Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a term that describes visual referencing between films. Films that borrow from each other using aspects of camera, sound, mise en scene and editing are intertextual. Audiences are able to recognize these aspects from films they have previously seen.

This is a clip from the film Psycho (1960) it is of a woman in a shower that gets killed with a kitchen knife and suffers a slow and painful death.

Aspects of this film have been borrowed in the following:

What Lies Beneath (2000) 

 

What happens? 

He has drugged his wife so that she becomes paralyzed. He then places her in a white bath tub leaving the water running so that she can watch her slow and painful death.

Aspects borrowed from 'Psycho'  

The same iconic shower head is used.Through the mise en scene the audience is able to see that there is a blonde female victim in the bathtub with a white bathrobe. The same translucent shower curtain from psycho is used and the white tiles. The diegetic sound of the shower being used takes us back to the bathroom scene in psycho.

Fatal Attraction (1987)

 

 

What Happens? 

There is psychotic blonde woman who is trying to kill her lovers wife in the bathroom.  The man then  runs to save his wife and drowns his ex lover in the bath tub.She regains consciousness and as she stands up his wife shoots her with a gun and she dies.  

Aspects borrowed from 'Psycho'

The kinife that had been used was the same. The psychotic woman clenched onto the prop of knife while her hand fell this is like the scene in psycho when the blonde womans hand dropped down.  Both women were blonde.The ex lover was sliding down the white tiles reflecting the way in which the woman from the film 'Psycho' slid down the tiles. She lay in the bath with her eyes open this is used in both 'psycho' and 'what lies beneath' The white bath, the white tiles and the same white translucent curtain which was ripped off are elements of mise en scene taken from psycho. Quick cuts were used and the same diegetic noises of a woman screaming is similar to the psycho bathroom scene.

Succubus

 

 What happens?

There is a boy in the shower. A blonde psychotic female enters the bathroom with a knife and stabs him to death. 

 Aspects borrowed from psycho 

The knife stabbing point of view was taken from the psycho clip. The knife used was the same. To make their scene intertextual  they should have used the same shower head, white bathtub with the white shower curtain.  If those props weren't available to them they should have done a shot of the boy sliding down the tiles. To make  his death more effective and dramatic he should have fell forward. Also a close-up of his face squashed on the floor would have created more drama.

Differences between openings and trailers

Film openings are what grab audiences attention and they set the scene for the rest of the film.
Trailers provide audiences with clips from the movie that create suspense. It is a marketisation strategy for audiences to watch their movie.


Thriller Trailer For Dream House (2011)

We can recognize this is a trailer, because the movie 

title is at the end of the clip.

Trailers provide high levels of anticipation and builds up tension. Suspense is when...

1. A state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.
2. A quality in a work of fiction that arouses excited expectation or uncertainty about what may happen.

Suspense is an emotion felt by audiences that is felt according to the situation in thriller movies which is why people decide to watch this genre.

Thriller Psycho Opening (1960) 

This is an opening because the title appears through the middle of the scene. 
There is no suspense as this is a narrative lead opening. Only dialogue, establishing shot of where we are and close ups of iconic props. This introduces the audience to the movie and draws them into the story line.

Intertextuality

Definition:

Intertextuality generally describes different kinds of references in between films. It is almost as if films 'borrow' certain aspects from another film i.e. the mise en scene and layout of the setting. From the audience's perspective, we recognise this term from the way the camera angles are placed, costume and props and methods of editing involved where it is familiar in another film.

Comparing both Pyscho to other films, the main challenge was to recognise the similarities in both films where they have used Intertextuality from Psycho.

What Lies Beneath

What's happening?

A man presumably a husband is carrying his wife upstairs while she is paralysed from being drugged by him. Water running is heard from the bathroom as he approaches it and then lies her into the bathtub in hope of drowning her.

Similarities to Psycho

There are close ups of the showerhead which is identical to the one used in the shower scene from Psycho. While the shower curtain and bathtub both resemble the same props, plain and What Lies Beneath sticks with the white colour scheme as in Psycho.

