Male Gaze Theory - Mulvey

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Binary Opposition - Levi Strauss

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Defining The Film Industry

The film industry is one of the biggest industries in the whole world, spanning multiple companies and grossing trillions of dollars per year. It is comprised of all the technological and commercial institutions that are involved in film making, like; production companies, distributors, film studios, directors, producers and actors. There are lots of different film industries, the biggest being Hollywood and Bollywood.

The obvious aim of the film industry is to make money. Most movies produced in this period are funded by large conglomerate companies, like Warner Bros, Disney and Lionsgate. When a movie is made, a budget is set. The aim is for the movie to be successful enough to cover this budget and make a large profit. When it does, this money is shared between whichever conglomerate the movie was spawned from, which in turn funds more movies to do the same thing. It ends up being a cycle of making money and producing more films. However, some films do fail commercially so these conglomerate companies have to count on the other movies being made at the time - and learn from the mistake they have just made.

Reception Theory - Hall

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Repetition and Difference - Neale

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Narrative Structure - Todorov

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Analysing A Film In Accordance to Barthes' Theory (Sinister)

The Horror Genre

Discuss the Genre Conventions of Three Selected Films (Evil Dead, The Exorcist and Saw) and Compare the Audience Appeal

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Analysis Of Opening Scenes in Crime Thriller (Seven and Fargo)

Seven (1995) starts off by introducing us to the main protagonist of the movie, played by Morgan Freeman. This immediate usage of a familiar actor cast in a major role allows people to easily get into the movie. We see him entering a home, no location is given, and the camera proceeds to follow him throughout the building. The focus on Morgan Freeman’s character allows us to identify him as the main character, relating to Propp’s character theory – however there is no villain shown here, providing intrigue and mystery which makes up the majority of the movie about to follow. The lighting is low key; the rooms are very dim with very little light entering them. This presents an idea of tension and a connotation of different negative emotions like sadness or fear. It lines up the movie as something that is not going to be happy. 

The costumes and props used allow us to infer that the characters are police officers/detectives, meaning that the place they are in must be a crime scene. This tends to the stereotypes of the crime genre. We proceed to see a dead body, that of which has been orchestrated by the antagonist of the film that has not yet been introduced, which plays with the conventions of a thriller, as we have not been given all of the details at the start of the film. The scene then goes outside, where we are introduced to the sidekick archetype of character, played by Brad Pitt. Both characters are now standing in the rain, the camera focused on them from a low angle. The use of weather, in a way of pathetic fallacy, allows us to tell that the characters are feeling down after what they have just witnessed. 

The use of a low angle again supports Propp’s character theory as we can clearly see these characters are going to play an important part of the movie as the director has explicitly chosen to portray them as powerful by using a lower angle. Throughout the scene there is no non-diegetic sound, instead all of the audio is focused on the character’s dialogue, allowing the audience to be introduced to them from the start of the film. The lighting in this scene is more high key, due to them being outside, but is contrasted by the weather and the scene that just followed. This contrast reflects how the movie is going to be very morally grey, with quick and simple switches between light and dark situations (both mentally and physically). This movie, much alike many thrillers, does not start with an equilibrium, according to Todorov’s Theory, but instead begins with the disruption that must be resolved, in this case through the solving of the first murder.

The opening scene of Fargo (1996), seems to start with an equilibrium, unlike Seven. It begins with an establishing shot, that begins blurred, of a car driving down a snowy road. Before the car is made clear, we cannot tell what it is in the distance. This clever use of camera techniques provides a sense of mystery and tension as we are not sure what is coming towards us as an audience. The non-diegetic backing track is calmed but still ominous and is almost reminiscent of mournful music. Then a large drum beat kicks in as the car crosses over the horizon of the scene, informing us that we need to be paying attention to what is occurring. The use of different shots after the title of the film has been shown allows the viewer to tell different things about the car and its destination, for example we see road signs, suggesting that the car is heading towards civilisation. Then it cuts to a shot from behind the car, showing that there is a large road ahead of them. This is symbolic of the long road ahead that the viewer has, as this is only the start of the movie. The lighting here is high key, as they are outside, making the audience feel as though at this current moment there is nothing wrong happening. The text used throughout this opening scene, especially the title of the movie, is white – connoting the idea of innocence. The whole way in which the scene is laid out, from its very simplistic nature to the way it uses colour to suggest innocence and the lack of trouble, creates an equilibrium at the start of the movie, applying Todorov’s theory perfectly. This equilibrium makes the soon to come disruption more shocking to the viewer.

