I really enjoyed this film. my score out of 10 would be 8.5/10. there are some very realistic scenes and representations of how British politics created a legacy of disaster for Scotland specifically. There’s no censoring in this film which allows the audience to be shown what the realities of living in Scotland during the heroin and AIDS epidemic was really like.
The exploration of gender is very interesting to, as topics like gender expression in a place like Scotland during the mid to late 90s would have been very stigmatised.
a scene which was memorable for me was when Renton went to Tommy’s apartment. Renton was now clean and trying to get himself together, while Tommy was deep in the pits of addiction and had contracted AIDS. there is a parallel between Tommy and Renton as before Tommy was using heroin he represented the middle class of Scotland which had not been affected by the terrors of drug abuse. Renton represents the disease of drug abuse and how it can ruin peoples lives, e.g. the events of Renton stealing Tommy’s sex tape lead him to using heroin and eventually dying.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
TIME CODE 5:31
In this scene as well as many others we can see the character Swanny, also known as Mother Superior. Every time we see this character he is in the drug den surrounded by a sinister red light. The red light in this film represents all of Renton’s vices; sex, drugs, death, and everything else that is stopping Renton from “choosing life” When the audience sees the red light they know that Renton or one of his friends will most likely be using heroin, this creates a sense of anxiety within the spectator.
I believe that the question of ‘what makes a film good’ can have many answers to it; the plot, the cultural impact, the score etc. However, to me, there is not one thing that makes a film good alone. The right combination of a good plot, paired with good acting, suitable music and direction can be what does this; these aspects being the macro elements to films.
The micro elements on the other hand, are incredibly important in making a film great, despite not being obvious at first glance. For example; the way a scene is set up – the mise en scene – can impact the way the viewer depicts a film. It can be a great tool in adding plot devices or even foreshadowing that the viewer may not pick up on the first time watching. Furthermore, editing can also help with doing this. While it may not be obvious at first glance, colour grading can impact the way you are supposed to feel about characters, as well as set the general mood for the film. Schindler’s list is a good example of this; it’s an all black and white film despite being filmed in 1993, the only colour ever shown being the girl walking in the streets.
I also think that having the right score for a film is incredibly important. Similar to colour grading, music helps to impact the way the viewer is supposed to feel about a character, along with also making certain scenes feel so much more important and interesting. Music is extremely impactful in films even when they aren’t musicals, for example; The Pirates of the Caribbean. Hans Zimmer, a very famous composer in the film industry, wrote the score for Pirates of the Caribbean. I feel that the music in that film is just so captivating and that half of the movie just wouldn’t feel half as impactful if there was no music all together. As well as this, the music in Pirates of the Caribbean is so iconic and instantly recognisable because it was very influential. Another example is Coraline. The iconic ‘French’ sounding song in Coraline is actually gibberish made to sound like French, which I think just adds to the unsettling nature of the film.
Overall, I think it’s very difficult to pick out one aspect of a film that makes it good, as there are many things to think about when it comes to films.
If you to were ask the question what makes a film “good” to a group of people, you would most probably get a handful of different answers, as there are many ways to critique and view films. For example, one way someone may critique a film is through a realist approach. A realist would favour a film such as ‘Blair Witch Project’, with its shaky camera, “homemade” shots and characters which feel more like real people and not actors. Another way of viewing a film would be through the lens of mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene critiques would focus more on the environment and the features that contribute to the scene, such as the lightning and sets, and would therefore favour a film such as ‘Blade runner’ and the futuristic, urban environment that Ridley Scott creates with her picturesque shots. Alternatively, critiques may choose to criticize a film with the ‘auteur’(author) mindset, coming from the French film studies journal ‘Cahiers du cinema’ in 1951, which is where the critique will analyse a handful of the director’s films and try to pick out any stylistic repetitions that the director may display in their films, such as favouring a certain type of score in their films. A critique may also take a formalist approach when viewing a film. A formalist critique will look at how the composition of shots comes together, and how they juxtapose and compliment one another. They would enjoy a film such as ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, with its sequences of incoherent and surreal imagery-apes and embryos, during its ending. A popular way of critiquing forms of art, not just film, would be with a feminist viewpoint. In a film, a feminist critic would look at the amount of screen time that the female actors have been given, the way in which the women in the film are presented and common stereotypes depicted in the film, which means they would favour a film such as 2023’s ‘Barbie’, with its deep, underlying message that women can be whatever they want to be, independent from their relationship with a man. Finally, in my personal opinion I think that the view and way of critiquing a film which I most agree with is that of mise-en-scene, as I think that the features of a film that do make special and “good” are the atmosphere and the environment that the director creates within the world of the film.
