The Untouchables Analysis

How is editing used to build suspense in the scene?

Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. The use of editing is used in this scene to help to achieve a notion of suspense. The use of long shots helps to create a certain tension to the audience as the long shots help to determine the characters emotions as well as the surroundings and other characters involved. The use of pauses and focus also keeps the audience guessing to what’s happening in the shot, this use of editing is key in creating the right amount of suspense, and to maintain the director/editors have to keep the focus on the main protagonists as they would want to wonder what is going to happen next, creating a sense of mystery. Cuts to point of view shots also help to create a sense of suspense as the audience catch the characters gaze, and they want to look where he is looking, in this case at the baby and it’s Mother. Fast cutting is used to achieve a fast paced momentum of the scene keeping the attention of the audience focused on what is occurring. The fast cutting to the gun action time helps to gain the audience an insight into the other characters, and their props, in this case their weapons being guns, which has death connotations involved. The use of cross cutting makes the audience uneasy as they can see what’s about to happen to the main protagonists, but the main protagonist cant, which may make them feel worried or somewhat nervous for him. Cut shots are used to make the transition of the scene much quicker and easier, which adds to the effect of the action packed scene, and it helps to keep audiences on edge of their seat.

How is time 'expanded' through the use of editing as the pram falls down the steps?

Time is expanded through the use of editing, as cross cutting is used in this case to maintain a level of action, and expanded the time in which it takes for the pram to be caught by someone. This adds to the mystery, and keeps the audience eon the edge of the seats, as there is an emotional value to the scene, as it involves an innocent baby, and no member of the audience are likely to want it to get hurt, hence they keep watching to find out whether it will be saved. Slow motion shots, are used to focus on the overall shot, as well as keep audiences wondering whether the baby is going to be saved or not. Long pauses on specific shots in the scene are used in relation to editing. The effect of this is as it emphasises the impact of the weapons by focusing long gazes at the characters expressions, whether they be relived or uneasy. This focus also helps audiences determine whether the characters are villains or goodies.

GHD Textual Analysis

GHD Textual Analysis

Codes & Conventions of advertising: What techniques does the ad use to persuade the audience to purchase GHD straighteners?

Techniques such as showing a variety of different styles of the hair dos which one can create is one of the ways in which the audience are persuaded to purchase GHD straighter. All of the women are shown to be beautiful and as well as have different hair styles such as, curly, straight and flicked out. This helps to broaden the audience as it demonstrates the type of hairstyles which are one can create using the product, as well as it engages other audiences who may have different natural hair, like curly hair. Another technique used is the use of imperative language such as,”thou shalt”, this is a relation to the Holy Bible, in reference to the offence of The 10 Commandments as well as gripping the audience with the use of  effective imperative words such as “shalt”. Moreover the use of specific music helps to convey the emotional value to the GHD straighteners have, and how they can change one’s life, just by using it. The surroundings of the advert, shows a wealthy background which can persuade audiences to purchase it as they may assume with the use of the product, they may get wealthier perhaps. The advert is shown to very empowering to women as they are seen to be in control, instead of society being seen as a patriarchal based, it had developed into a woman’s world, hence persuading audiences (females mostly ) to purchase the product. The use of the voiceover with its echoing speech helps to create a bellowing effect of the audience, as the echoing emphasises the words “thou shalt not” more, which grabs the audience’s attention into thinking this may be something important.

Representation: How is gender represented in the ad?

In this advert, women are represented to be the dominating, even slightly more seducing than men are shown to be. The phrase “femme fatale” comes into mind in relation to this GHD advert, as all of the women are shown in a negative, sexual manner with the use of their scantily clad clothes, almost orgasmic expression, as well their overt positions. Women are represented as being seductresses who “steal their best friend’s man”, this negative impression of women may offend some feminists who are against this form of sexual nature in reference to women. The women in this advert are seen as powerful and in control, with the use of wealth and their intense sexuality getting them where they want in life. The use of men are shown to be weak, which gains the females interest more ,making them the primary audience, as it is empowering to women.

