http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnkJ7LUIUos&feature=related
Click to view opening 10 minutes.
The film Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is a horror film which consists of blood, gore, and terror, therefore I have decided to analyse this film, for comparisons and contrasts with our film Ellipsis. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is presented as a true story, involving the ambush and murder of a group of friends on a road trip in rural Texas by a family of cannibals, however, the film is completely fictional. This is very similar to our storyline; however Ellipsis is not presented as a true story, and is not consisted under the cannibalism genre.
The story line of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is also similar to Ellipsis, as it the teenagers slowly appear missing one by one, and the first murder happens in an abandoned house, which is the same location as ours.
The characters in the film are also very similar to the ones featured in our film, as the violence begins with a stranger (the hitchhiker), in which a stranger to the characters are also presented in our film, as it adds suspicion, and a higher level of drama. Furthermore, the character in Ellipsis "Mary-Alice" can be related to "Sally Hardesty", as they are both very innocent, and both look our for the team.
As with all films, cinematography is essential for a smooth complete run of the film, and this particular film uses a good example of continuity editing. However, the beginning of the film portrays a factual opening, as credits are featured informing the audience that the film is entirely true, which adds realism for the audience, capturing their attention. The same factuality is featured later in the opening, where the film’s storyline is shown using a date, “August 18th, 1973”, which adds realism, and also makes the films “true story narrative” more believable. We can immediately see by the titles that this film is a horror film, as this also presents the non diegetic voice-over, of a deep toned man, informing the audience of the titles.
The appearance of the credits, and the opening dialogue, is a plain black screen, which does not particularly interest the order. The black ground enables the audience to be focused upon the text, rather than an image, as the audience then do not get distracted. This is an effective technique, which is quite simple. This links to Ellipsis, as the opening of ours is very dark, as we use undertone lighting, with a black set design. The black also connotes danger, and the unknown.
There is also underexposure of the text, as gives the opening an eerie effect, further informing the audience that this is a horror film, adding tension and suspense. The same non-diegetic male voice-over continues, until 6:20mins, which suggests to the audience the voice on a radio, relating to the factual beginning and therefore adding realism for the audience. In contrast to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Ellipsis is suggested to be a true story, by using hand held camera, to give an insight on the characters from a stranger’s perspective, which is a realistic way of presenting this to the audience.
The film has a reasonably long title sequence, which continues for 4:33 minutes. Although this is average for a film, our film has a duration of 2 minutes, which must include a title sequence, therefore our title sequence will be shorter than average. Furthermore, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre does not feature a score to distinguish to the film; instead it features a non-diegetic eerie sound of symbols, and gongs, and also an iconic sound-scape of a slaughterhouse. This is iconic, as the slaughterhouse featured later in the film, marks the beginning of the violence, and therefore by playing the soundtrack at the beginning of the film, it insights the audience to the storyline.
The titles which are featured at the beginning are coloured cream, connoting heat, which relates to the Texas summer featured in the film. The heat can also be connoted, as the opening is edited with an orange filter, which makes the location seem hotter. This is shown when a close up is shown, of a suggested dead man’s head, which seems burned or tortured. We can then see a zoom out of the head, to the non-diegetic sound of the voice over, who seems to be a news reporter. Furthermore, the non-diegetic sound of the slaughter house and gongs continues into this scene, to link both scenes together. During this scene, a smoke machine is being used to suggest a thick, summer mist. This makes the scene more eerie, and mysterious, further showing that this is a horror film. As the camera slowly zooms and cranes down, two dead bodies are presented to the audience, sat upon a grave top. The audience learns from this scene that the location of the film is a cemetery, and therefore this gives an insight into the later storyline.
The scene following the factual opening, uses the editing technique cross cutting on the suggested elements, as the title sequence, dramatically builds tension and suspense to compare the two different scenes (the scene following).
