The first still from Pulp Fiction, the second is from Planet Terror, the third from Die Hard and the fourth and final one from Old Boy.
Pulp Fiction is a hybrid genre with some indie blended with some gangster in the still. The lighting in Pulp fiction isn't what you would expect in a thriller film however they are wearing the props you'd acpect and the action code is still there.
Planer Terror was produced by Tarintino who created Pulp Fiction but is directed by Rodrigez. The gun is the action code but the fact that its her leg shows that the film could have a humourous side. Despite the gun the lighting is still low key but with a high contrast. This is to show that while the movie is a thriller horror movie there is a less serious side behind it.
The fourth still, Die Hard, is a long shot. The reason why the director went for a long shot was to signify that huge explosion behin Willis. This connotes that the protaginist is very powerful; almost as a one man army. The blood is highly contrasted to the background to signify that he's been in battle.
The fourth and final still is from Old Boy. It's a close-up of the protaginist cutting is tounge. The fact that it's a close-up shows the film's ultra-violent side. The lighting is high key which connotes that he could be inside. The fact that he's using a cloth shows his human side and that he could be good or even a normal person to surpress the blood (so he can survive).
Seven Samurai (1950s)
The classic point of view shot which is used whenever a confrontation is used in this scene. The samurai looks at the bandits and vice versa. The time between each cut increases dramatically as they draw out their sword and the camera pans incredibly as he fights the first bandit. As he finished off all the bandits the camera is panning slightly as if we were there. The camera movement is similar to Reservoir Dogs in the sense that the camera movement feels like we're watching it firsthand. While in Seven Samurai the panning isn't as real as it was in Reservoir Dogs it was still powerful at the time.
Reservoir Dogs (1900s)
The camera pans around as he's playing with the razor blade. The panning adds a sense of realism in the movie, and creates an awkward and intense atmosphere. Then while "Mr. Blonde" is dancing the camera has a medium shot but then does a big close up on the police officer who's bleeding heavily. This is to connote Blonde's insanity as he's playing an upbeat song and is dancing while the officer is about to die. When he's about to cut his ear off the camera pans slowly to the right as if we're there but we don't see it. The scene maintains its' realism when he's walking out the garage the camera tracks behind him and uses almost a handheld effect. While he's pouring the gasoline onto the officer the camera pans around them two which looks to real to be comfortable and creates a awkward atmosphere. The camera pans around when Orange shoots him to create the same effect. The camera moves as we are the fourth person in the scene. It was pioneering cinematography used throughout the film.
There is high lighting used in the shot. Most of the light is coming from the open door. A silhouette is created from the woman who's standing by the door. This suggests that where she's coming from (the room) has importance as it wouldn't have been signified through the lighting.
There is top-lighting coming from the door to glamourise the man's face. His facial expression and his cigarette stereotypically means he's a detective who has found an idea. Top lighting wouldn't have been used if the director didn't want us to pay attention to him.
The silhouette created by the filter lighting suggests that the women is mysterious and may have a darker motive. We can tell she has this villainy/uneasy look to her as how she's posing.
Props: In Oldboy the main actor is holding a hammer. This connotes violence. The stance in which it's held connotes that he's ready to inflict violence on someone else. The other two posters have no props in the posters. During the clip I posted he defends himself against a horde of enemies which shows Old Boy has a mature and violent theme. In Harold and Kumar (The clip); Harold holds a bag of weed while the black inmate holds a reading book. These connote how the film deliberately goes against stereotypes. The props in Old Boy are used to demonstrate a violent act whereas in Harold and Kumar they're attempting to tackle stereotypes.
Costumes: Harold and Kumar both wear average clothes which connote that they are normal people and no-body one special. This is similar to Old Boy as the main actor is actually wearing normal clothes as well. Both show that the people involved in both movies are normal people.
Lighting: Apocalypse Now has high contrast lighting towards the sun but is tinted to signify the horizon. This connotes that the poster is attempting you to look at the horizon. This is different as Old Boy has a much low-key lighting to connote that it's a serious thriller and Harold and Kumar has bright lighting which connote it's a comedy
Setting: Apocalypse Now is set in Vietnam and the poster shows a peaceful environment. However it's filled with Fog which connote that something sinister is upon the horizon as there is a sun set and river leading there. It's a chilling setting. The Old Boy poster is set in a run-down building with low lighting which connote that it's not a good place.
Actors: Apocalypse Now has Marlon Brando who was the Godfather. He was a highly influential film actor. If he was starring in a movie it would be likely someone would be watching it. Harold and Kumar have an Indian and a Korean playing each part. They are challenging stereotypes by having common names for each ethnicities but at the same time go against them.
Costume: The costume used in this poster is Di Niro is wearing a normal shirt but is also wearing a red headband. The red head-band connotes danger. This can suggest things such as he's being forced to put the gun on his head by another person. The whole poster is in black and white except that red headband which signifies its importance to the film.
Lighting: The poster uses low-key lighting. This connotes that the film is a serious film and aimed at older people rather than younger people as the colours used aren't that bright. There is also a contrast between him holding the gun and the other side of his face; the left side is shadowed, however the side holding the gun has a high contrast connoting the importance of the gun.
