Tim Burton presents a unique style in Sweeney Todd through the use of different micro-elements.
First, Burton uses cinematography to portray shows position and status in the film.
This is evident where there is a high angled mid shot from behind of Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett looking out of the window a Pirelli as he walks towards their shop.
The use of this shot suggests status, show Pirelli as inferior and vulnerable, whereas Sweeney looks more superior to Pirelli as he pitifully looks down at him. The shot also creates this thought to the audience of a predator watching it's prey who is Pirelli, this then creates this foreshadowing a negative event which would be very likely to occur very soon.
This links to Burton's cinematic style as he creates this "Predator & Prey" theme to the story which he also does in his other films.
Cinematography is also used to create a certain mood and atmosphere.
This is evident where there is an Extreme Close-up shot of Sweeney's bloodshot eyes quickly staring at the pot as it boils up and steams more and more.
This creates tension as it indicates that the boiling kettle will be somehow associated with Sweeney's act of rage and predictably foreshadows that something violent is about to occur.
The use of this shot also creates escalating suspense as the shot also synchronizes with the kettle boiling and increasing in noise to project Sweeney's building rage.
Cinematography is used another part of the extract where there is the use of a low-angled shot of Sweeney repeatedly hitting Pirelli with the kettle violently.
The use of this shot is show the audience his utter rage and anger as he bludgeons Pirelli with the pot.
However, this shot does not actually show the pot actually hitting Pirelli's head as this particular part uses theatre of the mind on the audience and proves the audience to imagine gruesome and bloody thoughts of how Pirelli would look after that ruthless assault.
Sound is used to create a mood and control the amount of tension and atmosphere in a scene.
This is evident where Pirelli dramatically says "Benjamin Barker" then a non-diegetic deep, low-pitched orchestral sound motif plays.
This suggests that the audience must pay close attention to the dialogue and acts as an indication to the audience that something will happen, a foreshadowing of an unexpected act and a dark outcome.
It also suggests to the audience that this is a significant part of the dialogue between Sweeney Todd and Pirelli.
Furthermore, the use of this sudden build up in the music creates tension and suspense as it sets an uneasy mood for the audience and signifies a that something terrible is bound to happen any second.
The orchestral music then only goes down a bit but still maintains an uneasy tense volume level and this prolongs the suspense and suggests to the audience that there will be an unexpected reaction from Sweeney Todd as he slowly builds up in rage.
Another part where sound is used is controlled is where the pot next to Sweeney starts to boil and produce steam when Pirelli finally forces him to explode in anger.
The use of the increasing diegetic high-pitched sound of the pot's boiling steam almost signifies Sweeney's rage increasing and establishes this tense atmosphere and creates suspense as it foreshadows that Sweeney Todd is going to do something drastic and knowing how dark of a character he is, it will probably lead him to brutally murder him using a weapon.
Non diegetic sound is also used to control the mood and atmosphere in the scene.
This was evident where as soon as Sweeny picked up the boiling pot to assault Pirelli, there was a sudden rise of volume to a high pitched horror-like, fast-paced orchestral sound which is then played through the part where Pirelli is bludgeoned to death.
This then provokes shock to the audience as soon as Sweeney first ruthlessly hit Pirelli with the pot, it makes his action totally unexpected as the music had started immediately from when he about to assault Pirelli. The use of this sudden fast orchestral music was to signal prolonged violence, it played as the violence had continued and then as Sweeney stopped, where the tempo of the music had slows down and the volume had decreased as Sweeney relaxes in his chair with relief.
This then establishes a suddenly calm, tranquil and controlled atmosphere and almost synchronises with how Sweeney feels. In addition, as soon as Pirelli had died, the atmosphere had became more quieter and tranquil and this shows this sense of accomplishment in Sweeney Todd.
This then shows how the non-diegetic soundtrack is used to almost reflect his emotions and shows the extent of Sweeney Todd's rage.
Mise en Scene is also used in Sweeney Todd to establish and reveal a hidden aspect about a character.
This is shown where there is a mid close up sot of Sweeney by the day lit and Pirelli stands next to him from behind in the dark area of the shot.
Light is on Sweeney to indicate that he is the audience's visual point of focus in the shot, this is in order to show Sweeney's countenance and gradual build up of rage as Pirelli winds him up. In addition, it is to show how Sweeney receives news given to him by Pirelli.
While on the other hand, Pirelli stands in the dark part of the shot behind him and this reveals this character as a dark, sinister and villainous figure, like an antagonist. This also creates a creepy and uneasy atmosphere as it's almost like Pirelli's appearance has changed into what seems to be this burden to Sweeney, a shadow that menacingly follows Sweeney Todd.
Editing is used in the sequence to set the pace of scene and provoke a feeling within the audience.
This is shown where there are short, fast-paced shots of every hit made on Pirelli and is at a fast pace in order to create this sense of excitement and adrenaline.
Furthermore, this also provokes shock in the viewer as it all happens so quickly that it was completely unexpected for this violent and ruthless act to happen.
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Sunday 2 December 2012
Thursday 29 November 2012
Large major music labels are largely helped by the advancement of digital media and especially where consumption is concerned.
This is evident as Sony's music can be very easily accessed and from almost all platforms of media such as YouTube, iTunes, Vevo, and other online streaming sites, not only online you can view and listen to Sony's music artists, but also on their very own hardware such as the Sony Xperia, The Sony Rolly, Walkman and more of their electronic mixed media hardware.
This makes a wide audience be able to access their music fast and easy, therefore using this as a way of cross promoting both their artists, their artists' music, and Sony Music itself.
In addition, Sony also synergizes with other music and media sharing companies such as YouTube and Vevo and is evident where for instance, if you go onto YouTube, it is noticed that music streaming companies such as Ministry of Sound, UKF and Vevo tend to have Sony's artists and music playing from their channels.
This was because Sony does not have it's own music streaming platform therefore teaming up with popular media companies of the web to share out Sony's music.
This is a way of Sony being able to not only make their music sparse across the worldwide web, but cross promoting their music and making their artists known to a huge global audience.
Another way in which the advancement of digital media benefits Sony is with their digital marketing.
This is shown as the multi-functional conglomerate label Sony often uses their own Sony branded hardware such as the Xperia smartphone series, the Sony Walkman series & MP3s,Blu Ray, Music stereos and other of their multi-media hardware to cross promote their artists' music and new releases. For instance, Sony had used Adele's new release 'Skyfall' in the advertisement of their exclusive new smartphone Sony Xperia T.
This benefits Sony significantly as by doing this, they are able to advertise their hardware and electronic products as much as their music and artists in order to have that 2-in-one promotion and advertisement and both on TV and the all across the web, therefore becoming appealing an extraordinary amount of people on a global scale.
BSM Records
BSM Records does not however have the same privileges of advertising their music though a he number of media platforms and to a global audience either, due to the fact that their are only an independent music label. But however on the other hand is still able to cross promote their music effectivey.
This is evident as Sony's music can be very easily accessed and from almost all platforms of media such as YouTube, iTunes, Vevo, and other online streaming sites, not only online you can view and listen to Sony's music artists, but also on their very own hardware such as the Sony Xperia, The Sony Rolly, Walkman and more of their electronic mixed media hardware.
This makes a wide audience be able to access their music fast and easy, therefore using this as a way of cross promoting both their artists, their artists' music, and Sony Music itself.
In addition, Sony also synergizes with other music and media sharing companies such as YouTube and Vevo and is evident where for instance, if you go onto YouTube, it is noticed that music streaming companies such as Ministry of Sound, UKF and Vevo tend to have Sony's artists and music playing from their channels.
