Homefront- Still shot analysis

This is a wide shot showing ‘Broker’ with his daughter and a teacher in a class room. The teacher is well shown by her business suit in which her body language shows that she has more power in this situation because she is seen as superior as she sits at a higher level, however the teacher does not belittle Broker as all attention is focused on the daughter. The teacher’s body language also shows sympathy for the girl as she tilts her head. The daughter’s body language suggests that she is guilty as she slouches: it appears that she has gotten into trouble in school. The setting is in a school which is shown by typical educational props such as a world globe, desk and chairs, blackboard. The main source of lighting is coming from the large windows giving off a gleaming luminous light projecting feelings of safety and promise, the surroundings giving comfort as we are unwary of danger ahead. The audience is lead to believe that because of the daughter’s actions it may lead to consequences as in the previous shot we see the roughness of the other family involved in this situation and how loud and obnoxious they are. The silence connotes the seriousness of the situation.

This is a very wide shot showing a past event of ‘Broker’ (Jason Statham) seemingly putting an arrest on two criminals: by looking at the position of Broker,  he is holding a man down in an arrest position and pointing a gun at the other individual, giving that he has more gain of the situation than the criminals do. By looking at the criminal body language, it appears that he has just gotten out of the burning car with his limp; we see that he has no hope of getting away as he does not appear to be pointing the gun at Broker. Also with use of 4 police vehicles and a helicopter, we can tell that it is over for the criminals involved as we see the cops to have more dominance. By looking at the standing individual’s stereotypical attire and a crashed bike next to him, we can suggest that he is part of a biker crew.  The very wide shot establishes the setting of a barren part of the city with the building on the right boarded up, the use of a spotlight also sets attention to the main events and being the only strong light involved it emphasises the size of the characters as being small and inferior. In the previous shot we are shown the criminals driving carelessly to escape, this scene reinforces the idea of their carelessness as we see the car burning in which they had caused when driving into Broker.

The shot is a medium close up and a two shot of the DEA agent ‘Broker’ (Jason Statham) and a trouble making acquaintance. The shot shows the rule of thirds, in which we see another character the Sheriff looking concerned but as his body language suggests he is unusually relaxed about the situation, this may suggest that this is normal behaviour of this individual or the Sheriff simply doesn’t care.  It seems they have just exited a school in which we see the bright wall of a child holding a heart. Looking at Broker’s body language he is seen as unafraid and composed whereas the other character is not as he is pushing Broker and seeming to be losing his temper. The surroundings and it’s lighting seem bright and connotes hope as even the wall suggests with its use of vivid colours however at this point the atmosphere seems to change and we begin to feel as if Broker may be messing with the wrong people as we see the family looking rough beforehand, Broker’s opponent is seen as unwashed and rough with his unshaven beard and uncut hair. At this point we do not know who has authority over this situation as the neutral camera angle shows however ironically the Sheriff is seen as the character with the lack of authority as we see him as smaller and minor.

In this we see a two shot and a mid shot of ‘Broker’ and his daughter, ‘Maddy’. Both characters are wearing caps, this may symbolise their closeness and their relationship, also their clothing are casual yet bright giving the surroundings a more peaceful feel. The horses also project feelings of hope and peace in which their animalistic behaviour shows and suggest they live in a relaxed lifestyle. The setting is in a woodland area reinforcing the idea of isolation and emphasising the size of the town in which we are told it is small. Before this shot we are shown ‘Gator’ breaking into their house and so we find out how unknowing they are from danger, the lighting also seems to resemble their role as the lighting here is luminous whereas the previous shot of Gator is sombre, in which may hint who is playing the role of good and who is the bad. 

This is a low angled shot and an over the shoulder shot of the antagonist, showing the drug lord ‘Gator’ (James Franco) looking down at the so called meth addicts. Both these shots give impressions of power and dominance in which the antagonist possesses as the angled shots portrays him bigger.  Gator’s dominance is also presented with his pitiful look and that of his stance being confident whereas his acquaintance’s body language looking more self-effacing with his slouched and rough look. Gator’s dark clothing connotes that he is a mysterious and disguised individual as he looks like an average engineer however also a drug lord.  The surroundings and lighting both give off an isolated feel with the boarded up windows, this also symbolises Gator as a dark man in which he is dangerous and unescapable. The lighting projects a hopeless feel coupled by silence giving the room an eerie feel. Gator is also seemed to be well known and feared by the locals as they soon become silent and timid in the presence of him.

Thriller Analysis

Thriller Genre:

The narrative of a typical thriller film will have aspects of anticipation and suspense, this leads the audience to be intrigued further into the film as the suspense and tension given off will lead the audience to want to know what happens next. The main feature of a thriller film is set against a problem (often a murder) which then leads to a mission, mystery or an escape.