Analysis of Opening Scenes in Crime Thriller (Bullitt and Nightcrawler)

Bullitt (1968) and Nightcrawler (2014) are crime thriller movies that both take on a very different approach. This differentiation can even be seen as early as the opening scenes of the two films.

Bullitt’s opening scene consists of a jazz music backing-track, allowing us to identify the era in which the movie is set, and a lot of low key lighting, presenting an idea of mystery and suspense. This usage of lighting allows us to define a genre for the movie (thriller). There is a multitude of shots used- starting with a panning shot that cuts to close-ups of specific objects. This allows us to identify the genre of crime as we can see some stereotypical items like costume (long coats) and props (a gun). The opening scene of this movie shows the credits for the movie (like the cast, producer and director). The opening scene does not conform to either of the narrative theories (Propp’s character theory and Todorov’s theory). Firstly, we cannot tell who is the hero and villain in the clip as there is no clear moral diversity. Every character shown in the clip seems to be violent and out to hurt others, alongside there being no actions like saving a damsel in distress that could paint a particular character as the protagonist. This presents a sense of mystery to the audience as they cannot identify with a particular character, so we want to find out who is the hero – convincing us to carry on watching. Alongside this, the opening scene does not conform with Todorov’s theory- where every movie starts with an equilibrium followed by a disruption. Bullitt instead starts with a disruption, showing the audience that this movie is going to be very action packed because it doesn’t start with a feeling of calm and normality.

In comparison to Bullitt, Nightcrawler’s opening scene displays very coherent signs of a state of equilibrium, as it opens with establishing shots of the movies surrounding setting, backed with a calming soundtrack. This very clever usage of serenity and stillness at the start of the movie allows the viewer to be far more surprised when the dark turn that the movie takes actually occurs. The scenes are all shot at night, with very stark contrasts between the darkness due to the time and the glowing light coming from the urban parts of the setting (the roads and the city) along with the bright moon. This colouration is enchanting to the viewer and symbolic of the movies themes itself. Toward the end of the opening scene we see the main character displaying villainous qualities, from breaking and entering, lying to an official and then proceeding to assault said official and stealing his watch. This creates a moral grey area for the movie as this character in which we are meant to associate with and follow throughout the movie, is actually presented as a bad person. This contradicts what we as an audience are used to in movies but it also compares to the way in which we cannot identify a hero or villain from the Bullitt opening scene.

Analysing A Film's Opening Scene (Evil Dead)

Analysing a Film's Opening Scene (Shutter Island)

In the opening scene for Shutter Island we seen the main characters on a boat, supposedly travelling across water to an ‘island’. We immediately see Leonardo Di Caprio’s character being sick inside a very dimly let and frankly dirty restroom. We see from his costume that he is a man of authority, his belt holding a police badge and a gun. From this we can deduce he is a detective as he has the shield awarded to people in that line of work. He is speaking to himself about his worry about being on the water. Then he looks into the mirror, his face showing extreme hints towards emotions of fear, stress and rage. The character is represented as somewhat weak, he cannot handle being on the sea, but also full of pent up emotion that could be set free at any point. His facial expressions allow the audience to feel a sense of mystery towards this character, as we do not yet know what he is truly scared of or angry about. This allows us to identify the genre of this film, thriller. The character then proceeds to leave the restroom and walk out onto the deck of the boat, where someone else waits. As he is walking through the boat we can see handcuffs hanging from the ceiling. This usage of props could reflect the characters feeling of entrapment on the boat but could also have been used to back up the idea that he is a policeman.

As he walks out of the boat we can see just how melancholy this scene is, the low key lighting along with a flat surrounding scene represents a sense of sadness and loneliness. We are introduced to the supporting character, played by Mark Ruffalo, who states that the man we saw throwing up is actually his boss. This revelation provides a stark contrast in social status as Leonardo Di Caprio’s character seems a lot weaker and more damaged than that of Mark Ruffalo’s, however their standing in society is opposite to this. There is an abundance of camera angle switches and changes between different shots whilst the two characters are having dialogue. Close-ups on each of the character’s faces shows the difference between their current physical appearance, along with their moral state. Mark Ruffalo’s character is a lot calmer and more collected than his boss, whilst Di Caprio’s character looks extremely ill. As an audience this tells us a lot about the contrast between the two characters.

