Title Sequence from Nathaniel Costa on Vimeo.

Mise-En-Scene

Lighting is used in the opening sequence, the dark colours create a sense of mystery and eeriness and also the time it is based in, the props used indicate the devil, old age and death with the use of the star and the gravestones. The setting seems to be in a country house and seems to be based in 19th/20th century England, the costume of the characters is traditional English clothing at the time it was set in. 

Camera

However, the POV angle of the person viewing the slides makes us question the time as to which it is set, it is also at a high angle. 

Written Codes

The font type is almost like a newspaper, as the title sequence is showing newspaper articles. Some of the slides show main headlines which anchor the meaning of the film or the origins of the story that the film is re exploring.

Vantage Point

Mise- En- Scene

The colour is sepia and this creates a sense of darkness, blood and tension. The setting seems to be a protest against America, the sequence shows guns which may indicate a conflict against america. The red light that goes across the words relates to the laser aimers on the guns which re enforces the violent and military theme of the film. Also, the music gives a stealthy feel to the film and the prop of the sniper backs this. 

Camera

There are many camera angles used in this title sequence, the beginning shows a long shot, high angle of the location, however, the sides are left in black which creates mystery and the sudden changes in shots signify surveillance. The close ups on banners and the USA sign show it may be based in the Middle East which creates an anti American feel and a political or military thriller.

Written Codes

The font is straight forward and classic.

Shutter Island analysis

The film has a linear structure, it runs smoothly and in a straight line and it is not broken up despite there being flashbacks the structure remains linear. The film is shown from the Di Caprio's point of view - we follow him through every scene and, because he is unaware of his real identity so is the audience. This works towards a twist ending. Shutter Island follows the classic Hollywood narrative structure as explored by theorist Pam Cook. She believes the standard Hollywood narrative structure should have; linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution with a high degree of narrative closure (a resolution). Furthermore, the film meets Todorov's theory, it has clear plot points. The equilibrium is when the detective is asked to investigate the disappearance of a patient in the prison. The significant event is when the detective realises there is a twisted plot by the hospital doctors and the disequilibrium is when he investigates. The climax is when he solves the enigma and he discovers reality, the new equilibrium is he begins his road to full recovery. Barthes' theory also relates to Shutter Island, as the the enigma is developed with the increase in tension which results in a resolution to the plot with a linear narrative. Furthermore, Propp believes that regardless of differences in the plot, characters and settings share common structural features. The hero in Shutter Island is Leonardo Di Caprio, the villian is the institution, the escaped prisoner and Di Caprio himself, the donor is the main doctor and therapist. There is a dramatic twist at the end of the film where the detective finds out he was being role played the whole time he was thinking he was the investigator, and his partner was in fact his therapist. Di Caprio realises reality at the end, but we are left to two possible endings:

• Teddy asks Chuck whether it's better to live as a monster or die a good man. He stands up willingly and goes with the orderlies, as he would rather choose to continue his fantasy than accept the horrors of his reality

• Alternatively, he has accepted his reality, but still cannot live with the horrors of it. So now at the end of the film he is acting out the fantasy, rather than living   Effectively, he is cured. However, he still can't live with his memories so he knowingly forces the doctors to take the decision for physical intervention. He wants to end his life as a good man 

Shutter Island meets the common attributes associated with the thriller genre, the film is set around an enigma which is only solved by the hero, it is based in an establishment with a strong theme of violence, the hero is dragged into something deeper than what he intended.

Legal Deception

Word Treatment 

• Set in London, Lawrence a 17 year old vulnerable boy who is living with his parents is walking back from school when he is approached by a man.
• He takes Lawrence into his van and drives him to a warehouse in Kensal Rise
• Two crackheads, (Ed and Cam) are on the other side of the road. Ed witnesses the kidnap however he is unable to resemble what he saw.
• Ed wakes up from a dream of a little boy getting kidnapped 
• Later on that day Ed tells Cam that he thought he saw something, Cam tells him that he was high at the time and that he saw nothing 
• Two days after a couple of policeman go to their house after a search commences for Lawrence 
• After the police leave Ed grows increasingly sure that he saw something and recognised one of the faces of the detective 
• Weeks after Ed begins to remember what he saw on that day and he goes to the police station and tells the detective (who visited them earlier) he is beginning to remember
• The detective however is the one who kidnapped Lawrence and is beginning to get worried 
• Ed eventually realises that one of the detectives is the kidnapper, but doesn't know what to say or do 
• Ed looks for help in Cam, however Cam refuses to believe him 
• Lawrence's parents seek for help, Ed decides to tell them what he saw 
• The parents go to the detectives and tell them that Ed told them the whereabouts of Lawrence 
• The detective (the bad one) begins to worry about the situation 
• The bad detective, tries to find Ed to kidnap him to make sure that he shuts up 
• The other detective (Caroline) begins to become suspicious because she finds pictures of Lawrence on Jerry's phone. 
• This then leads to Caroline looks for Jerry who for some reason has disappeared 
• Jerry then goes to find Ed and kidnaps him as well 
• Cam sees it and tells Caroline 
• Caroline then tracks jerry down and has a face off 
• Jerry loses and saves the droooooopy Lawrence and Ed
• They all live happy, except for Jerry who is in a high security prison  

