Assignment 8: OTS Research

I researched American Horror Story by analyzing the frames for the introduction and then assessed what parts made effective as a whole.
 

(Further Research) Assignment 7 - Zombies: Undead #1 - 'Night Of The Living Dead'

     I watched the trailer/clips for 'Night of the Living Dead'.

Analysis:

       

       From the trailer and clips, I learnt that:

• the location is usually established in the introduction and shown to be significant.
• the protagonist's usually become a team of people who work together.
• The antagonists increase and become one-sided
• Sadistic remarks can sometimes be used to be suggestive of forthcoming events (foreshadowing).
• The narrative revolves around finding a solution, escapism and teamwork.

Establishing shot suggests the location is significant in the plot.

Sadistic remarks foreshadows proceeding events in the plot

Affected beings start to increase and cause more danger to innocents.

Attacks become one-sided and reinforces empathy to innocents.

Protagonists plan to come together to overcome the problem at hand.

(Research) Assignment 6 - Madness & Paranoia - Individual Research #6 - 'Gone Girl'

     I watched the trailer/clips for 'Gone Girl'.

Analysis:

       

       From the trailer and clips, I learnt that:

• the motive conveyed is that the protagonist is psychologically and physically manipulated while he is convicted of something he didn't do.
• the protagonist's aim is to find out who is manipulating him and why he is being framed.
• The antagonists mannerism suggests that he/she is tactical, smart and educated.
• Fear of the protagonist portrays regret for things he didn't do and he is also accused constantly.
• The way the protagonist's relationship with his wife has affected what the consequences were.
• The audience must persistently question if he did or did not kill his wife.

beginning suggests that they have had a long lasting relationship but the narration suggests otherwise as she says "..the most hated man in America." This could mean that she is looking back at memories.

Evidence examined by police makes the crime look obvious - positioned in a way in which its thrown.

Arguements with the people he cares about, losing the people he loves, no one is believing his perspective.

Connotes a possible antagonist which contradicts the shouting between them, and the suspicious looks they give each other - builds a narrative enigma as to who is behind the crime and who is the culprit.

Arguing in the beginning portrays that 'Nick Dunn' is the culprit and the obvious criminal but another scene after: "I did not lay a finger on her" contradicts this scene as he is seen as aggressive - conveys that someone is framing him for the person he's become and as a result he's a hated man.

(Research) Assignment 6 - Madness & Paranoia - Individual Research #5 - '88 Minutes'

I watched the trailer/clips for '88 Minutes'.

                                       

Analysis:

       

       From the trailer and clips, I learnt that:

• the narrative revolves around the protagonist threatened and then attempting to be tactical, curious and increasingly eager to know who is framing him.
• the protagonist's character shows he is educated but is seen as uneducated when a more tactical, higher mind than his, is framing him.
• The antagonist isn't shown but only heard - this raises a high narrative enigma as to who the antagonist is and how they are manipulating his time.
• Manipulation and the race against time is shown to be an important part of the film and is shown to worry the protagonist as he is the victim of danger but is seen as the cause and madness behind the danger. 

threatened by voice which hides his identity which builds narrative enigma 

conveys the antagonist to be smart and experienced and shows the manipulation of the protagonists time.

teamwork is needed to stand a chance against threat - portrays the antagonist is smart and experienced.

suggestive of the fact that it is a race against time - the antagonist is manipulating the time for him to do things but runs into more danger along the way

friends that could become enemies that could foreshadow that they could be a part of the danger or a threat to him later on.

portrays the increase in danger in which they face as the antagonist gets more tactical - the explosion makes the realism emphasized which makes the audience more worried for the risks he takes.

(Research) Assignment 6 - Madness & Paranoia - Individual Research #4 - 'Black Swan'

I watched the trailer/clips for 'Black Swan'.

