This document discusses the codes and conventions of action movies. It begins by outlining typical character archetypes like muscular heroes, damsels in distress, and menacing villains. It then covers common elements of mise-en-scene for each character type, including costumes, lighting, makeup, and props. Action movie conventions usually involve the hero battling threats through challenges like fights and chases. Settings may include cities, boats, or country roads. The narrative typically has the villain making the hero's life difficult by threatening or kidnapping others. Sounds commonly feature gunshots, explosions, and vehicles to create a sense of danger and violence.

1. Group Research
Cameron Armstrong, Connor Filby and Tia Cooper

2. Choosing our genre
Horror Action
Comedy
Romance/Drama
Typical conventions of
Horror
Monsters/ghosts
Undead
Supernatural
Exorcisms
Typical conventions of
Comedy
Punch lines
Family setting
Social setting
Funny character
Typical conventions
of Drama
Romance
Two main
protagonists
Urban setting
Intense storyline
Typical conventions of
Actions
Guns
Fast vehicles
Muscular/strong
characters
spy
Narrative
Typical horror
narrative usually
involves a villain
or evil creature,
disturbing the
peace/balance
Mise en scene
Lowkey lighting,
dark and glim
Costumes, scary
body language and
make up used
Use of props,
weapons - knives
and guns
Sound
Eerie sound, minimal
background music to
build up suspense.
Sudden noises use to
intensify jumpscares
Editing
Jump cuts, fast invisible
cuts all to add to the
intensity
Narrative
Usually involves a conflict
between the main
protagonists could be love
interests
Sound
Usually a light hearted musical
background score
Camera shots
Close up of faces,
wide shots and
establishing
shots of people
and places
Examples:
Rebecca
Chemical hearts
All the bright
places
After we collided
Downsizing
The upsizing
Amar
Camera shots
Mainly medium
shots and
establishing
shots used
Mise en scene
High Key lighting, use
of bright colours like
blue, orange yellow
Urban household
items for props,
coffee, food etc.
Exaggerated facial
expressions and
body language
Setting
Settings are typically somewhere
common, like a household, office or
anywhere with a group/social gathering
Examples/inspirations
Extractions
Project power
The old guard
Underwater
Bloodshot
D Den of thieves
Sound
Loud non diegetic
sound. Sound
effects e.g gun
shots, car engines
and dialogue
Mise en scene
Colours used such
as red/orange to
represent danger
but also darkness
to show the
mystery. Props
such as weapons -
guns/knives
Black clothes,
usually
suit/army/jungle
uniform
Narrative
Involves a hero/main
protagonist that battles the
antagonist. Good vs Bad
Tia

3. Action
Group discussions
Conventions of an Action Film:
❏ Hero (main protagonist) usually strong/muscular
❏ Damsel in distress (in danger used as bait for villain)
❏ Nature environment (jungle, desert, etc)
❏ Guns/weapons - bombs, knives
❏ Vehicles - Cars/bikes
Tia
Desert Setting:
Sense of adventure, with the use of
cars/vehicles. Weapons can be used as
well, exploration type opening scene. Or
could go into the archaeologist/Indiana
jones type scene.
Examples: Desert Fury, Sahara, Mad Max:
Fury road, The Mummy, The lost patrol.
Spy film:
Use of black suits in an Office setting,
More of a Mystery type opening, this also
builds up intensity. Use of weapons like
(fake) gun props.
Examples: Mission impossible, Atomic
blonde, Spyder, Johnny English, Body of
lies, Spy game.
Superhero:
Much like Marvel or DC, Superhero films
are highly popular. With the use of hero
costumes and props such as weapons
(Axe, Guns, Arrows etc)
Examples: Aquaman, Deadpool, Wonder
Woman, Suicide squad, Spider man 3,
Green Lantern, The Incredible hulk,

4. Discussion Justification
We had a discussion initially because we knew by doing this we would
see which sub genres we each individually preferred and gather ideas
collectively. We eventually came to a mutual agreement on which sub
genre we all thought we would be best equipped and suited to perform.
After discussing the subgenres such as, desert, spy films and
Superheros, we came to our original conclusion that we would have a
desert setting with a military kind of theme. By having this discussion
it meant that we could now focus more on the type of movie were were
interested in for our own filming.
Connor

