'Vacancy'- Opening scene analysis

What makes Vacancy successful in terms of its genre?

Vacancy is a thriller. Thrillers normally combines alot of usage of shadows and darkness- very clever with the lighting, voyeurism- the sense of being watched or followed for the audience, fear- creating the atmosphere and dramatic feel, illusions, a thick, hard hitting storyline such as kidnapping, entrapment, isolation and deception. Typical characters that are in a thriller are a victim, a detective/a hero, a bad guy/a killer and possibly the victims family. I think the opening of Vacancy covers's this typical nature of thrillers very well. As soon as it starts you feel more and more tense, and fear creeps in as seconds pass.

To start, the people included in the production of the film are used to create the opening atmosphere. The subtitles are a keep point in creating tension right at the start for this film. The music is a low bass tone and the writing represents blood with its trailing down effect. All the names move around creating confusion and drama to such a simple task. The only criticism i do have is that the subtitles task for to long! It gets boring after a while and the tension of wanting it to start is high! Above the low noise is a obvious ticking. This really gets your heart pumping, the thought of time running out, slipping away. Being on a time limit is never nice, being in a rush to do something. It creates suspense and wonder into what it could be. When the title of the film emerges there is a low thud of a noise in the background to increase the tension of the word 'VACANCY' which is in capitals. The credits go on for 2minutes 51seconds. This is far to long, even though it is quite snappy with each person. The first sight of the characters there is the sound of a cracking radio, radios that are not clear with signal are always a spooky, fearful sign i think.

I didn't find many negatives to this opening but here is the few i came up with. It is very, very dark making it hard to see and define much, although the director is very clever with the lighting usage it still is dark. After the exaggerated duration of the opening credits the car journey also lasts a long time, maybe a little to long talking about the same thing! The two characters conversation about going the wrong way makes this car journey at the start very dull, but outlines key facts.. they are lost, this is always a scary situation. There is quite a chunk of the driving that uses no speech, to create tension and an uptight atmosphere.. as if waiting for something to happen. There is a part where they use an apple as a prop, and talk about it. This has no relevance to the scene or that moment in time so this annoyed me, being pointless. Although the lady cuts here self when cutting the apple.. and bleeds. This could indicate whats going to happen in the latter part of the film, here getting killed? Badly hurt?

Many positives were taken from this opening, their ability to creat such an atmosphere in a short space of time is brilliant. They use light to direct the audience's view, onto particular things and objects, i find this very clever. The music is intimidating for the viewer, this is good when watching a thriller, you want to be scared and feel vunerable why else would you watch them? The lack of information given to us in the opening is good i think beacuase it makes us want to watch on, find out whats going on, and leaves us feeling uncertain about the forthcoming events. It makes your mind ask lots of questions and make your own idea of whats going to happen. I couldnt work out there releltionship, between the two characters. Alough the male had a wedding ring on his finger. They were argueing and very snappy. They could have been family or married, or maybe just very good friends, or even two people who dont particually want to be there with eachother but have no choice. The camera angles and way it's filmed makes us feel like we are intruding on their relletionship. Not ment to be there. Beacuase of there argueing its not normally something we get to see or witness, and not many people would want to show themselves argueing with eachother. There is a short shot of the map they are reading, we don't get a clue of where they are from this shot so that gives off a sence of isolation, in a dark forest not knowing where they are going.

I think if the directors incorporated street lamps along the road; only a few. It would make the scene a little brighter and easier to watch, and street lamps are often used in thrillers as they access dull light and look good for shadows. Over sholder shots are used quite a few times, this type of shot i always find intimidates the other character. Makeing the other seem bigger and more powerful.

The conventions i spot in this opening are, mystery, faulse starts, lights- car lights are the only form really, voyerism, water- only drinking water but its always used as something scary in thrillers, you expect punishment. Also there is one major convention, when the strange man comes to the window of the garage, beacuase the female character screams it makes the whole audience jump with intimidation.

All in all i think this opening scene is of a very high standard, incorporating many conventions and using them wisely and somewhat indiret like the water only being in a bottle. The sence of panic, isolation and rush brings together an amazing start to this film, the faulse starts mean faulse hope for the viewer, this attracts the audience as we can believe our own story lines. The intensity of the whole scene makes this very successful in the thriller genre.

'No country for old men' - scene analysis

This is a very tense scene felt by the characters and audience. It's very uncomfortable to watch with its uneasy atmosphere and strange situation.

