...colorful reflections of light fall on his face. David’s head shakes. His face is reddish with a tense expression. This shot has a warm tone. By contrast, the following shot has a cooler tone. It is a view of the bedroom with the dock station in it. This wide shot shows the mise-en-scene. The room design is classic European style. Then there are two more shots of different angles of the same scene. The next shot repeats the extreme close-up of David, which appears earlier. The David’s breath gets heavier. Then, it is cut to the shot that is shown at the very beginning of the Room sequence, but this time David himself stands beside the bathroom in red spacesuit. The red color is in a sharp contrast with the room color. Following that, the film is cut to medium shot of David, and then cut to close-up of David’s wrinkled face. Next is a wide shot that shows David crosses the room along a diagonal line. In the following shot, David walks in the bathroom, which does not show the continuity of the spacing. In other words, the editing does not follow the continuity of the character’s movement. Then, the camera pans from left to right in the bathroom. The camera angle is high, as if David looks down, to show the bathtub, floor, etc. After a close-up of David, there is an aperture-framing shot, in which, David looks at himself through a mirror in the bathroom. Then, David turns away from the mirror. Coming up is a tracking shot of the bedroom from the bathroom followed by a medium tracking...
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...How far do the narratives of love actually and notting hill communicate similar values and messages 40 marks 50 mins exam Love actually is a film directed by Richard Curtis and is a Working Title film, released in 2003 and is presented as a romantic comedy. The film is set in London and follows a period of five weeks and outlines the story of eight, intertwined people and aims predominantly to explore the complexities and importance of the most important emotion of all: love. Some of the characters touched upon in this film are David (Hugh Grant), the classically attractive newly elected Prime Minister, who controversially finds himself falling for his newly appointed young maid Natalie (Marine McCutcheon). Mark (Andrew Lincoln), a dedicated photographer who falls in love with his best friends newly wedded wife Juliet (Keira Knightly), who takes no interest in him and Harry (Alan Rickman), a married man tempted by his attractive new secretary. Similarly NottingHill is also a Working Title film presented as a romantic comedy, released four years earlier in 1999 however. This film is also set in London, with much of the same cast being used, however this film is centred around the story of two characters love in particular, not focusing on every other story line within. The pair of lovers focused on in this film are William (Hugh Grant) and Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), who find it increasingly difficult to form and maintain a relationship due to such a difference in their lifestyles;...
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...In Sherlock Jr., Keaton’s use of mise-en-scene is portrayed through a variety of actions. Keaton’s use of mise-en-scene helped to develop the film’s dramatic and comedic scenes. The way Keaton navigates between these scenes made the film coherent and pleasing to watch. The projectionist’s effective use of mise-en-scene was demonstrated when his boss told him to clean up the theater while reading a book called “How to Be a Detective.” The trash and broom were placed in a specific way, which was in between the projectionist and his boss. When the boss first walked in he identified that trash was on the ground while he was studying to be a detective. This scene effectively supports the opening proverb of the film—“Don’t try to do two things at once and expect to do justice to both.” Keaton also used the mise-en-scene to create a more comedic atmosphere. After peeling the banana the Sheik gave to him, he places it on the ground so that the Sheik steps on it. However, the Sheik stops right in front of it and makes his way back to the girl. The projectionist, unfortunately, slips on his own banana peel trying to get the Sheik to slip on it. Keaton demonstrated a comedic way of using mise-en-scene through direct interaction. The arrangements of objects were interactive in the scene where the Sheik and the butler set up booby traps to kill Sherlock Jr. Sherlock Jr. dusted the trick chair off, which was actually a booby trap. He also avoided drinking a poisoned glass because he handed...
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...The film rabbit proof fence is considered a landmark film and sits under this title by ensuring the film has used certain scenes to contribute towards the development of Australian identity and society. By analysing the film rabbit proof fence, it encourages me to believe that this particular scene has used a variety of film techniques such as using different camera shots and foregrounding ideologies throughout, that will contribute towards and further reinforce the attitudes, values and beliefs of Australian identity and society. Throughout the film rabbit proof fence the lead protagonist is considered to be molly, a young aboriginal girl who is taken away from her family along with her two sisters and put into a campus for aboriginal children at Moree river, but further throughout the film she manages to escape with her sisters and find her way back to her family who are hundreds of kilometres away, but somehow the one of the workers of the campus manages to find them in the end with the help of an expert aboriginal tracker and several more men out searching for molly and her two sisters. Throughout this film molly is proved a hero and is characterized as a brave girl who is determined to take extreme...
