So, in class today we watched three openings. The first two were from the Romantic Comedies of Notting Hill then Definitely, Maybe. Then followed by the completely opposite, Goodfellas.
To start off with, Notting Hill:
The film is a Romantic comedy. This is shown in several ways. It starts off with slow, close-up images of the female main character Anne Scotts (Julia Roberts). The camera is also at a slight low angle; looking up at her. This is to get us to love her from the start. It also details what sort of character she is. She's a rich and famous movie star. This is represented through the clothes she wears (very elegant, high-end clothing) and also the background is always paparazzi flashing their cameras. In contrast though, we jump to a bustling busy street of Notting Hill where Hugh Grant's character starts describing it. This is where the comedy comes in. Like he makes jokes of the guy who woke up with a Tattoo saying, "I love Ken." Or people coming out of the hair salon looking like the cookie monster. Also it shows where they live is completely different. She's constantly surrounded by paparazzi while he's surrounded by market, middle-class people. Introducing both characters like so shows that more than likely they are going to meet (and being a romance, fall in love) or influence each other in some way.
Definately, Maybe:
This too, is a romantic comedy... but the opening is portayed quite differently from Notting Hill. It starts off with the main character (Ryan Reynolds) sitting in his office and him recieving a divorce paper. This sort of sets up the whole story. Although, we know divorces are sad so this causes us to feel for the main character. He then steps outside and walks through New York City while listening to a very upbeat, feel good song. Other than the divorce paper, there is really no other indicator within the first two minutes of the film that this is a romance. Many comedy pointers, such as Ryan Reynolds nearly getting run over by a bus but someone stopping him and then they lip, "Thank you" to each other because they both have huge headphones on. Establishing the setting is quite different in this film compared to Notting Hill. Notting Hill, gave us a high angle shot of Notting Hill street then panned over some of the shops whereas here, everything is shot from the main character's point of view. Low angle shots on land marks such as the Empire State Building or Long Shots of Central Park. This also sets the time. Modern day New York.
In completely contrast to these two films, we finished off by watching the opening two minutes of Goodfellas:
This is a definate ganster film. However, it could also be looked at as a Period Drama. The film (as it states after the opening credits) takes place in 1970's New York. There is no real indication of it being New York city (because its pitch black) but there are a few indicators to time. The three men are driving a 70's style car and wearing quite 70's style clothing. The colors are very dark insinuating the theme. Its going to be a dark and violent movie. When the three gansters hear banging from the back of the car they pull over. Very slowly, the camera zooms in to the back of the trunk, creating anticpation. The three gansters are bathed in red light. When the trunk is open we see a bad bleeding man wrapped in paper. The other two men instantly begin stabbing and shooting the man till he dies. This sets up that the plot is going to be very violent and gorey.
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Monday 12 October 2009
Research- Children of Men
In class today, we watched the opening few minutes of Children of Men from the June 2008 Media Studies exam. Then we took some notes and here's my detailed analysis of it:
Genre:
As a class, we worked out the film is a Hybrid Genre, consisting of Action, Thriller, Drama and Science Fiction. We worked this out for several reasons.
Action- In the opening there is a huge explosion from a building then the images of the worlds in chaos give the film a sense its going to have a lot of fast paced action.
Thriller- There is a defiant ominous film about the movie right from the start of, "What's going to happen?" We learn briefly that there are no more children and we learn that the rest of the world is in chaos. The music plays a nice part in this. Its kind of eerie and sad.
Drama- There is a lot of dramatic emotion and also no emotion. The main character (Clive Owen) shows no emotion really to his surroundings. He's become harden giving us the idea that something really traumatic happened and he has been put into this state.
Science Fiction- Right at the beginning of the film, when the main character steps out into the dirty street of London, it tells us this film takes place in the year 2027. There are subtle hints that is the future. Its not like the old 1960's Cartoon the Jetsons when everything is covered in metal and hover cars. They still have double-decker buses but instead of just pictures plastered on the sides, they're moving LCD screens. Same for the buildings. London street looks a little more like Tokyo with all the moving screens around. This is a Dystopia time or bleak future.
Purpose of Opening Sequence:
Like most openings, the opening sets up five things: Main Character, Location, Time, Plot and Theme.
We learn the main character is a hard, unemotional man (played by Clive Owen). You're stereotypical Anti-Hero. We as an audience know from the moment the camera starts solely following him, something is going to happen that forces him to save either the world or some body.