The scene opens with a extreme wide shot of the location. A desolate, uncertain, empty and open place that combines fear with the unknown. It's situated in a desert like place, all you can see in the right side bottom corner of the shot is the small garage with one car, a few dead trees, and a sign that is gently making a screeching noise, with the word 'texaco' written on it. I think that they have put dead trees in the shot to symbolise the emptiness of the place, to scare people a little i guess. The colors are very neutral, nothing dramatic, very boring and bland. A little bit sepia toned. You can hear a engine in the background, maybe a plane, and then the squeaking sign. I think these are noises making it feel even emptier than it looks, its not alive.

The shot lasts for about 5 seconds and then switches to inside the garage, its going from a light open space to a dark, contained small inside. This is a real contrast in such a snappy shot. The first sound i hear is slow moving footprints. Creating a dramatic atmosphere in the small space. There is a man behind the desk, looking down. Behind him is a small window letting in light. Kind of an escape route. About the window are some parts for cars or something, that are in the shape of loops. Right near his head, this is done on purpose to make the character seem more vulnerable and unsafe. It symbolises being hung/hanging.

After three seconds the first piece of speech is said. Simple small talk, and no eye contact between the two characters. The sound of his voice almost fills the space with its depth and tone. Staying on one level, no emotion shown in his speech. The man behind the counters voice is a little more emotive and not as deep or fierce. They finally make eye contact after 18 seconds of speech. This is due to the fact of the conversation taking a turn and the customer almost takes charge of it, asking a question. It turns to a over the shoulder shot from the man behind the desk. The over the sholder shot from the character who seems to be the victim is used to make the bad guy seem bigger, more intimidating and to incinuate power across the scene.

You get an idea of the characters, the man behind the till wears light, sensible clothing. Typical of citizens around the area. The customer wears all black, and a leather jacket, supplying us with a 'bad boy' image of him. Light also gives us more information into the characters, it is used well but simply. When the second character enters the light seems to become darker, and the man behind the counter has a window behind him.. light is a way of showing the good guy i think. It represents who's the threat and who's the victim in the scene. I also notice that behind the shopkeeper, who i believe from the start is the obvious target/victim is a product containing a bright yellow smiley face. I think this is to contrast the issue of insecurity and almost mock the situation in hand. When its such a gripping scene the yellow smiley face is almost out of place and does attract the eye because of this.

Little sounds make the whole scene more uptight and filled with tension. The uncrumbleing of the wrapper is a key part for the dangerous stares and intensity. There is silence with the voices and a close up shot of the wrapper, this is a good effect as its the centre of attention meaning nothing exciting is really taking place i guess. Also the chewing the man in black makes, as though its intimidating the other charcacter.

All of this tells us who is what to be honest. Its very clear right from the start. The person who is working at this garage in the middle of nowhere already seems under threat just from the location. His lightness around his charcater portrays goodness, a victim in his own space. It indicates that for the rest of the film somethig unpleasent will happen to this vunerable character. The tension is strong through the whole scene, I love the way the director has done this with such small ingreidients and ideas.

Our final AS prelim task

This is our preliminary task. We wanted to incorporate alot of different camera angles into a short, simple scene. We named this 'Confused'. We used a person trying to open a computer screen in our college, viewing the reactions of other people in the room, then a dramatic increase in speed to outline the fact that the person couldnt open it. We made the dramtic impact but using shorter, snappier camera shots and the involvement of music in the scene. I think the impact of the whole scene mixes well with our contrast and variety of different shots.

We had a few problems during filming, mainly down to me. The fact we filmed two days in a row i didn't wear the necessary clothing on the second day meaning, we either had to start fresh with a new outfit or wait until the next allocated filming session with the correct clothing. We waited, therefore missed an hour of filming. Also I found being filmed rather amusing and wasn't enjoying the camera attention. I don't think i will be acting in our next film!

I really enjoyed the editing of our piece. Choosing the music and which shot to put where, i liked it being very organised and precise the the overlapping of the shots. I am very happy with the result and the way we worked as a team, even if tension occurred a few times down to the fact we were all quite dominant and wanted to take charge!

All in all, a really successful task! Had alot of fun and it was good to start getting to know how to use a camera, tripod and tracking dolly.

Representation- Play doe models

Representation- Why my model represents me.

