Women in Black Analysis

 The Women In Black

The Location:
The abandoned house is very dull and intimidating looking with over grown grass all around.This shows there is no human evidence around.
Big black iron gates outside may show that the house is ancient and sinister.






                                                           Camera Work:
The use of this point of view shot is very effective and really

Research Into Horror Films

Looking and Analysing Previous AS Media Tasks:

 

 

 

Camera Shots:

• The running scene is very effective as the camera work is very realistic.
• Use of hand held camera work (tracking) is very good throughout the scene.
• Close up shots
• Establishing shots
• Long shots
• Mid shots
• Point of View shots
• High angle shots
 

 Location:

• The graveyard
• The wooded area
• The barn

 

Mise-en-scène:

• The girls is wearing just a beige coat, jeans and ugg boots.
• There isn't many props involved as it is all outside therefore just the setting.
• Gravestones
• Gates
• Iron Bars
• Trees
• Branches
• Time of day
   

 

Editing:

• Continuity
• Straight Cuts
• Jump Cut

 

Sound:

• The sound used is very effective.
• Sound of the girl running
• Heavy breathing
• Footsteps
• Followers footsteps
• Gate opening
• Branches shaking
• Kicking the gate open
• Phone ringing
• Rumaging through drawers
• 'Dreams' 'Knives' (in the head voice)
• Friend on the phone
• Phone dropping to the floor
• End of call tone. 
 
 



 

 



 



Editing

Editing can be defined as cutting film and pasting it. Editing is the organisation of time.

Editing is associated with Mise-en-scène and cinematography as they are concerned with how space is organised on screen.

Continuity Editing= the most common used editing. Relies upon matching the action and positioning from shot to shot.

 

 

The 180 degree rule= important for continuity editors. Have to stay on the same side unless you film the change.

 

Editing Examples:

Cut= Basic edit, making sure the cut is smooth including the 180 degree rule.
 

Cut in= A close up of an object/person or other part of the preceding shot. Used to draw attention to a significant object.

 

Cut-away= Used for similar reasons to the cut in. A shot of any length showing something that could be in visible range of the previous shot, but was not seen.

 

Cross-cutting= Cuts repeatedly between two different characters in different locations in motion.

 

Transitions= There are 3 common forms of transitions (how one shot moves to another)

1)      Cut (straight cut)

2)      Fade (image disappears and usually replaced by a black screen)

3)      Dissolve (one shot slowly replacing another)
 

Wipe= From right to left, see a new image across the screen replacing the previous one (turning the page, end of chapter).

Match on action= A cut between two angles on the same action.

 

Graphic match= A cut emphasising something usually similar in the first or second image (usually a shape) known as an ellipsis (cutting time).

 

Eyeline Match= When a character looks in a particular direction and we see what their looking at from a Point of View shot.

 

Shot-reverse-shot= Used mainly for conversation. The point of view alternates between two opposite positions.

 

Jump cut= An elliptical shot which seems to interrupt the continuity of a scene.  

 

 

Mise-en-scène

Mise-en-scène

Mise-en-scène is a French term which means, ‘placing on stage’; it includes everything which can be seen on the screen including camerawork.

 

Setting:

 

The time and the place in which it is set. The props used will always have specific reasons even if not really noticed by the audience to empathise themes and create meanings. The uses of Ideology and colours will always be specific.

Costume and Make-up:

The costumes and make-up will represent every character in a different way.
The costumes may be aimed at the type of jobs in which the character has, therefore how do they behave or act.
The colours will also be used in many ways to represent things.

 Actors:

 

The actors will all have specific clothing, and will all move, speak and act in a way in which they are wanted to be shown to the audience.

Lighting:

 

High Key Lighting- often seen in romantic comedies and musicals. Everything will look bright with no shadows at all.  
Low Key Lighting- often seen in horror movies and thrillers. Usually used in scenes to show tension.

 

Conventions of genre

Views of Horror movies from the 1930s-1980s

First ever moving camera - The arrival of a train at La Ciotat (France)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk

1930s-

• Black and white
• American film versions of Dracula (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nfmh178L98 ) and Frankenstein ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKyiXjyVsfw)
• Filming started to improve

1940s

• End of the war
• Cold war beginning
• Nuclear bombs
• Destruction made by the bombs: people dieing, debry
• Children born with deformities subject to the radiation
• The Russain badies vs the Americans concept was made
• Fighting for Alaska
• Body snatchers

1950s

• Body horror- Human Centipede
• 'Teenage' term was used
• Recording equipment was introduced 'Rock 'n' Roll'
• Teens: rebels, cinema, horror, couples, 'jump into arms'
• Smellavision
• Buzzers in the seats
• Drive in cinemas
• Cheap horror movies- teenage market

Colour was introduced onto screens therefore blood and gore was used alot because it looks good on camera between 1950s-1960s
1960s

• Psycho
• female protagonist
• Alfred Hitchcock
• 'Peeping Tom'
• Photography
• Print easily and cheapily
• The pill which encourage sexual behaviour was introduced
• Women had control over there bodies
• Abortion law was changed
• Women gained more power
• Not having to travel with a man
• Many women were filmed being killed in movies
• If a women drank or was promiscious they usually were killed

1970s

• Best decade for horror films
• Halloween, The Omen, Exorcist, Black Christmas
• Vietnam War
• News real life footage from Vietnam of the WAR
• Photographs of the soldiers, attacks and children
• Was all faught on the ground bombs and slaughter and torture
• People were killed, burned and slaughtered
• Napalm- Chemicals
• 'Apocolypse Now'

1980s

• Beautiful looking women
• solid
• 'Nightmare on Elm Street'
• Corruption to children
• Children look bad: 'Omen'
• 'Chucky'
• Re-makes

Sound & Camera Work

We've decided to see what examiners will be looking for, and also how we can implent these four components into our product. There are four components when analysing a piece of media text:



Sound



Contrapuntal: This is when the sound does not match
 what is being shown on the screen (comical effect).

