Psycho and The Conjuring

Psycho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WtDmbr9xyY

The Conjuring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrFT6L4jxdI

Psycho (1960) – The Conjuring (2013)

The two extracts in which I will be comparing are going to be ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Conjuring’. The movie Psycho was made in the 1960’s and the movie The Conjuring was made in 2013. The two movies were made in separate times and are classed as thriller/horror movies. The clip from Psycho will be from where the lady gets killed by someone unexpectedly whilst she is having a shower and the clip from the conjuring will be where the mother and daughter are playing a game and the mother hears something but it’s not what she thought it was...

The clip in Psycho shows the lady taking off her clothes and it is a medium shot of her. She then gets into the bath tub and sighs, this could show us that maybe it has been a tough day and that she wants to wine down with a shower. Also to make a note she is in a close up where you can see her face and her shoulders only, this is due to back in the 1960’s you weren’t allowed to show naked bodies of women (neither now as well), but back then it would have caused more of a stir has this was the first movie to this so it was controversial, This was due to practical reasons.

The lady then puts on the shower and looks up at it and whilst she is looking up at it the camera then goes to shower to show that we are looking up at it and as if the shower is coming down on us and we are in the ladies situation, this is called an eye line match. This is where you see someone looking at something and the next shot we see it for ourselves. We then see different angles of the lady having a shower and it looks as if this shower was needed to relieve some sort of stress. We then see the shower again in a close up showing that something could happen. We then see a more of a medium shot of the lady when she is covering herself with her arms and you see the curtain, the curtain must signify something to us which may happen soon to the lady.

Has I said above the showing of the curtains must have meant something has we now see something happening behind the curtain, it is like someone has opened the door of the bathroom. We then see it coming closer and the camera then goes away from the lady having the shower and focuses more on the person coming closer to the curtain, this could be a panning shot where the camera moves slowly on its axis side to side which could be used to emphasise our attention on a viewpoint and in this case it was this mysterious person coming closer to the lady who is unaware of their presence.

Has the mysterious person comes closer and opens the curtains we hear parallel music which could make the audience jump and we see a knife as the lady turns around she also screams, we then see close ups of the woman and then an extreme close up of the ladies mouth to show her screaming and to show that something is going to happen. We then see many shots of the woman getting stabbed by this mysterious person but we don’t actually see it happening due to practical reasons which is linked to what I explained before of the lady not allowed to be shown naked, likewise to this part where we are not allowed to see her getting stabbed numerously. We also see a shot of the woman where it looks as if we are looking down on here which connotes that she has now lost all of her power as she has now been found out and is most likely going to die, so this shows she is in a vulnerable situation.

We then see numerous shots of the camera switching from the lady and mysterious person where she is trying to protect herself, we see many close ups of the two individuals. We eventually do see that the lady has lost the battle as the camera now focuses on the bath tub where we see blood running down which is most likely the ladies. The ladies head then turns away to show us that she has died and the next shot shows the mysterious walk away, so we don’t get to see who actually did it we only see the back of them. This could have been done to keep up a suspense of who done it. We then see the ladies hands look as if she is trying to stay alive for dear life in an extreme close up and the music in the back ground is getting slower which could show that the ladies life is getting slower and she is about to die.

We then see a medium shot of the lady and she is looking straight with no emotion, after this she tries to reach out which could mean that she is trying to reach out for help but no one is there to help her. She then puts her hand upon the curtains for some support but the curtains eventually fall and she falls with them to the ground which shows the last amount of hope she had is now gone with these close ups of her hand against the curtains, showing how desperate she is. We then see shots of the shower again to show that it is still running and then shots of her legs and we then see the blood and water flowing to the tap to show that her time is up and that her blood is running away from her and she is slowly going down the drain like her blood. We see this by seeing extreme close ups of the water and blood going down the drains.

We then see a straight cut where we see the drain and straight after we see the ladies eye and the camera starts to spin around her eye and whilst it is doing this the camera is zooming out of the ladies eye to where we eventually see the whole of the ladies face. The spiralling could have been used to show the ladies life spiralling out of control to where now she has no life.

In the clip from The Conjuring we see a medium shot of the upstairs of the house, sort of like an establishing shot where we see their upstairs. We can see that it is new has there aren’t many things upstairs and also the upstairs looks a bit olden and spooky and not what you would associate with something in the 21^st century. We also hear something in the background but aren’t sure what it is, we then hear the mother who is outside one of the doors say ‘first clap’ has she is playing a game with her daughter.

