analysing clip

Sound and Mise-en-scene

I will be analysing a clip from the movie The purge anarchy and will be evaluating the different sound effects and mise-en-scene. The Purge anarchy is a thriller film which is about a night where the government allows a 12 hour period in which murder is allowed without any punishments.

This clip is taken from the Purge anarchy, it shows good sound effects which express how the characters feel. First of all, the characters are shown hiding from the purgers who are searching from them. The dramatic sound during this scene builds up tension and also suspense between the audience as they know the characters are in danger. The sounds of gunshots show immense chaos and acts of danger. This also makes the audience concentrate on the scene to see what will happen next and the different things that are happening. The reason why this sound effect makes the scene more scary is because its low pitched, which usually in movies elevates to make the audience think something is going to happen. The fact that the tune gets higher pitched shows that something is about to appear or a dangerous act may occur which really grabs the audience's attention. After the characters have been shown as hidden the sound focuses on the character's breath which makes the audience focus on how the character feels, which in this case she is clearly shown as frightened and terrified for her life.

Mise-en-scene

The main light is a low key light, shown when the purgers are entering the room and the lamp is in front of the mirror where you can see them enter. The shadows created on their faces show that they are evil and also the masks mean that they don't want to reveal their identity. The fact that the room is dark signifies threat and danger, as it makes the characters look unsafe and the audience know that the atmosphere doesn't look safe.


In the scene after, you can clearly see the girl on the right is terrified to the point that she is crying and is covering her mouth so that she doesn't reveal her location to the purgers. The green light on their faces is the key light but has been put at an low angle. This shows that the two characters are innocent as it makes them look pure. The women on the right is shown as the stronger woman as she isn't crying however, her expressions show that she is worried as she is frowning, however her eyes look like she is focusing on a certain thing, which in this scene are the purgers. The low key lighting is causing a large dark background between the characters, which makes them stand out however, it also shows that they are hiding from dangerous situations.

The props being used in this scene mostly show danger as the purgers use guns which can bring harm to the two characters, as well as that the gas masks that they two men are wearing show that they are dangerous as the gas masks are dark and also partially for their protection even when it is not necessary. These props make the scene more intense because without the guns the victims wouldn't have to really hide from anything.


In conclusion, looking at this clip and analysing it by showing the mise-en-scene helped me understand what the different expressions, props and lighting signify within the characters and the movie in general.

history of thriller films

Introduction
Thriller is a genre that is still popular because the storyline of a thriller movie always tends to build up tension between the audience and also has a lot of suspense. Audiences usually get attracted to thriller movies as they are exciting and give the audience a high level of anticipation. Most thriller movies leave a strong impact for the audience to start imagining the end of the movie. This is what makes thriller more exciting because audiences are left at the edge of their seats with the anticipation to find out what the finale is.

Timeline of thriller films

The triumph of Sherlock Holmes is a 1930's thriller movie about a detective who tries to stop a criminal organisation from destroying and bringing harm to John Douglas who was the person to send them all to prison. Sherlock Holmes attempts to solve the murder and eventually prove the criminal organisation guilty. This movie would have been quite popular at the time as it is always a different story and always creates an atmosphere of tension between the characters and the audience.
Sherlock Holmes was pretty popular at the time and as time went on, more parts came out and it became a classic movie.

This image represents a thriller movie because it shows one of the characters holding up a gun to another guy, which shows that he is blackmailing him into saying or doing something, otherwise he may lose his life. This makes the audience think that he is a potential villain or killer which build up tension within the audience and they would feel scared for the character being threatened.

The amazing mr.x is a 1940's thriller film, about a woman who after two years of her husband's death, she feels that he is still present with her. Christine Faber experiences weird manifestations which makes her feels insecure and terrified, and wants to find out exactly what it is that is making her feel like that. Christine and mr.x decided to contact the spirit that they think is present around them. There are suspicions that christine's husband is still alive. A thriller film like this would be really popular in the 1940's because it's different and many people wanted an experience they would remember and enjoy.
This screenshot is from the scene where Christine and Mr.x are contacting the spirit and experience some strange behaviour. This shows that a well as experiencing some thriller, there is an element of horror in the movie, this would cause the audience to be paying attention to the movie because as well as the characters, the audience want to know who or what is bothering the characters. The audience would really be into the movie because there is an element of dramatic irony, as the audience knows something that the characters don't know yet. This causes a level of anxiousness because the audience wants the characters to find out and the fact the the audience is anticipated about what may happen.

Jack the ripper is a 1950's thriller film is about an investigation going on to prove that jack the ripper is an avenging doctor who is going around murdering people. The outcome of this film was a huge success as the box office made $1.1 million. The reason why audiences would have really enjoyed this movie would have been because because of the story line and the way the characters were portrayed. As well as that, the plot twist in the movie gave the audience an unexpected shock and a different perspective to things. As you can see in the screenshot it shows a character in a cape and hat, this seems to be Jack the ripper. Automatically, seeing jack the ripper like this would make him seem like the villain, as its very dark around him and he seems quite big and evil.

