Showing posts with label Revision and Analysis'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Revision and Analysis'. Show all posts
Extra Editing Notes
Editing consists of the following:
•Transition.
•Order of narrative
•Pace
Strangers on a train:
(Notes)
-Cross cutting
-Parallel editing
-Don't actually establish who the characters are at first
-See feet
-1:23 mins in see characters
-Doesn't give everything away at once.
- 2 Dissolves
-narrative: All in order (chronological)- People walking to station- Jumps, don't see them get on train- see them walking, sitting on train.
-2 things are happening at the same time/shot
Summary:
In the opening sequence of strangers on a train we see fast, up beat cuts and parallel editing. We don't establish who the characters actually are or even what they look like until around 1:23 mins into the clip, all we see before this is their feet walking through the station. The clip doesn't give away much until the end, making us think of idea of what the character might look like. The narrative is all in order, we see the shots of the two main characters feet (of which we think is a man and a woman) walking through the station, then it jumps and we don't see them again until they get on the train, then we see them sitting in their seats and we catch a glimpse of what they look like for the first time.
Notes
Class notes
Genre:
-setting
-themes
-icons (significant object)
-narrative
-characters
-textual analysis
-similarities & differences
Beautiful boy
The opening scene we watched of 'Beautiful Boy' started off with being set at the beach with a happy atmoshpere. The music was calm and peacful as there was a piano playing. The characters we fist see are what looks like a mum dad and a son. They look happy and are making a video. Meanwhile, there is a voiceover of the boy talking and we gather that this is the little boy in the video talking about himself. The setting changes from the bright, light open beach to a dark grey low key lighting school classroom or office, this is a contrast of past and present. We see the boy looking quite glum as he's reading out what could be a school project. After this the setting changes yet again to a man in an office looking at his computer screen hoplessly and looking quite sad, the music is the same (sad tone) which feels like it is building up something really sad about to happen. the setting changes again from the opening 2 minutes we see a woman in a fairly busy highstreet (the mum) we only see her for a split second but she seems happy and carefree. The final setting we see in the 2 minutes opening is the home or the myum and the dad, the music stop. It feels uncomfortable and the camera is shakey, the atmosphere is dead and it makes you feel suspocious.
The skin I live in
'The skin i live in' starts off with a big picture, of a village, and then the frame gets smaller to a house, and then to a sign on the house. The first character we see is a woman in a nude body suit with no sound in a white walled house. We see her trapsing around the house looking like shes doing nothing but really she has set tasks. We see her taking a mixture of tablets and the camera shows a close up of them. The atmoshpere is quite boring and depressing there are no emotions being shown so far. Then the setting changes to a school lecture, and we realise the subject is burns victims. Then it hits that the woman in the body suit may be a burns victim.
Extra Research
The opening two minutes of the horror film 'se7en' is dark, twisted and mysterious. As a viewer, you instantly fell uncomfortable watching what looks like the set up of something nasty. We hear the magnified scraping of objects in the background and dark gloomy music which creates a chilling atmosphere. There is no dialogue however the structure of the music tells us to be frightened.
However the 'austin powers' opening scene that we watched straight away from the big purple 70's writting of the actors names, we know that it is going to be light-hearted and funny. We see the main character as he is moving through the hotel which is the first setting, we dont hear much other than the up beat loud music but we do hear snipits of dialogue.
In the opening sequence of 'James Bond' we hear the song 'gold finger' and the actors names that are shown are in gold. This all links in with the film later as the song was made for the film.
Reasarch on camera shot and movement
--Long shot (LS): shows the whole character in the frame and may also act as an establishing shot.
--Medium shot (MS): shows the subject from the waist up.
--Closeup shot (CU): shows the subjects heas and shoulders.
--Aerial shot: sometimes called 'birds eye view', this is an extreme high-angle shot, generally exterior, that might be filmed from a crane, building or aircraft.
--Canted angle: a shot in which the camera is deliberatley placed on a slant.
--Crane shot: a shot created using a large camera mounting, capable of achieving high elevations and movement.
--Handheld shot: a shot filmed using a camera manipulated by an operator without a tripod or other mounting. This is often used to convey the impression that the action taking place is 'documentary' in nature.
--Low/high angle shots: any shot type taken from a clearly lower or higher angle than the subject.
--Pan: a panoramic shot in which the camera moves with a horizontal motion, but from a fixed position.
--Point of view shot(POV): a shot is intended to show the action from the perspective of a particular character.