Fatal Attraction

What's happening?

Both women are in a bathroom fighting with one
 another with extreme physical violence while a man who is located downstairs hears strange ongoings from upstairs and eventually rushes into the bathroom to find himself fighting off a pyschotic female.

Similarities to Psycho

A close up shot is taken of the knife identical to the one used in Psycho. Again, the white washed colour scheme is used just like the shower scene in Psycho to capture the terror and draw attention away from the setting and rather on the characters. During the end of this scene, we see strong similarities between both films in which the female is wounded and slides down the tiled bathroom wall, dying. In the same way, both women's facial expressions are precisely the same and holds the exact same gaze with the camera.

The Stepfather

What's happening?

Two scenes are happening both at the same time, a male is running upstairs holding a knife chasing after a vunerable female who runs into a bathroom. While a young male is rushing in the same house and finds a girl lying on the floor and comforts her. Back in the bathroom, the male holds up the knife ready to wound the woman however she beats him to it and stabs him in the neck and he falls back into a bath tub hurt.

Similarities to Psycho 

Key props are used in this scene relatively similar to the ones used in Psycho. These props are the distinctive knife, the shower curtain and rings and the white bath tub. When the male falls into the bath tub wounded, he holds onto the shower curtain. This same occurence also happens in Psycho where intertextuality is evident here.

Succubus (student thriller)

What's happening?
A young female is walking in a dark hall approaching a bathroom holding a knife. Whilst in the bathroom, a young male is taking a shower oblivious to the fact that he is about to be murdered.

Similarities to Psycho
The showerhead and the knife held by the young female both are significant props in this scene and also in the shower scene Psycho. The camera angles and editing of the stabbing are very similar in comparison to the scene in Psycho. The distinctive knife is used and the scene is almost 'remade' showing the strong similarities between both film scenes. Succubus especially, shows strong intertexuality leading up the the conclusion of the scene through the body language of the characters, mise en scene and camera angles used throughout to engage the audience.

Target Audiences For Thriller Films

Target audiences for films usually depend upon the genre. Thriller audiences consist more of a male skew, but this differs with cross genre. Horror thrillers, action thrillers and political thrillers such as 'Enemy of the state and Deja Vu (2006)' have a male skew this is because men are drawn into films with more action. Horror and action thrillers have a younger audience of 16/25 as they are more exciting for this age group.

Romance Thrillers tend to get a more female skew.' He loves me, he loves me not (2002)' narrative focuses on love and romance which females are more interested in. They also have a male audience as there narrative connects to a male audience also.

Supernatural and Psycological Thrillers have a more older audience of 25/45. 'Orphanage (2007)'  also has a female skew, but their audience is much older as in order to understand this genre of film you need a certain level of intelligence. The music, ghostly tearing off paper and little kids notify the audience that this is to do with the supernatural.

Thriller audiences depend upon what cross genre your film will be looking at. Psychological thrillers attract an older ranged audience as they are able to follow the story line consistently. Horror thriller audiences are mainly younger audiences who are there for excitement and thrill.

INTERTEXTUALITY

Occasionally, films will 'borrow' from each other. These borrowed factors such as camera angles, mise en scene, sound and methods of editing can be noticed by the audience and is what they expect. This concept is known as intertextuality.

Having familiarized myself with the term, I moved onto watching a very well known 'bathroom' clip from Psycho and then noting the different aspects from the film that have been 'borrowed' from it. 

I watched clips from What Lies Beneath, Fatal Attraction, The Stepfather and Succubus (a student thriller). I noticed that each film (excluding Succubus) had 'borrowed' the basic idea of a white themed bathroom containing a white bath tub, with a specific shower head and shower curtain. 

Other similarities: 

• Similar, if not the same knife
• The character sliding down the tiles after being stabbed
• Bath robes
• The hand/arm shots
• Close ups of the knife
• The curtains being ripped off the rails
• Fast pace during the attacks
• The diegetic sound of the water in the shower

Many films use intertexuality and audiences usually expect that in films. For example in Harry Potter, the characters sprint through the woods to escape, however always come face to face with danger. Similarly Twilight has scenes that imitate a character is running through the woods but faces danger. 

