Interview with the vampire

My Synopsis & My Use Of Iconography In Opening Sequence

Synopsis:

Once notorious vampire Sebastian Tussaud is awakened from his long sleep (he is the creator of all vampires) and has the thirst of blood once more. He moves into a town and people begin to go missing. Dan is in love with Steph and when she goes missing he investigates.

Iconography in opening sequence:

In my opening sequence I want to have opening titles for about a minute and with that minute I will show sequence of things related to vampires such as a cross with blood dripping down from it, people confession to sins booth, the moon, stained glass with the image of Jesus and Mary, books about vampires, sliver, mirror (no reflection), people being healed, toy burning up into flames, dark roads, red lipstick, someone soul being taken, venom turning them into vampire, image of bela Lugosi, sunlight through curtain, stake & garlic, someone being invited in, holy water that turns red. I will also show the sexual aspect of being a vampire which would be a seduction – kissing that turns to biting (cut just before it happens).

Then when we actually begin the scene we see a girl drinking at a bar –she’s wearing quiet tight fitting clothes and she’s wearing a cross necklace, she then gets given a drink from the bartender and says it’s from the guy in the corner, we then see the corner its dark, the takes the drink and walks over to the guy and finishes the drink and says thanks and leaves. We see her walk in the dark through a alleyway, she hears a branch being stepped on and looks behind her and no one is behind, she turns around and the guy from the bar (Sebastian) is in front of her

Anna: “jesus, you scared. Look I said thanks for the drink”

Sebastian: “I’m sorry about that, you see I’m very thirsty”

Anna: Suspiciously “well there’s a shop 10 minutes from here”

Sebastian: “no you see I like something more (fangs come out and eyes turn completely black) fresh”

Girl begins to run back not looking in front when she does look in front Sebastian’s there. He goes into bit her (we see the shadow) she screams and he enjoys it. He grows tired of her screams so he pulls her heart out and throws it and continues to drain her after he’s done he leaves.    

How Does Triple X establish Xander as a rebellious hero?

How Does Triple X establish Xander as a rebellious hero?

The film triple x establishes Xander as a rebellious hero through the use of many camera techniques such as the type of shots they use e.g. Extreme close up (ECU) on his tattoos and on the side of his face. The use of these shots make us question the type of character he is, when we see tattoos we think rebel or a person who causes trouble, also the use of extreme close ups not only on Xander but on the car such as the “skateboarding is a crime” gives us the sense of what kind of man Xander is dealing with, the use of ECU keeps the audience guessing (because we don’t really see his face) and also the fact that each ECU aren’t that long gives it the sense of speed and adrenaline.

Also the use of music/soundtrack helps us get the feeling of a trouble making hero because it is quiet rocky and heavy metal like, it is fast paced – symbolise the fast life, constantly on the run and in for the thrill, the music makes the scene tense and fun. E.g. the break in the music at (1min 08 sec) was used as a transition into the next scene but also gave us as the viewer the sense of anticipation, the use of music/soundtrack emphasis the scene but also helps us categorise zander.

The dolling technique was also used in this scene (0.46 – 0.51 sec). The use of dolling in this scene helps to emphasis the frustration and anger of the character but also symbolises his importance as the camera focuses on him as he speaks. The use of dolling makes us as a viewer judge the character we see, if we are happy that this has happened to them or not.

In this scene the use of aural sound helps build tension and puts us on the edge of our seats as sound is used in many ways in this scene, through the soundtrack (non diegetic) – very fast paced music to get us as the viewer excited and not bored, the ambient noises around (deigetic) - which make it feel more realistic, dialogue (diegetic) – e.g. the part where they are fixing the car up the sound of their voices fade out which gives it the sense of mystery but it’s a break from all the madness and the sound FX used. There was one mistake I can point out about the Sound FX, the part where Xander is talking directly to the cameras around him we hear the sound of police sirens but actually there are none in the background 1 min 58 – 2 min. the use of the sound makes us feel like he’s going to be caught any second and the fact that the duration of the shots are so quick that we don’t actually realise, but this proves that sound can play a great deal of importance to the visuals.

Representation:

The use of representation is seen a lot in this scene. The use of colour is used to symbolise something about the character e.g. the colour red (the car) is used to suggest danger or power which links back to the Xander and Senator Dick Hotchkiss. Also the female character accompanying Senator Dick Hotchkissis wearing red which could suggest seductive lustful impure person. The uses of colours are signifiers and suggest something about the character because each color has a different meaning yellow could mean happy, blue could mean mellow.

The panning shot of the police symbolizes laziness. The shot of the police symbolizes that they are useless can’t get a job done and let the person get away, the shown in this way to make Xander look more of a dominant character compared to the police. Xander is shown as more of a hero because he is 1 person and he got the job he set out to do done but on the other hand the police didn’t – this could also link the binary opposites (levi strauss).

The music in the scene represents violence and anger. The music helps represent not only the emotion of the scene/shots but also the type of character or the personality of Xander. The music violence can link to Xander swearing, a fast paced person, no fear and etc.

 

Narrative

Binary opposition is used in this scene. The use of Levi Strauss binary opposition is used to show the character types e.g. the senator is high status because of what he is wearing and the way he speaks and Xander is low status because of how he is dressed and his tattoos and good vs. evil as Xander is the good character trying to show the evil character they have done wrong. The use of binary opposition makes us as the viewer think of Xander as a rebellious/good person.

 Todorov’s theory of equilibrium is used. The equilibrium theory is used to show the type of character Xander is, he creates a disequilibrium and then resolves it which symbolises that he’s is a bit like an outlaw but does it for good reason.

Also Propps character types are used. Xander is represented as a hero but also a villain because he cause trouble but he then resolves the situation (Robin Hood like). We understand more about Xander through Propps character type because we see him as 2 people and categorise him.

To conclude the film triple X uses different techniques which make us as the viewer make a judgement based on what we see whether it is through sound, visual, location or anything else, it all establishes the type of character we are seeing.