This film would have been a classic in the 1950's as it has an different perspective and the murder mysteries made the movie interesting to watch. As a whole finding out who the culprit was and leaving the audience shocked is what made the movie a hit. The way this thriller has been made as you can see in the screenshot had been made in a way to trick the audience into thinking that the main character was the culprit, by making the atmosphere different around him.

The 1960's Rosemary's baby is a thriller film based on a woman who moves into a new apartment with her husband, which apparently has some history about an old woman who went senile and disappeared. Rosemary meets a young woman who gives her a goodluck charm, which turns out to be something much more dangerous. The spiritual side got to rosemary and the former resident was accused of being a satanist. When rosemary is informed that she and her husband should have a child, she dreams about being raped by satan. The baby is then found to be the son of a satan and Rosemary does not believe it. This movie would be popular as it connects to spirits and the real world which makes the audience feel interested and also frightened at the same time. The story makes this movie a really good thriller as it has a really good mystery to it and finding out the story has an impact on the audience.



Death wish a 1970's film is about a guy paul whose wife had been killed by some thugs in his new apartment. As paul was seeking for revenge he kills people and feels emotional as he had never done anything like this before, however from his urge to get revenge he kills anyone doing anything bad. However after his gun being found, his innocent act of being wounded had ended as he was told to leave the country. his act of vigilantism still continued. This clip from the film shows two muggers trying to attack paul, but then paul being fully equipped, and ends up killing them both. This film was popular in the 1970's mainly because of the storyline of how paul is a saviour by killing dangerous people but being a killer himself is bad. There was actually a huge controversy about how criminals are being murdered but then the people that killed them aren't to good themselves. However, overall this movie was a success as the audience was attracted to the suspense and mystery of the film and storyline.

The 1980's film a view to kill is a classic james bond movie, where he is targeting Max Zorin, who is planning to destroy California's Silicon valley. This film would have been a really famous thriller film at the time because this is the seventh James Bond film and the last to star the famous actor Roger Moore. This meant there was a larger and more interested audience as they wanted to see this film classic and the storyline to this movie. This clip has been taken from the movie and the scene is where Zorin and Bond are fighting each other. The reason why this would be a great thriller scene would be because it would get the audience to the edge of their seats to find out who will live and who will die. The location of this movie also makes it more frightening for the audience as it's high up, and so whenever one of the characters is in danger or close to falling of the edge, the audience would feel very anxious. Being the 7th James Bond movie, this film would have been expected to be popular and to have a large fan base, that is also another reason as to why this thriller would have been popular at the time.

A 1990's film is Poison Ivy is a popular film of that time. This movie is about a teenage girl who makes friends with a girl named ivy who seems to be nice to her, however ivy has an interest in older men and takes advantage of sylvie's dad. The element of thriller in this movie is quite different as its about younger girls rather than older, which probably attracted teengaers also to watch the movie. The reason why this movie would have been quite popular at the time is because it would have been expected to be something not so dramatic, but the different things that happen in the movie makes the audience more anxious and interested as to what might happen.
In this screenshot is the character sylvie, the scene where ivy is at the balcony and sylvie was hallucinating and thinking it was her mother. later in this scene she pushes ivy off the balcony. Leading up to the dramatic ending, the tension builds up because sylvie slowly makes ivy step backwards into the balcony, which makes the audience think that someone might get hurt. This would make the audience feel excited because they know that the villain might die.

In conclusion, by summarising the history of thriller films, i can see that thriller movies have evolved well and that most thrillers have been successful and have worked well. From the 1930's-1990's i can see that thrillers have become more and more serious and also have gave a bigger impact on audiences, which is the reason why they got more popular.

research into the bbfc: miss miller

Introduction

The bbfc is the 'British board of film classification'. This is a board with experienced examiners who checks movies and classifies movies with a specific age rating so that the film is appropriate for certain audiences and does not harm mainly children with any scenes that may be too harsh for them. The bbfc respect the personal choice of the viewer if it's within the law. Sometimes the bbfc takes decisions for age ratings by discussing social attitudes and what they think suits the audience. The different age certificates are 12, 12a, U, 15, 18, PG.

Age certifications

 The U age certification means Universal.This means that films are appropriate for the age of 4 and over. The films that have been classified with this age certifications may have some emotional scenes but they are not very upsetting. The characters may face some dangerous situations but they are soon resolved which won't make the audience upset. This age certification does not contain very bad language and is only allowed very mild language such as 'damn'. Films with this age certification does not contain any sexual behaviour and only may have kissing or hugging.

