The Shining (1:43.09 - 1:44.07)

The scene starts by panning after Danny as he runs towards the entrance of the labyrinth. By panning after Danny, I felt it represented the idea of his dad chasing after him. This filled me with a sense of unease as you could tell that Danny was in danger and there was nothing you could do to help him. The fact that Danny runs into a labyrinth has many connotations by itself. A labyrinth symbolizes Confusion and loss as such a huge place is quite confined in its pathways and it is very easy to get lost. I felt the labyrinth represented Danny's loss at the fact that his father is no longer the man who raised him and the confusion Danny must feel at the fact that his father is pursuing him with an axe and trying to kill him. Using the Labyrinth is typical of the horror genre as it often puts its audience in uncomfortable situations to put them on edge. The fact that the Labyrinth is covered in white snow also has connotations. White is quite often associated with innocence and heaven. I felt this represented Danny's innocence due to being a child but it could also represent his chance to escape his father; a god-given gift to help him see another day. This tracking shot is taken as a long shot and by doing this, it makes Danny look tiny in comparison to the Labyrinth. This made me feel really bad for him as I felt this shot tried to capture how out of his depth he was when his own father (who is supposed to love and protect him) is chasing after him with murderous intent.

The camera then cuts to a tracking shot of Jack limping towards the Labyrinth after his son. By filming it from Jack's side, it made it feel like I was following and watching him; like in Run Fat Boy Run where people are trying to egg on or put down Simon Pegg's character as he gets towards the end of the race. I wasn't sure if I pitied Jack at this point like you pity Pegg's character but I also felt that it represented the ghosts in the house egging him on to "correct" his family. The fact that Jack is also wearing a red jacket shows that his character has connotation of anger and murder; which are displayed in this scene. However, red also has connotation for love and passion and I felt that Jack is taking quite a passion in killing his family as he is more than determined to do it but he also does it because he feels it is the best way to solve their problems. Which in its own messed up way could be seen as a form of love.  

This shot then cuts to a long tracking shot of Danny as he races through the Labyrinth. By tracking Danny, it gave me a sense of unease as you knew he was being chased but you could see behind him to see how far away the pursuer was but it also felt like you were his pursuer but as an audience member, I didn't want to chase him but I was being forced to. This could possibly represent how Jack feels as he is being egged on by the Ghosts to kill him family but he may not actually want to. This shot is also quite narrow which adds to how uncomfortable a labyrinth would make you feel as there is not a lot of space and that made me feel rather claustrophobic. Using fears like claustrophobia is quite common in the horror genre as they usually play with people's fears to put them on edge and get under their skin. Whilst tracking Danny, the camera pauses when Danny falls over. This could suggest that is pursuer is toying with him like a predator does with its prey; yet again making me uncomfortable and worried for him.

Once the camera cuts to Jack, the shots tell a completely different story. Jack is shot in a close up tracking shot. This shot is tracking him backwards and made me feel as if he were chasing me. This and the close up made me feel very uncomfortable as it felt like he was invading my personal space and no matter how much I backed away, he was always there in my face. I also felt that this shot could reflect how close Danny thinks his dad is when he's trying to get away, which made me worry even more for Danny as his dad could get him any second. The shot then cuts to a shot of Jack's point of view. This shot showed the foot prints Jack was following and showed you that he was nowhere near Danny but this shot was also filmed in a hand held style as the camera jolted as if to show Jack's limp. This shot filled me with a sense of unease for Danny who was being pursued by also due to the fact that, as an audience member, I had no clue where I was being taken. Anything could happen, I could end up anywhere and it is very common for people to have a fear of the unknown. Again, another fear used which is common for the horror genre to exploit.

The camera then cuts to a low angle shot of Danny's feet. The shot was completely centred around the back of his heels which I felt (after cutting straight from Jack's POV shot) showed that Jack was right on Danny's heels in his pursuit. This gave me a high sense of anxiety as I was completely routing for Danny to escape but this shot made me start to really worry as to whether he would survive.

The Shining (1:14.32 - 1:18.52)

The scene starts with Wendy entering a very large sitting room in the hotel were her husband goes to do his writing. It is a long shot of her and the camera tracks her movement across the room from a distance. By tracking her from a distance, it creates a sense of unease and highlights the spaciousness of the room making me feel like something was watching her. She is holding a baseball bat and her facial expression and body language suggests that she is on edge, which made me feel the same way too. It almost felt like I wanted to go get my own baseball bat. The fact that the mise-en-scene contained low key lighting and the camera was positioned in the darker areas of the scene made me feel as if I was hiding from something, thus adding to the tension. These types of conventions are quite common within the horror genre. It then cuts to a close up of Wendy but uses a wide shot to incorporate the background and show just how vulnerable she is in such an open space. By showing her vulnerability in such a place it made me feel as if I was right next to her due to the camera framing.