It appears that most of the movie shall take place in London. This is represented through the red double-decker bus that is like London's icon. Then a little later in the clip a proper-gander avert on the bus (another futuristic indication) promotes that Britain is still going strong (despite we can clearly see its not).
This is quite a clear one because it tells us in text that the Year is 2027.
From the opening news report, we learn the plot which is no children have been born in the last 18 Years. Obviously this means something dramatic is going to happen but we don't know what yet. Other than that Clive Owen is the main character.
And finally the whole theme of the movie. This is portrayed through music and color. These two elements set the mood. Dark, dreary colors. Sad eerie music. So we get a sense that is going to be a very serious dark yet sad movie.
How the purpose achieved through Media Language:
Mise-en-Scene- This plays a huge role in setting time and location. Like I stated above, the LCD screens everywhere give away its the future. And then when our Anti-Hero walks into his office, we can see a lot of hi-tech computers that aren't around in modern time. Especially in an office. However, the costumes and buildings are quite normal to what we see today. Not a silver space suit in sight. This gives us a very grounded Sci-Fi. The Mise-En-Scene also shows us how bleak the future is now. Dirty streets, cities in chaos, people dressed in dreary dull colors.
Camera- The opening starts with a high-angle shot of the distressed backed cafe. Unlike normally, this doesn't mean the people are being looked down upon. I believe, this shot was used to give us a better feel of the atmosphere. You can see everyone's hands curled up at their chins, some carrying tissues. When Clive Owen leaves, the camera becomes static and moves with him. The camera following shows he's the main character. In my view, the static camera actually gave me the sense that another person was following him out because when it steps out of the cafe, it scans the city then refocuses on the main character. There are several long shots which establish setting again.
Sound- A Non-Digetic news reporter opens the whole film on a black screen. She has a typical news reader voice. Un-accented, crisp and clear. Once again, this grounds this whole film because we hear the stereotypical news reader voice. The sound also places in the film a bit. After the explosion, a high pitch whistle pulls across the scenes like you're ears are ringing after the explosion (because that's what happens with loud noises). Like I said with theme, the non-digetic music played over the top sets up the sad theme.
Genre:
As a class, we worked out the film is a Hybrid Genre, consisting of Action, Thriller, Drama and Science Fiction. We worked this out for several reasons.
Action- In the opening there is a huge explosion from a building then the images of the worlds in chaos give the film a sense its going to have a lot of fast paced action.
Thriller- There is a defiant ominous film about the movie right from the start of, "What's going to happen?" We learn briefly that there are no more children and we learn that the rest of the world is in chaos. The music plays a nice part in this. Its kind of eerie and sad.
Drama- There is a lot of dramatic emotion and also no emotion. The main character (Clive Owen) shows no emotion really to his surroundings. He's become harden giving us the idea that something really traumatic happened and he has been put into this state.
Science Fiction- Right at the beginning of the film, when the main character steps out into the dirty street of London, it tells us this film takes place in the year 2027. There are subtle hints that is the future. Its not like the old 1960's Cartoon the Jetsons when everything is covered in metal and hover cars. They still have double-decker buses but instead of just pictures plastered on the sides, they're moving LCD screens. Same for the buildings. London street looks a little more like Tokyo with all the moving screens around. This is a Dystopia time or bleak future.
Purpose of Opening Sequence:
Like most openings, the opening sets up five things: Main Character, Location, Time, Plot and Theme.
We learn the main character is a hard, unemotional man (played by Clive Owen). You're stereotypical Anti-Hero. We as an audience know from the moment the camera starts solely following him, something is going to happen that forces him to save either the world or some body.
It appears that most of the movie shall take place in London. This is represented through the red double-decker bus that is like London's icon. Then a little later in the clip a proper-gander avert on the bus (another futuristic indication) promotes that Britain is still going strong (despite we can clearly see its not).
This is quite a clear one because it tells us in text that the Year is 2027.
From the opening news report, we learn the plot which is no children have been born in the last 18 Years. Obviously this means something dramatic is going to happen but we don't know what yet. Other than that Clive Owen is the main character.
And finally the whole theme of the movie. This is portrayed through music and color. These two elements set the mood. Dark, dreary colors. Sad eerie music. So we get a sense that is going to be a very serious dark yet sad movie.