5. History of Action films
The majority of action films you see
include continuous high energy scenes, to
keep the audience engaged and
interested. Lots of physical stunts and
activity are put in to emphasise on the
whole action and brutality of the scene.
They Include chase scenes, races,
rescues, and battles. they get the
adrenalin flowing as normally these are
fast paced and include large impacts and
destruction. Martial arts, for example, are
commonly used in a lot of fight scenes
mainly used by the main characters. they
use alot of continuous scenes,
spectacular rhythm to really get the
audience to feel the pace and speed of
the fight . Destructive disasters which
normally include floods, explosions and
natural disasters always have one of the
more vulnerable characters also known as
the ‘ Damsel In Distress’ where the main
character does a rescue. These are
stereotypical codes and conventions of
an action film which are designed for pure
audience escapism.
1920s and 1930s
many films featured, as swashbuckling, these are
action adventure sub genre films, they normally
consist of sword fighting and adventurous heroic
characters, these will normally be set in renaissance
western Europe, the plot to this is normally a damsel
in distress and a romantic element. Many films
associated with this subgenre is this era are: The
Mark of Zorro (1920) Robin Hood (1922) The Three
Musketeers (1921) Captain Blood (1935) The
Prisoner Of Zenda (1937)
1940s and 1950s
most films in the 40s and 50s were
mainly in the form of a war film, or a
cowboy movie. War films were generally
related on warfare, these either consisted
of naval, air or land battles. whether it was
fictional, documentaries or generally just
based on the history of war. Some War
Films From The 40s And 50s: The Wooden
Horse (1950) Albert R.N. (1953) The
Colditz Story (1955)
1960s
The 1960s Introduced a new subgenre of action
films, this was the Spy Adventure Genre and
James Bond was introduced. These films
dominated the action films of 1960s.These films
normally consisted of a ‘one man army’ who has
the abilities to defeat the villain in creative ways.
These films normally included high speed car
chases, fist fights the use of different gadgets
and weapons.
1970s
The 1970s, This is where bond saw a competition on his hands.
These are gritty detective stories and urban crime dramas,
consisted of this new action style. Leading to a string of police
officer films all of which featured an intense car chase, which
they replicated of bonds popular stunt work of the Bond
films.The 70s also saw the introduction of martial-arts films to
western audiences. These were: Enter the Dragon (1973)-Way of
(or Return of) the Dragon(1972) Also these were getting
popularized by the cross films of martial arts with cops and
robbers, starring Chuck Norris:-Good Guys Wear Black (1977)-A
Force of One (1979)From Japan, Sonny Chiba starred in the
Karate Kiba in 1973.
Tia

6. History of Action films
From this research i can see that over
the years, Action movies have changed
dramatically. With the introducing of new
sub genres and hybrid genres every
decade, the concept of ‘Action’ branches
off into so many different types of Sub
genres.
Also with the use of advancing
technology over the years, Action movies
nowadays can make the audience feel
engaged with the use of CGI and special
effects. We will take this into
consideration when creating our own
opening to an Action film.
1980s
The 1980s, saw the action film take over in Hollywood to
become a dominant form of summer blockbuster. This
introduced some of the main actors such as Sylvester
Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Chuck
Norris. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas introduced a
new james bond inspired style with the mega-hit:-Raiders
of the Lost Ark (1981)This introduced a new hero ‘
indiana jones ‘ Played by the actor Harrison Ford.In 1982
the first ‘buddy cop’ film was introduced named 48hrs,
this head smashed the box office records.
1990s
The 1990s was an era of sequels and hybrid, sub genre
actions films, Like the Western genre, spy movies and
urban action films. With the growing revolution in
Computer Gaming Imagery with a real world setting,
started to have an allowance budget of any motion
picture films.The success of many film sequels had
proven that a single successful action film could lead
to a continuing action franchise .All the new rise in
amount of technology allowed many filmmakers to
produce a new height in film making with breathtaking
experiences.In 1989 ‘Tim Burton’ introduced and had
great successes ‘Batman’, which with its great success
lead to many great successful sequels and had proved
the variability of a new sub genre ‘ The Comic Book
Movie’.
2000s
21st Century Films had a whole new thing to
them, with most films having budgets of$
100,000,000s. This meant that films were able to
create thrilling, breathtaking features.The ability
to use CGI ( Computer Generated Imagery )
enables films to have such spectacular graphics :
3D computerised graphics. These are used to
make computer generated movies, which allows
fine art and to create pure fine detailed, surfaces
textures and brilliant picture to the filming world.
Tia

