Film Language

For this task we had to analyse each film opening using different techniques we have learnt.

For Boys N The Hood we had to use FAM, CLAMPS, MCDOVED & STOPS.

In this film opening there are a lot of different camera shots. One camera shot is where the camera zooms in on the red stop sign this could be trying to tell us that the place is dangerous or is trying to warn us that something bad will happen. There are panning shots throughout the opening scene this creates tension at some parts because you want to see what's ahead but you have to wait for the camera to move. The close ups on the children's drawing is important because it shows that all the children think of guns and shootings. Most angles are level in the opening scene this could be telling us that things are normal but could go up or down anytime during the day/night. There are non-diegetic sounds being used when the children look at the posters on the wall, these non-diegetic sounds are gun shots but only we can hear them. Most of the dialogue is spoken confidently and everyone speaks with an American accent because it is set in America. There is a few voice overs in this opening scene one of them is at the beginning where you can hear screaming, shouting and gun shots being fired but you cant see anything happening. The emotion changes throughout the opening sequence. It starts off sad because of the shootings last night then it goes into happy because they have a joke in class then it turns all aggressive and stays aggressive till the end of the 6 minutes. The transitions between each shot are slow which causes more suspense during the film opening. The pace is slow throughout the film opening this could suggest that no one is doing anything about the shootings so the city is at a slow pace while people are trying to get through a long, hard day. There are two main people who get the most screen time. There main screen time is where they have a fight in the class room. This is an important scene because it tells us that all the fighting going on in the streets is affecting the children so they think its ok to fight. The lighting is quite low key during the first part of the opening scene this could be because it is telling u bad things have just happened and people are still trying to get over it. The costumes are very 1990s this is because it was set in 1991 in America. The teacher uses a stick to point at things on the board and she probably hits peoples desks as well if they aren't listening. The children in the classroom are very good actors this is because they act bored and tired at the start of this scene this is because the teacher is talking in a very monotone voice which doesn't help the children learn. It is set in America in the 1990s, the place they live is a very rough area. the weather is cloudy there is no sun or no rain and the time of day is morning through till the afternoon as it shows the little boy going to and from school.


For The Matrix we had to use Colour, binary oppositions, male/female - good vs evil

In this film opening the use of colour is dark which shows that something is going to happen then a few seconds in a girl is dressed in black this could suggest that she is a bad person or could show that she is in danger. Dark colours also always makes things more tense so this could also be another reason why they are used. This film opening also show the difference between men and women. The men think they can handle the woman in the room but she proves them wrong and knocks them all out. The woman escapes from the men which shows that not all men are better than women. The good vs evil is quite hard to understand, in my opinion I think the woman is the bad person but I'm not sure but I cant think  of any other reason why the police would be chasing her so she must be the bad person. This is different from other films as most bad people are men. At the end of this scene you don't know whether she dies or not which is very annoying as she has escaped the men but may have been killed by the van. The binary opposites in this film opening are that the woman is being chased by men and that the woman is able to knock some of the officers out to escape the room.

For Up we had to consider how to show the passage of time, sound, Mise En scene and camera

In UP it shows the passage of time by using the ties. This makes time go fast because he has a different tie everyday so it speeds time up. The music is happy throughout the opening scene until it gets to the part where Ellie is told she cant have children at this point the music goes deep and slow to fit the video playing. The whole background music is non-diegetic because the characters cant hear it but we can. There are two main types of emotions in this opening scene these are happy and sad most of the scenes are happy which goes with the happy tune of the music but there are a couple of sad parts where the music goes slower to fit the sad theme. The costumes change throughout because their ages change so their outfits fit their age. the lighting is bright most of the time but goes dark on the sad parts to make it more realistic. The main props are the balloon stand as it shows it more than once. Another main prop is the money bank where they are tying to save to go Paradise Falls. It is set in South America in a small cosy house, the weather, time and date changes as the scene is through a period of time. Most of the shots are level and long shots this is because there is a lot going on, although there are a few close up shots one of them is when Ellie is doing Carls ties and another is when they keep having to smash the pot with their money in it. There is a lot of panning shots throughout the scene going from one shot to another.

For Cape Fear we had to use camera and Mise En scene.

In Cape Fear the camera shots and angles are all pretty similar the shots a either close us or long shots and the angles are all level this could show that he has no emotion and that he is a very serious person.  There are panning shots throughout. The man walks out of gates as a long shot but walks towards the camera to make a close up. The costumes in this opening scene is either a police outfit or a prison mans outfit this is because they are is a prison. the lighting is light because he is getting out of prison so it shows there is light at the end of the tunnel. it is set in a prison so t has a very tense atmosphere this is even worse as you watch the n walk out of the prison as everyone else stares at him.

Audience

Who creates what we watch?

The media decides what we watch as they produce the media but the audience decides whether it is worth watching.