Film audiences - Thrillers

Film audiences are predominately based on the genre of a film. For example thrillers on the whole have a slight male skew, they differ with cross genre and opens the audience up. Action and political thrillers also get more male skew as it contains a more masculine theme.

Romance thrillers obtain more female skew as the narrative includes the theme of love and romance, however it also attracts the male audience. This is an advantage as it connects with a wider audience.


Supernatural and psychological thrillers also have a female skew as well as an older audience ranging from the ages of 25 to 45. As it requires a level of intelligence and conscience to perfectly understand the narrative of the film. The key signifiers that supernatural films consist of are the inclusion of children and the "olden time" mise en scene.

Horror thrillers attract a younger audiences ranging from the ages of 16 to 25 as it is more about the thrill  and what is presented in comparison to supernatural and psychological films which require a level of understanding.

Film Audiences - Thriller

Occasionally, there is a slightly larger male audience for thriller films in general. However, that being said, both male and female audiences enjoy thriller films. They differ with cross genre (sub genre) and often tend to open the audience up during the opening sequences.


Romance thrillers often attracts more female audiences rather than male due to the subject revolved around love and men. Supernatural thrillers are also found to attract the female audience as well. The action genre typically surrounds the male gender and therefore action thrillers will hold much more of a male audience rather than female due to it's popularity holding  masculine qualities. 

In terms of audience age ratings for certain thriller film sub-genres, Supernatural and Psychological thrillers have an older audience roughly around the ages between 25-45 y/o. Psychological thrillers in particular require active and conscience thinking in order to understand the concept and storyline of the film. While other thriller sub-genres such as, horror thrillers attract more of the younger generation aged between 16-25 y/o.

                       

Genre and Subgenre

A genre categorizes films in terms of its type. For example, there are several categories such as comedy, action and thriller. Genres can be identified through an opening of a film, the sound included in a film, the mise en scene and camera shots.
Sub-genres encapsulates two different genres into one film. Examples of a sub-genre would be action/thriller, comedy/fantasy or a sci-fi/thriller. Sub-genres are important as it attracts a larger audience and it is a reliable source to gain profit.


Making an animated gif

Action/thrillers are easily identified through some of these features:

•  its fast pace
• up-tempo mysterious sound
• specific urban mise en scene  
• fast and sharp camera shots.

This could influence my own film opening as I am familiarized with the specific different aspects included in the creation of action/thrillers. Also the idea that the signifier needs to be precisely thought about when I move onto creating my own film opening. 

Sub-genre That Inspires Me The Most

Romance Comedy inspires me the most. They all have happy endings and make the audience feel comfortable when watching. Just from the cover you can tell the sub-genre through bright colorful images and playful fonts.

Planning- Research into audiences

I wanted to find out what type of films and thriller subgenre's teenage audiences like to watch, so I did my own research...

                                                          I made this movie on windows

                                                  movie maker and then saved it on youtube

From this I found that audiences like horror and suspense 
movies, because it keeps them immensely hooked
onto the film. 

FDA Yearbook Question & Answer

(1) How many suspense films were released in 2010?

There were 38 suspense films released in the year 2010.

      (2)  In total, how much did these suspense films take, gross, to the nearest million?

      £42,000,000 estimated to the nearest million.

      (3) Which genre of film had the highest gross in 2010?

The film genre who had the most gross are Action/Adventure, taking £265,784,158 altogether. 

(4)  What was the most popular family genre in 2010?

     The most popular family genre in 2010 are adventure/fantasy. 


          (5) Write a short paragraph of about 200 words about how the figures for ‘suspense’ genre films 
           compare with other film genres in 2010.

