4 thriller Films analysis

PANIC ROOM

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement:
Begins with a high angled shot focused on the city and high top building surrounding it, Then cuts into a mid shot of buildings, showing more detail, and giving a sense of a very built up wealthy city. A medium shot tilted downwards shows the surrounding society, such as cars and traffic allowing you to get clues of what location the film is in. Another middle shot between building focuses on a billboard featuring a happy loved up couple, this could portray that this film will be based around something to do with a relationship, whether it’s happy or broken down.
Sound:
The music is diegetic as it is showing the sounds of what is happening. e.g. beeping from cars stuck in traffic! There is also non-diegetic sound, it sounds as if a clock is ticking which portrays the relevance of time. It may also symbolise that time is running out. The pitch of the music varies and is in a deep tone, creating a rather edgy atmosphere.
Editing:
Cutting of many different shots, giving many views of the location. Showing it’s very large and built up but also in some respect pretty and wall kept, which shows wealth. The shots of all the buildings create an eerie atmosphere, as the building are very tall and put together, showing confinement. The text used for credits, is put in the centre screen making it clearly visible, unlike the image of the buildings the text isn’t all scrunched together; even though the text is very tall and thin symbolising the high rise buildings, and it is also in a white/grey colour which almost blends in with the colour of the building portraying that everything fits together.
Mise en Scene:
Characters:
In the opening scene the insight shown is very minimal, and we are not introduced to any characters, this keeps everything very secretive and mysterious, it also builds tension
Locations:
The opening sequence captivates many amazing shots of the location and its buildings. The extreme high rise buildings and technology shown; e.g. the huge screens on the face of a building, allow you to assume what the location is. The main give away which allows you to identify the location as America are the very famous American Yellow taxis, which are featured in many American films, and are almost a symbol of the USA.

Narrative/Plot:
The plot of the film is foreshadowed in the title, panic rooms are very popular in the USA as many households are extremely wealthy which attracts burglars; having this room allows an escape and a place of safety. Therefore this foreshadows maybe the use of a panic room, and why it’s needed.
Themes:
I think a theme shown in the title and in the images, is wealth. To be able to afford a panic room you have to be rather wealthy also, the USA as a country is very wealthy and highly populated. I would also reality is a theme, as it shows a normal everyday city and the society which lives init, also burglaries are very common and to make base a film on that enables people to relate to what is happening.
Visual Style:
Very minimalistic, a broad wide screen , full of images and motion of a city, it gives you a full picture, therefore you can feel as if you are almost in that scene, seeing things you’re your own eyes. All images are very clear and open for the audience to see, as if there are no secrets to be kept.
Genre: The genre of this film is a thriller this is shown as the opening is very secretive in the sense you are not introduced to anything except the location and the title, this is also portrayed in the music, as the pitch varies in loudness, and deepness, which you would commonly expect in a thriller. Another genre I would say could be Action because the need to have a panic room suggests a burglary or something bad happening, which you would then expect there to be some types of action, to escape, or maybe kill someone.
CHILDREN OF MEN
Camera Shot/Angle/Movement:
Begins with an high lower angled shot focusing on the people inside the cafe, this shot allows you to see their expressions, clothes and the actual people e.g. Men and women no children. It then had a close up of the television allowing you to see the news. Then a tracking shot of the main focused character, it then pans across the image showing a wide range of surroundings allowing you to see vast technology and society as a whole, it then follows him out of them cafe down the street, stopping with him, this allows you to have an insight to the surroundings and makes you feel as if you are in the scene; this overall pulls the audience in and makes the tension build up! The camera then does a middle shot of the upper street where the main character has just came from, all of a sudden a huge explosion occurs, and the camera moves towards it as if it is now the character himself.