Media Institution: What issues of regulation and censorship does this ad raise and what does it tell us about the values of the channels on which it was broadcast?

Issues of regulation and censorship would have been summoned.  As it caused controversy as the advert is very offensive to devoted Catholics or Catholics in general. In terms of Christianity, the advert was banned due to its blasphemy and mockery in some people’s eyes, with the use of “thou shalt not” from the Holy Bible (10 Commandments)/Gospel. This would have caused many people alarm as it would have offended many people, as it takes the offence out of the Lords Bible. This gives audiences an insight that the channels values aren’t really strong, at the fact that they didn’t consider something as obviously offence as this, however they still broadcasted it on television.

Audience: On the basis of this ad, who does the GHD brand appeal to?

On the basis of this advert, the primary audience are obviously females, of a high soci- economic class B or above, who may vain /want to look good or their best, materialistic as well as superior in society perhaps. They may be busy women, and need something quick to work as a product on their hair, which can create a variety of hair dos in a matter of minutes as well.

New Moon Trailer (cover work)

What techniques does this trailer use to persuade an audience to see the film?

The techniques that this trailer, New Moon uses, consist of a variety of techniques which persuade the audience to see the film. Firstly it uses quick paced shots to create a fast paced notion of adventure and action, engaging the audiences to watch the film. It also uses fade out shots which help to stop and start a clip in the trailer, which creates suspense with the use of one of the characters voiceover being heard in the back ground. Another technique used in this trailer is the use of music, which helps to create a certain atmosphere and helps to gain momentum and increase the tempo in trailer which then engages the audience. The music is heard to build its pitch up, which adds to the tension and hype for the actual trailer. One other technique which is used well to persuade an audience, is at the ending of the trailer, a use of a small teaser clip, teases the audience and gives them an insight into what they will be excepting from this filmmaking them more likely for audiences to watch the film. The use of silence in the end of the trailer, when the title of the film is shown, connotes to the audience that this film is going to be very serious as well as somehow better than the first one. One other technique used to the actual text which is used in the trailer, such as “worldwide best seller” appeal to the audiences as audiences will recognise the books as well as the pervious film from the saga itself .Moreover, this being said it also broadens the target audience as people would want to watch something which has reliability as being successful. 

How is gender represented in this trailer?

In this trailer gender is represented as the key to making this film work well, and creates a strong story line. In this trailer the character, Edward is seen to be the love of Bella’s life, who then leaves her, which creates disaster in Bella’s world. She is represented as being the typical heartbroken women who sufferers and is tormented by images of her love of her life. The males in this trailer are seen to be the ones affecting the dilemmas or solutions in this film. The fact that there are two completely different contrasts of persona of the two main male protagonists makes the trailer seem more interesting. Mostly as Jacob is seen to be the bubbly, caring, loving friend and Edward is seen to be the intensely in love/heartbreaking love of Bella’s life. However the character Jacob is seen to be Bella’s knight in shining armour, as now that Edward has gone he attempts to fill the gap and plays a loving role towards Bella, which in result makes her stronger. The females in this trailer I seen to be the weak ones,who need a presence of a male to feel secure ,i.e. Bella and Jacobs new found relationship helps her to come out of her depression/screaming episodes. Also the fact that it is a woman,(Bella) speaking the voiceover, signifies her gender to be the one in a dilemma, adding to the representation of women being seen as the ones in need of help, typically.

What target audience would be attracted to this film?

