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Y12 Starter tasks

Aesthetics

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Aesthetics – An overall style. A film will create a certain aesthetic from the mise en scene and cinematography.

Aesthetic Terms 1 – realism

Verisimilitude – the appearance of being true or real.

  • In This Is England, the housing and location can be verisimilitude for the audience as it might be similar to the audiences life.

Social realism – films aims to show the effects of environment factors on the development of character.

  • In This Is England, the social realism conforms to the British contemporary social realism genre, with representation of real life, with its difficulties.

magic realism – portrays fantastical events in otherwise realistic tone

  • In Harry Potter the writers sets the characters in a fantastical world of mystery

Hyperreality – an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality

  • The Matrix, uses hyperrealism for example the film sucks us into the matrix or the virtual world

Aesthetics Terms 2 – Visual style

Iconography – the patterns of signs we associate with a particular genre.

  • In the Bond movies, the car chase scene is normally associated with the genre of the movie.

Intertextual Referencing – two works of art overlaps. The movie overlaps with another work of art.

  • In Shrek 1, Shrek is a Ogre who is assumed to be the bad guy and prince charming usually assumed to be the hero and the good guy.

Visual/sound motifs – sound motif is a recurring element that is associated with a particular character, theme, or idea.

  • In Jaws, when the shark is near a theme of 2 notes of music to symbolise the shark being close.

Colour Grading – the process of manipulating and enhancing colour to achieve a desire look and mood.

  • In Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix, the colour grading ends in a dark blue and murkier colour to reflect the ominous and bleak prospect of Voldemort’s reign.

Auteur Trademarks – a reference ( e.g. to an object, a character, or a happening) that is recurrent in the authors work.

  • For example Steven Spielberg’s trademark would be his use of lighting, camera angles and movement.

Aesthetics Terms 3 – Tone

Pathos – referred to as an emotional appeal

  • In UP, Carl griefs over his wife to increase the emotional response.

Bathos – the effect of turning a serious moment in a movie, into something completely trivial and unimportant.

  • In War of The World, A Batho happens when the machine gives an ending far different to audience expectations.

Suspense – the audience’s excited anticipation about the plot or conflict.

  • In Jaws suspense is used when the shark is near creating excited anticipation.

Comedy – light-hearted dramas, crafted to amuse and to entertain the audience.

  • In Pitch Perfect, the genre is a comedy movie aimed to make the audience laugh, for example one of the character being called “fat Amy” as she doesn’t want to be called fat behind her back.

Dramatic Irony – The significance of a characters words or action is clear to other audience but unknown to the character.

  • In Romeo and Juliet. Romeo enter the tomb thinking Juliet is dead and drinks the poison to be with Juliet in death, however wakes just after he dies.

Distancing Effect – artists never act as if there were a fourth wall besides the three surrounding them

  • For example, In Ferris Bueller’s day, Ferris gives direct mode of address to the camera breaking the fourth wall.

Postmodern Humour – subvert highly regarded expectation

  • In Scream, post modern is used when they ignore the formats it continually references by always being a step ahead or a step behind
Exam

Exam Feedback

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Phrases/ vocab that is impressive

  • ” this reframing of the central character, has a potentially cathartic effect”
  • ” the deliberate and stylised use of ”

Define Diegetic

  • existing or occurring within the world of a narrative rather than as something external to that world.

Cathartic Effect

  • the act or process of relieving a strong emotion.

Reframing

  • a change in a persons mindset, whether it be a positive or a negative change.

Connote

  • it suggests what something might mean or convey

PEEL Structure

  • The structure of the paragraph shows a clear structure of point, evidence, explain and link to spectator.
  • point = blue
  • evidence = pink
  • explain = orange
  • link = green
This is England

This Is England – Representation Task

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Young people

Young people in This Is England is most represented from the gang of Skinheads, they are represented as being ready to fight and make a difference. Apart from the skinheads there is a scene that takes place at a school which shows a bit of bullying from an older boy who is making fun of Shaun’s jeans.

Masculinity

In the film, there is a showing of Shaun’s father who appears not to be alive anymore but it shows how he died in the war fighting for his country showing the typical masculine traits of being strong and powerful. This father figure is soon filled in by Woody who act very paternal to Shaun ( buying him shirts ).

