Red Lights (2012) — Art of the Title - Timeline

Red Lights (2012) — Art of the Title (Click on ME to view introduction at Art of the Title)

'Red Lights' title - 9 Frames. Courtesy of Art of the Title.

Now, I have drawn up a timeline on graph paper showing the times of introduction of specific creditable people, i.e. the cast. My apologies for the quality as I do not own a scanner so had to take a picture instead. 

0:02 – Cillia Murphy – 0:06

0:06 – Sigourney Weaver – 0:10

0:11 – Robert de Niro – 0:15

0:16 – “A Rodrigo Cortes Film” – 0:20

0:21 – Red Lights Title – 0:25

0:26 – Cast (T6 – T11) – 0:48

0:48 – Casting – 0:53

0:54 – Sound Design – 0:58

0:58 – Production Designer – 1:01

1:02 – Editor – 1:06

1:08 - Music – 1:11

1:12 – Director of Photography – 1:16

1:17 – Executive Producers – 1:31

1:34 – Produced By – 1:38

1:39 – Written By – 1:42

Music stops at 1:46

The colours used throughout the introduction are conventional of the Thriller genre, using the very vivid contrast of the red on black and white film (only during title at 21 seconds.) The score behind the opening is very heavy and loud, with the whole intro being philharmonic. The intro featured a lot cross cuts with images and film, alike what can be seen in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' . Overall, it is very traditional and conforms to thriller conventions.

Donnie Darko - Section 3 G321

Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is a drama sci-fi thriller that was released on the 25^th of October 2002 in the United Kingdom. The director and writer of the movie is Richard Kelly, a 38-year-old born in Virginia, United States. Produced by Pandora Cinema and the budget was around $4,500,000, the filming on set just in California in locations such as Santa Clarita and Loyola High School, shot between the dates of 24 July 2000 - 30 August 2000, totalling a short 28 days to film the 1 hour 53 minutes long movie. The box-office returns by the 3^rd of October 2004 were $727,883 (USA). It won 11 awards including Cinénygma’s Audience Award in 2002.

The target audience for the movie was clearly from the ages of 16-24 year olds and furthermore marketed at those interested in sci-fi, however I do not believe that it was all that effective as it was misleading to it’s correct target audience as it was pushed more as a teen ‘slasher’ rather than this cult sci-fi movie. Donnie Darko also suffered from a bad intake and opening week because not only did it coincided with Halloween in 2001 but also because of how close it was to the 9/11 attacks, they even in production had to remove the ‘Arabic’ font they were using as it appeared on the DVD.

A quote taken from ‘bobs the moo’ on IMDb as a user review:

“In the small American of Middlesex lives Donnie, a disturbed teenager, in psychoanalysis and on a programme of medication. One night a large figure in a rabbit suit (Frank) appears to Donnie and takes him out of his home in order to tell him that in just over 28 days the world will come to an end. While out Donnie house is struck by an aeroplane engine that crushes his room and would have surely killed him. Donnie follows Frank's instruction as they grow increasingly violent as he tries to prevent the world ending and turn time back.

I, like many others, came to this on the back of rave reviews but I knew that this film is a CULT movie. That means that not everyone will get it or enjoy it. I fell within the first category but not within the second. The plot is a strange mix of high school movie cliché and a weird hallucination (?) that is Donnie's world. The two sit well together and both work separately. The high school stuff finds Donnie in a boat many of us have been in – that of a teenager disaffected and misunderstood by everything around him. On top of this alienation Donnie must cope with the darker world of Frank – a darkness that is brought out really well and is genuinely creepy.

This side of the story is the difficult bit. There are big question marks that surround what is actually going on with Frank and, even after the film has finished it remains unclear and you'll be left wondering `what the heck was that?' However it is a fantastic ride and you'll be totally sucked into the world of Donnie. It's not a classic film because of this – too dark for many and maybe too frustrating in it's ambiguous nature for others, but it is one hell of a movie that'll amuse, chill and entertain long after you finish it.

The direction is faultless. Shadowy stairwells cast beautiful shadows and blue skies and picket fences give way to dark visions and destruction. The use of music is also good – 80's soundtracks may not be a fresh idea but here it is used sparingly and to great effect. Some is over familiar but in fairness most is well known but gains value from how it is used with the action onscreen.