Thriller films will have specific characters to aid tension and enhance interest including roles such as ‘innocent victims’; this will often rise suspense in scenes in which the victim is often unknowing of the danger, also there will be most likely a criminal (the antagonist) with often a dark past which leads them to be dangerous, they will most likely have a hidden identity which soon uncovers as the film progresses keeping the audience keen to find out the past of the individual and who exactly the person is. Overall depending on the sub-genre of the thriller there will be extra roles, for example if it were to be a crime thriller there may be such characters as detectives, police officers in which leads them to be the protagonist often a brave individual eager to solve the problem.

The camerawork of a thriller often involves shots such as close ups or even extreme close ups to give most attention to the main characters in which shows their emotions to exaggerate the situation - a close up of a panicked face could relate to the severity of the situation. Jump cuts keeps the audience on the ‘edge of their seats’ in which may be used when showing the antagonist as to keep identity hidden, it makes the film fast paced and captivating. Also there may be low angled shots of the antagonist to give impressions of power and dominance. Cross cutting is often used also in thrillers to build suspense as it often signifies an important upcoming event which rises tension.

The use of sound is crucial as it make scenes more dramatic and helps hint significant parts of the film. The sounds will often start slow paced and will slowly build up, keeping the audience tense.

Props used in Thriller films consist of weapons to not only connote such things as danger but to establish the good from the bad, the protagonist or antagonist. The props used always tells you something about the character even if it is simple, like mirrors for example, not only an object that everyone may own but it can still signify something such as a reflection of past of the character or the inner bad of someone as they look at the mirror. Clothing of the character is chosen wisely in thrillers too, in most cases the protagonist wears bright clothing to represent good whereas the antagonist would wear darker clothing to represent death and hopelessness.

Finally the location of a thriller depends mostly on the narrative, however by the use of lighting, the atmosphere can become much more exaggerated, in most thrillers the lighting is ‘low key lighting’ in which creates moods of despair and helplessness keeping the audience tense throughout.

Thriller Film notes - Homefront:

-          This film is about a former DEA agent moving to a small town, he gets into trouble with a local meth lord who he is unknowing of and causes his daughter and him to be in danger.

-          The setting of this film is quite typical in the genre of a thriller; it is shown to be a small rural town, this helps to give off senses of helplessness and isolation, in which it may be hard to escape from danger, therefore can be easily manipulated to rise tension.

-          In this film we have three main roles – the protagonist, the antagonist and the innocent victim. Jason Statham plays a role of a DEA agent who is seen as the protagonist, then there is James Franco, a meth drug lord who is seen as a quite disturbed man as we see early into the film, he is the antagonist. Finally we have the innocent victim who is played by the daughter of the DEA agent, she is seen as a helpless and innocent character prone to danger.

-          Props help a lot when distinguishing good from bad. Weapons are used to signify who has greater authority however also symbolises danger. The clothing symbolises a lot, in the film we only see the daughter and DEA agent father wearing caps, this projects the closeness and relation of these two characters, however it can also be seen as something that isolates them from everyone else and so are easily interpreted as the main characters. In relation to clothing, we often see the drug lord wearing quite rough attire which is quite dark and dull, representing danger and instability of the character. Whereas we see the good (the daughter) wearing clothing that is bright and vivid such as pink, this therefore represents hope and innocence.  Other props include ownership of horses = peace and meth/drugs = unstable.

-          The main camera shots of this film consists mainly of medium close ups, close ups and mid shots. They keep interest in the characters and can easily give of information such as looking at their facial expressions to show emotion, the close ups are often used to draw the audience in and share the feelings of the character. These close range camera shots keeps the film tense as it is hard to know if danger is close when there is little sight of the surroundings. We often see the camera angle being at neutral for most of the film, however in some areas where the antagonist is being shown, the angle of the shot becomes low making the audience see the drug lord as superior and dominant connoting danger. Towards the end tension is normally at its highest with its fast paced action, this is coupled by some extreme close ups, we are shown the girl to be in a small confined space, with the extreme close up the audience can feel how the character is feeling at that moment as it projects such feelings as restriction, these shots also signifies dangerous and tense situations.

-          The edits and transitions of this film include a lot of jump cuts and cutaways, the cutaways are used to show that danger is coming and how vulnerable the innocent are, we are shown the father and daughter having a birthday party while another scene is shown where the drug lord is planning something.  Cut transitions help the film to be fast paced and interesting, it helps to be straight to the point. The lighting is chosen carefully in this film, where in the beginning we are shown the surrounding area to be quite radiant and vivid in colour, symbolising a new and hopeful life for the newly moved family, however towards the end where danger is around or when the antagonist is being filmed, the lighting becomes dark and dull, showing despair and distress.

-          Homefront has a lot of non- diegetic sounds in which is often music tracks which adds effect to the scene and atmosphere, making it tenser and intriguing, it intensifies the mood.  Also the music also makes scenes more dramatic with slow paced music when showing the drug lord, this adds mystery to the character.