The target audiences which are most likely to be attracted to this film, will be a range of 12+ /teenage girls mainly, however there will be some male teenagers ,age ranged from ,13+ .As the trailer consists a notion of romance and adventure ,this means that the target audience will include both male and females. The female target audience are attracted to the two main male protagonists who are Edward and Jacob. Most the teenage girls are likely to be attracted to this film because of them and their certain assets such as good looks etc. Women are also likely to relate to the romantic side of the film, as they could refer back to their own lives and think of their own partners and teenage girls can do this as well. The adventure side, with the involvement of werewolves etc, can appeal to males as they would like to see fight/action scenes as men are into action. Other women may also be attracted to the main protagonist, which is Bella as she can be seen to be a positive role model, as she may hold some form of empowerment for women and how to get their partners back in their lives, making their lives better. Older men can be seen one part of the target audience as they may want to better their own relationships and the romance aspects to the film may help them do this.

What Hollywood values can you identify in this trailer?

The Hollywood values which can be identified in this trailer could be vanity and idol worship, as mostly of the main protagonists are seen to be worship by the media and the audiences who watch their movies in an excessive way, which can’t be healthy. The fact that the main female(Kristen Stewart) is seen to be thin ,this could have a negative impact on the young female or teenage girl audiences as they may want to change that to look like her, which could result in eating disorders ,which may lead to severe diseases in the future.

                                                                                 

Trailer conventions (Slumdog Millionaire and Train Spotting)

 Which trailer conventions are present in these trailers?                                                   
 How are the trailer conventions used to promote the film to an audience?

The conventions that these trailers have presented are firstly through the use of it being fast paced/quick tempo which engages the audience attentions. Also these trailers use the notion of introducing the films name not at the beginning which helps to make the audience wonder the name off it, adding to its mystery.  The names of the main stars are put on screen early in both of the trailer. This is important as it lets audiences know who they can expect to see in the film. Audiences will often decide they want to see a film just because of the stars in it, so they try to include a whole variety of characters, hence broadening the audience of the film as the characters may include a variety of different ethnicities. The fact that there is question at the beginning of the trailer, gives the audience a choice and to make their own assumptions to choose whatever they want.

The trailers include key moments from the film which are not placed in the sequence of the film, and do not give away any crucial plot details, in the case of slum dog millionaire ,the audience are likely to wonder what is going to happen to the main protagonist, which makes the audience curious . The use of the director’s name being shown at the beginning of the slum dog millionaire adds reliability to the film being successes as the director is well known, hence increasing people wanting to watch it. Moreover the trailer of train spotting is humorous thus attracting the audience, to want to view the film.

The On-screen text gives important information about the film in the instance of slum dog, being the ‘winner of Toronto award’, this including the stars, director/producers, tag line, title and release date. The music adds to the tempo of the trailer, signifying that the film is likely to be fast paced. The music helps to bring all the elements of the trailer together. The use of shots is what makes both of the trailers work well, as in the trailer of train spotting use of cut shots is to portray the fast pace of the film. In slum dog millionaire the use of fade shots, makes the transition of the shots easier, as well making audiences question the characters persona. Also there is a use of point of view shot, which helps to gain the audience an insight to the characters perspective.

Which trailer do you think is more successful? Why?

I think that the trailer which is more successful is going to be Slumdog Millionaire because it consists of the main conventions which are effective in creating a successful film. Mostly because of the aspects of the conventions are more in depth than the other trailer, which hasn’t really got as much detail and power to grab the audience’s attention.

Bladerunner Analysis

The Film blade runner is in the iconography of the genre (hybrid) sci-fi/action.

The shot types involved in this scene of blade runner differ to create various notions of the film to be effective. The opening starts with a long shot to show the audience who is involved in the scene as well as where the scene is taking place, i.e. its surroundings. Then as the scene progresses the shot type alters into a close up to convey the emotion on the man’s face as well as the state of his face. Furthermore use of extreme close is used to show the audience the coldness in the other males eyes, which helps to engage and question the audience into what’s about to occur next.

The camera angles which are used differ from where the camera is facing at. Whenever the camera focuses on Harrison Ford, the camera angle is shown to be lower, connoting that he in comparison to the other man is less superior or not as powerful as him. Adding to this, the other male in this scene is shown to be in a high angle, therefore symbolising that thins man to be superior and much more powerful/stronger than the other. The camera movement is shown to be of a gathering consisting of panning mainly, to show audience the whole surroundings and who is involved. However the camera movement is mostly stable, with the use of transition of shots being swift, to represent the quick pace of the scene, the shots are cut shots, hereby making transitions fast.

