December feedback

You are making steady progress with your edit and have taken responsibility for the filming and editing which shows initiative.  You now need to put the edit together and think about continuity.

Some footage from a location outside this building would allow you to explore mise-en-scene.

Keep exploring the codes and conventions of the genre and reproduce these in your narrative.

Apply the audience theories that you are learning.

Manage your time to hit the Christmas deadline.

Geodemographic Profiling

Geodemographic Profiling – Categorising people into groups due to social class.

Collective identities: A notoriously abstract concept. This focuses on the use of the concept in the literature on social movements and offers overview.

Firstly, we’ll start on the term “Metrosexual” what does it mean?

Metrosexual men are men who prioritise on how they look and an example of this is the film American Physco; and this film is based upon a metrosexual man who deeply cares on how he looks and it has a mental effect on him and he ends up becoming a murderer.

Another example of Geodemographic profiling is people categorised as “Hipsters”. Hipsters are people who have a unique way of dressing/acting and even behaving.

An example of a Hipster is Nathan Barley impersonation Hipsters on a TV programme. He defined Hipsters as a few things; and these were seen as “cool” by others, clueless (idiots) and lastly vulnerable in some ways because they seem to have a different way of thinking compared to others.

The message being implied from this programme is that they are known as “rise of the idiots” and this means that they just look silly and definitely don’t look cool; they just look silly and embarrassing.

Why are they recognised as idiots? This is because they are most recognised for their wearing baggy jeans below their bum, which looks hideous, they have stupid crazy haircuts and hair colour and lastly they simply just have no common sense because they have a different way of thinking.

My next point is about the term ‘narcissism’ and this is self-obsessed people who don’t care or think about anyone but themselves making them extremely selfish and this leads to them not knowing anyone else’s birthdays, or names and other things which are vital for a person to know. Narcissism in my opinion is similar/connected to metrosexual-ness apart from narcissism can be labelled for both men and women.

Trust-afarians – These are usually white people who are from a wealthy part of England such as London who have wealthy parents, meaning that they have no worries because they don’t pay/contribute towards anything. They tend to make themselves look poor yet they’re not only to gain credibility or ‘street-cred’. Also devoted to be stingy with money and have it all to them. They smoke marijuana because, well they can and also tend to have dread-locks so they are easily recognised.

Detective work

Detective

Detectives through the genre of film noir are very complex characters. They pursue a very mixed personality with good points and bad points in. From research I gathered some information and came to a conclusion; which was words which accurately describe Detectives in a film noir. These are words such as:

-         

Superior: Superior in a way that he is high in class and status and is looked up to.

-       

   Smart/Clever: Always two steps ahead and has his head on the scene even when unexpected.

-          

Cunning like a Fox: Also pursues a sly nature amongst his other aspects.

-         

Charismatic: Carries an interesting story.

-     

     Patronising: Behave in an offensively condescending manner towards lower class people e.g. his assistant.

-        

  Egotistic: He recognises self-importance and conveys a good ego.

-          

Mysterious: Very much keeps himself to himself and is always on the lookout for good sources.

-          

Inner-Turmoil: This being because he has a state of great commotion, confusion, agitation to solve a mystery etc.

The Detective in my film noir:            

I am the Detective in my film and this is very misleading and contradictive because I am a black Detective. I feel that the idea of this s definitely going to be effective and also convey a whole new meaning to Film Noir because the typical Detective is recognised as a typical tall, light skinned, sharp faced Detective however with my film we are breaking this circuit and creating a new one by changing around the rules; I feel as if this will work in our favour because it will have a big effect on the balance of the Film.

The Detective will also carry a mixed personality with many good and bad aspects, with things such as:

-          Superior: Superior in a way that he is high in class and status and is looked up to.

-          Smart/Clever: Always two steps ahead and has his head on the scene even when unexpected.

-          Cunning like a Fox: Also pursues a sly nature amongst his other aspects.

-          Charismatic: Carries an interesting story.

-          Patronising: Behave in an offensively condescending manner towards lower class people e.g. his assistant.

-          Egotistic: He recognises self-importance and conveys a good ego.

-          Mysterious: Very much keeps himself to himself and is always on the lookout for good sources.

-          Inner-Turmoil: This being because he has a state of great commotion, confusion, agitation to solve a mystery etc. 

