Before we started production and incorporating shots and Micro-elements, I decided to take the group off the actual film, and positions themselves away from all the springing and blossoming ideas. Once we were out of the picture, we started to think broadly of the plot of the film. I deiced to focus on a plot so that we won't go off track the story, but it also does not limit us to any interpretation of the micro-elements to create our desired meaning. We also did some story boarding to create visual aids that will help us understand and remind us while on set.
In the trailer of The Silence of the Lambs, how do the Micro-elements combine to create meaning and build tension?
In the clip of "The Silence of the Lambs", the trailer effectively builds intensity due to the recurring use of quick changes of close-up shots, with some scary or uncomfortable sounds to accompany it. Take for example the opening seconds with the ORION logo where Lecter's big close-up shot suddenly appears and vanishes shortly. The scary stare he gives towards the camera directly may intimidate the audience and make them feel uncomfortable. Also, the shot appears very quickly with a sharp "stick hitting a metal" sound effect that scares and gets the audiences' attention. This may implant the picture of Lecter into their minds within 2 seconds into the trailer without any information whatsoever.
Once again, the big-close up of the Detective and Barny the prison manager makes the experience more personal. After the shock the audience received in the opening seconds, the use of the close-ups and speaking directly to the camera would make the dialogue more important and believable, this would achieve the audiences to be in the position of the victim without knowing what will happen beforehand. This builds anticipation and curiosity that eventually shapes into tension, with the non-diegetic sound of the cello playing a sustained and unchanging note since the start, this accentuates the idea of nothing changing but the sense of something coming.
The contrast shown when agent Clarice Starling speaks back to the detective to how she is "not yet" spooked out by Lecter, is overflown into a following shot with a quick cut of Barny closing a metal bar gate, locking Starling into the long corridor where Lecter awaits her. The diegetic sound of the door once again creates that similar to the ones in the opening close-up shots of Hannibal. This reminds the audience of Lecter, and they may recall his spooky and haunting look that is implanted in their minds by the Micro-elements of sudden shot change and unusual sounds. Having Starling now behind bars and only a few feet away from Lecter provides the tension and startles the audience even more. Cleverly, the jail bars cover Starling's body and the camera positions her to the left- almost out of the frame. This may hint the meaning of her sense of being trapped and how the audience can't save her. The somewhat awkward positioning may also symbolize how she does not have stability and control in this situation. Upon this factor, the intensity would be doubled by the fear and worry of what's to come.
When Barny advises Starling as she gets ready to confront Lecter, he tells her to "not worry" and that he'll "be watching". Ironically, the audience is conventionally supposed to be in Barny's role to watch what will happen to Clarice and to ultimately feel somewhat secure. The irony thickens and intensity doubles as the shot changes to Starling's point of view angle, with Barny, once again, talking directly to the (camera) audience behind metal bars in center position and brighter lighting to symbolize higher security and stability; of which Starling does not yet have.
Once the gate doors open, the non-diegetic sound effect of a chime plays with the gate's movement. This leaves Starling exposed to the danger. Questionably, the sound of the chimes are somewhat ambitious, so it may paint further suspicion and insecurity that the audiences are trying to reach. The voice-over of a narrator with a low and serious timbre grows the mood of uncertainty even more, added with the short sentence of "A killer is on the loose".
The following sequence of when the detective describes the killer of how "he shoots them, skins them, and dumps them" is accompanied by quick shots of a man doing what a woman would do at a dressing table. The rule of three is effectively used here, as each time the detective says what he did, it is interrupted by a quick extreme close-up shot with eerie and sudden noises similar to that of Lecter's in the opening.
Upon Lecter's first full-body appearance in his glass cell, the Mise-En scene of a dead-looking blue suit and a brick wall creates the composition that contrasts to what is conventionally perceived to be a messy, bloody and dirty serial killer. The calm and focused stare he gives at the camera with his lack of colour may hint meaning of a cold and calculating psychopath. The wrong misconception of what Lecter would have looked like may have proven audiences wrong to the control they think they have- Hannibal Lecter is not predictable. This increases the insecurity and may make audiences feel uncomfortable. Another quick shot is used in a "call-response" manner as Lecter takes a first look at agent Starling arriving, that suddenly cuts to an edited shot of Hannibal's ghastly stare with red moving lines and painful noises, before even speaking a word. The detective's late words in a mid-close up shot of "Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter in your head", after the red shot that symbolizes Hannibal "getting into the audiences' heads" just by staring may provoke the tension further. This may also hint and prove to how Hannibal is calculative, as he is a step ahead of the police- to get into a person's mind even before the detective warns the audiences, in vain. This may also create the meaning to associate Hannibal with the devil, as the devil is assumed to be calm, cold and calculating, just like Hannibal. The excessive use of the colour red in the "getting into the head" shot may also conotate not only blood, but demons.
In addition, the shots to where Lecter is seen inside a different cell reading a book, shapes the fear and intensity onto the audience as paranoia and the thought of being watched. The first shot of a mid-close up sees Lecter swiveling from his chair with a book in his hand to face the camera, followed by another mid-close up, now without the book, sitting up straight, and focused onto the camera with his deadly stare. Then, the last shot sees Lecter now standing with one hand against the metal bars, almost like tying to get out of the cage to meet the audience. This time the camera is within a tracking shot, desperately moving backwards from Lecter and his cage. However, a shot of an extreme-close up of Lecter's stare and disturbing facial expressions spawns suddenly. The use of the non-diegetic metal sound effect is used to give this surprise more of a jab to it, therefore increasing the aftermath that comes with this jump-scare. Within the duration of this sequence of shots, the non-diegetic sound of a violin is heard playing a high and unchanging note, that hints and gradually builds the mood of suspense and uncertainty. It breaks the moment Lecter's jump scare shot appears. The meaning created is to show how Lecter will always get to you, no matter which angle or how far you are.
