No Country For Old Men- Miss Frisendar

No Country for Old Men

 In this lesson I have learnt how to identify the codes and conventions, camera shots, and editing techniques whilst watching an opening scene to a Thriller. I have also learnt how to identify the target audience due to these techniques.

Opening Scene of 'No Country for Old Men'

The editing during the first scene of 'No Country for Old Men' shows an establishing shot of different landscapes that cut to each shot with a slow pace. The voiceover during this establishing shot tells us about the villains background and lets the audience know that he has killed before so gives us an idea that he may kill again. When there is the scene whilst the policemen is on the phone and the villain is in handcuffs behind him there is another slow pace editing shot as the man creeps up on the cop which creates an eerie effect. There is also a zooming in shot of the villain strangling the cop which lets the audience see the killing from a closer point of view.

The setting during the opening scene of 'No Country for Old Men' shows a deserted place which makes it seem like its hard to get help or to escape from, it is also isolated and intimidating which are both conventional to a Thriller film. The landscape of the establishing shot was field with all of the plants and land dead which links to the killings during the film. Also the Police Station was very unequipped which made the villain superior to the cop which is another convention to a Thriller as the villain was more powerful then the victim. These are all essential towards the plot as they signify murder.

The events in the opening scene of 'No Country for Old Men' starts off with the establishing shots of the peaceful landscapes which contrasts with the fact the villain gets arrested in which the peacefulness is killed by this and the voiceover saying 'See you in hell' which is conventional to a Thriller film as we associate hell with murder or murderers. Another event during the opening scene is when the villain is creeping up on the cop from the background which makes it mysterious, also after he kills the cop he leaves the evidence of the killing behind in the bathroom and then goes on to the next killing and kills an innocent man which is also conventional to a Thriller. 

Characters during the opening scene of 'No Country for Old Men' contrast from innocent to evil throughout the scene, for example the policeman was small and the villain was bigger which makes him more vulnerable and weak straight away. The villain has killed before as we learn at the beginning due to the voiceover, h is a psychopath and is dressed in black which represents doom and danger which are all convention to a Thriller as well as the villains voice which had a creepy tone but also a calm tone which tells us he is confident and calm in what he about to do as he has done it before.

The Camera Work throughout the opening scene uses close ups and high angle during the murder which can show the audience a closer view of the murder and also see their facial expression clearer which can tell us what exactly they are feeling at that moment and the audience can relate to the character. There's an establishing shot right at the beginning which shows us where the film is set which brings us a sense of mystery as we are not familiar with the scenery.

The target audience for 'No Country for Old Men' is a 15 because it contains quite a lot of violence which can be disturbing for a viewer of a younger age also as this film is quite violent it will attract mostly male audiences. Most Thriller films attract viewers under 25.