Can the media exist/function without the audience? Can the audience exist/function without the media?

The media cant exist because if there is no audience the media is pointless. If there is no media the audience have nothing to talk about.

Can the media control an audience?

 No the media cant control an audience be the audience decides what they like and what they don't, but the media can control an audience because it puts things into the audiences head and makes them believe things.

Who is more powerful the media or the audience why? how?

The audience because we decide what we believe and enjoy. The media also brainwashes us to believe things.

Uses and Gratifications

It is suggested that the uses and gratifications theory has to fulfil one of the following when we choose a form of media:

Identify- being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role models that reflect similar values to yours, aspiration to be someone else.

Educate- being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding

Entertain- what you are consuming should give you enjoyment and also some form of 'escapism' enabling us to forget our worries temporarily

Social Interaction- The ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation between other people, sparks debate.

Uses and gratification theory can be seen in cases such as personal music selection. We select music not only to fit a particular mood but also in attempts to show empowerment or other socially conscience motives. There are many different types of music and we choose from them to fulfil a particular need  

Film and You

What do we mean when we use the word 'film'?

When we use the word 'film' we are talking about the film industry as a whole. Films ate classed as moving pictures and can change over time. A film is created by photographing scenes and putting them all together to make one big film.

Do you think it means the same as the word 'movie'?

I think the word 'movie' means the same as the word 'film' because are a type of visual communication which use moving pictures and sound to tell stories or inform people.

And what about the word 'cinema'?

The word 'cinema', short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. It is also used to tell stories and inform people.

Top 10 Favourite Films

1. Tangled                               

2. Divergent series                                             

3. The Hunger games series

4. Harry Potter series

5. Fault in our stars

6. Mean girls

7. Peter Pan

8. Click

9. Marley and Me

10.  Alice in Wonderland

What do they have in common?

Some of my top 10 films are Disney films they are all in common because they all come from the same film industry. The hunger games series, Harry Potter series and the divergent series are all in common because they are all action films and have a lot going on which is what I like in films because they keep me entertained. Also the divergent series and the fault in our stars are in common because the main characters in the Divergent series are the main characters in The Fault in Our Stars. Marley and Me and the fault in our stars are similar as they are both sad films that are likely to make people cry.

 



Representation

The Duff

Stereotypes, archetypes and countertypes
We had to pick a film opening or a poster and look at the stereotypical representation of CLASS, AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY or SEXUALITY

In this film poster it shows the main character is the girl closet to us. She is not the stereotypical popular girl which is strange because most main characters are blonde, popular and are rich. She has a good friendship with the boy in the middle and the other girl is jealous of her but doesn't like to show it. the main girl is the countertype as she challenges the archetype, which in this case is the other girl on the film poster, this is because she wants to make a point that guys go for any girl rather a girl with good looks and bad personality. Her clothing is pretty casual, she doesn't go over the top and try to stand out. She wear not a lot to no amount of make up which makes her a natural person inside and out. She is standing against the locker which could mean two things, the first thing it could mean is that she hasn't got a care in the world and she will do anything whether people like her or not, or the other thing it could mean is that in the end she knows that she wins which is why she has a slight smirk on her face. As you can see in this poster the other girl is our archetype, this means that the first time we see her we know who she is and what she is going to act like. We know this because of the media, people like her are repeated and this makes us believe that every popular girl is pretty, big busted and is a blonde bimbo. In this case the rich, popular stereotypical girl is a strawberry blonde and is one of the main characters. She makes the girl at the front look ugly and you get the impression that she thinks she rules the place. She knows she is pretty and she knows she can get any guy she wants but to us this makes her an ugly person because all she wants is to make people feel bad about themselves. Her clothing makes her stand out from the crowd this is because she is wearing heels and a nice top and pair of jeans. The top is strappy which could be classed as revealing so this would make her stand out even more.  She wear quite a lot of make up with this you could say that if she is fake on the outside she is fake on the inside. Although we know this is not always true but for her it is. Her body language is confident and the way she is standing makes her seem like she rules the school. She also stands with her hip poking out this could be done to make her figure look better and give her more curves. The boy in the middle of the girls is the main boy you know this because he is in the middle of the girls which shows that many girls are attracted to him and are always around him. He is a stereotypical boy, into sport, goes for popular, good looking girl. Although during the movie he gets closer to the main girl who he has lived next door to for many years and in the end he falls in love with her. This shows us that in the end the good girl always wins and the girl who wants and gets everything loses. His clothing is very cool and casual, this shows us that he doesn't try hard to make an impression on anyone he is attractive everyday of the week. He stands with his arms folded this could be to show empowerment, this means that if says something to someone they will do what he says because he is the team captain of the football team and they don't want to argue with him. He could also be standing like this because he knows that he can get all the girls without trying so he just stands there and lets them flaunt themselves a him. The font/text could be trying to tell us that the main boy and girl will end up together this is because both of them are wearing a similar colour to the title and none of the other characters in the film poster are. The main colour of the font is red this could mean that the story is going to have arguments and love in it as the colour red is associated with these words. The word 'duff' is quite bold this could be telling us that the story had a bold and strong message to get across to us. The title is also behind the main girl this could tell us that she is the most important character this is why she is in front of the title.

