Film Language Notes

Film Production Logo

For our film research we had to create a film production logo.
One example:

This film production logo is quite catching because it includes movement, sounds and comparison. The comparison comes from a cup of tea being poured next to a gun. The image of violence next to a harmless cup of tea cup is different due to the comparison of harmless and harmful.

My film production logo:
I decided to use a video of a flower growing because it shows growth of the movie and the colours of yellow and greens, create a light atmosphere and suggest that the film is a nice, good watch film.
I used Halls Production for the name because it's my surname and whilst it may not be very unique it is simple for people to remember.

Uses and Gratifications theory and Film Industry Questions

Uses and Gratifications theory
The understanding of what the audience does for the media not what the media does for the audience. The theory also explains that the audience is in charge of what they would like to get out of what they are purchasing and it will fulfill their needs and nobody else's.
User and Gratifications theory follows a simple model, the audience takes an active role on their media choice.
- This includes media in
 Information
 Education
 Entertainment
 Social Interaction
 Escapism



 Film Industry Questions
"What do we mean when we use the word film?"
A sequence of images of moving objects photographed by a camera and providing the optical illusion of continuous movement when projected onto a screen. A form of entertainment, information, etc, composed of such a sequence of images and shown in a cinema.

"Do you think it means the same as the word movie?"



TOP 10 FILMS:
1. Dirty Dancing
2.Lovely Bones
3.Dear John
4.500 Days of Summer
5. Wolf of Wall Street
6. Insidious series
7. Juno
8. Harry Potter series
9. Sleeping Beauty
10. Spiderwick Chronicles

Evaluation:
I like a lot of different types of films, I enjoy films that have a good plot for example Dirty Dancing has a good plot but a light fun atmosphere. I enjoy some fantasy aspects for example Harry Potter, I enjoy the escapism from the realistic world. On the other hand I do enjoy films I can relate to for example, Juno is a good film because the main character (Juno) , her feelings are relatable to a teenage girl.

Film Edit Practice - Animal music video and James Bond

We used a software called Premier, this software allows videos and music to be imported and for these to be edited.  Transitions and effects can be used to edit the videos and create a unique different video.

The first film edit I created was a music video with dancing animals. I was able to access short clips of animals dancing, playing basketball etc. I imported these videos over and created a short 30 second clip my merging the videos and creating a sequence. Over the top of this sequence, I was able to add music. The music I chose was called Get Ready for this. This piece of music had a strong beat and only a few words which made it easy for me to adjust the sequence to fit the music. On each beat either a new slide was added or an edit was put over the video. Transitions were then added between slides. At the start of the clip, I added an effect called fast blur, this created an interesting opening for the clip. I added other effects over the videos such as solarize.
I then rendered the whole clip so it was all saved on maximum definition and then imported the final clip to YouTube.



The second clip I created was a edited clip of James Bond. I found different clips of James Bond and was able to import them over and merge them together to create a 30 second clip. The small videos were different clips of iconic James Bond moments for example a fighting scene from the opening of one of the films. I was then able to put iconic James Bond music over the top. I had to edit this because in some parts of the short clip I wanted the dialogue of the clip to be heard and in others I wanted the music. And again I added transition effects and faded out the music to create an interesting start and end.
I then rendered the footage and imported the final clip to YouTube.

Film Language - Boyz in the Hood

For film language we studied the opening scene of the 1991 film Boyz in the Hood.

In the beginning part of the film, the only visual image is a grey screen. Diegetic off-screen dialogue can be heard right from the start. The dialogue is of american accent and the enunciation of words is quite poor. The characters talking swear an excessive amount and use racial slurs to describe another gang they saw. Whilst the characters are swearing, the overall atmosphere is quite calm and the characters voices are low and calm. It is only when the characters are in the car and car tyres squeal and a character says "Hey Punk",  is when the scene picks up pace.  Multiple gun shots are fired and the characters begin shouting and bystanders begin screaming is when the atmosphere begins to become panicked. A police officer voice breaks through the panic with a calm voice saying that back up is required for a potential murder. After a sense of calm is spread through the atmosphere, a young boys voice starts. The boy is sobbing and repeating " They shot my brother". The viewer feels extremely sympathetic for the boy because he sounds so distraught and so young. 

