Practise editing

This was my first attempt at editing on the software Premier, this programme allows video clips and music to be imported and for editing. You can also add effects and transitions to your video to achieve a creative and unique video. This video I edited consisted of a range of different clips such as city footage and dancing animals. I merged the specific clips together using different transitions and editing the timings of the clips such as speeding them and slowing them down. Over the top of the sequence I added music and was able to fade the song out towards the end of the sequence. Once I finished the sequence I rendered the whole clip so that it was saved on the maximum definition and quality and then imported the final edit to YouTube.

Overall I was quite pleased with my first attempt at editing especially as I've had no experience on premier.

Film Language in analysis

Homework

For this task I'm going to be analysing the first clip of 'Boyz n the Hood', to do this i will be using Mise en scene, camera work, sound and editing, these four aspects of analysing are known as film language. 

                  

The film starts with the production company's logo, in the background we can hear non-diegetic off screen voiceovers of men talking as they are trying to find another man. The language used is quite slang and rough as they use swear words and use the N word suggesting that these men are black. All of a sudden the sound of talking men is disrupted by a series of loud gun shots indicating violence and that someone's has been seriously hurt. A statistic figure is then shown on the screen stating that 'one out of twenty- one Black American males will be shot in their lifetime' this gives the audience an impression of what that film is going to be about, e.g. some sort of black gang violence. We then hear voice of a younger boy crying out 'he shot my brother' this creates an emotional atmosphere, which allows the audience to become involved within the story and question the events of that has happened and reflect on the statistics which were just show.    

The first visual imagery we see is of a sign STOP, in the backgrounded the effected music builds up to the sign and creates a tense atmosphere as it gets louder and louder we then hear another gunshot as the sign stop instantly flashes up. The camera slowly zooms in to the sign, this could be seen a hidden meaning to the audience suggesting that its about time we put a stop to violence, however it could also symbolise a lack of security and safety in the predominately black neighbourhood. We then see a landscape shot of four young black children walking down a pavement in daylight, the camera stays in the landscape shot and tracks them as they continue on walking along the street there are rubbish bags and stray dogs. The children appear to be well dressed, and are having a casual conversation about a shooting which happened last night suggesting that its quite a normal occurrence, also suggesting that their neighbourhood is unsafe and full of crime. The camera angle then changes and does a slow half way panning of the street and the children from a birds-eye view this shows the vulnerability of the children and gives an effect that they are being watched. The lighting is mixture between natural day light and high key light. The children also walk past a sign that says 'wrong way' this could be seen as another hidden meaning, and perhaps foreshadowing their future and that they are going to make the wrong choices in life which could have fatal consequences.

The children are walking towards the crime scene when the camera then focuses upon some posters of the president which has been vandalised with gunshots this could indicate that there is political problems within this part of the country. As the posters are shown gunshot sound effects are edited into the background. The camera then shows the yellow crime scene tape up close with the children standing behind it, the music then becomes slow and dramatic which contrasts with the gunshot sounds as they notice blood. Every now and then the camera focuses close up on the children faces to portray their youth and innocence. The imagery of the blood then fades to transition into a new scene of child drawn pictures of crime and death, which shows how the children are mentally effected by the violence in which they are surrounded by. The camera then zooms out from these pictures which are on the wall and does a steady pan of a classroom which show young black children seated, and a white teacher standing at the front of the class. The shot then changes to a medium shot of the female teacher who is well dressed in a long skirt and blouse wearing big glasses.  

The previous black boy is shown in an extreme close-up, as he come to the front of the class with the teacher the camera angle changes from him to her and back him as they talk to one another. The boy gets into an altercation with another student in the class, the other boy gets out of his chair and stands to confront him, he says that he will get his brother to shot him.  This shows how violence is started and how it can escalate, also showing how young boys are influenced by others and how they are exposed to violence. The camera then then shows a wide shot angle from the back of the class with the two children hitting one another.

The transition instantly changes to show the child walking home from school from a straight on portrait angle, on the pavement there is a group of older boys fighting this shows how the behaviour of young boys stays the same and becomes even more violence. These boys are suppose to be role models but instead they portray a message to younger boys that this type of violent behaviour is normal and acceptable. A man in a car is see to be smiling and nodding at the boy as if to say well done. In a mid-shot his mother is shown to be on the phone to the teacher. The whole of the opening clip shows the impact on young children who live in unsafe areas and are surrounded by violence and gun crime.

Representation

Representation

In my media lessons I have learnt about representation, and how people can be portrayed to an audience falsely and branded/categorised into a particular class or group. One of the examples we looked at in class was of a stereotypical 'essex girl' we said she would have quite a fake appearance, heavily made up in make up with false eyelashes and foundation lines, she would have blond big hair, big boobs and high stiletto heels, she would also be dumb reasonably stupid with very little common scene. She would also have a typical strong essex accent. The reason we think this is because of the power of the media, they have shaped our view and created a very narrow minded stereotypical character which is used to portray a bigger group/population which is not accurate or true. 

