House of Wax
The Tall Man (2012)
Plot
The film is set in a small mining town where children are disappearing on a regular basis, and the abductions are blamed on a local legend called "the Tall Man." a nurse whose own son disappears, leading her to seek out the mystery of the Tall Man.
Sound
During the beginning of the trailer is a sound of a young child's voice humming a gentle nursery rhyme, however using this alongside the idea of a sinister phenomenon; for example a large empty house situated in a rural setting away from any busy towns suggests that this film isn't going to be a pleasant, straight forward 'happy families' kind of film, it recognises there is more to than what meets the eye. Through linking eerie nursery rhymes with a large empty house in a deserted destination creates a feeling of enigma suggesting the link between something to do with children however is unpleasant. Contrasting diegetic sound (children laughing and playing with parent) juxtapositions non diegetic sounds of dark and sinister heightens the feeling of the unknowing of the relationship between what is soon to happen to the characters. Thunder and lightening is associated with fear which introduces the start of where the film begins to draw in the audience. a fast heartbeat increases the intensity of the reoccurring situations of missing children and the plot thickens as to where and why all these children are being taken over a short period of time and disappearing without any traces of them. "The last kid disappeared two months ago wont be long before the next one goes" this piece of dialogue is spoken by a police officer in a very certain tone which signifies being a authoritative figure of the community he is very knowledgeable of the situation and says it as it is a regular occurrence showing that where ever the children are going the police have no leads as to where or if anyone is taking them. a loud bang from an area of the house is heard by the mother who lives there her immediate response is to run into her child's bedroom which the expresses tension rising as her son is nowhere to be seen. To compliment the feeling of panic is fast, rapid accompaniment followed by the diegetic sound of sirens of police ares rushing we presume to the panicking mother(nurse) however that is unknown as she hasn't called the authorities therefore could suggest a different child is taken as well as the nurses.
she screams his name "DAVID" suggesting desperation in her voice as she gets no response. this then leads to grunts when attacking the "tall man", suddenly all background music ends and there is silence apart from a diegetic sound of a truck violently crashing once the truck is still a fast heartbeat is heard suggesting to the audience if whoever is in the truck is alive or not.
Camera shots/angles
At the start of the trailer is a conventional green screen used to inform the audience about the content used in the film and that has been approved by film rating companies that it is suitable and appropriate for viewers. in most trailers the content isn't as extreme in comparison to the actual film itself, however this just informs audiences what the film will entail and that the trailer will have short clips of certain themes.
The opening scene is of a birds eye view shot of a car travelling woodland location which is very desolate as there are no other cars travelling. It uses a tracking in shot to show the idea of the car being followed to its prime location this leads the audience to the establishing long shot of a house situated around a forest, this suggests that this location is where will the story will progress due to the use of angles.
Inside the house is a little boy and a young woman who appears to be his mother. there is a close shot of the little boys face as he hugs his mother which then changes to a close up of the mothers face this signifies a strong bond and relationship between the two characters. After the introduction of the location and presumably main characters comes the studio ident to further advertise the film.
There is a two shot of the main characters who appear to be showing childlike behaviour due to the props captured within this clip and facial expressions. To develop the narrative the is a tracking out shot of a news report from various characters talking about the same subject of children going missing. while focusing on the television screen it flickers to express different time periods where children have gone missing and witnesses either saw or know of the kidnappings suggesting it is a regular occurrence. Through the use recording clips through watching a television screen creates an element of reality especially when many people are commenting and fully aware of the events taking place.
When becoming aware of the situation the main character who was introduced at the start is is situated with a young girl where a worms eye is used not to express its usual use of superiority but to express the idea of watching and analysing what they are looking a in this case is a drawing of the 'tall man'.
A low angle shot of a police car connotates that the audience will see more cars racing past the camera create a element of suspense and concern, the camera then slowly rises changing into a long shot expressing distance and destination of where the car is travel.
A complete birds eye view of the mother struggling to hang on to the back of a speeding van emphasises her desperation to save her son. Also creating the theme of hardship is a extreme close up the mothers hand lynching and grabbing onto anything to pull herself out of the situation she's in which is a struggle for her life as she faces 'the tall man'.
Lastly is a long shot of the advertisement of the film where the tall man stand amongst mist creating a sense of enigma illustrating his mysterious ways of being unidentified and no trace of him.
The mise en scene
The woodland surrounds the area the family live in which appears to be a small town, stereotypically in most thriller films if something is situated in in a deserted environment where there is no other people, this is usually the most targeted area in regard to something out of the ordinary or bad happening. by the style of the house, it can be suggested it was built around the 1930s/40s implying the building is old fashioned and lacks stability when keeping things out, ie the tall man. it can also create the idea that it will have the typical dark feel to it; like creeks in the floorboards, squeaky doors, maybe power cuts. A low angle shot of the house magnifies its size however due to the lighting the of darkness portrays it is late at night so the size of the house it shown by lightening flash over above which is another stereotypical frightful experience again relating to the genre of being a thriller. Displaying posters of missing children displays a time period that the kidnappings are regular, the news reports also suggest this as it shows different people who know of the myth the man who is behind it all however because of the evidence that so many people know of it and it happens in the same area of Washington makes the audience question whether it is a myth. the scene of the restaurant or diner is very minimalistic portraying it is a small town which hasn't changed in regard to modernising shops etc. during the build up of the trailer it seems to be more of a drama about the legend of a kidnapper, the small town community and the mother and sons loving relationship. At first the most of the scenes are all in day light or use some form of high key lighting however once the son is taken the scenes are almost all low key lighting so it is just about visual. this creates more tension to the whereabouts of the tall man, the first time the tall man is saw by the audience is when he is inside the families house lurking in the shadows dressed in complete black to disguise his identity and not to be traced whilst making the get away.