Setting the genres in chronological order, the suspense genre comes third to last where musicals has 

the lowest gross in the year 2010. The top genres which beat suspense are action/adventure. animation, 

comedy and romcoms. Comparing the films under action/adventure to the films under suspense, Alice In

Wonderland and Inception are both highly grossed through marketing and distribution. Having an inherited

audience can also play a part in the gross number e.g. Alice In Wonderland is previously known for it's

fairytale story and films who have gathered an audience solely based on these factors. However, films such

as Shutter Island and The Wolfman may have less gross due to its lack of popularity within audience choice

of genre and subgenres.   

     Here are the genres in 2010 ranged from the
     highest to lowest gross: 

     Action/adventure

     Animation

     Drama

     Comedy

     Fantasy

     Rom com

     Horror

     Suspense

     Sci fi

     Musicals

FDA Yearbook Q&A

1)     How many suspense films were released in 2010? 38 suspense films were released in 2010.

2)     In total, how much did these suspense films take, gross, to the nearest million?

£42,000,000 to the nearest million.

3)     Which genre of film had the highest gross in 2010?

Action/Adventure was the highest selling film in 2010. (making £265,784,158)

4)     What was the most popular family genre in 2010?

The most popular family genre in 2010 was fantasy and adventure.

5)     Write a short paragraph of about 200 words about how the figures for ‘suspense’ genre

 films compare with other film genres in 2010.

The order below indicates the gross success of each film genres in 2010. Suspense is placed third to 

last on top of sci fi and musical. Action and adventure crowns itself the top spot in 2010, beating 

the popular animation, comedy and rom com genres. The films under action and adventure is Alice in 

Wonderland, Inception and Ironman. They have a larger audiences, for example Alice in Wonderland 
originally has a book which can influence people to go and see the film with an inherited audience. 
Another factor that can effect the gross of films is the audiences choice of sub genres. However, 
both genres have high grosses through the market and distribution strategy. 

Order of gross success:

action/adventure

animation

drama

comedy

fantasy

rom com

horror

suspense

sci fi

musical 

Genre & Sub-Genre

Definitions

Genre: In terms of film, genre is commonly refers to the method in which films are constructed based on the similarities in narrative. It can also be categorised through several elements which include, type, opening, sound, type of font style, shots, pace, Mise En Scene and camera.
Examples of film genres include, Romance, Comedy, Action, Thriller, Sci Fi.

Genres are important because genre pieces have an established audience who are easy to market to.

Sub-Genre: Holds any category in film that forms a specific class within a larger genre inwhich it encapulates 2 types of genre in one film.

Examples of sub genres include, Romantic Comedy, Sci Fi Thriller and Action Adventure.

Sub-Genres attract different kinds of audiences in order to appeal to a wider audience, this is an advantage as it gains more profit for producers and distributors.

The thriller sub-genre which inspires me the most has to be Action Thriller. 

Action Thrillers are very versitile, they appeal most to audiences and are often found to be a popular sub-genre within the film industry. An example of an effective action thriller is The Fast and Furious 5. Again, this film lies under the action thriller sub genre and can be proved from a segment of the film clip provided below:

From the clip above, there is a lot of non diegetic sound played in the background of the scene, the music can be described as dark, fast paced orchestral music adding to the intensity between the characters/situation. In addition, the setting is of an abandoned desert road along with trucks and cars speeding. Just from these elements of Mise En Scene, from the audience's perspective, we automatically feel tense and anxious towards the characters.

This scene especially, influences my own film opening as it keeps my attention on what is happening on screen and every element is carefully created in order to make the opening of a thriller film exciting and stand out from the rest.

Research Into Film Audiences

  FDA yearbook questions

This is the Film Distribution Association Yearbook

1)     How many suspense films were released in 2010?

38 suspense films were released in 2010. This is more popular than Sci-fi
as only 5 films had been released in that genre.

2)     In total, how much did these suspense films take, gross, to the nearest million?

       These suspense films took in £42million.

3)     Which genre of film had the highest gross in 2010?

            Action adventure films had the highest gross in 2010. £265,784,158 was taken.

4)     What was the most popular family genre in 2010?

       Fantasy and Adventure were the most popular family genre in 2010.

