A-Level Video Examples

This film opening got an A grade at A-Level. I am going to be looking at the positives and negatives to gain knowledge for my work.

Mise-en-scene

At the beginning of the film we see a medium close up of a mans hands which are tied up by a bloody rope. This was done to imply it is the characters blood and he is in danger. Audiences will be shocked by the image as it is the first thing they will see so they do not know what is happening. The blood is dry on the mans arms showing he has been tied up for a long time. At the next close up the audience are positioned to look at the blood again this is an enigma code as we do not know why the man is bleeding. In the third shot they is a medium shot of the man, they is graffiti on the wall which is out of focus. Graffiti has negative conations of crime and it shows that where they are filming is run down. The director has done this to create an eerie mood for the audience getting them prepared for the horror movie genre. At 1:36 we see a new character they wear a long white simple dress this is a general stereotype for asylum clothing. Asylums have connation's of death and corruption representing the girl as crazy. The audience will assume this character is the villain. At 1:48 we see the girl again she appears to be carrying a doll, dolls have become very popular in horror genres as dolls are perceived as scary or even demonic.Lighting is also used to create a horror mood.Through the opening in the building the lighting is dark to show that they is something dark and sinister happening within the scene.At 1.49 when the past is shown they is more light to show that this is when he was free.

Sound

The splatting sound effects on the logo makes the beginning look professional I would like to achieve this for my work. They is a mix of non diegetic and diegetic sound in the film beginning. Diegetic sound is the mans heavy breathing this shows the mans fear and confusion. A dripping effect is enhanced as it creates suspense in the scene.The paste of the music is slow in the beginning this was done to build tension and imply something worse will happen in the scene. At 1:40 the music becomes louder and more intense this was done to imply something is going to happen braking the equilibrium in the scene.The directer has done this to create adrenaline in the audience.The music intensifies as we see the new character this shows there importance and power over the main character.The music used is very eerie and sinister it was chosen for these reasons as it will engage the audience consuming them within the scene.

Camera Work
The first shots we see are medium close ups of  the mans bloody feet and hands. These shots toy with the audience as they are only seeing certain features this was done to bring attention to the fact that the character is tied up. A medium zoom shot is shown of the camera this highlights that the man is being watched closely. The camera is an enigma code as we do not know who is watching the man. Close ups are used to show emotion in the character for example at 1:24 we see the mans eyes rolling back implying he is going in and out of conciseness. When long shots are used the music begins to quicken the shot represents his lack of power to the unraveled villain character.The large room makes him look small this is a use of binary opposites.

Editing
Continuity editing is frequent through the opening however the paste of the editing changes to show a change in mood in certain scenes. At the start of the film editing is less frequent to show a sense of calmness in the scene. Inter crossing is used when showing the cameras view of the other locations. This shot is very important as it implies that they are others around the building which needs an eye on also that they is a villain character watching. Point of view cutting at 0:40 was put in the scene to show how the man is in a daze.This implies that the man has been attached or drugged it is unclear from what we see. From this shot we also get the sense that the man has just woken up due to his blurry eye sight. The insert shot of the blood at 0:59 adds impact as it shows how badly the man has been attached. The paste of the continuity editing quickens as the character begins to panic. This was done to convey the characters feelings to the audience of being stressed. Answers start to unravel as cut away editing is used.The disjointed effect adds suspense and leaves the audiences on the edge of there seat.A jump cut is used on the doll this was to bring attention to the doll implying it has importance also audiences may be scared by the toy.

 The beginning of the film features a bbfc certificate this occurs on real films within the cinema this has been put on to create the sense of authenticity to there film opening. A other feature which grabs  my attention is the moving logo as it looks professional. In my work I would like to create an moving logo to show skill in other media platforms.

Over all from this i have learnt the importance of creating tension in a scene by using editing this extract demonstrates this very well.