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Thursday, March 10, 2022

The silence of the lambs.

The silence of the lambs by Jonathan demme, 1991

Summary: A training FBI agent (Clarice)

is given a special chance to go and talk to a criminally insane man named Hannibal lecter to try and gain info on a ongoing serial killer case.

The serial killers name is Jame Gumb or Buffalo bill, he has been killing larger sized woman to take their skin and create a skin suit of a woman to fulfil his fantasy of transformation.

Hannibal lecter gives clues to Clarice the trainee FBI agent that eventually enable her to solve the mystery.

Theme:

- representations of the mentally ill

- good vs evil

- women and oppression

- theme of 'looking' and 'the male gaze'

- transformation:

an extremely prevalent theme in this film is transformation, this theme is represented through the symbol of a butterfly or a cocoon. The idea of a cocoon is very soothing for Buffalo Bill because it is everything he wants just that he wants to become a women, we see butterflies and cocoons everywhere throughout the movie, wallpaper on the walls, in evidence and flying around.

in regards to the idea of looking Hannibal initiate's it when he says "don't you feel eyes moving over your body Clarice"

the idea of the 'male gaze' is supported by constant closeups of men throughout the film, either showing men lusting over Clarice or seeing her as lower.

Genre

This movie is best described as a Thriller. However it is innovative in the way that it incorporates aspects of many genres for example crime, horror etc.

Using Christine Metz theory we could say that in 1991 it would be considered a deconstruction as it was a different take on the thriller genre. But today it’s considered a classic because thriller films often reuse themes and iconography and conventions of this film.

Something quite common in the thriller genre is a crime procedural, and this is definitely one because we are following Clarice as she solves the murder.

this can also be seen as a phycological thriller due to the themes of the mentally ill and also by the use of closeups throughout the film that are most commonly used to tap into the psychology of the characters.

Iconography of thriller:

- character change or growth (Trainee to agent)

- cliffhanger

- shadows

Filming techniques:

- low key lighting

Narrative:

- cliffhangers

Typical characters:

- deranged man (criminal) and a flawed cop

Narrative

In this film restricted and unrestricted Narrative techniques are used to create suspense

Eg.

Unrestricted narrative is used to create suspense when Hannibal is seen eyeing a pen that is inferred that he is going to steal.

Restricted narrative is used when Clarice meets buffalo bill and doesn’t know it’s him.

Subjective narrative depth is used when we see Clarice's memories of her father and this shows that she is sad.

Story structure:

Equilibrium - Clarice training as a FBI agent

Disequilibrium - a new woman is kidnapped by Buffalo Bill

Realisation - Clarice at Buffalo bills first victims room

Dealing with disruption - at buffalo bills house

New equilibrium - buffalo bill killed

Why do we watch Horror films?

DOLF ZILLMAN

Excitation transfer theory purports that residual excitation from one stimulus will amplify the excitatory response to another stimulus, through the hedonics valances of the stimuli may differ. the excitation transfer process is not limited to a single emotion. For example, when watching a movie, a viewer may be angered by seeing the hero wronged by the villain, but this initial excitation may intensify the viewers pleasure in watching the villain be punished later.

SIGMUND FREUD

Horror came from a need by people to express uncivilised images and ideas. they reveal archetypes buried deep in the subconscious.

DAVID J. SKAL

Horror films are a reflection of our societal fears.

ERNST HARTMANN

Watching movies is like being in a dream like state and a place to work through emotions, Horror films make us face the unknown.

Which one do I agree with the most?

I agree with David J. Skal the most as the best way to frighten the most amount of people is to draw on societies fears. I also think when tapping into many people's similar biggest fears the film feels more personal to them and can make them feel as if they are being questioned about fears they do not want to think about.

Camera equipment

What camera equipment did I chose to use?

In my film I used the camera the GH5, this camera has a professional look. As for equipment we used a snorricam as you can see here in this picture, there was quite a significant learning curve because it was very difficult to set up but by the end it was very simple. The snorricam gave a great effect and really communicated how disorientated Casey was. I have never used a snorricam before and last year I only used a tripod and a tracks and I feel this year maximising my use of equipment has really opened so many doors in terms of visual storytelling.

we used a shoulder mount to film the moving shots, it gave a more organic look but also made it more controlled then if it was filmed with handheld. I have also never used a shoulder mount, the shoulder mount is great for run and gun shooting. you can take super still shots with it but also use it for tracking shots that look amazing. the shoulder mount was super easy to set up.

Next year I would also love to use the black magic camera, simply because the footage looks amazing. I'm super happy with my choice of equipment.

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

My target audience

Don't worry darling, 2022

this is yet again another darker themed film in which the primary audience is women, this can also be explained by the supposed main character who is a women, this means women can sympathies with her more easily. the statistics also say this is a more professional audience which is normal in more complex films, people watching this are looking for something deeper.

Concrete town 2022 (my film)

I believe that my film will have a 50/50 gender split in viewers as men will be drawn to it because of the main character being male they will be more drawn to it, however women will also enjoy the psychological aspect and be able to take something from it. I would say that a more educated audience will enjoy my film more so then a less educated audience because they will be more financially stable so will not crave as much escapism, furthermore a more educated audience will understand a more complex film. also a older audience can appreciate Psychological aspects more then young.

Character analysis

Costume inspiration:

When creating my main character Casey I instantly thought about Marla from fight club, she dresses very messily and looks like she wears the same things all the time. Casey dressing this way reflects his mental state his thoughts are also messy, he doesn't have time to think about what he's wearing and doesn't care to look 'smart'.

Here is a drawing I did in the early stages of production to communicate an idea of what my characters should look like.

The man in the suit in my film who is not made clear if he's real or an illusion is a device to highlight the difference between Casey's mind and others. like in Shutter Island in the opening scene where the 2 men in the suits are standing next to each other and it establishes an idea of binary opposites where one man is more put together and the other looks distressed and his clothes are all messed up. I think that this style of dressing with fedoras and a suit is from a different time period and will also tell the audience that this character is not real, the colour black adds to his mysterious vibe. A big inspiration of mine is film noir and this way of dressing is super common and can be seen in films like

A touch of evil, Orson Welles made in 1958

this really creates more suspense as Suits connotes power, which makes my character more scary.

Dream actors in my film:

Johnny depp and Helena Bonham carter.

these actors could be slightly biased as I have seen movies with them together, and they are both notorious for being in psycho thrillers. I would love these actors in my film as there acting style is perfect for creating tension and unease, they both also have a certain look about them that seem very mysterious.