Thursday, 7 January 2010

Urban Legend Analysis (First Draft)


Urban Legend
Director: Jamie Blanks
1998
Company: Canal + Droits Audiovisuels
User Comment:

"The opening sequence alone was enough to keep me hooked on as I realized I would watch a great film. The rainy frames and the professional shooting with the distant take angles is enough to pose the threatening tone and warn us about what is to follow. The introductory scene is a stand alone masterpiece."

User Rating: 5.1/10

I only have this film on a VCR Video, so I searched the film on YouTube and found the opening of the movie. I've analysed it, however I just realised the embed link was disabled, therefore I will put the URL so if you want to watch it, you just have to follow the link. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Urban Legend Opening Sequence: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvyMjiDVxDM

The film starts off with an aerial shot of a pavement with heavy rainfall. The rain is the first signifier of the thriller genre and begins to create a tense atmosphere. The soundtrack begins with a song that sounds as though it is being sung by a choir - this brings connotations of a Church or religion, and sounds almost heavenly. Something which is also closely linked to death.

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The screen then goes completely black, which gives implications of death yet again. Then, extremely quickly, some car headlights light up a small part of the shot (above). Car headlights are another generic signifier of a thriller genre, as they only show a selected part of the set which is an easy way to create tension - as there is no way of knowing what could be hiding elsewhere. The shot is still an aerial shot which shows the deserted streets - however, other than vague outlines , it is relatively difficult to see anything other than where the car is heading, thanks to shadows etc.

The camera then pans down behind the trees until it meets the road. The weather has gotten lighter, which could signify a passing of time. The car drives along the wet (a feature used by many Thriller film-makers), uneven and winding road, this could be metaphorical for the journey the characters of the film are about to undertake.

The film then cuts into an interior shot of the car. The weather prevents the audience from being able to see much, again - only dark shapes and shadows. It is here that we meet the character, Michelle, for the first time. Michelle is a classic victim for thriller movies - young, pretty and seemingly carefree - instantly likeable to the audience.

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In the above shot, we see Michelle's car driving along an isolated road. An easy way of identifying that this shot is from a Thriller film is the structure of the road - there are gates either side of the car which entrap Michelle, although this may not be an obvious feature, it helps to subtly add tension to the atmosphere. It also seem as though the gates/fences on either side of the road are taller than the car, which gives an impression of intimidation and overpowerment.

Another cut is made to a long shot of the road, with the car travelling towards the camera. This could represent the facts that many people believe that things will "never happen to them," and that these instances seem distant, but are closer than the characters think. The camera pans around as the car goes past, giving the audience the feeling that they are watching the car travel. Something that makes them feel suspicious and begin to worry for Michelle.

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There is another shot of the interior of the car, however this one is from the dashboard. We can see not only Michelle, but also her backseats and her back window. However, we cannot see it clearly, thanks to the gloomy weather and shadows shrouding the car. This makes the audience question why they can see this much of the car, and cause the tension to rise as they anticipate what is about to happen.

Michelle plays a tape of Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart.' Michelle sings to the lyrics "Turn around!" which is a classic use of irony which foreshadows later on in the opening sequence where there is a murderer in the back seat of her car. Throughout the whole sequence so far, there is a violent storm. The rain is preventing a clear view of everything that's happening and the lightning brings flashes of light to the scenes - where we can see everything for around half a second. This technique is brilliant for creating tension, as the audience are anticipating the next time they will be able to see and whether it's safe for the driver. This is also stereotypical of the thriller genre and has been used for decades in both thriller and horror movies alike (Dracula and Frankenstein classically, as examples of horror movies that use the 'storm' technique.) Another point to raise is that the director could be using the close lightning to signify that an event is about to happen or that something is about to 'strike' Michelle.

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An extreme close up of the fuel gauge tells the audience that the car is almost out of petrol. This is a crisis that could happen to anybody; which makes it all the more tense for the audience. The situation is worsened by the way the character is on an isolated road where the storm can prevent her from doing anything or finding anybody with ease. Again, this is another technique used widely in thriller films.

Another close up of Michelle is used, but here she is more surrounded in darkness than in any of the shots thus far. It could be that the director is trying to hint towards what is about to happen, using the darkness to emphasise how Michelle can't see around her.

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The story continues with Michelle managing it to the gas station and getting the attendant to fill up her tank etc. etc. The tension reaches a high as the attendant knocks on the window. (Above) The rain had prevented both the character and the audience from seeing him approach, and it seems that the glass is the only thing seperating them, and it's only fragile. The director has also made use of many people's (wrongful) distrust of those that are unable to communicate properly and given the gas attendant a stutter. Thus, making Michelle automatically a bit wary of the character.