Iconography is further used when the background of the credits changes from a black screen, to moving images. The images are not clearly presented to the audience, as they are overexposed; therefore this suggests suspicion and horror. The dissolving images are black and red, which connoted danger, and horror. This is similar to Ellipsis, as our credits are coloured black and red, in order for the film to be distinguished in the horror genre. Furthermore, disequilibrium is featured in this scene, as the images are presented in a linear narrative. The flashing of the images suggest a photograph is being taken or a sudden stroke of light has commenced. This scene is similar to Ellipsis, as the images dissolve to black. However, in Ellipsis, it is the titles which dissolve to black, to create a suitable opening, whereas in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the dissolving images are iconic for representing what commences during the film which is violence.
At the end of this scene, an extreme close up is shot of the sun, which is featured with an orange filter, to add warmth. This further suggests heat, relating to Texas, but also connotes danger, as the sun is shot on a black background. This then cuts to a zoom in on the sun, followed by a graphic match to a dead armadillo, laid in the middle of a road. This is important, as the armadillo is iconic for death, and it also established the new location, therefore this is a key feature of the film.
The armadillo is shot at a low height camera angle, suggesting the armadillo is an inferior animal as is seems to be at a larger angle, although it is dead.
Following this, is a common medium shot, to establish the location, which shows a plain blue van, parked at the side of the road. This then shows a male character “Kirk” helping an invalid man “Franklin” out of the van. The disabled man is then shot from a canted angle, urinating into a bucket; this shows the man as inferior, as he is shot at a low angle. This could suggest that although he is immobilized, he is one of the stronger characters. We then see a medium shot of the character “Kirk” stood by the road side. In the distance we are able to see a truck coming forward. The camera then uses pulling power, to enable the truck to be in focus rather than the “Kirk”.
A crescendo of sound then commences, as the diegetic sound of the trucks horn goes past, and the female character “Sally Hardesty” screams “Franklin!” which acknowledges the male character is in danger. This is the dramatic point in the opening of the play, as it uses a build up of climax, to enable the audience to feel fear. Long shots then enable the audience to see the “disabled man” rolling down the banking, as he has seemingly fallen out of his wheelchair. A common medium shot is used to show “Kirk” helping her brother “Franklin” back up the banking.
The scene then changes to a medium shot of the character “Sally Hardesty” in the blue van, along with the remaining main characters. This scene is used to give the audience an insight into the storyline, as up until now in the film, no dialogue has commenced. Although the characters don’t speak very much in this scene, the audience now know that the teenagers are traveling to a cemetery containing the grave of Hardestys' grandfather.
A panoramic shot, of the van over the cemetery establishes the new location, and a canted angle is used on the new characters (the elderly men). From this scene, the audience discovers the teenagers are seeking to investigate reports of vandalism and of corpse-defilement, and for “Sally Hardesty” to find her granddads grave. This can be shown using over the shoulder shots, and medium shots for conversation. The elderly men all have a blue costume design which is used to represent the working class in that era.
When the characters are back in the van, a key shots in the film is the panoramic shot of the slaughterhouse, which is a key element throughout the film, and the dialogue which continues, shown by medium shots, and close ups. The extreme long shot which is used when the teenagers collect the hitchhiker, is used to establish the environment, but also shows the audience that the main characters are reluctant to collect the new character.
Although cinematography is imperative for a film to run successfully, mise-en-scene is also essential. The costume consisted in the film, relates to the ones designed in our film Ellipsis, as they represent the summer season, and also they are based upon the 1970’s theme. The hitchhiker character is purposely designed to be wearing a darker colour than the main cast, as it connotes danger, and also the darker colours establish that he is unclean, which links to the Slaughterhouse featured in the film. In contrast to the hitchhiker character, the main characters portray pastel coloured costumes, with connotations of happiness, and innocence.
The scene which turns the storyline around and the peak at which the drama is at its highest, is when the medium shot shows the hitchhiker attacking himself, and the invalid “Franklin” with a razor blade. The tension is slowly built with a crescendo of sound, as the screams from the female characters, turn to a higher pitch tone.
There are some particularly interesting effects used in this film, which we may consider using in Ellipsis, such as the factual date, to make the film seem realistic. Also, the shots which we must be careful using are medium shots, as they are a common camera shot, and we must be careful not to use too many, as this doesn’t leave many opportunity to use interesting angle, such as tilts, and pans.
