Mise-en-scene

L/O: to explore the use of mise-en-scene in films

I think that this character is lazy as their room is a mess. They are most likely into music as they have 2 guitars on the wall and music posters on the wall as well.

Settings and props

1. I would expect a space setting with high tech props that don't make sense in our normal world.

2. In a romantic comedy I would expect everyday objects and a nice bright setting.

3. I would expect a dark setting with everyday objects OR high tech objects depending on what type of Horror film it is.

Costume, Hair & Make Up

Based on his attire, Indiana Jones without knowing who he is looks like an explorer

Whoever the second one is, she looks like a normal teenage girl

Arthur Fleck looks like he is from a disadvantaged background based on his hand me down clothes.

Facial Expressions & Body Language

The first image their expressions are dull

In the second image their posture is high and they have serious expressions on their faces which indicates that they have power in this situation.

Lighting and Colour

The lighting and colour in this scene is low key which indicates the scene isn't positive. The light only shines on the characters faces.

Positioning of people/objects

In the first image the characters are apart on the same sofa which indicates that they are not currently getting along, possibly an arguing couple.

The men in the second image a positioned together which indicates that they are partners in a team.

TASK: Explain in detail what information the MES in the following scene tells us

The setting is a posh place which indicates that the middle character is being held prisoner and is being delivered to someone important. The two men holding the middle man are wearing a uniform which indicates that they are guards, the middle character is wearing a pirate hat and slashed up clothes which shows that he is a pirate. (Yes I know who Jack Sparrow is I'm just analysing this like I don't know who he is or it's cheating). The props are posh which further indicates the setting. The guards have a more serious expression where as the pirate has a less serious expression shows that the pirate does not care. The pirate is positioned in the centre of the scene which means that he is the one to focus on. 

Sound in Films

L/O: to explore the use of sound in film

Music

1. Music in a horror film would be low pitched and slow

2. Music in an action film would be fast

3. Music in a thriller would be fast and jumpy

4. Music in a comedy would sound joyful

5. Music in a science-fiction film would sound epic

Diegetic V Non-Diegetic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXbFP2V_zSA

Almost all of the sounds in this scene are diegetic

The action

Weapons

The music

Dialogue

Characters

Foley

All of the sounds in "The Present" would have been recorded for the animation

Choose a scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXbFP2V_zSA

The music in the scene is "Come a little bit closer"

The music makes the scene have a happier tone than it actually does while Yondu, Rocket and Baby Groot murder most of the crew.

The music doesn't change but gets quieter when characters speak

The music doesn't change

You can kind of tell what is happening based on dialogue and sound effects

No moments of silence

The characters speak, they sound like their actors 

I don't know about my own voiceover

Some sounds like gunshots and Yondu's whistling seem louder than real life. This is probably so they can illustrate the noise of the scene better.

Setting & Colour

L/O: To explore the use of setting and colour in films

Setting

Why might a director choose the following settings?

1. A rural house may be chosen for a horror film to create a feeling of isolation from society
2. A big city to create a sense of scale in an action film
3. A small seaside town makes it so you focus on the characters rather than the setting in a romantic comedy
4. A range of countries for an action adventure allows for the "adventure" part of the film
5. A large modern science lab for a science fiction film allows for many cool concepts from a "x technology is being developed/almost done" perspective.

Colour

Why might a director choose the following colours?

1. Blue and red for a new superhero costume because of heroes like Superman, it immediately grabs the audiences attention towards a hero.

2. A black suit may give the connotation that that character is a corporate baddy.

3. Bright colours for a comedy to represent the tone of the film

Questions about the film

The action takes place across different worlds and spaceships

The story is set in these different places to show that the story is set in space and not just on Earth

The setting changes a lot because for most of the film the characters are split up

On Ego's planet, the Guardians seem to feel uncomfortable. On the ravager ship, Rocket constantly makes jokes while he is held prisoner where as Yondu is a lot more serious.

Visuals and dialogue help to show where the story is taking place

The same story could not have happened in a different place as the setting is so integral to the plot

You can't really tell when the story is taking place from the setting alone

There are flashbacks which implies the story is set now

Bright colours are used on Ego's planet to disguise the dark truth behind it

N/A

The colours are important to create subconscious feelings during the film

The film would have been less interesting in black and white

Get Creative

I would probably set it in a high tech laboratory with boring colours to represent the tone of the film being serious.

