Monday, 14 December 2009
Film Language Essay
The clip from ‘Titanic’, which I will be analysing, is approximately 1/3 into the film. I will be commenting on how this clip creates beautiful romantic scene and how it captivates its audience into feeling the characters love and connections, through, mise-en-scene, lighting, camera works and other aspects of Media Language.
Firstly, the diegetic sound of the oceans gushing and roaring creates a scene of reality to their whereabouts and this signifies their mutual love for one another as it shows their love is real and passionate, as the sea has such connotations which can be described as this. Also the sweeping winds at the beginning correspond to Jack’s (Leonardo Dicaprio) facial expression as he seems sad and lonesome, however this alters completely as the non- diegetic sound mellows through as his love interest enters the scene. The non-diegetic sound heard as Rose (Kate Winslet) enters is the Parallel Sound which accompanies and anchors this scene of romantic passion. The soft romantic music seems to be essential to heighten the emotion of the scene and entice the audience into feelings sentimental about their love.
The ship penetrating through the sea as the scene opens, can connote the sexual feelings towards the two protagonists and can connote a sign of frustrated emotion, from how fast the ship is sailing through the sea- jump cutting to the close-up of the male protagonist. This can also show the fast-paced narrative, and how the characters love for one another is growing quickly.
The props used in this scene also entail to the meaning of the movie, such as the clothing, the actual ship it self and also the green hairpin that Rose is wearing, which the audience are already familiar with since it was introduced at the beginning of the movie before the flashback of the older Rose. So the young Rose wearing only seems sense and makes the whole narrative seem more real.
The colour of the skies background as the sun is setting connotes passion as the colour purple and deep pink can imply that. Also the sunset is always usually related with love and being romantic. The orangey- pink colour of the sunset can also connote and signify their love and feelings towards each other, as these colours seem to always have happy and lovey-dovey connotations- that can be interpreted to be eventful within this scene. The colours of the sunset are very domineering over the scene, and this seems to draw the audience in, making them feel emotions of happiness and passion towards the characters and the overall scene.
The mise-en-scene in this scene is incredibly essential to enhance the feeling and emotions of this scene, for example the characters costume seem to play an important part, as it sets the time period to movie, but more closely both characters have lengthy clothing, which can move and ruffle in the wind- especially the white shawl on Rose- as the powerful winds go though them- this can show both their figures as strong and powerful, and this connotes that nothing can stop their love.
In addition the clothes and props can also represent their characters stereotype and gender roles within the narrative, as the female protagonist is presented as rich and of higher class- detected from her clothing that she is wearing- whilst the male protagonist is seen wearing rather dull and old clothes. This outlines the female character in playing the role of a ‘Princess’ within the narrative according to Propp’s Character theory. The female protagonist richer and of higher class, puts her in the position of being somewhat superior than the male protagonist, which goes against the dominant ideology of men being perceived highly in society, and this can encourage social change within the narrative and also maybe society, pushing a feminist view across.
There are many camera framing devices that are used to intensify the characters feelings, such as the close-up shot which illustrate the characters facial expressions and deliver to the audience the meaning of the characters love for example the close-up shot of both Jack and Rose when he is singing in her ears as there are both smiling and laughing.
Also the Big close up shot focusing of them embracing hands intensifies their feeling towards each other. Whilst they are holding each other looking into the horizon together a Point of view shot is present which seems to overview the characters feelings and involves the audience- as if their part of the film, which always seem put the audience into perspective and this involves the audience, into understanding the movie and their love.
The Crane shot which is apparent when Jack and Rose are ‘Flying’ as the camera angles around the ship and setting of where they are kind of exaggerates their act of love and suggest that they’re the only ones of the ship and nothing can stop them from loving each other not even the ship which can be quite ironic as the narrative leads to the end of the movie. This crane shot is very affective, as it draws the ship and characters into perspective, where the audience can feel sentimental about their love.
The part in which the two main characters are holding each other at the tip of the ship as they are ‘Flying’, can be a non-verbal code which connotes to us that the two of them, are now officially together, and that their differences of being of opposing social classes won’t get in the way.
