Filming task - Juno

Filming task-Juno 

Here is an edit of footage to match the original clip shown in the bottom right corner.






   I think that my storyboard was accurate as I included some of the frames and camera movements used in the original film. I included the duration of each shot and action in the shot. I could have included some more details  as I didn't included all the key icons and props on every shot. For some shots I have included the transitions that I would need to include in the editing process.
To improve I would include maximum detail for every shot on the storyboard including: the frames and camera movements, Mise en Scene and the editing effects needed.

I think that the filming process went very well. My group worked together very effectively and we completed the filming process promptly. We persevered well with the limited props and locations available to us. One of my group's strengths was our ability to work together and share all of the responsibilities equally. We were all actively doing a task at all times. 

We did manage to get all of the shots that we needed but needed to cut some of the shots up and film them in sections so that we could get all of the key icons from the original video in our own shots, and at the right angles. In some places the filming was a little bit shaky. To improve we could use a tripod to keep the camera steady and therefore improve the quality of the footage. 

I learnt how to edit  things in Adobe Premiere Pro while completing this task. Like how to place another video in the corner of the screen. I also learnt how to edit the effects that I included in my video and how to speed up and slow down the speed of a video. I was able to edit the intensity of the cartoon effect (Find Edges) that I used and was able to change the direction of the wipe transitions that I included.

Narrative

Narrative 

Narrative is some kind of retelling often in words, of something that has happened. The Narrative is not the story itself but rather the telling of the story.

Bathes' codes: Significant items and objects, anything can happen, but don't lose the audience. (Action, symbol, enigma) He came up with the idea of signs and that they can tell us a lot of different meanings. He said that text is like a ball of thread and needs to be broken down and looked at in more detail, and that everything has multiple meanings.

Tests may be open (unravelled ending).
Texts may be closed.

Enigma code - What are characters saying, who what where why? This results in the audience wanting to see more.


Todorov: This is the theory is that every production has five stages.

1. Equilibrium (The state of normality) 
2. Distruption of the equilibrium (A character/action causes an effect which disturbs the normality)
3. The main protagonist recognises the equilibrium has been disturbed
4. Restoration of the equilibrium (The protagonist attempts to restore the equilibrium)
5. New equilibrium (Equilibrium is restored, but transformations and changes have occurred from the original equilibrium)

Propp
- All narratives have a common structure
- Shaped by characteristics

Levi-Strauss
- Good narrative is caused by opposites (Binary opposites)


The Prestige Narrative 





Top hats = Magic
Birds in cages = trapped/ freeing
Lightening = scared feeling

Enigma - Why Lighting?
Stages

• Equilibrium = normal practiced magic trick
• Disruption = people shouting/violence, reappearence of magician doesn't happen - magician gets stuck in a box of water - Murder.
• New Equilibrium  = No magician/magic potentially back to normality

Characters

• Older man
• Young Girl
• Audience
• Magician + Assistant 
• Murderer 

Opposites

• Calm narrative  Vs stressful narrative
• Caged and freedom
• Youth and elder
• Innocence and wisdom 

UP narrative 


Significant items/signs

• Clouds turn into babies
• Mailbox shows happiness 

Stages

• Disruption of Equilibrium = not being able to have a baby, not being able to go to south America, car break down, broken leg, roof falling in 
• New equilibrium = Ellie dies before him (Carl) , Carl Lives alone.

Characters

• Ellie is outgoing lively / dies first / physically different (tall and skinny)
• Carl is shy / lives on without Ellie / Physically different (Short  and stocky)

Lava Narrative

Significant items/signs

• couples/love
• Volcanoes song - about finding love = theme love

Enigma - Will he find love?

stages

• Normality - volcano all alone, singing song about love.
• Disruption - lava burns out, female lave bursts out the sea to find him.
• New equilibrium - 2 volcanoes murged in love sining about each-other.

Characters

• Male 
• Female

Opposites

• Tall skinnyVs short and wider

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.