Sound:
The sounds to which we here are diegetic as we can see the documentary on the screen; this makes the film seem much more realistic. It also shows all the everyday noises of traffic, cars, people talking, coughing ect. When the explosion happens again you here it very loudly and clearly! The only time I would say there is non-diegteic sound is after the explosion when there is a sharp ringing sound, this would occur if you have been exposed to a very loud noise and it damages you ear drum, but as we cannot see it, it is non-diegetic.
Editing:
At the beginning you see just a blank black screen but you can hear the news in the background, it then cuts to the actual scene and you can see the people in the cafe listening to the news. There is then a shot reverse shot of the peoples reaction to what they are hearing, it then allows us to see what they’re reaction is towards and then goes back to their expressions. This gives us a clear view and allows the audience to somewhat empathise with what is happening
Mise en Scene:
Characters:
You are introduced to many characters inside a cafe, who all seem to be as if they are hypnotised by what they are watching on a above screen, it also shows their expressions to be very unhappy and distressed, this foreshadows a world or major devastation has occurred. The main focus was on a male character, around mid 30’s in age, he seems to be the only person inside the cafe who isn’t upset or hypnotised by what everyone else is watching. He seems almost alien as he is different from everyone else, he also puts alcohol in his coffee, which is slightly rebellious .
Locations:
The language spoken is English and very fluently, the city which was once built up and seemed quite wealthy and luxurious has deteriorated into a waste land, rubbish dumped on the streets causing heavy pollution . It then in text reads “London” therefore allowing the audience to know where the film is based around.
Narrative/Plot:
The news speaks of world devastation of the youngest person in the world, who appears to be 18, which in reality isn’t very young; therefore this foreshadows that there is a problem with having offspring and has been for a while, also many characters are featured none of them being children, this again related to there being a reason for people not having or being able to have children.
Themes:
A theme is offspring, in this case a lack of being able to have children, which will then overall bring major disadvantages to society and may lead to extinction. Another theme is technology, the television was very wide and flat screened, also on the panning shot, the glass building was used as a high rise television screen, advertising and screening all different types of media. Lastly a theme is unhappiness, the streets were black and musky , clothes worn were all black which are depressive colours, and the news flash upset the people seen.
Visual Style:
Very dark and almost depressive, streets were black and Smokey portraying heavy pollution. The vision was very clear allowing a clear insight to the surroundings and what is happening. The people were all adults, no children were featured, which today would be highly unlikely! Clothes were minimalist and very bland, deep colours symbolising a lack of openness and also unhappiness.
Genre:
The genre of this film is a hybrid between a thriller and a action, the picture was very calm, and sensitive, and then all of a sudden a huge explosion occurs; as it is unexpected it personally made me jump out of my seat, this made it very thriller but also entertaining as you knew you would form then on be on the edge of your seat.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Camera Shot/Angle/Movement:
The opening sequence is all in cartoon stick men characters, therefore there are no camera shots . The angle is mainly straight medium, showing full view of what is happening, this allows the audience is a get a wider picture.
Sound:
The sounds featured are non-diegetic, as natural sounds would not be seen in a cartoon almost imaginary scene. The pitch of the music is medium, , the pace is a slightly fast as if someone was jogging, in this case escaping (catch me if you can); an then goes very fast, and suddenly drops to a slow pace which might then foreshadow the pace of the film. The music sounds instrumental, mostly violin which varies and has an almost swirling affect like a spiral staircase
Editing:
The whole beginning is in cartoon, affect, and characters shown as stick men characters. Depicting all different shots, showing the character changing profession e.g. pilot, doctor. Images flash across the screen, making the picture very busy and interesting, keeping the audience entertained. Images all whizz around, appear diagonally and disappear, this all being computer edits, making it more exciting to watch but also foreshadows the person hiding, running from the people after him, changing his form ( appearance).
Characters :
You are firstly introduced to a stick man dressed plainly, he then changes into a pilot, and the manner in which he walks changes to a more upright stance. We are then introduced to a much larger stick man watching over the other, the size could foreshadow social status and also authority, as he is standing over the other man keeping watch of his actions; this man is dressed with a large coat and hat looking like an inspector. The man at the beginning then runs from the inspector and changes this time into a doctor and then into a business man character. This portrays that the main character of the film is very talented and clever and is escaping from authority which would be the police.