We then see the back of the mother as if we are doing a tracking shot of her and this is also another medium shot where see a different part of the large hall way. It’s as if we are the ones that are going to do something to the mother; also the game in which the mother and her daughter are playing is with a blind fold so the mother cannot see what’s happening. We then also start to hear some sort of bells ringing in the back ground which adds to the tension within this scene, showing that something could be building up to happen. There is no music being played but we could sense something happening due to the parallel sound of the bells which are also diegetic. We then see the mother hit into many things such as a table and the banister and again we see this from behind as if we are the ones tracking her. Also we see that she hurts herself has she asks for the second clap, this is due to the fact that the house they are now living in is new and it will take time for them to settle hence why she is always banging into things. 

We are then in front of her with the camera as if she is coming to us, which could show that she is vulnerable due to the fact she is wearing a blind fold. However at this moment the mother believes she has found her daughter in the game and starts to smile. We then also start to hear a clock in the back ground to show that her time is up and that something is going to happen. She then enters the room and we see the room in a wide shot as she enters, this shot is an eye line match where we see that she is about to go in to that room and the next shot we see her in that room.

We then hear the mother say ‘April I’m coming to get you’. Has she is saying this it is as if she is possessed and it makes us scared like she is some sort of monster who wants to cause harm, and has she is in a blind fold her arms are out and this adds more to the tension has she looks like a zombie and that something is going to happen in this wide shot we are seeing of her in the room. We then see her coming to the camera as if she is coming to get us and then we see the doors in one of the closets behind her open by themselves in this wide shot.

The mother then turns around and is acting as if she knows she has found her daughter, she then asks for the third clap and the clothes in the closet move about and these hands then give the third clap. We then see the mother come to us as if she trying to catch us again and we see a close up of her and we then hear footsteps coming in to the room. From where it changes from a straight shot to her taking her blind fold off and we then hear some sort of non diegetic sound which adds to the tension within the scene and all of a sudden her daughter speaks saying she lost the game. We see from this wide shot that the mother is freaked out over what has happened has she also says she could hear her daughter breathing when it wasn’t her daughter it was something else. We then also hear music in the background speeding up for some sort of climax which is also non diegetic.

The two clops from the movies add tension in different ways, from their different types of camera shots and camera movement. Both clips show close ups at various times so that we see the different types of emotions from the characters, however one of the clips showed more close ups than the other whereas one decided to focus more on medium and wide shots so we get a feeling of everything in the room and see every detail and see what different things might pop out from everywhere. Even though the films are fifty years apart the older movie still shows great editing from where the drain moves swiftly on to the ladies eye. The other clip showed many more tracking shots as if we were in the movie to build our nerves up and increase our anxiety. Both clips involved diegetic and non diegetic sound, where you could hear music in one and in the other you can hear screeching sounds the diegetic sound included clocks in the background and the sound of water and the lady screaming in the other, one had dialogue also has the other didn’t. You couldn’t tell the colour in one due to it being black and white but the other clip had mainly dull colours and it was a day where it looked as if it were winter and this added to the tension. So overall both clips try to add tension in both similar and different ways.     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8

An extract edited in a distinctive way – Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball

The extract in which I have decided to talk about that was edited in a distinctive way is a song called ‘Wrecking ball’ by Miley Cyrus. I have mainly chosen to talk about this song is due to the deep meaning behind the video and not what everyone else thinks it is (a naked girl showing off her girly bits for views).

The video starts off with Mileys face in a close up, and you then see a tear come down from her eye so you can tell that this song is going to be emotional about a break up and that she is heartbroken over someone. It takes 9 seconds into the video before Miley actually starts to sing, this could be a sign that she isn’t feeling confident due to what has happened to her and that she is in a fragile state and therefore could be nervous about this song. She is in a close up of her face until the 31^st second of video, and has she is singing you can see that something drastic has happened to her as she shows no emotion just a straight face.

After her close ups she is then in a close up but it is less zoomed in and you can see she is holding a sledge hammer behind her. We could connote from this that she is vulnerable and that she could do something with this sledge hammer that she could regret. She is also whilst holding the sledge hammer looking up, this may be because she is looking up to the heavens and thinking what has she done to deserve this. You then see other shots of her with the sledge hammer where she is looking at it as if she doesn’t want to be holding it but has no choice to has her life has been ruined.

