For homework we got given an essay on analysing an extract from primeval, this both helps me with my analysis skills preparing me for the exam and helps me understand technical features that are included in making a film, preparing me for when I make my film.
The extract begins with the camera over the shoulder and looking at the woman, revealing her facial expression which is angry. The combination of this and the dialogue indicates to the viewer that the couple in the extract are arguing. The shot turns to the woman walking off. The sound of the door slamming and the engine of the car turning on connotes that she is annoyed and frustrated, expressing her dominance as she's the one leaving him, this is atypical of a woman. It the cuts to a shot of a digger, the camera zooms into it and as it gets closer, we see a woman in control of it. This is also atypical of a woman and the viewers wouldn't expect to see this. The shot quickly changes to a mid-shot of a man in the woods, allowing the viewer to see where the man is and what he's doing. Through the use of costume, his pink top and his pink scarf, it is evident that he is very feminine. The feminine man and the woman in charge of the digger contrast normal expectations of gender. The shot changes back to a mid-shot of the woman in the digger. She is represented as masculine and we know this as diggers are usually associated with men as they are strong and bulky. The womans hair is short and she is wearing dark clothing which reinforces the masculinity of her character and surprising the audience. The camera when facing her, is mostly at eye-level or a low-angle shot looking up at her, this denotes that she is in power. We see the man soon after this. He is on the ground, which again, is unexpected as the roles are usually opposite and the man is usually in power. The girl is higher up than the man, implying that she is more important in the extract. Whenever we see the man, the camera is usually a high-angle shot looking down at him, signifying that he is inferior.
In the next shot we see the sabertooth tiger running towards the man, the camera changes from an eye-level shot to a high-angle shot when the man jumps into the ditch, again indicating he is helpless. Cats are associated with femininity which is significant as the cat is dominant over the man, reinforcing non-traditional ideas about gender and the mans weakness throughout the extract. We then see the woman distracting the sabertooth to protect the man. A shot reverse shot is used when the woman is fighting off the cat to help express the courage of the woman and how she isn't afraid, the use of camera techniques and mise-en-scene help the viewer understand how strong she is. However there is some evidence of men and womens' true toles as we see the man lure the cat away from the woman to protect her, which is expected of a man. The long-shot of the man calling the cat, denotes his un-importance even though he is trying to save the woman. The camera shot and scenery change which speeds up the scene and a birds eye view of the man climbing up the ladder to get away from the tiger signifies that he is still inferior. The next important part is when we see the man again on the floor and helpless, about to get attacked by the cat. It cuts to a shot of the woman running with a gun, signifying the changing back to their atypical roles. The woman shoots at the cat and scares it away which doesn't show much realism as the woman, in reality when pulling the trigger would probably have been thrown back by the force of the gun. However the woman does miss the tiger, therefore could be seen as a steretypical woman.
The next shot is back at the digger scene. There is a high-angle shot of the man, clearing out the mud from the ditch to try and find something. He's portrayed as insignificant as he's doing the less important job. The shot then cuts to three men and the woman, here it is reinforced that she's masculine, therefore powerful as she's the only female amongst the men. However it could be implied that she's less important in this scene as she is marginalised and positioned to the side. The positioning is revealing the true importance of the characters as the girl and the feminine man are on the outskirts, whereas the two men are in the middle, portraying females to be un-important, although it could be argued that they are all equal as the shot is at eye-level with all of them. This scene creates more traditional views of gender as the woman gets less screen time and is not as powerful with all of the men, who dominate this scene, we know this because they get more screen time. The viewer learns that as the extract goes on, the woman doesn't stay as important as she was portrayed in the previous scenes. The camera pans around on a shot of a man exposing his facial expression which looks serious, representing men to be important and in control.
The extract ends with more traditional stereotyping of gender. The camera shot is over the shoulder, alternating from the woman to the man which connotes that they're equal as they get equal screen time. However, the woman is portrayed as weak as she has to use threats to get what she wants. The camera turns to the man and changes to a long-shot of him pulling out a gun. There is then a shot reverse shot of the man with the gun and the woman. It reveals her facial expression which indicates her fear. We then see him grab her and throw her onto the hay, and with the use of a high-angle shot she is represented as inferior, which is also expressed through mise-en-scene. She is wearing light coloured clothes and red lipstick, this contrasts with the earlier representation of the woman who was very masculine. The woman backs away from the man, indicating that he is in power which is expected from a man. It then cuts and changes to a mid-shot of two men and the masculine woman, the feminine man and the woman are placed behind the other man they are with and the feminine man has a shovel instead of a gun, this connotes that he isn't important enough to have a gun, whereas the female represented as masculine has a gun. Even though the woman is important enough to be trusted with the gun, she is still represented as insignificant by the use of positioning. To some extent you could say that it is a feminist text, but overall men and women are represented stereotypically.
The lodger is one of the first thrillers, made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1926. This is about a landlady who suspects her new lodger is the madman killing women in London. 
Thrillers now, borrow themes and elements from those in the past, but to avoid repetition, tend to add in aspects of horrors genres, such as sadistic violence/gore etc. This is why often, some people mistake thrillers for horrors. The ward is a modern thriller made in 2010 centered on an institutionalised young woman who becomes terrorised by a ghost, with a big twist at the end.
