Research Task by Chris

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

 This film is about scientist Dr. Bruce Banner, played by Edward Norton, who transforms into a green-skinned giant after a gamma ray experiment gone wrong. At the same time, a soldier undergoes the same procedure, becoming an evil version of the hulk. 


The Incredible Hulk - Clip Opening Title

Camerawork

• Extreme close ups on science equipment and reactions to give the viewer an idea of what is happening but not why, which in turn builds suspense. It also reinforces the imminent danger surrounding the events in the opening. e.g. The ECU of the danger warning.
• Shallow depth of field on the scientist when we first see him. As he is only on screen for a couple of seconds, this has been used to immediately draw the viewer to him. The shortness of the shot also creates enigma in the mood as the viewer feels like they missed something after seeing the shot. Also adds a dream like effect to the opening as its constant throughout.
• POV shots half way through the sequence when the subject transforms. The POV shots help make the scene make more sense to the viewer as they are put into the key role of the opening. It also adds a slight sense of fear as they feel as if they are the cause of the current destruction.

Mise en Scene

• Lost of high-tech science equipment, making the viewer ask themselves what is about to happen to the subject. Adds a sense of mystery to the mood of the sequence.
• Lab coats worn by some of the other people there show the seriousness of the situation. This makes the viewer confused about the meaning to the experiment as there is little to use in order to figure it out.

Sound

• Dieject sound used alongside strong non-diejetic. Diejectic sound limited to roars and mechanical sounds. The roars shock the viewer and almost release the suspense that has built up beforehand.
• No dialogue is used throughout the whole opening, damaging the meaning for the scene for the viewer. It also makes the viewer think hard about the events as they have to try and work out for themselves what the dialogue would be.

Editing 

• Very high number of cuts with little time between them. This creates suspense and pace within the sequence
• A possible jump cut has been used during the destruction to throw the viewer and make them feel disoriented.  It also, in some ways, makes the sequence seem to last longer as it seems to the viewer that it repeats itself.

Face/Off (1997)

 Face/Off is a film where an undercover police officer goes under a pioneering medical technique to change his physical appearance. He takes the identity of a major criminal in order to infiltrate their organization. The main stars of this film are John Travolta and Nicholas Cage.

Camerawork

• Shallow depth of field at sniper rifle reveal with the assassin as the target. Draws viewer attention directly to him.
• Viewer put in the sniper's position by showing viewpoint down the scope. Adds restricted narration by only allowing the viewer to see down it. Its also a POV shot making the viewer closer to the situation. Slightly disorientates the viewer, but brings them closer to the action.

Mise en Scene

• Sniper rifle - Suggests danger, and makes the viewer curious about the target. We don't know if the assassin is good or not. Sense of enigma
• Location is childish and appears to be safe. The roundabout links back to realism due to it being something in most people's memories
• The assassin's drink, possibly a milkshake, gives a sense of a childish nature to him as we associate that type of cup and straw with childhood. It helps to confuse the mood as its almost like he isn't taking it seriously. It also makes it difficult to tell who we should be siding with in some ways.

Sound

• Contrapuntal Sound, confusing the viewer (Calm, triumphant music doesn't match the danger of the assassin)
•  Non-diejetic sound only up until gun shot. Breaks the calm/safe mood, throwing the viewer into a state of confusion. Gun shot signifies a complete change of mood in the scene.
• No dialogue during the sequence

Editing 

• Cross cutting throughout the build up for the gun firing. Builds up suspense up until the climax of the gun being fired.
• Multiple match on actions. (e.g Gun fire - Trigger being pulled and bullet leaving the gun, Police officer collapsing - Two different shots of the action have been linked together). This helps to create flow during the sequence and maintain continuity.

The Bourne Identity (TV 1988)

A man, Richard Chamberlain, is washed ashore, soon found by found by a french doctor who takes care of him. When he wakes, he cannot remember anything about who he is or how he got there. All he has is flashback memories of violence and a code of a Swiss bank on his thigh. His life soon becomes dangerous when he begins his search for his identity.

Camerawork

• The first shot of the opening is a long shot on a boat. This establishes a setting which is fairly common to the viewer, a boat, however the surrounding setting of a stormy sea is unusual. The combination of the usual with the unusual creates a sense of enigma to the mood.
• After the character is shot for the first time, the following shots are examples of restricted narration. The camera is dragged after the character as he attempts to escape the boat. The effect is then passed on to the viewer showing the severity of the situation and thus suggests meaning.

Mise en Scene

• Pathetic fallacy has been used alongside the storm in the opening. The storm sets shock into the meaning, causing the viewer to pay more attention and question what is going on.
• Due the nature of the weather, there is also very dark lighting present in the sequence. This makes is difficult for the viewer to fully identify the characters in the sequence. Creating enigma in the mood, also partially due to some events being difficult to fully understand.