This scene of the movie can be the Equilibrium in Todorov’s Narrative Theory, before the disequilibrium develops. This is where the story of the movie grows, and the characters motives and emotions are apparent before an unfortunate, dulling action or event takes place.
Lastly, the lighting throughout this scene is evidently High Key, with uses of light fillers to enhance beauty and give an overall well rounded look of the scene. Towards the ending of the scene, the lighting changes to Low Key lighting, as it fades in to the next scene. The different lighting can maybe connote to the audience a change in the narrative, and as the change in lighting is very sinister and wreckful, this can signify an unfortunate turn of events. This concludes to the audience that maybe their love will not last and will inevitably die out.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Monday, 7 December 2009
Camera Angles in Poster Films
This Long shot from Titanic, as the ship is sinking, illustrates the disaster, from this long shot, showing the elegant staircase, wrecked amongst the havoc the water has caused. The Mise- en- scene here captures the essence of the ship sinking and creates shock and huge tension and suspense between the audience and the character as they are trying to get through.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Film Poster Lighting Analysis
The use of black and white outlines the main subject which is the moth replacing the mouth which suggests that it plays a part in the narrative creating an enigma code. The black and white also creates an affective image as this connotes sorrow and reality.
The contrast from black to white near the right jaw line can connote a hidden narrative within the film as the background seems to be vague which raises some enigma codes too.
The use of low-key lighting creates a sentimental exposure, making the image somewhat creepy and very odd. The moth and the eyes being the only things in colour evens out the image drawing in the audience into the whole image raising questions to what the story of this movie can be.
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Woman's Weekly
The woman’s weekly magazine website consists of things which women will be interested in, things such as health, diet and relationship advice etc which are presented as the tabs in the website.
Film Poster Mise-en-scene Analysis
The gun and cigarette showcase what the genre of the movie can be as guns connote to violence and action, this also signifies her role as the protagonist as normally males take the lead in modern action movies as she is illustrated to be a (that word) which the target audience of that film (males) will find interesting and therefore be attracted to watch the film.
The female protagonist costume only being black, with black heels connotes her as a deadly woman with fuelled up seductivity which entices the male audience into enjoying the film.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Film Language Analysis- Titantic
One the best scenes of Titantic after The Sketching Scene...
The diegetic sound of the oceans gushing and roaring creates a scene of reality to their whereabouts and signifies their mutual love for one another as it shows their love is existent.
The sweeping winds at the beginning correspond to Jack’s (Leonardo Dicaprio) facial expression as he seems sad and lonesome, however this alters completely as the non- diegetic sound mellows through as his love interest enters the scene.
The ships jirating through the sea as the scene opens can connote the sexual feelings towards the two protagonists.
The non-diegetic sound heard as Rose (Kate Winslet) enters is the Parallel Sound which accompanies this scene of romantic passion. The soft romantic music seems to be essential to heighten the emotion of the scene and entice the audience into feelings sentimental about their love.
The props used in this scene also entail to the meaning of the movie, such as the clothing, the actual ship it self and also the hair green hairpin that Rose is wearing, which the audience are already familiar with since it was introduced at the beginning of the movie before the flashback of the older Rose. So the young Rose wearing only seems sense and makes the whole narrative seem more real.
The colours of the sky background as the sun is setting connotes passion as the colour purple can imply that and also the sunset is always usually relates with love and being romantic. The orangey- pink colour of the sunset can also connote and signify their love and feelings towards each other, as these colours seem to always have happy and lovey-dovey connotations.
The mise-en-scene in this scene is incredibly necessary to enhance the feeling and emotions of this scene, for example the characters costume seem to play an important part, as it sets the time period to movie, but more closely both characters have lengthy clothing, which can move and ruffle in the wind- (especially the white shawl on Rose) and as the powerful winds go though them this can signify how strong their love is and enhances the overall presence of the scene.
Many camera framing devices are used to intensify the characters feelings, such as the close-up shot which illustrate the characters facial expressions and deliver to the audience the meaning of the characters love for example the close-up shot of both Jack and Rose when he is singing in her ears as there are both smiling and laughing.
