Analyis of sound in Inception and Shutter Island

Inception is a 2010 British-American action thriller by Christian Nolan. I will be analysing the first 2 minutes of the opening sequence. The opening sequence begins with sound fading in at 3 seconds whilst "legendary pictures" label appears. The sound begins mysteriously and deep but then gradually builds up pace for the climax that consists of waves hitting into each other.The music remains cut whilst the camera focuses of the ambient sound of crashing waves. The camera then frames a character arising from the sea. The dark and gloomy contrapuntal music begins again when the character lifts his head to see his surroundings. The music is contrapuntal as the view of the sunny beach and children playing contrasts with the spooky and mysterious music. Ambient sound of children laughter and playing begins whilst the audience see the point of view of the character laying in the sea. When the camera cuts to the scene of characters deliberating, in a low-key lighting dining room their is music playing continuously in the background. The slow pace music is parallel as the props such as guns and bullets correspond with the suspicious background music. The slight noise of the non-diagetic music maintains the continuity and keeps the viewers on edge. The dialogue is spoken over the music but at the music is sustained to a lower level in order to maintain clarity for the audience.

Shutter Island is a psychological thriller, released February 2010. The film is rated 15 as it contains strong language, bloody injury and disturbing images. Music from the Motion Picture was released on February 2, 2010, day before the movie was initially released, this was produced by Rhino Records. The film has no original score. Instead, Scorsese's longtime collaborator Robbie Robertson created an ensemble of previously recorded material to use in the film. Two final discs of music was featured throughout the final film.

I will be analysing the different sounds used within the opening thriller of Shutter Island. At 20 seconds sound begins to fade in, a mysterious and dark sound, at this point the title appears and the music is just suttle. By keeping the sound suttle, it builds up suspense to whats going to happen next, making the audience ask enigmas at the beginning of the sequence. After a minute passes we hear ambient sound of splashing water, we don't see anything as the screen is foggy, a ship then fades in making the sound of the waves stronger setting the scene more. Diolgue is used within the two minutes of the opening sequence, the main character (Leonardo Dicaprio) is shown throwing up, this is diegetic sound we also hear him speak to himself, as well as non-diegetic sound in the background, the sound is slow and quiet, we hear a fade in and fade out sound as if the sound is the horn of the ship. Hearing these noises sets the scene and creates realism to the opening sequence, the horn and the sound of the waves help this.

Both action and psychological thriller use the micro area of sound very differently to express their plot and portray emotions for the audience. Although the films have used different techniques, Inception and Shutter Island restrict their sound at the start to slowly build up pace and keep the audience focused on the narrative. The sound begins very early in Inception and remains their throughout the two minutes. On the other hand, the sound in Shutter island takes longer to settle in, making the anticipation for the audience longer.

Inital ideas presentation and feedback

Behind the sc reen from WGSGROUP5

Constructive feedback

• Pay close attention to the props used before the audience see the antagonist. For example, be creative and use something different to portray rape. Something stereotypical like using a tally chart to display how many girls the rapist has abducted, is dull and unimaginative.
• The title of "behind the screen" corresponds well with the narrative.
• Important to keep the ordinary theme continuing and not display any psychological elements about the antagonist until the viewers see the bedroom.
• Possible use of portable light from the media department in order to create the desired low-key lighting.
• Appropriate use of classification for the film as there are some explicit scenes and under 15's tend not to have Facebook accounts..
• The clothing worn by the girls should be minimal clothing and not anything that makes the viewers or the examiner feel uncomfortable.
• Maintain the same location of the males bedroom for practical reasons such as if you want to re-film.
• Make arrangements with possible make-up artist as she could be unavailable at precious filming times. Our group must prepare for the possibility that the make up artist is not committed or is struggling for availability.

Inital Ideas

Past Students Work Analysis

We have analyse the opening sequence of group two from windsor girls in 2012. This opening sequence is called ''playback'' and it is a crime thriller.

The start of the opening sequence clearly shows the production name which is ''Droplet productions''. A drop of water appears which is related to the name of the production and this makes it look more professional. The video clip has serval opening tittles such as ''a film by Lauren E Tarling" and "Pip Watkins'' which shows it is a opening sequence. The video have given details of the names of actors and crew.

When the clip begins, a handheld shot is used which portrays someone walking. This creates an enigma as we do not know who it is, but then dieagetic music gradually comes in. This music sounds eerie  . Then the scene cuts to the name of the production company again, before cutting to the walking scene once more. Close up reaction while main female character got stabbed and shows her reaction of being painful and sudden which has related to the genre of the opening sequence. The crew tried to create a natural point of view and to achieve  this, they have used handheld shot throughout the sequence.