This was because Sony does not have it's own music streaming platform therefore teaming up with popular media companies of the web to share out Sony's music.
This is a way of Sony being able to not only make their music sparse across the worldwide web, but cross promoting their music and making their artists known to a huge global audience.
Another way in which the advancement of digital media benefits Sony is with their digital marketing.
This is shown as the multi-functional conglomerate label Sony often uses their own Sony branded hardware such as the Xperia smartphone series, the Sony Walkman series & MP3s,Blu Ray, Music stereos and other of their multi-media hardware to cross promote their artists' music and new releases. For instance, Sony had used Adele's new release 'Skyfall' in the advertisement of their exclusive new smartphone Sony Xperia T.
This benefits Sony significantly as by doing this, they are able to advertise their hardware and electronic products as much as their music and artists in order to have that 2-in-one promotion and advertisement and both on TV and the all across the web, therefore becoming appealing an extraordinary amount of people on a global scale.
BSM Records
BSM Records does not however have the same privileges of advertising their music though a he number of media platforms and to a global audience either, due to the fact that their are only an independent music label. But however on the other hand is still able to cross promote their music effectivey.
Wednesday 28 November 2012
A touch of frost
The extract from Touch of Frost portrays disabled people as anything but human.
This is evident as the extract shows the character with down syndrome Billy, walking in the woods before suddenly getting surrounded by a large number of police officers and then gets arrested after pleading repeatedly "I didn't do anything!" and questioned by an officer.
This is portrays disabled people like Billy as almost being inhuman and a threat to "normal people" as they ruthlessly hunt him down like some sort of runaway criminal or animal and this over exaggeratedly conforms the negative stereotype of people with down syndrome as well as mentally disabled people also.
This also shows a rather ridiculously exaggerated aspect on mentally disable people and the way that they are and possibly should be treated.
It shows that people like Billy with down syndrome do not have the same amount of freedom or even rights living in London and through this extract, it implies not even a stroll in the forest is allowed.
The use of cinematography helps to depict an aspect on mentally disabled people.
This is shown through the constant use of close up shots of Billy where he caught by the police and in the scene where he is interviewed.
Each close -up shot shows his reaction and facial expressions to imply and remind the viewer that he is still human,still understands speech and has an average mentality. This challenges its own portrayal of disabled people, as well as showing Billy as an outcast to society due to that fact that he was with no one, he is at the same time portrayed as a normal, average but misunderstood person. The use of the close-up shots also suggests that mentally disable people do have normal human emotions although they have Down's syndrome.
This is evident as the extract shows the character with down syndrome Billy, walking in the woods before suddenly getting surrounded by a large number of police officers and then gets arrested after pleading repeatedly "I didn't do anything!" and questioned by an officer.
This is portrays disabled people like Billy as almost being inhuman and a threat to "normal people" as they ruthlessly hunt him down like some sort of runaway criminal or animal and this over exaggeratedly conforms the negative stereotype of people with down syndrome as well as mentally disabled people also.
This also shows a rather ridiculously exaggerated aspect on mentally disable people and the way that they are and possibly should be treated.
It shows that people like Billy with down syndrome do not have the same amount of freedom or even rights living in London and through this extract, it implies not even a stroll in the forest is allowed.
The use of cinematography helps to depict an aspect on mentally disabled people.
This is shown through the constant use of close up shots of Billy where he caught by the police and in the scene where he is interviewed.
Each close -up shot shows his reaction and facial expressions to imply and remind the viewer that he is still human,still understands speech and has an average mentality. This challenges its own portrayal of disabled people, as well as showing Billy as an outcast to society due to that fact that he was with no one, he is at the same time portrayed as a normal, average but misunderstood person. The use of the close-up shots also suggests that mentally disable people do have normal human emotions although they have Down's syndrome.
Also, in the story, an 8 year old girl had disappeared near the local woods, foul play is suspected as circumstances point to a seemingly harmless 20 year old with Down's Syndrome.
Billy Conrad happens to have Downs syndrome but is however still fairly accepted by the local children as a mate and lives at home with his loving parents.
However, the equilibrium is disrupted as it all starts to go wrong as he all of a sudden becomes a suspect for the murder of a little girl in the local area.
As the story progresses in the extract we learn more about Billy and discover the person behind the label. He is vilified, labelled, taunted, tolerated or championed, depending on the attitudes of the people concerned. Seeing these different approaches to Billy causes us to reflect inwardly about our own standpoints and outlook on people with Down's syndrome.
The 'Touch of Frost' extract uses cinematography to establish a portrayal of disability.
This is evident from the very beginning of the extract as it shows a series of mid shots of police in a dark woods searching and scouting around and the last shot of it all is of a mid-shot of a police officer and then the camera swiftly tilts down to the ground. Then the next shot is of Billy, a boy with Down's Syndrome, walking in the woods with the police behind him.
The use of the series of shots of the police searching first gives off this idea that they may be tracking down some sort of animal as the use of the mid-shots show the officers looking down at the ground, then we cut to a mid shot of the officer with a hound then tilts to the view of the ground which reinforces the idea of them tracking down some sort of animal as they look at the foot prints.
Then the use of it cutting to Billy with the police behind him which immediately implies that they are in fact looking for him and this creates an exaggerated and rather offensive aspect on people with Down's Syndrome because it depicts them as animals and almost as a danger to the public. Furthermore, this heavily and unfairly d
The 'Touch of Frost' extract uses cinematography to establish a portrayal of disability.
This is evident from the very beginning of the extract as it shows a series of mid shots of police in a dark woods searching and scouting around and the last shot of it all is of a mid-shot of a police officer and then the camera swiftly tilts down to the ground. Then the next shot is of Billy, a boy with Down's Syndrome, walking in the woods with the police behind him.
The use of the series of shots of the police searching first gives off this idea that they may be tracking down some sort of animal as the use of the mid-shots show the officers looking down at the ground, then we cut to a mid shot of the officer with a hound then tilts to the view of the ground which reinforces the idea of them tracking down some sort of animal as they look at the foot prints.
Then the use of it cutting to Billy with the police behind him which immediately implies that they are in fact looking for him and this creates an exaggerated and rather offensive aspect on people with Down's Syndrome because it depicts them as animals and almost as a danger to the public. Furthermore, this heavily and unfairly d
Thursday 8 November 2012
The films I have chosen to study.
SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Director - Guy Ritchie
Other Films done by Guy Richie - Snatch, RocknRolla, Man from U.N.C.L.E, Suspect, Revolver, Swept Away
Cast - Rober Downley Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Robert maillet, Kelly Reilly, William Houston, Geraldine James, Hans Matheson, James Fox, William Hope, Clive Russell, Oran Gurel, David Garrick.
STORYLINE:After finally catching serial killer and occult "sorcerer" Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again. Contending with his partner's new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic - and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler.
Awards:
VES Award - Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture.
Teen Choice Award - Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure
IFTA Award - Best International Actor
Grammy Award - Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television and Other Visual Media
Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture: Comedy & Musical
Excellence in Production Design Award - Period Film
Other Films done by Guy Richie - Snatch, RocknRolla, Man from U.N.C.L.E, Suspect, Revolver, Swept Away
Cast - Rober Downley Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Robert maillet, Kelly Reilly, William Houston, Geraldine James, Hans Matheson, James Fox, William Hope, Clive Russell, Oran Gurel, David Garrick.
STORYLINE:After finally catching serial killer and occult "sorcerer" Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again. Contending with his partner's new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic - and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler.
Awards:
VES Award - Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture.