The scene then proceeds with a flashback, showing who seems to be Di Caprio’s wife. The lighting in this scene is high key and the colour is almost golden, reflecting the immense happiness that both of these characters must be feeling. When compared to the scene on the boat, we as an audience can tell that this happy life is soon to come to a close, as everything is so much darker in the present day. However, the scene with his wife presents us with a feeling of joy and happiness for these two characters, but also an intrigue as to what happened. Finally, the shot quickly pans back to the water from the boat, this shot being cut apart by a still image of the wife, as though that is Di Caprio’s final memory of her and that is being cut away by the events of the present day. This is symbolic of the fact that the past cannot be perfect for longer than a moment.

Main Character Representation (Ellen Ripley - Alien)

The main character in Alien (1979) is Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. During the film, the representation of Ripley tears away from social conventions and stereotypes of the time; she is portrayed as a very strong feminine role, something that hadn’t been seen much, especially in the Sci-Fi / Horror genre. She was not represented as a sexual icon, instead a hardened fighter able to command her crew during a time of panic. The interesting choice of script writing allowed Ripley’s character to be cast in a unisexual way, meaning that the character’s actor/actress could be male or female and the script wouldn’t need to be changed. This means that her role in the film doesn’t hold the normal conventions of a feminine role.

This is shown inside the movie through the usage of costume, oftentimes Ripley is wearing a jumpsuit or overalls but even during scenes with little clothing (when the characters have to enter hyper-sleep) she is almost completely covered up with a tank top and shorts. The colour scheme of her costume is not seductive in any way, it consists of mostly greys and browns. Her hairstyle is simple, not much has been done to it and as a result we can deduce that her character is not one that cares about materialistic things like the way she looks- perhaps allowing us to perceive her as stronger as she doesn’t waste time or energy on other aspects of her life. 

At the start of the movie, Ripley isn’t seen as the commanding icon she is towards the end. The director, Ridley Scott’s, extremely clever usage of a dummy protagonist allowed Ripley to be represented as stronger than the other characters. This is due to the way she acts in the film, instead of rushing into dangerous situations angry or scared, she tries to assess a situation both calmly and collected, which ends up with her surviving the whole film. This portrayal of her actions represents the male cast as more ‘stupid’ than she is, which provides a contrast for the audience into social views on women and men.

Ripley’s role in the film is also very controversial due to the events taking place ‘inside’ the male characters. Ripley, being a female is one of the characters not involved in the impregnation by the Alien. This again posts an extreme contrast to real life sexual roles. A male character is impregnated and has to face the pain and agony of that process as the ‘chest-burster’ breaks free from his body. Ridley Scott later commented on this as a political contrast of gender representation where men had to face female fears whilst Ripley and the other feminine role did not have to.

All of the above can be applied alongside Stuart Hall's Reception Theory. The creators of the movie Alien encoded the representation of Ripley as being a strong female leading character that was not sexualised in any way. When presented to the public, a large majority of the viewers would have been a dominant audience, agreeing with this representation of the character. However some people would have been completely oppositional if their culture//beliefs dictated that this was not an appropriate role for women. As Hall's theory states, people would have interpreted Ripley's character in different ways.

How Has The Director Tried to Engage the Audience in the Narrative in the Opening Two Minutes of Once Upon a Time in The West?

A film opening should encapsulate the overall theme and flow of the whole movie in as little time as possible. It should engage the viewer and provoke specific emotions in them, providing an overall clue of the viewing experience in as few as 2 minutes. As an audience we should be able to identify the setting, characters and genre of the film from the opening. A good example of a movie that pulls this off seamlessly is; Once Upon a Time in The West – a “Cow-Boy/Western” released in 1968.

From the first few seconds we can immediately identify the setting and genre of this movie. The views from the windows of the small shack show a sprawling, dry expanse – that of which is similar to most Wild West films. The area is extremely rural and un-built up, as shown by the rickety, unfinished design of the building that the characters are in. This immediately begins the story of the movie, we know where it is set, the types of characters we will be dealing with (due to genre stereotypes) and we can guess some of the movies themes. By allowing the opening scene to be easily identifiable, the director has captured their target audience’s attention; no one is going into this film thinking it is anything other than a western.