Analysis:

       

       From the trailer and clips, I learnt that:

• the motive connoted, for the antagonist, is to take over a vulnerable source, such as the woman.
• the protagonist's aim is to find out what she is becoming, who it is that is engulfing her body, why, and who she trusts after the danger comes closer.
• The antagonists mannerism suggests that she's not brave, confident in her profession, easily startled by unfamiliar things or unusual people - portrays her happiness only when she is loving; shows her with an impassive look frequently.
• Impassiveness and fear shows the danger of the manipulation - emphasizes the narrative enigma of what is affecting her.

conveys the danger of which she's facing or becoming - questions the audience as to will she become a threat to her family/friends?

suggests that she's befriended a woman who could become a part of the danger in light of the events and the problem

characters insanity is being conveyed more clearly - audience interested to know more about how she'll overcome the problem. The madness is shown by the drawings on the wall which could emphasize the fearfulness.

portrays the severe consequences of the "source" of danger - narrative enigma builds up as to if she will fix the problems that she's in.

(Research) Assign 6: Individual research (Steven - Redneck and Backwoods)

Assign 6: Individual Research (Steven - redneck and backwoods) from 1516twbsasmediagroup2

The return of the living dead

The return of the living dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wylpeAXYcBQ

 

Another well known convention among the zombie genre is that zombies certainly do not need their whole body in order to movie around. As shown in the picture above, this zombie has had half of his body cut off yet still manages to crawl around the place.

 

 

When foreman Frank (James Karen) shows new employee Freddy (Thom Mathews) a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. As the epidemic spreads throughout Louisville, Ky., and the creatures satisfy their hunger in gory and outlandish ways, Frank and Freddy fight to survive with the help of their boss (Clu Gulager) and a mysterious mortician (Don Calfa).

Day of the dead

Day of the dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaIeBjwUoRw

 

It's very typical in a zombie movie for the zombies to have extremely pale skin. This is to emphasise how lifeless a zombie is. Some zombies also have black rings around their eyes as well to make them look quite sinister.

 

 

Night of the living dead

Night of the living dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEZp9fVyWAM

 

It is a common convention that zombies don't really have a mind and that they are possessed. Kind of like puppets. This is also supported by the fact that they can't run or walk properly and when they try to, they just sway to one side and look off balance.

 

 

A disparate group of individuals takes refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones) does his best to control the situation, but when the reanimated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic. As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies start to find ways inside -- and one by one, the living humans become the prey of the deceased ones.

 

Diary of the dead

Diary of the dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS_JQsljVlI

 

This is very typical for a zombie genre movie that you have to use some kind of technological gadget in order to kill a zombie without anything else. The picture above is an obvious example as it shows that whatever is by the zombies ears, is clearly trying to destroy or de-program the zombie.

 

 

 

 

The dead are returning to life to feast on the flesh of the living. As civilization dissolves in this nightmare scenario, a group of college students travel across Pennsylvania in hopes of finding refuge at their friend's secluded mansion. Film student Jason (Joshua Close), tapes their journey, and the movie is presented as his footage.

Resident evil 2002

Resident evil 2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWUT4CXWcwQ

This is a very typical image of a zombie movie because of the amount of blood spewed over the floor. Usually in zombie movies, blood is exaggerated.

 

In zombie movies, the protagonist is known to be wearing a stylish or well dressed outfit if not casual. This always sets the scene.

 

Based on the popular video game, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez star as the leaders of a commando team who must break into "the hive," a vast underground genetics laboratory operated by the powerful Umbrella Corporation. There, a deadly virus has been unleashed, killing the lab's personnel and resurrecting them as the evil Un-dead. The team has just three hours to shut down the lab's supercomputer and close the facility before the virus threatens to overrun the Earth

Zombieland

Zombieland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1-jFLlHLPw

This is conventional for a  zombie movie because the zombie is in a crawling stance and that is what zombies are notoriously famous for. This is to make them appear more dead I suppose.

 

Zombies usually roar to themselves for no apparent reason. This shows that they have no thought process therefore must be dead in the mind as well.

 

 

After a virus turns most people into zombies, the world's surviving humans remain locked in an ongoing battle against the hungry undead. Four survivors -- Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and his cohorts Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) -- abide by a list of survival rules and zombie-killing strategies as they make their way toward a rumored safe haven in Los Angeles

Cockneys vs zombies

Cockneys vs zombies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQkYWWJGl6w

This is typical because in any zombie movie, the zombies are usually barricading though something in order to kill.