Wendy then moves over to the desk to take a look at her husband's work. Once she gets to the work, she is suddenly shot from a low angle. I felt that this represented her new position of power because she is now certain that something is wrong with her husband and, with this proof of his insanity, she can take action against him to protect her child. However, the camera's shot of Jack's work is a high angle, point of view shot. It is shot from where Wendy's head would be and all you can really see is Jack's work and Wendy's hands frantically flipping through the pages. By doing this, it made me feel about as freaked out as Wendy appeared to be because this shot almost made it seem like I was turning the pages of his work and I was suddenly realising that my husband is clearly off the rails. However, the work is zoomed in on in a sort of way that I would associate with a Looney Tunes cartoon as the zoom in was so quick that it bounced slightly towards the end that it reminded me of Bugs Bunny focusing on danger in front of him. Although this zoom effect has a comical connotation with that, it also symbolises danger as for Bugs Bunny, it was usually a rifle he was about to be shot with that had this technique used on it. I felt this zoom was used to show the new found danger Wendy now discovered after reading the work and realizing that her husband is now a psycho. This shot then cuts to a slow tracking shot from behind Wendy as Jack emerges from behind the wall where he has been watching her. This made me slightly panicky as you want to tell her "Run! He's behind you!" but obviously you can't because she won't hear you. This made me feel in a very weak position and the feelings of panic and weakness are also very commonly associated with the horror genre. This shot changes after Jack speaks to Wendy to a mid-shot of Jack. The camera is tracking away from him as he walks towards it and it is centred around his torso. This made me feel like I was in a weaker position than him as I was only chest high but it also made me feel uncomfortable and frightened because it was like he was coming after me, not Wendy. When the shot cuts to Wendy it is at a comfortable mid-shot but is tracking towards her to highlight just how scared she is. It also makes you feel as if she is scared of you, that you're the one chasing her. By cutting between these two tracking sequences, it creates a very slow chase, a common aspect used in the horror genre to build and make the audience scared or frightened. By slowing down this chasing scene, it also builds more tension for the audience and it made me anticipate the action that was to follow.

Parallel editing is then used to cut to Danny, who being discussed at the time by Jack and Wendy. It shows him using his "shining" powers and slowly zooms in on his horrified face. By seeing a scared child, it made me feel worried but also deeply concerned for Danny. It then cuts to show you his visions of the red flooded entrance room and the word "REDRUM" written on a door. The mise-en-scene of the red flooded entrance room could have been used to show the murders that have happened in the past, but also suggest the murders that could take place now. The use of the colour "red" has obvious connotations with murder, blood and anger; which is why it is commonly used in the horror genre. By filming this shot from the floor in a low angle, it puts the audience in a weaker position as their screen is slowly flooded with red. It is quite common for people to have a fear of drowning or suffocation as it is built into our survival instincts and fears are very commonly put into the horror genre to make the audience uncomfortable. So by doing this, I felt scared and confined as the screen started to flood almost as if I were drowning. By also having the tables float across the screen at dutch angles, it made me feel uncomfortable as they appeared at angles I'm not normally used to. The word "REDRUM" was also filmed from a low angle, which suggests a sense of importance about the word and that it foreshadows something to come later on in the film. But by also having it written in red, it has the same connotations as the red flood in the entrance hall and brings with it a sense of danger and fear, which are once more two commonly used conventions of the horror genre.