7. Genre History Research Justification
We researched the history of multiple action films that fit into multiple
different sub genres so we would be able to pinpoint parts of those movies
that made them attractive to audiences or successful so we could use those
techniques in our production and so we could discuss what plot devices we
could borrow from said films.
From our research we have learnt that some of the key themes of multiple
action movies such as the betrayal of the main character by a close friend and
then the quest for revenge, a character being manipulated into thinking what
he is doing is the right thing but later learning he was betrayed and what main
feature attract people to watch those movies.
From this research we were able to decide which theme we are potentially
going to use in our movie - we all agreed that we liked the betrayal and revenge
themes.
Connor

8. Distribution of Action films
film distributors handle the release of any film. In
other words, film distribution companies control
the majority of the marketing for that film and the
distribution to either specific territories or global
rights. Distribution deals agreements can be
specific enough to cover only Video on Demand
(VOD) or theatrical release in a single territory
The Major, most famous examples would be: 20th
century studios, Warner Bros, Netflix, Universal
Pictures and Paramount pictures.
Tia

9. Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC is an American
film and television studio that is a
branch of The Walt Disney Studios.
Marvel Studios is known for the
production of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe films, based on superhero
characters that appear in Marvel
Comics publications.
Paramount pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an
American film studio. It is the fifth
oldest film studio in the world, the
second oldest film studio in the United
States, and the sole member of the
"Big Five" film studios still located in
the city of Los Angeles.
Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is an
American diversified multinational
mass media and entertainment studio.
headquartered at the Warner Bros.
Studios complex in Burbank,
California, also including Warner
Media Studios and Networks Group
division.
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. is an
American film studio that is a branch
of The Walt Disney Studios, a division
of The Walt Disney Company. The
studio is located on the Fox Studio Lot
in the Century City area of Los
Angeles.
Tia

10. Distribution Research Justification
We researched who the top action movie distributors were to assess
what our competition is and the methods they use to advertise their
products, so that we could utilise said methods for ourselves.
Through doing this research, we have learned that the top
distributors of action films in the UK are Marvel. Over the years they
have made a series of films that are all interlinked, meaning the
audience is drawn in to all the movies they produce. This meant that
by the time the final film was completed, they had gained a larger
audience following making them the highest grossing films in
history and was talked about commonly across the world
By looking into the highest grossing action movies it gives us more
ideas of what makes a successful movie. We can see the narrative
plots follow that of Todorov meaning there is always a climatic part
to the movie, so we will need to make sure we plan this into our idea.
Connor

11. Codes and
Conventions of
Action Movies
(Cameron)
● When it comes to the convention of action movies you will usually see the
following:
● Characters with big muscles, very stocky with a mean look about them. A hero
character who is funny and witty with a good sense of humour. Connotations
they have could be strong, brave and protective.
● Pretty women playing damsels in distress with connotations of being
vulnerable and beautiful
● With a similar build to the hero, the villain is always disliked by the audience
through their comments and body language. They are also made up of quite a
menacing look. Some connotations can be evil, devious nasty and cruel.
● With costume of an action movie we usually see the damsel wearing nice
clothing. THe hero will often wear a nice suit or something quite smart,
although sometimes it can be something rugged or rough. The villain will
usually wear similar clothing to the hero but darker to represent their evil.
● Looking at lighting of an action film it is usually natural as it is set outside
but if there is a scene of the villain in their lair it might make use of low key
lighting.
● When we look at the actors in general they usually make use of very stern
facial expressions. Their body language is very powerful and dominating, they
can also communicate with others in a calm manner as well as a captivating
and aggressive way. The damsel will be very pretty and her expressions can
range from sexy and seductive to worried and scared. The villains expressions
will be very evil and menacing. They will communicate in a very violent way to
get what they want.
● The makeup of the hero will be very natural but if they are in a fight or a chase
scene it will look bruised and bloody. The damsel will have innocent makeup
whereas the villain will have dark eyes and more of a scary look.
● The props of the whole set can be things ranging from guns and knives to fast
cars and blingy jewelry.
What are they?
Codes and conventions are ideas that adapt
different audiences, purposes and technologies.
Codes are signs which have the potential for
different meanings whereas conventions are
something that have almost become set in stone.
Semantics are the things you are able to see in
the mise-en-scene, an example being a big city
and a beach, and syntactics are ideas that
surround the movie, for action movies this can be
fast paced scenes and gun fights.