The Mise-en-scene consists of all that is in the frame - this includes: colour, Lighting, costume, actors and their body language, props. In this scene the weather plays a factor in creating a dark/dim colour as well as a contrast to the characters. The rainy/dark weather is known as pathetic fallacy which helps to create a representation of death or some form of conflict about to occur. The lighting used is mainly low key lighting as well as shadowy/silhouette used on the actors. This connotes them to having a loss of identity as in shadows you can’t identify a persons face. Moreover the lighting relates to the scene as well as the characters to being involved in something dark or bad. However the lighting changes on the other man’s face, as a bright light is shone on his face later, this could symbolise him to be a “good one” and that he is innocent/Godlike. The costumes they are wearing, suggest to audiences to type of conflict they have been involved in. Harrison Ford is shown to be in black, connoting death/destruction .The other actor is shown to be in nothing but blue shorts, which could give insight into his character and that the fact it is raining and that’s all he is wearing, suggests he may be superhuman etc. 

Both of the body language is shown to be serious as well as violent. Harrison fords body language may alarm audiences as he keeps trying to escape from this man, hence audiences will automatically assume the other male is dangerous/villainous. The use of props helps to question the audience, as the other supposed “villain” is seen to be dangerous, however in one of the shots he is shown to have a white dove in his hand, which connotes purity and innocence. Also it may represent him and how he wants to break free from society.

The use of sound helps to achieve a certain atmosphere through the scene. The Diegetic sound is of the dialogue they are speaking as well, as the sounds of the rain patting down and running. The sound of broken breathing also connotes someone is in danger. The Non Diegetic sound is off the music in the scene. The music is heard to be very serious, also there is a clock to be heard clanging in the back ground, however the audience don’t see a clock. This could represent something off the other characters, suggesting maybe that one their time is up (death).

                    

Contemporary film trailer: The Runaways

 Runaways Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHpEJ749TRM

The techniques the trailer uses to persuade the audience to see the film, "The Runaways" is that the trailer is very fast paced, engaging the audience into the trailer. It also uses a black and red colour scheme which connotes a rock theme, which relates to the 'Rock 'n' Roll' theme that is shown throughout the trailer. It also shows different aspects of the drama in the film showing the audience what genres they would see if they went to watch the film.The lighting counterbalances the pace of the film,as the lighting is dim as well as flashy ,which indicates the film is likely to be ever changing.The music in the back round is of the bands music,and is rock based as well as quick paced ,helps to impact the audience into persuading them to watch the film,by a notion of dilemmas facing them.

The men are represented in a negative light as they are seen as the villains,because they are obstructing the women from fulfilling their dreams. Although they're viewed as the antagonists, the men have almost no role in the film, hence making them minor characters.The men are seen to be the cause of the dilemmas facing the women in the film,as they are seen in a dimmer light,adding to their suggestion of them to be negative aspects of the movie.

On the basis of this trailer, the target audience which would be attracted to this film is likely to involve teenagers(13- 18) mostly females as it is empowering to them since the protagonists are female. Moreover, the film would also attract musicians as the film as about music.Also the voice over is of a female,of a similar age to the target audience it seems ,hence adding to the appeal of the film for females.

In this trailer,Hollywood values and characteristics which are identified are through drug use as well as the main protagonists being rebels,without them having moral fabric which conforms to society demonstartes Hollywood values being shown in the trailer.

Summary of each article (Van)

Wired Magazine: The Critics Need a Reboot. The internet Hasn’t Led us into a New Dark Age.