Narrative

   In this task we had to pick a film and write how each persons ideas fit in with it.

Barthes' Codes

Symbolic~ Painting the baby's room then cuts straight to woman having a miscarriage means they need to find a new dream  

Aristotle

~ The beginning~
~ He cant keep up with her 

~ His balloon stand nearly flies away

~The middle~
~ Have a dream to live on paradise falls 
~ But every time they save money something goes wrong and they have to use the money the save
~The end~
She cant keep up with him
~he knows his balloon stand will fly away so he casually leans back to stop it

Todorov

Equilibruim
~Miscarriage
~Roof leaks
~Tire pops
~Hand print on letter box

Propps
In this little clip you cant do much with Propps' ideas as you need 8 characters. Although Propps' hero would be both of the main characters because at some point in the clip it shows them both saving each other.

Levi-Strauss

Binary opposites (young and old)

~ The woman is fun and wants to go out but the man wants to stay in and read a book

~ She wants a baby but he's not to sure on the idea

~She's always happy but is said when she finds out she cant have kids so now its his turn to make her smile

Genre Task using DISTINCTS

For this task we were told to look at the 5 scene openings and use DISTINCTS to describe what is happening.

The Ghost Ship is set on a boat in the middle of the ocean, it is created on a real life boat. By the looks of their clothing the time period is round about the 1930s. the time of the day is night and the weather is cloudy. there are a few themes in this opening like romance and drama but the main theme is thriller. The main icons in this scene opening are the thin wire that cuts everybody in half, this is significant because it is the main part of the opening. Another icon that is significant is the singer as she is focused on in a lot of the opening and she sets the scene. The little girl is also a main icon, she is significant because she is also focused on in a lot of the opening as she is the only young person on the ship. The plot of the scene opening is that everyone is enjoying them selves and then the singer gets everyone up to dance, while this is happening someone releases the wire and it cuts everyone in half but because the little girl is small it doesn't cut her so she is the only one that survives. The characters in this scene are cruise ship workers or people who are staying on the cruise ship. most of the people are middle age to old age and there is one little girl. In this scene it looks like all the passengers are upper class and there is a mix of male and female and they were all white. The cruise ship had bright lighting as it had lights around the cruise ship. All the passengers were wearing old fashioned clothes. when the wire cuts everybody in half everyone stops to realise what has happened, once they realise they all act shocked. The editing for them all being cut in half is really effective although it looks a bit fake as it wouldn't normally happen. Also the blood dripping from the actors was good editing. The music at the beginning is a nice and gentle and the woman singing keeps everyone entertained and happy. Although, the music suddenly changes into dark music as the wire is released, but everything happened to fast so no one can run. As the people fall they are moaning in pain, once everyone had fallen the little girl does a high pitch scream which shows she is scared because she is all alone with loads of dead bodies.

Harry Brown opening scene is set in the day time in a dark tunnel, it is created on the streets so it looks real. The time period would be the present day as they are doing drugs. The main theme in this opening scene is action because there is a lot happening in it. The main icons in this scene are the main boy at the start who is getting peer pressured into doing drugs. Another main icon is the gun the boys used to shoot the woman with the buggy, the buggy could also be classed as a significant icon because it shows that the boys didn't care that the woman had a baby they just kept shooting. The plot of the opening scene is about a group of boys peer pressuring another boy to do drugs in a tunnel, then two boys appear on a motor bike riding around a woman and shoot her she gets hit and they ride off and get hit by a truck. The characters in this opening scene are selling and doing drugs, they are teenage boys and obviously have no class. They are all male and are all white. The editing of this opening scene isn't very good because the videoing isn't the best, although the camera angles are good because it shows exactly what is happening. The lighting goes from dark to bright as the setting changes. They are all wearing black to blend in so no one can see there faces if they get caught. The props being used are dangerous ones to be carrying around on the street. The dialogue being used is bad language and the sounds are shouting, loud gun fires, motor bike sound and a car crash these all happen very quickly an it gets loud quickly too.

