Production Companies...

Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion achieved a comparatively high reputation for Hollywood quality. Woody Allen, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme, Oliver Stone, and several other prominent directors worked with Orion during its most successful years from 1978 to 1992. Of the films distributed by Orion, four won Academy Awards for Best Picture: Amadeus, The Silence of the Lambs, Platoon, and Dances with Wolves.


The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, and grossed over $272 million. The film was the third film to win Oscars in all the top five categories: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the US Library of Congress and has been selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry.

Orion Pictures Logo and theme:

Different Types of Horror Genre...

Body horror  - In which the horror is principally derived from the graphic destruction or degeneration of the body. Other types of body horror include unnatural movements, or the anatomically incorrect placement of limbs to create 'monsters' out of human body parts.

Comedy horror - Combines the elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre.

Gothic horror - Gothic horror is a type of story that contains elements of goth and horror. At times it may have romance that unfolds in the setting of a horror tale, usually suspenseful. One of the earliest horror movies were of this sub-genre.

Natural horror - A sub-genre of horror films featuring nature running amok in the form of mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and normally harmless animals or plants turned into cold-blooded killers. This genre may sometimes overlap with the science fiction and action/adventure genre.

Psychological horror - Relies on characters' fears, guilt, beliefs, eerie sound effects, relevant music, emotional instability and at times, the supernatural and ghosts, to build tension and further the plot.

Science Fiction horror - Often revolves around subjects that include but are not limited to killer aliens, mad scientists, and/or experiments gone wrong.

Slasher film - A type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe. Slasher films may at times overlap with the crime, mystery and thriller genre.

Splatter film - Often called torture porn, these films deliberately focus on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. Through the use of special effects and excessive blood and guts, they tend to display an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation.

Zombie film - Zombie films feature creatures who are usually portrayed as either reanimated corpses or mindless human beings. Distinct sub-genres have evolved, such as the ‘zombie comedy’ or the ‘zombie apocalypse’.

Mise-en-scene, Editing, Camera Angles and Sound...

MISE EN SCENE

• lighting effective in the opening shot - opening with sun suggesting happy atmosphere
• high angle used for George - showing he does not have the power/ he is inferior
• set in a classroom suggests the idea of 'puppy love' - school relationships - childish/ fickle
• 'living your dream' posters in the background of two shot - George is trying to live his dream - relates to theme
• toilet paper on foot adds to immaturity - childish sense of humour
• sun not in the last shot - happiness/ hope has been lost for George

EDITING

• quick cuts between bathroom scenes - builds anticipation - makes the audience want to meet the character
• black and white/ reference to old fashioned love 'talkies'
• black fade into Amber's point of view shot - almost as if she had blinked
• dissolve from Georges 'sad' face into corridor - he is taking his unhappiness with him

CAMERA ANGLES

• establishing shot of sun rising/ light still in his life (happy) - leads audience into story 9school - un-serious relationships/ childish)
• point of view shot of George to Amber - low angle - suggesting he idolises/ worships her
• close up of George awaiting Ambers reaction/ gives the impression that he is in her face/ pressuring her/ eager
• long shot of George in the final shot - suggest isolation at the end of the corridor - he is alone

SOUND

• non-diegetic music 'One Direction' reflects character of George and the mood of the piece
• music/ instrumental relates to age range - highlighting teenage love
• silence of Amber's reaction - suggests that she is not as happy as George is feeling/ disappointed
• diegetic sound of Amber's foot steps at the end - highlights the idea that she does not care/ walking away from him

Preliminary Task Final Piece...

Here is our groups final produced piece for our preliminary task..

Throughout filming our piece there were shots we decided to re-take, as we either did not like the final look of the shots or felt it portray a different message or trait about the character. For example when George's character first walked out the toilet he was unsmiling, we felt that as a comic piece it would be more humourous if he exited with a grin. Here are the before and after shots..

Before ..

After..



Preliminary Task

Preliminary task: Show 'A' entering a room from a corridor and opening the door. Inside the room 'B' is sitting down. Without saying anything, 'A' gives a piece of paper to 'B'.'B' reads it and reacts. 'A' displays some kind of emotion and leaves.

Our group consisted of myself, Amber Holt, George Jackson and Ben Bowen. We decided to make our preliminary task a comedy, trying out editing, use of sound and shot types. This will be our first try at having a go with a camera, so planning is very important. I have created a basic story board, including shots we will use, music and a basic outline of what will be in the frame.

Paramount Pictures...

Paramount pictures are an American film production and distribution company that first begun in 1912, one of the first situated in Hollywood, created by the Hungarian Adolph Kukor. He tried to appeal to the working class immigrants as he felt that this was an open place within the film industry. With in relation to ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ Paramount produced some of his more famous film including ‘Rear Window’, ‘The Trouble with Harry’, ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’, Vertigo’ and of course ‘Psycho’.

Paramount Pictures - (1912 - recent)

They have gone on to create thousands of film within all types of genres, including in more resent years ‘Mean Girls’, the ‘Shrek’ series and ‘Paranormal Activity’ amongst many others.

Research on Alfred Hitchcock...

Mini Biography

Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most influential film directors of all time, earning him the nick name 'the master of suspense'. Born in humble beginnings as the son of a greengrocer, he then went on to design sets for a film studio in London (1920). However he did not get the chance to start directing until 1923 when the director of 'Always Tell Your Wife' fell ill, pleased with his work on the film the studio gave him the importunate to work on his first film 'Number 23'. Unfortunately this fell through before completion as the studio closed its British operations. Hitchcock was then hired by 'Micheal Balcon' as assistant director for the company later to be known as 'Gainsborough Pictures'. He directing career finally came with the importunate to direct the German/ British collaboration 'The Pleasure Garden (1925)'. His directing talents could finally be seen out right, going on to produce over 50 years of cinematic magic.

Trivia

- In a lot of his films he liked to create shadows on the walls to add tension and suspense 

- He hated to shoot on location, he much preferred to shoot in a studio so he could have the optimum control over lighting and other factors

- He liked to use major starts within his films so that the audience would be familiar with the character, therefore he did not have to divulge in character development and concentrate on the ins and outs of the plot 

- He often would make the audience empathize with the villainous character of the plot

- He loved to used usual subjective point of view shots

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)