Summary:

 The first article is talking about how people are finding the internet not as good as it is said to be. Also that is it "dumbing down" the nation, by the use of very pessimistic views on information. In addition the article says that the internet has affected the rate of people gaining information by other uses such as books for instance. However the article plays the devil advocate as it says that those people are ignorant, as the internet consists of beneficial and efficient information sites such as Wikipedia, but which may be imperfect. 

 Bebo’s new soap is all product placement, no plot.

Summary:

The second article is talking about a new soap which has been introduced on Bebo, which is very similar to the Disney channel soaps, targeted at the bebos target audience. It also talks about whether the target audience really needs to view the same of many thousands of programs consisting of “s-club” material. Moreover it talks about how the shows material is stretched to its fullest extent.

12B Film Homework:Film genres

What film genres are the most popular at present? Why do you think this is? (Consider technology, social & economic context)

Currently the most popular film genres present at the moment is likely to be sci-fi or horror. This is mostly due to the advancements of technology, as it allows them to be more realistic thanks to the advancements in the levels of CGI. Moreover, the effects which are produced throughout the film are usually made using music and sounds, such as suspense. Also, as the sound is clearer and less monotone, there range of sounds available to be made is much larger therefore they can be used to engage the audience in the film.

Regarding the social context, today’s audience find horror much more appealing as within horror there are many different aspects inscribed in the story as a sub-genre therefore it’s appealing to more than one audience, e.g. Love.
On the subject of economic context, people want to escape from everyday dilemmas such as the recession, and as the horror films are the farthest from reality as they hold a sense of escape, the audience finds it much easier to seek sanctuary in the story.

 What genres do you think were popular back in the 1930’s and 1940’s? Why? Give examples and show evidence of research?

Genres such as gangster films, musicals, historical biopic, comedies, westerns and horror to name a few were the most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.There are a number of reasons why a range of films were introduced in the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’, one being sound and colour development, hence causing a range of genres to be launch. Also by 1933, the depression set in over America, therefore leading people to find something appealing to watch to take their minds of economic/money issues. War films was also another prominent genre that was popular back in the 1930s and 1940s due to wars happening before, meaning people could relate to the film.

Examples

-          Howard Hughes' World War I aviation epic, Hell's Angels (1930)

-          Baby Burlesks (1933) ,gangster film

-          The Merry Widow (1934) Musical

Kill Bill Analysis

Firstly the film starts with an extreme close up on the samurai sword (Katana), which was lying there from the beginning. This symbolises the power of the weapon and signifies the weapons dominance or involvement in the scene. Then the shot focuses on the main protagonists with a high angle, long shot on her, suggesting her to be a very powerful or somewhat superior person in the situation. Then there is a close up on both the females’ faces, focusing on the mouth area more, which could suggest them saying something relevant or significant to what about to occur.An extreme close up is shown on the male’s face, which conveys the man’s emotion, being aggressive /barbaric. Furthermore it is also a crash zoom which is used to emphasis the male’s expression, to give viewers an insight into the madness that he is. All of the shots are extremely quick to make the whole experience fast paced for viewers, this also emphasises the momentum being gained and how fast the protagonist is in her movement, as well as fluid.

Mostly all of the shots of the fight scene are shown in a high angle which represents the fighters to be all powerful, however the most dominant one is the main protagonist, where nearly every shot is shown to from a high angle. The camera movement used focuses more on using panning to achieve more spotlight on the surroundings of the fight scene. Tracking is used to follow the characters’ movements as well. Aspects of the Mise-en-scene acts as devices to gain the scene thrill for the audience to be drawn in.

 The colour scheme used throughout the scene connotes darkness and death as most of them are wearing black, but the main protagonist is shown to be wearing yellow, which could suggest she is one of a kind and that she may seem all kind from the outside (yellow connotes happiness) but inside she is vengeful. The costume she is wearing has blood stains on it, which could connote her to be brutal and to have killed many. The colour suddenly changes when it alters to black and white. This could connote the scene to be typical old martial arts film or that the character herself has been in fights like this many times, therefore seeing it in black and white strikes the point of her past.