The Quick and The Dead

The scene started with a long shot that zoomed out to and extreme long shot. This was then followed by a long shot panning into a midshot of the only character at the time (a male cowboy). I felt by using these techniques, one after the other, it introduced you to the location and showed you that whoever was out there wanted to be alone and it made me feel as if the cowboy was up to no good. The shot then changes to a long shot of someone riding on horseback towards to cowboy on the scene. By using the long shot, this gives a sense of threat to this cowboy and makes us as an audience curious as to who is on horseback. You then see a close up of the gun in the cowboy's hand but it is also in a wide shot so as to incorporate the new comer. This gives the audience a clear idea of the fact, he is going to shot this lone rider. This shot is quite long as it shows the gun held their and then the new person being shot. You see them fall off their horse and once the cowboy goes over to them, the director starts to use low angles on the cowboy (to give him a sense of power) and high angles on the newbie (to show their current weakness). But these camera angles are suddenly flipped when the newbie jumps up and flips the cowboy to the ground; this demonstrates the sudden change in power and the newbie is revealed as a cowgirl from this angle which makes it seem like the director is rubbing it in that the cowboy has been beaten by a girl. Putting her in a position of power like this is rare in this genre of film as most western movies have a male hero as the lead role and females were seen as weak in this period of time. You then see a long, wide, double shot of her riding away into the sun and the cowboy chained to a cart. By doing a long wide shot, it could be reiterating the fact that they are in the middle of nowhere and it is unlikely for the cowboy to receive any help. The scene then has a low shot of a sign reading "redemption" where you only see her horse's hooves go past, which is followed by a long shot of a burnt down village and a close up on a sign that says "Marshall". All of this is followed by a extreme close up on the top half of her face, so that you can clearly see her anger. I felt that this showed she was looking for redemption for something she has done in the past and it has something to do with a marshall. This may have been a man she was close to. You then see a long shot of her entering a nearby town. This section is filmed with her at a high angle and the town's people at a low angle. I felt this showed their opinion of her; that they look down on her and everything she stands for as women weren't meant to be cowboys, they were meant to be obedient house wives (which from how she has been portrayed so far, she is not fitting this idea). There is then a long shot of her entering a tavern. This could also be referencing the fact that "proper" women never entered taverns in this genre of film. By having a long shot, it could be referencing to how big a deal this was. Once inside, The camera uses a low angle from the woman's point of view to show the bartender up on the stool and a high angle to show the bartender's point of view on the woman stood below him. Once the bartender is off of the stool, the camera angle goes back to normal and uses a midshot of the three people at the bar to give a normal feel to the scene. This normality is then changed when the camera tilts towards to floor to follow the woman's eye line, it then pans across the floor and tilt up to a man stood at the other end of the tavern. By doing this, I got the idea of a rivalry between the two characters or a sense of dislike from how she looks down at him. The shot of this man goes from a midshot of him, to a close up of the cards in his hand. This is then followed by an outside scene, the camera pans in line with the woman's eye sight towards an man on a horse. You then see the scene unfold almost from her point of view as you see the scene from behind the action in an over the shoulder shot. I go the sense of being able to relate to the woman as we are outsiders looking in on the scene and from the way she is treated by the citizens of the town, this is how she feels as well. You then go from a comfortable midshot of the woman walking towards her rented room to a close up, over the shoulder shot of a group of people inside one of the rooms. I felt slightly intimidated by this scene as everyone is very close and by doing the "over the shoulder" shot, it makes you feel like you're watching in on something or hiding behind this woman. This then cuts to the woman in her rented room. You have a double, midshot of her and the serving girl which gave the scene quite a relaxed feeling. But by cutting between this relaxed shot and then the close up of the photograph in the woman's hand. It shows that the person in this photo is important to the plot. I thought that this person may be who she is seeking redemption over. You then see the girl leave and return with a pot of flowers. By using a close up on the gun that the woman draws when the girl re-enters and a close up of the flowers, I felt that this showed she was not used to people being kind to her. 

Revolutionary Road

The scene started off with a long shot that lead to the characters walking into a mid shot, this is all done as a double shot; which is used to represent the relationship between the two characters and I felt the length of this shot could represent the journey they had to travel together to get to this point. This made me feel more curious as to what their relationship was and why it was important to the scene. The shot then changes to a wide, double, mid shot of the couple in the car. By making it a wide shot, they could have a noticeable distance between the actors which represents their current predicament. But by also centring the wide shot around the car, I felt it gave the scene a sense of confidment and therefore made me feel uncomfortable. This feeling of discomfort was then amplified by the shot being changed to an over the shoulder which was angled to make the audience feel as if they were in the back of the car; like you were stuck in the middle of their argument. She then tells him to pull over the car and she gets out. Her exit from the car is filmed as a long shot; she seems to want to get as far away from the car as possible. But by also having this shot as a wide shot, the director has kept a lot of the background in view. I felt like the wideness of this shot made their argument seem insignificant; as if the world was carrying on despite the characters' world falling apart. But throughout the scene, the director constantly uses duel shots. This gave me a sense that their relationship was important; that all that mattered at that point in time to the plot was these two people because where they went from here was important. However, the director did not use any angles in this scene. I felt this showed that they both had equal power against each other but by using many over the shoulder shots/mid shots, it showed you the emotions of each character more clearly and if I'm honest, the way it was shown scared me slightly as you saw his anger build but she stayed completely unmoved by the situation. She was almost cold about it. And by focusing on the emotions, through these midshots, it made me scared and slightly uncomfortable.