Locations:
A cartoon Taxi Is shown, the taxi is bright yellow, which symbolises the USA, which are famous for their streets being filled with them bright forms of transport.
Narrative/Plot:
The plot is shown; as the character is continuously changing identity and running away from another character, this portrays he may be a fraudster or committed some kind of offence or scam.
Themes:
A theme is Identity, The cartoon man, is continuously changing identity and profession in need to escape, this shows that the audience will see many different sides to this character keeping them entertained and not knowing what to expect.
Visual style:
Colours vary, from very bright to deep dark colours, portraying the ups and downs of life, how one minute its happy and bright, and next you feel down and life isn’t going so well. The characters are black stick men, portraying originality as stick men are usually a black thin figure, which stands out clearly without much detail.
Genre:
Thriller and also adventure. The mystery of catch me if you can, portrays a lot of action, and would include changes of identity and surroundings, which in its self is an adventure. It is a thriller, as what is happening isn’t completely guessable, and you are not sure what is going to happen, keeping you in complete suspense!
WATCHMEN
Camera Shot/Angle/Movement:
The movement of the opening is all in slow motion, creating a really interesting affect, which pulls you in as you focus properly! The camera shot is generally at medium height and are straight, allowing a better view of the whole shot, i think this has been done, as each scene has much detail, and this shot allows you to capture it all. A tracking shot is used to follow the characters movement, but this is still in slow motion, showing everything changing gradually. There is also a panning shot, across the city street, showing the car moving , and also a panning shot showing an aeroplane in flight, it pans, to show you the detail and symbol on the side of it.
Sound:
The pace of everything in the scene seems to be very slow and not change, this also is for the music. The music is a country song, with a slow place the words saying “Changing” very often, symbolising that change is happening, the music seems rather jolly even though its slowing that everything was good before things started to change. The pitch was also at a medium level, it didn’t vary and stayed the same throughout.
Editing:
The scenes snapped to different settings and surroundings, showing different characters and different lifestyles. This shows that the film is portraying how change affects many different people in all different lifestyles, This also allows the audience to see a vast range of characters and images keeping it interesting and slightly mysterious.


Mise-en-scene
Characters:
You are introduced to people, who seem to be some kind of hero, even though they are real, they each portray and look as if they are a cartoon person, such as a hero. This symbolises something that’s fake, which may in this case be the ways in which they live their lives, is all a show; just like the phrase, “don’t judge a book by its cover”. They are all in an action scene, such as a fight, but this is in slow motion. At one point they are all shown to be reunited together and are standing happily, as if they together bring peace, but then you later see them all in distress or dead, showing that what they were portrayed as wasn’t necessarily who they were.
Locations:
The location appears to be in America in the 60's, as the police uniform is that of what you would typically see in an American based film; also in one clip you see the assassination of John.F.Kennedy the American president.
Narrative/Plot:
The music and also the way everything seems to be all happy and fake, then turns into destruction and misery shows that something will change drastically throughout showing different sides, that you may not expect
Themes:
Change, this is foreshadowed in both the music, which often uses the word change and also the ways in which the characters lives changed through the opening sequence. World peace, there are super heroes featured and also wars stopped, showing that the reality of peace and whether it happens or not will be shown.
Visual style:
Almost a cartoon affect, the props, characters and settings, seem somewhat unrealistic, this causes an interesting and engaging affect, which is out of the ordinary making watching it an entertaining experience. Everything is in slow motion, allowing you to capture everything before it snaps to another scene.
Genre:
This film is altogether a hybrid, which consists of being a thriller, but also an action and mystery. These genres mixed in one, gives a captivating and entertaining film, filled with plenty of action, twists and guessable story lines