Femme Fetale work

Femme Fetale - Representation

Firstly, what is Representation?

Representation falls under a few categories. The categories are all similar and convey the same meaning. Firstly, there’s the idea of Representation being labelled as representation of reality, and the truth. Secondly, it could also mean how something is presented to another person/a similar comparison.

There are many different labels of representation, things such as:

-          Gender (Male/Female)

-          Ethnicity (White/Black/Other)

-          Class and Status (higher-class & lower-class)

-          Sexuality (Homophobic/Homosexual etc.)

-          Physical ability/Disability (Able-bodied/Mental or Physical)

As you can see there is many different interpretations of representation however there is no real answer to the 100% meaning of it.

For my media film studies coursework I had to analyse two Femme Fetale clips and give a brief description of what I learnt and how effective it is and now I’m going to jot down a few words I feel are best to describe what I seen:

-          Strong

-          Independent

-          Poisonous

-          Persuasive

-          Manupulative

-          Unhinged

-          Needy

-          Powerful

I chose these words because in my opinion I feel as if these are the best descriptions of how it was back in the Femme Fetale days. Firstly; I chose the word poisonous because it accurately describes the women, as they act poisonous in a way that they persue themselves to have poison in them which makes them so manipulative and controlling, in a way that they get what they want so instantly.

Another word I used to describe them was independent; I felt this is appropriate because as a viewer, they seem to be quite independent and distant in a way that they feel as if they don’t need anyone else but themselves; however they seek help of other males so this contradicts their actions and has an effect on the interpretation of women in Femme Fetale based films.

An example of a Femme Fetale film is the Maltese Falcon, which I had to analyse also for my media. The maltese falcon film is a massive hit in the history of Film Noire and up to now is still very popular and recognised for it's success.

Blue Velvet

The opening sequence to blue velvet is a brief preview of the film and what sort of mood is connoted throughout the film. Firstly, the opening credits are written in very elegant writing which implies a high level of sophistication for the forthcoming story of the film but may be seen as unimportant at this moment of the film, however more importantly the title ‘Blue Velvet’ is placed in front of a velvet curtain and the curtain may imply that there’s something being hidden as this may be seen as the primary use of the curtains.

The first proper film sequence we see if the use of the roses in front of a white picket fence, which symbolises American suburbia and so does the bright red roses and behind that is a perfectly blue sky, also a nice summery American suburban culture. Interestingly along with this, the colours in this scene are red, white and blue the colours of the American flag, along with this the shot is an upward shot so it appears is if it admiring the roses and therefore the flag, so appears to be highly patriotic, and this is a very clever use.

 

Then the next shot we see is a slow motion action shot of an old style fire engine and on the engine is a man waving to the camera with his dog as the engine slowly drives past. This scene is very clever technique wise because the fire engine used implies that it’s based from the 70’s so we have established an estimate date; however a concern in this is that the fire engine is meant to be quite old, but looks fairly clean and new so this indicates that it’s not often used and well looked after, furthermore, this could signify that is quite chilled and action-less and recognised as a small moving area hence the slow motion camera technique.

Then the next shot we see is a slow motion action shot of an old style fire engine and on the engine is a man waving to the camera with his dog as the engine slowly drives past. This scene is very clever technique wise because the fire engine used implies that it’s based from the 70’s so we have established an estimate date; however a concern in this is that the fire engine is meant to be quite old, but looks fairly clean and new so this indicates that it’s not often used and well looked after, furthermore, this could signify that is quite chilled and action-less and recognised as a small moving area hence the slow motion camera technique.

 He suddenly grabs his neck as if shot by a blowdart. After a moment of paralysis, he drops to the ground. The gardenhose tangles around his legs. A small dog, a Jack Russell terrier I think, comes over to sniff him and ends up playing with the hose, attempting to get a drink of water. Then things get odder as the camera zooms in on the man slowly, closer and closer to his body, until the camera is submerged in the blades of grass. As the camera slowly travels through the grass, our movie-going training in suspense conditions us to expect the answer to the mystery: a bullet shell perhaps. But there are no answers in the lawn; the camera plunges into the dirt, and we see hundreds of beetles climbing all over each other in the soil as the soundtrack amplifies the sound of beetle legs trampling beetle exoskeletons.