Click to view opening 10 minutes.
The film Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is a horror film which consists of blood, gore, and terror, therefore I have decided to analyse this film, for comparisons and contrasts with our film Ellipsis. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is presented as a true story, involving the ambush and murder of a group of friends on a road trip in rural Texas by a family of cannibals, however, the film is completely fictional. This is very similar to our storyline; however Ellipsis is not presented as a true story, and is not consisted under the cannibalism genre.
The story line of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is also similar to Ellipsis, as it the teenagers slowly appear missing one by one, and the first murder happens in an abandoned house, which is the same location as ours.
The characters in the film are also very similar to the ones featured in our film, as the violence begins with a stranger (the hitchhiker), in which a stranger to the characters are also presented in our film, as it adds suspicion, and a higher level of drama. Furthermore, the character in Ellipsis "Mary-Alice" can be related to "Sally Hardesty", as they are both very innocent, and both look our for the team.
As with all films, cinematography is essential for a smooth complete run of the film, and this particular film uses a good example of continuity editing. However, the beginning of the film portrays a factual opening, as credits are featured informing the audience that the film is entirely true, which adds realism for the audience, capturing their attention. The same factuality is featured later in the opening, where the film’s storyline is shown using a date, “August 18th, 1973”, which adds realism, and also makes the films “true story narrative” more believable. We can immediately see by the titles that this film is a horror film, as this also presents the non diegetic voice-over, of a deep toned man, informing the audience of the titles.
The appearance of the credits, and the opening dialogue, is a plain black screen, which does not particularly interest the order. The black ground enables the audience to be focused upon the text, rather than an image, as the audience then do not get distracted. This is an effective technique, which is quite simple. This links to Ellipsis, as the opening of ours is very dark, as we use undertone lighting, with a black set design. The black also connotes danger, and the unknown.
There is also underexposure of the text, as gives the opening an eerie effect, further informing the audience that this is a horror film, adding tension and suspense. The same non-diegetic male voice-over continues, until 6:20mins, which suggests to the audience the voice on a radio, relating to the factual beginning and therefore adding realism for the audience. In contrast to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Ellipsis is suggested to be a true story, by using hand held camera, to give an insight on the characters from a stranger’s perspective, which is a realistic way of presenting this to the audience.
The film has a reasonably long title sequence, which continues for 4:33 minutes. Although this is average for a film, our film has a duration of 2 minutes, which must include a title sequence, therefore our title sequence will be shorter than average. Furthermore, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre does not feature a score to distinguish to the film; instead it features a non-diegetic eerie sound of symbols, and gongs, and also an iconic sound-scape of a slaughterhouse. This is iconic, as the slaughterhouse featured later in the film, marks the beginning of the violence, and therefore by playing the soundtrack at the beginning of the film, it insights the audience to the storyline.
The titles which are featured at the beginning are coloured cream, connoting heat, which relates to the Texas summer featured in the film. The heat can also be connoted, as the opening is edited with an orange filter, which makes the location seem hotter. This is shown when a close up is shown, of a suggested dead man’s head, which seems burned or tortured. We can then see a zoom out of the head, to the non-diegetic sound of the voice over, who seems to be a news reporter. Furthermore, the non-diegetic sound of the slaughter house and gongs continues into this scene, to link both scenes together. During this scene, a smoke machine is being used to suggest a thick, summer mist. This makes the scene more eerie, and mysterious, further showing that this is a horror film. As the camera slowly zooms and cranes down, two dead bodies are presented to the audience, sat upon a grave top. The audience learns from this scene that the location of the film is a cemetery, and therefore this gives an insight into the later storyline.
The scene following the factual opening, uses the editing technique cross cutting on the suggested elements, as the title sequence, dramatically builds tension and suspense to compare the two different scenes (the scene following).
