Analysis of two Yr12 productions: Romeo and The Paper boy

Romeo

starts off introducing the production companies and distributors, the music is non-diegetic, it's played over the scenes, and the characters, of course, cannot hear the music. The song used at first is "Canis Lupus" by Alexandre Desplat, this song has a soothing female singer with a beautiful and angelic voice which is accompanied by a harp, this, at the start, gives a feeling to the audience of relaxation, calmness and tranquility. The angelic instrument (harp) and the voice connote innocence and purity and the fact the music is playing while going over a character at a high angle shot connotes that this character is looked down upon by Gods or angels, the lighting is cleverly used to focus the majority of the light on the characters head which connotes that maybe there is hope within this character, that this character is an innocent character but due to the character hiding his face and looking down connotes he doesn't believe in himself or linking it to the fact it's low-key lighting it could connote that he is a dark character, he acts out and is cruel to those around him but the music and the light focusing on him suggests that even though he acts like this that at heart he is in-fact an innocent and loving character, he may be portrayed as a bad person but he isn't truly like that. The editing is parallel to the music, it's smooth and calm, fades at the start, you also see at around 18seconds a panning shot which is an extreme close up of the eyes of the assumed main character/protagonist, the same music is still playing over this scene and could connote that this characters eyes see purity or is pure (the eyes never lie) it suggest that this character isn't a bad character. 

The title is then shown "Romeo" but gets cut a short while after to a black screen which connotes that this famous heart-throb name "Romeo" isn't exactly going to be a perfect happy ending, there will be some sort of darkness/blackness. The fact that it cuts straight to black after the name "Romeo" could also connote that it is this character "Romeo" who will create this darkness or is the darkness. After the cut, a fade is used to bring in the shot of a city silhouette, the sky is quite pink or red which connotes more love emotions than anger emotions due to the pinkness in the colour (if red was more dominant then it could connote anger, strong love or blood) the music has also changed from an angelic female singer to a slightly urban, calm male voice with the sound editing effect of auto tune which connotes that even though the song may be featuring a calm male voice it does have this slight imperfection about it, it has a unnatural effect in the voice which could foreshadow a bad event occurring with good intentions (e.g. relating to the title "Romeo", it could foreshadow a love gone bad situation). The song used now is "Lost in the world" by Kanye West featuring Bon Iver, this choice of song could connote that the protagonist/eponymous hero "Romeo" may be lost in a world of love due to the fact the name Romeo is highly known by the famous shakespeare love tragedy play of "Romeo and Juliet" and also the previous scene where the cut occurred may be foreshadowing this as the bad event of the main character "Romeo" being lost in the world of love.

The editing at this point is slightly short scenes with fades which are parallel to the music, you also see two silhouettes of characters, one of which looks like the main protagonist "Romeo" who leans in to give the other character a kiss, this is from a low angle shot which connotes that "Romeo" and this other character have a lot of power but the lighting is low-key which gives this effect of silhouettes, this connotes that these two characters together are seen negatively and have some sort of darkness within them but it shows more of "Romeo" than the character he kisses which could connote that it's "Romeo" with the greater power and darkness within him. The song lyrics "I'm building a still to slow down time" links to the scene where "Romeo" is kissing the other character, he's building a romantic moment which will slow down time, make it more meaningful and long. The part where the song says "To slow down time" shows a low angle, long shot showing two characters walking side by side towards the camera with strong confident poses and walks in slow motion which makes the song parallel to the scene, the low angle shot along side the facial expression and stances as they walk connotes they have power and are possibly angry and maybe looking for someone which links to the next scene which is of a blurred POV shot from a low angle of someone kicking the character we are seeing from, it allows the audience to identify with this character which is being kicked, we are placed in the characters position and we look up at this attacker making us the audience feel weak and giving this attacker the higher power.