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...In this essay, I will be looking at how sound, cinematography and mise en scene construct meaning and provoke response in the 5minute opening sequence of the film “Prisoners”. Prisoners is directed by Denis Villeneuve, and came out in 2013. The first minute of the film, is set in a woodland forest surrounded by snow and tree trunks. It shows a wide shot of the forest with a dear in the far background. Non-diagetic sound appears when the dear starts to come closer towards the camera. The non-diagetic sound is of a man repeating a prayer. This builds suspension and makes the audience question why he is narrating a prayer. The camera then walks back, and soon focuses on a rifle gun, which is pointing towards the dear, as the non-diagetic sound of the prayer is still being said. This suggests to the audience that the dear is either going to get shot for pleasure, or for food. As soon as the non-diagetic sound of the prayer ends with an “Amen”, the camera comes behind the 2 men, which shows an over shoulder shot, and the gun then gets fired. Diagetic sound of the gunshot is loud and clear. The over shoulder shot, allows us to know who is firing at the dear, and shows us from behind there point of view. Diagetic sound of the dear dying, suggests its been killed in a miserable way. As soon as the rifle has been fired, non-diagetic music appears with a slow beat thud noise. This shows that it’s the ending of the scene. As the slow beat music is playing, the man with a rough looking...
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...Film Essay Essay Question: In visual texts, characters are developed through aspects such as set, props, positioning and movement of actors, costume/makeup, framing, lighting, camera techniques and sound. Analyze how a character is developed in a visual text you have studied. In the film The Prestige directed by Christopher Nolan, the combined use of film techniques such as costume and mis-en-scene, camera movement, extensive use of close up, and editing show the character development of Robert Angier. The main theme is magic and illusion but there is a sub theme which involves obsession, deceit and jealousy arising from the professional magician rivalry between Angier and Borden. The destructive power of obsession and secrecy fuels the battle as both magicians contribute their fair share to a deadly duel of one-upmanship, with disastrous results. This leads either Borden or his twin being hanged and a duplicated copy of Angier shot at the end of the film. The bullet catch scene, Angier’s “The new transported man” trick and the meeting of Lord Caldlow and Jess at Borden’s cell are three key moments in the film that show the way the character of Angier develops. The director uses costume and mis-en-scene to create the complex character of Angier. At the bullet catch scene, Borden is performing the bullet catch when Angier comes in disguise. The director uses close up focusing on the gun which Angier is holding in his hands. The gun dominates. The camera tilts up to show...
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...Film Techniques Non Diegetic sound: Actual sound from within the film such as voice from characters/music from instruments within the film space. Diegetic Sound: sounds/music that is input to the film via editing. (mood music/narrators commentary/ voiceovers) Medium Shot: a shot generally extending from the hip of the character upwards Long Shot: a shot from a further distance usually to establish the setting High Angle: A shot that is created from a view above Low Angle: A shot from below Birds eye view/shot: A shot that is from above pointing straight down Tracking Shot: Shot that follows the character/object’s movement Mise En Scene: The set/props/atmosphere of the film Freeze Frame: When the shot frames and pauses for a few seconds on character/object Close up: A intimate/close up view of object/character Extreme Close up: Same as close up, but tends to focus on fragments of features (ie eyes/nose mouth/inanimate object) Dolly Zoom: Tracking shot that zooms forward to focus on character/object in question. Cross-cutting: cuts from one scene to another/often used when characters are speaking to each other / often used in flashbacks too Panning shot: the camera pans across in a widespread motion (--( Point of View shot: Follows main characters point of view/viewpoint Literary Techniques: Symbolism: Recurring object or image that reflects another idea ie: She smiled as the dove flew past and knew the war was over. Symbol: Dove as a sign of peace Motif:...