This opening sequence is set as a crime thriller and to show the storyline briefly, the director has decided to use short shot duration to change scene to scene which has achieved the atmosphere of danger and has created a enigma. On the other hand, they slowed down the video while the character was walking into the kitchen which has created a nervous atmosphere by showing the scene quite slow.

Mise en scene was also used, when creating the opening sequence. During the opening sequence, we can see a knife covered with blood. This prop has been used to create an enigma as we don’t know what has happened or who has been hurt by the knife. The setting for this opening sequence is a house, which is an ordinary everyday setting. There is a group of girls gathered in the house which is a normal situation but after one of the girls is stabbed, it turns into an extraordinary situation. This represents an ordinary situation in which something extraordinary happens, which is a generic thriller convention.
Towards the end of the opening sequence, we can see the girl who has been stabbed. Even though we didn’t see her get stabbed, we know she has been because in the scene before, a knife covered in blood was shown and from looking at the girl’s facial expressions, we can see she is in pain after

being injured. When we see the girls in the house, we can see that they are are wearing clothing such as dresses, skinny jeans and vest tops. These are stereotypical costumes for girls to wear and as this is a thriller opening sequence, the costumes portray them as the characters in danger as it’s stereotypical that female characters in thriller’s are the characters who are in danger the most and will be in need of saving.


When the opening titles “Droplet Productions” appear, dieagetic sound is introduced straight away and this sound continues into the start of the opening sequence and throughout it. The music sounds quite eerie and spooky which is stereotypically used in a thriller as it creates the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Ambient sound is used when there is someone in the bedroom. The person who is in the room is breathing heavily, as though out of breath. We can’t see who this person is but the breathing sounds very deep, which could suggest that it’s a male character. Whilst looking round the room, the character picks up a knife covered in blood. This could suggest that the character is responsible for stabbing the girl, who we see later in the sequence, as they are breathing heavily which could be because they are in a rush to get away from the crime scene.


We believe that this opening sequence deserves a C, because the storyline isn't that clear so you would have to watch it a few times to understand it fully. The audience may not be able to recognise the storyline and this could affect their understanding of the whole film. Also, the storyline included a party scene in the daytime. This scene doesn't fit with the time of day as parties and crimes usually take place at night. However, the background music have been used perfectly to coinside with the genre of the opening sequence. The editing skills are also very good by linking all the scenes together e.g. After the kitchen scene was shown, a flash effect was used to hint that the present is a flash back which is related to the tittle ''playback''.

BBFC

" The British Board of Film classification is independent, non-government body, which has classified cinema films side it was set up in 1912, and video since the passing of the video recordings 1984 "


There are different classifications, the BBFC endeavours to classify submitted works in one of the following categories:

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U- A U film is suitable for aged four and over. However, it's impossible to determine what upsets a child as they are all different and can be disturbed by different things.

PG - A 'PG' film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. however, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children during the movie.  All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for young children. may contain mild language and sex/drugs references. may contain moderate violence if justified by context ( e.g. fantasy ).




12- It is classified for audiences that are over 12 as some of the content in the films might upset children younger than 12. Strong language can sometimes be used in rated 12 films and some scenes may include violence. Audience that is under 18 is not allowed to watch an 18’’ film in the cinema. This also means they are not allowed to rent or buy an 19 ranted film.
12A- the classification 12A is only used in cinemas so you will not find a 12A DVD.







15- 15 rated movies are not suitable for any children who are under 15. Movies that are classified under the 15 symbol will include portrayals of sexual activity, strong violence, drug taking etc.









18- There will be strong horror scenes and strong blood and gore in films that are classified as 18. audiences that are under 18 aren't allowed to watch an 18 film in the cinema. This also means that they are not allowed to purchase or rent an 18 film.
R18-  Films with this symbol will only be shown in specially licensed cinemas or it will only be supplied in licensed sex shops. In fact, it’s to adults of not less than 18 years old.




As a group, we have decided to base our thriller opening sequence between the classification of 12 to 15. This is because we believe there will be scenes that are unsuitable for children under 12. Our task is to create an opening sequence for a thriller movie, the classification has to be at least a 12 because thriller movies tend to involve some relations to crime, bad language and frightening scenes. On the other hand, our opening sequence will not contain heavy amounts of strong blood or pornography, meaning it is irrelevant to classify the film as an 18 or R18.

Opening Sequence - 9 Shot Analysis

Psychological thriller - total running time for opening sequence: 6 minutes
The film title: The silence of the lambs.
Introduction to theme tune: The theme tune comes in just before the first scene begins.
Introduction to the character type: The girl was climbing up the hill in a forest.

