Thriller #2.

Walk On The Wild Side.

Film Title: Walk on the wild side (1962)
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Title Designer: Saul Bass


Camera – distance, angle, movement…

1) Starts off with a CU of a tube and a cat coming out. On the ground cam.
2) Tracks cat at a LS. High Angle.
3) Tracks cat again but on the ground cam. MLS
4) Tracks the cat- CU and on the ground cam
5) MCU/ MS/ CU of two cats fighting

The beginning of the title sequence is very awkward but clarifies itself as the black cat is introduced. The CU of it allows the audience to establish the cat. The camera is positioned on the ground in order to allow the audience to see where the cat is and what it’s doing. It allows the audience to engage with it immediately. The camera tracks the cat as it deviates from a line that is centralised. This refers back to the movie title. The high angle had been chosen to establish the cat’s movements clearly. As the title sequence continues the camera still tracks the cat but on the ground instead. The MLS was chosen to show the cat and its surroundings. This helps the audience to connect with the cat. Then nearing the end of the sequence we see the fight between two cats. A variety of camera shots are used and they range from MCU, MS and CU. Some of the shots were taken at a low angle. This was to help the audience determine who was of a higher stature.

Editing – speed, style…

1) Slow at the start of the title sequence
2) Quickens as the cat fight begins
3) Return to normal afterwards.

The editing was slow at the beginning, allowing the title sequence to flow smoothly. This was aided by the music as it was slow too. As the cat fight began the editing sped up dramatically. Jump cuts were most predominant and helped to create a sense of surprise and dramatisation. After the cat fight had finished the editing returned to its norm. This helped the audience calm down after the sudden event.

Sound – effects, musical score…

1) Starts off up- beat but has a mysterious undertone.
2) Instantly switches and becomes predominated by bass instruments when cat fight begins.
3) Slows back down when cat fight finishes.

The sound was the body of the title sequence. It helped the editing create continuity. The suspicious musical score, allowed the audience to recognise that something might go wrong. When the cat fight began, the music switched into a selection of deep bass instruments to help reinforce the surprise and the drama. Then after wards the music returns to its normal pace, thus creating a re-equilibrium.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

1) Tubes
2) Black and white cats
3) High key natural lighting
4) Could be a construction site- urban area.
5) Black/ white/ grey

The tubes could be a visual signifier that the cat is in a construction site and this could be taken further and it can be said that the cats are situated in an urban area; this can be justified through the fences and the pavements. The high key natural lighting help to establish that there is an equilibrium being created. The black and whites help to establish the time in which the movie was made. The significance of the black and white cats are a visual binary opposition. The defeat of the white cat could suggest that evil prevails. This can be justified through the connotations of the colours. Black indicates evil and darkness and white connotes optimism and good. The significance of the black cat is to help the audience establish immediately that something bad is going to happen as a black cat is a cultural signifier of bad omens.

Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…

1) Superimposed upon the images.
2) Formal font

The titles were superimposed upon the title sequence. This made them a minor element as the audience are more drawn to the black cat. The text was kept small so it would not interfere. Also the font of it was formal. This could suggest that the characters in this movie are of possible high status.