Silence of the Lambs analysis

When watching George, Toby, Dom and Ben's presentation of the 'Silence of the Lambs' opening, we noticed there was a wide range of camera shots/angles, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. The beginning scene is of the starting credits appearing and then sudenly dissappearing in and out of the shots. This looks really effective and links to the scary horror genre as the sudden movements make us jump. It then moves on to a tracking shot movement following the main girl character, this builds up tension for the audience as we feel we shouldnt really be following her. This also feels like the camera is from the point of view of a predator stalking its prey.

We then see an establishing shot showing a view which we cant quite see in full detail as it is hidden my some tree's in front of the camera and lots of fog. This shot is really effective as it could be implying that some things throughout the story are part of the 'unknown', not everything will be revealed, and only some things will be seen. This shot also puts the audience in quite an awkward position as we want to see whats happening we dont want to be left with the 'unknown', therefore the audience feel mystified as to what will happen and what is ahead of the tree's and fog.

As she is running through the forest we hear the diegetic sound of her feet crunching the leaves as she runs over them, and the breaking of sticks and twigs. This could signify the crushing and breaking of bones which could symbolise death. But the fact that she is breaking and standing on it, could show how she is tough and is trying to fight of death and destroy and avoid it as much as possible.

We see great determination of the woman when a close up of her face is shown. It shows her looking at a rope infront of her studying it thoroughly, and because we are so close up to her face we see the detail of her emotions. As she begins to climb the rope we (as an audience) see that she is very strong and tough, as there are diegetic sounds of her breathing heavily showing the task is hard but she is gradually completing it. Also the fact she is using the rope shows she is very skillfull and resourceful. This scene could signify the hard tasks and challenges that she may come across in the rest of the film. As she climbs the rope the lighting is very dull and dark, but as she completes climbing the rope the lighting gets a lot brighter which could be saying that for every challenge she has to complete she will always do it successfully and come out better on the other side. Also the lighting could signify her mood, the dark colours as she is climbing could show she she is feel exhausted, but then afterwards the lighter colours could show how she is proud of herself and happy she's succeeded.

When she comes to the prison and walks down the steps to enter the prison, they pass some red bars. The red colour of the bars could represent how she is descending into into hell, as the colour symbolises evil and danger. Again, the camera is following her in this scene - watching her through the bars, which links to how the film is a psychological thriller. The over shoulder shot of both characters could be showing how they are on par with eachother and share the power and how there is not one dominant character over the other. As the two characters come to the bars which they walk through, a non-diegetic beeping sound occurs from behind them which could signify a countdown, showing how they might not have much time left making the audience feel nervous for them to get there so they are safe. When she gets to one of the prisoners, the only noise you can hear is the diagetic sound of her footsteps when she walks, this shows that she is now alone as there aren't any other noises around, making the audience feel scared for her and whats about to happen.

The Ring analysis

When watching Luke's presentation of 'The Ring' opening, we noticed there was a wide range of camera shots/angles, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. At the beginning they show an establishing shot, we see clouds moving really quickly in the sky, this could imply that they are running out of time in the film and the time is passing by quickly. This could make the audience feel nervous and anxious for the characters in the film as we get a feeling they only have little time left before something bad happens. As the camera gets deeper and deeper into the forest more and more trees appear which makes us feel chlaustrophobic, and implies that the characters are becomming trapped and that there is no way out. The tracking shot follows her through the forest to the house, when she arrives at the house she looks through the window. The lighting on her face as she looks through the window is red which could imply she is about to come across danger and the colour red signifies danger. Also the red lighting could symbolise death, the colour relates to blood which relates to death. Therefore, this could be telling the audience she will be in a lot of danger throughout the film and possibly die.