It’s tempting to say that the beetles represent the dark underworld of suburban American life, but that’s as misleading as it is glib. In Blue Velvet the characters who are shown in suburban settings–home, high school, the football field–are all innocent paragons of virtue. The twisted characters don’t live in track homes; they live in apartment buildings, old factory buildings and indeterminate bar-brothels.

 This opening sequence serves to set the tone of the entire film and almost acts as a thesis for it. Its basic message is even in the things that seem perfect, there is ugliness and decay beneath the surface. The man having the stroke is meant to upset the audience and make them uneasy after seeing the idyllic scenes of suburban life. But the man's stroke is just the beginning as the audience is taken deeper into the unknown and witnesses the horrific looking beetles as they fight, right under the bright green grass on a typical lawn in suburbia. The contrast in lighting styles between the soft sunny neighborhood and the dark shadowed insect scene establish the co-existence of two separate worlds, one of innocence and happiness, the other of filth and violence, neither aware of the other.

Script

Opening Sequence to the Film Noir



 

INT.Detective’s office.Morning

View of the Detectives office

I wasn’t getting any breaks, working in this tacky office they call me Fortune but I wasn’t feeling lucky. (V.O)

Close up of character’s face and shows despair

Phone rings

Fortune picks up phone immediately

Fortune: Yes -

Fortune: speaking…

… Takes a puff of his cigar

Fortune: of course sweetheart I’m here pretty much all day.

…. Blows smoke into the air

Fortune: (grieve) Just pop in sometime today I’m sure I can---

Phone hangs up immediately

Close up of Fortune putting the phone back in place

Shortly followed by,

Knock at the door

Fortune’s eyes squint up as he looks at the door

Fortune: Come in… aggressively

Assistant and Client walk in

Fortune: (frustration) What’s a man gotta do around here to get a god damn glass of whiskey!

Assistant: (panic) Sorry sir I’ll , I’ll go and get one now

Assistant leaves room

Fortune: Sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Are you the lady on the phone earlier?

Janette: (snappy) I am yes

Fortune: May I ask your name please darling?

Janette: Janette. Janette Cummings.

Fortune: What seems to be the problem then Jane---

Janette: (calmly) It’s Janette. But it’s my sister.  Basically she went away for the weekend with her husband and I haven’t heard of them since last week, I’m worried.

Fortune pulls closer

Fortune: (comforting) and what is your sisters name sweet cheeks? Have you heard anything at all off her?

Janette: Lauren James and no. Well I received this very dodgy letter 2 days go which basically quoted “from this day, this shall be a mystery – see you soon – 28^th August Town Hall at 16:00."


Fortune: Hmm.

Assistant knocks on the door 

Fortune: (shouts) One minute.

Another gentle knock at the door

Fortune: (angrily) I said one minute! 

Carries on glancing into Janette's eyes

Fortune: May I see this letter please Jan

Hands letter over

Fortune closely studies ever single bit of detail on the letter

Fortune: Come in

Assistant quickly comes into the room and hands Fortune a glass of whiskey

Fortune sips the whiskey slowly

Fortune: Janette, leave this with me I'll get it sorted, I promise.

Janette: Thank you Detective, May you call me back in a few days with information please. I'll see myself out.

EXT.TamworthChurch.Lateafternoon

Establishing shot of the location

Fortune studying the letter which Janette received

Fortune: (mumble) This doesn't add up right; best go check it out.

Fortune drives to the location

Fortune patiently waits at a bench for the person behind this letter

Fortune starts tapping his foot against the ground gently and relaxes on the bench

Fortune hears a femenine voice breathe down his neck 

There is no time for Fortune to react.

Before he could react that was it. Dead.

Killer: (Angrily) When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Passionately walks away.

Feedback November

You are working at level 2 for research and planning but can achieve level 4 if you publish all your posts as your group work is promising.

