British Board of Film Classification!

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a independent company that classifys the rating in the films we watch in the Cinema and on DVD. the way in which they rate our movies is by setting up guidellines they have to follow. They renew these guidelines every 4 years, the way in which they do this is by asking the public what they think is acceptable/appropriate to be seen in a U, PG, 12a, 12, 15, 18 and 18R. Below are the different guildlines in which they follow for each rating.


U- Universal (Suitable for all)
‘U’ movies should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ movies should be of a positive manner and uplifting for the viewer.

• There is no discrimnative Language or Gestures.
• Images of Drugs, Nudity and Sex are not prohibited unless mild (Example, Kissing).
• Horror and violence is mild and kept to a minimum.

 PG- Parental Guidance (General Viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children)
A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older.

• Discrimnative Language or Gestures are unlikey to be in a PG movie.
• Images of drugs are not likely. Nudity and Sex is Mild and infrequent with only natural references like innuendos.
• Horror and violence is not tense and can only last a short amount of time, it is also not in detail.

12a/12- Suitable for 12 years and over.
The same criteria are used to classify movies at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. This meaning material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. '12a' films only apply to cinema not DVD.

• Discriminative Language or Behavior is not endorsed and should not be in 12 films.
• Use of drugs should not be frequent and should not be glamorised. Nudity and Sex is allowed but it must be descreet and in no detail.
• Moderate physical and psychological threat is allowed if it is infrequent and mild, which is also the same voilence. There should be no detail, especially not blood/gore.

15- Suitable for 15 years or older.

• The movie must not endorse discriminative behaviour or language. Bad language however, for example swearing, is allowed.
• The use of drugs can be shown in a 15 but must not ivolve the misuse of the product. Nudity and Sex is allowed but must not be detailed.
• Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised. Violence can be strong but must not focus on pain or injury

18- Suitable for Adults only.

• In movies with a rating of 18, the guildlines are pushed much further than of a 15. Discrimnative behavior, Drug use, Nudity, Sex, Violence and Horror can all be shown in some detail. Not extremely detailed but fairly. An exception for this is if the movie is in "breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence".

R18- To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops to adults of 18.

• These particular rating of movie is usually in the themes of sex and nudity- which is shown in great detail of these movies. However being on the breach of criminal law, using material likely to encourage an interest in sexually abusive activity and any sexual threats, humiliation or abuse (Strong physical or verbal abuse)is not acceptable.

"The British Board of Film Classification is an independant, non-governmental body, which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912, and videos since the passing of the video recording act 1984"

Analysing Sound and Music in Thriller Opening Sequences!!

Panic Room Opening Sequence:
Long pause of silence (0:00-0:21)
Brass Instruments (Non Digetic)

Violins

Wind Blowing
Pen Clicking
City Sounds (Cars beeping)


The sounds above are what we could hear in the opening sequence of the Thriller movie Panic Room. At the beginning of the sequence there was a long silence up until 21 seconds in. This could have to build the tension beofre the music starts because were anticipating what we could hear next. At 21 seconds there was a fairly slow build up of non-daigetic brass instruments and violins that gradually became louder. They then faded slightly into the background and then introduced diagetic noises such as car beeping and wind blowing, there was also a constant non-diagetic sound of a pen clicking from 0:55 seconds in after the title of the movie had been shown. These sounds then continued up until the narrative dialogue of the first character.


Catch Me If You Can Opening Sequence:
Percussion Instruments
Wooden Blocks

Saxaphone

Clicking of Fingers

Flute?

Violin?

The sound/music in this opening sequence starts at 0:02 seconds, It starts with wooden blocks and percussion instruments. This makes the movie sound rather sneaky and rather like spy music which is fitting for the genre as it is a crime/drama genre. As the title of the movie came in at 0:43 seconds instruments like saxaphones, flutes and violins were gradually added. There is also the sound of people clicking there fingers in unision and also sounds of 'Hushing'/'Shhh'. The music continues for the whole opening credits until the scene begins. All of these sounds were non-diagtetic and had an upbeat vibe throughout the whole sequence.