Stereotypes are applied to lots of different types of people, for example: Muslims, the elderly, black youth, teenagers, posh people, poor people, 'ideal men and women', etc.

This advert shows representations and stereotypical views of what it like to be a girl, it shows how boys and girls of different ages all have different  responses to questions they asked and how they represent girls. The video shows the effect of the media and how it programmes the way we think 'girls' should act, it portrays girls to be weak and in capable of doing things. I think this video is empowering for all ages of girls and women as it shows us to be powerful and strong and to not act like the stereotypes we are portrayed to be like. 

Narrative

Narrative

In todays lesson we learnt about narrative, these are the notes I took during the lesson.

A narrative is some kind of retelling, often in words (through it possible to mime a story) the narrative is rather the telling of the story.

Todorov - Equilibrium- state of normality

Disruption of Equilibrium -character location(causes effect which disturbs state of normality)

(balance/ups and downs)

Main protaginised recognised disruption

Restoration of equilibrium.

New equilibrium.

Aristotle- Greek philosopher

His theory was that there is always a beginning, middle and an end.

Propp- character types

Propp's theory  was that no matter how many stories we watch, the same characters keep popping up and these characters are...

1) Hero

2)Villain

3)Donor

4)Dispatcher

5)False hero

6)Helper

7)Princess

8)Her father

Levi Strauss- Observed that we see the world in binary oppositions.

calm narrative vs stressful narrative

youth & elder

innocence & wisdom

Barthes-Narrative codes

enigma- makes the story interesting

Film language

                                                         

                                                                 Film Language

In todays lesson we learnt all about film language and the technical language film producers and directors would use. To help remember the film language we used acronyms.

MISE EN SCENE

C- costume

L- lighting (high key, low key, natural light)

A- actors

M- makeup

P- props

S- setting (place weather, time and date)

CAMERA

F- frame (close-up, extreme clos-up, medium shot, long shot, wide shot, landscape)

A- angle (high level, low level, worms eye, birds eye)  

M- movement, tracking panning, camera and tripod moving, static shot, zoom, whip pan, drone, helicopter shots, handheld)

SOUND

M- music

C- contrapuntal

D-diegetic/non diegetic  

O-off screen

V-voice over

E- editing  

D-dialogue

EDITING

S-screen time

T- transitions

O- Order of narrative

P- pace

E- special effects

Analysis of Film Openings

Analysis of three film openings

In this task we had to choose three film openings and analyse them using DISTNCT.

D- Describe, I- In detail, S- Setting, T- Themes, I- Icons, N- Narrative, C-Characters, T- Textual Analysis.

Opening scene of Guardians of the Galaxy analysis
The opening scene to Guardians of the Galaxy features a fairly young man in a strange unusual and unfamiliar setting, the first clip we see is of a dark red and black leather glove pressing a button on an old cassette player. The song 'Come and get your love' by Redbone then starts playing, this song has an upbeat rhythm and a 70s vibe/feel to it. At the start of the opening you can tell that the character is funny and relatable as he puts his old fashioned headphones on and starts dancing which makes him likeable, he is also seen to be wearing a long dark red coat which has connotations to a cape of which a stereotypical hero would wear which gives the audience an impression that he is a hero. The location of the opening scene appears to be in a dark, dirty almost cave like area, the setting is full of rocks and small puddles on the uneven ground which looks remote and abandoned. The scenery colours are all dark consisting of black and grey which makes it quite difficult to see where this man is, the effect of using dark colours creates a mysterious, gloomy and earie atmosphere. As the 70s music Kicks in the man starts dancing through the rocks  and moving his hips to the beat this makes the viewer aware that the man is obviously confident and comfortable in his surroundings. We then see him wonder into an open air setting where we can see the sky which shows dark grey gloomy clouds but contrasting with a light pink and purple space like sky which suggests he's on another planet, this imagery of the small amount of sky we see stands out as its the only bright colour we have seen so far which makes it bold, abstract and draws our attention to it. This could also be see as making it fit into the sci-fi genre as it suggests its in the universe or on another planet. All of a sudden the title of the film(Guardians of the Galaxy) flashes up in big block gold capital letters covering up some of the scenery, the style of font could be as quite futuristic however the colours gold/brown contrast with this giving it a retro theme. The writing last for about 4seconds then instantly goes leaving the man dancing and splashing through the puddles. We then see animated rat like reptiles hissing, he kicks some around and then picks one up by its neck, miming the words to the song. He continues dancing until he approaches alarge crack in the ground where there is water in-between with more animated made-up creates which seem to be angry so therefore uses a jet on his feet with flames coming out to fly to the other side. He is then greeted at the other side with big ancient doors where he then screws a code in to open the doors. The scene then ends with him holding some sort of light ball staring at what looks like an ancient artefact, this leaves the audience wanting to watch more as they wasn't to achieve a greater understanding of what is going on as there is not much given away.  Throughout the whole of the opening scene we are only introduced to one character with no speech or narration.