Teen Choice Award - Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure
IFTA Award - Best International Actor
Grammy Award - Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television and Other Visual Media
Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture: Comedy & Musical
Excellence in Production Design Award - Period Film
SWEENEY TODD (2007)
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, also known as the notorious Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.
Director - Tim Burton
Other films by Tim Burton - Ed Wood, Batman Returns, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Big Eyes, Frankenweenie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Mars Attacks!, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Cabin Boy
Cast - Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jayne Wisener and Ed Sanders
Storyline:
In the Victorian London, the barber Benjamin Barker is married to the gorgeous Lucy and they have a lovely child, Johanna. The beauty of Lucy attracts the attention of the corrupt Judge Turpin, who falsely accuses the barber of a crime that he did not commit and abuses Lucy later after gaining custody of her. After fifteen years in exile, Benjamin returns to London under the new identity of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. He meets the widow Mrs. Lovett who is the owner of a meat pie shop who tells him that Lucy swallowed arsenic many years ago, and Turpin assigned himself tutor of Johanna. He opens a barber shop above her store, initiating a crime rampage against those who made him suffer and lose his beloved family.
AWARDS:
WAFCA Award - Best Art Direction
Teen Choice Award - Choice Movie Villain
SDFCS Award - Best Production Design
PFCS Award - Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Production Design & Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role
National Movie Award - Best Performance
NBR Award - Best Director, One of the Top Ten Films
MTV Movie Award - Best Villain
LAFCA Award - Best Production Design
Sierra Award - Best Costume Design & Youth in Film
Vincent Koehler Award - Outstanding Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film
Golden Globe - Best Motion Picture: Comedy & Musical
- Best Perfomance by an Actor in a Motion Picture: Comedy & Musical
Evening Standard British Film Award - Best Actress
Empire Award - Best Actress
DFWFCA Award - Best Director
CDG Award - Excellence in Costume Design for Film
Eddie Award - Best Edited Feature Film: Comedy & Musical
Saturn Award - Best Costume
Oscar - Best Achievement in Art Direction
Technical Info
- Panavision Panaflex Platinum, Panavision Primo Lenses
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, also known as the notorious Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.
Director - Tim Burton
Other films by Tim Burton - Ed Wood, Batman Returns, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Big Eyes, Frankenweenie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Mars Attacks!, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Cabin Boy
Cast - Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jayne Wisener and Ed Sanders
Storyline:
In the Victorian London, the barber Benjamin Barker is married to the gorgeous Lucy and they have a lovely child, Johanna. The beauty of Lucy attracts the attention of the corrupt Judge Turpin, who falsely accuses the barber of a crime that he did not commit and abuses Lucy later after gaining custody of her. After fifteen years in exile, Benjamin returns to London under the new identity of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. He meets the widow Mrs. Lovett who is the owner of a meat pie shop who tells him that Lucy swallowed arsenic many years ago, and Turpin assigned himself tutor of Johanna. He opens a barber shop above her store, initiating a crime rampage against those who made him suffer and lose his beloved family.
AWARDS:
WAFCA Award - Best Art Direction
Teen Choice Award - Choice Movie Villain
SDFCS Award - Best Production Design
PFCS Award - Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Production Design & Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role
National Movie Award - Best Performance
NBR Award - Best Director, One of the Top Ten Films
MTV Movie Award - Best Villain
LAFCA Award - Best Production Design
Sierra Award - Best Costume Design & Youth in Film
Vincent Koehler Award - Outstanding Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film
Golden Globe - Best Motion Picture: Comedy & Musical
- Best Perfomance by an Actor in a Motion Picture: Comedy & Musical
Evening Standard British Film Award - Best Actress
Empire Award - Best Actress
DFWFCA Award - Best Director
CDG Award - Excellence in Costume Design for Film
Eddie Award - Best Edited Feature Film: Comedy & Musical
Saturn Award - Best Costume
Oscar - Best Achievement in Art Direction
Technical Info
Camera used for the film
- Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL, Panavision Primo Lenses- Panavision Panaflex Platinum, Panavision Primo Lenses
Monday 5 November 2012
DRIVE - AUTHORSHIP & STYLE
Drive is a fast-paced action thriller film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, which tells the story of a rather mysterious Hollywood action stuntman, mechanic and skilled getaway driver who ends up placing himself into violent situations and the wrong kind of trouble when he helps out a neighbour.
Although Drive may seem like any other action film to any spectator at a cinema, Drive runs in a very specific and unique style you don't often see in most action films and that is Nicolas Winding Refn's signature touch to the film.
The style in this film is really signature and unique in the film, this is simply because Nicolas Winding Refn as from the very beginning of the film and throughout, there is noticeably the huge contrast of colour and tones in every scene, for instance, when Ryan Gosling waits for the two burglars to get in the car at the beginning, there are literally no midtones in that scene, this means that most lighting seen in that scene would be predominantly orange and turquoise or bluish green lighting and a slight green tint in the scene.
This is an important device in the film as it creates a really unusual effect on the setting as it features both warm and cold colours. The bluish green lighting on the street lamps and buildings create this cold, dark and quite hostile outlook on the setting at night, whereas the orange is mostly lit on Ryan Gosling's (the driver) face which still creates this mysterious feel about the setting.
Also, the use of just the orange and turquoise as lighting in the scene almost makes the scene unnatural and lightly surreal in a way that the colours of the streets are altered and transformed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX0H9moUGsI
Winding Refn's unique Authorship in the film is the outline of the story itself.
Winding Refn's intentions with this and many other of his screen works is that the character goes through a change in the story as it progresses. Furthermore, his intentions was was for this underground, criminal getaway driver becoming this sort of hero in the story still maintaining his mysterious nature who later on falls in love. However it does not work put and there is this sense of realisation that who he was in the first place was who he was destined to be and therefore turning back into what he was before, a getaway driver.
This is evident as in the film as Ryan Gosling's character starts off as a mechanic and getaway driver who is associated with robberies and crimes, then as we progress he meets this young woman named Irene, who Ryan's character ends up becoming fond of. Then, he gets caught up in a trade and violence
Nicolas Winding Refn also wanted for his style film to be fetish, the things that that he would like to see about particular things so in this film, its love. It was going to be a sort of love story in Los Angeles to not show complications of love but the innocence of it, but in order for the Driver in the film to protect that, he would need to justify the extreme violence later on in the story.
Nicolas Winding Refn had also limited the amount of information we would know about the driver in the film because he had preferred that in the film, the driver would become this really mysterious figure and was more of a tradition of a great american hero that would come to save a person's life with violence.
Another point about Winding Refn's authorship is that Gosling's driver had until this moment seemed like a basically sympathetic, romantic guy – involved in crime of course, but who made a point of not carrying a gun.
Furthermore, Winding Refn's idea was for the film to be this sort of love story about a mysterious hero who saves the day on a low-profile status. Also, with the use of Gosling's driver having to not use any guns at all throughout the film, prevents the idea of a heroic love story being forgotten by spectators.
Nicolas Winding Refn also used scenes of ruthless and brutally violent scenes to almost show what extreme measures this "hero" has to go to in order to save the day.
This shows Gosling's Driver's justification in the story, and is evident where at one part of the film, a villain gets horrifically stomped to death on the head in an incautious location, with the body is airily exposed and undisposed of. This had demonstrated how dark the Driver goes in order to have justice and save a lives of others so as violent Gosling's acts are, it always shows that his character has this side to him that's caring but however not presented in a very soft, emotional way and this was apart of Winding Refn's intentions in the film, to have this traditional american hero who is restricted in identity.