I have made the hair colorful and wild beacuase i think i am quite a happy, confident and sometimes crazy character. I used pink as the main color as it is my favorite color, so it makes sense. I have curly hair but i wanted to have to curls on my model as i belive it shows a wild side to a person, big and full, the type of person i am. It also looks quite silly, i would say i'm like that in myself. The hair is probably the biggest part of my model and the piece of it that i done first. The black strands represent the ratio of saddness and anger to my happiness, which isnt much compared to the color. I have also dont the hair strands long beacause thats how i want my hair and thats a big part of me, the way I look. I have made the lips have pink lipstick on the face of my model, also eyebrows, this shows that i am a girly-girl and love make-up, i also care about my image. The face looks neat, which is me in a way, i am an organised charcater who doesnt like mess. The neatness and attention to detail on the face shows this. The heart in one eye socket, show that i am quite a open person and have alot of feeling and emotions, that i cannot hide when they are there. Also meaning that my family and friends are really important. Other things i love are included in my representation. The eyes are normally known as a 'window to your soul' i took this into account and this shows people looking into me, the type of person that i am, and that im not afraid to show it!
The other eye socket contains a music note, i cannot play an instrument but music is a huge part of my life, listening and singing. I love the way you can get lost in it hence why it is on one of the main parts of my face, one big part in my life. I have shoes attached to my model, high heels, beacause i love the way they add height and alot of confidence to a person once wearing them. Also it represents my love for fashion and the way people and myself look. The laptop is probably the silly part of my design, i spend alot of time communticating with family and friends on the internet and listening to music, i cannot imagine my life without a computer now, which is quite sad. I think this is quite a good representation of myself. I have highlighted key areas and intrests in my life and put them into my model. I think some of the parts are very obvious to what they mean and stand for, other parts require some thought and time to take in. I wanted to make some of the parts simple to read, beacuase in a way i am like this beacause of how open i am with people, but other places more reserved and quite, like how i can be and come across to stangers. I have attatched a paint brush to the top of the model, this is representing that i am a creative person and a lover of the arts, it is a big part of my life, hence why it's situated at the top. It is coming out of my head/brain to show that it in my thoughts alot as i am doing very creative subjects at A-level so i have to think about that alot.

Preliminary- So far

We started filming our preliminary task yesterday. After drafting camera shots, angles and position of the characters. I am confident everything is going to plan. We are making sure to film each shot more than once to account for any mistakes, camera shake or in our case laughing!! I'm sure it will look alot better once we have added sound and put everything together, I think the editing is what I'm looking forward to the most. I find working with my group quite easy and natural, we all get along well and if we keep this up our prelim is going to be successful.

Camera Angles

Panning Shot- The camera moves from side to side, normally used in vast spaces to get an idea of the actions and situations of the scene.  


Tracking shot- A shot that moves forwards and back to follow the characters actions and outline key elements and details in the scene.

Sideways Track Shot- Used to follow a character around a scene and moves left and right on the character.


Tilt Shot- This shot is most known for being used to influence the object of power within a character or the opposite, show vunerability and lack of power in another character. The more powerful the person the more the camera shot would be tilted up. The lesser the power of a character the more the camera would tilt downwards on them. 

Arc Shot- Works with dialogue heavy scenes in a shot-reverse-shot way which allows to show the reactions of the character as the conversation progresses.

Crane shot- The director follows the actions of the scene with a vertical movement of the camera.Zoom shot- Works on the same basis as a tracking shot.

The Gutarist- Magazine annalisis

After studying the magazine 'The Gutarist' I believe i have found out alot about the type of person who would read this magazine. My teacher set us a task to look into the type of life the target audience of our magazines would live. We looks at things like what they would eat for breakfast, whats types of sport they would play and even things like where they would want to be living.
I took a little while to go through the magazine and look at pictures, of people and objects, to see if i could find out a little more about the type of person.
There were alot of pictures of older men, not really many women, men with beards, wearing leather, looking very much into their music and instrument.
The type of person who would read this magazine would most probably eat a bacon roll for breakfast, i think this because they would be on the move alot, staying out late and its easy just to stop at a local cafe for an bacon roll in the morning, very English and very simple. You could say quite a manly breakfast to have.
I think my target markets transport would be something like a a big bike, a Chopper or Harley. Something along those lines, this is in keeping with their image of a 'rocker' or that sort of person. Wearing leather and have beards on their bike.
The place i think they would most like to live would be in a city because it would be close to music gigs and music shops, I think they would crave the hustle and bustle of the city life, maybe a terrace house on the outskirts of the city centre of a flat. Very near all the business that city life contains.
Their type of drink would defiantly be beer or ale, a real hearty English drink for the older man to enjoy in a typically English pub with typically English people. I visualise them spending afternoons standing at the bar socialising with people and drinking.
The type of music that they would listen to would be work of other guitarists and rock music. I can tell this by the image of the people in the magazine.
If they were a vegetable they would be a chili. This is because they would be a very loud, confident person, not afraid to stand out and be different, a little crazy and leads quite a daredevil, carefree life.
Sports, they wouldn't really involve there selves in, they'd much prefer being on there own playing a guitar or up the pub.

They would have tattoos and piercings, with beards and scruffy hair. Not to fussed about there appearance, they would wear tribute tee-shirts and ripped jeans. Leather coats would also be another frequent piece to wear. The magazine is aimed at people from the age of around 40-60ish. This is my opinion.