Actor/Actresses: The main actor is Robert Di Niro. He is the main person on the poster. The film came out around when Di Niro had just become a huge actor. He had been in movies such as Taxi Driver, Godfather 2 etc. This meant that they used his face from the other actors as he was the most famous from the other actors. There is a link in terms of audiences between Taxi Driver and Deer Hunter as they focused on mature adults and this poster is in a way targeted at them as well.
Make-Up: There is dirt smudged across his face. To his left there are wounds as well. This connote that the film has a bit of action in the film. They help connote that he was in a battle and also help with the idea that he's in danger as he's holding the gun to his face. It can also show that he was in war as Vietnamese soldiers often made their prisoners wear red headbands (as in the actual film)
Props: The main prop is the gun. He is pointing the gun at his head which connote suicide. You would assume that he wanted to kill himself so aims the gun at his own head. This connotes that he's in a terrible environment and he wants to escape. However if you closely observe the gun you can tell he points it at a slant which connotes hesitation. This links in with the theory that someone is making him do it. The prop is used as a shock tactic to make people want to check the film out.
Setting: There isn't a setting in the poster. All you see is a black background which connotes that it's a thriller and has a serious theme.
Target Audience: The audiences for this film would be adults. We can tell this straight away from the sophisticated look of the poster. It's in black and white, and won't grab the attention of young people. It would also be aimed at middle/upper class audiences as it's a more serious and double sided poster. The prop used also shows how it's a mature film; however it will grab the attention of some of the younger audiences.
Genre: The film looks to be a thriller. We can tell this by how the lighting is used. It’s low-key and black and white which shows is a much more serious movie. The gun connotes the action code for the poster and shows that there could be some action in the film from also the mud on his face. There are also some hints that it’s a psychological thriller as he points the gun to his head which may raise some moral issues
Typography: The title is ambiguous. “The Deer Hunter” connotes that he could be the deer hunter. It connotes that he’s an average man. This goes against your expectations of the film as he is portrays as a man who has been in action and wants to kill himself to a normal man. It makes the film more intriguing to go and watch it.
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Institution Case Study:
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Was a Film Distibutor who were attempting to rival hollywood, however merged with Universal Pictures instead. It was previously owned by Phillips.
The films that they created were not known films until 1994 when they created Four Weddings and A Funeral. They later went on to make Fargo.
These are all the films that they directed and made independently:
During its run the company had made some decently high budgeted films. One of their most successfull films was Spice Girls. The film was a change as most of their previous films were aimed at adults. They made cult-hits such as Trainspotting and Lock Stock despite those films being low budgeted. During their run some of the films were unique in the way the films were edited, e.g. Trainspotting created a clostraphobic atmosphere by shooting the camera close to the heroin junkies. While producing some successfull films, Plolygram films made some great movies and some bad ones.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
There were many different types of camera-angles used in this trailer which shows it was well directed. As the car's door opened you couldn't identify who came out as the camera shot was at a low angled tilt. This was well thought out as they wanted to conceal the identity of the killer. The impact on the audience was that they didn't know who was responsible for all the wrong doings till later on in the trailer. Therefore it provides questions for the viewers in their head that they want answered during the trailer; this keeps them interested for the duration of 'Saving Faith'. Also when the character is sitting down holding a gun this is not the first thing that is shown on that particular part. It slowly pans to the right which then shows the image. This creates suspense during the panning to the right. As a result when the audience sees the gun this creates a shock and allows them to think they have to keep watching.
WWW: Referred to audiences, No spelling errors and goes into great detail
EBI: More media terminology, sentences re-phrased and some punctuation mistakes; minor ones.
To start off with, there is a variety of camera shots and camera movements within the trailer which brings out the effects which the director wants. There are many examples of when close ups are used within the trailer. For example when the girl is crying, close ups are used to make the viewer feel sympathetic towards the character and we get a closer look on the girl’s facial expressions so we can relate to how she is feeling. Long shots are used quite a lot as well. This type of shot relates to the title of the trailer, as a long shot lets the audience infer how much the girl is alone from the rest of the world, signifying that she is a stranger. A high angle shot is used at the beginning of the trailer when the girl tries to commit suicide by drowning herself in a bath tub. This type of shot is used to give us an overview of what is happening, and since we are viewing the situation from a high view some audiences can get a sense of feeling powerful, as if we were God and telling the girl to not go forward with what she is doing and raise her head from the water.
WWW: Interesting Interpretations, Talking about all the Camera angles used, talking about why they are used
EBI: Doesn't refer to the audience, makes own assumptions and bad punctuation mistakes, spellings etc.
Within the trailer we see that a variety of shots have been used which allows us as the audience to see the actors’ facial expressions and to give us an insight into what some of the shots used may symbolize. Near the end of the trailer there is a close up of Ward sitting by a fire which may symbolize danger in some sort of way letting us know how angry and at this point how dangerous he is. Other close up’s are seen at 0:53 when Ward puts on his hood and walks away from the setting which in some way shows that he is now ready to get his revenge on those who ruined his life. The low angle shot seen at about 0:43 show the actor is superior to us and that connotes that we should acknowledge him.
WWW: The exact time of when some angles are shown, talks about audience rather than them self inferring it and symbols
EBI: Used more media terminology, elaborated on the camera angles and punctuation.