How the purpose achieved through Media Language:
Mise-en-Scene- This plays a huge role in setting time and location. Like I stated above, the LCD screens everywhere give away its the future. And then when our Anti-Hero walks into his office, we can see a lot of hi-tech computers that aren't around in modern time. Especially in an office. However, the costumes and buildings are quite normal to what we see today. Not a silver space suit in sight. This gives us a very grounded Sci-Fi. The Mise-En-Scene also shows us how bleak the future is now. Dirty streets, cities in chaos, people dressed in dreary dull colors.
Camera- The opening starts with a high-angle shot of the distressed backed cafe. Unlike normally, this doesn't mean the people are being looked down upon. I believe, this shot was used to give us a better feel of the atmosphere. You can see everyone's hands curled up at their chins, some carrying tissues. When Clive Owen leaves, the camera becomes static and moves with him. The camera following shows he's the main character. In my view, the static camera actually gave me the sense that another person was following him out because when it steps out of the cafe, it scans the city then refocuses on the main character. There are several long shots which establish setting again.
Sound- A Non-Digetic news reporter opens the whole film on a black screen. She has a typical news reader voice. Un-accented, crisp and clear. Once again, this grounds this whole film because we hear the stereotypical news reader voice. The sound also places in the film a bit. After the explosion, a high pitch whistle pulls across the scenes like you're ears are ringing after the explosion (because that's what happens with loud noises). Like I said with theme, the non-digetic music played over the top sets up the sad theme.
~*~
That's all for now. Bye!
Research- Conversation Piece
Well, my teacher told us as a Primlary task we have to film a conversation of someone walking into a room, sitting down then having a conversation. Me being the odd ball and not really wanting to conform to the usual, I decided to mix it up a little. It'll still be someone walking into a room and having a conversation...but with a twist.
A man dressed in all black enters a dark room; the only light is coming from the door behind him. In front of him, sits another man, clearly been beaten, tied to a chair. The man, as we learn from the villain, is part of a resitance. After a short interorrigation bit, the villain opens a current revealing the man's best friend strapped to another chair with wires attached to her skin. As a warning, the villian pulls the lever causing the girl to scream at the top of her lungs from the electrocution. The villian pushes the lever back up, leaving a singed but barely alive girl. This causes the man to give in and reveal where the restiance is hiding. The villian smiles and leaves the two victims in the darkness.
That is my idea thus far. Its probably going to change several times before I actually start filming but I just wanted to get it all down. Although, I have worked a few things out. Such as my Year 13 friends will be playing the three characters. I also did a little research into how to make blood and this is the recipe I found:
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons of flour
1 cup of water
Red food colour (add a drop
of green if needed)
Instructions: Mix the flour into the water and get all of the lumps out. Put into a pan and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer until it has the consistency you want (about 30 minutes). Let it cool and stir in the colour.
Note: This one looks good on cloth but is slightly slimy
Or
Ingredients:
Light corn syrup
Red food colour (add a drop
of blue if needed)
I'll probably use both. Such as the Corn Syrup one to film my victim's mouth then when he get's punched so he can spit it out.
That's pretty much it for now! See ya later!
A man dressed in all black enters a dark room; the only light is coming from the door behind him. In front of him, sits another man, clearly been beaten, tied to a chair. The man, as we learn from the villain, is part of a resitance. After a short interorrigation bit, the villain opens a current revealing the man's best friend strapped to another chair with wires attached to her skin. As a warning, the villian pulls the lever causing the girl to scream at the top of her lungs from the electrocution. The villian pushes the lever back up, leaving a singed but barely alive girl. This causes the man to give in and reveal where the restiance is hiding. The villian smiles and leaves the two victims in the darkness.
That is my idea thus far. Its probably going to change several times before I actually start filming but I just wanted to get it all down. Although, I have worked a few things out. Such as my Year 13 friends will be playing the three characters. I also did a little research into how to make blood and this is the recipe I found:
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons of flour
1 cup of water
Red food colour (add a drop
of green if needed)
Instructions: Mix the flour into the water and get all of the lumps out. Put into a pan and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer until it has the consistency you want (about 30 minutes). Let it cool and stir in the colour.
Note: This one looks good on cloth but is slightly slimy
Or
Ingredients:
Light corn syrup
Red food colour (add a drop
of blue if needed)
I'll probably use both. Such as the Corn Syrup one to film my victim's mouth then when he get's punched so he can spit it out.
That's pretty much it for now! See ya later!
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