Edits
During the beginning of the trailer are slow cuts from clip to clip often either fades or fade to blacks however as the narrative develops and the trailer becomes more intriguing the cuts appear alot fast creating a journey to get to the hidden meaning of who is this so called 'tall man'? why is he doing this? why are there no traces of his whereabouts? blackouts occur more regular to make each clip seem more interesting than the last, however it comes to a point where one the of clips at the end seem much more longer and clear creating a build up of tension making you feel on the edge of your seat then changes into a fast cut of a very dramatic clip leaving the audiences left on a cliffhanger. This a usual convention displayed in most trailers which sometimes can be predictably but the storyline can change an individuals view depending on how well it has been produced and fits together.
Titanic
The 1997 film titanic is based on real events that occured in 1912. The genre of the film is a hybrid- drama and romance. The narrative is about a young man and woman are from different socials classes and fall in love while aboard the ship Titanic travelling to America during its ill-fated maiden voyage. I have decided to analyse the 2012 version rather than the 1997 version because due to advancements in technology the camera angles, sound and ordering of the clips were superb and seemed much more intriguing, eye catching and heartfelt in comparison to the 1997 trailer.
Sound
During the first few seconds of the trailer a loud bell is heard ringing, this is very significant as usually once a ship is setting sail bells are rang for its send off. Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the lower/working class character jack says to Kate Winslet (rose) to open her eyes whilst situated alone at the front of the ship as he says this accompaniment is soon introduced with an upbeat feel to it creating the idea of an adventure and new beginnings. Once an imitate moment of the two characters are shown the music changes to being much more slower and passionate connotating the character's relationship (it is the instrumental part from the song 'My heart will go on'). as this continues a sound effect of an ice berg breaking towers of this light and comforting music creating more of an edge to the narrative the sound effect it presented at diegetic as it denotates what the sound of a iceberg breaking would sound like. soon after the sound of bells which is no diegetic are heard suggesting they are signalling to the passengers on board a warning. Just before the climax of the trailer is the diegetic sound of the ship rising parallel into the air without any background music allowing audiences to focus of this specific clip highlighting its significance. After this scene, there is sounds of smashing from the glass ceiling as the water impales in, the soundtrack 'My heart will go on' is no longer instrumental it is at the complete climax of the song which is complimented as it is played at the same time as when the trailer reaches its climax. this portrays the struggle and emotion the passengers are feeling allowing the audience to develop feeling themselves such as a very chilling and emotionally devastating. The dialogue ordered from Jack - " do not let go of my hand" symbolises his love and devotion towards rose, she replies "I'll never let go". This is a famous quote within the film outlining its importance that as hes referring to survival it can be suggested that regardless if she survives with him or not she will never love anyone as much as she loved him as he will always be apart of her and in her heart.
Camera Shots and Angles
This is a medium two shot of the main charcters while standing at the front of the ship this is a significant and famous scene within the film as it is where the two characters make a compasionate connection abard the titanic expressing romance as a theme within the film straight away.
This close up introduces the main female character Rose and the medium shpots inctroduces the main male charcters Jack. although the two charcters are very important within the film they are both introduced very differently hightlighting different aspects of their social class, background and nationality.
A panning shot is used to emphasis fun and excitement on the ship though the use of having others in the background to suggest a memorable time.
This extreme long shot is used to captured the beautiful of the ship sailing across the dark ocean showing an element of time that the ship is well into its journey to America.
The birds eye view suggests that this character who once was an important member of the ship is no inferior to it as he has no control over the foreseably events. This can also be acknowldged the way in which his palms are faced done on a table trying to stabalise what is happening.
This is a canted shot of the ship on an angle, it outlines how much of it has already gone under water. it also shows the ship at a earliar time as it hasnt elavated of the surface this is the close up shot. Incomparison to a later long shot clip of the ship empahasising how much more closer it is to parralell than before.
By using a worms eye views of jack looking down to Rose as they are separated, highlights what he may be losing - which is the love of his life expressing that regardless of the surroundings and the disasterious situation his only concern is her.
The audience are then shown Rose's responce towards Jack looking down to her showing she has the same concerns of loosing him.
The use of this over the shoulder/point of view shot is effective it is from Rose's persepective and how she sees Jack. which is clearly in a loving and adored way. There is also another point of view shot from Jack's persepctive connotating they have the same feelings for one another and the clips are shown one after the other.
Mise en scene
When introducing the two main characters, it is very clear to distinguish who is upper middle class and who is working class. Rose is dressed in smart, well designed and stichted clothing - a white buttoned up bloase with an extravagant hat covering of half her face suggesting she is well manner and timid with a high standard of dignity. On the other is Jack who is in very dull unironed shirt and trousers carrying a fabric sack. his hair is not slicked back which in those days respected people wore their hair this way.
It is obvious the era is old fashioned due to the interior design of the ship and fashion of the characters in the film such as long tailored coats, gatsby flat caps and braces. There is a antiques used as props who express there was no expense spared in first class.
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