Trailer Breakdown

My chosen trailer is from the thriller Vantage Point. Vantage Point is a film about the assassination of the President of the United States of America. The title sequence of this film is very unique and relates to the films story line in general. The use of the colour in the images makes them seem as if they are CCTV cameras  that have recorded the events that take place in the opening sequence (protests, cars driving the President in and the gun towards the end of the sequence).

The use of the different images such as the protesters and the sniper rifle towards the end of the sequence paint a canvas for the audience that shows them the story line and what they suspect could happen. But like all thriller films there is a twist.

Coursework Movie Opening Sequence

Our Opening Sequence. Jamal Jones awakens in an empty warehouse covered in blood and holding a gun. Next to him is Drew who is dead and like Jamal covered in blood.

Jamal not knowing how this has happened panics and runs home.

Jamal gets home and checks his phone which has four new voice mails.

His first voice mail says 'Hey Jamal what did you do after the pub?'

His second voice mail says 'Hey Jamal do you know what happened to Drew?'

His third voice mail says 'Oi I heard Drew got into some trouble do you know what happened?'

His fourth voice mail says 'I know you did it some youts saw you'

End of opening sequence.

This movie still from 'That's my boy' we see very different uses of mis-en-scene. The lighting is very naturalistic in the way it is used in this scene. By this I mean the lighting is perfect for the environment the two characters are in which is obviously a club of some sort. Costume tells us a lot about the characters in this scene. The character on the right is wearing an old fashioned grey blazer with a small checkered shirt that is tucked into to his jeans. The character on the left however is wearing a tight denim shirt that is tied around her stomach which is showing her bra. She is also wearing white short shorts. From anyone's perspective it is very obvious that the male character is the more mature and upper class character in this still from the way he dresses compared to the female character. It is hard to notice at first but the second sign the male character is definitely from the higher end of the social hierarchy is the fact that the female character is carrying two plates which could show she is a waitress.

The shot used in this still is definitely a medium/close-up shot. This is because we can see the two characters head to waist so their whole bodies are not showing. The background is also blurred so the camera is more focused on them showing that it is more a closeup rather then a medium shot but because both characters are in the shot this is could also be classed as a medium shot as well.

overall the use of mis-en-scene in this still helps the audience elaborate how certain aspects of mis-en-scene adapt the still into a story.

The Game Film Breakdown



The game (Starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn) is a film about a very successful investment banker called Nicolas Van Horton. Through Nicolas's success he has unfortunately been introduced to a lot of grief. He is almost absent from his ex-wife’s life and his younger brother Conrad (Sean Penn). He is almost in his own world that has quite a repetitive form. By this I mean every day to day activity that takes place in Nicolas's life is very dull and very over repetitive in a sense that he does these activities every single day in the same time frame. Overall Nicolas's life is very dull and does not have much of a meaning. The whole reason why Nicolas finds life so dull and meaningless throughout the film is mainly because he is haunted by the death of his father. He committed suicide on his birthday. In the film it is Nicolas’s birthday. He meets with his brother Conrad who gives him a gift voucher to a company called CRS (Consumer Recreational Services). In this scene Conrad explains that the company 'makes your life fun'. Nicolas later find out that his world has gone from bad to worse when he signs up for this 'game' and that is only the beginning.

The film definitely represents the genre thriller because there is a large amount of suspense and excitement throughout because the audience would want to understand why this is all happening to the protagonist (Nicolas Van Horton).

The Setting is very urban. This adds a big sense of insecurity from the audience’s perspective and adds a sense of anticipation but not so much that the audience know what is going to happen to the protagonist but that we know something will happen that will affect him throughout the story.

The investigation is always based around a puzzle or an enigma which in this case is CRS. Which again adds to the whole mystery side of the film.

In a thriller the hero (Nicolas Van Horton) is the only one who can reveal the truth and solve the enigma. Which in this case is shown quite well throughout the film because everyone is playing the game everyone he knows in the film is playing 'the game'.

Like the game all narrative will be solved by the end of the film. In the viewers perspective Nicolas finds out it really is just a game right at the end. He hints throughout the film that he knows it’s a game but not an actual game in the way it is presented in the end.

overall the game thoroughly relates to the conventions of a thriller. very good film.

Max Kelly