Soon after we see a close up of two characters holding hands which shortly after is followed by a sunset which connotes romance and love but then followed the character "Romeo" kicking a locker and storming off angrily, which connotes that the relationship between the two characters holding hands is possibly the reason why he is upset, the music is still parallel, the character kicks the locker at the same time the music changes its pace with a loud bang or clap. The scene ends with a cut which shows the tension and anger the character feels. We soon hear a short argument which is used in a sound bridge over a montage of romantic scenes, it shows these two characters arguing and pushing each other, the lighting used is low-key lighting, a lot of shadows which connotes the darkness and atmosphere in the room at the time, from that moment onwards the editing is quicker, fades used are reduced and cuts are in place more as well as one more blurred POV shot of "Romeo" attacking the person we are seeing from, it a low angle shot which again gives "Romeo" the higher power, making Romeo be seen as the stronger and more powerful one.

The video ends with the music stopping and an extreme close up of "Romeo" with half the screen covered by half his face and a character far in the back shouting "Romeo, you don't have to do this" which creates an enigma in the audiences mind, they are questioning what "Romeo" is going to do, we've seen that he has attacked someone which could possibly be what the character is preventing "Romeo" from doing but it isn't fully clear.

WWW: clever editing used with the music, good choice of songs to match what the narrative is about, a wide range of shots were used.

EBI: maybe add in a voice over to give the audience a clearer understand of what is actually going on and have the voices projected more clearly, the music was quite loud and distracting over the voices.

The Paper Boy

The Paper Boy starts off with scary horror music which connotes that what the audience is about to watch is related to the horror  genre, the setting is then established with a panning shot of a school grounds and the iconic sound of a school bell ringing, you then see a character dressed in school uniform walking through double doors with a strong pose but slightly frightened facial expression which could foreshadow a bad event which links to the next scene which occurs with a straight cut with a flash, you see many black and white moving images with a few flashes which connotes memories and flashbacks, this gives the audience some idea of what the story line/narrative is, it tells the audience that this horror film may be a horror due to some sort of past event in the characters life. The scene which followed after the boy walking through the doors is a panning shot of a group of school boys laughing and following this protagonist character, a quick fade leads to two female characters laughing and pointing, the scene which follows is assumed to be what the female characters were laughing at and that is the group of boys  bullying the protagonist. The words "10 years later" appear straight after the bullying scene and is followed by a grown male character walking along the street almost bumping into a female, this could connote that this male character is the protagonist who was being bullied in the black and white flashbacks.

We see more black and white flashbacks with quick cut editing. Just before the pace of the music changes slightly we see a black and white image of a child laying his head in his arms on a table, this fades into a colour moving image of a fully grown male character in the same seat doing the same actions but lifts his head as the music changes pace, this connotes that this male character is the same character but older than the younger black and white character, this was also in a slightly high angle shot looking down on this male character, making the audience look down on him and make him feel weak and make the audience feel superior to him, this is then followed by another flashback which shows three female school characters laughing and pointing as they walk through a door possibly at this protagonist when he was a child.

The camera is then positioned above a stairwell and is in a high angle shot position, it looks down on a female character, linking to the last scene its possible that this female character was one of the female school girl characters that laughed at the protagonist, the camera follows the female character as she runs up the stairs and pans around as she enters an elevator with a male character, the music used for this shot had changed to a faster but still scary horror genre music (SAW film theme tune). We could also assume that the camera was from a POV shot, as the girl ran up the stairs there were fades being used as if someone was blinking and watching the girl run up the stairs, it puts us, the audience, in the position of someone who could possibly be in this horror film, the audience will feel as if they are part of the film and therefore will feel a lose of security and an increase of fear due to the film being a horror.

Straight after that scene we are back into black and white effect and are looking at a wall with the word "REVENGE" written on it and an image of a male and female below it, the writing and image is dripping and fading/losing its colour, a flash occurs and then a close up of the image of the male and female is shown which connotes that maybe the female is meant to be the girl who got into the elevator an the male is the person next to her, they both could been seen as the victims of the film. The music stops and the male character runs out the elevator, you can hear a heartbeat and heavy breathing which is assumed to be the male characters heartbeat and breathing, fades and flashes are used as the male runs to his car in slow motion (which creates tension) as if he is losing focus and concentration, this creates an enigma for the audience, what could have caused the male character to have ran? or breath heavy? why is his vision blurred?.