5)  How the figures for ‘suspense’ genre films compare with other film genres in 2010

Below is the order of film genre's in 2010 from the highest genre gross to the lowest.

The genre's at the top action/adventure, comedy and animation beat suspense films,
because they have produced films such as Alice in wonderland, meet the: Fockers
and the trilogy Toy story 3. This is possibly due to the fact that most cinema
audience's are family's that consist of younger kids.

Unlike the lowest genre grosses at the bottom of the scale: suspense, sci-fi and
 musicals consisting of films such as Inception, tron legacy and grease sing-a-long.
 Toy story have an inherited audience which they benefit through marketing
and distribution . Also Alice in wonderland is a known fairytale book story. While films such as wolfman, tron legacy and shutter island are placed in genre's
where they aren't popular to the audiences.

1) Action/Adventure was highest in 2010 

2) Animation

3) Drama

4) Comedy

5) Fantasy is the lowest

6) Romantic/Comedy

7) Horror

8) Suspense

9) Sci-fi

10) Musicals being the lowest in 2010

Genre, Sub-genre and audience

Genre is a category that is characterized by similarities in style or subject matter. e,g, Comedy, thrillers and fantasy. In the opening of a film this has to come across through uses of sound, fonts, camera shots, editing pace and mise en scene.

Subgenre is a category that encapsulates 2 genres or more. e.g comedy/fantasy and action/thriller. Genre's are important as they need to attract an audience  and guarantee profit through a reliable source. Signifiers such as color are used to send specific messages to the audience about the mood and atmosphere.

This film looks is an adventure, fantasy , drama. By looking at the poster the background setting notifies the audience that they are in a forest. There is an element of fantasy through the text 'Harry Potter ' it is written in a way similar to the texture of a magical wand. The characters are not facing the audience they seem to be running away from something or someone which intrigues us to find out what.  This film is an adventure and fantasy which can be viewed by all ages. 

The genre and subgenre of this film is romance, drama and thriller.
They key signifiers are the images shown in the DVD cover. The image beneath the title 'unfaithful' is of a woman and man looking intimate and close, this connotes that their will possibly be sexual scenes. Therefore it is an 18+ audience.

The titles in films usually introduce audiences to the genre. 'Unfaithful' presents issues of a broken relationship so audience will expect drama and romance. The uses of dull autumn colors connote that this could be an unpleasant moment for the characters involved.

This is the thriller sub-genre of my choice.

This is a drama, mystery and thriller sub-genre. The key signifiers are the font the title is written in. The faded text is similar to the mysterious and ghostly narrative of the film. The word 'suspenseful' creates anticipation for audience. This film is rated PG-13, but i think it should be 15+ as younger children might not be interested in the mystery and thriller plot line plus the scenes may be to vigilant and spooky for them.

The others is a film about kids. Most supernatural films tend to start with young children. Through mise en scene the audience can see they are dressed as if they are from the past. The film is set in a massive haunted house. Younger audiences from 16/25 will enjoy this movie as it is exciting and thrilling.

This is the trailer of the film ' The others'. There is a recurring motif used of the children bringing up ' The others' in my thriller I would like to incorporate a recurring musical motif possibly that creates anticipation and links the storyline. Non-diegetic sound is used to build up tension and heighten intensity. During my thriller I want to use sound effects such as wind and lighting to create this effect.

Conventions of the actual title sequence (sleeping with the enemy)

Conventions of a title sequence on Prezi

The title sequence is in a hierarchy of who is more important than who.

A-list celebrity's come before the other actors in the film.

The director is always the last person that appears in the credits.

Thriller film analysis - Armageddon

As part of my research task, I have chosen to look at 'Armageddon'.

A Texas sized asteroid threatens to collide with the Earth in 18 days. NASA scientists plan to implant a nuclear device 800ft within the asteroid so when it is detonated, it will split the asteroid in half and it will fly past the Earth without causing damage. NASA contacts the main character Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) who is considered to be the best deep-sea oil driller in the world, for assistance. Harry and his team, including A.J Frost (Ben Affleck) agree to carry out the mission. 