The video then goes back to a close up of just Mileys face again, so again we get to share the emotion of Mileys, this could be to feel the pain Mileys in and share it with us. Also the music in the background to this point has been really slow, as you would expect with a song like this so the music is parallel to the video.

But after her close up goes you see a medium shot of Miley and the music has a sudden change, you can see that Miley is trying to get rid of the pain and heartbreak she is going through as now the music is at a faster tone and she is standing in this place made of stone walls and has she is walking away you see a massive wrecking ball break the walls has she is going past, that could be to connote what has happened to her world that is has gone crashing down in just an instance. So at first the song was calm and slow which could have been her life at first but after this mishap in her life it is now fast and surreal after the music change goes to a faster pace.

Throughout the video the video shows extreme close ups of Miley as have done from the beginning of the video. She is then standing on top of the wrecking ball and in some parts is also naked, this could show that it could have been her fault to why her life has been wrecked has she is on top of it so she could have controlled what happened to her. She also decided to lick the sledge hammer in a weird way, some could say she is crazy but it could also mean that she has no one left but this sledge hammer and doesn’t want to show her real emotion and try and stay strong.

You see a change in emotion from Miley has the video progresses and it could show that she has grown more confident over the video, this could relate to her real life has at first she was finding it hard but since then she has progressed. You can see this by the extreme close ups have been changed to close ups and she is now blaming her other half for what has happened. She also goes back to the stone wall part which has been ruined and lies on the broken parts of stone, this could be shown has it shows that she is back to the place where everything is ruined and seeing everything again one last time.

However towards the end of the vide Miley starts crying again her extreme close ups and covers her face with her hands, this shows she still is not in the right place as she emotional and has a mixture of feelings and she doesn’t know how to explain them. She goes from blaming him for what has happened to blaming herself, she doesn’t know what has happened and it has finally hit her.

So to conclude this video I believe was made to show a story in to Mileys life and the heart break she has gone through recently. I believe this is true due to the fact that she recently broke up with her fiancé who she was close with for many years, so she is sharing her story with us and showing how vulnerable she is with prime examples being that she is naked in some parts and has been stripped of all her masculinity. We also see that she is too young and weren’t prepared to lose the love of her life and that she is trying to move on.  

The Game

I and my partner Kabir decided to do our narrative based on football. The protagonist within the story is someone called Conrad Garcia. Who is half English and half Spanish. Conrad Garcia is a footballer who plays for Barnsley in the championship. This is when the equilibrium is put in place. It is the Championship playoff final and the winner of the match will get promoted into the Premiership. Unfortunately Barnsley lost on penalties, however Conrad who is a striker did score a goal during the match and converted his penalty and was also named man of the match. Due to his performance in the final and throughout the whole season a host of premier league clubs were tracking him when eventually Tottenham signed him for 7 million pounds. It was middle of the season and Conrad hadn’t played many games due to the quality of players within the Tottenham squad. Tottenham were playing a home match against Manchester United they were losing 1-0. Andre Vilas Boas the Tottenham manager needed to make a substitution quickly. He decided to take their star striker Soldado off and bring on Conrad, the Tottenham fans were booing and getting very abusive.. Until the 90^th minute where Conrad was fed in one on one he shoots he scores!

That one goal changed his life completely, now Conrad would get noticed everywhere he goes, sponsorship deals you name it. But more importantly he was starting instead of Soldado the best player at the club. Due to the fame and his big step up Conrad wanted a new contract worth a lot of money, however his agent who had been his agent since he first started playing football professionally told him he should wait. Conrad didn’t like what his agent had to say and this resulted in conflict between the pair and eventually he sacked him and hired a new well known agent, who was also the agent of Soldados. The disequilibrium is now being introduced. Has Conrad has with many premier league footballers personal life was beginning to take a toll on his image has he was always partying and cheated on his girlfriend who he had been with from a young age. He got the lucrative contract he wanted but at a cost has he had lost all his friends and lost respect from the people closest to him. You could see this wasn’t affecting him on the pitch has he was still scoring goals. However Soldado didn’t like Conrad due to him taking his place in the team and had a word with his agent, has Soldado was the agents’ favourite client he decided to help Soldado. It was the penultimate weekend of the premier league and Tottenham were going for 4^th place, they were up against Sunderland. Lee Cattermole another one of this mysterious agents clients was playing. During the match you could see Cattermole was man marking Conrad and towards the end he had fouled and injured Conrad this caused a fight between the two payers causing Conrad to get sent off and also injured for a large amount of time. Cattermole then looked to the stands where the agent was and winked and just Conrads luck his replacement Soldado scored the winner.

