Motifs

A motif is recurring image or idea that is shown throughout a film to represent what kind of film it is. For example, if a heart is shown within a film (in pictures in the background) then the audience know that the film is a romance and it has a love theme. 


In the film 'Psycho'  by Alfred Hitchcock, he uses birds throughout because birds are seen as evil in some cultures and his film is based around a bad genre. This helps reassure the audience of the genre and reminds them throughout the film what it is.


an example of a motif is in the film 'Jaws' by Steven Spielberg (1975) of the music when the shark arrives. This helps the audience label the shark it is played whenever the shark is around or about to appear. It also creates tension within the audience because it is bold and it is almost like a noise that makes you cringe when you hear like someone scratching their nails on a blackboard. This piece of music also reinstates the genre of the film because it is so bold and powerful that the audience are almost scared of the music as well as the film.


Another example of a motif in a film is from 'The Woman In Black' by James Watkins (2012). They use the colour black throughout the film and the colour black signifies death and evil so this helps back up the genre and make the audience feel scared and not knowing what is going to happen because the colour black also signifies mystery.


We have decided to use a motif in our opening sequence and we have chosen to use the colour red throughout. This will help with the back up of the genre and the colour also signifies love and danger and in one scene with the man, he is crazy and thinks they are in love with each other. On the other hand, in the girl's scene where she is tied up, she has blood on her shirt and that shows the danger side of the colour red in our opening sequence.