Although Drive may seem like any other action film to any spectator at a cinema, Drive runs in a very specific and unique style you don't often see in most action films and that is Nicolas Winding Refn's signature touch to the film.
The style in this film is really signature and unique in the film, this is simply because Nicolas Winding Refn as from the very beginning of the film and throughout, there is noticeably the huge contrast of colour and tones in every scene, for instance, when Ryan Gosling waits for the two burglars to get in the car at the beginning, there are literally no midtones in that scene, this means that most lighting seen in that scene would be predominantly orange and turquoise or bluish green lighting and a slight green tint in the scene.
This is an important device in the film as it creates a really unusual effect on the setting as it features both warm and cold colours. The bluish green lighting on the street lamps and buildings create this cold, dark and quite hostile outlook on the setting at night, whereas the orange is mostly lit on Ryan Gosling's (the driver) face which still creates this mysterious feel about the setting.
Also, the use of just the orange and turquoise as lighting in the scene almost makes the scene unnatural and lightly surreal in a way that the colours of the streets are altered and transformed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX0H9moUGsI
Winding Refn's unique Authorship in the film is the outline of the story itself.
Winding Refn's intentions with this and many other of his screen works is that the character goes through a change in the story as it progresses. Furthermore, his intentions was was for this underground, criminal getaway driver becoming this sort of hero in the story still maintaining his mysterious nature who later on falls in love. However it does not work put and there is this sense of realisation that who he was in the first place was who he was destined to be and therefore turning back into what he was before, a getaway driver.
This is evident as in the film as Ryan Gosling's character starts off as a mechanic and getaway driver who is associated with robberies and crimes, then as we progress he meets this young woman named Irene, who Ryan's character ends up becoming fond of. Then, he gets caught up in a trade and violence
Nicolas Winding Refn also wanted for his style film to be fetish, the things that that he would like to see about particular things so in this film, its love. It was going to be a sort of love story in Los Angeles to not show complications of love but the innocence of it, but in order for the Driver in the film to protect that, he would need to justify the extreme violence later on in the story.
Nicolas Winding Refn had also limited the amount of information we would know about the driver in the film because he had preferred that in the film, the driver would become this really mysterious figure and was more of a tradition of a great american hero that would come to save a person's life with violence.
Another point about Winding Refn's authorship is that Gosling's driver had until this moment seemed like a basically sympathetic, romantic guy – involved in crime of course, but who made a point of not carrying a gun.
Furthermore, Winding Refn's idea was for the film to be this sort of love story about a mysterious hero who saves the day on a low-profile status. Also, with the use of Gosling's driver having to not use any guns at all throughout the film, prevents the idea of a heroic love story being forgotten by spectators.
Nicolas Winding Refn also used scenes of ruthless and brutally violent scenes to almost show what extreme measures this "hero" has to go to in order to save the day.
This shows Gosling's Driver's justification in the story, and is evident where at one part of the film, a villain gets horrifically stomped to death on the head in an incautious location, with the body is airily exposed and undisposed of. This had demonstrated how dark the Driver goes in order to have justice and save a lives of others so as violent Gosling's acts are, it always shows that his character has this side to him that's caring but however not presented in a very soft, emotional way and this was apart of Winding Refn's intentions in the film, to have this traditional american hero who is restricted in identity.
Friday 26 October 2012
Short Media Artefact
This was a short media piece in Media, this was done in order to show and demonstrate our understanding of the different types of continuity techniques and cinematography shots and how they're used in a scene and what certain effect it has on a scene.
Next, we had to also show our skills and knowledge of the general editing techniques, such as transitions,creative filters, sound altering and special effects (SFX).
What are the good points of this clip?
The use of the shots given to us were all correctly used and usede effectively as it had created the effect of our scenes being presented myseteriously and from the beginning introduced this mysterious nature.
This is evident from the first pan shot of Junior emerging from around the corner and walks towards the staircase.
The use of showing him first in the shot shows to the spectator that he does have some importance in the 2 scenes.
Also, the use of he pan following him aswell also
What did not go so well?
Friday 19 October 2012
127 HOURS ESSAY: How does Danny Boyle use direct address in 127 Hours and how does it function as a narrative device?
127 HOURS ESSAY:
SECTION 1
'Breaking the Fourth Wall' is a type of direct address, but the contact only interactive to the character although spectators are still literally powerless in terms of communication towards the character on-screen. Furthermore, it is a film device and technique used in some films in which the character in the film attempts to make contact with the audience, in other words, the character on-screen would talk specifically and directly to the audience watching, and the character would speak to the audience whether they should make a particular decision about the situation in the story, explaining information or their own perspective on a particular character in the film, or recapping where the story has gone so far and maybe ho they've got to this certain situation in the present, as done in 127 Hours.
The film 127 Hours features effective use of direct address
and is used to present different elements and aspects of the film. Furthermore,
direct address plays a very significant role in the film and reveals things
about both the main character Aron, and his background and surroundings at the
present moment.
Direct address is effectively used in 127 Hours to often
recap the story and where it’s gone so far and to reveal fragments of Aron’s
past-life and how his family is like and who they are. Also, it is used as
narration for something he is doing in the present moment or the future with
the use of his camcorder, which every now and then he turns on to create this
video log-styled address to the audience.
SECTION 2
Boyle uses the technique of Cinematography & Direct address as a form of narration to the spectators.
This is evident from one part of the film where Aron turns on his camcorder and starts to describe his surroundings and what his usual sights are, also, how the weather works and the Raven that flies over in the same direction everyday at a certain time.
This is a well-used technique here as it recaps what happens when he's trapped in there and what his experience was like. Also, this works in a way that it recaps the story to some of the spectators who may have not understood Aron's situation very well. This makes the spectators almost feel included in the story as he goes back over what happened but from his perspective, and because the scene where he falls is so quick and uses really short takes, it may have confused or slightly disorientated the spectators therefore creating some sort of confusion regarding the positioning of his hand stuck by the rock.
The use of cinematography in 127 Hours was used to improve the spectators' understanding of the setting that he is in for the majority of the film and his surroundings.
This is evident where is this high-angled canted shot from Aron's left showing all the objects around him as he gives a description of what happens around him and what equipment he has got, and he also explains the condition of them which reminds the spectators that time is going.
This is effective as it allows the spectators to understand more of the story and from Aron;s perspective, which then seems as if he's actually taking directly to them and it is almost like he knows that some of the spectators may have been quite confused about what is happening or what has happened.
By including where his arm is and the water bottle, this also reminds the spectators that he is still stuck in that same position and Boyle does this in a way that they won't forget about the main scenario as much as Aron may take viewers away from it in some parts of the story with flashbacks or his video logs, or sometimes, his sense of humor which is surprising still there to despite the fact he is in a pretty gruesome situation. So the use of the cinematography was partly to ensure the spectators are all on the same pace in the storyline.
The use of Mise en Scene is significantly used by Boyle and plays a vial role in reflecting Aron's condition persistently as the story progresses.
This is evident throughout the film as when the story progresses, the battery on the camcorder would start get lower and lower, and so does his physical condition and sanity.
This particular and genius Mise-en-Scene technique was significantly used as a monitor o his physical condition and appearance, the use of the battery meter in the corner of the frame everytime he is shown on the camera is to show his current condition day by day, and as the movie progresses, the battery starts to gradually run out and when this happens, Aron's health also goes down aswell. This is acts as a realization to the spectators that time is running out for Aron and that he must free himself quickly before the battery runs out and Aron's survival time runs out aswell. In other words, as Aron spends more and more time down in the pit, the more his physical condition starts to deteriorate, and so does the camcorder's battery life,which is a symbol his life.