Following this, a scene with a psychologist stating how it is "rare to capture one alive"- the reference of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is a renowned psychiatrist charged for murder. This not only confirms to the audience of his unpredictable and calculative moves, but are also given the meaning of how Lecter is very mentally dangerous, too. This is achieved by the words of the psychologists stating "pure psychopath". These two words are heard clearly and isolated to imprint the piling and collective thoughts the audiences are trying to grasp of who and what Lecter could be.
The sudden change of mood takes place exactly when Lecter handcuffs an officer and kills him, which is hinted by his haunting scream. This shot works effectively well as for the whole trailer the audience have been exposed to Lecter in only subtle and calm states, rather than witnessing him physically active or committing a crime yet. The shots of a white bag that seems to be carrying a dead body that follows a shot of Lecter himself, associates death and him. This thickens the evilness of Hannibal as a serial killer and gets the audiences more terrified by what he is truly capable of, therefore more power is given to Lecter that compliments his sudden and unpredictable ways of when he strikes. To add to this, a scene cuts to a policeman holding a gun in an alarming state, and notifying the others that "Lecter is missing and armed" gives more power to Hannibal. This again reinforces the idea earlier of how Lecter is always a step ahead, and possibly able to read their minds when he "enters their heads".
Later, a POV shot is used of a man's arm reaching towards a blinded Starling in the dark, gives the ambitious mood the reach of a shocking and unresolved climax. This alongside Lecter's stare that is quickly edited to interfere the POV shot every milli-second accentuates tension of Lecter coming closer to the audience.
At the peak and loudest of the music and trailer, the title screen appears with only the word silence on it. This is followed by an extreme close-up shot of Dr. Lecter staring into the camera with no music or movement, and repeats the phrase "Thank you, Clarice". The gradual and messy build-up to an anticipated and desperate "boom" at the climax is instead the doctor himself, in silence. This once again proves the meaning of how the doctor is unpredictable and this reinstates his calculative skills. Also interestingly, the trailer starts with Lecter in an interrupted and sudden way, whereas the ending also ends with him, but in a calm and quiet way. This may hint to how he is in control and haunting- there is no escape from him once he's "in your head".
My close friend, Pun, and I made a short film many years ago. The plot revolves around two students who, while spending their time in detention, encounter a conflict with some angry stationary that results into utter war.
I am looking back to how our shots and effects of the Micro-elements built tension, which will be useful to apply to my upcoming project of the "Film Noir Sub Genre Film Project".
We studied the conventional structure of the opening credits of a film. "Panic Room (2002)" used very interesting typography in many dramatically accentuated cinematic shots of an urban city- presumably New York.
During the summer, my friends and I had a prospective short film planned and in production for a 2 minute horror, that depicts a game of "Hide and Seek" gone wrong for two sisters. After a day of filming, I decided to pick together some footage I took and edited it in one sitting on iMovie iOS. Of course, it doesn't come anywhere close to Final Cut Pro. However, it was a refreshing experience for me to refresh my editing skills nevertheless.
Segmentation means to break up audiences into different groupings
The aim of audience segmentation is to get mass audiences and understand each individual little groups that they belong in as people. This will develop their understanding and improve their goal of reaching out to the right and appropriate target audience. The groups can be based on the following...
After some work on the analysis of the film and its conventions, it was time to start looking into detail of the composition and each types of shots used. A perfect scene to recreate and study was the scene when the suspect met with the detectives. Below are the recreations edited, produced, and shot by Ryu, and directed by myself.
The Long shot of three detectives onto the single suspect on the other end of the rounded table
An interested detective in a blue jacket behind a machine labelled Hot Foods
The bald detective acknowledges the action of the suspect taking power by raising his foot to block the detectives hand
The detective studying a watch labelled Zodiac, given from the suspect as an item he possessed at the time
Three detectives seen clueless and stuck within a train of thought that is symbolically presented by the display of a "wall" that constricts their investigation to go further, due to no new ideas or clues
Ryu had used paint.net and the techniques of a set background with multiple layers of each same photo in the same position, but different positioning of the person and action. The use of eraser tool was effective alongside the mover arrows to place the figures into one photo. This creates the illusion of a paradox that three figures are exactly the same person but seen present throughout every shot representing multiple characters.
Course Work Ideas: Original Thriller Trailer Composition
So recently, after much consideration and thought, I've decided to get thinking on more of the technical side and how it will build the mood in my thriller trailer. The idea was basically to summon some sort of "presence" that is constantly present, which is the G pedal note in quavers throughout the piece. Then, with that unwanted presence, more layers of melody will start to build and escalate into something more of a "structured mess".
With a go for an original composition below, I am quite satisfied with it in building a scale of mood that would be beneficial to my image of my thriller trailer. Have a listen!
He argued that every narrative is interwoven with multiple codes. Although we impose temporal and generic structures onto texts, there are in fact marked by the multiple meanings suggested by the five codes.
Hermeneutic Code
Any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence
becomes a mystery to the audience.
Proairetic Code
Applies to any other action or event that indicates something
else is going to happen, building tension.
Semantic Code
This refers to the connotation within the story
that gives additional meaning over the basic
denotative meaning of signs.
Symbolic Code
Similar to the Semantic one but acts on
a wider level.
Cultural Code
Any element in the story that relies on the readers'