Also the Big close up shot focusing of them embracing hands intensifies their feeling towards each other.
As they are holding each other looking into the horizon together a Point of view shot is present which seems to overview the characters feelings and involves the audience- as if their part of the film.
The Crane shot which is apparent when Jack and Rose are ‘Flying’ as the camera angles around the ship and setting of where they are kind of exaggerates their act of love and suggest that they’re the only ones of the ship and nothing can stop them from loving each other not even the ship which can be quite ironic as the narrative leads to the end of the movie.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Mainstream Film Poster Analysis
This poster exposes essence of darkness and peril very lightly as it is intended for young children, from the chilling looking magician like figure in the corner of the poster and also the dangerous animals on the other side, which wittingly have funny looking faces, to amuse children and do not scare children.
The silhouette liken princess in the middle kneeling down connotes her innocence and elegance which signifies her as the heroine.
The storyline can easily be presumed as ‘’The Princess and the Frog is a classical tale which most people are familiar with, as the genre of the movie is a fairytale therefore demographically the audience will be E and there their parents which can be ranged from C2 to A.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Art House Poster Analysis
The female character(The Herione) on the side of the poster kind of looks like she is looking over them- with her eyes closed which conceivably implies that she either doesn’t love them or is ashamed of them. Also with her chin placed on her hands can show that she is troubled or is fed up.
And this suggests that this is a drama, melodrama or even a tragedy, as the colour black dominates the poster and can connote mournfulness.
These aspects indicate that the movie is about a serious matter and something that will affect the audience which is what most Art House Film set out to do. Demographically the audience for this can be A or B
Newspaper Ownerships
-The Sun- Tabloid
-News of the World- Tabloid
-The Times- Quality
-Sunday Times- Quality
-Metro- Free Newspaper
-->Lord Rothermere’s DMGT (Daily Mail General Trust) + DMGT owns ITN (Independent Television News)
-The Daily Mail- Mid-Market
-The Mail on Sunday- Mid-Market
-The Evening Standard- Quality
Trinity Mirror
-Daily Mirror- Tabloid
Million Dollar Baby
From the contrasting directions the characters on the posters are looking the narrative can be assumed to be somewhat complicated with conflict between the characters at some part of the movie.
The dim-lighting and the facial expressions of the characters shadowing the heroine of the poster connotes that the storyline is very intense and passionate-, which signifies the importance of the lead character who is in the middle of the poster and the importance if the film on a whole.
The copy on the poster illustrates the A-list Hollywood actors and actress, which entices the audience into watching the film as they are familiar with the actors and actresses work and will know if the film will appeal to them as they will guess the genre since Clint Eastwood is primarily in anti-hero acting roles in violent action films and Morgan Freeman is mainly associated with always being wise and fatherly figure in mainstream Hollywood Films, however the genre for this movie seems more of a Drama, since they are no illustration of death or comedy or violence.
The target audiences for this movie are more likely to be on the mature side because older audience will be more familiar with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman and will therefore be more likely to watch the film, with some young adults who are interested in Boxing or sports. Demographically the audience can be from C2 to A.
Pirates of the Carribean- Dead Man's Chest
From the clashing of images and characters the movie sets out to be intense and adventures. The ship which is sinking shows that a tragedy could be one of the themes of the movie.
The serious facial expressions of the characters also show signs of tragedy apart from Johnny Depp which has slight smirk on his face which shows that it could have some sort of humour.
The target audience can be very wide for this movie since it seems to have a lot of aspects which can appeal to many people. Demographically it could be from E all the way to B .
Sin City
Also out of 5 of the character figures present on the poster, 3 are holding a weapon which consequently refers to some sort of action or thriller film.
The character in the middle is mostly always presented as the hero in action movies, with the opposing villain shadowing him.
The target audience are more like to be teenagers from 15 plus and also maybe all the way through to the 30’s. And demographically the audience can be from E to C2 as this movie leans more over to a male majority of audience.
Bride and Prejudice
From the ensemble of characters-family and friends- this portrays that it is a family movie, which can direct into disagreements and some sort of trouble, especially as the two characters dominating the poster are interracial.
The confetti in the backdrops of the poster can connote a celebration or specifically a wedding.