Se7en Opening Sequence:
Static
Vinyl Scratching

Screams

Paper Cutting
Drums
Kogs Moving
Random mixes of sounds


For the opening sequence of Se7en the music starts straight away at 0:00 seconds. The clip has many different sounds. Some of them are hard to identify as they are rather random mixes of sounds and are hard to describe.The sounds start as what sounds like stacic and vinyl scratching, there is also a consistant banging of drums throughout the whole sequence. We hears sounds of "kogs" moving around and what sounds like people saying "Tsk Tsk Tsk". There are also sounds of paper cutting, screams, cars scretching and spraying. It almost sounded like there was a bunch of random sounds thrown together, but they all come from the same 'catagory' and all have the same effect on you which make you feel on edge. When the title comes in at 0:23 seconds the music amps up a bit more. At 1:12 the music really amps up into almost like music from a hard-rock song with a normal tune. All the sounds were a mix of Diagetic and Non-diagetic depending on what was in the background, for example in one clip there is a car which is when the car screetching sound comes in.


Similarities Between the Three Opening Sequences:

• All are parellel to what is happening on screen
• All built up the music rather than just staying in the same pace area.
• All included some kind of instrument soundtrack as well as having some ambient sounds, for example, Wind Blowing (Panic Room), Clicking fingers (Catch Me If You Can) and Screams (Se7en).
• For Catch Me If You Can and Se7en the music started straight away.
• Panic Room and Se7en both had a mix of Diagetic and Non-Diagetic.

Differences Between the Three Opening Sequences:

• All the music/sounds had different intentions of how they wanted the audience to feel, for example, Panic Room was a creepy/eerie atomosphere. Catch Me If You Can started unconventional to the Thriller genre as it built up the tension. Se7en's music would make the audience feel on edge and creeped out.
• Panic Room had a pro-longed silence for 21 seconds but the others did not.
• Catch Me If You Can was completely non-diagetic.
• Se7en's opening sequence had mostly ambient sounds, whereas the others had instruments also.

British Board of Film Classification

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rate films, in ages, in terms of the content. There are seven main catagories which I will analyse below:


The first catagory is U. This stands for universal, meaning it is suitable for anyone to watch including the ages of 4 yrs and above. The contents of the film will NOT contain and drug references, discrimination, imitable behaviour that a child could potentially copy if it's dangerous, only mild references to sex and mild nudity (natural), mild language and violence, and horror scenes shouldn't be to scary or frequent.


The next classification is PG, which stands for Parental Guidence. it is similar to the rating U however children of the age eight and above are allowed to watch it unaccompanied but it shouldn't have the possibility of scaring young children. most children can watch a film of this rating but parents are advised to check whether or not they think it is suitable for their childs viewing.


The third and fourth catagories are very similar, 12 and 12A. These films are not suitable for anyone under the age of 12. When renting or buying DVDs/videos, children under 12 cannot buy films with the rating 12. 12A on the other hand only exists in the cinema where anyone under 12 cannot watch a 12A film, unless a parent is with them is thinks that it is approriate as long as they watch with their underaged child.


The fifth catagory is 15, and films with these ratings cannot be shown to under 15 year olds. This is because the film may contain drug taking, but is not allowed to encourage misuse of drugs. It can also contain threatening horror scenes as long as they are not sexual. It can also contain dangerous behaviour including self harm and suicide as long as it is not shown in detail. Lastly, nudity and sexual activities can only be vague, not in detail.


The last two catagories are 18 and R18. They can only be shown to 18 year olds and above (adults) because of their detailed sexual content and nudity. They film could have been created in the breach of the criminal law. The difference in these ratings is that you can see 18 films in the cinema, but only R18 films (restricted 18) can be played in licensed cinemas or bought in licensed sex shops.






 

Analysing Sound and Music In Thriller Opening Sequences

My task is to analyse the music and sound within three opening sequences of thriller movies. The three films that I am going to analyse are Panic Room (Psychological Thriller), Catch Me if You Can (Crime Thriller) and Se7en (seven- Crime Thriller).

In this opening sequence the non-diegetic music starts instantly. The instrument used sounds like a cello as the music is deep with low notes that last for roughly a two seconds before changing, which is quite long. Also starting at the beginning of the opening sequence are diegetic sounds of the city like the sirens and wind. At 47 seconds there is a car horn noise plus the sound of the wind fading in and out. between 48 and 55 seconds the music becomes slightly louder and more intense as the name of the film is shown. A symbol sound is then used to introduce the new fast pace music which uses higher notes. At this point (55 seconds in) a non diegetic ticking sound is also played over the top of the music until the end of the sequence which builds suspense and tension. The music at this point is faster and relates to the name of the film PANIC Room. Finally, at 1 minute 20 seconds, the same symbol sound is reintroduced that then leads back into the first music used, which was slow and deep.