Gyllenhaal is a great lead and brings an immense depth to the film, his laid back approach mixed with the dark haunted looks he can draw upon add to the feelings of both menace and reality. The rest of the cast are all great and throw up a few faces I wasn't expecting – including Mary McDonnell, Swayze, Barrymore and Noah Wyle from ER. These aren't distracting and don't take away or add to the film's value simply by their star power.

Overall this is well worth a watch. You won't get it first time but you'll have fun thinking about it and running over the meaning in your mind. I'm coming to grips with the whole time travel thing but am still questioning my own answers. Please remember than this is a cult movie that is wearing a multiplex outfit (just like Frank). Many will find it confusing, challenging and just too plain weird but most will enjoy it even if the meaning is confused and difficult.”

How does the location and use of light and dark depict the emotional landscape of a character?

The scene begins with a tilting on a axis showing the name of the cinema and what exactly they are going to see this gives a look into what they are intending to watch and why exactly. Well, as it says on the border “Halloween firghtmare double feature” this tells the audience that since the previous scene there has been a time lapse however they are using a very effective technique to show the audience that the change has occurred and although it is subtlety added, it would be hard for the audience to miss because of the close up camera angle.

As it tilts down we see Donnie (protagonist) and Gretchen (female lead) walking toward the booth to purchase their tickets. In terms of lighting the scene is effectively distributing the light to match what they want the audience to turn their focus to, in this case although the audience can still see part of the street, it is poorly lit and therefore the attention of the viewer is turned toward the entrance of the cinema and Donnie purchasing the tickets to “evil dead” film, nothing so far in terms of lighting has really depicted the characters emotions.

Once in the cinema, the audience can see the isolation and loneliness immediately, this is intensified by the lack of light; it is only the protagonist and the female lead in the theatre. The lighting is great to reflect Donnie’s emotions, they too are dark and deep, and he is almost in this sense attempting to hide himself and his emotions within the darkness. As the camera moves toward Donnie, the audience then is able to see Donnie’s expressionless face whilst watching this horror movie, this could be inferred that he is not scared and as the camera turns to face Donnie from side on, the audience can see Donnie has no reaction to the sound effects being played in the theatre of very intense drum beating, that is used as a thriller technique to bring the audience with the high tempo of the movie, building suspense.

As the camera moves back toward Donnie’s profile view we see that there is something disturbing him (effective use of close up) and the audience begins to suspect someone else’s presence. As Donnie turns to look, he begins smiling; an acapella/orchestral sound begins to introduce into the scene. This could mean that the person that is about to be introduced to the audience is of a high power and almost ‘god-like’. In terms of Frank, he holds the power of knowing when the world is going to end, therefore he has a lot of power and the choir music is aimed at him. The music is also chilling and often used in Thriller (Conforms to traditions.)

As Frank (big bunny) is introduced, they have effectively used a close up to show intimacy between the characters and also a terror tactic for the audience. As Frank pivots his head around to Donnie, he says in a quiet (almost whisper) voice: “Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?” to the audience this really enforces the view upon his irregularity as a being. Between the little conversations shared at this point they have used a shot-reverse-shot, maintaining the good angle of eye contact.

As Frank takes off his bunny head from the suit, the audience gets a glimpse at him before the camera reverses back to Donnie, once again, allowing the audience to first establish his emotions before viewing the potentially disturbing character. Donnie says “what happened to your eye?” as this is said, the audience is able to see Frank and his bleeding eye, this sort of make up is often very subtle and little such as with Franks eye in this scene, setting Thriller apart from it’s close relative genre: Horror.

Frank in his ‘bunny suit’ is a typical character often expressed in films that fall within the genre ‘psychological’ movie. However they don’t always have to be a character, they can also an object.

“I want you to watch the movie screen, there’s something I want to show you” thereby Frank is leading Donnie to do as he insists and therefore the camera too switches you to a view from the seats looking up at the cinema screen, this puts the audience in Donnie position and allows them to feel how he does, connecting the audience effectively with the character.

As the camera switches back to Donnie, we see he begins to raise his head in interest and astonishment, at which point the camera switches to Frank to hear him say “have you ever seen a portal?” the audience then can see the cinema display being distorted at the centre and begin growing. 