--Subjective shot: intended to match exactly what a character is actually seeing. Sometimes used with a 'Bonocular' mask.
--Dolly/ tracking shot: a shot in which the camera moves to follow a sequence of action, placed usually on a dolly or specially prepared tracks.
--Whip-pan: a very fast pan often used to give off the impression that the camera is just catching up with the action.
--Zoom: a zoom shot is one in which a change in focal length occurs. Most domestic video cameras have zoom lenses whereas fixed lenses are more common in film production. The zoom shot is thus often associated with amateur video making where it is lazily used as an alternative to a cut.
'Love Field'
Genre- thriller
Setting -large corn field, looks creepy and mysterious as it is isolated and empty.
Icons- Crow, the symbol of death, could suggest to the audience that someone is going to or already has been killed as the crow could be a significant icon.
Narrative- the audience hear a girl screaming, a close up of a knife being stabbed into the ground is shown and you see a persons foot stop moving. This makes us think there was a murder as man looks panicked and rushes to his car, when really the woman screaming had given birth. You think its going to be a horror from the screaming, use of extreme long shots etc and close up of the crow but turns out not to be.
Characters- Weird sweaty, stereo typical horror large farmer. Screaming woman, sweaty, covered in blood from giving birth. New born baby with the umbilical cord still attatched.
Camera
Starts with an establishing shot, extreme long shot (shows the large corn feilds).
Long shots on the setting, sets the scene for the audience to establish whats going on.
Tilt up/low shot, you're left waiting for information about what is going to happen or what has already happened.
Fade- the shot is going somewhere, this leaves the audience in suspense and the film opening with lots of tension as you dont know whats about to be shown.
Sound
Sets the tone and the atmosphere as it makes the audience feel uneasy.
Intense sound in enhanced.
Chirping from the Crow is enhanced, constant, we are made to focus on the fact the bird is making a lot of noise which makes us feel suspicious about why he is doing this and what significance it has to the action about to take place or be shown.
Wind- We know the temperature and type of day it is outside, often linked with scary moments within a film of a horror genre.
Orchestral Soundtrack- again, often linked with horrors as the orchestral music builds tension.
The music and sound tells you how to feel, without it the film wouldn't seem like a horror in the beginning as much. Mix between diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used effectively in conjunction with one another to full fill the overall emotion and mood.
Mise-en-scene
Costume- the farmer was made to look quite dodgy through the fact his clothes were dirty and hes appearance overall was quite greasy and sweaty as he looked anxious, the woman giving birth was covered in blood but in a way in which it didnt make the audience scared once they found out the reason why she was covered in the blood. It was due to her giving birth. Her clothing made her look typically pretty, and that she wasn't meant to be there. It made the audience question who she was and why she was where she was with the farmer.
Lighting- The lighting is bright, which goes against the horror genre which is what we think it is at first, when we discover a murder isn't what is going on the bright lighting makes a lot more sense and typically you wouldn't do a murder in the middle of the day as you are more likely to be caught. The lighting is soft although bright, which makes the whole giving birth moment beautiful.
Actors- Both fit the parts they play well as they look the part as well as have the mannerisms which fit it. The man is a little bit fat which makes him look a little scarier, at the time because he is worried he looks a lot scarier than he is, but at the end the shot of the two characters smiling makes you completely change your mind on him as he looks like a lovely man that was just willing to help this women, of whatever relation he has with her.
Makeup- Both are covered in sweat, which makes sense when you realise he's a farmer and she just gave birth. The male character looks grubby whereas the female just looks extremely worn out.
Props- Props used includes a knife, a blanket, contents of the woman's handbag. By seeing the woman's handbag and the contents all over the floor this makes us think something has happened to her, as she isn't near her bag and isn't trying to put everything back into her bag. The knife stabbed into the ground as the screaming stops makes us presume the woman has just been murdered. After that he rushes to a car to get a blanket, we presume this is because he wants to cover up the 'body' when in fact it is for the newborn baby. The props are used to trick us into thinking something has happened when it hasn't. It builds a false emotion and atmosphere as the audience think that something the complete opposite is going on.
Setting- The setting is clever in that it is such an isolated place that the first thing that comes to mind when we hear a crow and screaming is that it will be a murder which in fact it isn't, its a woman who has clearly stopped for help from a farmer as she has gone into labour. The end establishing shot shows us that he has come off a tractor and she has stopped by the side of the road, it helps us understand why she is giving birth in a field.