The phone is very significant throughout the film as it is what tells the characters they are going to die. In many scenes throughout the film we see the phone in the background a lot, which could imply that it is always on their minds and they are always awaiting the dreaded phonecall, showing that they are constantly on edge and very anxious about the phone ringing. The phone symbolises death - therefore death is always on their mind. As the camera gets closer and closer to the womans face (from a close up to an extreme close up), more and more of her emotions are revealed. We see and almost feel ourselves, the fear that she is feeling because we are so close up in her face. The woman is basically always shown in a faint red light, whereas the man isnt. This could be saying how she is the one that is in danger and who will be affected, and he wont be. As the man begins to destroy the house and smash the plates, we as an audience feel for him as it shows how he has been affected by the ring. It has made him lose control and lose his mind. He no longer knows what to do or how to handle himself.

In the background there is very soft and subtle non-diegetic music played, which is very ironic seeing as the scene is building up to something bad thats going to happen - you would expect there to be quite dramatic music that is building up. The soft music does sound quite haunting and even the though the audience can hear this innocent music they know in the back of thei minds that the scene is building up to something terrifying. The music could be trying to make the audience feel relaxed about the situation so that when the bad thing happens, it makes them jump and has more of a scary effect on them. The music builds up great suspence and tension for the audience, and puts us on edge for whats about to happen.

The camera shows a shot of the womans face in full focus and the man standing in the background is out of focus. This could be implying that she is more of a main part as we can see more detail on her and can see her emotions whereas the man is blurred which could show he isn't of such an important character and we dont need to know as much about him. Also the fact we cant see the detailing of his emotions could be implying that we shouldnt necessarily care for his feelings, we should care more about the woman as she is more of a main character. Also this shot could also be symbolising the fact that the ring is only after the woman, it isn't after the man, it isn't interested in him.

Theres a big contrast between the light and dark areas which could symbolise the good and bad areas, which could also be showing the contrast between life and death. Down below the surface of the floor it is very dark conpared to above the floorboards. This could be implying that down below is the place of death (as the darkness could symbolise hell, compared to heaven above the floorboards where it is much lighter). The low angled show from below the floorboards shows the man and the woman looking down into the hole, this could be be implying that death is staring right at them in the face, it is basically right in front of them and there is no escape from it now. This shot shows the vulnerability on their faces and their nervous expression, this puts the audience on edge making us fear for what will happen. The shot angles always show a low angle looking up at the man and the woman, and a high angled shot looking down into the hole (looking up at the good, down at the bad), this is ironic as in real life people always look down on bad people and things, and always look up and aspire to be like the good people. As she falls down the hole and eventually reaches the bottom at which she is now dead, the television screen is no longer blurry it has completely blanked out. Which could show how the tele represented her life, and now that she is dead so is the tele.

Silent Hill analysis

When watching Akshay, Emma, Catherine and Georgia's presentation of 'Silent Hill' opening, we noticed there was a wide range of camera shots/angles, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. Firstly, as the logo appears there is a non-diegetic haunting sound which represents the 'horror' genre. So immediately as the film opens we recognise the genre. The colours in the film start off as blue/white, then gradually as the opening progresses the colours change to have more of a red tint. The blue/white colours to begin with could show how she is feeling calm running through the forest, then as the colours turn to red could show how the daughter is in danger but could also show the love between the mother and daughter. The first character we see in the film is the mother, this signifies that she is the main dominant character as she is who we are firstly introduced to. As the husband appears for the first time he is in a dark light which could show that he isnt as significant as the mothers character as she was mostly shown in the light. There is a lot of non-diegetic sound of screams which signifies the 'horror' genre and adds to the 'scary' effect that it has on the audience.

The mother is shown wearing a necklace chain with a ring attached to it. This could imply that she is a very family orientated person. This shows a sign of love and affection towards her family as she is keeping something that is obviously precious to her close to her heart and kept safe on a chain so it never gets lost. Most people would ususally wear a ring on their finger, but this shows scene shows her wearing it round her neck which could signify she is different from other people and doesnt do things in a traditional way. Also it could show that she is quite an independant person and doesnt rely on anyone else, as she has reinvented the ring in her own way.

