Children of Men Essay

Children of Men, released in 2006, directed by Alfonso Cuaron and featuring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen, is set in London in 2027, where the human race can no longer procreate. The opening shows the changes in the world, helping to establish and help the audience understand what is going on in this time on Planet Earth. 


Even from the beginning of the opening sequence, the audience are able to hear news reporters reading out news headlines that inform the audience on  what's happened in recent years, setting the scene for the rest of the film, in just the first few seconds. These voices are heard whilst there is nothing visual on the screen, the screen is black, which also makes it easier for the audience to concentrate on what is being said. 
The last news headline we hear, as the shot changes into a shot of what appears to be a cafe, is one about the youngest child in the world being killed, just aged eighteen. This is very confusing to the audience as it begins to make them ask questions, such as why the youngest person is only eighteen and why so many people have crammed into a small cafe to watch this one news story. 


Clive Owens character, Theo Faron, is seen entering the cafe, pushing past the crowds, drawing the audiences attention to him, which makes him considered to be a main character in this film. This is made more definite when the camera moves forward to follow Theo out of the cafe and into the street.
Out on the street, the differences that 2027 holds compared to modern day London are more apparent, helping to set the scene of the film even more so that the scene in the cafe with the news. 
The whole mood of the scene is dark and miserable, with lots of pollution and no real, natural light around. There isn't much colour present except for a few dull blue colours and some red in posters and the typical red London buses, the rest is dark greys and blacks. Along with this is the familiar city sounds of car engines and horns that the audience can relate to if they've ever been to a large city or watched other films or television programmes featuring a large city. The camera continues to follow Clive Owens character outside and pans round him to face back the way the character had just come from. This then means the camera can see the explosion from the cafe and using a point of view shot, runs back towards the explosion to show the chaos that has ensued after the explosion with other characters also running around in terror and confusion. 
The explosion is the last thing to be seen in the opening sequence, so this adds more questions to the audiences minds, making them want to watch more of the film. 


There is also only ever two cuts throughout the opening sequence, keeping the audiences attention where the director has intended and they cannot get confused, if there is more than one shot being focused on, which here there is not. 
Most of the sound is non-diegetic and builds up the suspense of the opening sequence and is cut short as the explosion goes off, expressing the impact of it in the audiences mind. 


Personally, i was instantly hooked to the film, asking all the questions i believe were encoded into this sequence by the writers and director. I want to watch the rest of the film to know what's going to happen and why the explosion had taken place in the first place. 

Pillow Talk vs. Fringe

Both extracts from 'Pillow Talk' and 'Fringe' show didn't styles of editing and pace. Pillow Talk was released in 1959, directed by Michael Gordon and featured Rock Hudson and Doris Day. This factor contributes greatly to the different styles of the editing as the way movies and television series are filmed has changed over time, as technology has changed and better equipment is used, as 'Fringe' was broadcast in 2008, over 50 years after Pillow Talk. 
The pace and editing of both extracts also backs up this point about technology, as Fringe has almost double the amount of cuts as Pillow Talk, making the pace a lot less slow and boring for the audience and also because of the fact that the technology in 1959 may not have allowed the editors of Pillow Talk to create such a fast, flowing pace. 

In’ Pillow Talk’ the camera keeps the whole room in shot while two characters are talking and stays at a mid-shot throughout. We, as an audience, see the whole conversation from an onlooker’s point of view, whereas the extract from ‘Fringe’ cuts between two people to see the point of view of the characters and for us to see the facial expressions and reactions of the characters as the conversation takes place. They use straight cuts between the two characters to show the quick pace of exchange between the two people and adds more interest and intensity to the scenes for the viewer.
The colours used in both extracts affects the mood and emotions of the scene and of the characters. For example, Pillow Talk uses much more colour then Fringe which uses more dull, subtle shades. The red of the ladies dress in Pillow Talk helps add to the love aspect of the scene and the fact that this character is central to this scene and needs to be focused on because the audiences eyes are instantly drawn to her. The use of such a vibrant colour can also suggest the characters feelings and that she wants to stand out from the crowd. The use of darker colours in Fringe makes the scene more sinister and serious, helping to establish the mood of the television programme, letting the audience know what can be expected later on. It also makes the characters seem like they aren't wanting to stand out, they'd rather hang back from the crowd and stay hidden almost.
From an audiences point of view, both extracts are looked at very differently. Fringe can come across as being a bit too full on for some people who aren't used to it and can make some people feel as if they need to keep up with the quick pace and feel as if they aren't able to which can put them off. However, for others it can bring excitement and be more intensity if they like the sci-fi genre. On the other hand Pillow Talk can make the audience feel more at ease with its more relaxed pace and style of editing and not feel like they have to keep up with it constantly, this also has its flaws as some viewers may find this boring and will stop watching after a while. 
For it's time, Pillow Talk was an excellent film, but as technology changes so does the audience and what they want to see within a film. So, nowadays audience would find something such as Pillow Talk less appealing than something like Fringe that is more interesting in the style it's been made and appeals more to younger people who have grown up with films and television programmes edited in this way, unlike an older generation who would have been used to more slow paced scenes, with very few cuts. 
Overall, the two extracts, 'Pillow Talk' and 'Fringe', are very different in the pace and style of editing, due to their target audience and changes in technology. If Pillow Talk were modernised or Fringe was made in a similar time to Pillow Talk, there wouldn't be a lot of difference except for genre. However, the quick, non-stop cuts and zooms throughout the extract from Fringe, make this a much more interesting and enjoyable watch for the modern day audience. 

Horror Still

I have chosen to take my horror still as a point of view shot of the victim in the scene. The victim is hiding underneath a bed from the person looking for them and can see this villain walking around the edge of the bed searching for them. 

The edges are slightly blurred and the floor is very close to the victims 'eyes' suggesting that they've already been injured earlier on in the film and their condition is deteriorating causing their eyes to slowly close, creating this effect. 

There is very little lighting in this shot, creating a dark, mysterious mood and also showing it could possibly be night time, which would add to the suspense and scary mood of the scene. There is also a large shadow around the villains feet which makes them look more large and scary than they might have looked without it and makes the victim under the bed feel more intimidated because the shadow also makes it look like the villain is coming closer towards the floor, especially as their feet are placed facing outwards which people do when they are beginning to crouch down, and closer to seeing the victim laying under the bed. 

The mise-en-scene I chose very carefully and decided to not change anything around in the room and leave it looking normal, with hair products and wash basket in the background to show that it is a ordinary, real-life setting and so makes the audience look at it and feel more scared because they think it could happen in their own home. 

For the costume as well, i chose to keep the trainers normal and everyday to make the villain seem like an ordinary person that could pass you on the street to also make the audience feel more scared as they start to believe it could happen in their own life. 

the only trouble I had with taking this picture was the fact that i couldn't fit under the bed, but the zoom on the camera allowed me to reach under the bed and still achieve the shot I intended on taking.