Class

From many scenes in the film, you can see the low income housing being represented and the poverty being are going through. Most of the house being used have low amount of furniture of furniture that looks old, tacky and uncomfortable showing the audience that the people in the film couldn’t afford much.

Place

The location used from the film, like low income housing can create a verisimilitude feeling for the audience as many people have similar experience when living in poverty. There is many derelict, abandoned location showing isolation throughout the town.

Women

Women in the film are being portrayed as being the girlfriends to the main characters such as Kelly. There is the plotline of Shaun asking smell (16) to be his girlfriend, showing that age should be a reason not to date.

Black People

Black People are represented as being the villain and taking English peoples jobs, in many scenes you feel upset and bad for them as they are being accused of many thing when they are also just trying to have life in the UK.

Older People

Older people are being represented as being in a higher class with having more expensive items such as having a nicer car and nicer clothing showing they have had a different upbringing compared to the skinheads.

English People

In the film there is image of Margaret Thatcher, showing the nation and she is represented as being a nasty and unwelcoming conservative, There is image of the English fighting showing them standing of for themselves and fighting for the countries.

This is England

This Is England – Micro Elements Task

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Sound

I think sound throughout the film was used really well. For me the music used help to enhance scene and create more of a meaning for example – 25 minute in, there is happy upbeat music while everyone is playing football implying the happy and fun atmosphere of the game and friendship for Shaun and Woody, this help the audience reflect similar type of emotion like Shaun.

Editing

In This Is England, I really liked the editing such as the montages throughout the film especially the first opening scene of the film, where there is a montage of the prime minister, King Charles and Princess Diana and a war. This helps the audience know when the film was set in and to know some knowledge about the film before it has properly begun.

Mise en Scene

I really like the mise en scene for this film such as the location which created a verisimilitude feeling for the audience, I really liked the costumes as well for example in order to fit in with the skinhead you needed a shirt, doc martins, brace and your head to be shaved.

Cinematography

For me the cinematography was used really well, for example at shake camera work. This creates a sense that you are in the scene with the other characters, as the audience it creates an instability of nervousness. The shaky handheld camera throughout contributes to the authentic tone of this social realistic film.

Representation, Trainspotting

Representation

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All aspects of film form including narrative contribute to the representations of cultures and societies (gender, ethnicity and age) including the ideological nature of those representations.

Performance

  • age
  • ethnicity
  • costume
  • facial expression
  • body language and gestures

Task 2

Stereotype -a general belief about a certain category or person
countertype – goes against a stereotype of certain beliefs example a black president of America rather than a white president of America.

Sarah Connor

Sarah Connor looks stereotypically of an American waitress. In Terminator one and in this scene she is late to her job and she seems careless about it, she is being called from every direction e.g. people missing drinks, somebody putting ice-cream in her uniform dress pocket. However she shows many feminine traits she looks kind and maternal and caring.

In this scene and in the second movies, Sarah Connor is more of a countertype of a stereotypically self in the first movie. Sarah also show more masculine traits as she is holding a gun while is not conventional of a female. She looks like she is the hero and she is trying to protect something. She is wearing a tight shirt and we can see her muscles showing the audience that she is a countertype of a kind, maternal looking waitress self in the first movie.

Representation in Trainspotting

  1. Who is doing the representation ?
    Danny Boyle – the director
  2. who is being represented ?
    drug addicts, white ( sort of youngish) men who are Scottish
  3. what social groups are omitted from the representation ?
    people with money, coloured people, old people, women are underrepresented
  4. what message about particular social groups are being conveyed ?
    don’t try drugs as they are bad for mental health and physical health
  5. which characters or social groups have power within the representation ?
    the main character have a main power of how drugs can have a harmful impact and them representing what they can do to you
  6. do the characters adhere to or challenge stereotypes ?
    they adhere to the stereotype of young people in the backstreet of a city.
  7. are the characters typical of films in that genre ?
    As the genre is crime/ drama you do suspect that the characters convey characteristics to fit into the genre for example Spud going to jail – crime. However drugs is more countertype of a crime/ drama genre.
  8. what do representations tell audiences about society at the time the film was made and or set ?
    it shows the audience the time the film was made in and the society that was around and the ideology people have in that time and how films represent them.
  9. how are elements of film form being used to construct the representation ?
    for example the drug den in the opening scene where they are taking heroin for the first time, the mise en scene of the place creates an ideology and representation of the characters and how they have a living of off drugs, and a unclean and messy lifestyle.