Opening scene of Harry Brown analysis 

The opening scene for 'Harry Brown' is set some sort of alleyway or underground path. The setting is dark and gloomy which gives an unclear image of what is happening as a result of this the audience are having to study the video closely to interpret what is going on. Although the location is dark there is still outside light which shows it must be set during daytime. The scene begins with a group of boys which appears to be in some sort of gang, the impression they give is negative as they are shown to be wearing hoodies and stereotypical 'chavy clothes' e.g puffa jackets with hoods, which supports the idea that they belong to some sort of gang. The language used is slang and un well spoken which immediately indicates that they are not well educated, from the use of language and rough scenery  suggests that they live in South London. The atmosphere given of from the first few seconds of film is tense and dangerous. As the film continues for a few seconds it becomes apparent that the film quality is poor and as if its been filmed from sort of device e.g mobile phone which means it could be a home video being filmed by one of the members of the gang. The video shows all the gang members crowded round this one individual, he is given some sort of bottle with gas it looks as if its a homemade inhaler for weed and other substances. The boy seems to be targeted and a victim of peer pressure, however he is probably trying to earn respect and become a member of the gang, and to achieve this he must do as he is told. The boy inhales some kind of drug whilst some members hold their hands on his throat to keep it in his lungs,when he finally lets out a big puff of smoke all the gang are impressed and clap.

All of  sudden the level of violence is raised as a member pull out a gun and waves it around, he then presses the gun against the boys chest whilst saying that he's now a member for life. The main themes in the opening scene have been drugs, violence, gangs and crime this could be a link to what the actual film is about.

After we see the gun being handed over the video cuts instantly, which makes the audience reflect on what they have just witnessed and think about the consequences of being involved with gangs. The pause of silence is then broken by a loud motorbike sound  and disturbing shouting coming from the riders on the one bike, one of the riders is the boy from the beginning who had just joined the gang. The boys appear to be riding around in some council estate area, this shows they have no respect for the people living there and gives the impression that are intimidating and powerful with whom no one wants to mess with. The camera footage then shows them riding through a walk way path in an open park, there is a woman walking with her baby in a push chair, she is referred to as a 'bird' which shows they have no respect for women and don't view as an equal, the women looks alarmed and vulnerable as there is no one else around to help. The boy pulls out a gun which makes it horrible and uncomfortable for an audience to watch as he begins shooting purposely around the women, she screams and holds her head in under distress. The boys shout and laugh which would disgust most viewers, the scene then takes a horrendous and sinister turn as he shots the women in the head. The sound effects are dramatic and loud each time after the gun was fired  this is to emphases the power and danger of  a gun. The boys then realise what they have done and the atmosphere turns to shear panic as they must flee the scene. The camera footage then shows them race off full speed ahead, we then see an image of a road and on the right side a lorry which crashed side on to the bike, throwing them up into the air. The final image we see is of the two boys laying in the road which could potentially be dead this is powerful and intense imagery and shows a fatal outcome of being involved in gangs. This leaves the audience hooked and wanting to see where the story leads from here.

 The Opening scene to Ghost Ship analysis
The opening scene of ghost ship shows a rather sophisticated and elegant women singing on stage to a ballroom of posh evening dressed people, the music is peaceful with violins in the background creating a relaxed atmosphere. There are people dancing in couples swaying hand in hand to the music. From what is going on it suggests that it is evening/night on board the ship, as there is usually music entertainment in the evenings. The lighting has a warm yellow tint which also creates helps this evening feel within the ballroom. The camera mainly focuses of the women singing who is heavily dolled up and smiling to her audience, however the camera angles do change so we see from what her view looks like which shows the couples dancing. From the clothes the passengers are wearing it suggest that it is set some time during the 1960s for example the men are dressed smartly in suits whilst the women in cocktail dresses. The setting of the ballroom is elegant with waiters  handing out glasses of champagne, this suggest that the passengers on board are reasonably wealthy and belong to a high class status. The setting then changes to a young girl waring a white and blue dress sitting on the deck of the ship outside, she appears to be playing with some sort of worded piece of cardboard, a man is bent over her and spells out 'i am bored" giving the impression that they know one another.
The young girl is asked to dance with an older gentleman dressed in a white suit which looks like a uniform of the ship, this suggests that he could be the captain. The two are then seen dancing on the deck with other passengers.
All of sudden the camera completely changes to a new location, this changes the calm peaceful atmosphere, as we see some sort of lever being aggressively pushed forward, this implies panic and danger and that something bad is going to happen. The colours of the setting have also changed from light to dark which shows a contrast between the two settings. The setting then quickly flicks back to the original scene of people dancing in the ballroom however this time the scene is put into a slower motion. It then again flicks back to the dark setting focusing on some sharp metal wire which has sound effects of the wire cutting through the air as its pulled up quickly upward. The scenes continue to flicker from one another getting faster and faster which helps to build up the tension. We then see a massive spark explode in the air which indicates something bad. It then show the metal wire slicing through the passengers on the deck who were dancing cutting them open and slicing off body parts. There is then a still closeup camera shot of the blooded wire. Everyone is frozen in their positions the only sound is odd noises of gasping an coughing, a champagne glass them falls and smashes on the floor symbolising the change of events and the twist to the story. All of a sudden we see the sliced body parts dripping with blood drop to the floor, one by one the passengers fall. The only image left is of the young girl holding tight onto the captain, some of the body parts on the floor begin to move and crawl with gives unrealistic imagery. The girl then looks up to the captain and see's that the top of his head has been sliced by the wire, she lets out a terrified scream, the scream continues to echo as the camera zooms out of this image and shows the ship, it then changes angles and goes into the sea. This leaves the audience shocked and confused. 