This provokes high levels of suspense and unease within the spectator as they wonder if he will ever free himself in time or if the story will have a happy ending.
Boyle's use of setting as apart of Mise en Scene is used as symbolism in the story.
This is evident where Aron narrates what happens everyday when he recaps where he is, he says he gets 15 minutes of sunlight when he is down there.
At that part of the film, he sunlight appears bright and stands out from the rest of the low-key lighting in the setting, acting as a symbol of hope that there is a chance and a way for Aron to escape.
Next, is the costume used as apart of Mise en Scene to show how time affects Aron and what he's wearing.
For example, there are a few low-angled mid shots and long shots to show what he is doing or to re-establish what he's wearing, and that is when it is most noticeable.
The clothes gradually become pale,creased and dusty with a ripped,rough-look.
Boyle's use of cinematography is used to also show that time has gone by and is continuing to in 127 Hours.
This is visually evident throughout as the colours of Aron's clothing, equipment, setting and lighting become more washed out and pale colours.
This is effective for indicating to the spectators that time is going by in the film, making it much more realistic, also, this brings out and portrays the bleak, terrifying reality of Aron's situation in the film and this was Boyle's intention. He wanted to show the harsh reality of the scenario and make the spectators really have insight into how the situation could be like if they were in that same position and almost see everything through Aron's eyes aswell.
Furthermore, as the colours had gradually became more and more pale in the film, it acted as reflection of Aron's current condition, that the fact that he was losing colour, he was in fact losing his character and gradually losing strength and energy.
The use of the colours becoming more and more pale on everything has shown this sense of realization to the spectators that his time is running out day-by-day and that he needs to get out of there or else his story could end right in that gorge.
Then, the effect of the colours on everything in the scene getting more and more pale in colour is like seeing everything from his perspective, the fact that he has not got any food and very little water reinforces the idea of everything looking like what is in his vision.
The use of cinematography in the film is used to make the spectator empathize or feel something.
This is evident throughout the film where the Aron turns on his camcorder to start 'breaking the fourth wall'. The Close-up shot of the camcorder does not focus on Aron himself but it focuses on Aron's Close-up of his face through his camcorder's LCD screen.
The purpose of this technique is to focus on the camcorder's close-up view of his face because he looks weak and in a bad condition, he looks reduced in character off of the camera so he turns the camcorder screen away so he doesn't see himself in such a state but to also show just how much trouble he is in, so it is used as this moment of realization that he is literally helpless, and the use of the Close-up shots of his face shows this.
In 127 hours, Boyle uses the technique of sound throughout the film to demonstrate certain effects to the spectators.
SECTION 2
Boyle uses the technique of Cinematography & Direct address as a form of narration to the spectators.
This is evident from one part of the film where Aron turns on his camcorder and starts to describe his surroundings and what his usual sights are, also, how the weather works and the Raven that flies over in the same direction everyday at a certain time.
This is a well-used technique here as it recaps what happens when he's trapped in there and what his experience was like. Also, this works in a way that it recaps the story to some of the spectators who may have not understood Aron's situation very well. This makes the spectators almost feel included in the story as he goes back over what happened but from his perspective, and because the scene where he falls is so quick and uses really short takes, it may have confused or slightly disorientated the spectators therefore creating some sort of confusion regarding the positioning of his hand stuck by the rock.
The use of cinematography in 127 Hours was used to improve the spectators' understanding of the setting that he is in for the majority of the film and his surroundings.
This is evident where is this high-angled canted shot from Aron's left showing all the objects around him as he gives a description of what happens around him and what equipment he has got, and he also explains the condition of them which reminds the spectators that time is going.
This is effective as it allows the spectators to understand more of the story and from Aron;s perspective, which then seems as if he's actually taking directly to them and it is almost like he knows that some of the spectators may have been quite confused about what is happening or what has happened.
By including where his arm is and the water bottle, this also reminds the spectators that he is still stuck in that same position and Boyle does this in a way that they won't forget about the main scenario as much as Aron may take viewers away from it in some parts of the story with flashbacks or his video logs, or sometimes, his sense of humor which is surprising still there to despite the fact he is in a pretty gruesome situation. So the use of the cinematography was partly to ensure the spectators are all on the same pace in the storyline.
The use of Mise en Scene is significantly used by Boyle and plays a vial role in reflecting Aron's condition persistently as the story progresses.
This is evident throughout the film as when the story progresses, the battery on the camcorder would start get lower and lower, and so does his physical condition and sanity.
This particular and genius Mise-en-Scene technique was significantly used as a monitor o his physical condition and appearance, the use of the battery meter in the corner of the frame everytime he is shown on the camera is to show his current condition day by day, and as the movie progresses, the battery starts to gradually run out and when this happens, Aron's health also goes down aswell. This is acts as a realization to the spectators that time is running out for Aron and that he must free himself quickly before the battery runs out and Aron's survival time runs out aswell. In other words, as Aron spends more and more time down in the pit, the more his physical condition starts to deteriorate, and so does the camcorder's battery life,which is a symbol his life.
This provokes high levels of suspense and unease within the spectator as they wonder if he will ever free himself in time or if the story will have a happy ending.
Boyle's use of setting as apart of Mise en Scene is used as symbolism in the story.
This is evident where Aron narrates what happens everyday when he recaps where he is, he says he gets 15 minutes of sunlight when he is down there.
At that part of the film, he sunlight appears bright and stands out from the rest of the low-key lighting in the setting, acting as a symbol of hope that there is a chance and a way for Aron to escape.
Next, is the costume used as apart of Mise en Scene to show how time affects Aron and what he's wearing.
For example, there are a few low-angled mid shots and long shots to show what he is doing or to re-establish what he's wearing, and that is when it is most noticeable.
The clothes gradually become pale,creased and dusty with a ripped,rough-look.
Boyle's use of cinematography is used to also show that time has gone by and is continuing to in 127 Hours.
This is visually evident throughout as the colours of Aron's clothing, equipment, setting and lighting become more washed out and pale colours.
This is effective for indicating to the spectators that time is going by in the film, making it much more realistic, also, this brings out and portrays the bleak, terrifying reality of Aron's situation in the film and this was Boyle's intention. He wanted to show the harsh reality of the scenario and make the spectators really have insight into how the situation could be like if they were in that same position and almost see everything through Aron's eyes aswell.
Furthermore, as the colours had gradually became more and more pale in the film, it acted as reflection of Aron's current condition, that the fact that he was losing colour, he was in fact losing his character and gradually losing strength and energy.
The use of the colours becoming more and more pale on everything has shown this sense of realization to the spectators that his time is running out day-by-day and that he needs to get out of there or else his story could end right in that gorge.
Then, the effect of the colours on everything in the scene getting more and more pale in colour is like seeing everything from his perspective, the fact that he has not got any food and very little water reinforces the idea of everything looking like what is in his vision.
The use of cinematography in the film is used to make the spectator empathize or feel something.
This is evident throughout the film where the Aron turns on his camcorder to start 'breaking the fourth wall'. The Close-up shot of the camcorder does not focus on Aron himself but it focuses on Aron's Close-up of his face through his camcorder's LCD screen.
The purpose of this technique is to focus on the camcorder's close-up view of his face because he looks weak and in a bad condition, he looks reduced in character off of the camera so he turns the camcorder screen away so he doesn't see himself in such a state but to also show just how much trouble he is in, so it is used as this moment of realization that he is literally helpless, and the use of the Close-up shots of his face shows this.