Camerawork

L/O: to explore the use of camerawork in film

STARTER: Can you work out the film from the close up from the poster?

1. Joker
2. 1917
3. Sonic the Hedgehog
4. Avengers: Endgame
5. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

CAMERAWORK

Medium Close Up

Extreme Close Up


Close Up

Mid Shot

Long Shot

Establishing Shot

Aerial Shot

Low Angle Shot

High Angle Shot

Canted Angle Shot

Point of View Shot

Over the Shoulder Shot

SCENE INSPECTION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsyHgOgpTjA

Ego breaks the walkman

Peter comes to his senses

Ego turns into David Hasselhoff

You see close ups of both Ego and Peter in this scene when Peter is imprisoned by Ego. They share close ups and then Ego breaks the walkmen.

We see the story through Peter's eyes as it unravels before us where as Ego knows this information.

The camera's constantly switch between Ego and Peter in this scene.

When Ego breaks the walkman to camera doesn't cut to Peter's face but quickly moves to face him.

The camera helps to show us the struggle that builds as the scene progresses.

The first shots of this scene switch between showing Peter and Ego as they speak to establish that this is a two man scene.

Certain shots follow each other so the camera's make the scene naturally progress. For example, 2 over the shoulder shots are followed by a side shot of the characters.

A wide shot during the quote "we are beyond such things" helps to reinforce Ego's grandeur.

The shots tend to change whenever each character starts speaking. They change a bit more frequently as the tension builds.

Get Creative

As the man walks into the bar I would use a low angle to show that the bar is dark. As the people look at him I would use close ups of each of them followed by a wide shot of them all staring at him. As the barman stares I would use a mid shot. Then as the man asks the question I would use a wide shot showing them both. That would be followed by a close up when the man says that Tony isn't available. The last shot would be a close up of the man's fist. This is to create an effect of anger in the man as you see only his fist which implies violence.

Practical Number #1

L/O: to apply narrative theory to our own ideas

Task 1

Equilibrium
A man is in his house, chilling out.

Disruption
The man gets robbed in his home, the robbers steal a valuable possession

Recognition of Disruption
The man figures out where the robbers are.

Attempt to solve disruption
He confronts the robbers, he fights them and grabs his valuable possession.

New Equilibrium
He has his stuff back and the robbers are put in jail.

(I know this is terrible but I am creatively stifled)
Made with Storyboard That

Character

L/O: To explore the use of characterisation in a film

Case Study: Characters

Main character actors: Chris Pratt, Kurt Russell

Protagonist Outline: Name - Peter Quill, Age - 34, Personality - he's hot headed and doesn't always make the right decisions, Job - he gets hired for various jobs throughout the Galaxy

Antagonist Outline: Name - Ego, Age - Millions of years old, Personality - Manipulative and egotistical, Job - His goal is to make the entire galaxy him.

Characters

The main characters are Peter, Gamora, Groot, Drax and Rocket.

The story is mainly about Peter coming to terms with his heritage.

No one is really "telling" the story.

The main characters are of varying species and backgrounds.

The main characters are mostly comedic with the exception of Gamora.

They behave in a way that allows them to make fun of other characters in the story.

There are particular motifs for the group and individual characters.

Rocket interests me the most as he is the most detached from everything but deep down just wants people to care about him.

The story would be extremely different if Peter was taken away as he is integral to the story as it is about his Dad. It would probably have just been a typical kill the bad guy story.

Character Theory: Propp

Vladimir Propp stated that within any narrative, there would appear the following 8 broad character types: 

• The Hero
• The Villain
• The Donor
• The Helper
• The Princess
• The Dispatcher
• The Father
• The False Hero

The Hero - Generally leads the narrative; has a quest or has to solve something; wants to succeed; can be any gender.

The Villain - Struggles against the hero; seen as morally bad; attempts to stop the hero from achieving goal.

The Donor - Gives the hero something special (Power/Weapon/Wisdom etc); enables hero to complete the quest.

The Helper - Supports hero (sidekick); appears at critical moments; their limitations help define the hero.

The Princess - Can take two forms; the object sought by the hero or the reward/

The Dispatcher - Sends hero on the mission (can be combined with another role)

The Princess' Father - Gives task to the hero; authority figure; protective over princess (doesn't have to be her biological father)

The False Hero - Appears to act heroically and often mistaken for the real hero; gets credit for the work; gains respect from the father.