The image then quickly snaps to an image with the sound of a gunshot emphasising the change in scene. The new image shows a sunny day and in the center of the screen is a big red stop sign.  The red represents the blood spilled from the shooting and danger. The lighting of the image is natural and light, shows innocence of the world. The camera zooms into the sign until an extreme close up shot of the word STOP. This could be seen as a message to the viewer to stop violence in the world. 

The scene then cuts to a black child standing on the corner of a street. The street is covered in rubbish and stray dogs roam the street. The child is wearing a green jumper with a shirt underneath, black trousers and trainers. The boy looks to be about 10 years old.  The camera shows a long shot of the scene, shows the entire body and the street he is standing in. The lighting is natural and the sounds are diagetic with on screen dogs barking and the child banging the stick. 

The boy is then joined by another young boy and two girls. They all appear to be of the same age, the other boy is dressed in a tracksuit and a cap turned backwards. The two girls are both wearing skirt and jackets and have their hair up either in a bun or a plait. 

The children begin to talk about the shooting that happened last night (referring to the scene that was heard at the start of the opening sequence) . The conversation flows naturally and casually. This highlights that it is a regular occurrence and they are used to it. The boy in the tracksuit says "I ain't afraid to get shot, both my brothers got shot and they still alive". Further proves that the children are used to violence and shootings in their neighbourhood. All the children have american accents and have average enunciation of words. 

The street the group of children are walking down is covered in litter and the walls and gates are covered in graffiti, which shows the neighbourhood residents are not that respectful to the property. The weather is sunny and the lighting is natural. The children are walking to school so it shows that the time of day is in the morning probably at around 8 o'clock.
The boy in the tracksuit and hat says to the others "Y'all wanna see something". When the other children turn round to discuss whether they want to, non-diegetic low music begins. This creates the start of a slightly tense atmosphere. At this point the camera shows a close up shot of the children to show the indecision on their faces clearly.
With a key change in the music, the scene changes to show a signpost with the words ONE WAY on it. This could show that if the children take this path there is no way out and that there is only one way their future will go. There is also a big red sign saying WRONG WAY. This again shows that the children are in potential danger and there are subtle signs saying the children should stop what they are doing. There are background of police sirens and dogs barking and non-diegetic music still playing.
The scene then shows rapid fire images of a ripped Ronald Regan poster. Each new shot is accompanied by a loud gunshot and the images zoom in and goes from a mid shot to an extreme close up of the poster and how the poster is ripped from bullets. The pace of the scene also speeds up which creates a tenser atmosphere.
The children are standing on the other side of the yellow police tape, the camera is showing a mid-shot of the children and the background noises are police sirens and dogs barking.
The two boys cross the police line first, and the boys kick through newspapers that are on the floor. The camera then shows a close up shot of the newspapers on the floor and they are covered in blood. The non-diegetic music gets louder. The camera zooms out to show the walls covered in bullet holes and blood. Diegetic noises such as the flies buzzing becomes more pronounced. One of the girls asks if that is blood on the floor and a boy calls her stupid. In response to this the girl says "At least I can tell my times tables, this highlights her innocence and her immaturity to the situation. It also highlights how young the children are and how violent the scene is and how they are used to this extreme type of violence.

Representation

Representation: The way in which people, event and ideas are presented to the audience.
To break it down, the media takes something that is already there and re-presents it to us in the way that they choose.

For example the media uses stereotypes to portray certain characters easily to the targeted audience. Media institutions use stereotypes because the audience will instantly understand them. Think of stereotypes as a 'visual shortcut'. They're repeated so often that we assume they are normal or true.