The dark colours of the forest scene are forboding the future events that could happen. The dark shadowy colours look quite threatening to the audience and seem quite mysterious as you cant see everything thats in the shot.

We can see that the mother and daughter link as they are both wearing a blue item of clothing. This could also imply that they have a stronger bond than the father and child as the father isn't wearing any colour clothing that links to the child. This could show that the father is quite distant from the family.

The setting of the house on its own looks and makes the audience feel very isolated. It is very seperate from any other houses/shops etc. This could relate to how the family are feeling, perhaps very lonely and isolated. The non-diegetic background music sounds a bit like a choir singing quite faintly. This has a religious connotation linked to it implying that the choir are praying to keep the daughter safe. Although, the religious connotation to the choir could also imply death, as they could be singing at a funeral. Also the deep notes of the choir voices sounds quite haunting which links to the genre of the film.

The cars that pass are very fast and the film and shot movements become fast paced which could imply that time is shooting by (like the cars), and running out. This links to the whole video game idea behind the film, as if it's a countdown in a game and soon they will no longer have any lives left. Also the fast paced shot movements and timing creates tension and puts the audience on edge when watching it making them feel nervous about what will happen next. There are a few canted angles shown in this scene, which makes the audience feel disorientated and awkward which could relate to how the characters in the film are feeling.

Finally, as the daughter is standing on top of the waterfall threatening to jump, the high camera angle from above her makes her look vulnerable. As the mother runs to save her the camera zooms right up to her, which could show how she is now safe, and no longer looks vulnerable. Also now that the camera is closer to the mother and daughter, more of the emotion in the scene is shown and we feel the connection between the characters as we are much closer to them. Whereas before when they were seperate when the daughter was about to jump off the waterfall the camera is further away showing how at that moment they feel distant from eachother.

The Grudge analysis

When watching Daryls presentation of 'The Grudge' opening, we noticed there was a wide range of camera shots/angles, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. The first thing i noticed about this film was the wide range of credits used at the beginning, these appear on the screen very slowly and sort of fade on and dissolve of which creates a creepy sensation, as if it's a ghost appearing and then suddenly dissappearing. This also creates a very tense atmosphere to the beginning of the film which shows what could happen further on in the film and signifies what type of film it is.

One of the first shots shows a flame flickering which creates tension and looks as if she is shaking with fear. Another scene shows her walking down a narrow corridor, the slim corridor could imply she's feeling claustrophobic. As she walks towards the camera she slowly blocks the light coming in a window from behind her, implying her freedom is being lost and her mind and soul is in a dark place. Also the fact that when she entered the corridor it was all lit up, but as she gradually makes her way towards the end of the corridor it has become darker, this could imply that where she is heading is a dark place where she feels lost, and could show she is venturing into the unknown. In this shot the audience feel just as vulnerable as her, as the camera is pointing straight on towards her, so we feel on par with her.

When the woman is riding the bike through the town/city, there are a lot of match on action shots used, where the camera follows her on the bike through different scenes showing different scenery behind her, yet she is still riding the bike in every shot, this helps the audience understand more clearly whats happening and shows continuity editing. This also makes the audience feel nervous and on edge as we are following her quite intensely through many scenes so we wonder where she is heading too and what will happen next.

Finally, in the scene where she is sitting with the old women you can see that they are both wearing the same colour clothing which makes the two characters link, but the young woman is in a lighter shade of blue and the older woman is in a darker shade. The darker shade of clothing could be showing that she is the one thats been affected by the grudge, and how she is now in a dark place since being affected by the grudge. The dark clothing makes her look quite miserable and depressed. Whereas the lighter shade of clothing that the younger woman is wearing shows how she hasnt been affected by the grudge. The fact they are both wearing the same colour (but different shades) could signify that the younger woman will soon be affected by the gurdge too, as the colours link. The furniture in the old womans house that is surrounding them looks cluttered, confusing and of very dark shades of greys and browns which could relate to how she's been affected by the grudge and how she is now feeling.