Music starts up again as soon as a character wearing a paper bag on his head jumps in front of a car window which is seen from a low angle shot, giving the character on the car more power, the majority of the black and white shots are then shown again but in a backwards motion, rewinding as if to connote that "this is where it all began".

WWW: The use of slow motion, the sound editing of the heat beat and heavy breathing, clear  conventions of the genre.

EBI: The lighting needed to be more focused on to really set the mood of the horror film and if more angles were used at some points.

Fish Tank Review

Director: Andrea Arnold known for - No.73 (1982), Fish Tank (2009), Red Road (2006) and Wasp (2003)

Main Stars: Katie Jarvis, Micheal Fassbender and Kierston Wareing

                   

Katie Jarvis isn't very well known, has starred in a TV series the same year as Fish Tank called "Perfect day", offered a role in the popular British based film "SHANK" but rejected the role.

Micheal Fassbender is slightly more well known, starred in "300", "Angel", "Agatha Christie:Poirot" before "Fish Tank" and he has appeared in several other TV series or TV films/shorts but after "Fish Tank" he had become more known starring in "Inglourious Basterds", "Jonah Hex", Voiced a video game character for Fable3, starred in "X-Men: First Class" and "Prometheus"

Kierston Wareing isn't as well known as Micheal but is more known than Katie Jarvis, she starred in two TV series, one short, starred in the film "It's a free world" as the main role and the "RIse of the Footsoldier"

Plot: I believe the story is about a teenager who is stuck in this low society lifestyle, she is struggling to get free from this lifestyle. In the film there is this white horse which connotes purity but the horse is chained down and looks weak and dying, in some sense it relates to the female protagonist, she is chained down to her lifestyle, she can't escape it, she has pure talent of dancing but she struggles to escape her life, this links to the title of the film "Fish Tank" in a fish tank you are able to see outside at the world but you're unable to leave your current surroundings, you are limited to your surroundings, just like how the protagonist is limited with her choices, also during the film the mother of the protagonist dances to some music just before the protagonist leaves to go on a trip with a friend, the protagonist dances with the mother and they both do almost the exact same moves as if to say that the daughter will eventually end up like her mother no matter what, she can't escape it, the youngest daughter also joined in with the dancing behind the protagonist (her older sister) which shows that its like a cycle within the family, soon the youngest daughter will end up just like the mother and her older sister, they are all limited to their surroundings and are just like each other.

Characters: Katie Jarvis = protagonist (Mia), her acting skills are amazing, shows pure emotions and feelings of anger as if they come from within, she is apparently from a similar background which could possible give her the chance to really express her feelings through the film, but at some points I couldn't find her character convincing enough, I sometimes I lost myself in the film due to her acting and raw emotions but then sometimes she didn't do such a good job in making me believe she is Mia and not an actor.

Micheal Fassbender = Connor, the potential step-father who happens to be a family man from a better off lifestyle than Mia and her mother, Micheal is also very talented in showing strong emotions, he is able to portray this good guy feel about him to the audience, able to trick the audience in believing his character but does make it slightly obvious of his feelings for the other characters, he is able to make the audience question themselves, they see how he acts to Mia but isn't sure if he's thinking what the audience think or if it's all just in our minds.

Kierston Wareing = Joanne, the mother of Mia, I think her acting was pretty good majority of the time, showing her hatred for Mia but at some points I didn't find her very convincing, I did find her more convincing than Katie but not as much as Micheal

Genre: Drama, I think the film met my expectations of what is needed in a drama, it had some very tense moments and sad or upsetting images of family life in an area in which the characters live in, there was a lot of family issues in that film which is where I believe the majority of the drama came from, the tension between the mother and Mia.

Soundtrack: I didn't notice much of the soundtrack but it was cleverly used within the film linking the music to the scenes, the music was parallel to what was being shown on the screen.