There are two categories of stereotyping.
Archetypes - This is the ultimate stereotype. For example, an Essex girl is she was to be portrayed as an archetypes, she would have tarty clothes, excessive make up, fake tan, bleach blonde hair, low intelligence, bad education,  bad speech - poor enunciation of words, and overall a bimbo.

Countertypes - A representation that challenges tradition stereotypical associations of groups, people or places. For example a countertype of an Essex girl, would be a pretty girl with no or natural make up look, pretty clothes that do not show an inappropriate amount of flesh, good education, goes to school to study and pass grades, natural coloured hair, no fake tan and good enunciation of words.


An example of stereotyping is in the film St Trinians. There is one scene where different groups of people are introduced. The groups introduced are Chavs, Posh Totties, Geeks, Emos, First Years. All of the groups portray archetypes.
The Chavs have poor enunciation of words, messy/altered uniform, quite girly - surrounded by pink colours.
The Post Totties have well styled hair, posh/well made but revealing clothes, clear enunciation and have a well designed bed area - white laces and fluffy pillows.
The Geeks wear no make up and have conservative clothing - long skirt and long sleeves, their hair is scraped back into ponytails or tight buns, they are seen with big computer screens and solving mathematical equations.
The Emos all have black hair, and dark make up , the main colours are black which show depression and red hich shows danger, they are seen performing weird rituals.

Narrative notes

Semiotics notes

Semiotics

 FILM POSTER: INSIDIOUS

When looking at the image, it is obvious that the young boy in the foreground is a main character in the film and that the film is based around him. The boy's eyes are scratched white. The white scratches look violent and messy. The way the scratches are made it shows violence. The aspect of violence provokes fear and makes it clear that the in the film something poses a threat. The boy is dressed in check pyjama, which hints to his young age and his innocence.

Behind the young boy, is a large ordinary house. There are no lights on in the house which gives the impression that the house is desolate but it is still in good condition suggesting that it has only recently been abandoned.  The sky is dark and cloudy, this creates a dark and ominous atmosphere. It highlights the overall feel of the film, dark and scary. The lighting of the poster is dark as well which further proves the point that the film is dark and a horror genre.

The writing is in white, which makes it stand out from the dark gloominess of the background. It is in big clear writing which again makes it easy to read. Some of the writing is in white whilst two letters are in red. The white could represent the innocence of the young boy in the poster, whilst the red could hint at a danger/violence aspect of the film

Genre Analysis (Film openings)