Editing
Overall it has been edited in a way to make you focus on certain things, close-ups of of the contents of her bag, the knife being stabbed in the ground, the crow, which all fades into each other. They are all key features of the opening sequence and we are made to look at them. All of the editing techniques used makes us feel like something the complete opposite to what is actually happening is going to happen.
Class Notes
Crow- creepy, sets a mysterious and anxious mood and tone.
Phone, money, screams, blood
Curly toes- strain, pain from the women who we prosume is being stabbed or killed.
Tattoos on the man- make him look scarier and more intimidating, could they be of significance to the action or rest of the film?
Look in his eye- panic, dispair, he is made to look like he has done something wrong.
Sweating from where he is anxious about something when infact he is just a farmer pankicking over this women giving birth.
Tone completely changes- she gave birth to a beautiful baby with the help from this farmer.
Rushing made us think he was a murderer, in fact it was to ensure both mother and baby were safe.
Tone turns from creepy to happy as the audience begin to understand what is happening within the scene.
Applying Mise-en-scene to 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' opening sequence
Lighting: dark shadows. There is no single light source, the spot light is being aimed on each shot.
Costume: 2 characters are covered in grey skin? oil? liquid form? maybe reptile like?
Actors: Shadows of a feminine model and a masculine model. Alot of hands shown. A dead man floating in a liquid? water? Appears that the 2 models melt in to each other? maybe burning liquid?
Makeup: All grey/ natural/ shadowed/ sci fi/ futureistic like.
Props: a flower, liquid being thrown around, chain wrapped round a neck. insinuating danger?
Setting: unknown/ unrecognisable? empty? lake/ river? darkness/ mystery.
Sound: screaming women. Horrific/ thriller- this sets the genre. Leaves audience on edge and wondering if she is screaming in pain? non diegetic sound played in the background. Women screaming is diegetic.
The strange figures and music makes the film mysterious and keeps the audience guessing the genre. Closeups keep the audiences full attention.
Analysis Techniques
Many film critics use analysis techniques to cover every area of a topic that is important to be analysed. For example;
Mise-en-scene involves analysis of..
costumes: what is the character wearing? are they going for signiture looks reguarding costume choice such as james bonds suit or rambos army overalls?
Lighting: high key/ low key? lighting can give a film a unique look and individual effect.
Actors: are the actors block buster movie stars or are they unknown low pay actors?
Makeup: natural/ theatre makeup? are there any artificial attatchments from the body? false leg? blood?
Props: anything ironic used? A prop is anything used by actors, if it is not held or used then it is considered part of the set.
Settings: where is the sequence filmed? has it been built from scratch? is it abroad? does it look high budget?
When analysing the camera work 'MAF' is a common known way of helping.
M: movement
A: angles
F: frame (majority closeups, some mid shots)
Analysing editing requires 'TOP' this is..
T- transition: straight cut or dissolve effect?
O- order of narrative: has anything been put in particular order for purpose?
P- pace: is the sequence flowing/ spending more time on specific parts?
Opening sequence elements
There are some elements that must be included when making opening sequences. Each of these elements have a main role. Although some of these go unnoticed when watching an opening of a film, they are still important because without them the quality and opening as a whole will be looked down upon for missing vital domains.
-Charaters
-location
-narrative/ plot
-genre themes
-details of cast and crew
-film title
-an introduction to character or character type
-indication of histroical period
-information requarding mood or tone
-indication of main sound track/ theme tune
-information on genre
-questions for viewer to think about
-patterns and types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film
-mise en scene and cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film
notes on sound..
Most films are edited with only the dialogue in place and the raw sound in the background of shots. The sound editing usually takes place after the visual edit and will include the stripping of unwanted sounds from each shot, with dialogue either ‘looped’ by actors or replaced with a ‘clean’ dialogue track recorded on set. A technique called ADR allows precise lip sync. Things such as footsteps, doors opening etc are replaced by Foley arrests. These tracks of several recorded separately are known as Foley tracks. ‘Ambient’ sound or reverb will be added to stimulate and match the visual environment of the scene. Other effects may be created entirely by combinations of synthesisers and sampled sounds. For star wars for example, the sound editor included samples of London underground trains to create the effect of spaceships travelling past the camera. It is also common in action sequences for certain effects to be sonically exaggerated (such as gunfire, punches in fights and screeching tyres in chases etc.)