The lighting is used very well to achieve a certain atmosphere, being serious and fast. High key lighting is used throughout the first half to connote the scene to be realistic as well as depicting the main emphasis on certain characters. In the second half intense low key lighting is used to create a silhouette effect, this represents the characters to have no identity and them to be just murders. The blue background could symbolise the night and the concept of night and crime related incidents to occur. Body language seems to be very cold, with harsh gazes at one another, further making audience question their issues. The main focus is on the props which are the swords and their movements, making the audience determine the speed and agility of their characters. The makeup is extremely light which could suggest they don’t care about their appearance, making the audience think they are serious people.

The Diegetic sound is of the dialogue and the screams that the audience hear which may alarm the reader and non Diegetic sound is off the music played. However the sound is contrapuntal sound during the fight scene as the music is very upbeat and happy which is a huge contract to the bloody murder rampage in the film. The iconography is of a subgenre being action/thriller as it holds aspects of both genres.

12B work Half-Term Break (50 cent)

1. How does the ad glamorise violence? (Consider mise-en-scene, shot type, camera angle, use of sound, editing)

The ad glamorises violence with the use of certain devices used for specific aspects of the advert. The advert firstly has a very dull/gloomy sky, due to the weather; this could be seen as pathetic fallacy. The gloomy weather could be conveying the negative aspects of his life and how he was likely to get involved in some form of violence/danger. Also the high angle of the camera viewing the sky could suggest that 50 Cent was looking to succeed in life, and later as the advert progresses it seems that he is sitting on a similar angle to the sky (on the table) ,connoting him reached his goal in becoming superior and successful. In the next shot you see the water on the dirty floor which could be him looking at his reflection in the when he was in the grimy streets and he is now reflecting back on what he has been through. The red water could be seen as blood, which adds to the notion of violence. Also we see him laughing after which could indicate he is pleased or proud that he 'cheated death. He is seen to be wearing red or either seen in a red light, which could connote him being involved with death or blood.

The shots types vary to create a certain impact on the audience. For instance the long shot, zooming into 50 cent, with the sound of sirens etc demonstrates the focus on his life and all of its occurrences. The use of sound just adds to the notion of violence, and helps the audience gain an insight into his personal life. The extreme close up on his face, mostly showing his eyes captures the audience focus, as well as it connoting 50cent replaying or reminiscing the time he got shot. The close up also helps to convey emotion on 50 Cents face. The fast zoom out on him suggests his life to be quick paced and the backward zooming out makes him seem smaller or further away which could symbolise him being seen as a ‘nobody’ in the past. The sound is very dramatic and the counting of the number of times he has been shot could be used to for emphasis on the fact as the he is counting up everything else is bound to get better, and he will overcome anything.

2. Why would a global company like Reebok glamorise violence in this way? What do you think is their intention?

Reeboks likely and most important intention is to firstly sell the product and to do this they have to glamorise violence in a way which makes the audience what to buy the product. The whole concept is to attract audience to buy the product. They use the rapper, 50 Cent to do this, because of his troubled past it helps to achieve a greater effect on the audience. Mostly as he has been shot 9 times and he is wearing the Reebok trainers, this suggests to the audience that as he is wearing them he is almost “superhuman” and can overcome any form of violence.

3. Who is the target audience and how do you think they would be affected by the ideology of the ad?

The target audience of this advert is going to be teenagers, as it contains aspects of topics which affect teenagers, in this case being violence with the notion of 50 Cent getting shot. The target audience are likely to be affected by the ideology of this advert as it could touch them, as it may hold an area of emotional value for them as some of them may have been involved in violence.

4. In your opinion, should the ad have been banned?  Why/Why not?

I do think that the advert should have been banned as it contains unethical scenes of violence. Moreover it sends out a negative vibe which promotes violent behaviour .Secondly some of the younger  children  of the target audience may be affected as they may think it is “cool” to be violent towards one another.