Opening Sequence Analysis- Se7en!!

Sub-Genre Conventions Analysis

Our task is to analyse the conventions of two thriller films that are within different thriller sub-genres. I decided to pick the sub-genres 'Psychological' and 'Crime.' 

The film I am going to analyse that is a psychological thriller is Shutter Island. A psychological usually has a form of mental disability, like the main character in Shutter Island, and faces challenges, arguments or deception. Like Teddy (the main character), the mind of psychopaths overrules situations, leads them in the wrong direction, and sometimes results in extreme sickness or death. Every psychological thriller contains mental disable people believing that they are one person, but in reality, have the identity of another. They can often be dangerous so are likely to be deceived by other characters in these films, like the doctors and guards in Shutter Island.    

The second film I am going to analyse is Taken which is a Crime thriller. 
Common themes throughout these thrillers are ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge and kidnapping. Taken conforms to the theme of kidnapping, as two of the main characters are in fact kidnapped (Kim and Amanda).Although a large amount of thrillers contain crime, actual crime thrillers are based entirely around specific crimes, solving these crimes and mysteries, tracking the criminals down, or all three. Taken is based on all three of these: a crime is committed (the kidnapping), the concentration of the film is then based on the solving of the mystery and the difficulty faced when trying to catch the people who kidnap the characters. 

Sub Genre Conventions Homework

The two thriller films i chose were 'Jaws' as it is also based on a novel, this is the kind of thriller that relates to real life, a great white shark that swamps around and eats humans in the water its a 'supernatural thriller' its the thriller that will stick into peoples mind. I also picked 'The Dark Knight' which is a crime/action thriller.
A Supernatural thriller is where the film brings in an otherworldly element mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists.
Crime/action thriller's offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminals rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders.

In both films, there is violence and death. 'The Dark Knight' could be said to have some physcological thriller elements to it. 'jaws' is just thrilling to watch as it almost shocks people as this could actually happen, where as other films are usually made up.

Sub- Genre Convention Analysis!

The two thriller sub-genres i chose to analyse were Psychological Thrillers and Conspiracy Thrillers. An example from each of these genres would be Shutter Island and Awake.

Psychological Thriller Conventions:

This sub genres has a very heavy focus on the main character and the plot is usually told in the first person with sub-plots uncovered by other main characters or supporting roles. This genre incorporates elements of the mystery/drama genre as well as keeping all traditional thriller conventions.The main character mostly relys on his/her mental strength, rather than physical strength, against that characters enemy which is nearly always themselves.

Some usual themes running through psychological thrillers are:

Identity Crisis, Mind over Matter or Facing an issue of death/sickness.

Conspiracy Thriller Conventions:

This type of Thriller is also known as the "Paranoid Thriller" movie.The protagonists (Hero) of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy. The main characters uncovering the conspiracy have difficulty knowing the truth from the 'deceptions': rumors, lies, propaganda

Common themes running through Conspiracy Thrillers:

Brainwashing and Political assassination.

Pschological Thriller, Generic Conventions

Shutter island – Generic conventions:

Shutter island, a psychological thriller, uses typical generic conventions to emphasise the sub - genre. The narrative centres on crime when considering the escape of a patient who Leonardo Dicaprio (Teddy Daniels) is trying to find. By the end of the film we realise that the criminal investigation was actually used to cover up Teddy Daniels’ illness.

The weakness of the film is in fact Teddy Daniels as he is deceived throughout the majority of the film until the end we he finds out why he is really on the Island, his mental disorder. This shows him to be extremely Fallible. The antagonist isn’t a specific person, it is in fact the whole ‘team’ that he believes he is working with, including the doctor, chief warden and his partner detective.

Teddy occasionally appears in peril throughout the movie, for example, when he enters the 'block' containing all the dangerous 'psychos,' he is violently attacked by one of the patients.

The antagonist (in this case all the people decieving him), end up making Teddy feel isolated and confused after telling him the truth and the fact he is on the Island, never to leave it again.
There is a form of doubling in the film when looking at Teddy's illness: he believes thathe is a detective working on an escape case involving a prisoner in one of the wards on the island. He, is infact an inmate and is repeatedly told about this, but he forgets every 24 hours and things he is a completely different person.


In terms of reflection, mirroring and illusion, I am almost certain that there isn't a phsical object that is in fact an illusion, but when Teddy is told about the case it of course is an illusion as it's not real. In Shutter Island there isn't any mirroring or reflecting.


