Scene Analyses ~ Half Term Work

Technical Code - Camera angles
                          - How is the equipment used to tell the story
                          - Music, to represent mood, such as a slow song could show a character feeling sad                      
Verbal Code - Everything to do with language, either written or spoken
                     - For example: Slang
Symbolic Code - Beneath the surface on what we see
                          - A characters action shows how the character is feeling
                          - For example: laughing will show happiness
Structure - Beginning, Middle and End
Character - People involved such as a main character (lead role)
Narrative Conflict - Challenges that characters need to solve to achieve their goals

Shawshank Redemption Clip

This clip is at the end of the movie where we hear one of the main characters, Red, do a voice over, along with non diegetic sound. At the beginning of the clip we have a close-up of an engraving in the wall done by Red which says "so was Red" which is written next to "Brooke was here" which we see earlier on in the film and is very emotional. The Narrative Conflict is that Red is travelling to reunite with his friend. It ends with a zoom out of them reuniting at a boat which evolves to a large view of the beautiful beach that they are on.

                                         

The Sting Clip

This scene is called The Game of Jacks. It has two men playing poker. The camera does a close up of each player's cards. One man is very confident with his cards as he has a very good set. Whereas the other man is a little more sheepish and keeps his cards close to his chest. However, behind him is a third man who makes eye contact frequently with the confident man and seems to be helping him. The pair keep raising the money until it reaches fifteen grand! The confident man proudly turns over his cards with a smug smile on his face. However, the other man goes silent and pulls out different cards to what he had before, meaning he had cheated, and was able to win. Both the man behind him and the confident man look in shock as the camera does a close up on their faces. 

                                               

Lady In The Water Clip

The clip starts with a man walking into an upsetting scenario and bends down next to a woman who appears to be dead. The camera pans down with him as he kneels and then does a reverse angle so we can now see his face, as well as the dead woman. There is then a close-up of the woman's wounds which the man gently and slowly places his hands over. The other characters in the background lean forward and present some comfort to the man by placing their hands on him, accompanied with a small wide angled shot. Slow music gives a sad and depressing atmosphere while there is a close-up of the man crying, whilst giving a very emotional speech. 

                                            

Superman Returns Clip

The clip starts with a long shot of a ship. The camera is very shaky and unstable, which resembles the mayhem that's taking place inside the ship. There is close-ups of each characters faces, each looking terrified. At parts there's sound of the ship creaking and then there's silence, which builds up tension. Fast music is played when they are attempting to escape the ship, making it more dramatic and intriguing. There's hardly any speech until, the main character and hero, Superman arrives. 

The Dark Knight Clip

The beginning of the clip is very dark, with no music, but further into the scene the lights come on and the same sound is played over and over again, slowly getting louder as the scene intensifies. The Joker seems very calm when The Dark Knight is attacking him, he even seems to find it amusing as he laughs when he is pinned up against the wall. When they are having a discussion at the table, there's a close-up on the Joker's face when he speaks. When the Dark Knight speaks, the camera does an over the shoulder shot to show The Dark Knight speaking to The Joker. 

Mise-En-Scene

Mies-En-Scene looks at how things are arranged in films or theatrical performance. It looks at costumes, set design, lighting, camera angles, the surroundings etc.


Costumes: They give off information about the character. Depending on the style of film, it can give a sense of time that it is set in, such as this still, taken from the film The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt. The extravagant dress shows a lot of power and wealth but definitely would only be worn in Queen Victoria's era. The hairstyle also goes with the costume and the time period, as in the modern day era, the current queen would not be looking and dressing like Queen Victoria did.

Props: A prop, short for property, is an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen production. A prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes, and electrical equipment. In the animated film Tangled, the main character, Rapunzel has a frying pan as her prop, which she uses to protect herself. It is not in every scene but comes up regularly at the start of the film.

                                    

Balanced Composition: The main focus (normally a main character or an important object) will be placed in the middle of the frame to draw all the attention to the main propose. 

                                 

Unbalanced Composition: When there is no main focus. There seems to always be a lot going on in the scene/image which can be confusing. It can be used to symbolise a persons mood. If there is a scene with a lot a people either rushing around or talking at a table, it could show the person is either erratic or thinkingly clearly and calmly. 

                                   

Setting: Can be shot in a film studio which is easy to access, will be free to use whenever they want and can be created to look however they want. It can also be shot on locations wherever. Doing this will make it harder as the free space will be hard to get and to import all the props, costumes, lighting etc. However, doing shooting on location will make it look very believable and realistic and will give the film a better look overall so could potentially be worth the difficulty. 

Lighting: Can show mood by having a blue tint in the lighting would represent sadness, a red tint would symbolise angry or love. Can show time of day, by having a character get out of bed to make a late night snack would have dim lighting in the background to show it is early in the morning and the sun is coming up. Could also show the time of year by having someone outside at 6 p.m but is very dark could suggest its winter. It can also create a sense of eeriness to a film by having the frame relatively dark with only one or two people in focus.

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of meaning and making of signs. It is also the study of sign process (semiosis) and meaningful communication. To understand the sign and its image. Most signs have a meaning which we need to understand or that we already know as it is an everyday sign. 

Iconic signs: 

There is no second meaning to these signs. We see these signs often and understand the meaning of them. For example, the sign in the middle means first aid. The meaning is mostly obvious.

Indexical Signs:

Indexical signs doesn't always resemble what they are trying to show. There is no photo or words to tell us that these belong to an animal but we are able to tell just by the sign. It is a subtle meaning that has the ability to show us what they signify. 

Dior Perfume Advert (Denotations and Connotations)

Advert Analysis: 

The advert is surrounded by gold which is symbolised as power and richness. There is a lady standing on the far right holding herself in a strong stance with fine jewels around her neck. She has blonde hair that matches the yellow colour/theme which is surrounded around her as she walks down a gold corridor. The women takes up most of the right hand side of the photo which implies she is the main focus especially as herself and the bottle are the only things that are not blurred. The bottle is gold with letters in bold, white writing which draws attention to the image. It gives people the thought that wearing this perfume you will become as elegant and rich as the lady in the advert which is stereotypically what most women want. 

Denotations:

Denotations are the literal image so it is exactly how you see it. A picture of a rose would mean the Denotation is a flower. 

For the advert the Denotations are: gold, a women, Jewellery.

Connotations:

Connotations is the hidden, deeper meaning. A picture of a rose would mean the Connotation is love.

For the advert the Connotations: 

Gold - Symbolises riches and power 

Women - To look as beautiful as her once you have the perfume 

Jewellery - Gives a higher status, potential sentimental value

Introduction Post

Welcome to my AS Media Blog!

I will be documenting my work so people can watch my progress and development into Media Studies.

My name is Kate Pignatelli. I live in Hammersmith near Kensington Olympia Station. I am currently studying my A-levels at Collingham College. My subjects are Geography, Art, Psychology and Media. I have always been a big fan of the arts world from anything to painting to theatre. I've enjoyed learning about Media especially as I've never had the opportunity to study this subject elsewhere.

I've always wanted to do Media as it is something that seems so interesting. I enjoy seeing the work that goes on behind a film or a poster. The thought process of each camera angle, the lighting and the way it was made is fascinating to me. I am already excited for the work to come as I will start getting more involved such as making an opening to a film!

I hope you enjoy following my work on my blog.