Harry Brown
In the opening scene, the video is black and you can see the opening credits and hear in the background the group of males talking using a variety of slang and swear words. When we finally see the gang one of the largest men say 'You ready to become a man blood?', whilst handing him a bottle which is a makeshift bong used for drugs. The gang are being filmed in an underground tunnel covered in graffiti, therefore, we can tell they want to do this in private away from authorities. Also, the filming is an unsteady and-and very low resolution which could verify it's only being recorded by a phone or cheap camera. The men's clothes include overall puffy black jackets, gloves and some wearing caps possibly appear almost cryptic so people will not recognise them or maybe just to stay warm.
The camera mostly focuses on the boy being peer-pressured to inhale the drug, he appears to look quite young, his ethnicity is white which is in contradiction to the stereotypical black gang members the main character seems to be very inexperienced to the drugs and guns.
When he's first uses the drug for the first time all the group members force him to breathe the smoke in further so it can we used to fullest effect, they push him up against the wall and they direct him to hold it in for another ten seconds, which highlights the contrast between them and a normal friendship group. When the boy finally releases the smoke from his nose he is congratulated with pats on the head and back. Next, one of the men, most likely the leader say 'Where the phone at?' and brings up a gun to the camera claiming 'This is the real sh*t' and begins to load it. He holds it to the boy's chest and exclaims 'You're a member for life'.
The next scene consists of a completely different setting, two of the gang members are riding a motorbike through the park shouting and seeking to disturb everyone, the camera angle is held by one of them on the bike and the footage is very unstable. In the distance we see a woman with a pushchair the boys speed past her screaming foul language until they stop a few metres ahead, reverse their bike and extract the gun. Two gun shots fired like a warning trying to scare the woman and her child, whilst in the background can make out cackling from one of the boys. They circle round her whilst the women stand there frozen finally begs them to 'Go away!'. However, the third bullet is shot straight into her head spilling blood onto the concrete as she collapses. When realisation washes over the boys the one the back screams at the other 'f*cking go man!' As they approach a road out of nowhere a lorry appears and smashes the motorcycle to pieces throwing the gang members to the ground and the camera lies still on the ground.
What Lies Beneath
This movie clip begins a late evening with a woman exiting her bedroom, she looks partially stressed as she tugs the sleeves on her top down. A sinister soundtrack plays in the background this already verifies to the audience this is most likely a horror film. After leaving the room she bends down to collect something fallen from the plant until the steam from the bathroom catches her attention. Cautiously she stands up and creeps slowly to the bathroom door, gradually pushing it ajar she clicks the light on and the bathroom is full of mist from the shower. The woman makes her way through the long stretched room to her bath tub which is full to the brink with water. The camera then rotates around the woman until it pans to her face, her face full of shock and terror, she releases a shaky breath. The viewers then see a vague figure through the shower glass door, abruptly her head shoots sideways and the body is gone. The woman then raises her hand to wipe the condensation off the glass the revealing nothing but the other side of the wall. Turning back to the bath tub the audience sees her reflection looking quizzically into the water. Confusion covers her face as she releases each quivering breath, finally, she cries “What do you want?”
The camera then pans around her to reveal the words ‘YOU KNOW’ in chilling writing. From this, a theme which could be predicted is revenge and possibly death because it seems as if someone wants to payback or vengeance from something she has done wrong in the past.
Now the music has become less subtle but instead loud, it includes a type of drum beat and brass instruments as the camera zooms into the writing. The setting changes as we watch the woman sprint down her stairs and through the hallway and into an office/ study room. She runs to the window however an old computer seizes her attention, on the screen is a type of card game with text saying ‘The winner's circle’ underneath has space where players type their initials in has the three letter word ‘MEF’ written continuously across the bottom of the screen.
The setting of the house tells the audience this woman is extremely wealthy and the slightly outdated furniture and appliances such as the computer could confirm this was filmed late 18 centuries. A significant icon shown in the clip could possibly be the shower because the first real act where the villain lets the women know that he is in the house. Also, the computer important because it shows that the person wants revenge when ‘MEF’ is written on the screen.
I like the use of cameras in the film because most of the time you could only see what the woman was aware of, for example, the villain wasn’t revealed straight aware, therefore makes this character for mysterious I think this was done to add suspense. Another aspect which was imperative was the lighting as if the scene was not shot at night it would be a lot less tense to the viewers.
Guardians of the Galaxy
From this scene, I can tell this film is a type of fantasy film as there is a variety of wildlife that has been created and designed just for the use in this movie. At the beginning when the upbeat 80's music begins the genre of the film seems completely different, as the dark and gloomy background is transformed into almost like a dance floor for the main character. The main character illustrates confidence possibly because he has become accustomed to this alien world.
The long shots used throughout possibly try to parade the extra-terrestrial surroundings to the viewers. The bright orange light is a good colour to choose as it stands out well with the dark gloomy background. It is also clever how quickly the music is faded out at the end, which could show the importance of the small glowing ball.
Class Notes
In this class, we learnt about Mise-En-Scene (C.L.A.M.P.S) and how it is used throughout television.
Costume
Lighting
Actors
Makeup
Props
Sound