Semiotics and analysis

Avatar Film Poster



From this film poster I can tell that one of the main characters is going to be Sam Worthington who is the focal point to this film poster. The image of Sam's face is mirrored with the face of him as an avatar I know this because the features of his face are in proportion and symmetrical to one another. This contrasting close up image of half avatar half human, catches our eye us and  grabs our attention, it also suggests that both human and avatar are going to have a strong bond and become one as they are shown to be joining and merging together. This makes the audience engaged and interested as they want to learn more about the plot of the film. Also by having Sam Worthington as the main feature of the poster it shows that the film company are relying and using his status and popularity as an actor to attract and draw the audience in. Sam Worthington appears in mainly action films which hints to the audience that it will fit into the genre of action. The poster also has a slight sci-fi and adventurous feel to it, as the Avatar could be seen as quite alien like.

The poster also shows a female avatar crouching down on some sort of branch, this suggests that the two characters are going to be romantically involved with one another. The scenery at the bottom of the poster gives an impression that the film is set on another planet as it looks unfamiliar and mystical, the use of the colours blue and purple go together and portray calm and peace .The colour green is also used which suggests nature and wildlife giving the impression that avatars are at one with nature. However this contrasts with the imagery of fire in the forest, suggesting there could be some sort of war or destruction to the planet, this could link to the image of the avatar and human portraying that there could be a war between the two, this again implies that the film is an action film.

The title of film at the bottom of the poster is in a futuristic, metallic font which stands out and implies that it is set on another planet, the colour of the font is also blue which links to the colour of the avatars. Underneath the title it says 'A James Cameron film' this will help promote the film as he is a vey popular well known director, this was also his first film after the massive success of Titanic so the audience would have been eagerly anticipating his next film. 

Stereotypes

In today's lesson we learnt about stereotypes and the way in which the media represents things, for example people.

Genre Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To Analyse pictures we had taken and explain how they are suited to a particular genre.

This image is used to represent the genre mystery/Thriller. We achieved this particular genre by using a prop, Josh wore a typical inspectors hat and did a stereotypical pose of an inspector to give away the genre of mystery. To make the genre of thriller obvious, Lydia laid down and acted dead to make it more suspicious and more like thriller, and to look as if Josh is trying to solve a crime mystery.

This Picture is based on the genre Apocalypse. In this picture we are creating a stereotypic zombie image, where I am laying on the ground dead being eaten and attacked by a zombie. We have used a creative camera angle and  perspective where it is looking through a wired fence to create a dramatic and abstract effect. It could also be giving the impression that another civilian is taking the picture and as if its being filmed from a personal observation, for example a video diary.
The colours in this image are also quite dull and dark which sets the seen of an apocalypse and end of the world type situation.

The genre represented through this picture is horror. The image consists of a dark eerie narrow pathway with a blacked out silhouette lurking at the end which creates a sinister and mysterious atmosphere, as if there is someone waiting for you. The colours are all dark which sets the feel of a horror film and silhouette is eye-catching and bold drawing the views attention to it.



Analysis of flm opening

Analysis of film opening 

In today's lesson we set up our blogs, and were shown how to do our fist post. This is a short analysis of the opening scene to Forrest Gump.

The opening scene of Forrest Gump shows a feather floating through the sky, this feather perhaps could be seen as an important symbol as it represents, innocence and peace it is also shows the journey of feather onto Forrest's lap  which could be seen as foreshadows the journey of Forrest Gump. The opening scene does not give much away, leaving the audience optimistic and with an open mind.