Monaco talks about the different artistic expressions such as visual arts, performing arts, literary arts and film. He describes that with visual arts these single moments are unchangeable. Performing arts, is a form of art that has a distinct narrative and are often performed live. Literary arts involve poetry, novels and essays, this array of literary arts show deep emotion through storytelling. All these artistic expressions fall under the roof of ‘film,’ they are all forms of art in their own way.
They way Monaco speaks about advancing technology can change the idea of film in whole different way. They way technology is now we can watch every film on demand (the film will always be available to watch whenever). This withdraws the excitement of watching film live. They only way we have access to live film is performing arts. He also allows us to know that film can indicate and help people’s emotional and political views on the world.
Section B: American Film since 2005 (two film study)
Exam Key Showing Examination Exams Or Web Test
Q: Discuss how important cinematography is in creating a powerful response in the spectator. Refer in detail to at least one sequence from each film. [40]
Time allocated – 50 mins
This will be done in class with access to your chosen film clips.
You will have the equivalent of ONE lesson to prepare a plan.
Consider the question:
THINK: What do you think about the Question?
Are there any KEY words?
What do you think are the PITFALLS that you need to avoid.
Pre-mortem: A pre–mortem, or premortem, is a managerial strategy in which a project team imagines that a project or organization has failed, and then works backward.
Why might you FAIL at this task?
Consider Slides 3 of the Week 7 Power point.
Define Cinematography. (5 mins) Explain to someone.
EXAM BOARD SAYS… (REFER TO POWER POINT WEEK 7 – ‘Tackling an exam question’.
In band 3, responses will consider how cinematography might create a response in the spectator by close reference to sequences from the films studied.
In bands 4 and 5, analysis and evaluation of the importance of cinematography will be more precise, detailed and sophisticated.
In bands 4 and 5, responses will develop more complex explanations of how and why cinematography may, or may not be, important in influencing spectators’ responses and may question the idea of film ‘creating’ a response.
Responses in band 3 are likely to focus more on one film whereas responses in bands 4 and 5 will be more even and balanced in their approach.
Band 5 responses may recognise that spectators do not always respond in the way that they are encouraged to by the use of cinematography. They may discuss the complex interaction between film and spectator by providing sophisticated reasons for this.
Re- read Week 4 Powerpoint (Cinematography)
Go to the M-Drive and look for a sequence (a scene) which has enough in it to sustain about 3-4 points.
CONSIDER THIS from the Exam board:
-An analysis and EVALUATION of the importance of cinematography
-Remember that you can always argue against or debate the question
-A low level response would simply cite examples of the use of cinematography from both films.
Big close-up: As this shot is so close it gives the audience a distinct focal point to look at. She is breaking the 4th wall (looking straight into the camera) which makes the audience feel she is talking to us. I think the director purposely did tis shot as a big close-up because it makes see the character in a deeper way/level. As the shot is close up, we can see every emotion very vividly. Just looking into her eyes, you can see the panic or the unstable mentality.
Long Shot: This shot shows Chiron at the train station alone. The way he is shat in the middles with the whole of the city landscape behind him helps to signify he’s extremely lonely. I think the director has purposely done this to help this audience feel sympathy for him as he’s solitary. As an audience member myself, watching this scene showed me that there is the whole world, but Chiron still ends up alone.
Extreme long shot: This scene shows the area where Juan sells the drugs. The shot helps the audience consume all the different details about this location. It helps us see it’s run down and a quiet area; this signals that it could be a very dodgy area that is very unsafe.