Alfred Hitchcock - Psycho

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing.

Psycho is a 1960 American horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film depicts the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane (Leigh), hiding at a secluded motel after embezzling money from her employer, and the motel's disturbed owner and manager, Norman Bates (Perkins), and the aftermath of their encounter. Psycho is now considered one of Hitchcock's best films and is highly praised as a work of cinematic art by international critics. The film is often categorized by multiple sources as a drama, horror, mystery and thriller film.

Camera Movements

Panning - When a camera is moved from side to side, this is known as panning. Here the lens scans the scene to provide the viewer with elements of the scene that cannot be included in a wide angled shot. A pan can also include information as needed. It can follow a moving object. Panning should be smooth. Adjusting the tension and drag on your tripod head will insure smooth pans and tilts.

Tilt- The movement of the camera head up or down is known as titlting. Tilting the camera up can show height. Tilting it down can show depth. It can also show relationships. For example, the tilt of the camera from a man standing on a rocky ledge with a coiled rope on his shoulder to a man standing alone at the base of the cliff presents the situation. Tilts can also generate emotional responses. Tilting upward can cause feelings of rising interest, expectation, hope or anticipation. Tilting downward can lower interest and create feelings of dissapointment or sadness.

Tracking Shot- A shot in which the camera is pushed horizontally along the ground on a dolly.

Dolly- Refers to a type of shot achieved when a camera is mounted on a cart pushed along a track.

Crane- A shot in which the camera rises above the ground on a mobile support.

Steadicam- Mechanism for steadying a hand-held camera, consisting of a shock absorbing arm to which the camera is attached and a harness worn by the camera operator.

Hand-held- When a person holds the camera in hand while shooting.

Zoom- A single shot which moves towards a particular subject.

Reverse Zoom- A single shot which moves away from a particular subject.

Shot Angles

Low Angle - a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eyeline, looking up. This makes the character seem powerful
High Angle - a shot located above the eyeline, the camera looks down on the subject. This angle makes the character seem vulnerable or powerless.
Eye-Level Angle - This is the most common view, being the real-world angle that we are all used to. It shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life. It is a fairly neutral shot.
Worms eye Angle - A worm's-eye view is a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm (the opposite of a bird's-eye view).
Canted Angle - A camera angle which is deliberately slanted to one side, sometimes used for dramatic effect to help portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action.
Birds eye Angle - The scene is shown from directly above. This is a completely different and somewhat unnatural point of view which can be used for a dramatic effect.

Editing, Continuity and discontinuity

Match on Action- an editing technique for continuity edting in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. The action carrying through creates a 'visual bridge' which draws the viewers attention away from slight cutting of continuity issues. This is not a graphic match or match cut, it portrays a continuous sense of the same action rather than matching two seperate things.

Shot reverse shot- a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects. A shot showing what the character is looking at is followed by a reverse angle shot of the charcter themselves looking at it, or of the other character looking back at them, for example. This shot does not distort the audiences sense of location of the characters in the shot.

180 Degree rule- a basic guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. This allows the audience to have a greater sense of the location in the scene in terms of what may be off-screen in some shots, for example in shot reverse shots.

Camera shots

An over the shoulder shot reveals one subject as seen from over the shoulder of another subject. This shot is often used in conversation between two people where the director wants to focus on the person speaking. Usually these shots are head shots. Could create quite a mysterious feeling, as it's as if your peering over the shoulder of someone else.



An establishing shot is often the first in a sequence, which establishes the position of elements relative to each other and identifies the setting. It is generally a long or extreme long shot indicating where, and sometimes when, the remainder of the scene takes place. The shot is usually very powerful as it usually involves a lot of detail. Could be of a country or city view.




