essay 3 (we were soldiers opening sequence)

induction to character type: soldiers walking down a dirt road.

enigma: blood splatted on the senior officer hat and face and the shot went through the trumpeter’s throat.

information on genre: costumes, props, location, characters special effects.

Mise-en-scene:

characters costume: dressed in military uniform the indicates that they are soldiers.

props: guns, trumpet, blood which is associated with war, destruction and death.

camera techniques:

establishing shot is a medium shot of the environment.

a close shot of the soldiers feet as they are walking.

wide shot the convoy that the soldiers are protecting.

close up shot of one of the senior officer with the blood splatter on his hat and face.

close up shot of the trumpeter when a bullet goes through his throat.

medium shot of the RPG soldier.

long shot of the enemy coming out of the high grass.

close up on the vietnamese soldiers that had stabbed the soldier in the back.

medium shot of the vietnamese soldiers check that the soldiers are dead.

the sequence look like an opening sequence because the first couple of shots show the audience only the background and soldiers that then gives the audiences a couple of question. E.G. they don’t know who they are? or which army they belong to? the opening doesn’t conform with a traditional opening sequence. the sequence doesn’t show the name of the film, director or the actors names that play the character. it also has parts that conform with the traditional opening sequence which is the enigma that show that a soldier is covered in blood but doesn’t show who shot the soldier.

the sub genre conventions that were used are the costumes that the characters wear. the props were used to show the genre of the film.

camera techniques are from medium shots to close up shots to show the tension and the drama of the opening scene.

the editing techniques are started with long shot duration but quickly changed to short shot duration when the soldier was shot along with a few cut transitions throughout the action sequence of the opening. there was a fade out of text at the beginning of the opening sequence.

the sound and music of the opening sequence is at the beginning was a voice over narrative that is the tell the audience the film was inspired by a true story. there was music that was to lower tension and suspense. then there was dialogue that is french and vietnamese which by the sound of the dialogue, the french is more relax and the vietnamese is more harsher and violent.  

Media studies homework

Key and conventions of opening title sequence

• Name of production companies.
• Director.
• Producer.
• Executive producer.
• Top billing actors.
• The movie title.
• Distribution Company.
• Details of cast and crew.
• Introduction to character or character type.
• Indication of place and period.
• Information regarding mood and tone.
• Introduction to theme tune.
• Information on genre.
• Question’s that the viewer will find intriguing.
• Patterns and types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film.
• Mise-en-scene and cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later on in the film.

Media studies homework

British board of film classification

The British board of film classification is a non-government body, classified films since it was set up in 1912, and videos since passing the video recordings act 1984.

Guidelines

Guidelines also take into account the UK laws to change classification decisions, updated every 4 years. Recent issue is 2009.

Areas which are considered:

• Discrimination
• Drugs
• Horror
• Imitable behaviour
• Language
• Nudity
• Sex
• Theme
• Violence

The classifications that we are looking at are 15 and 18.

Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Discrimination: The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror: Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour: Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language: There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity: Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex: Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence: Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

Suitable only for adults

No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema.

No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video.

In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at ‘18’ the BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the following areas:

• where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence
• Where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault
• Where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and in ‘sex works’ (see below) would normally be confined to that category.

In the case of video works (including video games), which may be more accessible to younger viewers, intervention may be more frequent than for cinema films.

Sex education at ‘18’: Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted.

Sex works at ‘18’: Sex works are works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing only materials which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’. Sex works containing clear images of real sex, strong fetish material, sexually explicit animated images, or other very strong sexual images will be confined to the ‘R18’ category. Material which is unacceptable in a sex work at ‘R18’ is also unacceptable in a sex work at ‘18’.