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...style over the other, but rarely can be applied to an entire movie. Both realism and formalism use reality as a foundation, but differ in how the reality is emphasized or shaped. The style of realism typically captures events as they happen, similar to how a person would view the events in real life. The portrayal should be depicted with a minimum of distortion. Realism attempts to preserve the idea that the world of film is unaltered, as if viewing the world through a window. A documentary film is an example of extreme realism. The style of formalism shows scenes as they can be imagined. They’re deliberately stylized and / or distorted using methods such as slow motion or adding colors into scenes. For example, in Shcindler’s List, a scene is shot in black and white except for a little girls red jacket. The viewer is forced to watch this little girl because we assume that she is important since she is the only color in a washed out scene. Formalism depicts scenes in a way that a person can not see with the eye in real life. Avant garde films are an example of extreme formalism. In the movie The Matrix, color, shots, and angles are used to illustrate the idea of formalism. Throughout the movie, color is used to add depth and help establish the mood in the scene. In all of the scenes inside the matrix a lens filter is used to cast the scene in a green tint reminiscent of the green numbers of the matrix code. In all of the scenes in the real world there is an...
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...Film Techniques of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ * At the beginning of the film, she is very upset because she was different and of different culture to the kids in her school, but then the movie gradually shows that it is actually a positive because that is what Ian liked about her. * In the opening segment, there is the use of voiceover, which is a reflective technique. * What she said when in the first scene, she said she wanted to be blond girls, that later Ian likes her because she is different and not blond. She didn’t want to go to Greek school but that was what Ian liked. During the scene with her in Greek school, there was Greek music playing in the background which emphasises how distinctly Greek she is. * When it shows their house, it pans across the street and there is a medium shot of the house. Their family is mono-culture. Gus has very set beliefs and he is so convinced that all of the human accomplishments have been because of the Greeks, that’s why he wants her to marry a Greek. * The main thing is humour. It conveys the message of this film in an interesting way. * The film introduces the usage of repeated motifs with the Greek language, Windex and the idea that you have to get married, have babies and feed everyone. * We are showed that when she was young, she was embarrassed by her parents. The irony that when she was young, she didn’t want to be Greek but in the later years, this is what was made her special. They brought her...
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...TECH-CAMERA Instructions on the types of CAMERA ANGLES, SHOTS & MOVEMENTS You will need to identify in the exam. [pic] Camera Shots, Angles and Movement |Camera & Lens Movements | | | |Tracking Shot (Dollying): Camera on track moving in and out (Tracking) of the subject | |Tilt Shot: Fixed camera position, moving up and down (Tilting) the subject | |Pan Shot: Fixed camera position, swiveling (Panning) left to right of (or with) the subject | |Zoom Shot: Fixed camera position, zooming in and out of the subject (Lens not camera) | |Steadicam: Camera attached to a person, which follows the subject's movement. | |Hand-Held Cam: A light camera, often giving a jerky, ragged effect. Gives the sense of realism | |Camera Shots (Framing) | | | | | |Long Shot (LS): |Mid Shot (MS): ...
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...Robert Kimble GMMD211 Shutter Island Scene Analysis The “Opening Scene” The 2010 movie Shutter Island is a psychological thriller that focuses on our main character “Teddy”. Portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, our protagonist believes he is a U.S. Marshal who is headed to a remote island, which houses an asylum for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of one of their patients. The harsh reality is that “Teddy” is one of those patients, and the opening scene sets the tone for what is to follow. The opening scene starts with a greyish screen and only the diegetic sound of the waves, symbolizing perhaps being lost at sea with nothing but water surrounding you. We then hear the horn of a ship, followed by a long shot of the ship taking shape as it emerges from the fog. At the front of the ship we see a person standing alone facing the direction the ship is heading. This symbolizes that whomever it is, they are gaining clarity of what is to come. Cut to a medium shot, showing the interior of the boat where we see someone leaning over a toilet and hear them throwing up, meanwhile we also hear the rustling of the chains shown hanging in the forefront. Cut to an extreme close up of our main character looking into the mirror and saying to himself “pull yourself together Teddy, pull yourself together.” This scene wreaks of split personality disorder. This could have a parallel meaning that while “Teddy” is fighting with himself to regain control, it is making...