Indication of place/ location: Woods near Quantico, Va is the name of the location.

Details of cast and crew: Costume designer - Colleen Atwood, production designer - Kristi Zea, editor - Craig McKay, directed by Jonathan Demme.

Enigma:  At the start, the girl is running through the forest as she looks to be in danger. Later on, in a different scene, the girl sees photos of dead people and newspaper articles on the walls.
Information on genre: The girl was wearing casual clothes as she was running through the forest, obstacles in the obstacle course she was completing on her own were props



Opening sequence generic convention analysis - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

The films title is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The title appeared in canon order at 21 seconds. The onomatopoeia of "Bang Bang" gives connotations of guns and weapons, a feature that is common in a crime thriller. The "Bang Bang" also contrasts with the romantic "Kiss Kiss" as this portrays two different emotions of romance and violence for the audience. "Kiss Kiss" could also represent a main female character that is involved with crime activities. The film title could represent the timeline of love as as the beginning, the relationship could be kisses, then towards the end the relationship ends with violence. The film title is quite apparent towards the genre of the film, making the narrative seem quite predictable.


The theme tune starts at the beginning of the opening scene and lasts right through to the end. The upbeat soft music gives connotations of undercover detective work with a raunchy twist. This make the audience feel theres a mystery and suspicion in the crime thriller. The theme tune relates to the title of the thriller as both portray violence and criminal attributes and together they combine to complete the genre of a stereotypical crime thriller.


Within 4 seconds of the opening sequence, the location jumps out at the audience as being modern city life. This could reflect the realism of the crime as robbery is common in major cities and town. The location represents the urban life in todays world, as the audience see animations of barbed wires and mansion houses. This corresponds with the main theme of the thriller as the period is set for today.


The first introduction to a character is 00.08 seconds where the audience see an animated figure jumping over a tall barbed wired gate. This insinuates that the character is up to no good. As the animated figure runs out of the camera frame, a females facial features appears at the top left corner looking over at him. Although, the facial features of the female are animated, the audience quickly grasp that she is female due to her perfect shaped eyebrows and long eyelashes. The way the female looks over towards the direction that the male figure was running in, illustrates she is superior then the male. This is very counter typical as women tend not to be associated with crime. This makes the audience feel, that the female is involved with the criminal activities. The third introduction to many characters is at 00.51 when the audience see the animated characters suited and booted clutching a glass of wine. This portrays their criminal rewards have been spend on fine dining and partying. After the socialising, the scene alternates to many animated characters gathering in a small closed balcony where one female character is pushed of. The audience see the female character fall under the moonlight. This insinuates some sort of death in the crime, a feature that is also common in crime thriller. This gives the audience a hint within the narrative that one female character will either die or be injured. It turns out their is murdering, as one character shoots and kills the female out of anger.


The opening scene creates all sorts of enigmas for the public. The audience are keen to work out why a gun shots out animated flowers and leaves. This goes with the title of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as the irony of the violent and dangerous prop of a gun is shooting out nature. Again, the contrast between the splatter of red blood and then red kiss mark, is ironic towards the title of the film. The contrast between love and crime, is very stereotypical as in crime thrillers there normally contains a crime being committed for the loved one.


The audience notice small details of cast and crew in the opening scene. The animated ladies are wearing tight expensive dresses and the male characters are wearing expensive black suits. This makes the audience feel that the characters are upperclass. This is very stereotypical to have upperclass characters involved with crime.


The sub genre conventions.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang uses four micro areas throughout the opening sequence, these being, camera work, editing, sound and miss-en-scene.

Camera work: There was a zoom out on the black gun making the gun the main focus of the frame. This portrays that the gun could be an important prop towards the film. There is also match on action of the girl getting pushed of the balcony and falling. This could insinuate that a character dies in the film or is seriously injured. There is a pan movement of the two houses and telephone wires which indicates the polluted city life.

Sound: Music fades in at 00.02 seconds and played until the end. The music is upbeat and secretive which relates to the plot of the robbery. The music is continued throughout the whole clip as the audience become familiar with the narrative.

Mise-en-scene: The setting is in a highway city life atmosphere which fits the plot as crime rates in the city are normally high. The setting informed the viewers that the film is based in the city centre. Certain props were used such as guns to fit the genre of the film. The colour was pink on some scenes which gives connotations with females. However, the colour was low-key black when there was men appearing on the scene. This distinguishes the male characters from the female characters as being up to mischief.

Editing: There was a straight cut between the long shot of the mansion house to inside the party where characters were socialising. This gives an insight to the rich criminal life that the characters live. There is short shot duration on the females facial features which could portray how secretive and manipulative the character is in the film, as she is constantly watching over and dominating the male characters.