 

To reach level you must publish your;

• Script
• Storyboard
• Maltese Falcon analysis
• Discuss the codes and conventions of film noir

Targets for November

Film

Risk assessment

Edit

Consider sound and titles to add meaning and atmosphere

Manage your time effectively

Ensure that the web-log reflects your planning and reserach fully

Preliminary Task Analysis

Preliminary Task Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J_aHyB1OeA&feature=youtu.be

What we done: In our preliminary task we had to film a short sequence to a video and what happened in the video is that a bomb threat was called out then obviously at the end the bomb exploded and the main character could do nothing about it. The task was to introduce us students to editing and learning skills as we go such as being introduced to the 180 degree rule, which is pretending we have an imaginary line when filming shots and we can’t exceed past the line otherwise it causes confusion. We also inserted how to add music, effects, sound and texts to our videos.

Good points: Good points in our task are that we managed to get some understandings of shot reverse shot in our video, which was effective. Also we managed to add sound effects, an explosion and title texts and music in our film and the music set a mood to our task which worked well and all of these aspects made our overall presentation better and worked well in the video.

Bad points: A negative aspect in our task is that we maybe could have added more v. close up shots to show facial expression from both the characters because this would have held an effect and may have created tension due to the facial expressions. Also we could have added some credits at the end of the film just to signify who we are and it would have made the overall presentation neater.

Overall conclusion: Overall I felt this task was a success for many reasons, firstly I learnt new skills and techniques to my editing, such as learning the use of shot reverse shot, establishing shots, the 180 degree rule etc. Also the task has helped me with memorisation of lines and important roles amongst filming and it has given both me and George confidence for when we film our proper AS Media films. I would recommend the task for other students who are in the same position as me.

SE7EN analysis

Se7en opening scene Analysis

The film se7en is based upon murder mysteries and we understand that there are 7 killings, in which involve the 7 deadly sins. Detectives follow up the murders and they aim to succeed and figure out who is behind it all.

Mise en scene – (Setting) the opening sequence does not include any long shots of the setting; we would assume that the things taking place are happening in someone’s home, or in an office as the props are what you would typically find in these places. However, it is not shown therefore creating immediate nervousness and creates questions already i.e. when will the first murder take place?

As soon as the first shot comes into action, we recognise that it’s quite a dark lighting based film. By this I mean that the dark lighting throughout ensures mysterious-ness, danger and the isolation in the city because ‘nothing is the same anymore’.  The low lighting could indicate that the producer is trying to convey a message of how lonely and dangerous this city really is because of the individual-ness and how bad it is, everyone lives for himself or herself. Overall the lighting of the full opening scene is recognised as quite dark and simple, there Is no real bright lighting in the scene and this indicates the sever-ness of the scene in introducing the film and gives of an idea that most of the film will be dark lighted, and this is a really clever technique from the producer because it leaves suspense and carries on to play into a persons mind. In all fairness there are hints of dark red amongst the sequence, and this connotes danger and development.

The props used in the first scene may be associated with investigators, and detectives/detective work. This works really well because it gives us a simple explanation of what kind of detective he is because of the props he has and where he keeps them; this is things such as books, photos, files, pens and paper. This seems as if he’s straight down to work so early on. His props also imply that Detective Somerset is well educated and has a good sense of knowledge and he may have certain aspects which other Detectives may not have, as in he might have high anticipation skills because of his knowledge. Also the fact that he has quite a few numbers of pens implies that he is more of a clever detective who works better through written evidence and handwriting analyses of a murder and sets himself up well in providing work.

Editing - The transitions of the opening sequence vary. By this I mean that some are straight cuts and some cross fade or fade to black. The straight cuts are straight to the point and give their own effect compared to the other two editing types. The fading gives the effect of the clips being linked together and creates an eerie feel as to what is the whole point behind this all, and the fade to black reflects the sincerity and darkness of the overall film and these two editing types are very well in symbolising the severity of the film as they are both effective. This effect is positive because it’s vague.

Special effects - Some of the special effects used in the opening sequence include the clips being converted into slow motion and this creates a more sombre tone but however allows the audience to properly see what is clearly happening amongst that certain part of the sequence. There are also animations of flickering on the screen during some of the shots and this in most cases is the creepy parts of the sequence; which is done in effect and works well. This is used to create an eerie effect on the shots but also to set a mood to the sequence.

The opening credits of the film are very very clever, they are done in effect. This being because they give away clues an ideas of what the murders are like and how sever they are; they also set a mood of the tempo of the film and the credits also connote a lot of red, and red connotes danger, meaning that it gives of clues that the film is danger-based but also contains a thrill in the tempo of it.