Propps Theory: Applied to your film

The Hero - Peter Quill, he wants to find his place in the universe and believes that it's with his father.

The Villain - Ego, he wants to use Peter to conquer the universe as Peter is part celestial

The Donor - Ego, teaches Peter the power that is eventually used to defeat him

The Helper - Gamora, supports Peter in his quest to find a family.

The Princess - Ego/Yondu, they have the familial bonds that Peter wants

The Dispatcher - Gamora, convinces Peter to go with Ego to his planet because he might be Peter's father.

The Princess' Father - N/A

The False Hero - N/A

Narrative

Tuesday 14th April 2020L/O: to explore the narrative structure of a film

STARTER: Can you work out the anagrams from these Disney films

1. Gal Dent = Tangled

2. Hatted Millimetre = The Little Mermaid

3. A Babysat Tuned Thee = Beauty and The Beast

4. A Nacho Pots = Pocahontos

5. Whites Won Handstands Fever We = Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

6. Cleared Nil = Cinderella

7. Aid Land = Aladdin

8. An Tzar = Tarzan

9. A Bench Deck To The Fun Oh Mr A = The Hunchback of Notre Dame

10. Legion Think = The Lion King

Case Study Research

Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Director: James Gunn

Writer: James Gunn

Producer: Kevin Feige

Production Company: Marvel Studios

Distribution Company: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Date Released: May 28th 2017 (UK)

Genre:Superhero

Main Actors: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Baustista, Vin Diesel (Voice), Bradley Cooper (Voice), Karen Gillan, Kurt Russell

NARRATIVE

At the beginning of the story the Guardians have been hired to protect some batteries from an evil space monster (I can't be asked to find the name), In the middle of the story Peter's Dad shows up, tells him he has superpowers and whisks him away to his own planet. At the end of the story we find out Peter's Dad is evil and the Guardians kill him.

The most important things that happen are Ego (Peter's Dad) showing up, The Guardians killing Ego and Yondu (Peter's Father Figue) dying in the climax of the film.

If events happened in a different order the story probably wouldn't work.

The film tells us the names of the different locations using text on the screen.

The story is about the Guardians of the Galaxy, it also heavily features themes of family and loss.

The story happens over the course of a few days in the year 2014.

Before the story began, the Guardians were probably doing what they were doing in the beginning of the film. Regular jobs for them.

I think after it ends they return to some form of normality for them.

The story doesn't remind me of any other stories off the top of my head.

It continued a few years later in Avengers: Infinity War.

NARRATIVE THEORY: TODOROV

A film's narrative is the story of the film and is broken down into five stages by theorist Tzetan Todorov:
Equilibrium: Everything in the film world is normal (Not necessarily good, but it's normal)
Disruption: Something happens (usually caused by the film's main antagonist) to disrupt normal life
Recognition of Disruption: The protagonist/s realise that something is wrong in their world or discover the disruption

Attempt to solve: The main protagonist goes on a journer to the solve the disruption.
New Equilibrium: The disruption is solved and a new normality occurs (things can never be the same as they were before the disruption, but a new 'normal life' is created)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 in Todorov's structure

Equilibrium: The Guardians are out on a normal job goofing around. They finish and receive Nebula as a reward. They leave to head Xandar to turn in Nebula's bounty.

Disruption: Rocket stole some batteries and they are chased down by the people who hired them. The ship is heavily damaged but they are saved by Ego. 

Recognition of Disruption: They crash onto the planet and meet Ego who claims he is Peter's father. They also meet his servant Mantis. After much disagreement, Peter, Drax and Gamora go with Ego while Rocket and Groot stay with Nebula and the ship. When they get to Ego's planet they slowly unravel the fact that Ego wants to use Peter's newfound power to destroy the galaxy. Peter snaps and wants to kill Ego after he mentions that he killed Peter's mother.

Attempt to solve the disruption: Groot, Rocket and Yondu were captured but escaped and headed to Ego's planet. They all get together and kill Ego. Yondu dies to save Peter from the collapsing planet.

New Equilibrium: They have a funeral for Yondu. The Guardians watch as fireworks are set off in commemoration of him. Gamora and Peter become partners. Mantis joins the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of the movie.