Sound

• The music is very ominous and provides little meaning to the viewer. The only hint in  the music is the strong sounds of it, creating suspense to the viewer. It is parallel sound when compared to the action, causing it to enhance the vision the player gets from the opening.
• In the opening, there is only couple of lines of dialogue used, and even these are just groans mainly after the first character gets shot. This diejetic sound adds realism to the opening, as well as adding suspense to the mood.

Editing 

• In the opening, there is a rare example of discontinuity editing. The 180 degree rule has been broken during the shots as the victim crawls along the boat and the attacker comes out. During the shots between them, we see both characters almost face on meaning that it can't follow the rule. This mirrors the unsettling mood of the opening as well as fragmenting the meaning.
• At the point around where the victim falls in the water, there is a lot of quick cuts used. The keeps a fast pace to the sequence, making the thriller effect greater.

Blade Runner (1982)

 Blade Runner is a story following Rick Deckard, Harrison Ford, who is part of a team of Blade Runners. He is tasked to track down 4 replicants (genetically engineered organic robots)  who hijacked a space ship during its flight. The replicants have now returned to earth in order to find their maker.

Camerawork

• Close to the end of the opening, there is an extreme close-up of an eye with a reflection of the blazing world. This extreme close up usually distorts the viewer, but the effect of it has been reduced due to the reflection in the eye. This odd combination adds enigma due to it being hard to understand the meaning of it.
• The composition of the long shot has a very empty feel to it, due to there being no people present and the shot covering a very large area. This emptiness could suggest that the city is barren of life and completely industrialized. The viewer is then made to ask themselves why is it like this, giving no meaning at all to the opening.

Mise en Scene

• Opening the scene with lots of fire builds up pace. It also adds enigma, especially as there is a futuristic setting where the viewer will quickly feel lost.
• During the whole opening, there appears to be a red/orange hue to the shots as well as the fire which shows the same colour. The colour red is linked closely with danger meaning the pace is increased.

Sound

• Metallic, nondescript sound doesn't provide much information to the viewer so doesn't provide meaning. Its also eerie adding suspense and enigma to the opening
• Diejetic sound used consists of strong, common sounds. e.g. helicopter and thunder. This adds impact to the scene and shocks the viewer into paying attention. Also, as these strong sounds are common, there is an increased amount of realism to the scene making it fit traditional thriller more.

Editing 

• The opening of the film mainly features one long shot which is slowly getting closer into the city. However, there are a few points where it suddenly cuts away to another shot for a few seconds. e.g. to the eye. These quick cuts make the viewer feel even more unconformable then they already are due to the unfamiliar setting. These seem to hold little purpose, but the viewer is almost forced to remember them due to the mysterious nature they have.
• These random cuts are also an example of parallel cutting. Even though the viewer doesn't know what they mean, the use of parallel cutting has told them that there is a link between the two in some way. This gives greater meaning to the scene, whilst the viewer still has to think about how each one is relevant to each other.

The Transporter

The film transporter is about a man, Jason Statham, is tasked to deliver packages to various locations whenever he is told. Things go bad when he chooses to break the rules.

Camerawork

• Extreme Close Ups on his watch and parts of the car. These confuse the viewer, as well as add emphasis to the specified sections. A close up of his watch adds meaning as it suggests that he is under a time limit or is very specific with details.
• There are a lot of shots that have been created as if they are POV shots from a person, this has been done by shooting them at eye level. This creates a sense of realism for the viewer and pulls them more into the action.

Mise en Scene

• The featured character is wearing a tidy black suit. This suggest the seriousness of his situation and that he knows what he is doing. It could also suggest that he is used to the type of situation. Also, this is normal clothing for this type of person and matches with the other aspects of mise en scene. e.g. his watch and car. This also enhances the realism of the opening making the viewer feel closer to the action.
• One feature of the mise en scene is the low key lighting of the sequence. This resulting dark lighting effects the mood of the opening giving it the serious nature. It also suggests the character of the person we see, suggesting that he is not to be messed with and that he is in control.

Sound

• The high number of beats matches the high number of cuts found during the opening , but especially the car section. This high beat further increases the pacing of the opening. The drum beat also adds to this effect
• Whilst there is no dialogue present, the diejetic sound is very unique and stands by itself very well. Distinctive sounds such as the watch beeping and the keypad convey a lot of meaning to the audience due to them being so recognizable.

Editing 

• Very fast cutting during each of the individual actions, include minor ones such as closing a case, creating a very fast pace. It also seems to throw the viewer around a bit due to them having to keep remembering what they were just shown.
•  During the fast paced shots from inside the car there is various examples of continuity editing, mainly a large amount of match on actions. This help to maintain the flow of the sequence and helps the viewer to see and maintain all of the details that are given during the sequence.