12. ▪ There can be a range of different settings from big busy cities for the car chases or a
boat chase on a dock or even in a country road.
▪ The big narrative of this is that the hero will experience the threats with the challenges
such as gun fights and car chases, the villain will make the hero's life harder, the
might kidnap the damsel and even kill someone.
▪ The themes of this genre are violence, quick scenes, fast editing, big gun fights, car
chases.
▪ Sounds you may see in this genre can be gunshots, skidding cars, screams,
explosions, large bangs and sirens. Connotations of this may also be anger and
violence.
One of the big syntactics of an action movie can be the fact we expect the good guy to defeat
or kill the bad guy. We also expect there to be some sort of fight scene and even a car or boat
chase scene. In a few action movies you would also expect to see very emotional scenes from
both the bad guy and the good guy, or even maybe the damsel in distress as well as things like
fear of death and feelings of hopelessness.
If we look at the semantics of action movies you would see things such as: big guns, fast cars,
attractive women, blood, dead bodies. If you think about it semantics for an action movie will
differ with each sub genre. If you look at action-horror you would see things like clowns,
ghosts, dark woods, cabins, chainsaws.
General Ideas about Action Movies
A lot of action movies are very fast paced and contain high energy throughout a lot of the scenes. Films like this
have large budgets. Using Batman: The Dark Night as an example, the budget for this movie was $180million,
Batman vs Superman was given a budget of $250-300 million. You could almost say there is a pattern, the pattern
being all high paced and high energy movies have lots of money spent on them and lots of time put into them.
Again a perfect example Transformers: The Last Night was given a budget of $217million, to then make a fair
comparison you can look at the box office figures and for this movie it was $605.4million, a very large profit make.
Codes and
Conventions
of Action
Movies
(Cameron)

13. Codes and Convention Research Justification
We have researched into codes and conventions as the majority of action movies share them,
for example multiple movies have the main character as a male with big muscles who is funny
and witty with a good sense of humour. Connotations they have could be strong, brave and
protective. They also tend to use the same representations of the pretty women playing
damsels in distress and the villain with a similar build to the hero, the villain is almost always
disliked by the audience through their comments and body language. Multiple action movies
share these conventions and because of this many of them are never majorly successful
because it's the same base conventions every time, which is why we would want to keep away
from the stereotypical genres of characters to make the movie more memorable, so we
researched the conventions to ensure we did not have extremely similar conventions.
Codes are signs which have the potential for different meanings whereas conventions are
typical roles and such that are so common and happen so much that they have pretty much
become set in stone and always happen
While we want to challenge the stereotypical conventions of action movies, and avoid the
typical representations of women, we are aware that we are only making the first 2 minutes of
the movie, and sometimes you need to rely on these conventions to make sure initial meaning
is clearly communicated with the audience.
Connor

14. Questionnaire
(Cameron)
Our questionnaire was sent out to around 800
people and we had around 35 responses. For the
questions on our survey that were opened ended
we have a mixed bag of results, from things such
as they love action movies to they don’t watch
action movies. For the limited choice questions we
got the results we expected, which were yes they
enjoy action movies, yes they would want either
adult or no main character and that they would
want an urban area to open the movie. All of the
explanations can be seen on the next few slides
and the ideas we gain from this can easily be
incorporated into our work when it comes to
filming the actual opening of our movie.