In 127 hours, Boyle uses the technique of sound throughout the film to demonstrate certain effects to the spectators.
EVALUATION
INTRODUCTION
Our brief was to create a short media artefact as a group of 3 in order to effectively and practically demonstrate our understanding of continuity techniques and when they’re used.
So we were given a task to come up with a short media piece about a Detective meeting up with an informant and conversing about any information of our choice as long as it suited what we were doing and the basic outline of the story we were given.
We were split into groups of 3 to create the short movie example of continuity techniques.
The continuity techniques we had to include in our demonstration were:
- - The “SHOT REVERSE SHOT”
- - MATCH ON ACTION
- - The 180 “DEGREE RULE”
- - Some dialogue between the two characters
All of these techniques has to be used correctly in order to assure our understanding of continuity techniques and the effects created by using them in a scene.
THE CHALLENGES
As good as the outcome was in the end, we did however face a number of problems during the production process in general which had really slowed down our progress and risked the completion of our media artefact.
PRE-PRODUCTION
In pre-production, the first problem was the planning of what shot to include and how we would show them in a specific way to create some sort of cinematic effect and would demonstrate good use of cinematography and continuity techniques. Also, there was the problem of the people in my team in this having to find themselves being often distracted by other groups and not focusing much on the planning of the task. Furthermore, there was a real lack of focus within my group and it had seemed that I had taken it a bit more seriously then them, but however they did contribute, but not in a wayI would be expecting them to, and i mean buy presenting ideas on props,setting and costume.
In general, the group's attention as a whole was not the best and could have been much better if we had put in much more effort into the planning and importantly communication & teamwork.
Also, we had to be able to plan our filming in the space of just one lesson period so that was challenging presuming we had those issues occurring quite often, so we were against time. That however was quite luckily not much of a major setback for us at all but just put us under pressure as we had filming the next lesson.
Next was the storyboard, I had came up with the storyboard and it had featured a series of different shots to demonstrate good use of cinematography, however. it turned out to have too many shots and was rather complicated.
Because I was the only one to create that storyboard, it was a major setback because on the day of the filming, not only did no one else had produced a storyboard, was set for them to do, but we had to very quickly create a brand new storyboard that would be kept simple and only had a small number of shots. This had therefore taken up about 10 minutes of our filming time and had been done in a hurry which had made it not well pre-meditated, but that however managed to be turned into a really good piece of practical film work so it all worked out.
However, it was a really major setback for the group.
Next was the matter of organising the props and the setting where our scene was going to be shot, the props were all thought of at the end of the time of planning the storyboard and shots, which was good because we would be more likely to remember them for the actual day. However, that theory turned out to be incorrect and they, the two actors in our group had completely forgot to bring the costumes we had planned to carry which had therefore made our scene less mysterious and noir-like as we wanted to make it. Gladly, the outcome did not look so bad as the clothes they were wearing turned out to be not so inappropriate for the scene so that was a relief for us.
However, with the group's not so efficient organisational skills, the scene did not luckily require props, or we would be in some real trouble...
Finally was the setting, the setting that the scene was shot in was an appropriate place to shoot, but at the same time, not the smartest choice of setting as the room we filmed in was in the Music Department which had therefore meant we would be expecting some really heavy noise coming from the other rooms. Luckily, we did not get much of that, but children going up and down the staircases screaming and shouting was quite the 'spanner in the works' for us. So every time we had to wait until there were no more screaming children running past.
PRODUCTION
Thursday 4 October 2012
SE7EN ESSAY
This essay is an analysis of the crime thriller film 'Seven' and how it is classified as an original thriller movie by looking at it's key factors.
First of all, a thriller movie is not a actually a thriller without an thrills at all. No tension or suspense whatsoever.
Now 'Se7en' portrays itself as a thriller film is that it has a very mysterious theme to it.
This is evident as there's mystery and investigation in the film which cleverly links to the factual 'Seven Deadly Sins' which is a biblical reference.
That had been important to the story as the antagonist justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Like the sin of 'Gluttony' coming first in the film,which introduces the theme of the seven deadly sins, and the antagonist's horrid capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and bleak tones and characteristics of film noir.
Also,there's a highly strategic and psychological antagonist who commits a string of horrific and graphic murders all linked to different factors of the 7 deadly sins as whole. Also, later on in the film, the villain intentionally gives himself into the police and allowed himself to get caught after all of the 6 sins were committed however, the last of the deadly sins was 'Wrath' and the antagonist had geniusly premeditated this form the very beginning, as he pushes detective Mills over the edge as he learns that his wife was savagely beheaded by the antagonist. Dt Mills is tempted to shoot him, and by shooting him, Mills becomes 'Wrath'.
There's a very bleak and dark outlook on the city judging from the series of unfortunate events that happen there in the storyline.
This is evident as shown throughout the movie, there is NO high-key lighting in any of the scenes at all. But instead, they decreased the amount of lighting whether it was in a highly-lit cafe or a house.
This was effective for creating this strong old-fashioned Noir feel. Furthermore, the use of the really dark weather reinforces the idea of the city not being a very nice place to be and nothing but but a place of ruthless killings and constant crimes.
NARRATIVE The film is runs in a linear narrative as it shows day-by-day how much the case gradually progresses, although there are flashbacks of crime scenes but still does not alter the way in which the storyline is being told. However,if the movie was to run in a non-linear narrative, the storyline and the ways it is told would be absolutely puzzling.
The film does feature some visual codes such as the entire setting, the city, which is a dark and bleak place where murders always happen, political problems are out of control and it is always a cloudy and rainy day. This works as a foreshadowing that the investigation with our two protagonists, Detective Mills and Sommerset, will go deeper and deeper and that more blood will be shed.
Also, there is that shot of the photo frame of detective Mills' wife with blood on around her eyes, which then foreshadows that she will get caught up in some unfortunate event later on in the story or that death would soon be coming her way.
Throughout the the film, there is very restricted narrative, however,as the story progresses, the viewers start to also get an insight into both of the two protagonists rather than just one of them as they play a vital part in the noir-styled storyline. This is evident as it was all viewed from the two detectives, Detective Sommerset & Detective Mills, our two protagonists' perspective, and showed how this homicidal killer had both affected them personally.
CHARACTERS
The two protagonists in "Seven" are original protagonists of an average thriller movie, first we have detective Mills,a rookie who is married, but however has no children, which implies that he is not much of a family man, or that he From the very start of the film, we learn that he is a rather suspicious and paranoid character at first, judging from the way he swiftly grabs and answers the phone as soon as it rings before is wife does. This then suggested that he played some part in police unit or relative to that. As the story goes along, we start to see this lack of seriousness and concentration as he investigates the first crime,'Gluttony'. As the story progresses even further, we start to see this short-tempered character which plays a significant role at the end as he is tested to see how much he would actually do when pushed to being in absolute rage. From beginning to end, we gradually learn more and more about his character.
On the other hand, Detective Sommerset is first introduced in the film and our first impressions is that he was as an average working-class man.
This was evident from the clothing he puts on and that he has set an alarm, for a certain time that then implies to the audience that he does have a job, and a formal one, judging from the long coat.formal shirt,slacks and tie.
The way the movie allows the audience to make first impressions of a character is throught that very first scene where they get ready to go out.
This was an effective component within the movie as first we would not guess that he had anything to do with an investigation of a crime or even crime-related, until in the next scene, it cuts to him entering an investigation of a murder in what seems to be a flat. However, his countenance is calm and tired but annoyed, telling from his really calm face, this implies to the audience that he may have had years and years of experience in criminology or even that he has witnessed so many crimes that it is the usual for him.
