Padd Solutions

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Many original scores from movies have influenced me greatly when thinking about what music to use within my short film, primarily the music Robert Rodriguez composed specifically for his friend Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill: Volume 2. The two instrumental songs I will write about here are titled "Do I Look Pretty" (1:29) and "Budd Twang" (1:14).

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Do I Look Pretty: From 0:00 to 0:32, I think this would be perfect for the scene in which Roselyn is listening to Smith's ex-girlfriend's voicemail message, and 0:32 to 0:49 would be great for when she is considering poisoning Smith's tea. When the guitar kicks in at 0:49 Roselyn would've steel her resolve poison the tea and at 1:03 I would fade out the high pitched strings before the final horns in the song play. And then from 1:11 to 1:28 a lone bell can be heard ringing out three times, I could use this to imply a death toll ringing for Smith as she brings the tea through in slow motion. I am unsure about this last idea but it's always an option.

Budd Twang: From 0:37 to 1:14, I think this would be great for the ending of the short film in which Roselyn is contemplating what she's done and smiles at the camera in the last shot/note of the film/song. I think this would be good because the mood of the piece is very sombre, she is happy that she has got the money for herself before Smith betrayed her but she is also sad that it had to happen this way, but in the end he caused it so the song isn't too maudlin as she is ultimately happy by the last shot.

Kill Bill: Volume 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004, US) - Budd's Death Scene
(The extract begins at 3:25 and ends at 6:04)

The extract begins with an overhead shot of Budd falling on his back after being bitten by a deadly Black Mamba snake set on him by Elle Driver. Budd is laid upside down in the shot but it appears natural because it is from an overhead point of view, Elle's. It then cuts to Elle lighting up a cigarette and mock apologising to him. This shot was filmed upside down, an effect that discomforts the viewer because it is not a natural point of view shot but is instead from Budd's point of view lying on his back. The effect of discomfort and confusion it causes is designed to put the audience in Budd's place, not particularly to empathise with him but more to show you the power of Elle. It is also a very low angle shot which just further goes to show you Elle's dominance. The music also begins with this shot and is a very subtle but effective string piece.



The next interesting shot that I wanted to draw influence from is the shot below which is a close up on Budd in the foreground and a long shot of Elle in the background. As she is talking we can see Budd writhing around in agony but he is out of focus to show that Elle does not care about his pain in the slightest. As she begins to walk out of the shot Budd turns his head to face the camera and the focus pulls so we can see Budd in clear detail. The audience are forced to watch him in pain while Elle talks on unaffected.



Following this are a mixture of shots showing Elle taunting Budd with facts about how fast the venom from the Black Mamba will kill him and one particular shot I liked which was a close up of Elle stubbing out her cigarette symbolising her stubbing out Budd's life. However most of the shots in this section were standard shots and related to her taunting attitude, such as medium shots to show her distance from Budd's pain, but it isn't until she is showing her anger towards him that the scene uses shots I want to draw influence from.

When Elle tells Budd that she feels regret that The Bride was killed by him (the audience already know she wasn't, however) she moves close to the camera and presumably to Budd so the audience can see the intense, but controlled, rage in her face. She then sits back and sighs at Budd, like she should've known better to expect anything more from him. This is exactly how I want Roselyn to talk to Smith after she has poisoned him and how I want to frame it.

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Psycho (Alfred Hitchock, 1960, US) - "She Wouldn't Even Harm A Fly" scene.
(Couldn't embed due to autoplay issues.)

Extract for analysis begins at 0:26.

The reason I have chosen to analyse this scene is because I would like to draw influence from it's famous use of the long forward tracking shot that goes from a long shot to a close up of Norman Bates' character. Although I do not want to have Roselyn having an inner monologue at the end of my short film I do like the idea of having a drawn out tracking shot to reveal her smiling to the camera, not out of psychosis but out of happiness.

The extract begins with Norman sitting alone at one side of the frame to emphasise his loneliness. There is also a window with bars on it at the other side of the room, to show that he is in a prison cell but also to show that he is trapped within his own psyche, believing he is in fact, his mother (although this is only immediately evident if you have watched the entire film, of course).

Then the slow forward-moving tracking shot begins as a voiceover in his mother's voice, plays out. The strings in the soundtrack begin to fade in too as the camera gets closer and closer to Norman. It is when the camera is right in front of his face that it is revealed that the voiceover (which could be assumed was a posthumous voiceover used as a filmic device) is actually an internal monologue of Norman thinking as his mother.