Media studies homework

Thriller films conventions

• Enigma
• Identity
• Micro Elements-build suspense
• Protagonist in danger
• Antagonist traps Protagonist

Media studies homework

Film opening timeline

BLACK HAWK DOWN

• Text-based on an actual event
• Text-“only the dead have seen the end of war”-Plato
• (Music starts [person singing][violin playing] )
• Location – Somalia – East Africa 1992
• Text-years of warfare among rival clans cause famine on a biblical scale.
• Text-300000 civilians die of starvation.
• Text-Farrah Aidid, the most powerful of the warlords, rules the capital Mogadishu.
• Text-He seizes international food shipments at the ports. Hunger is his weapon.
• Text-the world responds. Behind a force of 20000 US marines, food is delivered and order is restored.
• (Music stopped [person singing])
• Text- April 1993. Aidid waits until the marines withdraw, and then declares war on the remaining UN peacekeepers.
• Text-in June, Aidid’s militia ambush and slaughter 24 Pakistani soldiers, and begin targeting American personnel.
• Text-in late August, America’s elite soldiers, Delta Force, Army Rangers and the 160^th SOAR are sent to Mogadishu to remove Aidid and restore order.
• Text-the mission was to take three weeks, but six weeks later Washington was growing impatient.
• Film title
• Date- Saturday – October 2^nd, 1993.
• Building- red cross food distribution center.

Media studies homework

Film opening h/w:

The Beatles yellow submarine (animated):

The mood and tone are upbeat and happy at the beginning of the film opening but during the film opening the mood and tone of the film changes dramatically to sad and losing the will to live for a few moments then the mood and tone changes again to happy and upbeat. The mise-en-scene in the film is mostly brightly coloured type of suit that the colour scheme will be carried on through the film. The film is set in the 1968 that the period of when the Beatles were popular. The distribution company is apple films and the production company is a king features. The title is The Beatles Yellow Submarine. It stars Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the Beatles. Al Brodax is the producer and the director is George Dunning.

The Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides:

 The film includes Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz as the main two characters. The production company is Jerry Bruckheimer and the distribution company for the film is Walt Disney. The period is in the 1800’s when there was piracy on the high seas. The mise-en-scene during the film is of clothes in the Victorian times that use very dull colours. The film name is the pirates of the Caribbean on stranger tides and it’s the 4^th in the pirates of the Caribbean series. The mood is gloomy and mysterious and the tone is harsh.

Demolition Man:

Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes are the main two characters in the film. Distribution Company is warner bros and the production company is silver pictures. The film is Demolition Man. The mise-en-scene in the film is mostly of dull colour and ripped and old clothes at the beginning of the film then it changes slightly to bright coloured clothes but there are the dull coloured clothes also during the film. The film start in 1996 and then goes to 2032 to show what happens in the future.

Media Studies homework

Essay 1

FILM: Bourne Identity

The film starts out with an enigma of the main character unconscious and floats at sea until a French fishing ship see him in the sea. The opening sequence show the protagonist (that at the moment we don’t know who he is) in danger in the form of having been shot in the back twice by survived. The protagonist has amnesia so he doesn’t know where he is, who he is. There is a French man that starts to clean up his wound by find that in the protagonist’s is a laser pen which when the button is press will show his bank account information that is in Zurich, Switzerland.

   

 The mise-en-scene of the opening sequence are the main character’s black diving suit and the French fishermen’s brightly coloured overalls but after the boat the main character is on comes to dock the main characters clothes change to slightly more colourful. The lighting at the opening sequence is a mixture of high and low key lighting to simulate night and day but also to show the cabin on the boat at time is used low and high key lighting to show night and day on the boat. The clothes and the technology showed that the film is modern and that its period the film is place in would be 2000-2006.

The first sounds are thunder and lightning which show in most film at the beginning is never good and also you hear the sea and the waves. There is a slow violin piece and also there is the sound of high winds howling away and waves crashing against the boat. Then a flute starts playing and also when the camera goes to inside the boat you hear the floorboards creaking and the dialogue of the French fishermen are happy and joking about after a day of hard work. The dialogue changes when one of the fishermen spotted the protagonist in the water to confused and suspicion and then changes to carefulness when they find out he is alive. Then the music changed to more dramatic sounds as a French fisherman starts to patch up the unconscious protagonist.

The establishing shot is a high angle long shot of a body float in the ocean this shows that someone is dead or about to die. Then the next shot is of the boat that is a long shot in a storm this show that there is a chance that they will discover the body. The next shot is a tracking shot as it is like a crew member on the ship has walked down from the deck of the ship to below deck. The next shot is a close up on the card game they are playing. Then a close shot turning into a zoom on the floating body that shows that they will find the body.

The first piece of editing is a dissolve in of the picture which is the floating body and the next bit is a jump cut to the ship and another jump cut to the crew inside the and another outside the boat.