Thriller Trailer Iconography

The Da Vinci Code

Conventions of The Da Vinci Code trailer 

• This trailer creates suspense when the body is found and a series of messages are found around the body
• The setting is in a city which matches the general consensus of a thriller genre
• The narrative clearly revolves around the investigation of a puzzle or enigma
• The hero is clearly involved in the investigation to solve the solve the puzzle/enigma 
• The hero's knowledge of the enigma puts him in danger which creates suspense
• The enigma/puzzle is a rational explanation which is made to look supernatural 
• The film is also action packed, full of car chases and murders  

Shutter Island 

• In this film the enigma is the island itself 
• The detective is made a hero as soon as he is dragged into something deeper than what he intended 
• The puzzle is the disappearance of a prisoner 
• The use of the writing on the walls and on the notepad creates suspense which is the main aim for a thriller 
• This thriller is shown in an institution run by the authorities 
• As the hero becomes ever closer to solving the enigma the film becomes more violent 

Conventions of a Thriller genre

The Thriller genre includes a wide range of films, however, there are some common attributes:

• The main aim for a thriller is to create excitement and suspense for the audience 
• A thriller is usually set in the city 
• The narrative in a thriller usually revolves around an enigma or investigation 
• The hero is the only one who can reveal the mystery 
• By the end of a thriller the enigma will be solved 
• There will be a rational explanation to the puzzle
• Thrillers centre on injustices in society but rights these wrongs
• It often shows the workings of establishments, for example; the army, the police
• Violent crime is paramount to a thriller
• The hero is usually moral, however, he is usually an outsider while being isolated and secretive
• The villain shares some of the hero's characteristics despite being on opposing sides   

Preliminary Mise-En Analysis

300

This film is set in Ancient Greece and the film is based around 300 Spartan soldiers defending their lands. The setting in the photo is just before a battle, the setting meets what the audience was expecting. Props are very prominent is this image, the spear takes up most of the image which emphasises the impact and meaning the spear has in the film which is its aim to kill. The bright lighting on the soldier heightens the importance of him, the shadow on his eyes allows the focus to be on his eyes as they are clearly focused on the enemy. Also, the stern expression makes it clear the character does not like the person they are looking at, he seems focused and angry. With this image being solely focused on this character we assume that he has a high status in the film.

Insidious

This still shows sharp contrasts of light and dark areas, this creates a distinct difference between good and bad. The evil character is shaded and the good character is more full of light. Additionally, the darkness in between the two characters allows the emphasis to be on the evil characters tongue. The tongue is set in the middle of the image, this enables the audience to focus the attention on the tongue. Furthermore, the shading on the attacker makes him look mysterious especially with the shading on one side of his face. The make-up of the attacker presents the idea that the film is set in the future or in a different world. The girls costume and make up differs completely from the attackers which gives the indication that the film is set in a different world. Moreover, the facial expression of the girl provides a clear indication that she is terrified and in danger, while the facial expression of the evil character shows he is aggressive and intimidating.  

Application of Narrative Theory

Todorov

Todorov was a Bulgarian structural linguist, his worl was focused and interested in the way language is ordered to infer particular definitions and has greatly influenced the field of narrative theory. Todorov's narrative structure consisted of five stages.

Equilibrium

A point at which everything is satisfied calm and normal

Significant Event

The stable environment is disrupted by some kind of force which creates a state of disequilibrium

Disequilibrium

This is where there is recognition that a disruption has taken place

Climax

It is seen that the only possible way to re-create equilibrium is through action directed against the disruption

New Equilibrium

There is restoration and a new state of equilibrium is introduced to the world of the narrative. This new state of equilibrium can sometimes differ but be an improvement of the initial state of equilibrium.

Todorov's theory links to our story because we have applied his theory to the structure of our story and plots.

Propp

Propp was a Russian theorist who studied the narrative structure of Russian folk tales. Propp concluded that regardless of the individual differesnces in terms of plot, characters, and settings such narratives will share common structural features.

He also concluded that all the characters could be resolved into only seven character types.

The Hero

The hero weds the princess

The Princess

The princess gives the task to the hero and marries him.

The Villian

The Villian struggles against the hero.

The Helper

Helps the hero in the quest.

We can apply Propps theories to our story by assigning the character titles to the characters in our film.

Levi Strauss

Levi Strausses ideas about narrative amount to the fact that he believed all stories operated to certain clear binary opposites.

The importance of these ideas is the eessentially a complicated world is reduced to a simple either/or structure where things are either right or wrong, good or bad, there is no in between.

This structure has ideological implications if for example you want to show that the hero was not wholly correst in what they did and the villains were not bad.

We can apply Strausses theory to our story because the villain in our film assists the hero to get back on his feet.