Camera Angles-Moonlight
High Angle: This a shot taken of Chiron walking home from school. This high camera angle can direct the audience’s attention to the vulnerability he is in. It also makes him seem powerless with the shot, even though he is the only one in the frame he is alone which calls out he is alone. This is also followed on throughout the film as there are many other scenes where’s we see Chiron alone.
Low Angle: This low angle shows little looking up at Juan. The camera angle lets us see his whole face and reaction. As a viewer this angle could also signify that he is ‘little’ even though they are both sitting down the angle can help represent that his name signifies his height.
Eye-line Angle: An eye line angle helps us see the image in the frame at a ’natural’ position. In this case and in this scene, Black and Kevin are having a conversation. This angle can let the audience clearly see the two characters talking.
Camera Movements
Pan Right: This scene is when Chiron (black) is talking to his mum in her garden. The way the camera slowly focuses makes the viewer feel they are watching this scene from the background. It also clearly shows how closed off the characters in the location.
Pan Left: This scene is when Chiron is walking home from school and the camera instantly moves to Paula (his mum) and puts the focus onto her.
Track in- Track out: In this scene the camera slowly tracks onto little when he is in the field with his friends. The camera shows that he is feeling disconnected with his friends as it shows the viewer he is left out/alone even when he’s with his friends.
Extreme close up, this shot affects viewers as it makes the scene feel more intimate and as if we are there as the subject is shown so close. Additionally, the use of this close-up shot makes this scene more emotive as we feel the character is speaking to us as an audience directly which establishes emotional links between the audience and character leading them to feel more invested into the film. The close shot also draws the audiences’ attention.
This long shot reflects how small Chiro is compared to Quan also showing how small he feels compared to others around him. The small size of Chiro shown in this shot also connotates innocence and is child-like causing the audience to feel sympathetic towards him.
Close ups give comparison to long shots, as well as making the characters appear smaller reflecting how small Chiro and Kevin feel compared to everyone else in their society. This also causes the audience to be more observant as there is more to look at compared to a long shot.
Camera angles
This low angle makes young Chiro appear larger while opposed to reality where he is very small also making him look vulnerable.
High angles are taken when the camera is looking down on the actors and setting while being above. They make the scene more dramatic as well as making the characters appear smaller and more venerable, which can show the audience how the characters feel in this scene.
Birds eye shots are taken directly above the character, they affect the audience by giving them a clear view of Chiro as well as highlighting his changes from adolescence.
Camera movements
In this shot the camera pans down. The effect of this is that it highlights the extend of Chiros injury’s and his mother’s drug addiction causing the audience to feel sympathetic towards Chiro and additionally helps us to build an emotional connection to the film.
The camera moves to the right in this shot and transfers from an image of the cleaner cleaning the floor and then Chiro sleeping rough in the station. This camera movement reflects the emptiness of the train station telling the audience how everyone has gone home after their work, but Chiro is unable too also highlighting his bad home life again making the audience feel sympathetic.
Here the camera is freely tracking Quan and Chiro. The effect of this is it makes the scene more immersive and makes the audience feel like they are there, not just watching them on a screen. It also adds an element of peace and tranquillity.
decides what sounds will be used in the piece. (i.e. sirens, dialogue, cars) they may also create these sound effects for the specific project.
decides when the sounds will be present. (i.e. if they fade in and out during scenes of stress) make sure that audio is up to the quality that is desired
The Shepard’s tone: A tone of music designed to unnerve the audience. It is constructed with three tones in different octaves that all play at the same time. The lowest and highest fading at different times to give the illusion that the sound goes on forever.
Diegetic sound: Sounds that appear to the characters in the universe can hear, such as dialogue and music played on radio.
Non Diegetic sound: these are sounds that cannot be heard by the characters on screen, such as the soundtrack and narration.
Sound Effects: these are sounds that are artificially made for the purpose of enhancing a scene. (emphasising a mood, action or feeling). used in all kinds of media (radio, theatre, film and tv.)