The opening scene uses representation very well, we see very stereotypical costumes that separate each of the character’s roles; bounty hunter, train conductor, and maid. Each of the costumes conforms to its character’s stereotypes, the bounty hunter’s clothes are dirty and well-used whilst the conductors and maid’s are job specific, professional and clean. The director used this to show us the distinction between the different characters. We can also see that the middle-aged men are the power in the room, as the woman is a maid and the older man is shown as weak and a bit of a pushover.

The use of sound in the opening 2 minutes is handled very cleverly. There is no music and very little dialogue (the only speech coming from the train conductor), the audio is instead focused on the over emphasis (Foley) of certain sound effects; like the creaking of the door and the scrape of chalk on a blackboard. The director used this media strategy to create a feeling of tension with the audience along with a sense of mystery as without dialogue we cannot identify why the bounty hunter-esque characters are there. Whilst not forwarding the narrative directly, the added suspense allows the narrative to become more appealing to the viewer, as it is not laid out before the movie has begun.

The lighting in the scene takes on two distinct forms, whilst the scene is set during the day (so the outside is lit up with high key) the inside of the shack is rather gloomy and dark, using a more low key lighting. The way the director used lighting actually does further the narrative, we see that outside it is bright and sunny, whilst inside it is dark and foreboding – eluding to something bad that is about to happen inside this house. The usage of low key inside also fits both the genre and context as, during the Wild West era there was no electricity, so lights would not have been a necessity in homes (as all they could use were fire lamps). People would use the light from outside to brighten their living spaces, which we can see through the vastly open windows.

There are a variety of camera angles and shots used in the opening to the movie but the ones used to the most effect are close ups on the more foreboding characters’ faces. This lets the director show us how hardened they are and allows us to match their faces to characters as they will obviously be important later in the film. There is also a close up of the train conductor’s face, showing the contrast between his cheerful demeanour and the “Cow-Boy’s” grim expressions. The close ups are spliced between a wide shot of the whole shack, which progresses the setting and shows all of the character in one place at the same time.

The editing in the scene is slow paced to build up tension. It switches between the shots slowly, so the viewer can truly take in everything before it moves on. This allows them to identify different parts of the narrative, like the setting and the character’s faces and costumes. There are practically no transitions, an action the director took in order to hold the audience’s attention and to maintain the level of tension in the scene.

In conclusion, the director of Once Upon a Time in The West uses the opening 2 minutes to introduce us to multiple characters and to build up their grim personalities and to show us both the genre and setting of the film. Finally, he uses key media strategies to build up tension and draw in the audience, convincing them to continue watching.

How is Mise-En-Scene Used to Develop Different Features Within a Film?

Mise-En-Scene, by its French definition, means ‘put into a scene’ and encompasses almost all of the physical elements of a film’s scene, including; setting, actors (and their actions/facial expressions), props, costumes, makeup and lighting. Mise-En-Scene is used to ‘set the scene’, to make it look as contextually accurate as possible. It is also used to develop certain aspects of filmography, five of which I will be focusing on here.

Mise-En-Scene is used to its highest possible capacity whilst developing the narrative of a particular movie. For example, we can see a story’s location through the setting and the way this is depicted in a scene. We see the actors, the way they ‘act’, dress and speak- which can tell us a lot about their personalities and roles inside the narrative. The same applies for props, by seeing an era-specific item, for example a sword, we can place a time-frame on the movies story.

Character relationships are another important part of all movies that is developed by specific Mise-En-Scene elements. Through the usage of different facial expressions; smiles, scowls, laughs, etc.; we can tell how one character feels towards another. If a female character is showing signs of attraction through her actions or facial expressions, we can deduce she may be in love with another character. This also applies to the way costume is used, again taking the feeling of attraction as an example, if a female character is wearing seductive attire like a beautiful dress, we can associate this with feelings and relationships towards the other characters.

Without Mise-En-Scene, an audience would not be able to engage with a film as it would be extremely bland, confusing and contextually inaccurate. For example, a scene in a sci-fi movie would be extremely unengaging if there was nothing that depicted it in that genre; no space costumes, no space-ship setting and no laser-gun props. If Mise-En-Scene is used perfectly it can maximise audience engagement. Adding little props to top off a scene makes all the difference to retaining a happy and interested audience.