We are then shown a point of view shot from Norman's view of him looking at a fly crawling across his hand, the fact that he does not immediately swat it away shows that he is in control of his current situation, or at least believes he is.

Norman is then seen looking directly into the camera as a smile spreads across his face. This is then faded into a scene of Marion's car being dredged up from the lake Norman dumped it into, however it is the transition that is interesting here. An image of his mother's skull that is present in neither scene has been superimposed onto Norman's face confirming to the audience that he does in fact believe that he is his dead mother, but also is a signifier for all the death and pain he has brought to the world. This is another element of the scene I had thought about bringing to my own short film, the superimposition of 'death' onto Roselyn's face, however this is only an option as I'm not sure it would fit in my film and if I did do it I would most likely make it a short flash of an image rather than placing it within a transition.

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Doug Liman, 2005, US) - "Suspicion for Dinner" scene.
(Couldn't embed due to autoplay issues.)

The reason I have chosen to analyse this scene from Mr. & Mrs. Smith is because it deals with John's suspicion of his wife, Jane. They have each just discovered that the other is an assassin and instead of confronting each other about it straight away they play a game of 'cat and mouse' in which Jane's body language implies she has poisoned John's food when she in fact only wants to see if he will crack before she does. Although this is not the exact same as the situation in my film, it is similar and I wanted to analyse the scene to get some ideas for stylistic features I could use.

The scene begins with low angle shots of each of the characters and close up shots of them handling knives. This is to show that each character is at an even level of power, one doesn't have the upper hand on the other yet and they are both equally dangerous as each other, especially seeing as they each have a weapon. We then see Jane in a low angle shot, making her appear more dominant than John as she is dealing out the food (that John immediately assumes is poisoned).

The house is very traditional looking and it's colours are muted, using browns and greys throughout the scene, Jane is also dressed in browns and greys as though she is trying to play the role of housewife more than ever now. John is dressed in entirely black, he is trying to hide his true self from her by wearing dark clothing instead of blending into the surroundings like his wife.

As the scene progresses they each trade knowing remarks that make it clear they both know the situation but neither of them will come out and admit it. This is combined with string music, playing an almost humorous tune with each pun that comes out of either character's mouth.

As John sprinkles salt onto his food, Jane is seen in a medium close up occupying only half of the screen (John occupies the other half in a shot reverse shot pattern), but she is playing with her hands and looking at John, like she is waiting for something.



As he eats the steak in defiance he begins to suspect something is off with the food. He looks over to a artistic broken up mirror (to signify the many different lives they each lead), but in the mirror is reflected a box of something poisonous with a skull and crossbones on it.



As they both pretend to care about eating their meal, the medium close ups cut to close ups and we see their expressions even clearer, John's slightly panicked face and Jane's almost smug face.

It is at this point that the music changes and incorporates a cheerful piano melody to show the playful nature of their exchanges, they're actually having fun messing with each other's minds as opposed to their usual boring meals. The camera angle changes too as John pours Jane some wine, we see a low angle shot of John pouring and a high angle shot of Jane receiving the glass as the tables are about to turn and she will lose the upper hand. John, very purposefully, drops the wine bottle but Jane, giving her assassin skills away, immediately grabs the bottle in near superhuman reflexes. They share knowing looks in close ups and the music is left lingering on a high soft note, typical when characters are greeted with a revelation.



The editing used throughout the scene was continuity editing, only speeding up at moments of potential revelations, but was usually quite slowly edited to really let the audience examine John and Jane's facial reactions throughout the scene.

Taking inspiration from this scene I have decided that I will use high and low angle shots extensively as the power shifts between Roselyn and Smith several times throughout my short film, much like John and Jane here. I will also pick an instrumental song from a soundtrack that rises and falls in suspense and mix it in Premiere Pro myself when it comes to post-production, however I will not include any cheerful melodies as my short film is not a comedy, whereas Mr. and Mrs. Smith was an action, thriller and comedy hybrid.