Iconography is further used when the background of the credits changes from a black screen, to moving images. The images are not clearly presented to the audience, as they are overexposed; therefore this suggests suspicion and horror. The dissolving images are black and red, which connoted danger, and horror. This is similar to Ellipsis, as our credits are coloured black and red, in order for the film to be distinguished in the horror genre. Furthermore, disequilibrium is featured in this scene, as the images are presented in a linear narrative. The flashing of the images suggest a photograph is being taken or a sudden stroke of light has commenced. This scene is similar to Ellipsis, as the images dissolve to black. However, in Ellipsis, it is the titles which dissolve to black, to create a suitable opening, whereas in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the dissolving images are iconic for representing what commences during the film which is violence.
At the end of this scene, an extreme close up is shot of the sun, which is featured with an orange filter, to add warmth. This further suggests heat, relating to Texas, but also connotes danger, as the sun is shot on a black background. This then cuts to a zoom in on the sun, followed by a graphic match to a dead armadillo, laid in the middle of a road. This is important, as the armadillo is iconic for death, and it also established the new location, therefore this is a key feature of the film.
The armadillo is shot at a low height camera angle, suggesting the armadillo is an inferior animal as is seems to be at a larger angle, although it is dead.
Following this, is a common medium shot, to establish the location, which shows a plain blue van, parked at the side of the road. This then shows a male character “Kirk” helping an invalid man “Franklin” out of the van. The disabled man is then shot from a canted angle, urinating into a bucket; this shows the man as inferior, as he is shot at a low angle. This could suggest that although he is immobilized, he is one of the stronger characters. We then see a medium shot of the character “Kirk” stood by the road side. In the distance we are able to see a truck coming forward. The camera then uses pulling power, to enable the truck to be in focus rather than the “Kirk”.
A crescendo of sound then commences, as the diegetic sound of the trucks horn goes past, and the female character “Sally Hardesty” screams “Franklin!” which acknowledges the male character is in danger. This is the dramatic point in the opening of the play, as it uses a build up of climax, to enable the audience to feel fear. Long shots then enable the audience to see the “disabled man” rolling down the banking, as he has seemingly fallen out of his wheelchair. A common medium shot is used to show “Kirk” helping her brother “Franklin” back up the banking.
The scene then changes to a medium shot of the character “Sally Hardesty” in the blue van, along with the remaining main characters. This scene is used to give the audience an insight into the storyline, as up until now in the film, no dialogue has commenced. Although the characters don’t speak very much in this scene, the audience now know that the teenagers are traveling to a cemetery containing the grave of Hardestys' grandfather.
A panoramic shot, of the van over the cemetery establishes the new location, and a canted angle is used on the new characters (the elderly men). From this scene, the audience discovers the teenagers are seeking to investigate reports of vandalism and of corpse-defilement, and for “Sally Hardesty” to find her granddads grave. This can be shown using over the shoulder shots, and medium shots for conversation. The elderly men all have a blue costume design which is used to represent the working class in that era.
When the characters are back in the van, a key shots in the film is the panoramic shot of the slaughterhouse, which is a key element throughout the film, and the dialogue which continues, shown by medium shots, and close ups. The extreme long shot which is used when the teenagers collect the hitchhiker, is used to establish the environment, but also shows the audience that the main characters are reluctant to collect the new character.
Although cinematography is imperative for a film to run successfully, mise-en-scene is also essential. The costume consisted in the film, relates to the ones designed in our film Ellipsis, as they represent the summer season, and also they are based upon the 1970’s theme. The hitchhiker character is purposely designed to be wearing a darker colour than the main cast, as it connotes danger, and also the darker colours establish that he is unclean, which links to the Slaughterhouse featured in the film. In contrast to the hitchhiker character, the main characters portray pastel coloured costumes, with connotations of happiness, and innocence.
The scene which turns the storyline around and the peak at which the drama is at its highest, is when the medium shot shows the hitchhiker attacking himself, and the invalid “Franklin” with a razor blade. The tension is slowly built with a crescendo of sound, as the screams from the female characters, turn to a higher pitch tone.
There are some particularly interesting effects used in this film, which we may consider using in Ellipsis, such as the factual date, to make the film seem realistic. Also, the shots which we must be careful using are medium shots, as they are a common camera shot, and we must be careful not to use too many, as this doesn’t leave many opportunity to use interesting angle, such as tilts, and pans.
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