Mise-En-Scene can also be used to develop a stereotypical representation of a character or scene. The main focus would be the physical aspects like; props, makeup and costumes. Costume can connote a stereotypical type of character - the nerd would wear glasses and a Pop culture TV shirt whilst a businessman would wear a pristine suit and an expensive watch. Make-up can be used in different ways to fit stereotypes, for example a vampire would have very pale skin and large, pointy fangs, something that can be shown through the use of makeup. Props can also be used to help the representation of a certain character or theme; a painter would have a paint brush or a knight a sword. Whilst the usage of Mise-En-Scene to develop stereotypes seems simple, it is very important.

Finally, Mise-En-Scene can be used to develop iconography in a film. Iconography is basically the things that we see on a screen that would allow us to decide the genre of a film. This is practically the whole point of Mise-En-Scene; the props, costumes, actors, setting and all the other features, if applied correctly would allow us to immediately define the films genre.

To put all of this into practice I will quickly be looking at a scene from Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, that of which being the first time Harry enters Platform 9¾. The Mise-En-Scene in the scene allows us to easily identify who the main character is; as Harry is the focus of most of the shots. We can also see what his personality is like, he is clever/nerdy because of the glasses and clothes, along with being kind of withdrawn due to his quiet voice and worried facial expressions. We immediately see a very important character relationship between Harry and Ron, shown by their friendly demeanour towards one another. Harry becomes more outgoing and his holds his body more confidently. The scene allows the audience to easily engage as the setting, a train station, is obvious. What the characters are trying to do is also obvious, along with who they are. For example, it is obvious that the Weasley’s are related as they had the same hair and very similar clothes (costume). From what is happening in the scene we can tell this movie is fantastical/magical because some of the ‘props’ (like the owl Hedwig) are stereotypical to a wizard character. Also, we clearly see people passing through a wall, something that is impossible in real life. These ideas could also play into the stereotypical representations of the characters.

Self Profile

Preferred Genre of Film

Horror – I think horror, whilst being probably the most oversaturated film genre, is also one of the smartest when applied correctly. The ability to provide extremely strong emotions like fear to a viewer is a very powerful one to have. Whilst this is my favourite genre, I probably would not use it for the film opening as, stated above, to use the genre effectively is hard.

Areas of Strength in Practical Work

Previous experience (leisure and business) with simple filming using DSLR (Canon 700D). I am able to change lighting through the camera system, using ISO, record high quality video and audio and can use the rule of thirds to take well framed shots. I have had experience in this due to my YouTube channel but also working through a business to create a trailer for a Halloween event.

Previous experience (leisure and business) with advanced editing using Premiere Pro CS6. I can use Premiere Pro efficiently and am able to apply certain effects (e.g. Chroma Key) to my footage. I can also manipulate audio and conduct multiple video layers at once.

Areas of Strength in Theory Work

I have knowledge in all 3 narrative theories (Todorov’s, Propps and Levi Strauss), GCSE key media terminology (Lighting, Sound, Mise-En-Scene, Setting etc.) and analytical techniques. This will mean that the theory side of my blog should be successful as I am able to apply extended knowledge of the subject to my analytical and research/planning blog posts.  

Areas of Improvement in Practical Work

I could improve my camera work to make it more advanced, by focusing on aspects like FOV (Field of View), where certain things in the frame are in focus whilst the props/objects in front/behind them are out of focus.Whilst I have knowledge in Adobe Premiere Pro, it would be beneficial to take a look at another editing software. In this case it would be on a completely different computer system (a Mac) with Final Cut Pro. Some aspects of editing have been made easier in different applications, meaning that it may be a good idea to have experience in multiple areas.

Areas of Improvement in Theory Work

Whilst I believe my knowledge of GCSE level terminology is good, I think to improve it would be a good idea to take a look more into the A Level terminology so that I can improve my level of analysis. For example, I could take a look at key conventions of different genres and/or media texts.

Key Skills and Attributes I Could Bring to a Group

Having previous experience in both camera work and editing, I could pass this knowledge onto others in the group who may be struggling. Alongside this, having experience working with a team during the production of a media text means I am able to co-operate and share/take ideas with/from others.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Leon and welcome to my AS Level Media Blog. All of my research, planning, production and analytical work will be featured here. During this course I would like to improve upon my camerawork and editing techniques, so that I would be able to apply these skills in later life. So far I have knowledge of how to use a camera for video and how to use editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro. Also, having studied Media at GCSE I have experience in analysing films; incorporating aspects like narrative techniques and Mise-En-Scene. Over the course of this year I would like to produce my own piece of film that I myself am proud of. My group consists of Michael Barrett Tom Kelly and myself.