A long shot is a shot in which a large object (e.g a complete human figure) fits easily within the frame. The shot contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. This shot helps you understand more about where the character is placed, and what type of person they are e.g- by the clothes they are wearing.







The medium shot is from just below the waitst to above the head. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. Gives a clear view of the person and what they are like.





Two shots are composed when two people are in the scene and their interaction is important. A two shot is a good way to introduce a conversation. The subjects do not have to be next to each other, there are many common two-shots which have one subject in the foreground and the other subject in the background. This type of shot could be used to understand the relationship between two characters, possibly for a 'love scene'.



An aerial shot is a camera shot from a helicoptor, balloon, kite or high building (higher than a crane). A good area to do this shot would be a scene that takes place on top of a building. If the aerial shot is of a character it can make them seem insignificant. These sort of shots tend to view just scenery and not characters, as the shot is from far away the characters sometimes become too small to look at.





Point of View shot is understood to be seen from the point of view of a character within the scene. It shows what a character (the subject) is looking at (represented through the camera). It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction (shot reverse shot).

The close up shot is used to reveal detail. If you are shooting just the head and shoulders of a subject this is a close up. Close-ups are used for distinguishing main characters. Major characters are often given a close-up when they are introduced as a way of indicating their importance. Leading characters will have multiple close-ups. The viewer is drawn into the subject's personal space and shares their feelings.



An extreme close up is used to reveal very small details in the scene. It might be used to reveal horror in a subject (extreme close up of subjects mouth as they scream with fear). It might also be used in a mystery to show some detail that the detective picks up on or to show some small clue. You would normally need a specific reason to get this close.

Mise-en-scene advert analysis

I looked at the Radox bubble bath advert and watched it a few times thinking about the connotations of the mise-en-scene. I noticed that the setting at the beginning of the ad was set in a busy street, pouring with rain. It looked like a typical, everyday, London situation. All the people surrounding the main character were dressed in dull coloured suits (grey or black), which made her stand out from everyone else as she was wearing a bright yellow dress. The vibrant coloured dress could suggest that she is a very happy positive person. Also the fact that most people were wearing suits could suggest that it's rush hour. The next shot of her in a room full of clocks could relate to what she is thinking (about the time), and how she is rushing and running out of time. The very end shot of her in the bath shows her closing her eyes, looking relaxed and calm - which makes you want to do the same, and go out and buy the product. In the first scene in the street location, the colours are very dull and boring, and the weather looks horrible - showing that she hasn't had the best of days. But then the last scene of her soaking in the bath is a very fun, vibrant shot. The lighting is bright and the yellow colour used is very positive and cheerful. Also i noticed how the colour yellow is used throughout the ad, we first see it when she is wearing the yellow dress whilst running down the street. We then see it again when she enters a room full of clocks through a yellow door, there is also a yellow sort of tint to the scene where she is looking around the clock shop. And then finally we see the colour again on the final shot of her in the bath as the flooring around her is bright yellow. This links all the scenes nicely and makes it flow. The colour is very feminine as well which could relate to the target audience it's set at. (To look at the advert i am talking about click on this link www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b_1qiuvcik)

Denotation and Connotation

Today we learnt that Denotation is exactly what you see in the frame/shot, it is the direct meaning. And we learnt that Connotation is the idea or meaning suggested by something in the frame. Having learnt this, we then went on to analyse a Calvin Klein perfume advert called 'Eternity'. We commented on the connotation and denotation, below i have listed some of the points we made:

Denotation: Font is written in long capital letters. Background is a country scene. Both characters have their arms stretched out. Font at the bottom is thin sans serif style. Glare of sunlight coming from the right of the scene. Both wearing casual clothes and both smiling looking happy.
Connotation: Reinforcing relationship with mother and daughter. Its in black and white which could suggest its an old memory/nostalgic. The countryside scene implies that anyone can wear it. There are 2 different age genres - family inheritance. The young girl isnt wearing any shoes which could give off a sense of freedom which could link to the perfume.