The movie 'a bugs life' is rated an U rated movie. This movie is about a character called Flik, who is seen to be a character that ends up causing mistakes. Flik then gets told to leave, however whilst being on his journey he find some other bugs from a circus in town, who can help him defeat the grasshoppers.
This movie is rated a U classification as it is a children's Disney movie. One reason why is the movie is animated which could mean it doesn't have many graphic contents which could scare younger children. Also as this movie is a Disney movie, the audience that these films are aimed at are a younger audience which means that there wouldn't be any inappropriate scenes. There are no sexual references in the movie, which makes it suitable for younger audiences.


The PG age certification means 'parental guidance'. The reason why some movies may need parental guidance is because some scenes in the movie may not be suitable for a younger audience. Films with a PG age certification have been advised to the audience, not to be seen by children of the age of 8 years or older. Some scenes in a PG movie could cause harm to children, especially to those who are sensitive. PG certifications do not allow extreme violence and actions of violence would be very resistant. Sex references are not usually used in PG movies, unless it is un-detailed and not noticeable by the younger audience.

The movie 'inside out' is a PG rated movie, as it is a children's movie based on feelings of a 11 year old girl shown as characters. It has a very mild threat of causing any harm towards younger audiences as it does not contain anything violent. The characters are : sadness, fear, joy, disgust and anger. The characters are animated and do not show any violence, However , the character anger is shown to be quite aggressive at times, although it is violent, there may be a chance that the character can scare younger audiences. There is no bad language in the movie as it is not appropriate, it may contain language such as 'shut up', but nothing worse. This movie contains no sexual behaviour, but may have some kissing but it's not anything more.

The 12 and 12a age classified movies are not suitable for children aged under 12. The reason why is  because there may be inappropriate language and behaviour. The difference between a 12 and 12a is that, in a 12a classified movie, a child that is a under 12 can watch the movie, only in the circumstances that they are accompanied by an adult, as it may not be suitable for a younger child to watch alone. where as a 12, a child of the age of 12 and over can watch the movie alone. Some of the scenes in a 12 or 12a classified film may contain scenes which can harm the audience, an example of this could be rape, suicide or murder. This may impact young audiences as it can be quite unexpected. Strong and inappropriate language such as f*** may be used in the movie, however it will not contain language any stronger than that. Sexual behaviour can be briefly shown as long as it is not too inappropriate. Sexual jokes may be used, which might not be understood by younger audiences in a 12a classified movie.

An example of a 12a rated movie is The hunger games. The reason why the hunger games may have been given this classification is because the movie does not contain sexual scenes and has some violence however, parts of the violence may be  strong for younger audiences which is why it was given a 12a, as it may require parental supervision. Also, the movie doesn't really have strong verbal language, which may be the reason why it wasn't given a 15. Violence in this movie isn't mild and can be harmful, however it is discrete and not too graphic for younger audiences to watch.

A 12 classified movie is Batman (1989). Batman as the first movie to be given a 12 age rating. The reason why it was given a 12 was because at that time it may have been more violent to be a PG, as well as that sexual scenes may be involved which can be inappropriate for ages under 12. The joker play a character that is homicidal and plays a role as being a criminal, which means the film may not be good for younger audiences.





The 15 age certification means strictly nobody under the age of 15 is allowed to buy or rent a movie  with this age classification. This category contains strong use of violence which cannot be viewed by the younger audience as it may be harmful since it can be unexpected and too strong for children. It also contains strong use of swearing such as f*** or c***. Sexual activity is allowed in an 15 classified movie but the scenes are not too relieving, however the scenes may be carried on for a period of time. Drug intake is viewed in 15 movies, which means that it is not suitable to be viewed
by children as it may be misleading and unsafe.

An example of a 15 rated movie is couples retreat. The reason why this movie would be rated a 15 is because it contains a lot of sexual scenes and also the characters drink. The movie would be inappropriate for younger audiences as sexual contents are shown, which may disturb them. The movie doesn't contain much violence throughout but there may be a few mild scenes, even though the violence is mild, sexual contents in the movie have to be for audiences over 15.

The 18 age certification is very strictly to be viewed by audiences of 18 and over since the contents in a 18 movie contain extreme violence and sexual scenes. Violence can be very extreme and can include, a lot of blood and the strongest gore is prohibited in this age certification which makes it extremely unsuitable for an under 18 to watch it, as it may be harmful and disturbing towards younger audiences. Adults of 18 and over may get offended by some of the contents in the movie, however audience may have expected scenes to be offensive at this age certification.
An example of a movie which represents this category is Jackass the movie, the reason why is because of the dangerous and unrepeatable, and can cause serious injuries if attempted to. The movie Jackass is aimed at adult audiences as it contains sex and violence to represent the life of adults. This may be unsuitable for audiences younger than 18 as its has very strong scenes, which may harm the viewers and make them feel uncomfortable.

In conclusion, i can understand why the bbfc has given age certifications to what movies depending on how strong of the violence, language and sex is and if it may be harmful to younger children. I also understand what the different bbfc age ratings are and what the differences are between them.