Film Language

In the lesson today we learnt about different ideas that make up films.
The first is about camera to remember this we use FAM.
This stands for:
Frame (size of shots)
Angle (high, low, Birdseye)
Movement

Then we learnt about Mise en scence to remember what this included we use CLAMPS.
This stands for:
Costume
Lighting
Actors
Make up
Props
Setting (place, weather, time)

Then we learnt about sound we use  MCDOVED to remember this. 
This stands for: 
Music 
Contrapuntal ( opposites e.g. a happy song with a tense scene)
Diegetic/ non diegetic
Off screen (enhancing a high heel noise)
Voiceover
Emotion
Dialogue ( the way they speak)

Finally to analyse editing. To remember this we use STOPS.
This stands for:
Screen time
Transitions
Order of narrative
Pace 
Special effects (SFX)

Boyz n the Hood.



Boyz n the hood starts abruptly with sounds of police sirens and gun shots in the back ground. Facts like "One out of every twenty-one Black American males will be murdered in their lifetime" this gives adds to the harsh reality of how bad life is in America where the film is set. The election poster for Ronald Reagan shows that the film is set in 1984. The film has themes of what life was like for black people in the 1980 and how they are treated differently by police officers. One of the children talks about how both of his brothers have been shot and how he isn't scared of getting shot. This is abnormal as most people are scared of getting shot so for a child of his age to say something like that is very strange.
The opening sequence contains different types of shots. from ECU's when the camera  focuses in on the blood to LS's when the children are walking along the sidewalk. The camera moves as the children walk so its almost like you are another child with them listening to what they are saying.

Using the Matrix  to look at colour, binary oppositions, male/female - good vs evil.

 All the colours in this scene of the matrix are all dark this represents that the film is dark and dangereous and shows something bad is about to happen. The men are outnumbering the women with shows the power of the lady, people underestimate the power of the woman, this shows she is very dangerous.

We used UP to look at how passing of time is shown, sound, mise en scene and camera. 


They show time passing by, by showing they key points in their life this is shows them ageing. The sound is also quite calm and peaceful as it shows they are in love and happy. Their costume also change as their get older due to fashion. It also shows their personality her outfits are also more happy and out going than his. The camera also uses a lot of wide shots which could show that this is their whole life and they don't hide any secrets. It also could show that their life is in this little bubble until she dies when the shots change to mush closer shots, and the sound of the music isn't so upbeat any more.

Film analysis opening genre.

Film analysis opening genre

In this task we were asked to analyse the openings to three films, I chose Guardians of the Galaxy, Harry Brown and Ghost Ship. 

To do this we use the acronym DISTINCT.
This stands for:
Describe
In detail
Setting
Themes
Icons
Narrative
Character
Textual analysis


Guardians of the galaxy




The opening of this film is in an dark almost creepy cave, as there is very little light and there are lots of small rat like monsters running around. This whole image is shattered as soon as Chris Pratt presses play on his walkman. He plays comical music and does silly dances throughout the opening.  The song "come and get you love" by Redbone is an interesting choice, as it was released in 1973, which contradicts the futuristic alien theme and makes it into a comical sketch.  This gives a slight insight to the character as it shows he could have originated from Earth and have a connection to do with the 70's.


Ghost Ship



This film opens with panoramic picturesque shots of the outside of a boat sailing in the ocean. Then we see a pretty young lady singing to an audience on a ship in a red dress. This dress has connotations of blood and foreshadows the massacre at the end of the scene. The inside of the boat is brightly lit and has a warm feeling, but once the wire cuts through the crowed of people the lighting changes to a cold blue tinge and the feeling is suddenly the complete opposite. The brutal ending to the scene shows that the film is violent and has an element of surprise to it. The characters on the ship are all adults other than the one child who survives the wire. The lady in the red dress has calls everyone to the dance floor just before the wire slices through everyone. This most likely means she had insight to what was going to happen so is probably one of the main antagonists of the movie.

Harry Brown



From watching opening to Harry Brown you can instantly recognise that the film is not for younger children, as there are scenes of drugs, gangs and murder. The scene opened with a group of men, who are probably range from the ages of 17-22, doing drugs and peer pressuring others to take hits. They are all dressed in black, which has connotations of death, this could foreshadow their actions and near to the end of the scene. The boys are dressed and act like the stereotypical chavy gang members, and the graffiti on the walls of the underground suggest that they are from a poorer background/ area. Later on in the opening, the youths are riding a motorbike in illegal places and at dangerously high speeds. They are screaming and shouting and this adds to the stereotypical chav look of these men. They film themselves murder a young woman with a child, which shows how reckless and how little they care for others in the community. This suggests that the film has a dark theme of death and violence throughout the rest of the movie.

Film Language

Camera

 F - Frame, size of shots ECU-ELS.
A - (High level, Low Level, Worms Eye, Birds Eye) shot.
M - Movement

Panning - When the shot is taken from a stationary position for example from left to right, normally on a tripod.

Tracking - When the shot is taken to show the whole setting, the camera is moving.

Types of filming

• Static
• Zoom
• Whip Pan 
• Drone
• Hand Held

Mise En Scene

C - Costume
L - Lighting, high key (bright),  Low Key (Dark)
A - Actors
M - Makeup
P - Props
S - Setting, Place, weather, time, date.