15. As a brief introduction to the questionnaire,
a lot of our questions were based more
towards our genre, like the what would you
want to see in an action movie or what type
of scenes make an action movie
memorable. We started off our
questionnaire with a generalised question
but as we moved down they become more
specific to our genre.
Looking at the results on this page a lot of
our audience would be around 18 and
under, so we would need to make
something to bring that audience in, as
well as a large majority of the people who
done the questionaire liking action movies.
83% of the 37 people enjoy watching action
movies and 81% of them are under 18.
Cameron

16. When we come to look at the more open ended questions we can see a range of different responses. A lot of
occuring responses are: do not like action movies, enjoy action movies with love comedy and adventure, good
transitions, locations and settings, realism from the movie, a good plot and set of characters, thrill, romance and
jokes.
After looking at this I can imagine our piece will have some aspects of adventure, a good location to help with
realism, some comedic parts and possibly a chase scene to help with the thrill idea.
Cameron

17. When we look at our responses in this
section of the questionnaire we can
see that a large majority of the people
would want a Russian villain. This can
be linked in with the chase scene and
the thrill and adventure side of things.
It is also pretty evident that people
were not in favour for an Arab or North
Korean villain.
For the set of the movie an urban area
was highly favoured by those who
completed the questionnaire. There
was a few people who thought a house
would be a good option and there was
an even amount who suggested desert
or a mall.
Cameron

18. When we asked people what makes a scene
memorable we were told that things like: action,
plot twists, explosions (could be interesting how
we do this), realism, dramatic scenes, places that
you can remember, guns, fight scenes, edge of
your seat suspense and tension.
It was a big mix but fight scenes and realism were
a very popular choice.
Cameron

19. In the last few questions, these were very limited response questions but they
were specific to our work so they can massively help us in choosing how we do
things.
A large majority of people said that they would prefer a adult main character
closely followed by no specific main character. This can easily be implemented
into our work.
People also agreed that hand to hand combat makes a scene of a movie very
memorable followed by guns and swords.
Then a even amount of people said that in the opening of a movie they would
rather see a car chase or a death scene over a calm opening, again this can be
linked to the tension and on the edge of your seat suspense.
Cameron

20. Questionnaire Justification
We made a questionnaire as we wanted to know what our potential audience
liked in movies, if we found this out we would be able to better write our film
as to appeal to more of them and make it a film they would like to watch.
We learnt from this that many people loved action films based in the desert or
with involvement of foreign assets as the villains or in some scenarios even
helpers to the protagonist. Therefore, we are going to try and write our script so
that we can fit in with the audiences preferences, we are however also
considering a more urban set approach to the film as many action films set in
urban areas are also successful.
Connor

21. As an overall idea for our audience demographics we would use the
below ideas. We would hope to aim it towards those under 18, as that
was the primary response we got from the questionnaire. We could
also include content that older ages, such as 24-54 would also enjoy,
this is because they were also a small number of the ages we got in
our questionnaire. When looking at the rating of our movie, we would
likely make use of a 15+ rating due to the fact we look to include
violence, gore and blood. When looking at the ethnicity of our movie
it is not aimed towards a certain race, so it is open for anyone to
watch, no limits. Similarly with the gender demographics we will look
to have a mix of male and female in our cast which will allow anyone
to watch it, not just men or just women. Looking at social-economic
background of our audience there is no aimed group, again making
it accessible for all people. Looking at the audience psychographics
the attitude of the audience needs to be largely interested in action,
as this is the basic idea of our movie. Personality traits could be
useful here as it needs to be someone who is interested in things
such as: high paced action scenes, hand to hand combat and blood.
If we look at the values and beliefs of the audience this would need
to be someone who would be ready to risk it all and who could jump
into the shoes of the character.
Audience Profile
(Cameron)

22. Skyscraper (Connor)
In the opening scenes of skyscraper we are introduced to a military based team of some sort with the main
character being in the foreground of the shot, we have a very close up shot of his face as they are about to make
entry into a log cabin in the woods, they blow open a wall with some C2 plastic explosive to see a man with a gun
holding a family hostage, the main character convinces the man to let the family go, and he does, apart from the
son, he then shows the main character that he has a bomb strapped to his chest, the protagonist begins to scream
“no” but it cut off by an explosion, he is then shown being brought into the emergency room in a unnamed
hospital covered in burns, his nurse and him end up getting married and we cut to 10 years later or so, he has a
prosthetic leg and is working for a multimillionaire who has constructed the world's tallest structure at 1 kilometer
tall, he does risk analysis on the building and is given a special tablet with a code that accesses an off site centre
that has access to the buildings security and fire prevention measures, he then takes a boat trip with an old time
friend of his to his friends apartment, in which the protagonists briefcase is stolen, which is suspected of having
the security tablet, he had actually hidden it in his jacket and his friend within his apartment attacks the
protagonist and almost kills him before accidentally shooting himself in the struggle, he dies and a huge fire erupts
at the skyscraper where because of his relationship with the millionaire the protagonists family live in, this fire was
started by a criminal organisation that the millionaire borrowed money from, the same organisation that hired the
protagonist's friend to kill him.