Scottish, young white men being represented in the film as drug addicts who are quite scary, mean and unkind people.

Older people being represented in the film as being kind, fun caring people compared to the younger people in the film. For example Renton’s parents are a loving couple who are deeply concerned for their son and want to make him a better person.

Women are being represented as the girlfriends to the main characters in the film. They are more represented as an object through the men’s eyes

This is England

This is England

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First Response

Director- Shane Meadows

I rate This Is England a 7/10. I rated it a 7 as I though the acting from the actors and actresses was very good. I thought the location of the film showed a true and verisimilitude feeling for many of the audience. I though the soundtrack and the music used really enhanced many of the scene as well

For me my favourite scene was when Shaun was trying to fit in with Woody and his gang by getting the correct shoes, haircut and trouser. I really liked it when Woody surprised Shaun by getting him the shirt so Shaun could fit in. This showed that Woody had a fatherly aspect to him and it showed the kindness he had towards Shaun and how he wanted to be there for Shaun in a father way.

Representation, Uncategorised

Summer Task

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What makes a film good ?

 film which is also called a movie, or moving motion of pictures, is a work of visual art that stimulates experience and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings or atmosphere through the use of moving images. An opinion on a film will change over a wide range of people; this could depend on the genre, the actors and actresses. So the big question is what makes a film ” good”. Normally a film is good by someone’s opinion however these opinions are based on 2 elements. These are micro and macro elements. A micro element is based on editing, mise en scene, sound, and cinematography. A macro element is based on genre, messages and values, representation, narrative, style, authorship and them. A film doesn’t have to be perfect for it to be good, the film has to connote these elements and entertain people while doing that. While making sure lighting and sound is good while filming and making sure the editing is good the most important element is the messages the film conveys. The message the film delivers to the viewers will create a sense in the mind to only think or feel that message making the film feel intelligent, enigmatic and a good watch as it makes viewers see the film through a different light. This may be important but in order to create a film that can otherwise communicate meanings, it it’s important that the micro and macro elements are up to a good standard. For example making sure the genre links throughout the film is the same and the film showcases that specific genre eg romantic, horror, action. Making sure the sound is right, for example sad music in a sad scene or silence in a scary scene. Making sure the representation and the aspects of society eg age, gender and ethnicity are represented to the audiences in a correct and friendly manner. These elements contribute massively to a film and making sure it is contributed correctly will make a film good. Evidently, The human mind assumes because one person likes something we all like that something (reciprocal liking )however we all have our own opinions and not be afraid to like something different. Not everyone likes the same good film but we all know why we like a good film So in conclusion, although the micro and macro elements are important in reasoning why a film is good, it is also very important to understand that our personal opinions and judgements are what makes a film good. The opinions come from the micro and macro elements.

Uncategorised

Trainspotting – 1996

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First Response –
Director – Danny Boyle

I give a rating of 8/10. For me throughout the whole movie, it felt like you where watching a true story of the group of people. This feeling was created by the actors, who’s acting was very talented and quite emotional to watch. The acting created the feeling of a realism of social issues in life.

The most memorable scene for me was when Renton is in his locked bedroom and is having withdrawal symptoms. This is the most memorable scene for me because I though the acting from Ewan McGregor made the scene very memorable and unforgettable. I also though the sound that was used was amazing because as the music got quicker and louder the more Renton got more fidgety and angrier.

Trainspotting – Micro elements

Sound – my favourite seen that used sound amazingly was when he was having withdrawal symptoms in his bedroom. I liked the way they used sound because as Renton was getting more and more fidgety and anxious and increasing with his symptoms the music/ Sound get faster and slightly louder over the time of this scene

Editing – In this scene the use of adding a title of the names of each character help the audience to understand each character individually and instead of guessing which character is who you already know who they are from the use of editing. This creates a sense of being knowledgeable as you don’t have to go finding in the film who is who.

