In this short film, Get Off My Land, a couple are walking through the countryside fields, when they come across a farmer who claims the land is his and urges them to get off his land. In attempt to show off in front of his girlfriend who has grown increasingly frustrated with him, the male companion refuses to get off the land and challenges the farmer to fight for his land, this results in the farmer shooting the couple to their death. Quite ironic baring in mind the genre of this short film is supposedly a comedy feature. Continuity editing is used to make the piece seem realistic.
The clip begins with a low angle shot of the woman's trainers; in such a muddy walk one would expect to wear wellies, the fact that the couple are both wearing trainers instantly suggests to us that they are outsiders and are going somewhere they do not belong. There is ambient sound of wind and birds that gives a sense of isolation. As an audience it is made clear to us from the opening that the couple are going to be victims in the short film. In contrast, the farmer is introdued with a wide shot that shows his costume is appropriate for the environment.
Something that drew my attention whilst watching the clip is that throughtout the beggining we get a range of shots to show how the woman has dominance over the male companion: an establishing shot of them walking through the fields which shows her ahead of him as he trails behind, this shot also shows their isolation from the rest of the world which indicates they are likely to be heading for trouble, and a close-up shot of the woman's face as she has to wait for the man to climb over the gate, in this shot the audience sees her growing frustration with him which is emphasised by a following wide shot as the audience sees her walking on as the guy still struggles to get over the gate. However, when the farmer is introduced into the short film, there is a 2-shot of the couple to show that they are now at a equal level; this suggests that they are now equally powerful and equally vulnerable.
A number of shot-reverse-shots are used at this stage between the couple and the farmer in which we witness the woman growing uneasy as she realises the farmer appears to be dangerous as his tone of dialogue is stern. On the other hand, the foolish male companion questions the farmer's ownership of the land and says to the farmer "I'll fight you for it", the farmer simply chuckles in response; this allows the audience to engage with the film as I am sure many members of the audience at this time are thinking 'What an idiot!', and the ease of the farmer is rather comic. The farmer walks away and a hand held shot is used to show the male companion almost celebrating as he thinks he has won the fight; the use of a hand held camera sets up the next part of the film as it represents craziness and a sense of confusion from the audience as we obviously expect the farmer to destroy the man. This is followed by a tracking shot of the farmer approaching the couple with a tilt down that reveals his gun. The prop of the gun shows the ultimate dominance and power of the farmer, and at this point the fate of the couple is undoubted.
Opening to Scream
In the opening to Scream, a woman is planning her night in at home by making popcorn on the stove and selecting her favourite horror films from her collection of VHS tapes on top of the television when the phone rings, it is an anonymous caller with a deep voice who claims to have dialled the wrong number, however he then begins to repeatedly call her and they begin a conversation, however the conversation soon turns into a 'game' as he threatens to murder her boyfriend.
At the beginning of the phone conversation, the mysterious caller questions the girl if she has a partner, she denies it, suggesting that she had intentions of commiting adultery. This follows the idea of the convention that in horror films the protagonist is punished for a sin they have commited.
The woman is young and blonde representing naivety and innocence. Her costume shows her to be pure as she wears colours the compliment her complexion and wears little make-up. This is a positive representation as we see her incorruptibility, however this is also negative as the audience see her as weak and incapable.
The use of lighting is a typical convention of a horror film as darkness is used to represent evil. This is used effectively throughout the opening of Scream as the inside of the house is fully lit and it is late evening outside. Furthermore, the lights are turned off everytime the 'game' recommences, this point is highlighted by the diegetic dialogue when the anonymous male voice demands 'now turn off the lights and we will continue with the game. Also, the shadows on the walls throughout the clip give a sense of ambiguity and increases tension through the use of dramatic irony as the woman does not see the shadows and we as an audience grow in fear.
Mise en scene such as setting is used to create the conventions of the genre: horror. The opening scene is set in and arous a big detatched house which is isolated from the rest of the town which creates tension as we know the woman cannot escape and no one will be around to help her.
The use of props is effective as each prop is carefully selected to create masses amounts of tension and mystery. For example, the 'death chair' foreshadows the rest of the opening scene as we learn the antagonist's intentions are purely to murder.
Another prop with significance in the opening scene is the popcorn, which is used to represent the phone conversation. When the popcorn is put on the stove the conversation first begins. From the dialogue of when the antagonist says 'I want to know who I'm looking at' and onwards, the conversation becomes rockier and more intense; as this happens there are often close-up camera shots of the popcorn to show it becoming more and more burnt until the point where it begins to release smoke when the antagonist becomes angry as he shouts 'No, you listen bitch!' at the crying woman. As well as camera shots, diegetic sound of crackling popcorn is used to emphasise the integrity between the two characters.
Also, the costume of the mask creates a sense of mystery, which therefore increases the fear factor as the antagonist remains anonymous. A mid-shot is used to show the woman grabbing the unidentified character by their mask, however it just simply squashes together which increases tension and fear factor even more as we question whether the antagonist is man or inhuman.
Sound is used throughout the scene to show the level of tension, especially through the use of non-diegetic music. Instrumental music comes on when the mysterious figure on the phone says 'I wanna know who I'm looking at,' which is the stage of the clip where tension begins to build. As the antaognist reveals to know more about the protagonist then he had previously let on, the music gradually grows louder as the tension and fear factor begins to increases both amongst the audience and in the protagonist. The use of instrumental music is another typical horror convention and works as an indicator for the action.
A wide shot is used to give a glimpse of the anonymous character for the first time as he quickly runs across the shot; as this point loud incidental music is used to emphasise the action and create further tension as the audience grow more fearful as the music indicates the action is close and we feel empathy for the vulnerable protagonist.
Diegetic sound is also used to convey the typical horror conventions such as doors squeaking, heavy breathing and screaming; all to increase tension and fear.
Furthermore, although the woman is the first character to raise her pitch of voice, at the crux of the conversation the antagonist's dialogue drowns out the woman's, showing he has dominance and power in the situation, following the stereotype that men have control over women. This is both a positive and negative representation of both genders: women are seen to be delicate and gentle, however, this makes them appear to be weak and easily harmed as they cannot defend themselves; men are seen to be powerful and mighty, the power that they hold is over women which shows them to be ignorent and monstrous, forcing an innocent person to death.
The use of continuity editing creates a sense of realism which increases fear factor as it represents 'real time' and the scene is therefore over rapidly showing that the antagonist is dangerous and powerful as the situation is handled with quickly, this highlights the fact that he can intimidate her easily which emphasises the stereotype of male dominance over women.
In conclusion, the use of various techniques including sound, editing and mise en scene are used to create tension and build it as the scene goes on. They are also used to show how the antagonist controls the protagonist with ease, therefore creating our fear factor of him and increasing our empathy for her.
Jack the Ripper
Whitechapel, London became very overcrowded with Irish immigrants in the 1880s, which led to poverty due to a lack of jobs. Many women had to turn to prostitution as a way to gain a source of income. Jack the Ripper emerged at this time and was given this title due to his series of revolting murders which included the removal of organs and abdominal mutilation. It is believed he commited this crime at least five or six times, however it could be many more. Jack the Ripper was never captured despite letters and parcels being sent to the police from people claiming to be him, however it is believed these were all fake.