Detective Sommerset is the most persistent and determined out of the two protagonists although he does not often show this with enthusiasm we the audience would expect, also, he does become desperate to solve the crime once and for all, but shows that he is in a way eager to solve the mystery.
This is evident in the film where at some parts of the story, there would be shots of him investigating and doing some in-depth analysis in books and independent study of the '7 Deadly Sins' after he finds out that the killer is associating all his murders with them.`
In the story, `Sommerset' almost immediately understands how the villain thinks and he plays a seriously vital part as he educates both himself and the audience about how the villain works psychologically.
MISE EN SCENE
Mise en Scene, through Production Design, is used to create a bleak,small and restricted setting.
This is
First of all, a thriller movie is not a actually a thriller without an thrills at all. No tension or suspense whatsoever.
What does make a film a thriller ,like 'Se7en', is that there is always this really exciting build of suspense and tension throughout, whether it's just in a conversation between the characters or the protagonist entering and roaming around in an abandoned warehouse, there is always going to be some level of tension in the atmosphere.
Also, in movies that is in the thriller genre, there's majorly this storyline where the protagonist of the story encounters various types of sinister, mysterious and dangerous situations. Although, it often ends up being very risky as the protagonist tends to often always run into the antagonist's traps in one or several parts of the story, like an explosive or a trap door, or even some action leading to the death of certain characters that they may be with. This leads me to my next point, there are two types of antagonists in thrillers:
- A strategic, psychological mastermind who's identity is often found out at the very end and turns out to be someone who has a strong hatred or envy for the protagonist as in 'Se7en'. Also, this sinister villain would purposely leave clues behind for the main characters to gather in order to finally confront the villain.
- A huge deadly brute or a blood-thirsty killer that leaves nothing but the severed body parts and gore of random victims as clues but are not usually intentional.However,normally in some dark thrillers, each horrific murder acts as a subliminal message or a message or map encrypted onto the victims' bodies.
Antagonists like these often create really tense atmospheres as they can be lethal and stealthy, usually the one that causes a death of one or more of the main characters in the story.
Furthermore,these types of antagonists are often not afraid to compromise their identity and is one who is most likely to have a final encounter with the our main character or protagonists.Also, what makes a good thriller movie is that it has to have a genius premeditated storyline that engages the audience and that also puzzles them, featuring red herrings and cheap suprises progressively as the viewers are visually captivated in a tense storyline.
The characters have also got to be well thought of as each character may act as a representation of something, whether it's the setting or apart of a subliminal message that all comes together at the end.
Also, to make a thriller even more better, there's nothing better than that one creepy character that appears and disappears out of nowhere, because then the audience has that one character to suspect and this draws the audience in more into the storyline, keeping an eye on this rather mysterious character. Furthermore, as the story progresses, the viewers raise more and more suspicion for this one character before later finding out that he had no major part in any of the antagonist's actions or even the story itself.
- A huge deadly brute or a blood-thirsty killer that leaves nothing but the severed body parts and gore of random victims as clues but are not usually intentional.However,normally in some dark thrillers, each horrific murder acts as a subliminal message or a message or map encrypted onto the victims' bodies.
Antagonists like these often create really tense atmospheres as they can be lethal and stealthy, usually the one that causes a death of one or more of the main characters in the story.
Furthermore,these types of antagonists are often not afraid to compromise their identity and is one who is most likely to have a final encounter with the our main character or protagonists.Also, what makes a good thriller movie is that it has to have a genius premeditated storyline that engages the audience and that also puzzles them, featuring red herrings and cheap suprises progressively as the viewers are visually captivated in a tense storyline.
The characters have also got to be well thought of as each character may act as a representation of something, whether it's the setting or apart of a subliminal message that all comes together at the end.
Also, to make a thriller even more better, there's nothing better than that one creepy character that appears and disappears out of nowhere, because then the audience has that one character to suspect and this draws the audience in more into the storyline, keeping an eye on this rather mysterious character. Furthermore, as the story progresses, the viewers raise more and more suspicion for this one character before later finding out that he had no major part in any of the antagonist's actions or even the story itself.
Now 'Se7en' portrays itself as a thriller film is that it has a very mysterious theme to it.
This is evident as there's mystery and investigation in the film which cleverly links to the factual 'Seven Deadly Sins' which is a biblical reference.
That had been important to the story as the antagonist justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Like the sin of 'Gluttony' coming first in the film,which introduces the theme of the seven deadly sins, and the antagonist's horrid capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and bleak tones and characteristics of film noir.
Also,there's a highly strategic and psychological antagonist who commits a string of horrific and graphic murders all linked to different factors of the 7 deadly sins as whole. Also, later on in the film, the villain intentionally gives himself into the police and allowed himself to get caught after all of the 6 sins were committed however, the last of the deadly sins was 'Wrath' and the antagonist had geniusly premeditated this form the very beginning, as he pushes detective Mills over the edge as he learns that his wife was savagely beheaded by the antagonist. Dt Mills is tempted to shoot him, and by shooting him, Mills becomes 'Wrath'.
There's a very bleak and dark outlook on the city judging from the series of unfortunate events that happen there in the storyline.
This is evident as shown throughout the movie, there is NO high-key lighting in any of the scenes at all. But instead, they decreased the amount of lighting whether it was in a highly-lit cafe or a house.
This was effective for creating this strong old-fashioned Noir feel. Furthermore, the use of the really dark weather reinforces the idea of the city not being a very nice place to be and nothing but but a place of ruthless killings and constant crimes.
NARRATIVE The film is runs in a linear narrative as it shows day-by-day how much the case gradually progresses, although there are flashbacks of crime scenes but still does not alter the way in which the storyline is being told. However,if the movie was to run in a non-linear narrative, the storyline and the ways it is told would be absolutely puzzling.
The film does feature some visual codes such as the entire setting, the city, which is a dark and bleak place where murders always happen, political problems are out of control and it is always a cloudy and rainy day. This works as a foreshadowing that the investigation with our two protagonists, Detective Mills and Sommerset, will go deeper and deeper and that more blood will be shed.
Also, there is that shot of the photo frame of detective Mills' wife with blood on around her eyes, which then foreshadows that she will get caught up in some unfortunate event later on in the story or that death would soon be coming her way.
Throughout the the film, there is very restricted narrative, however,as the story progresses, the viewers start to also get an insight into both of the two protagonists rather than just one of them as they play a vital part in the noir-styled storyline. This is evident as it was all viewed from the two detectives, Detective Sommerset & Detective Mills, our two protagonists' perspective, and showed how this homicidal killer had both affected them personally.
CHARACTERS
The two protagonists in "Seven" are original protagonists of an average thriller movie, first we have detective Mills,a rookie who is married, but however has no children, which implies that he is not much of a family man, or that he From the very start of the film, we learn that he is a rather suspicious and paranoid character at first, judging from the way he swiftly grabs and answers the phone as soon as it rings before is wife does. This then suggested that he played some part in police unit or relative to that. As the story goes along, we start to see this lack of seriousness and concentration as he investigates the first crime,'Gluttony'. As the story progresses even further, we start to see this short-tempered character which plays a significant role at the end as he is tested to see how much he would actually do when pushed to being in absolute rage. From beginning to end, we gradually learn more and more about his character.
On the other hand, Detective Sommerset is first introduced in the film and our first impressions is that he was as an average working-class man.
This was evident from the clothing he puts on and that he has set an alarm, for a certain time that then implies to the audience that he does have a job, and a formal one, judging from the long coat.formal shirt,slacks and tie.