Clueless opening scene is set outside having a pool party and people riding in a car. Then it goes to her in her bedroom. The time period would be present day and the time of day is the morning we know this because she gets ready for school and goes downstairs to talk to her dad. The weather is sunny as they are having a pool party. The main themes of this opening scene are chick flick, adventure and drama. There are two significant items in this opening scene they are her dressing machine and her jeep, these are important because normal teenage girls don't have a dressing machine and a jeep as they cant afford it. However, she can because her dad is one of the top lawyers in the town. The opening scene starts with loads of teenagers at a pool party and her and a few friends in her jeep. Then it switches to her in her bedroom getting ready for school, then she goes downstairs and talks to her dad. She then leaves for school and goes to pick up her Best Friend. The characters in this opening scene are all teenagers, mixed classes, mixed genders and mixed ethnicity. The camera angles and editing are good throughout the opening scene. Each character has their own style of clothing. The lighting in the scene is bright to go with the type of film that is being created. The music in the opening scene is upbeat throughout.

Guardians of the Galaxy is set in a made up planet which is fake and the time period would be about the 1990s and the time of day would be night time as it is a dark opening scene. The themes of this opening scene would be sci-fi and fantasy as it is a made up planet. There are only two items in this opening that I thought were significant and they are a glowing ball which appears at the end of the scene and mini dinosaurs running around throughout the scene. These could be significant because they are both used to make the film seem unreal as you don't see mini dinosaurs and glowing balls on a daily basis. The plot of the opening scene is he puts his headphones on and turns on his music, then he walks and dances, kicks water and mini dinosaurs, he carries walking on then flies over a hole in the floor. He then opens a door in the cave and hold a glowing ball, then the scene stops there. The character in this scene is a white male and he is about 20-30 years old. The lighting is quite dark and the man is in a black cloak, as the lighting is so dark it is hard to tell what the setting is like. The music throughout the opening scene is upbeat as he dances to it.  

What lies beneath is set in the woman's house, mainly in her bathroom. This makes the film seem real. The time period would be present because of the type of house it was and what she was wearing. The time of the day was night but you didn't see what the weather was like. The most significant item was when someone wrote on the mirror. The themes of the opening scene is horror and thriller. The woman starts off in the bedroom and then goes into the bathroom, she sees something in the mirror and wipes the top part. Then she looks in the bath and then shouts, she then looks back in the mirror and writing appears on the mirror. She runs downstairs and more writing then appears on her computer. The character in this opening scene is a white female in  her 20s and seems to be middle class. The camera angles and editing are really good it makes the scene more tense. The lightening is quite bright for a thriller film but it works. The music throughout is normal horror film music which keeps you on the edge of your seat and to create tension and fear.   

Semiotics

For this task we had to upload a film poster of our choice, and analyse the semiotics used within it.  Focusing on the connotations of the images, colours, etc.

The use of the colour blue for the water can tell us that it is going to be a sad film. As the blue gets darker it shows that over time the story will proceed in sadness. Although at the top of the picture is shows light which suggests that things get better and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The orange octopus at the bottom of the screen tell us that he is quite an aggressive character, however he is not completely red therefore he also has a nice side of him too. Another character that stands out is the blue fish in the middle, he could be representing the main issue for sadness. Most of the other underwater sea creatures blend in with the background. This could be telling us that all the characters have moments in the film where they become sad all from the same fish in the middle. The text of this film poster is in bold and is white this is because it stands out against the blue background.

Genre Analysis

In this task we were told to pick three genres of film and take pictures for each shot and then describe them using DISTINCT.

In this photo our genre was war, so we decided that someone would lie on the floor and have their head poking up to look like they were in a trench firing a gun. The weather is dull which creates the perfect atmosphere for a war film. in this photo I am making a gun with my fingers, this shows the use of props and helps add to the idea of war. It would have been better if the camera was held lower so there wasn't as much background

In this photo our genre was fantasy so we asked the art department for some paint brushes to use as wands. Using the paint brushes meant that the photo looked more fantasy like because fantasy films have magic in them. The body language of to people are the same they are both showing a grounded stance as they get ready to fight.

In this photo our genre was drama. We decided tat to make it look as real as possible we would talk to each other and take shots of it. We stood by a brick wall to show that there are a lo of dramas everywhere you go and not just in movies. the weather shows us that the conversation wasn't very happy and that we were annoyed or angry. It would have been even better if they were acting like they were shouting at each other to make it look more of a drama.

Film Opening

In this opening scene it tells us that the film is going to be fairy-tale styled plot. We know this because the main character in the film is a princess, we also know this because there is use of magic. We are also introduced to the villain who is the step-mother of princess Rapunzel. The setting of this opening scene is set in the King and Queen's castle but it also set in the forest as the soldiers look for the magic flower. The lighting of the opening scene is very dark this shows that the step-mother is up to no good. The important item in this scene is the magical flower that saves the Queen's life. The narrator of the opening scene is a robber who falls in love with the princess. The sounds and music of the opening scene are very soft and calm but soon turns into shouting as they find the magical flower. The princess is born and the lighting changes into bright light but soon after the princess is stolen by the evil step-mother as she wants her hair to keep her young.