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The above shot is probably one of my favourites from this sequence, as the whole mise-en-scene creates a brilliant atmosphere and is so effective. There is a two-shot here of the character we have grown to know over the past few minutes, and the one that we have immedietly distrusted. The gas attendant is blurry, and we cannot see him very clearly which constrasts with the clear view we have of Michelle. This could represent the audience's relationship with the characters, or could signify that we cannot see his true personality.

The song (Bonnie Tyler's, Total Eclipse Of The Heart) has since finished and the score becomes more and more dramatic the longer the car is parked, getting louder as the man runs back into the garage. We cannot see clearly what is going on, only glimpses from outside of the car when the windscreen wipers clear away the rain for a split second - this makes it harder for the audience to understand what's going on, also creating a tense, suspicious atmosphere.

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The camera cuts to a close up of the meter charging her for the petrol, which also in this situation seems like a stopwatch towards her death - or at least an important event. As Michelle leaves the car, she pulls on a black coat over her white t-shirt. This could signify how death is near, or even how her innocence will be lost.

An aerial view shows the two characters walking to the garage, and the shadows are illuminated over the ground. From this view, we see how it seems as though the gas attendant is following her. It could also be a representation of how she is being stalked by death or danger.

Another generic feature of a thriller film is apparent when they reach the garage. The attendant locks the door, and the camera pans around the room, emphasising the small size of it. The small room creates a feeling of claustrophobia and entrapment, bringing the tension yet higher. The music reaches it's crescendo, at it's loudest and most dramatic of the film thus far.

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There is an over the shoulder, low angle shot of the attendant as he tries to prevent Michelle from leaving the garage. The low angle shot presents him as an intimidating figure, stronger and more powerful than the girl. The tension is at it's highest point of the film thus far, and suddenly the noise becomes overpowering. The car alarm goes off, Michelle is locking and unlocking her doors in a panic, she is screaming, he is grunting whilst trying to catch her up, the rain and still the music getting louder creates a confusion within the audience and also a sympathy towards Michelle who just wants to get away from the chaos.

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One of my favourite shots of the clip is when we see the gas attendant standing at the gas station after Michelle has driven away (above.) The man is bent over, which can hold connotations of the ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ (a story about a disabled man that was misunderstood.) The man is left alone in the rain, and the darkness is surrounding him. This is a typical mise-en-scene for thriller films, as it holds many generic conventions (the rain and wet roads etc) and also increases the tension dramatically.

The director has then decided to show Michelle using mid shots from the dashboard once again. This could symbolise comfort as we have seen this shot before and are relieved that we are seeing something we recognise as Michelle would be feeling relief at getting back into her car and away from the man that she thought dangerous. The lighting changes from darkness - where the audience can see only half of her face and outlines of shapes that can't be made out, to brightness when the lightning flashes and the audience can see everything in the car. The tension builds as the storm gets worse, the pathetic fallacy implying that something worse is about to happen.

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As the "lightning" flashes, the audience become aware of a silhouette that is rising in the back seat with an axe (above); the lighting goes dark again and we can't make anything else out. The fact that we can't make out any of the features of the character in the back seat gives implications of the Grim Reaper: telling us that Michelle's death is near. As you can also see in the screen-shot, the audience cannot see through the windscreen very clearly, this could show that Michelle is neither thinking nor seeing clearly thanks to what had happened, and also because she is crying. The director here has attempted to further increase the relationship between the audience and the main character.

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Michelle's eyes then catch the eyes of the murderer through the interior mirror (above). The director could have used this technique to reflect the small amount of space in the car through the small mirror. Thanks to the rain outside (a generic convention that has been widely used in this clip so far), we cannot see anything outside of the vehicle. The film-maker has used this to show that it seems nothing in the outside of this world matters, and also shows how closely we are involved in the film as viewers now.

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In the seventh minute of the film, there is a low angle shot of an axe smashing through the driver's side window, there is also blood noticable through the shards of glass(above). The glass and the axe are both things that can be used as weapons, which implicates the dangers of life. The glass smashing could also symbolise how fragile life is. The colours in the mise-en-scene also reflect the tone of the film so far. There are blues of the background which represent misery, and the blacks of the shadows and silhouettes that represents death of evil.

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The film then cuts to a university campus (above). The sign welcoming people to the university looks like a grave stone, thus implicating death of those that go there. Diagetic sounds of church bells can be heard, and connote church occasions such as funerals. The rain is continuing to fall, and there are steps up to the doors of the university, represending an uphill struggle, and the railings along the steps also implicate entrapment.

After a few more shots of the university campus, the opening of the film finishes with university students discussing a "scary story" with both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds to increase the tension yet again. There are sound-bites of the choir that is reminiscent to the start of the film, giving the audience the idea that history may be about to repeat itself.

Overall, I believe that this is one of the most effective openings to a Thriller that I have ever seen.

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