Disconnect - Section 3 G321

Disconnect

Disconnect is a Drama Thriller movie that was released on the 3^rd of May 2013 in the United States. The director of the movie is Henry Alex Rubin, also known for Murderball released in 2005. The budget for this movie was around $8 million and the gross return was $1,435,950 in the US by the 17^th of May 2013.  It was filmed mostly around New York and so far as it has been released this year it has no nominations or wins in terms of awards yet.

The target audience for Disconnect was 16-26 year olds, despite the 18 rating. I believe this was the case because of what it contains and the context behind the movie: Social Media, which is most popular within younger generations than it is older. It’s use of cast is also generally a younger age therefore appealing to a younger audience as they can relate further to them, for example Jonah Bobo (known for Zathura and Crazy, Stupid, Love.) played Ben Boyd in this movie.

A quote taken from ‘larry-411’ on IMDb as a user review:

“The Internet has dramatically changed the world. That much we know. Our lives are better for it, on balance. But it's the other side of that scale, the harm caused by our web-connected lives, that is the weighty focus of "Disconnect." The damage that can be done, intentionally or not, has been well-documented. Writer Andrew Stern and director Henry Alex Rubin have selected several examples of the Internet age's unfortunate downside and crafted three compelling story lines, all based on actual cases. This common narrative structure will inevitably be called "Crash-like," but whether or not the stories connect isn't really the point of "Disconnect." The movie raises a danger sign that, if gone unheeded, will only result in more senseless tragedies -- countless lives ruined, innocent children lost -- and putting the spotlight on several unsuspecting victims of our Internet society makes for a powerful experience that packs an emotional wallop from opening credits to finale.

This is one of those films for which, as a non-spoiler reviewer, it's best for me to avoid the specifics of the script and who does what here. You'll have to discover that for yourself. But, needless to say, Disconnect is not the feel-good movie of the year. It's often sad and scary, dark and depressing at times, and knowing it's based on true stories makes it all the more devastating when we witness the consequences of our seemingly-innocuous actions when entering a chat room, looking for virtual companionship, playing a childish practical joke, or putting our personal information online.

Every actor in the huge ensemble cast, from adults to teens, is superb. Without giving away their exact roles, Jason Bateman does a dramatic star turn here as a caring father in an unfathomable situation. One of our most prolific and underrated actors, Bateman has appeared in 22 features since I began attending the Toronto Film Festival six years ago, including my fest faves "Juno" (Toronto 2007), "Up in the Air" (Toronto 2009), and "Paul" (SXSW 2011). As the commanding lead in one of Disconnect's three story lines, charismatic 23-year-old Max Thieriot dominates the screen in every scene he's in. Colin Ford (15 at the time) turns in one of the most heartwrenching youth performances I've seen in years as a typical mischievous youngster with a penchant for playing pranks. Other standouts include Paula Patton, Frank Grillo, Alexander Skarsgård, Jonah Bobo, Aviad Bernstein, Andrea Riseborough, and Hope Davis. All demonstrate a clear passion for the material and belief in Henry Alex Rubin's lofty vision. Your pulse should be checked if you don't shed a tear (or two, or more) during the viewing of this movie.

Production values are quite high for an independent film. Lighting subtly matches the tonal changes of each storyline. A warm color palette provides a soft amber glow around characters driven by affection. A family whose life is orderly and organized is bathed in white, with bright primary colors on flat surfaces with square geometric shapes and sharp angles. The milieu turns dark and shadowy as innocence turns to evil. Max Richter's haunting score similarly complements each disparate narrative as their respective characters are drawn deeper into the dilemmas they've created.

The cinematography is a character unto itself. Ken Seng's adept camera-work is consistently magnificent in its use of techniques like frame-within-a-frame, with shots peering through windows and doors as though we're voyeurs, faces often half obscured by laptops. Objects move in and out of frame, partially blocking our view, as though we're spying on the subjects. Point of view shots of computer and phone screens occupy much of the frame in many crucial scenes. The film is filled with such bold choices. All serve to enhance and echo the themes laid out by the broad premise of unintentional connections caused by the disconnect between our fingers on the keyboard and the humans at the other end.

Editor Lee Percy had the challenging task of making it all coherent. Knowing where and when to cut, whether or not to weave the stories together or keep them parallel, when to converge and diverge -- these are all crucial decisions that are key to the success of the project.