GHOST SHIP (film opening)
The opening scene of the film is of a woman singing, there are well dressed people milling around an expensive looking ballroom. The woman is singing and the music fills the room creating a relaxed atmosphere. It appears to be night time, but the lighting inside the ballroom is warm and represents a happy, calm atmosphere.At this point the only main character that the camera is focused on is the singer. The singer is dressed in a tight red dress, she is wearing quite heavy make up but is made to look natural. She smiles at another member of staff, this makes it clear that whilst she is still dressed up nicely, she is still a member of staff aboard the ship. The camera pans around the room, as if in with the crowd of people, this allows the viewer to see the main setting for this scene. The main setting is a ballroom, which is made of warm colours, and wood. there are chandeliers hanging from the ceiling giving a sense of high class. The people inside the ballroom, are white men and women, and are all the women are dressed in sixties style extravagant cocktail dresses and the men dressed in suits or dinner jackets. Their body language is relaxed but still maintains a high status for example, backs straight, chins lifted to make it clear that they are first class passengers.  They appear to be people from a wealthy country such as Britain or America, there are no coloured people, which highlights that colour segregation was still a problem, in the time period the film was set.
The camera then shows a young  white girl dressed in a blue and white dress with a bow in her hair, playing with a small toy. It shows the girl on the deck of a ship, so makes it clear that the film is set out at sea, possibly on a cruise. A man comes up to the girl and spells out "I am so bored" on her toy, this hints that they are possibly friends. The girl is then asked to dance by the ships captain. This gives the impression that the girl is of high status on the ship. the girl then goes onto the crowded dance floor and begins to dance. At this pint the camera pans out to show the whole deck of the ship and the pretty decorations and the amount of people on it.
The scene then changes. The camera shows a darker location in the ships machinery. A hand pulls a lever and a wire is released.
The camera then goes back into the ballroom and deck. Now the lighting has changed to darker colours, and background noise such as people talking is drowned out by the woman singing. movements of the people dancing become slower. The camera begins to focus on a sharp looking metal wire, and each sound the wire makes is increased and shrill. A massive spark then flies into the air. This moment is when panic begins and the wire is then released. The camera shot of the wire is from the wire's perspective as it slices through the crowd and the only noises hear is the swish of the wire and people coughing and spluttering. It then shows the wire stopping and covered in blood.
The whole scene is frozen, no one moves and the only sounds heard are the occasional cough and gasp for breath and the loud, harsh, shrill sound of the blood covered wire., A champagne glass falls to the floor. This is the turning point of the scene and the scene then changes to people dying and blood going everywhere. The blood is a significant item in the scene because it is showing the violence and terror of the situation. The colour of the blood also contrasts with the warm colours of the ship, because it is so harsh. All the characters begin to drop down and die in pools of blood around the girl and the captain, some characters and body parts still struggle which gives the scene an almost unrealistic dream atmosphere.. The captain is seen with his arm around the irl as if protecting her but when the girl looks up the captain has too been fatally injured. The girl begins to try nd back away from the bodies and screams. The scream is loud and echoey to show the panic and the now emptiness of the ship. As the scream continues, the camera shows a shot of the full length of the boat and the sea around it. It is night time, which creates a dark atmosphere and represents a sense of abandonment and powerful fear.



HARRY BROWN (film opening)
The opening scene begins with voices starting to talk before the video starts. The voices talk in slang e.g. blad and swearing. This type of language hints that the characters of the scene are youths and potentially a gang. When the camera starts rolling, the definition is of poor quality and the camera work is unsteady, showing that it is a home video, probably shot on a mobile phone. The characters there are in a big group, they are all dressed simarly in black puffa jackets with hoods up. This shows a stereotypical gang member to the viewer therefore cementing the idea that the group is a gang. The gang appears to be in a subway, the walls are covered in graffiti, showing that the gang have no respect for public property. The lighting inside the subway is gloomy, showing that whilst it is dark it isn't dark enough to be night so the gang are out in the daytime, the lighting like this creates a tenser atmosphere. The setting of the gang also indicates that the area they are in is a rough/dangerous area. The fat that the gang are out in the daytime, highlights that they are not afraid of the law and getting caught. It also creates an intimidating atmosphere because it could mean that this gang basically rules the area.
The video shows the gang centering around one boy, even though the lighting is gloomy it is clear to see that the boy is quite young.The boy is also white, which can be seen as going away from the stereotypical black gang member,. It shows a member of the gang giving the boy a small glass bottle, filled with a white gas. The bottle is makeshift bong used to inhale the drugs that are inside. The dug inside is not specified, but one gang member says he got it specially for the young boy. The other gang members say that if he inhales the drug it will make him a man. This highlights to the prospect that this is a initiation test for the boy to become a ember of the gang. A gun is then bought out and waved around, The gun is then offered to the boy and he is told that as soon as he touches it he is a member for life. The boy takes the gun and waves it around, whilst the other gang members swarm in and cheer.
In this part of the opening scene the two significant items are the drugs and the gun. Both items symbolise danger, gangs and violence. This could link to the theme of the film, highlighting that the film will be violent and gang centered.
After the gun is handed to the boy, there is brief cheering and then the screen goes black and silent. This dramatic cut could symbolise how quickly a gun can end a life.
After the silence a motorbike sound and shouting is heard and the camera turns back on. again it is a video shot on a mobile phone and it shows two boys (one of them the young white boy from before) riding around a residential area on a motorbike. This further proves that the gang members think that they own the place and they have no respect for the residents living there.
The camera then cuts to the boys riding the motorbike in a park. In the video a lone woman is walking along the path pushing a pushchair. The boys refer to her as " a f***** bird". This highlights to the viewer that they have no respect for the woman and just see her as an object. The camera then shows the two boys faces and the gun the are holding and one of them says "get here" whilst laughing. The scene then takes on a violent and scary atmosphere as the boys begin circling the woman and shooting at her.  When the gun is shot, all the sounds except the gun are blanked out and there is a short burst of dramatic music after the gun is shot. There is a split second of silence then the woman screaming. Each time the gun is shot this is the sound that accompanies it, therefore strongly highlighting the use of the gun.
On the third shot of the gun, the bullet hits the woman in the head and she falls dead onto the path. When the woman dies, the sounds are mainly silence with some patches of white noise. This shows the initial fear and confusion of the situation but when the boys start shouting and begin the motorbike to get away, the atmosphere is panic. The boys flee the scene and the camera shows them racing across the park at high speed. The camera shows a fairly busy road and the motorbike goes straight out into the road. On the right side of the camera a lorry is seen approaching the bike and then the camera flies up and shows darkness and rubble flying everywhere. It makes it clear that the motorbike has been hit and the high speed of the phone and the frantic brief noises that accompany it shows that the motorbike was hit by the lorry. The ending shot is of the two boys laying in the road, presumed dead, and rubble everywhere. This dramatic end could foreshadow the result for these gang members ans how if they ruin people's lives, then they will endure the same fate.