The Foley Artist: re-creates the sounds in a recording which get layer on top of the original clip. This may get done because the original audio was too low or not clear enough. Things they could re-create are walking, a character getting hit or a character falling, along with most sound effects in movies.
Leitmotif: A recurring piece of music that is present throughout a film or film franchise, they are guides. there are 4 categories character, setting, emotion and evolution. an example of character music would be something like Indiana Jones’ theme that plays throughout the movies. An example of setting would be the piece of music that plays in lord of the rings when in reference to The Shire, this could be when the characters are present in the shire, or when they reminiscing on it while out on their adventure. These can also be modified to show emotion about the setting, like having the music slow down or be played on a different instrument to signify that they miss the place. An example of Emotion would be in Up with the music associated with Ellie, it plays throughout the movie to signify Carl’s mental state and at the end to show how he has grown attached to Russel. For Evolution, you could use Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) as an example, as in the prequal movies, there is a slight part of the imperial march that can be heard in Anakin’s theme.
Sound Bridge: helps smoothen the transition from one scene to the next. can be referred to as a J-cut or an L-cut depending on if sound leaves before or after the image.
Voice over: a voice that narrates over the events of the movie, usually from a character present in the movie from the future. it may also be from the perspective of an ‘unreliable narrator’ which may be the views of one character, not the whole story. An example of voice over is at the beginning of the extended cut of lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring by the character Galadriel.
Score/Underscore: The score of a movie is pieces of music that are composed specifically for a movie. An underscore is a piece of music that is played underneath the dialogue and sound effects. it can be used to help amplify the mood or themes of a scene, for example ‘Concerning Hobbits’ from the lord of the rings is used to amplify the feelings of comfort and tranquillity that is in The Shire.
Synchronous: a sound that is matched with the actions that are being viewed, I.E when someone is talking or when you hear and see a match being struck.
Asynchronous: when a sound is not matched with the actions that are being viewed. I.E. birds off screen or cars.
Needle Drop: when a pre-existing song is put as the underscore in a movie. This can be used to enhance emotions in a scene through the association of these songs.
Sound Perspective: Its volume, how far away it could be from the source. this could be utilized, by having a scene with no dialogue and having the sounds of the setting taking the foreground. For example, in Spielberg’s Munich, there is a scene that has almost no dialogue and does all of its story telling through the sounds of the scene. These sounds are raised and lowered throughout the scene to heighten the tension.
Film Score: my favourite Film score is the score for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the ring. I feel that Howard Shore does a great job of world building for the first movie of the franchise. It makes each area of Middle Earth well known to the viewer, this is done by using different instruments for all the important areas that are shown in the first movie that will be reoccurring throughout the franchise. By having them all represented by different instruments, it is able to world build and introduce the audience to the areas of Middle Earth without having to say anything. For example, when Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, the music is very regal and the viewer immediately knows this is a place of importance and will be a place of safety for Frodo and the Hobbits. This regal sound is continued throughout the entire time they stay in Rivendell, this creates a connection of importance to the elves in the viewers mind.
Sound editors are responsible for the finished sound in movies and television shows unlike the sound mixer who is the leader of the production sound crew, responsible for recording high-quality audio on set and location for film and television productions.
Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in Joker:
Diegetic sounds:
The scene in the joker where he and Murray were in a different together room, and they could hear an applause from the audience.
Non-diegetic sounds-
The famous scene in the joker where he is dancing down the stairs is non diegetic as you couldn’t see speakers, so it was probably in his head.
Sound Effects-
Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasize or express an action, mood, or feeling. Sound effects were initially used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today om podcasts, theatre, films and television shows.
Foley artist
a Foley artist is when people recreate the sounds that were missed when filmed. they use props and try make it as believable as possible.
Leitmotif
a short word or phrase that is associated with a particular. Normally its a song that’s associated. ‘leitmotifs are guides to emotion.’- Richard Wagner. A film that uses leitmotifs is Up by Disney, the well known song is changed into different songs with slower or faster melodies or even played with different instruments eg the piano.
L-Cut and J-Cut
A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film.
A J-Cut is when the sound is in the scene before as if a voiceover then in the next scene you see the sound being made.