"Disconnect" sits near the top of all the pictures I've seen this year and is one of the few which prompted me to utter the word "masterpiece" quietly as the credits rolled. As one tends to have intense feelings about a film in its immediate afterglow, I often wait for the emotional excitement to die down before writing my review and assessing its impact. "Disconnect" haunted me throughout the rest of the festival and has continued to do so. Will a movie like this alter the way we interact with technology? Probably not. But one less life shattered will make it worth it.”

How is editing used to drive the narrative in the scene?

The scene begins with the protagonist knocking at the door of another character. As the protagonist searches around the building, it allows the audience to view the poorly lit conditions around him. The door opens to the other character and they exchange conversation, allowing the audience to view it from a shot-reverse-shot viewpoint, maintaining good eye contact viewpoint from over the shoulder shots. In terms of editing, right now there is nothing in particular that stand out, possibly some light enhancements however nothing the audience would be able to notice.

As the protagonist attempts to enter the house by force, the door mesh is beaten through; knocking the other character lower and so therefore they have used an effective Point of View angle (did not last long on screen). As the camera moves to a long shot from a viewpoint from outside the house, we see the action from a clear angle. This soon changes to mid shot of the action, showing the intensity of the fight.

The scene moves toward the separate story now, there is an extreme close up of the end of a gun, the conversation they then have is once again used in a shot-reverse-shot manor from an over the shoulder perspective. The two different levels on which the camera is on and they film represent that the protagonist in the car does not have the power that the other character does due to the other character having the shotgun.

The music played in the background of the various stories is very slow tempo and subtle too, it fits well into the scenes and intertwines, the organ like sounding instrument fits in well providing the bass tones, and the low volume does not disguise or distract you away from the narrative. This is good editing in terms of the incorporation at specific moments for the tones to fit the levels of conversation.

The very effective editing is incorporated around 2 minutes 30 seconds where we see the slow motion effect being used. As the protagonist begins to take swing at the younger boy the slow motion effect is used to show the little action that his father in the dark corner can do, also showing the anger and emotion in the protagonists face whilst he takes swing at the boy, the audience is clear and able to see the course which the hockey stick is going to take and this intensifies the moment and the audience can feel nothing but sympathy for the boy.  The camera switches over to the father of the kid and we this works well because we see his helplessness toward his own son and this is upsetting to most.

The grabbing of the gun is effective because the audience can see the protagonist taking control and the water that splashes off from the barrel depicts the movement and possession changing despite it being such a minute action.

The following scene shows the three characters mid-air with the female protagonist being hit to the ground by another character and once again this shows not only her course of route and how potentially dangerous it could be but also the defending of her by the protagonist in this story.

As the story again switches, we see the final moments of the boy being struck by the hockey stick, the man who had previously had the gun to hand now being hit down by it and also the woman finally hitting the hard ground.

The sound behind the whole slow motion scenes was very dramatic and was raised in volume due to the lack of speech and other sound so therefore without any other sound to disguise over it, it worked well to make the scenes more tense and dramatic. The violins and strings were extremely well used in this scene to almost show a holy nature.

Drive - Section 3 G321

Drive

Drive is a crime thriller released on the 16^th of October 2011 in the US. The director of the movie is Nicolas Winding Refn, 43 year-old born in Copenhagen, known for ‘Bronson’ and ‘Only god forgives’. The budget for Drive was estimated around $15,000,000, filmed around California. The 100 minute long movie gained a gross return of $35,054,909 by the 3^rd of February 2012 and it managed to be nominated for an Oscar (For sound editing) and it won Best Director at Cannes Film Festival in 2011.

I believe that the target audience for Drive was mainly aimed at those who enjoy action movies, and also those who are aged at over the age of 18 due to the certificate on the movie being that age. Therefore I would confidently say that the target audience for this movie is from 18-25. Also due to containing gory scenes, which are often more, appealing to younger ages. Also on the DVD case they have advertised that it won best director at the well-known Cannes Film Festival therefore they feel that they will be successful in targeting film lovers and critics.

A quote taken from ‘CrispyCrunchy’ on IMDb as a user review:

“A truly beautiful and hypnotic film.