As they take on board the task, the asteroid moves dangerously and drastically closer to the Earth. It heats up the Earth, causing a dangerous rock storm damaging the bombs remote trigger. As a result, a member of the team has to stay behind to trigger the bomb manually. They draw straws and AJ. Frost is selected to stay behind, however when AJ and Harry exist the airlock, Harry takes AJ's air hose and pushes him back inside saying that it is his responsibility to detonate the bomb and he should "take care of my little girl" (Grace - Liv Tyler)

The film opening shows the view of space and presents the Earth and draws the audience into it. Non diegetic dialogue is included, explaining the situation of the Earth. 

"It happened before, it will happen again, its just a question of when" - This statement is made as the film title emerges. It immediately engages the audiences and eager's them to watch on.

 Through presenting space and the Earth, the audience can grasp the genre of the film and what it is based on. 

The non diegetic sounds of air crafts also contribute to imply the action/thriller genre.

During the opening scenes, we see the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) team through an Aerial shot, showing the location and work force. 

There is an extreme close up of Harry's shoes before he is revealed to the audience. The idea of focusing on his shoes in a completely contrasting location, informs the audience that they will be introduced to a new character. The camera slowly pans up to reveal his face which also grabs the audiences attention as they are eager to find out who he is. 

Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) is given most screen time as he is the main character. The opening does not include him but he is introduced through the NASA and becomes important to the team. His character appears very confident and strong through the film and manages his responsibility extremely well. In the middle and end of the film we are able to see a more personal and caring side to Harry, this draws the audience in to like him as a character. 

I particularly like this film because I feel it is not predictable and the ending is not what people expect. 

As the film involves space and the Earth, people would think that the film would solely be about that and not about the characters personal lives, however we are drawn into the relationship between Harry and his daughter Grace.

Thriller Film Analysis

The Tourist

For my research task, I decided to choose The Tourist as my thriller to watch over the Christmas holidays. 

The main plot of the story is issued around the main characters, Elise (Angelina Jolie) and Frank (Johnny Depp). Elise, who is a mysterious young woman, is appeared to be involved with the police from her former lover who had stolen money from her. While she is on a train, she meets an American tourist named Frank, in which she chooses to be her decoy tricking the police into believing he is her criminal lover. However, she is being watched and is told to take a train to Venice, Italy to meet a stranger who looks similar to her former lover, Alexander Pearce. As Frank is caught up in the drama, he has to find a way to get out of the police's way and stay alive.

 The film's opening sequence follows with Elise (Angelina Jolie) being followed by Police who appear to be speaking in a French to one another. They are sitting amongst one another spying on the young woman, Elise.

 

 In terms of camera, the first shot we see is of a window in a wide angled shot, shortly after we see a close up shot of a cctv camera which then follows a zoom into the window to show the audience that someone is spying/watching.

In addition, the opening sequence is crucial in telling the audience what kind of genre the film holds. In this case, we can see that the genre would suggest spies and possible action/thriller. This is emphasised by the use of mise en scene, the setting is set in Paris, France. We can see establised buildings just from first 30 seconds into the film, this shows the audience that the characters may have wealth which links to the main plot of the story regarding money.

 Light Non Diegetic piano music is played while Elise, the character being spied on is leaving her residence. This non diegetic music is used to show the audience something significant is about to happen within the scene.

Characters

Elise is given a lot of screen time, especially during the opening sequence which tells the audience that she is a main character.

Elise's character appears very mysterious throughout the film, however, her sense of mystery inspired me to write about her. She doesn't give much away about her personality which makes me want to watch/know more about her. She shares a love interest with Frank who is played by Johnny Depp.

Johnny Depp who is known as Frank in the film is an American Tourist who is introduced on a train to Venice, Italy. It is there where he awaits trouble, meeting Elise who is being carefully watched by the French Police. He is suspected to be the former lover of Elise but is in actual fact innocent in his right, although, he does have an attraction to Elise both personality and looks wise.