23. Skyscraper (Connor)
The protagonist makes his way into the building and began moving up, as was his family to stay out of reach of the
flames, he finds a way to get his wife and son to the ground through an advanced elevator which he and his wife
altered with its systems to get below the fire, his daughter however was unable to get inside the elevator, the
protagonist continues moving up until he and his daughter are ambushed by mercenaries that the criminal
organisation hired, they take his daughter hostage and tell him he has to open a panic room door that the
millionaire is in at the second to the top floor, the protagonist finds a way but it requires him to clamber on the
outside of the building to reach another area, he opens the panic room and it immediately shuts as he enters, he is
held at gunpoint by the millionaire before explaining the situation with his daughter, the two form a plan and
move up to the roof inside a large hanging chamber filled with mirrors, holograms and more that the mercenaries
have stayed in with the protagonists daughter, the millionaire turns on all of the holograms and optical illusions
and the two manage to kill all the mercenaries, simultaneously the protagonists wife worked with the local police
to take back the off site center currently under control of the criminal organisation to let the fire in the building
continue to spread, after a long firefight the criminals are arrested and the emergency systems are activated, the
skyscrapers fire protocols douse out the fire in a matter of minutes and the end shot is the protagonist and
millionaire talking about what should happen next, the millionaire says he wants to start over, without the aid of
criminals and make a structure even better, then the credits roll.

24. Salt (Cameron)
Clip
In the opening scene of this movie we are instantly able to identify what is going on and that this is an action movie. The
opening instantly conforms to common conventions and codes of an action movie. We are able to get this as we can see that
the actor, Salt, is being held hostage by someone and she has been beat and hurt. She constantly is telling him she isn’t a spy
and yet he continues. In only the few opening minutes of the movie we can see 1 stereotype that has been brought up, the
Asian villain, and then we also see the woman as the spy here. If you look at movies like the James Bond and Mission
Impossible franchise you see that the main character, James Bond and Ethan Hunt, is the spy but he is a male, so in line with
other action/spy movies this idea has been changed from a male main to a female main.
From the mise en scene we are able to tell straight away how this is an action movie. It uses the general ideas of action movies
such as the main protagonist who is thrown into some crazy things such as violence, fighting and a crazy set of scenes. We
are also able to see that it uses a Korean villain. You would see a lot of this in movies, such as Russian, Arab or Korean. We are
also able to link this to Propp's Character Theory. The people who drag her out of the little room where she was being held is the
villain, this is an easy role to identify. We can see she is the hero, but as the movie moves forward you could also say that she
is the false hero. The villain has it in his head that 'she is a spy' and yet she constantly dismisses it.
With the use of camera shots we get good ideas of what each view looks like, we get an over the shoulder shot, point of view
shot when she gets dragged out the room, medium shot which shows the small room they are in, this also shows how
crowded the room is. A lot of the camera angles are on an eye level, which give you some sort of link with the character as it is
as if you are behind the camera and you are following them around the scene.

25. Salt (Cameron)
When it comes to looking at the sounds, a lot of them are very natural, such as a creaky door opening, the woman
being dragged along the floor and being punched, the gagging of her when she has the tube put down her throat as
well as the dialogue between all of the characters. There is also a somewhat tense score that is over the scene which
gives the idea it is a bit scary and keeps the viewer on edge, and also keeps their attention.
Looking at the editing for this section of the movie we are able to see a few different types of edits, which in a way
make certain scenes stand out as it brings more attention to the atmosphere and all of a sudden throws focus onto
that scene. An example of this is when we see them tying her up and it goes up her body, doing cut to cut from her
legs up to her hands then tying her hands to the pole. This puts a lot of attention onto what is happening and grabs
the audience's attention. Another example is when we see the cut of her tied up and then the cuts going between the
man shouting at her and then her begging for her life. We then see her have the tube put down her throat, this uses a
cut with a close up shot from her point of view. One of the best views we get is when it shows the whole room and the
cuts going between there, be it from the room view to her point of view or the view looking down on her, it instantly
grabs your attention.
As an overview of the whole opening it is a well constructed opening as it uses the key elements of film: great use of
the mise-en-scene, shots and camera movements are ranged and sound and editing are used a lot.

