Genre, Style & Theme grid

1.5.1 exam prep

Themes: what the characters are doing and why they are doing it - the characters are not real people they are fictional 

Characters come from writers - they create a back story 

Characters symbolise things - they are a function they serve a purpose 

Dystopia: set in the future (bleak near future) - it gives you a warning message 

V for vendetta is warning you about the government 

Totalitarianism: dictatorship of the government 1 person in control of every aspect of your life - extremist 

- benefit: strength 

Revolution: the replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed (the public) 

Conspiracy theories: a belief of a person/group of people that is circulated on the Internet that believes the government theory is not true 

- lost trust in the government 

Democracy: good because it lets everybody have their own say - someone who represents us 

- can be used in a way to make you think that you have control but really you don't 

Fascism: nationalism drives fascism 

- when every aspect of life is working toward the same thing

Cinematography Clip Analysis Notes:

Goodfellas Analysis:

- Panning motion following the every movement of the main character

- It shows importance

- Following the man and woman / the man is the leader

- Point of view shot

- They go through the back entrance, having their own table brought to them and sat right at the front / shows that they are more important and better than anyone else

- As walking through everyone moves out of the way and kind of admires them in a way / Everyone knows who they are

- The man is more dominant

- Blocking

- Tracking

- Long take expressing realism

Saving Private Ryan Analysis:

- Shaking hand / extreme close up / panning to face / connects you with the character / next clip he still always stays in the center

- Close up shots to show the expression in the soldiers faces

- Frame rate slows down / creates a connection / makes you think / muted sound / makes you focus on whats happening instead of you getting distracted by noise

- When the characters are shot you loose sensation in the shot; it is weakened 

- Long shot to Close up

- Sea is red from the blood which is symbolic

- Connects with the character again from the front / no sound = more connection

- Shaky camera / expresses the point of view of the soldiers as you cant see or think straight

- Low angled shots / powerful / shot = loosing power / dramatic shot

- point of view / immediacy "in the scene"

- flashback / slows the shot down

Inglorious Bastards Analysis:

- Characters are sitting opposite each other showing conflict

- Close up of gun = symbolic as it is about man power pointing the gun towards the mans privates (phallic imagery)

- Dominant gestures from moving in 

- Importance / nobody in the background

- Extreme close up to show determination and tension when it is raised in the situation

- Shallow focus showing how the man isn't taking focus on him but he is still in control

- Both have guns / both now equal 

- Secrecy

Gone With The Wind Analysis:

- Tracking following the main character / medium shot / shallow focus

- Close up / emotional conflict

- Tracking / pan out into extreme long shot / still in focus on the bodies

- Shows lady is insignificant compared to the surroundings

- Medium long shot / flag / deep focus / tracking / adds to the narrative

- Lady stays central

- Blocking

- Extreme shallow focus 

Batman Analysis:

- Close ups

- Intensity

- Only seen when he wants to be seen

- Mysterious

- Batman hides in the shadows

- Point of view / motion blur

Cinematography:

Cinematography: The way it is shot; the relationship between the camera lens, the focal length, light source, and camera positions.

Definitions:

(Camera Lens)
- Deep Focus: depth of field applied to the area in focus within the frame.
- Shallow Focus: narrow depth of field - 1 thing in focus with the rest (background) out of focus.
- Racking Focus: to change the focus of the lens to the subject in the background to the foreground
- Zoom Shot: the change of focal length of the lens in the middle of a shot

(Film Speed)
- Rate: the standard rate for a film is 24 frames per second if you add more to the second the film will slow down if you add less frames to the second it will speed up.
- Angle Of Framing: filming from different angles is a way to show the relationship between the cameras view point and the subject of the frame.
- Level Of Framing: refers to the height at which the camera is positioned in point of view.
- Canted Framing: where the camera is not level but tilted.
- Following Shot/Re-frame: a following shot that shows pans, tilts and tracking. 
- Point Of View Shot: this shot places the camera where the viewer would imagine a characters gaze to be.
- Wide Angle Lens: distorts the edges of a frame to emphasise the amount of space in a shot.

(Shot Type or SCALE)
- Extreme Long Shot: when the scale of what is being seen is tiny.
- Long Shot: when the scale of what is being seen is small. (head to toe)
- Medium Long Shot: when what is being seen is being viewed takes up almost the entire height of the screen.
- Medium Close up: when what is being viewed is large and takes up most of the screen.
- Close up: when what is being seen is quite large and takes up the entire screen. (head to shoulders)
- Extreme Close Up: when what is being viewed is very large. (just the face eg eyes)
- Crane Shot: is achieved by mounting a camera on some type of crane.
- Steady Cam Shot: a harness that supports the camera on a persons body.
- Pan: camera movement following the action left to right.
- Tilt: a vertical pan where the camera moves up and down.
- Tracking Shot: follows action through space in a variety of directions.
- Whip Pan: same as normal pan but involves quicker movement.
  

Thursday 11th September 2014: Notes

White Balance: Blue & Yellow
Exposure: Light & Dark
Focus: Clear & Blurry

The usual suspects opening scene:

Enigma Codes:
- Who is the killer?
- Why is there a possible dead man on the floor?

Character Types:
- Bad guy 
- Person who got burnt/killed
- Both characters know each-other
- Villains 

Sub-Genre:
- Crime Thriller: ends in a police station & its located in an isolated place.

Camera:
Mystery: 
- obscures the face of the killer
- panned shot/tight shot not allowing the viewer to see the whole location
- the surrounding

How is the camera being used to create suspense and mystery?
- The exposure is very dark apart from from when everything blew up the exposure went very bright this creates mystery as you don't know fully what is going to happen in dull/dark situations.
- Different camera angles also add to the suspense and mystery.

Using a camera:

7 most common mistakes people make when filming:

- Back Lighting (not necessarily true all the time when it comes to thriller films)
- Head hunting (only head visible)
- Upstanding ( extreme up high angles)
- Jogging (shaky camera)
- Motor zooming (zooming when filming) No Zooming!
- Snap Shooting 
- Fire hosting/sweeping the scene (Jumpy camera movement)

V For Vendetta Trailer: Mise en Scene

V for Vendetta: 
- Looks like an independent Film
- Is an intelligent Hollywood film

Lighting:
- The lighting throughout was very dull and dark, hardly any bright light.

Performance:

Framing:
- The framing was very central the whole way through, it can be seen as everything revolves around them (the characters) and that they are free.

Props:
- Red Lipstick
- TV
- Knife 
- Mask

Setting & Decor:
- Set in the future.
- Also set in London, we know this from the British News being played on the TV in the background.

Colour:
- Again like the lighting the colours are all very dull and dim; no variety or brightness to colour.

Costume:
- News Reporter: 
Smartly Dressed
Very intelligent 
The type of person you should listen too
- Man In Mask:
He is hiding his identity by wearing a long black robe & Guy Fawkes mask.
Possibly a terrorist
Has a knife
Possibly fighting for a cause - fighting for freedom
- Woman
Dressed very smart and classy
Well off - has quite a bit of money
A potential hooker 
- Possible link between the man in mask and the woman as they are both wearing black; the black could have a meaning and symbolize something.