WHAT LIES BENEATH (film openings)
The opening scene begins with a woman walking through her house. The house is well-decorated with nice, fashionable furniture and design. The woman is white, middle-age (around 40 to 45 years of age). She is wearing good quality, fashionable clothes. From her outfit and the way her home is decorated, the woman is of a upper/middle class status.The woman appears to be from an American or British background.
The lighting in the house is quite dark with only a few lamps on. There is no light outside the windows, which shows that it is night. Dramatic music is playing and the only other sound that can be heard is the woman's footsteps. The music, lighting and the woman's footsteps create a desolate and tense atmosphere. It also brings to light the woman's vunerability.
The woman sighs and bends down to pick up some rubbish off the floor. This hints at a slight disturbance to normality but not enough to be significant. Whilst the woman is cleaning the floor, the camera pans out to reveal steam entering the room. The woman, pauses slightly and then turns to see the steam in the room. The way the woman, pauses and then looks suggests that she knows that something is not right and is quickly preparing herself for the situation. The woman slowly stands up and walks towards the door from where the steam is escaping from. The woman's facial expression shows panic, her mouth is slightly agape and her eyes wide.  The door is opened with a slight creak which adds to the tense atmosphere.  A light is switched on inside the room to reveal a room filled with steam and a white, clean bathroom. The bright light contrasts with the darker hose. This creates the feeling that something is about to happen.
The woman's breathing becomes heavy and audible, which shows increasing fear. The bath tub in the room is filled completely with water. The water is completely still, which creates an eerie atmosphere because it shows the water has not been touched for some time but is still hot enough to create a lot of steam. The camera pans around from behind the woman to the side of her to show her fearful expression and a streamed up mirror.  A faint figure appears floating in the mirror, but it is only when it says something in a harsh voice does the woman notice and gasp, but when she looks the figure is gone. This shows that this film has strong elements of the supernatural world and shows themes of fear and vunerability.
The woman wipes the top half of the mirror, where the figure was, with her hand to reveal nothing, when she wipes with her hand the noise of the action increases dramatically. As she stops wiping small droplets begin to run down the mirror creating small tracks in the steam. The camera turns away from the woman and shows the bath, In the reflection of the water is a woman. The woman appears to be dressed in a white gown and her hair is held back in a tight bun. This contrasts with the relaxed look of the human woman. The figure disappears as soon as the woman's own reflection appears in the bath.
The camera pans out to show the woman's face as she turns around to survey the room. The woman's jaw is clenched which portrays a hint of anger to the audience. The woman opens her mouth to speak. She stutters the first word of her sentence and has to begin again three times. This shows the feeling of fear is still present. The woman eventually shouts to the empty room "What do you want?".This shows that the woman is aware that she is not alone in her home. When she says this the camera pans out to reveal more of the room. The rest of the room is blurred except the woman's face but it is obvious that there is writing in the steam on the mirror. As the woman begins to walk out of the room, the writing comes into focus. It says "You Know". This message suggests that this woman's encounter isn't the first time this has happened to her. It also suggests that the woman has had previous contact with whatever thing is causing disruption to her normality of life.  As the woman walks past the mirror she gasps and turns loudly to show she has seen the writing. The camera then zooms in on the writing and the dramatic music heightens and drowns out any other noise. This sound creates an atmosphere of panic and fear for the audience.
The camera then cuts to an image of the stairs and the woman's feet running frantically down the steps. The woman's arms are out and her mouth is open wide to show her fear and her vunerability.  The woman runs into a living room. The lighting in the room is dark again with just a few lamps on but the most prominent light that is shining is the light from the computer screen.  The woman runs full speed into the desk and stops suddenly . She slowly turns her had to the computer screen, again with the same look of fear on her face.
The computer screen shows a gaming website called The Winner's Circle. It instructs the player to type in their initials and the letters MEF begin to appear on the screen. The dramatic music begins to fade slightly and the sound of typing on a keyboard becomes louder. As the sound becomes louder, the typing becomes quicker and quicker until the letters MEF are all over the screen. The sound and the extreme fast pace of the typing creates a panicked and fearful atmosphere to the end of the scene.