26. Rampage (Tia)
In the opening of the Action movie Rampage, we can tell that this movie conforms to the
typical codes and conventions of an Action film, through the use of symbolic and technical
codes. We are introduced with the establishing shot of a space station in outer space, this
shows us that it’s an action movie as Outer space is one of the common settings where action
movies take place. The Canted angle also highlights the feeling of emptiness and mystery, as
canted angles are often used in action films or even in horror films to build up suspense and
set the scene. The constant medium shots also shows us a lab setting, which is also another
typical convention of an action genre. The Mise en scene also adds to this effect, the lab
desertion also adds to the effect, as this symbolizes a disaster which foreshadows later events;
supernatural beings etc. The use of the eerie sound in the first few seconds of the opening adds
to the outer space atmosphere. There’s no volume when the camera pans around the earth, this
creates a sense of mystery and the unknown, so the audience doesn’t know what to expect.
Action movies are usually always dramatic and unexpected to keep the film energetic and
entertaining. As the camera pans around the lab, we can tell by the use of the dialogue from
mission control checking in also signifies that something's gone terribly wrong, this gives the
audience the idea that this had later consequences for the rest of the movie/is the main idea of
the movie. The woman we see in the lab says ‘something’s gone horribly wrong with the test’
and ‘the whole crew is dead’, the fact that she’s whispering this to the mission control shows
that she’s potentially hiding from something, like a beast or creature. Therefore conforming to
the Action/Adventure genre which normally includes the act of survival.

27. Rampage (Tia)
Right before the Woman goes into the testing lab, we can see from the continuous shots
following the women's movements, all the loose wires and sparks shows us that the space
station has been destroyed by some bigger and powerful creature. The dialogue between the
woman and mission control also foreshadows later events that happen in the film. She claims
‘the test subject is loose’ and mission control says ‘the test subject is a rat’. This audience then
learns there was a experiment that clearly went wrong, this is clear when the woman says ‘not
anymore’. We can tell by her facial expressions that she’s distressed and scared of the failed
experiment. We can tell that the ‘rat’ is very strong when we can see floating body parts and
sights of blood all around the station. Before she goes into the Lab, we hear a sudden growl as it
jump cut behind her. This would be a warning before going in. We can tell from the mise en
scene that as she’s collecting the substance for the doctor, it’s highly dangerous. We can see
that it’s kept in specific containers to show its importance and value. The use of the alarms
also highlights the action genre, as it’s sudden, loud and sharp to show the extent of the
danger the woman’s facing. When we are first introduced to the test subject, we can
immediately tell that the woman is in danger, from it’s loud screech, abnormal size and its
bizarre features which aren't seen on a normal rat. The quick cuts and close ups during the
chase scene highlights the intensity of the scene, which is a key feature of an action movie to
include tense non diegetic background effects and score. Again by her tone of voice we can tell
she’s overwhelmed by the situation and she screams ‘open it’ to mission control when before
she was whispering to them.

28. Rampage (Tia)
This opening scene also conforms to the Action genre through the use of colour symbolism
and mise en scene. The main colours used throughout the very beginning of the scene are more
black and dark blue, this creates a sense of mystery and foreshadows something evil or
dangerous is going to appear which we know is the abnormal rat. The colours used towards the
end of the opening scene are more red and orange with the flames and explosions. This clearly
symbolises the feeling of danger and heat. The contrast in the colour is done very cleverly so it
creates a huge difference in atmosphere between the first 3 minutes of the opening scene and
the final 2 minutes of the opening scene. As i claimed before, the large contrast in colour is to
keep the scene exciting and unexpected which are key features needed to make an Action film
interesting. The close up shot on the woman’s face after she propelled away from the space
station shows us that she’s trying to catch her breath after what she experienced, but the
camera suddenly cuts back to her shuttle windows cracking, we can see by her eyes that she
suddenly realises her fate before bursting up into flames. This is a typical convention of an
action movie as most action movies open with a death scene, especially if it's a disaster type
action film. The mise en scene can again prove this, as there's a large use of explosions
especially towards the end of the scene and again, the use of explosives are commonly used in
the action genre to make it seem more dramatic.