I've seen the last few Nicholas Winding Refn films, and while I liked both Bronson and Valhalla Rising a lot, they were both "difficult" films, in that both structure, pacing and tone were bound to alienate some people, and of course they were both marketed as somewhat mainstream films while being anything but.

Part of the irony of Refn's situation is that he makes films about "Primal" man- and these protagonists invariably commit acts of great violence on those around them. This violence puts his films into the genre categories that Hollywood recognises and promotes to the public, resulting in trailers for Refn movies that grossly misrepresent the sophistication of the actual film. In that way, Valhalla's intense, slow-burning and almost dialogue-free mythic exploration of our savage past can be repackaged as a "Vlad the Viking goes to the New World" action movie.

Yet both Valhalla and Bronson were highly "directed" films, revealing a very strong hand in control of the material. And so, I was extremely curious to see what Refn would do with the material, and whether he would be able to rein in his sometimes obtrusive style in order to allow the story more room to breathe... I shouldn't have worried. I think the director has managed to balance a genuine artistry with the demands of the genre in a way that is rarely, if ever, achieved. I absolutely loved it. Just stay the hell away from the trailer, as it reveals far too much, and again, misrepresents the film's true "feel".

Driver has a tone of wry amusement at everything around it, much like Gosling's half-smirk, pivoted on the toothpick perpetually in the corner of his mouth. Schmucky gangsters and mob clichés provide some laughs, but the heart of the film is Gosling's portrayal of the unnamed? main character and his sweet, underplayed romance with Mulligan and her young son.

While an ethereal synthesizer-pop soundtrack provides an at-times tender,at-times mythic undercurrent, the car chases and action scenes, when they come, are tense, brutal and brief- far more Eastern Promises than The Transporter. Mulligan plays her character all trembly, wet-eyed, sweet and innocent and is swept away by Gosling's quiet strength and self-assured charm, while Gosling speaks little and remains a mystery to the end, though we never doubt his fundamentally good nature.

The seasoned supporting cast are all very fun, except maybe for Kendricks who is relegated to a fairly irrelevant part. Of course, this is really Gosling's film, and he inhabits the character completely, turning what could be a straightforward Hollyood tough-guy role into a complex and contradictory character, self-confident and physical, yet clearly lonely and possessed with a certain peculiarity and stillness, almost reminiscent of De Niro's Travis Bickle.

Visually the film is lush and gorgeous. Like Michael Mann, Refn and his cinematographer are able to instill LA with a sense of life and character that most directors just fail to do. Unlike Mann however, Refn opts for warm orange tones over Mann's hard blues, and in one particularly beautiful sequence the familiar LA cliché of driving down the dry LA river is taken to an unexpectedly joyful conclusion.

Despite its absolute craftsmanship, Driver is probably not for everybody, which makes me sad. People who prefer bald-headed muscle men slugging and wise-cracking their way into their wallets should of course stay away, as this bears very little resemblance to the standard Hollywood fare associated with the genre, and they might well be disappointed.

But for me, Driver was sweet, surreal, mythic, tense, fun, hilarious, revolting, and surprising. See it because it will make you a better person.

And so, 10 out of 10, because it deserves it.” 

“How is sound used to create suspense and other effects in this scene?”

The scene opens with three characters in a closing elevator. The camera angle used depicts the claustrophobic space where it is filmed and highlights this. The first sound the audience hears is the closing of the elevator doors, and then there is a moment of silence. The silence is an often-used thriller technique within sound editing, as is creates suspense well and the audience doesn’t know what to expect therefore.

The silence remains, except for a deep bass tremor that can be heard whilst in elevators. The camera moves to a shot-reverse-shot to show both the protagonist and other character assessing one another. This begins to create tension effectively with the bleak sound of the elevator. As the camera moves to the other character, the camera pivots on it’s axis on a close up, moving downwards from a close up of his portrait moving downward to then reveal a gun concealed within his blazer pocket. This camera angle is used because it is a point of view shot, showing you objects of importance and putting you in the characters view point and position.

The effective use of dim lighting, slow motion and silence works very well as Gosling (protagonist) protects the female lead behind him. The light moves away from either characters and moves only onto the woman, that can be inferred that she is the only innocent one (using semiotics) in the elevator. The silence is then cut by a fade in of slow paced orchestral music, this gives a soft touch to the moment and the slow motion is a response to the slow tempo music, enjoying every millisecond of this innocence.