Parralel: This is when the sound does match
 the image on the screen.

Diagetic: What the audience and characters can hear. A gunshot, is an example of this.

Non-diagetic: The audience can hear it however the characters can't. Examples of non-diagetic sounds:

• Sound Bridges: This is when you hear the next scene, moments before you see it. In order to create a smooth transition. (Non-diagetic)
• Voice overs: The voice on an unseen commentator in a film of a television program. (Non-diagetic)

Camera Work

 

Extreme Close-Up: A photograph or film or television shot taken at  an extreme close range.

Example: An image of an eye.

This is useful for... showing extreme detail

Close-Up: A photograph or film or television shot taken at close range.

Example: An image of an faceThis is useful for... showing detail














Mid-Shot: A camera angle shot from a medium distance.

Example: The top half of a body.

This is useful for... carrying out dialogue, also for delivering information.






Long Shot: A view of a scene that is shot from a considerable distance.


Example: The whole body.


This is useful for... Too show the larger settings before zooming in to show the detail.

Over the shoulder-shot: A shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.

This is useful for... Establishing the position of each person, and get the feel of looking at one person from the other's point of view.

Point of view-shot: A shot that shows a view from the subject's perspective.

This is useful for... to put the audience directly in the head space of that character and allows them to understand exactly what that character is seeing.

Main Task Video Specification

Apocalypse Now (1979) and Halloween (1976)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLRmVMVP7NQ

I took apart the opening scene to Apocalypse Now, using a timeline technique to record the everything I saw. Including: sound effects, music, frequent colours, signifiers, I used illustrations to show the key moments within the scenes which made it easier to document instead of writing each detail seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCTGvDwdVNo

Video Specification

Preliminary Task:
Our group consists of 4 members, we will deligate tasks between us so work will be equally distributed and we will all gain an understanding.
Alice: Acting and editing
Rosie: Filming and editing
Sasha: Filming and editing
Trystan: Editing and acting
To avoid copyright over audio effects or music we will only include dialogue from the actors involved. We have done previous exercises in class to learn what was needed in the specification, such as different shots used and editing an example of these are match on action and shot reverse shot.

PreliminaryTask

Preliminary Task Storyboard:

We created the storyboard before filming, it helped us to plan what was required in the specificaton such as match on action, 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. We followed the plan as closely as possible but there were a few pieces of footage which were improvised to ensure that the continuity was accurate.

 

 

The Departed Opening title sequence

After looking at various other title sequences. We then decided to look at the codes and conventions of a title sequence we have seen recently. This brought us too The Departed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7LyzMS5as

A Gun, represents crime and violence. The way the gun is suspended in the air, signifies he is about to shoot something.

Black and White, represents an old fashioned film, maybe around the 1960's era.

Establishing shot: Iconic image of New York. New York is known for never sleeping and is known to be very busy, this reflects the sort of crime we expect.

The red line going down the screen signifies blood. Also the way the two guns and hands are identical sizes, suggests that there are two equal forces going against each other.

The Music is quite up-beat, representing the pace of the film.

So far, all the semiotics indicates that the genre is a crime, thriller and drama.

 This symbolises a gun- shot; again linking to gun crime and violence.

These lines reinforces this 60’s look, as the screen looks grainy just like the old times. 

Well known actor. This helps to promote the film, because Leonardo Dicaprio has a huge fan base. So then these fans who enjoy seeing Leonardo Dicaprio act, will want to go and watch it.

It zooms into the picture, almost as if it is zooming into new york… it is entering the movie.

Written and edited: Trystan Mayhew and Rosie Paye

Uploaded and edited: Alice Dickins

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Exercise

What went well: As a group we think the match on action throughout the preliminary exercise was accurate and precise.

Even better if: If we used a tripod that could smoothly turn this would stop the slight shaking of the camera as well as the jolt half way through.

To do it again: Overall if we were to do it again we would ensure that we filmed more than enough footage because having to re-film a scene made the lighting slightly different to the other angles.

Preliminary Task by Rosie, Sasha, Alice and Trystan

Evaluation by Alice

Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions

The girl with the dragon tattoo

 

Sound- music, intense, rock, horror, fast, thriller, drama, interesting, urban
Titles- dark,
Images- grey, neutral, silver, black, different, CGI, bound, restriction, pain, eroticised, sexual, liquid

 Seven

 

 

Sound- conversation, swearing, rain, clock-ticking, steady beat, noises, quiet (beginning), calm, lonely, equilibrium, diegetic sound
Titles- Standout, dark background, psychopathic, horror, crime, font, symbols, signs, death, murder, obsession
Images- city, dark, close-ups , wash with grey, sterile

Train Spotting

Sound- Voice-over, steady beat, song, swearing, implies lack of formal education, anger, funny, humour, youth, casual, rebellion
Titles- realistic, colours, British
Images- drugs, baby, junkies, movement, low angle >feet, rebellious, crime, innocence of a child, blatant, realistic, vensimilitude, heroin, football, silly clothes, genre-comedy, dram

Saturday night fever

 

 

 
 

Sound- beeps, train, music, non-diegetic sound and music, swearing, rebellion, humour, disco, music

Titles- red titles: thinks he’s big, hardware store, member of the community, well known, comedy, drama
Images- city, aerial shot, Brooklyn Bridge, low angle shot, eating, sloppy, shiny shoes, high maintenance, strutting, success, dreams, rich, cool, young, city that never sleeps, urban