After long rehab, Conrad decided to try fix things up with the people closest to him, this worked and he eventually re hired his ex agent and forced a move away from Tottenham and joined Arsenal their rivals.. His career was back on track but for how long...

Villain: New agent

Donor: Mum

Helper: Close friends/ girlfriend/ old agent

Princess: Girlfriend

Dispatcher: Mum

Hero: Conrad Garcia

False Hero: New team mates and agent

Good Vs Bad

Hope Vs Fate

Top Boy

I have decided to analyse episode 4 of series 2 of the street/crime series which is ‘Top Boy’. To summarise what happened in the final episode of series 2 of Top Boy is that Dushane who is the protagonist throughout the whole of the series gets caught up into many situations. One of those situations is where he is trying to plead not guilty to killing someone as well has helping a friend whose son is getting bullied by a man from China. Dushane has an uneasy friendship and partnership with a former close friend Sully but in this episode they join forces to get money off of these Albanians who are said to be everyone’s rivals. Within all of this Dushane whose girlfriend is a solicitor gets caught up in Dushanes world has to try and protect Dushane from the police. By this she could be risking her job eventually Dushane and Sully get the money they want but at the end one of Dushanes so called apprentices gets killed by the Albanians by getting thrown off the top of the flats.

Theories and codes

Throughout the episode you could see many action codes developing but the main action code was towards the end of the episode in which Michael (the young kid who eventually gets killed) was in the room with the Albanians but they didn't know he was there, you could sense that something was going to happen has they were searching around the house until Michael ran out to try and protect Dushane from he got thrown off the flats balcony. This then progressed has the Albanians found out where Dushane was and tried shooting him.

I’d say that the storyline goes in a non linear narrative where things seem to not go in order. Has it was the last episode of the series you would expect a happy ending after where Dushane and Sully get their money back from the Albanians but as we know it doesn’t end there and Michael eventually dies and Dushanes life hangs in the balance. This is the opposite to a linear narrative where the conflict and problem has already occurred and everything is over with. This then in turn creates an enigma has it has created mystery of what is going to happen next. You could also say that a multi strand narrative is being done in the Top Boy episode has Dushane just doesn’t have the Albanians to consider has he also has that ‘China man’ to deal with and also his case against Kumali who he killed but yet is pleading not guilty. This could be a multi strand narrative however it is all to do with one person so at the same time it might not be.

Todorovs theory includes equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. But this doesn’t go to plan in Top Boy has there is really no equilibrium taking place due to the many problems Dushane was encountering. But there were many disequilibriums which were taking which I have explained: Albanians, China man, court case. Throughout these events Dushane took part in many conflicts affecting the lives of his closest friends as well has his girlfriend and family. A new equilibrium does take place for a short while where Dushane gets his money back from the Albanians however this is short lived due to his former best mate Sully saying he doesn’t want to come back to Dushanes ‘gang’ and then when the Albanians kill Michael which sends out a message to him that they are coming for him.

Propps theory includes the role of characters within story lines. There are many villains within Top Boy you could say that the Albanians are for what they did to Dushanes money, the police for causing chaos for Dushane and his ‘gang’ you could even say Dushane was a villain in many ways has he broke the law many times. There are many helpers within Top Boy also, Sully for one who helps Dushane get his money back and his girlfriend also who helps his case and fights for him many times. The donor could be Michael has he helps Dushane before he dies by shouting Dushanes name and therefore risking his own life. The princess in this storyline could be Ra’nell and Gem who get saved by Gems dad has the China man was doing bad stuff towards the kids. So you could say they got saved by a so called hero even though he stabbed him. The dispatcher would be Ra’nells mum who gives Dushane the task of sorting out the China man even though Gems dad got there first. The hero you could say was Gems dad for saving the kids but at a price and also Dushane for getting his money back for him and his ‘gang’. The false hero could be Dushane has you could say he is doing all of this stuff just for himself for e.g. having the solicitor has his girlfriend just so it helps him stay out of prison also calling back Sully to help get his money back and not really care for him. But you could also say Michael was the false hero has in the other episodes he told the police about what Dushane had done to kill Kumali (their so called rivals), but he also helped Dushane at the end by shouting out his name to warn him the Albanians were there and by doing so got killed.