Sound

M - Music
C - Contrapuntal
D - Diagetic
O - Offscreen
V - Voice over
E - Emotion
D - Dialogue


Editing

S - Screen Time
T - Transitions
O - Order of narrative
P - Pace
S - SFX

Representation

Definitions

Stereotypes - Media institutions use stereotypes because the audience will instantly understand them. Think of stereotypes as visual shortcuts. They're repeated so many times that we assume they are normal or true.

Archetypes - This is the 'Ultimate' stereotype. For example the white, stiletto wearing, big breasted, brainless, blond bimbo who's from Essex.

Counter type - A representation that challenges tradition, stereotypically associations of groups of people or places.

Representation - The way in which people, events and ideas are presented to the audience. To break it down, the media takes something that is already there and presents it in a way that they choose. These  representations are created by the producers (anyone who makes a media text) of media text.

Gatekeepers - People who decide what gets published and what does not.

DR CAGES is an acronym which lists the main stereotypical groups.

Disability
Regional Identity

Class
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
Sexuality

A film what shows a stereotype of age is the film St Trinians


This opening shows a viarity of stereotypical girl classes such as "geeks" "chavs" "emo's" "posh potty's" and "first years". This shows off a lot of different stereotypes which all come under the stereotypical teen girl class. It also presents young women as bad notorious people, which is in contrast to the usual well spoken, well mannered your lady stereotype.

semiotics/ image analysis

This task is to look a a films poster and talk about denotations, connotations and analyse the poster. 

Denotations, (what we see when we look at the image). 
Bright colours
Nostalgic 'Star Wars' logo
New characters: Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren BB8
Classic characters: Han solo, princess Leia, R2D2, C3PO, Chewbacca and storm troopers.
Weapons: lightsabers and guns
Space ships: X-wings, Imperial star destroyers and the Millennium Falcon.
Stormtrooper army
The Galaxy
Explosions
The cast
The release date

Connotations, (what we understand from this image and any meanings it may have)
The poster has a bright effect to give a futuristic feel to the setting of the film.
The nostalgic 'Star Wars' logo, makes people instantly recognise it is part of the franchise.
New characters, show upcoming talented actors which are going to be in the film.
Classic Characters, mean that fan favourites will be returning for another movie.
Weapons, tell the audience that the film will be action packed and full of fighting.
Spaceships,, give insight to the setting and show there will be traveling in space.
Stormtrooper army, shows that the stormtroopers will return and will be in the film.
The Galaxy, shows that the film will take place all over space.
Explosions, show that the film will be full of CGI and loud noises.
The cast, shows the actors who will feature in the film.
The release date, shows when the film is coming out.

For posters and advertising there are different ways of reading it.
Preferred Reading - this is how the creator will want you to view the piece of media text.
Oppositional Reading - This is where the preferred reading is the total opposite to how you ready the media text.
Negotiated reading - This is where you see the good and the bad in the piece of media text.

Analysis of the movie poster
This movie poster is jam packed with action, from spaceships flying from the background to the foreground, like they are coming out of the page. To the army of stormtroopers that are aliened at the bottom. Several key characters are depicted in the poster, all looking ready for battle and each holding their chosen weapon. You can tell the film will be filled to the brim with non stop action. In the back ground you can clearly see the nights sky which suggests the film will take place in space, but also the famous "star wars" logo instantly shows that the film is set in space.

Genre picture

Genre picture task 

This task was to try and show how pictures and genre are link and how picture can show the genre.

This picture is to represent the musical genre. It is set in mid performance and he is concentrating on playing his piece of music to the audience. This is set inside as that is where the performance is taking place. It is a musical  being preformed at school which could show that music has taken over the standard school system and children have been taught to express themselves. The picture is a mid shot captures the whole of the performer this means that the picture is taken by a spectator of the performance.

This picture is to show comedy. The picture does not show much however this could imply that neither do the two characters in the photo. The fact that the setting is quite plain also does not show much. However both characters body language tells us quite a bit. Both characters are holding books upside-down which shows that they both have very little common sense and can't be very bright. The picture was inspired by dumb and dumber and how stupid people can make others laugh.

This picture represents the genre of horror, because there is an eerie figure at the end of the hallway. This black silhouette creates a sense of mystery and the fear of the unknown. The picture is set down a dark hallway. lots of people are scared of the dark so may find this quite scary. The figure has body language like it is ready to run and attack, and the shot of the camera makes it look you are having an encounter with this mysterious dark figure. 


Evaluation of the genre photos.
I think that these photos show the genres however they lack any sort of special effects that would normally be in movies which I believe would create a clear image of what genre each photo is. I also believe that we needed to think more about the background of the photo as that might have helped to show which genre was being portrayed.

DeadPool Opening scene

DeadPool opening scene

                       I enjoyed this film opening as it starts with the nostalgic marvel logo opening. This scene shows the credits supported with a cheerful comical music. This gives insight to the general theme of the film. The shattered glass, bullets and blood also show the action packed side of the film. I think this film is targeted for teens and adults as I believe it will contain some explicit content that isn't suitable for younger viewers.