Mise En Scene – In this scene I thought the mise en scene used showcased the scene perfect. There is a group of old people playing bingo and Renton is just sat in the middle of the gathering feeling uncomfortable and wanting to get out of the situation he is in. In this scene it creates a sense of the two different life’s that Renton and his parent have; Renton’s life – unsettling and upsetting, Parent’s life – fun and a social life.

Cinematography – in this seen, the camera is a birds eye view of Renton laying on the floor. This creates a sense that Renton is feeling week and appears to be needing help, as the audience we are looking over him creating a sense that we are watching him get defeated by drugs. This scene get quite disturbing and upsetting when there is a a shot of Renton looking up with a rectangle frame creating a sense that he is in a coffin and he is dying.

Sound

Sound

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The difference between the role of a Sound Editor and a Sound Mixer

The sound editor finds the sound sources. They are responsible for the finished sound in Films. Th process involves selecting, polishing, and assembling three primary elements – recorded dialogue, sound effects, and music- into a complete, integrated soundtrack.
The sound mixer is the process where the raw materials assembled in sound editing process are combined and balanced into a coherent soundscape. The sound mixer takes the edited products and hones it during post- production.

The Shephard Tone

A Shephard Tone is a sound consisting of a superposition sine wave separated by octaves. When played with the bass pitch  of the tone moving upward or downward, it is referred to as the Shepard scale. This creates the auditory illusion of a tone that seems to continually ascend or descend in pitch, yet which ultimately gets no higher or lower.

Diegetic vs Non – Diegetic Sound

diegetic sound – is any sound that the character or characters on screen can hear.
non-diegetic sound – is any sound that the audience can hear but the characters on screen cannot.

In this scene, Arthur and Thomas Wayne are having conversation. This is an example of Diegetic sound as they can both hear each other while being on the screen. You can additionally hear the bathroom door swinging open and shot which creates the sense of the audience knowing what is happening in this scene not just the characters

In this scene, where Arthur is on the bus. This is an example of Non – Diegetic sound as there is a background music ( composed by Hildur Guonadottir ) creating an intense emotion within this scene. This is Non- Diegetic sound because the character on screen cannot hear it however the audience can hear it.

Needle Drop

Synchronous sound is sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed

Asynchronous sound is not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. 

A needle drop is when a pre-existing song is used in a film to underscore a particular scene. This can be a powerful tool for filmmakers, as the emotions and associations that we have with a particular song can enhance the emotions and associations that we have with a particular scene.

Sound Effects

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasise or express an action, mood, or feeling. Sound effects were initially used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today in podcasts, theatre, films, and television shows

Many genres of films use sound effects but the main genres are Science Fiction, Horror, Action and Adventure genres where the soundscape is enhanced to increase dramatic tension.

A Foley Artist

A Foley Artist adds in sound effects to the movie in Post-Production. They make the sounds in a sound studio.
They make sounds like the sound of breaking bones, creaking floors, squeaking doors, footsteps, falling bodies, fire and basically any sound that is not dialogue or music, is Foley

Leitmotif

A leitmotif or leitmotiv is a “short, recurring musical phrase” associated with a particular person, place, or idea.

There is a leitmotif for settings, emotion, Character , evolution
Settings – Harry Potter shows when they are going back to Hogwarts and the surrounding there.
Emotion – In UP the musical phrase changes within different emotions
Character – Jaws, you know when Jaws is coming as the musical phrase is heard whenever the shark is near.
Evolution- Imperial march from star Wars.  

Jcut & Lcut

A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film.

Voice over/ Narration

Sound device where in one hears the voice of a character and or narrator speaking but the character in question is not speaking those words on screen.
Narration can be first person or ” voice of god ” style.

Score / underscore

Score – the score for a film is the ( theme ) music composed especially for it to enhance the mood / themes of the visuals which appear on screen.
Underscore – the underscore is music which is played ” under ” sequences to enhance mood and this often mixed with dialogue and/ or sound effects.

Sound Perspective

Sound Perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.
If we didn’t know the sound of things we wouldn’t know the climax of the story.

Activity 8

My favourite soundtrack is Mamma Mia 2 as it help brings the emotions more to life when adding the sound to the film. Sound helps the movie shift between emotion through the music and sound effects. Sound helps establish a reality within the film by making it seem more intense and