As far as I understand there is no theme of voyeurism in Shutter Island. 

Thriller Generic Conventions!

FLIGHTPLAN!

When Kyle boards a plan with her daughter Julia, she falls asleep for a few hours and wakes to find out Julia is missing. When notifying the areoplane staff, they tell Kyle that there is no record of her daughter even boarding the plane, which sends Kyle into panic and determination to find and prove her daughter was onboard and is missing.

Generic Conventions:

• We see in the trailer the use of  the narrative. It is shown by the use of caption over the different clips which support the narrative.
• We see the Protangonist (Kyle) is constantly sent into The antagonists (Captain and flight attendants) increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless.
• The narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen. This is a situation which wouldnt usually happen and it is unexpected. It fits with the Pyshcological Thriller genre as it plays on your mind as it with the characters.
• Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives. We see this in the trailer as it is very choppy editing and shows different time periods while searching for her daughter. Her voice also overlaps other phrases she has said from different scenes.
• A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end. We see this when the daughter, Julia, draws a heart on the plane window which is then a key part in the story later on.

A TIME TO KILL!
Two rascist white men come across a black mans 10 year old daughter, they violently rape and beat her. She survives and the two men got arrested. The young girls father shoots the two men dead and get sent to court. A lawyer offers to help the black man when no one else does to ensure he is not guilty.

Generic Conventions in trailer:

We see in the trailer the use of  the narrative. It is shown through a series of clips and dialogue from the main characters. It is also showing the film is centered around rape and murder. We then see it is a "Legal Thriller" as a series of different lawyers and justice to people is involved.

The protagonist is fallible and has weakness that is exploited by the antagonist. This is shown as the black man is the hero but the two men that raped his daughter so he killed them. The two dead men then act against him as he seen as a murder to some but a hero to others.

The protagonist will be seen 'in peril' (danger) in one or more scenes before the resolution. This is shown also through the narrative as the black man faces being hung if proven guilty.

Foundation Portfolio - Research and Planning!!

Thriller Sub-genres:

• Action - Adventure
• Conspiracy
• Crime
• Disaster
• Erotic
• Historical
• Legal
• Medical
• Political
• Pscological
• Rape and Revenge
• Religious
• Spy
• Serial Killer
• Supernatural
• Techno

These are just some of the many different thriller sub-genres. Below are some explanations for the main ones we see in movies today.

Conspiracy Thrillers- In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only s/he recognizes.

Crime Thrillers-This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers an account of a successful or failed crime. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses.

Erotic Thrillers- A type of thriller that has an emphasis on eroticism and where a sexual relationship plays an important role in the plot.

Political Thrillers- In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him.

Pyschological Thrillers-In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. Characters, either by accident or their own curiousness, are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve. At times, the characters attempt solving, or are involved in, a mystery.

Spy Thrillers- In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. They often revolve spies who are involved in investigating various events, often on a global scale.

Supernatural Thrillers- In which the film brings in an otherworldly element mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists. Sometimes the hero and/or villain has some psychic ability.

Tchno Thrillers- A suspense film in which the manipulation of sophisticated technology plays a prominent part.

Preliminary Task Evaluation!

When creating our Preliminary task video we did well in sticking closely to tthe brief, including all the camera angles and shots and making sure we followed the 180 degree rule. Our video was 25 seconds long however we filmed 36 seconds worth of video but it was edited out. The camera we used to film our video was a Canon Camera and the technology we used to finish the video was an editing program called Final Cut Pro on the Apple Mac Computers. The camera was easy to use and produced good quality video and sound however when starting the editing, we had trouble using Final Cut Pro as we are not used to working with it. We found it difficult piecing the video clips together after we "Marked in/out" the clips, but after a while we got the hang of it and can now edit a video easily. We think our preliminary task went quite well and was fairly straight forward to film. We focused more on following the brief, making sure to include all camera angles etc, instead of creating an intresting story line. From this task we learnt how to use the camera, tripod and editing software which will help us with creating the rest of our portfolio!

Preliminary Storyboard

This is our storyboard for our preliminary task. We did rough drawings and basic guidlines for the shot type, shot etc. It was very basic as we did not need to do in depth writing about our scenes as they were planned quite quickly and didnt need much information. We did take this with us as we went to shoot just to make sure we were doing the exact shots that we wanted for our premlininary task.