The last element to be added is generally the music which could be anything from a symphonic tune to a pre recorded rock song. Editors will often edit to a ‘temp (temporary) track of some pre existing music. The final stage of sound editing involves creating a mix of all the elements. Nowadays, several mixes will be produced for the films exhibition in different theatrical environments. These are made using proprietary equipment and involves sending different elements in the mix to different channels (speakers), including rear surrounds. The most widely used are DTS (digital theatre systems) and Dolby digital. The desire to recreate the quality of movie soundtracks in the home has led to the growth of home cinema; using DVD’s to carry six-channel (or more)soundtrack information.
Soundtrack music-
A lot of well known characters have their own signified theme tune which emphasises key action moments. Star wars films have many major actors and characters with their own clearly identifiable theme, one of many traditions to emerge from melodrama (which actually means ‘drama with music’). Music is a way to add shape and meaning to an action sequence and it can effectively create mood and emphasise on a certain emotion and drama. In the ‘silent era, accompanying music was seen as an essential part of watching a film and the viewing experience. The tradition continues as soon as the technology became available.
Key terms:
Symphonic- Music performed by an orchestra.
Melody- a distinctive tune
Atonal- music having no established key.
Rhythmic- percussive sounds forming a beat.
Dissonant- Non harmonious combination of sounds or lacking conventional harmonies.
Diagetic and non diagetic sound
DIAGETIC: The term diagetic refers to the world of the film, the fictional space created by every successive shot. Sounds that emerge from sources within the frame are known as diagetic. Those that come from somewhere else are therefore usually non-diagetic, unless it clearly comes from a radio or a stereo in shot.
NON DIAGETIC: These sounds also cannot be heard by the films characters. (Occasionally however, directors play with our expectations). Sometimes we are able to hear a characters thoughts and sometimes a character may address the audience directly to camera. This is rare in mainstream dramatic movies but a voice over narration from one of the characters is not uncommon.
Analysis of films sound notes
People used to have a piano playing beside a film to add to the effect and emotions being portrayed in the film.
diagetic -
voices of characters
sounds made by objects in the story
music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)
Digetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound.
Non diagetic-
The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).
'UP' analysis
The clip we watched of the film 'up' showed the passing of time, about 60/70 years in the space of about 2 minutes. It helps that the film is animation so the time passing aspect is quicker to show although, it does give you a real idea of how you can show time passing.
It starts with the kids meeting eachother, to their wedding in one camera flash. then we see them moving in together, getting older everytime, then we see the two chairs that they sit in. Then we see them decorating a baby room, then it shows them in the hospital which means they have lost the baby, then carl cheers ellie up by giving her the adventure book they made when they were younger. Then we see shots of the money pot and it breaking when they have to fix something and they keep getting oler and older everytime we see the pot break and something being fixed.Then another way of passing time is the different ties, a different tie for every day. Then we see ellie and carl walking up the hill and ellie falls then we go back to the hospital and the adventure book comes back out then we see carl at the funeral (ellie dies) then back to the house. This is showing their whole lives together in the space of about a two minute clip.
The House Of The Devil
The House Of The Devil
...opening analysis
At the very beggining of the opening, there are Church bells ringing – makes the audience feel uncomfortable, and put a question in their mind as to why they are ringing. This is because some people associate church bells with funerals as soon as they hear them, whilst others associate them with weddings. But going back to the name of the film, makes it apparent that the bells wouldnt be ringing for such a positive occasion; for example a wedding.
A Panning shot is used from the yellow house to the car where by the two characters speak out the dialogue, this creates tension and gives the audience alot to look at to put the pieces together regaurding what is going to happen next.
The land lady gives the student her house very cheaply– this creates suspision for the audience and leaves them questioning why she would sell it at such a small price. It also makes you think about whether or not this character is being made to look obviously nice maybe instead of her real true personality that could be the complete opposite. She could potientially be the baddie in this film.
Establishing shot of the house – this sets the tone and atmosphere and makes the audience wonder where the character is heading off to.
The church bells chime when the camera is focussed on the house – suggests to the audience that the house is haunted (religion). This creates a horror effect as it makes the audience feel uneasy. Usually we associate bells with churches, funerals, weddings.
The credits do not match the genre of horror, instead they are comedic due to the colour of yellow and the big bubbly font. This is unconventional and creates more of a mysterious atmosphere.
Roland and Barthes Codes
Roland Barthes Theory
Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic and semeotician. He explored a wide range of fields and had diverse knowledge. Barthes also influenced the development of schools.