A L-Cut is when the sound is being made in the first scene and the sound carries onto the next scene with seeing the sound being made.
Voice over/Narration-
often informs the audience with all the information they need about a certain character or event, this can sometimes be presented as ‘unreliable narration’ meaning the viewer does not get all the information straight away.
Musical score-
pieces of music specifically made for a film/specific scene.
Underscore-
music playing ‘under’ the dialogue between characters, usually quite quiet.
Synchronous sound-
is sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed.
‘Needle Drop’-
a version of recording that has been transferred from a vinyl record to digital audio or other formats.
Asynchronous sound-
used when the director wants to create tension as the viewer can hear a sound but cannot see its source. Sometimes the audience cant hear the sound that the character inside the film can hear.
Sound Perspective-
Refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.
For example Spielberg uses only camera work and sound perspective when the man is about to be killed to show the ambience of the scene. The sound in the distance was the mans footsteps and the dominant sound was the found ringing.
Favourite Film Soundtrack-
my favourite film soundtrack was rocky as it had the iconic theme song which everyone will always associate with rocky. the composers were Bill Conti and Carol Connors. The original song was only 90 seconds long as it was created fir the montage.
Sound Editor: The sound editor selects, polishes, and assembles three primary elements—recorded dialogue, sound effects, and music—into a complete, integrated soundtrack.
Sound Mixer: The leader of the production sound crew, responsible for recording high-quality audio on set and location for film and television productions.
What’s the difference between the role of the a Sound Editor and a Sound Mixer? The difference between the two roles is that the Sound Editors find the resources and the Sound Mixers “mix” them all together.
Diegetic: the sound that the audience but also the characters CAN hear in the film.
Non-Diegetic: The sound that only the audience can hear and the characters CAN’T.
The diegetic sound in this scene is when the Joker pulls the trigger of the gun. The audience can hear the gunshots as well as Arthur and his mum. As well as the gunshots there is the tv playing in the background which gets turned up louder after the gun is shot. However his mum also starts shouting wondering what just happened.
The non-diegetic sound in this scene is the music playing over the top of the Joker on his way to the Murray Show. This music is up beat but also capturing.
Synchronous: is a sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed.
Asynchronous: is not matched with visible source of the sound on the screen.
what is it meant by needle drop? needle drop is when a popular song is added into a movie to set the scene. Juxtaposition to the sound, to the image. It can either relate to what is happening in that certain moment or can completely go against it.
Sound Effects: are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasize 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.
Ben Burt created the lightsabresound.
Which film genres do you associate them with? Horror, Science Fiction.
Foley Artists: A foley artists layers sounds onto a film (post-production). They film in a soundproof room and use anything they can to make the sound realistic. They usually enhance the sounds that are happening in the scene e.g a person wearing high heels and walking.
Leitmotif: A leitmotif is a short musical phrase that helps the audience understand who’s appearing or what’s happening in the scene. They include character ,setting, emotion and mood. An example of a character leitmotif is the avengers every time they are in one big group music is played which sounds demanding and strong.
Lcutand Jcut: •A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film. A L-cut is when you see the video/film image with the sound, and the sound then follows through to other shots. A Jcut is is when you can hear the sound in one scene and then it switches to where the sound is from.
Voice Over: Often tells the audience what they need to know but also could be unreliable e.g. film noir, Shawshank redemption.
Score/Underscore: The underscore/score helps distinguish what the mood is and also helps create an atmosphere. the underscore is just music quietly playing underneath the dialogue.
Sound Perspective: Refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.
Sound Design: Sound design is when the sound designer creates a layer of sounds in the scene. In Munich the build up to the big climax was silent, when the build up was happening one at a time each background sound was taken away leaving the audience to hear nothing.
My favourite soundtrack in a movie is ‘Anyone But You’. i like this soundtrack because it has modern songs in it such as Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield’s. As they used a well known song it made the movie more engaging. Having a song that is made in the 2000s also helps show the age of the characters and how they relate to this song. The songs are mostly upbeat however, some are ballad.