The split of cultural differences present in the poster (Western Culture at the left and Asian Culture at the right) shows that it is a multi-cultural movie not specifically targeted for an Asian audience.
The colour and font of the title of the movie suggest fun and laughter as the colour yellow connotes this. And the curve structure of the font also suggests that it is an all round family movie which many people can enjoy.
The feel and presence of the characters and scenery shows that it can be a comedy drama, musical or family type movie. And so this shows that demographically the audience can be from E to C1 or even B.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
My Self Evaluation
I have a learnt a sea of media terminology words to enhanced the meanings of explanations in my work.
Effort--> Good
I put a lot of effort in every lesson perceiving that I am enthusiastic about Media and enjoy doing it.
Punctuality-->Good/Average
I have been late on one occasion since the beginning of term and only missed a lesson that day I was ill, apart from that I am in lesson very regularly and on time.
Submission and Quality of Homework-->Good
The submission of my work has always been good quality and on time apart from the day I was ill. The quality of my work has been very good using key terminology and perceptive views. Nevertheless the quality of my work could be increasingly better with more time and effort.
Ability to Work Independently--> Excellent/ Good
I heavily enjoy working independently or in a partnership, creating good quality work in either, but most credibly alone.
Quality of Writing--> Excellent
The writing in all my work I believe as been up to scratch, using the all important media terminology words which have become a ‘must’ in all pieces of writing.
Organisation of Blog-->Excellent
My blog is much organised and in very good quality, using the ‘Key Media Terminology’ that is always required, and is always in fairly good length with images to represent the given subject of what I’m writing about.
Oral Contribution--> Excellent
Every lesson is a contribution lesson, since I always have something say. I contribute very often, which helps me to comprehend and learn better in class.
WWW
- Contribution in Class
- Posts on the Blog
- Media Terminology
EBI
-If I put 100% in Class and Homework
-Complete Homework to best of my ability
- I don’t dose off in Class…sometimes.
How well is the course organised?
So far the course seems to be pretty straight forward, with lessons going smoothly and has been very interesting.
How interesting is the content that is covered?
The content of work covered in class is always interesting which concludes into various things to talk about in lessons.
How useful are the handouts?
There hasn’t been many hand-outs during lessons, however it doesn’t seem to be a particular problem, but since you mentioned it maybe it could help.
Have the lessons been well-paced?
Media lessons have been well-paced, getting most things done and understood.
What is the standard of the teachers’ presentation/subject knowledge?
The teachers presentations and subject knowledge has been exceedingly good, very helpful useful, and always well-informed.
How well has the course met your expectations?
The course so far has met my expectations and somewhat exceeded it. Media lessons have been very enjoyable and knowledgeable for past couple of weeks.
Have the extra-curricular events been useful? (eg. Awards Eve.)
The Media Awards has been very helpful, inspired me to do well, and given me an idea of what is expected for our media production for this year.
Has the Macguffin Blog been useful?
The Media Macguffin Blog has been hugely useful, as it helps me put what I have learnt in lessons to use, using the key Media terminology.
Saturday, 17 October 2009
This question cannot be answered simply with a yes or no, because it depends on the audience and situation.
Violence has been around long ago before any type of media such as television or radio, so violence is a part of every person, and this means every person has a different view on violence and if they’ll use violence themselves or not.
However if children grow up with a world of violence and always see violence, it’s a fact that they’ll be influenced in there daily life with violence, even without noticing.
And for children, who are depressed or experienced violence in their lives, watching even more violence can lead them into insanity and they might use violence for their own amusement. For example, the video game ‘Man Hunt’ became banned when 2 children kidnapped a child and abused him, trying to recreate a scene from the video game. It was found that those children that kidnapped the child weren’t normal children but were also abused and had a hard life.
Violence on TV can be perceived differently by different people and only influences violence to people who want to do violence. However violence does affect everyone who sees it, or experiences it because violence is part of everyone just as any other thing.
People still think about violence- one time or another. Or even creates violence, so watching violence affects people in their daily life but doesn’t specifically create violence- only to people who want to do violence.
