Caught Snooping - Rear Window (7/10) Movie CLIP (1954) HD

This scene from Rear Window emphasises hysteria and paranoia when the female character is caught. It also represent a voyeuristic angle because the main theme in the film is syping.

The Shining Ending Scene

This is another scene from The Shining that we textually analysed. It is the ending scene in which the pace of editing increases because Danny is being chased by his Father.

The Shining - Opening Scene

We have included the opening scene from The Shining so that it can be viewed while our textual analysis is being read.

Powerpoint Presentation on Different Shots

Different shots

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Textual Analysis of a clip from The Shining

The scene in which Danny is chased by his Father

The beginning until 1.25 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgxAkocAPmg

In this clip from The Shining, all four aspects of film are used to create an introductory atmosphere to the film.

The scene opens with a tracking shot of a car. The shot follows the car along windy roads into the mountains. The track shot represents voyeurism and a central theme in the film is being watched; it also defines the power in the relationship between the audience and the characters, at the moment we feel as if we are in control due to the high angle looking down. This creates tension because the audience are confused as to what role the man in the car plays in the film.

The high angle track shot also creates fear and anticipation because it seems as if we are being led to something but we have no idea what. Occasional close ups of the car lead the audience to become familiar with the driver and his character. There are hardly any other cars in the shots, but the cars that are shown are going in the opposite direction. This produces a feeling of vulnerability for the subject because he is alienated form everyone else. This also reinforces the idea of him not being in control and therefore increases his inferiority and the audience’s superiority.

The MES of the vast landscape alienates the subject even further because he appears to be driving into a wilderness of some sort. Long shadows are created by the natural low-key lighting, and the reflection in the water represents a dual reality. The audience begin to wonder what is real and what is not.  The windy road is a metaphor for the cycle of death and rebirth leading the audience to become wary because we can not see what is lying further ahead.

There are many binary oppositions represented through the MES, nature versus culture leads to the idea of real and imaginary being questioned. The audience can not tell the difference between the known and the unknown; however they retain a sense of superiority over the subject’s inferiority due to the high angle camera shots.

The pace of editing is very slow, and fades are used which could relate to a non-chronological passing of time. This again refers back to the binary oppositions of real vs. unreal and the known vs. unknown. The slow pace of editing also links to non-action and lulls the audience into a false sense of security. The audience are pushed deeper into a false sense of security by the music. A non-diegetic soundtrack consisting of eerie music plays but the tone is soft and so the audience do not think that any danger is coming.

However, the music slowly increases in tempo and begins to take on a siren-like voice. This noise has a slow tempo but is alluring and could represent the subject being called to. He has come too far to be able to pull out; he is being pursued by a supernatural entity from which he can not escape. This music is also luring the audience into the film so that they can not escape. The POV shots that approach the car reinforce a sense of voyeurism and become metaphors for the supernatural knowing that the subject has arrived; it is too late for him to turn back now.

Powerpoint Presentation on Genre Conventions

Genre conventions

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Textual Analysis of a clip from Rear Window

The scene in which the murderer realises he is being watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ez6dw3ywcc

In this clip from Rear Window, voyeurism and tension are represented. However, this is done through lulling the audience into a false sense of security.

The clip opens with a high-angle long shot of a woman walking into an apartment. It is a voyeuristic shot because it is as if someone is looking through a telescope. Most of the scene is voyeuristic because it involves three people watching the movements of the man in the apartment opposite. Therefore, there is constantly a sense of worry about being found out. This is represented through the MES because the characters have worried looks on their faces. Tension is created through camera shots because the camerawork is kinetic, along with a fast pace of editing building a heightened state of concern for the woman in the apartment.

Voyeurism is created through the camera shots because we as an audience see what is happening as if we are looking through a telescope. Voyeurism is created through the editing because there are lots of cutaway shots, and also through the sound with hushed tones being used in the dialogue. A false sense of security is created (traditional in a horror or thriller film) because the non-diegetic music is soft and so we think that there is no danger present. We also only hear faint sounds of fighting which alludes to the sense of the audience knowing that the two protagonists are too far away to help.

This leads to the audience feeling helpless because there seems to be no way out for the woman, until the police arrive. At this point the whole scene shifts: the camera angle changes perspective from low-angle camera shots looking up at the protagonists to high-angle shots looking down at them instead. This could be due to them not willing to do enough to rescue the woman from the evil clutches of the murderer (a sense of disapproval).

The non-diegetic music in the clip reinforces the false sense of security because it builds on the audience’s emotions of the happy music to match the mystery getting solved. However, the audience does not count on the owner of the apartment to come back. It is here when tension begins to build, also demonstrated by reaction shots of the man in the wheelchair as he constantly rubs his face wanting to help but not being able to. The music is asynchronous until it begins to grow sombre as the fighting continues. Here it becomes synchronous because it not only matches what is happening in the scene, but also matches the audience’s feelings.

Low-key lighting is used in the clip to give an enigmatic feeling, it also helps the theme of voyeurism because the shadows which are created are mysterious and help to create a sense of foreboding. Near the end of the clip, the main female points to her finger multiple times bringing attention to the wedding ring. This is significant to the scene but it is at this point that the murderer realises he is being watched. He sees her actions and then a voyeuristic mid-shot (through the telescope) of him shows the audience his reaction. There are many reaction shots in the clip, along with a fast pace of editing. There are a lot of reaction shots because a lot is happening opposite which the man in the wheelchair must react to. All reaction shots are close-ups which involves the audience more because we feel closer to the action occurring in the clip.