Audience: I believe that this film is mainly targeted at teenagers who are going through a similar situation and live a similar lifestyle to Mia, it allows them to identify with Mia and feel comfort and security knowing that they aren't the only ones living like this, it's to show people that there are others out there going through the same thing, you're not alone. It also allows the audience to see how other may deal with their problems and situations and see if they can either follow or divert from their current path, a secondary target audience would most likely be people who live a "well-off" lifestyle, they have and get the best possible things without much effort, it's most likely to show that some people aren't as privileged as you, help others who are in need of help and don't take your life for granted.

Cinematography analysis on four film stills

This film still is from the film 'Remember me' It's a high angle shot which makes the audience look down on this female character, it makes the audience feel superior to the female character but due to the female characters facial expression and emotions/body language, the audience may feel sympathy for her, relating to Propp's character roles she may be seen as a princess, she is in need of help, her facial expression shows that she is upset, scared and about to burst into tears, the fact that her hands are up against her mouth seem as if she is looking directly at something that is shocking and surprising and has made her feel weak (hence the reason for the high angle shot) the lighting is low-key lighting, there are few shadows around her and behind her and below her neck, this could connote a bad event, she is surrounded by dark coloured objects.

This film still is from 'The Great Gatsby', it's a extreme close up (or could be argued as a close up) of a female characters face with a small area of the film still having a male character leaning over the female character which connotes he is either dancing with her or whispering to her in her ear, the audience or viewer of this film still can assume she knows this male character due to them both being in close proximity with no signs of fear on her facial expressions, her facial expressions aren't blank, the gaze she gives in her eyes connote that she is listening to the male character or is thinking of something while dancing with the male character, this relates to Barthes theory of enigma, the audience from this film still wouldn't know exactly what is going on. The close up/extreme close up used is to show the facial expression of this female character and to also attract the male audience, the character has flawless skin, an alluring beauty mark next to her tender bright red lips, (the colour red connotes love, passion and romance) she has almost a "doll like" face and make-up (doll-like connoting perfect and flawless make-up).

This film still is from the ending of 'Inception', it's a close up of a spinning top which in the film is used by a character as a way to tell if he's dreaming or if he's in reality, the close up forces the audience to look at the spinning top, the director wants us to look at the spinning top and wants the audience to be on the edge of their seats waiting for the answer to be revealed, relating to Barthes theory it creates an enigma, the lighting used is low-key lighting on the right side of the spinning top u can see a shadow on it and below the right side of the spinning top is another shadow which could connote that the answer isn't the "happy ever after" ending, it could connote that the character isn't where he wants to be (back in reality) it could foreshadow a bad event to come.

This film still is from 'The Prestige' it shows a long shot of a magician just after performing an incredible trick, the camera is at a low angle shot, it gives this character a sense of power, the magic trick is seen as impossible to pull off and he does it in a matter of seconds which makes everyone seem as less superior to him, the camera is deliberately set at a low angle to allow the audience to feel what the film audience/magicians audience feels. You can see a male character/actors face on the left side of the camera as if you are a member of the audience, you could be seeing the point of view shot from the magicians rival who happens to be in the audience, you are literally put in the position of the audience and feel what the fake film audience feel, the lighting is a realistic theatre lighting that would be used in magic shows creating a lot of low-key lighting like the shadow of the magician on the wall, it could connote that the magician has a dark side within him and that he isn't who he portrays himself to be.

The cinematography of a 1940 and 1990 film

Cinematography consist of two elements which are camera framing e.g. close up, medium shot, long shot etc. and camera movement e.g. panning, tilt, tracking etc. so for the two film extracts I shall analyse purely the cinematography but I shall also include other aspects of film such as lighting and try to relate to theories if needed but I will not go into depth on them (unless needed). I will analyse "The thief of Bagdad" (1940) and "Goodfellas" (1990)