The way the movie allows the audience to make first impressions of a character is throught that very first scene where they get ready to go out.
This was an effective component within the movie as first we would not guess that he had anything to do with an investigation of a crime or even crime-related, until in the next scene, it cuts to him entering an investigation of a murder in what seems to be a flat. However, his countenance is calm and tired but annoyed, telling from his really calm face, this implies to the audience that he may have had years and years of experience in criminology or even that he has witnessed so many crimes that it is the usual for him.
Detective Sommerset is the most persistent and determined out of the two protagonists although he does not often show this with enthusiasm we the audience would expect, also, he does become desperate to solve the crime once and for all, but shows that he is in a way eager to solve the mystery.
This is evident in the film where at some parts of the story, there would be shots of him investigating and doing some in-depth analysis in books and independent study of the '7 Deadly Sins' after he finds out that the killer is associating all his murders with them.`
In the story, `Sommerset' almost immediately understands how the villain thinks and he plays a seriously vital part as he educates both himself and the audience about how the villain works psychologically.
MISE EN SCENE
Mise en Scene, through Production Design, is used to create a bleak,small and restricted setting.
This is
Wednesday 12 September 2012
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
Th is an anlaysis of the movie "Law Abiding Citizen"
From the very beginning of watching the cinematic trailer of Law Abiding Citizen", it immediately indicates to the viewer that they are watching an engaging and exhilarating action movie when it first starts the sequence with a violent break-in and a rather savage assault on the main character, this was significant to show this at the start as this then lads to a series of actions of revenge and a violent nature. Also, once you've seen that very beginning,the rest of the trailer increases in clarity in terms of what the storyline is about, so that all of the explosions and violence that's featured in the trailer is in fact for a reason instead of just mindless mayhem caused by the main character which presented in the film trailer.
What also shows indication of he movie being an action blockbuster is that there are several shots and scenes of explosions,people shooting and other scenes of violence that is just out of the ordinary,this is effective as it captivates the viewer into watching the entire trailer and gives clarity as to what type of movie is being shown to them.
The trailer's cinematic music which is also featured in this trailer, is a key tool to really presenting a real sense of suspense to the viewer. Furthermore, as the trailer progressed, the music gradually becomes more louder and there is a significant shift in tone which then creates this foreshadowing of a series of violent events that are yet to happen. Also, the use of this shift pf tone creates utter tension and provokes tension to the viewer.
The target market for this film is for people predominantly love entertaining and action-packed movies, this is evident as the trailer features a collection of scenes that show violence and action therefore making the movie trailer truly appealing to the target audience.Also, the way the trailer soundtrack provokes effective amounts tension and creates suspense as it slowly builds up in volume immediately attracts the target audience as the viewers may be curious as to what the movie is about and what is yet to come in the trailer. Also,the use of the build in the cinematic music provokes curiosity to the viewer as to what will happen next.
Now viewers who are more likely to be having all of these reactions are the right suitable target audience for this movie trailer and it's all about how the trailer attracts the target audience and what makes them so engaged in wanting to see the trailer.
The key characters are shown from the very beginning of the cinematic movie trailer where it introduces the main characters of the movie and from showing them at the beginning show that they have some significance in the film and in the trailer. Also, it shows that they play a vital part in the movie's storyline by the way they're first presented. So the main character in the movie is firstly presented at the very beginning as a simple average suburban man with a wife and young daughter,that is until two burglars burst into his house and assault him,at this point, he is portrayed as weak and helpless. However, as the trailer progresses we start to see a rather contrasting concept about his character as the trailer then shows several scenes of unfortunate events that negatively affects the main character as he fights to gain everything he's lost. There's one particular part of the trailer as he glares at his daughter's bracelet and as he stares into the camera, there is this sense of realization that he knows what he has to do, and from this point,the whole entire idea of the main character being this average vulnerable man has now disappeared and is now turned into this assassin-like figure who thrives on revenge and fights against the authorities, and at this point, the main character is now presented as a convict, a villain who is absolutely driven on revenge and anger.
Overall,what this trailer does is that it gradually changes the viewer's perspective on the character according to the trailer's different presentations of the main character. In other words, the main character has been portrayed as being turned into this villainous character who is no longer the same character from the very beginning of the trailer.
This film trailer and the blockbuster movie itself was made by the two main film companies and institutions "Overture Films" and The Film Department".
Both film institutions both specialize in certain areas of film. Furthermore, Overture Films was established in 2006 and specializes in multiple areas of film such as romance and comedy-dramas, an example of one the films created by them was "Sunshine Cleaning which was a comedy-drama created mainly by this film institution.
What also shows indication of he movie being an action blockbuster is that there are several shots and scenes of explosions,people shooting and other scenes of violence that is just out of the ordinary,this is effective as it captivates the viewer into watching the entire trailer and gives clarity as to what type of movie is being shown to them.
The trailer's cinematic music which is also featured in this trailer, is a key tool to really presenting a real sense of suspense to the viewer. Furthermore, as the trailer progressed, the music gradually becomes more louder and there is a significant shift in tone which then creates this foreshadowing of a series of violent events that are yet to happen. Also, the use of this shift pf tone creates utter tension and provokes tension to the viewer.
The target market for this film is for people predominantly love entertaining and action-packed movies, this is evident as the trailer features a collection of scenes that show violence and action therefore making the movie trailer truly appealing to the target audience.Also, the way the trailer soundtrack provokes effective amounts tension and creates suspense as it slowly builds up in volume immediately attracts the target audience as the viewers may be curious as to what the movie is about and what is yet to come in the trailer. Also,the use of the build in the cinematic music provokes curiosity to the viewer as to what will happen next.
Now viewers who are more likely to be having all of these reactions are the right suitable target audience for this movie trailer and it's all about how the trailer attracts the target audience and what makes them so engaged in wanting to see the trailer.
The key characters are shown from the very beginning of the cinematic movie trailer where it introduces the main characters of the movie and from showing them at the beginning show that they have some significance in the film and in the trailer. Also, it shows that they play a vital part in the movie's storyline by the way they're first presented. So the main character in the movie is firstly presented at the very beginning as a simple average suburban man with a wife and young daughter,that is until two burglars burst into his house and assault him,at this point, he is portrayed as weak and helpless. However, as the trailer progresses we start to see a rather contrasting concept about his character as the trailer then shows several scenes of unfortunate events that negatively affects the main character as he fights to gain everything he's lost. There's one particular part of the trailer as he glares at his daughter's bracelet and as he stares into the camera, there is this sense of realization that he knows what he has to do, and from this point,the whole entire idea of the main character being this average vulnerable man has now disappeared and is now turned into this assassin-like figure who thrives on revenge and fights against the authorities, and at this point, the main character is now presented as a convict, a villain who is absolutely driven on revenge and anger.
Overall,what this trailer does is that it gradually changes the viewer's perspective on the character according to the trailer's different presentations of the main character. In other words, the main character has been portrayed as being turned into this villainous character who is no longer the same character from the very beginning of the trailer.
This film trailer and the blockbuster movie itself was made by the two main film companies and institutions "Overture Films" and The Film Department".
Both film institutions both specialize in certain areas of film. Furthermore, Overture Films was established in 2006 and specializes in multiple areas of film such as romance and comedy-dramas, an example of one the films created by them was "Sunshine Cleaning which was a comedy-drama created mainly by this film institution.
Friday 24 August 2012
A short introduction to an in-depth analysis
The whole aim of this particular blog is to show an in-depth media analysis of a programme or film of my choice, so therefore I have chosen to do an analysis on the 2012 blockbuster movie "The Avengers".
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