Roland Barthes once said that ‘Text’ was “A galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signified. It has no beginning, it is reversible, we gain entrance to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one.” I think by this he meant that everyone encounters everything differently, and there is no said way of approaching anything potentially ‘correct’. And by looking at something in a specific viewpoint or angle, can create a whole meaning for a particular ‘text’.
Barthes came up with the idea that there is a theory that ‘5 codes’ can be put into any narrative. The 5 codes were;
Action/ Proairetic- The way the tension is built up and the audience are left in interest or suspense guessing what happens next. This code applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example if two people pull their trigger at the same time, the audience is left in suspense and interest questioning who is going to get killed.
Semantic- This code refers to giving a cultural/ underlining, additional meaning to a basic everyday word. This is to show what is symbolises but also shows the writers skills.
Cultural/ Referential- Looks at the audience’s cultural knowledge and morality. The cultural codes also points to knowledge about the way the world works as shared by a community or culture.
Enigma- Also known as the ‘Hermeneutic code’, refers to plot elements of a story that are not explained. They exist as enigmas that the reader wishes to be revealed. The effect is that it makes the audience question ‘why is that there?’ ‘why does this happen?’. A detective story is a prime example because the storyline operates by a crime being exposed and solved.
Symbolic- The symbolic code refers to a structure that organizes meanings by way of antitheses or sexual and psychological conflicts; this is when new meaning arises out of opposing ideas. It’s also what the audience thinks when they see/ hear it. What it symbolises in their eyes. These oppositions can be expressed through action, character and setting.
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
Uses and Gratification Theory
Uses and Gratification Theory
Uses and Gratification theory focuses on ‘what people do with media’ rather than ‘what media does to people’. It is a popular apporach to understanding mass communicaiton. The theory suggests that people use media, not only for entertainment as such; but for also to meet their needs in specific moments in their lives. This approach has implied that the media now have to compete to grab the attention of their viewers needs and gratification. This has created a theory that the media must find ways to engage the audience, whether it be through their past or current experiences/ emotions; and make it appeal to them. An example of uses and gratification would be ‘Personal Identification’, this would be linking to me, so for example a film that I find links to me in a personal aspect would be mean girls. This would be because it is a modern film, set in a high school with older teens. The plot is about girl friends; it also contains alot of humour. The reason why I chose this film is because I am still in school and spend the majority of time with my friends. Another form of uses and gratifications theory is ‘Information’ for example a film with a historical background, a reason why I would watch a film like this would be because I want to learn a bit about histotry and generations. A few examples are; Gladiator, this is set in Ancient Greek times; and focuses alot on the romans a few other films that are similar are Troy, and also One Million Years BC which is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film; set in the time of cavemen. As well as Personal Identification and Information, a popular gratification is ‘Entertainment’ in other words, the porducers have to try and make sure that what the viewers are consuming gives them enjoyment and also enables them to forget about their current problems. A film I would watch for entertainment would be Jurrassic Park, this is because its an action film so it takes all of my attention away from anything else and I focus on the storyline. Another reason why I find it entertaining is because the actors are young so they easily relate to me. Lastly, ‘social interaction’ the kind of thing I would watch on TV to spark social interaction would be Waterloo road, or Britains got talent. This is because it produces a topic and almost a topic that everyone has in common. And also if I was watching it with someone our reactions and comments would be entertaining. And it would also start debates and opinionated conversations.
A popular critisism about the Uses and Gratifications theory is that the public and their thoughts and feelings have control what the media do. Which isnt right because the media has responsibility for the influences it puts over the publics lives.
Image analysis
As soon as you look at this image of Toby and Paige, the first thing it illustrates is romance. I think the second most eye catching thing about the image is the guitar in Toby’s hand. He looks like he’s serenading her and the fact that their eyes are engaged shows that the theme is obviously love. It’s clearly set in a school or some kind of Music College. You would know this because in the back ground there are small plastic chairs, so it’s obvious it’s not in a work placement. Also the key boards give away the fact that the setting is a musical environment. The characters look like their smart students for example 6th form or college students; rather than normal school students because of the obvious fact that they’re not in school uniform; they both look smart and respectful, in dark colour’s. Toby’s shirt and tie demonstrates that he takes pride in he’s appearance and generally prefers to look smart; not forgetting his glasses which show stereotypical intelligence. Paige’s clothes show that she is also a student but her hairstyle and bracelet’s show that she isn’t as serious as Toby and maybe a bit edgy. The lighting is quite subtle; it shines gently over Paige and reflects off of Toby’s guitar. Its high key and isn’t too bold for the viewer to look at.
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