Genre Analysis

ROMANTIC-COMEDY

The first genre chosen was Romantic - Comedy (Rom-Com). For this genre we decided to use an inflatable doll dressed in a t-shirt and a wig, so we could fulfil the comedy aspect of the genre and our actor was to represent the romantic side of the genre because he is shown very upset when he finds out the girl he has been loving is actually an inflatable man in a wig.
The expression on the actors face and he fact that there is an inflatable doll involved should highlight to the audience that the film is meant to be a comedy but the stance the actor and doll is shows aspects of romance.

MYSTERY/THRILLER

The second genre chosen was mystery/thriller. For this genre we decided to use the location of a building backing onto a field because it gave the impression of a suburb and that the film is close to home. The one of the actors in the shot is dressed in normal everyday clothes from the 21st century and is seen kissing someone. The other actor in the shot is dressed in a pink wig and a furry bucket hat, he is seen lurking around a corner looking at the other female actor.
The position and outfit of the lurking actor gives off an impression of mystery but yet a small element of fear because from the shot it is not clear as what relation the two actors are to each other.

PERIOD DRAMA

The third genre chosen was Period Drama. For this shot we went outside to take this shot, we did this because the weather was sunny and not cloudy therefore it provided a nice natural light to take the shot in. The lighting was important because we wanted to portray that the film was a nice cheerful film. The shot depicts 3 actors, 2 girls dressed in floaty dresses with vibrant patterns. This made clear to the audience that the film was set in a different time period than present day. The male actor is wearing an army hat, this indicates that war or a battle is happening and therfore provides the viewer further knowledge that the film is set in different time period.

Purge Study

The film 'The Purge' is a dystopian horror. It is set in America in 2023, and the film shows the twisted ideas of the government attempting to lower crime rate in the country. The film is centred around one summer night when all crime, including murder, is legal for 12 hours. The film shows one wealthy family and their  attempt at surviving the night.
This film shows unedited violence, including murder and people enduring horrific bodily injuries. The genre of the film is horror due to the violence and the suspense created but it includes aspect of thriller due to intense scenes and jump scares. It is mainly aimed at people who don't mind violence and enjoy the thrill of suspense.