"The thief of Bagdad" extract above starts off with a long shot to establish the setting and allow the audience to see what is going on in a scene. This scene starts off with a shadowed character running alongside the sea on a beach which creates an enigma, which relates to Barthes theory, it could connote that due to the shadow character, created by low-key lighting and a use of back-lighting, is a evil or dark  character (which relates to Propp's character roles saying that this character is a villain) and could be a possible antagonist, it could also foreshadow a bad event which may occur to the character. The camera then slowly pans across just to follow the character as they run across the beach. The camera then cuts to a high angle shot looking down on a bottle which has drifted its way on shore. The high angle shot could connote that the bottle isn't important and has no dangers within it, the camera then cuts to the accused antagonist and a reverse shot is used. The camera looks down on the bottle from a high angle shot but then looks up at the male accused antagonist and then back down at the bottle, this connotes that the boy is obviously superior and it also allows the audience to see what the boy is looking at and allows the audience to see what his reaction is to seeing this bottle (the boy gave a slightly curious and confused look as he stopped to look at the bottle).

The boy picks up the bottle in a long shot which is followed by a medium shot to allow the audience to see that the boy is attempting to open the bottle, the medium shot shows you the characters facial expressions and body movement/language. A close up is then used when the boy is able to open the bottle, the close up forces the audiences eyes to look at the bottle, it is possible that the director wanted to emphasis the importance of that bottle being opened. The camera shows the characters facial expression in an extreme close up and along with the dramatic music that starts, it foreshadows that trouble is about to come. Two long shots follow the opening of the bottle, the first is to show the action of character and the second one is to show or unravel an enigma of what the bottle contains. A reverse shot is then used again this is to show what the character has done and his reaction to what he has done, when showing the characters facial expression the camera angle is a high angle shot which connotes that the character who once was superior is now seen as an underdog/weaker one, low-key lighting has created a huge shadow over the character which emphasises the size of this bad event and the darkness/evilness within it.

The camera shows from a high angle shot of the assumed antagonist running back and forth with fear in his facial expression, he is seen from the audience as the weaker one due to this high angle shot, accompanied with his facial expression. The camera pans side to side following the character as if it comes from the point of view of this new revealed character who came from within the bottle and is a giant, it puts the audience in the new characters shoes and makes them feel superior to the small, weaker looking character who they are forced to look down on. The giant is then looked at from  a low angle shot, this gives the audience the feeling of what the weaker character felt, it allows the audience to feel weak while putting the giant in a superior position and possibly giving this giant the label of Propp's characters of a villain

This scene in the "Goodfellas" starts off with a pan shot of the subject (the three males fixing the car) to the speaker (protagonist male alongside female companion/sidekick). This forces the audience to look at the characters fixing the car and then to the male and female, which could connote that there is going to be some sort of event occurring between the two set of characters. The camera shows a point of view shot from the male protagonist in the car, he looks at his rear-view mirror and sees the three males fixing their car, but the director focused the audiences view on the male in yellow as he is the only one out of the three who is looking towards the camera/character, he is also the only one out of the three who is wearing yellow, the other two are wearing blue which connotes that this character in yellow is most likely the one who is seen as an antagonist and is the one who will most likely be confronted by the protagonist. A reverse shot is used to show the three males then to show the reaction of the protagonist in a close up, as the protagonist leaves his car a high angle shot is used on a close up of a gun which the protagonist takes out, the fact that it is a deadly weapon a low angle shot would have most likely have been suitable to emphasise its power but the director used a high angle shot which could connote that the deadly weapon isn't going to be used in the way it would normally be used (shooting and killing people).

As the protagonist leaves his car a close up and pan shot is used to show the character getting out of the car but to also emphasise and focus the audiences eyes on where the character conceals his weapon. A tracking shot is then used at medium shot height to show the characters body language and facial expression as the character speed walks across the street and confronts the male character in yellow. The camera stops as the character reaches the edge of the antagonists driveway and changes from a tracking shot to a panning shot, it pans around focusing the audiences attention on this antagonist, a long shot is used to allow the audience to see the surroundings and also to see the actions of the protagonist on the antagonist and the reactions of this event on the two non-important characters. The camera tracks the protagonist as he speed walks angrily back across the road, half way across the road the camera stops and pans to allow the audience to see a long shot of where the protagonist is going. The audience then see a close up revealing the emotions of the female who was earlier shown with the protagonist in the car, another close up is then used to focus the audiences attention from a high angle shot on what the protagonist has given this female character as he asks her if she is okay, the high angle shot was of the gun which again suggests that the gun isn't going to be used for killing or shooting anyone and is therefore looked down on as something weak. Using the words the protagonist had said to the female character "Are you alright?" could connote that the woman, when relating to Propp's characters, is a princess in need of rescuing.