As he moves in to kiss her, the music is at it’s peak volume and the music makes the scene very sweet and innocent, making it to the audience feel in the characters boots, making that moment precious and special. The music also has connotations of choir singing and religious scenes therefore this could mean that the kiss they just went through was holy. Alike a kiss you would have on a wedding day in a church or holy place.

As soon as they both leave the kiss the light is above their head, this could be inferring again the innocence and possibly more religious semiotics with a halo above their heads, shining the light down on them, making them angles.

The music fades out very sharply and fast, leading to a split second of silence. In this moment we see gosling turn toward the other character in anticipation of events to come. The sound is very intensified in these scenes and this works well at involving the audience into the scene, building the suspense through the deep bass levels.

Whilst fighting and scuffling between the two characters there is little else going on, the camera is merely a mid shot, therefore in this scene they are attempting to compensate for the lack of space and use it to their advantage with very intense levels of sound effects, creating a feeling of claustrophobia which is an effective suspense technique. As Gosling is beating the character to death the character turns to a close up of the woman's portrait, revealing her expressionless reaction.

In the final moments of this scene Gosling is seen from a low angle shot, giving him power and strength as he is kicking the characters head in. The sound of Goslings’ heavy panting to extremely intensified too to create effect and used in intimidation. As the characters body is being beaten we, the audience, can hear the cringe like sound of bones crunching and grinding. 

The silence at the end is very powerful in that they both come to terms with who he is and the silence “says more than words can” (in a very soppy way.)

FED - WARS 180 degree rule video

We shot this video and edited it ourselves, this was the first time when we got hands on with Final Cut Express (see screenshot.)

The aim of this video was to create and use effectively the 180 degree rule (also known as 'Line of Action', this is demonstrated simply below in the diagram:

This is a rule that states that the camera must not step outside of the inner semi circle (180 degrees) on a specific side of the 'Line' (see line in diagram.) If the line does cross however it begins to create confusion to the viewers as it looks like the people are switching places as we as an audience watch. 

Chatroom - Opening Sequence - G321 Section 2

G321 Chatroom Opening Sequence

Chatroom opens with a high-pitched sound; to most it would be likened to a technological sound when something is malfunctioning, sound similar to the sound effects used in movies such The Matrix and so therefore would trigger the audience to think about the Internet and technology.

As the non-diegetic sound continues through the opening credits, the film then begins to show the opening titles and through this they are using what appears to be the history from an online chat room. The colours are very visually contrasting and work effectively at grabbing the audience attention, as it is bold. Again the semiotics of red is that it connotes feelings of anger and also represents blood.

In the background, there is non-diegetic sound that can be heard of numerous people whispering and it works effectively as it is almost like the online chat room. The whispering works effectively because it is numerous characters whispering and so none can be made out what is being said. It can make the audience feel sub-conscious almost as if you are the subject of the whispers’ conversation and ‘gossiping’.

The scene then fades to black to reveal the protagonist playing with some sort of red play-do. The figure is being shaped into a human being and the camera turns to a mid shot of the protagonist, the audience is then revealed his facial appearance, then can they tell he is of a younger generation. The use of lighting in this scene, only makes his eyes visible, still shadowing the rest of his facial features; this gives hints to his personality and being closed up.

The camera angle then switches to further away displaying his dimly lit room (typical of a teenagers room) and shows little about him still due to the use of light.  However his computer is now illuminating up his face, the audience then can see his full facial features but not from close up. Camera moves to an over the shoulder shot of his computer screen and facially he looks puzzled.

The protagonist is then being seen walking through a corridor, the camera then moves upwards to show the extent of the lengthy corridor. As the protagonist passes by numerous doors, one especially named ‘twitter chitter’, at this point the audience will possibly begin to get that these are chat rooms online that he can enter. The soundtrack is very odd, I cannot really describe to why they have used it however it has a very good beat to it therefore it works well in keeping the audience with the movement in the scene.

Once the character reaches an empty door, he then proceeds to pull out a spray can and stencil saying ‘ Chelsea Teens’. It is clear to most in the audience by now that he has just created his own online chat group for “Chelsea Teens”. The glass then proceeds to mimic the introduction with the red group chat. Then the title ‘CHATROOM’ follows.