 

 

This is a very common thing to happen because zombies have absolutely no form of self awareness, they don't know how to get out of the way of things that are going towards them.

 

 

A group of east-enders made up of bank robbers and pensioners fight their way out of zombie-infested London.

I am legend.

I am legend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewpYq9rgg3w

In some zombie movies, the police would get involved as a zombie apocalypse is obviously something that can't be handles lightly.

Most of the time, zombies still have the facial structure of a normal human, however will have a few assets changes such as sharp teeth, black swollen lips and no hair.

 

 

Robert Neville (Will Smith), a brilliant scientist, is a survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants. He wanders alone through New York City, calling out for other possible survivors, and works on finding a cure for the plague using his own immune blood. Neville knows he is badly outnumbered and the odds are against him, and all the while, the infected wait for him to make a mistake that will deliver Neville into their hands.

 

 

 

Shaun of the dead.

Shaun of the dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k

In most zombies films, the allies would equip themselves with weaponry in order to kill and fend off the zombies.

 

Sometimes in a moment of panic, the main characters that will most likely be the non zombies, will talk strategies when zombies are close by.

 

The non zombies will even go as far as pretending to be zombies themselves because there is not a lot you can do when a zombie apocalypse takes place.

 

Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 30-something loser with a dull, easy existence. When he's not working at the electronics store, he lives with his slovenly best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), in a small flat on the outskirts of London. The only unpredictable element in his life is his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), who wishes desperately for Shaun to grow up and be a man. When the town is inexplicably overrun with zombies, Shaun must rise to the occasion and protect both Liz and his mother (Penelope Wilton).

Dawn of the dead

   Dawn of the dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LUzJAsa-gg

most of the time in the latter stage in zombie movies, the people will be grouped together inside a certain building which would be the only secure place for them as everywhere else is zombie infested.

 

This is a typical scene of when the zombies are causing carnage and chaos.

 

All the zombies would typically unite together to kill the remaining humans. This usually happens when most people have been turned into zombies.

 

Most of the time, once a person has been turned into a zombie, then their eye colour would go to an abnormal light blue.

 

When her young daughter is turned into a zombie and attacks her father, Ana (Sarah Polley) just manages to escape, only to realize her entire Milwaukee neighborhood has been overrun by the walking dead. After being questioned by cautious policeman Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Ana joins him and a small group that gravitates to the local shopping mall as a bastion of safety. Once they convince suspicious security guards that they are not contaminated, the group bands together to fight the undead hordes.

 

28 days later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWQSMrtPiYs

28 days later.

This is typical of a zombie movie because usually zombies will have blood all over their faces signifying that they have already killed a few people.

This is usually a typical scene in a zombie movie because sometimes you will see big vehicles for the allies that are taking down all the zombies.

In a lot of zombie movies, it's common for the zombies to start outside, then working there way into a building in order to kill the non zombies.

This is a typical screenshot of what you would see because in zombie movies, the zombies would typically bite in order to kill the humans as they wouldn't know any other way.

 

 

Six months after the original epidemic, the rage virus has all but annihilated the population of the British Isles. Nevertheless the U.S. Army declares the danger past, and American soldiers arrive to restore order and begin reconstruction. Refugees return to British soil, but one of them carries a deadly secret: The virus is not gone and is even more dangerous than before.

 

(Research) Assignment 6 - Madness & Paranoia - Individual Research #3 - 'The Machinist'

I watched the trailer & clips for 'The Machinist'.

Analysis:

       

       From the trailer and clips, I learnt that:

• the story revolves around the desire of a person trying to find out why he is living in a nightmare - makes you want to know more about him and what he means.
• protagonist is the central character who's suffering from a nightmare however, continues to fight and resolve the matter.
• the antagonist isn't clearly shown, however, the protagonist is frequently shown along with scenarios always revolve around him; may be done to show a narrative enigma toward that character. 

The scars/bruises give the connotation that the character has been inflicted in violence more than once - connotes his resilience.

Sinister grin suggests there's danger that the protagonist will face later on 

Running and quick narrative portrays the race against time - makes the audience concerned and see the risks he takes in solitude.

Findings of notes left by the antagonist - his identity is hidden but danger surrounds him