Key differences

The 1940 film used sound to show or foreshadow a bad event while the 1990 film used reverse shots and facial expressions more to show or foreshadow a bad event. The 1940 film didn't really use camera movement much but did use a lot of camera angles, it wanted to emphasis the power of a person or object. It wanted to use (relating to Levi-Strausses theory) binary opposites of strong vs weak. One object or person had to be portrayed as stronger than the other while the 1990 film didn't want to portray their protagonist as a stronger force than their antagonist even though it was clearly shown that the protagonist was the stronger force than the antagonist in that scene.

The Charter Agreement on Prezi

Photos accompanied by parallel and contrapuntal music

In this video you will see the same two sets of photos accompanied first by parallel music. Parallel music is music which is appropriate for the video, it portrays the same feelings and emotions that the video gives. e.g. sad music will be parallel to a set of photos or videos which is about war, relationship break ups, death etc. The second set of the same photos will be accompanied by contrapuntal music. Contrapuntal music is music which is portraying a different message or feeling than the video or photos which it accompanies. e.g. sad music for a wedding video/photo, for the birth photo of a child, happiness of people etc.

My video shows memories of prom night, the first set of photos has violins, harps and a piano playing in the background all in perfect harmony to produce a calm song, the music could anchor a meaning on the photos, due to the music being calm and relaxing it gives off a nostalgic feeling, it represents the people in the photos as calm, caring and relaxed people, it allows the audience of the first part of the video feel comfortable and relaxed, the music allows them to reminisce peacefully and connotes happiness and good memories. The second part of the video has contrapuntal music in the background, it confuses the audience and creates an enigma (which relates to Barthes enigma codes), the audience would be questioning the choice of music and would wonder what it could represent, could it represent these people who are portrayed as smart, business looking men and women (due with their clothing) as people who aren't who they seem to be, they aren't formal business looking people and are rebellious teenagers? or could it connote that there is some sort of tension within these groups of people? These would be the questions left in the audiences head when viewing this video.

side note - during part of the video of the parallel music some of the photos go through a transition at the same time as the piano sound hits.

Two minute pitch of print advert about TV is not dying.

Pitch: The background photo is from the 'Godfather' film, the whole concept of this print advert is to do with reliability, we're trying to say that television isn't dead, it never will be, it has always been around and has been much more easier to use and more reliable than the internet. The target audience for this advert is aimed at 35-40year old men as the 'Godfather' is seen as a manly film and is to do with reliability, trust and respect, also the film would have most likely been seen by that age range and are therefore familiar to the scene.

Stereotypically women in general consume a lot of media by talking on phones, texting a lot, going online to do shopping and they are therefore less likely to stay with TV, they have already experienced the internet and most likely have gotten the hang of using the internet while males are less likely to be going on the internet to do shopping or to talk on the phone with their friends so this advert is to try and persuade a male to not move onto the internet because compared to the TV it's nothing, we can help persuade the male not to move on by the direct quote from the film and tagline on the print advert which says "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man." it's a quote which is questioning the manhood of males who see this print advert, it's saying that to be a real man you must spend time with your family so what better than to sit together and watch TV rather than to go on a PC to watch TV shows on your own, this quote might also persuade males, who in a household is stereotypically the "boss" of the house, to "boss" the rest of the family and make them watch TV together which will also hopefully show the whole family that TV is more reliable and much easier to use.

The red tagline is written in the font of the 'Godfather' and is in a red colour because red is related to the 'Godfather' through their blood, violence, the red rose etc. also the colour red is one of the colours the human eye looks directly to first so we are trying to put importance onto the tagline.