Overall, I think the opening sequence to the film is maybe a little too revealing (as to what will follow from the rest of the film) but is very useful and effective because it understands the codes and conventions of the genre the film is. Also other positive aspects to the film is the overall presentations, because the editing, special and sounds effects to the film are used very well and give the sequence that little bit extra.

Publish all posts before gettng feedback

Mission Impossible Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s5KFbyBmrQ - Opening Sequence


The opening sequence of mission Impossible to firstly is set in The grand Canyon, this conveys loneliness and isolation of the character in many ways, however it could imply that the character holds quite a laid back, relaxed personality. Firstly, him being the only one in the shot at present connotes that he is the protagonist. The titles occur with bright colors of orange, red and white and this then gives the effect of the viewer into thinking of explosions and fire or something dangerous.

Sound

There is a mixtures of both of diegetic sounds and non-diegetic sounds in the opening sequence. When the sequence starts, us as viewers can hear a voice over speaking and this is done to open the film up and give us a brief description of whats happening, and in the background, we can hear non-diegetic sound coming in and this is recognition of the opening sequence. We also can hear the wind blowing quietly and then the African styled music begins to increase in tempo as the sequence is beginning to get intense. This is very effective in helping the viewers understand what the sequence is about and the characters characteristics but also conveys a very mysterious but action packed opening sequence.

Editing

As there is only one character present in the opening sequence and this maybe has been done to imply our main, important character, Ethan Hunt is given large amounts of screen time meaning that from this the viewer can infer that they will be the protagonist. At the beginning of the sequence, we are given an establishing of the scene to give us an image of the scene and what we are to face; furthermore, the shots are slow-paced, but increase in action to create an image of his characteristics early on in recognition of the full film. This is done because it signifies the danger which is occurring within this scene.

Camera Techniques

The opening title sequence starts with a mid-shot of the protagonists face and gives us viewers an idea of the setting and our character, it slowly zooms into his face revealing his expressionless and uninterested face. It then establishes into an extreme close-up, and we are exposed into his mysterious sun glasses, which gives the viewers curiosity as they can't see his face. This is a good effect because us as viewers are static due to the misleading event which has occurred; the helicopter dropping a pair of glasses to our character.

Overall I feel as if the opening sequence of this film is very clever and has definitely been well thoughtout by the producer because of the action it implies at a sudden, this action suggests that the film is going to be very action packed and will leave people on edge straight away. The plot twist used right at the end of the scene is good because you feel panic and scare when you see the rocket launcher being pointed at our main character and as that trigger is pulled we feel even larger panic however it only proves to me some sunglasses which are passed down to him. The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in the film is used well too as well as the other components such as editing and camera techniques which are used very well, especially for the tense parts to the opening sequence.
 

Spiderman

In Spiderman, music/sound is very effective and significant in interpreting messages as to what is actually happening throughout the whole film. Firstly in the scene, where the main characters Uncle (Ben) passes away the build-up in sound is quite large.

Firstly when he first recognises his Uncle Ben on the floor there is no sound; signifying that at presence, there is no real danger as he doesn’t know it’s his Uncle. Then when he recognises the fact that it’s his Uncle he crouches down to him and from now we recognise the emotional connect between these two characters because a slow sounding quiet trumpet is being played in the background of the two characters exchanging words to fit into the mood of both the characters and for the viewers to feel as if they are in either of the characters shoes; this is a good effect because it in some ways can show how both characters are similar in respect of emotions as the words which were exchanged heart-warming due to this travesty which has occurred.

Then after the words are exchanged, sadly Uncle Ben slowly passes away whilst Spiderman’s holding his hand; at this point the tempo of the music increases highly due to the simple reason of his Uncle passing away, from this sound we understand that the intensity of the scene is getting high, and it’s almost becoming over dramatic because we feel – from the sound – that he is plotting some sort of revenge or payback which somehow links to his Uncle’s death. In link to that, I think that the different instruments being played are due to all the different emotions he is feeling due to his Uncle’s death.

In analysis to all this, the music/sound in the Spiderman sets the atmosphere throughout from the start of the scene to the end because it implies the realism and edge to this scene, as well as conveying feelings of the characters and others surrounding. The use of music/sound in the sequence is used very thoughtfully and is very clever.