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Roselyn and Smith are two criminals who have just pulled off their fourth midnight bank robbery. They return home after the deed, confident that they will never get caught. Roselyn offers to make them some tea and goes to the kitchen. Whilst in the kitchen she notices one of Smith's mobile phones has a new voicemail message. She plays it and to her horror she discovers it is a message from Smith's ex-girlfriend and that he is planning to ditch Roselyn and take the money for the two of them. Upset, she drops the phone and upon retrieving it she notices a box of rat poison. In an attempt to beat Smith at his own game she decides to poison him and take the money for herself. Roselyn takes the poisoned tea through to Smith and begins acting very suspiciously. Smith notices and immediately deduces something is strange about the tea and asks for some biscuits too. Roselyn leaves to get some and Smith investigates the cups, spots some powder and switches the tea cups. When she returns and drinks from her own she begins violently coughing. Smith then laughs at her and gulps from his own cup in triumph. As soon as he drinks from the cup she stops coughing and stares at him. He begins spluttering and falls to his knees. As he dies Roselyn resolutely explains to him that he brought it on himself. She then sits back down in her seat, puts her legs up on Smith’s dead body and gazes into the camera, giving a slight smile to the audience.


Roselyn Roth: The root of the name Roselyn, Rose, is a very common name is fiction and film because of it's associations to the flower and is regarded as a very feminine name, however it also has connotations of hidden power and treachery, because roses are also known for having thorns but the beauty of the rose distracts from them (hence the name of my short film, Thorn). This is why I have decided to call my protagonist, or rather anti-hero, Roselyn. Her last name, Roth, is self-explanatory without being too obvious with it's meaning - Roselyn's wroth, however her, and Smith's, last name will not be featured within the film anyway.

Smith Grayson: I chose the name Smith for the antagonist because it is the most common last name in the English speaking world and I wanted to make the male quite unidentifiable so the audience won't be encouraged identify with him and then dislike the Femme Fatale character of Roselyn.

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The thriller is a genre of film that utilizes the elements of suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. There are also sub-genres of the thriller, such as mystery, crime and psychological thrillers. The most renowned films belonging to the genre are those of Alfred Hitchcock.



Thrillers are characterised by portraying an atmosphere of menace, violence, crime and murder by showing society as a dark and dangerous world rife with corruption, however they usually feature happy endings in which the villains are killed or arrested. Both of these elements are present in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ in which Gotham City is shown as extremely corrupt and dangerous, and in the end Batman catches The Joker and he is arrested.



The genre utilizes a lot of literary devices such as plot twists, red herrings and cliff-hangers, such as in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception,’ which uses all three throughout the film, most notably at the end of the film in which the viewer is left wondering whether Cobb is truly in the real world or if he is still in a dream world.



They also promote on moods and try to maximise the film’s effect on the audience’s emotions. Such as inciting a high level of anticipation, arousal, ultra-heightened expectation, anxiety and even terror. This is evident in probably all of Hitchcock’s films, but it is ‘Psycho’ which is most renowned for it, the audience are led to believe that Marion Crane will survive (due to the actress’ high status) and it genuinely shocked audiences when she succumbed to the killer.



Characters portrayed in thrillers include criminals (The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’), assassins (Léon in ‘Léon’), innocent victims (Mathilda in ‘Léon’), characters with dark pasts (Dom Cobb in ‘Inception’), psychotic individuals (Norman Bates in ‘Psycho’), terrorists (Evelyn Salt in ‘Salt’), to name but a few. The themes of thrillers frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.



The heroes in most thrillers are frequently ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger, “the every man,” for example Dave in ‘Kick-Ass’ is an every man, although he transcends beyond this status throughout the film. However, more common in crime thrillers, they may also be "hard men" accustomed to danger, like, police officers and detectives, such as John McClane in Die Hard. While such heroes have traditionally been men, women lead characters have become increasingly common, such as Angelina Jolie’s roles in Salt and alongside Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.



Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but can be differentiated by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy (Kyle Reese and the Terminator), rather than uncover a crime that has already happened; while a murder mystery would be ruined by a premature disclosure of the murderer's identity, in a thriller the identity of a murderer or other villain is typically known all along such as Stansfield in Léon.

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Develop an extended sequence from an imagined feature.

Or

Develop a complete short film of between 3 and 5 minutes.

With both of these options I am to engage with the issues raised in FM1 in relation to the production of meaning and the study of film stylistics and theory.

I can undertake this task as an individual and it is advised that I do so, but if I work in a group then my production role within that group MUST be clearly defended and I will need to provide evidence of my contribution in terms of that role and I will be assessed on my performance in that role.

I have chosen to make develop a suspense thriller short film of between 3 and 5 minutes featuring two partners in crime and their traitorous natures. I will undertake all aspects of production and work alone as opposed to in a group.