Do the Imagaes of skinny models have an impact?
I strongly believe that images of skinny models do have an impact- in everyone, especially young girls.
Skinny models in magazines, newspapers, or TV affect young girls and women on a whole. Women will think that is what beauty is, and what woman doesn’t look beauty.
The impacts can be either positive or negative, but are mostly viewed as negative.
The positive ways in which skinny models impact models is that over-sized women will go to the gym, eat good food and become healthier, however the negative impact which affect women, is that women can become anorexic, bulimic and unhealthily skinny.
Anorexia has been in the media for a long time because of the impact of skinny models. Size zero models have therefore become banned in many catwalks and advertisement so it does not influence women.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Popular Film of the 1930s & 40s
The genre of films in the classical era of Hollywood was heavily influenced by the ideas of the Renaissance and the rebirth of the society at that focal point- Zeitgeist.
Going to the cinema became a weekly routine for people and all kinds of people were going to the cinema-Men, women and children.
So there many film genre's which were targeted for them.
Global Media Ownership
It is for short Video & Audio communication. It is an American Conglomerate
MTV, MTV 2 and International
VH1, Soul and Classical
Nickelodeon
Paramount Pictures
Time Warner
World’s largest Media and Entertainment Conglomerate
AOL
Warner. Bros Entertainment
Cartoon Network
Time.Inc
CNN
News Corporation
One of the largest Media Conglomerates and the founder and Chief Executive is Rupert Murdoch The sun
The Sunday Times
Fox Broadcasting Network
Fox News Channel
Sony
Is a Multi-National Conglomerate
Bravia TV
Sony Ericson
VIAO
Playstation
20th Century Fox
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Vladimir Propps Characterisation in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The villain — against the hero.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Hollyoaks Episode Anaylse
Monday, 5 October 2009
Equilibrium in ''Catch me if you can''
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Saw, a film which doesn't follow the idea of Equilibrium
Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone
The movie poster is an eye-catching photograph from first sight since it’s a very bold and colourful image, with an eccentric and caricature character staring right at the audience, the Mad Hatter( which is written above, so the audience already know who the character is) an important character in the movie. The red her connotes that his personality could be fiery and his light green eyes show that he is a nice warm character that moves the movie forward, so this signifies his role in the movie.
Since the person in the poster is an A-list Hollywood actor (Johnny Depp), this always interest audience and makes audience accept great things from the movie.
The character is smiling and has a forthcoming approach to the audience and connotes that is it a feel good movie that the family could enjoy.
This simple medium-close up shot of a person in the middle of the poster illustrates the character very well, showing what he what he’s holding. The pins and arrows on his hat show that there is peril in the movie which means it can be exciting and interesting to watch.
And the weirdness of the character and colours show the wonderful adaptation of the cartoonish world of Alice in Wonderland in a human state. This is helped by the Mise-en-scene, the clothes, the make-up and tea cup, which relates to the movie as there is a tea party scene during the film and it is set in a very different world (Wonderland).
The Disney logo is visible- a very familiar mainstream cinema company that interests the audience into watching this movie.
The tag line of the movie is ‘You are invited for a very important date 3/5/10’.
The tag line relates to the movie since it is a well known line which the White Rabbit says, a character from the movie.
The tag line is as if telling and ordering the audience to come and watch the movie, but in a more fun and cheerful way.
Bollywood Trailer Review
The spot-on Mise-en-scene such as the cultural clothing and apparatus seen in the trailer makes their Bollywood romance believable.
The shots of them as childhood friends in a black and white scene illustrates their love life and audiences can easily figure out that their deeply in love and this affects the audience (Positive Values) in feeling sympathy for the lover in the trailer.
There great shots such as the very-long shots of the sceneries which relate to the beauty of there love affair and the close-up of the eyes which show the sadness that comes with it, so this trailer shows all type of emotions which are seen in all Bollywood films.
The narrative of the trailer is linear with some flashbacks of them in childhood and photographs. The trailer ends with audience thinking who ends up with whom, as it wasn’t shown in the trailer.
All in all I think this trailer easily shows the plot of the movie and has all the characterisation of Bollywood films which make it successful.