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...two shots and created suspense. I chose to subvert Todorov’s narrative structure which most of the films I analysed followed and started at a point that was not equilibrium as the main character was in danger from the start and ended up seriously injured. The image I used from my posters were inspired by my storyboard. The image used on my teaser poster is inspired by the second shot of my storyboard as a sense of mystery is created as you can only see a small amount of the persons face. I changed the shot into a mid shot for my cover poster as you can clearly see the convention of ‘Business wear’ used in spy films. Doing this made the genre of the film more recognisable even though there was not much information on the teaser poster. I super imposed the image onto a white background to make the whole image brighter and I used high key lighting on the image to make image more eye catching. I lastly covered my background image in a filter which gives the image a similar effect to something that has been pixilated, adding to the mystery of the poster as pixilation is often linked with secret identities. I chose to use a colour that would stand out from the soft colours of the rest of the posters. The font and colour have connotations of the military which I wanted as the audience has the view of harshness and violence. In the DVD cover I used a tag line with the title of the film ‘trust no one’ in the...
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...Film Form and Analysis Cinematography Cinematography describes the process by which a film strip is exposed to light to create an image. It encompasses many factors: the camera’s distance from the action, camera angle and direction, type of lens, camera movement, and lighting, among others. The art of cinematography also includes mise-en-scène—the arrangement of objects and movements in the frame. Shot Types The amount of visual information included in the image depends on the distance of the camera from the action and on the focal length of the camera lens. Throughout the history of cinema, filmmakers have favored certain combinations of camera distance and focal length, or shot types. * Extreme long shot: Captures a scene in its entirety; used for establishing location in exterior shots. Used frequently in epic genres such as westerns and war films, it reduces human beings to mere dots on the screen. * Long shot: Accommodates at least the entire bodies of figures (if that is all the shot includes, it is called a full shot). Captures movement, background, and broad gestures and expressions. * Medium shot: Contains a figure from the waist or knees up. It is a functional shot, favored in classical Hollywood editing, often used for scenes with dialogue. * Close-up: Includes very little if any background, concentrating on an object or, if an extreme close-up, a fragment of an object, such as the human face. Close-ups often accord great significance and symbolic...
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...The opening scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window essentially acts as one long establishing shot — only rather than establishing just the location of a scene, it establishes the entire film in more ways than one. One particularly important shot in the scene, beginning 00:02:36 into the film, tells the audience much of what it will need to know about Rear Window’s setting, characters, and themes. The long take begins with an alarm clock waking up a couple, sleeping out on their balcony. As the camera moves from window to window around the courtyard, we see a few brief snippets of characters’ lives. And finally, the audience sees inside the apartment that has been its point of view all along. Mise-en-scene, framing, and cinematography all play a role in this shot. But while the first device reveals information about the film’s setting and some of its major characters, cinematography and framing are the dominant devices because they illustrate what truly lies at the center of Rear Window: its themes. An attentive viewer could gather troves of important information about the story and its characters from the mise-en-scene in this shot. In the audience’s brief tour around the courtyard, it sees a number of things that provide a set-up for the following narrative. The shot opens on a couple waking up to an alarm clock from a nap on their balcony. They are wearing sparse and light clothing, rubbing sweat off their foreheads, and have bright natural light from above shining on...
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...movement of the camera in the eight-minute-long opening scene displays a unique usage of the sequence shot, as well as other film techniques. Made popular in Orsen Welles’ Touch of Evil, the opening scene of The Player follows a variety of characters on a film set, using one sequence for an extended period of time just as Welles did in the opening scene of his 1958 classic. Throughout the opening sequence of The Player, the camera follows various characters in one swift motion. Without cutting or using multiple shots, Altman positions the camera in various places to frame the character. It starts off with a high angle as a car drives through the parking lot, before shifting from the car to a walking pair of characters. Reframing is used from here on out; as the camera moves from character to character, the camera moves in order to keep moving persons or objects centered in the frame. While a character walks from one place to another, the camera moves with them as well from either the front or the side, giving the impression that the camera is walking at the same pace from a close proximity. Altman explores a limited yet open space in the scene, as everything that takes place is either in the parking lot or rooms in the office from the outside window. Due to the random nature of the camera, we learn just how much can happen in a small space when it comes to the film industry. Characters are placed primarily in pairs during the sequence, with a different conversation taking place each...
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