Film Theorists

1. Barthes – Enigma Codes
2. Levi Strauss – Binary Opposites
3. Traditional Hollywood Narrative Structure – 3 Acts (linear)
4. Todorov – narrative theory – 5 stages
5. Propp – Character Types.

1. Media Theory – Barthes –Enigma Codes
•Enigma codes (problems introduced) – usually in ‘disruption’ stage.
•Open – not resolved at end
•Closed texts – resolved at end
•Polysemic texts – lots of different meanings


2. Heroes and villains ‘Binary opposites’ Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss – Binary Opposition –
He said narratives can be organised through binary opposition - two things opposed – often dominant vs subordinate - e.g. male/female, hero/villain.


3. Traditional Hollywood narrative

•Three Act Structure = the typical Hollywood narrative = set up (25% time) /confrontation (50%) /climax (Final 25% of film time)
•Linear (chronological), few, if any, sub-plots, tendency towards closure at end of film.

4. Todorov's Narrative Theory

•In 1969 Todorov produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. Todorov believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern through various stages.

The 5 Stages:
•1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)
•2. A disruption of that order by an event.
•3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
•4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
•5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium


5. Vladimir Propp

1.Vladimir Propp – character types – analysed traditional folk stories – 8 key character roles
2. Hero/Villain/Helper/Donor(Provider)/Father/Dispatcher/Princess/
False Hero - N.B. one character can perform more than one role – how many in your thriller?

Representation of Women in Film
•Women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire – in film and audience
•Men active / women passive
•Women do not have agency – they do not move the plot forward.
•The audience is forced to identify with male gaze.
•Cinema reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society
•Patriarchy and phallocentrism linked – phallus (penis) a symbol of power – e.g. in cinema guns = phallus = power.

Styles of Editing

Editing is the process of gathering all footage that has been shot during the day/night and putting it together in order to make a film/tv program. There are different styles of editing and this is because of the type of genre that the film is. If the film is a thriller then the editing will be fast and the transitions will most likely to be straight cuts, however if a film was sci-fi then the editing may include a lot of different transitions such as graphic matches, fades and dissolves. 

"Thor" (2011)

The speed of editing is how long each shot lasts. In a film each scene may last a few seconds or it could continue for minutes. The length of each sequence establishes the pace of the film moving the action along. The speed of editing determines the mood of what is taking place.

If the audience is to feel anxiety and suspense, the editing will be quick and the scenes/shots will change more frequently. For example "Thor" is an action film and has a lot of fast editing because in some of its scenes there are battles and a lot of action. 

Scenes at the beginning of a film must be long enough for us to be able to understand where we are and what is going on. It is also slow to introduce the main characters. As the film progresses scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between two or more story lines at the same time.     

The movement from one shot to the next is called a transition and this is used in editing to make the film or video run smoothly. There are many different types of transitions used and they can either last a few seconds or even be invisible.

A straight cut is the most common form of a transition. This is when one shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the audiences attention this is because a straight cut is so fast that it is invisible to see, but the audience can tell that it has happened. Straight cuts help retain reality and the do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief. In the fighting scene from "Thor" where Thor confronts his brothers beast there is a straight cut from the beast to Thor then to Loki.

Another transition style is a dissolve. This is when one shot fades of the screen wile another fades on. The audience will be able to see both shots on the screen at the mid-point of the dissolve. A dissolve is used if the film make wants to show a connection between two characters, places or objects. This gives the audience a clue of what might happen later on in the film.

A fade is a gradual darkening or lightening of an image until it becomes black or white.It is used to show the passing of a long period of time and one shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen.

Wipes are not usually seen in modern films, but it is when an image is pushed off the screen by another image. It is more common for the image to be pushed off the left hand side because then it gives the effect that the audience is moving forward with time.

A jump cut is when the audience's attention is brought into focus of something very sudden. This occurs by breaking continuity editing and it is when the camera films different shots of the same subject from a slightly different position. This is called discontinuity and it appears as if a section of the sequence has been removed. For example in "Thor" we see Thor flying from the bifrost to the entrance of Asgard. 

In a graphic match the film maker can choose to place shots in a certain order so that it can create a smooth visual transfer from one frame to the next. When two consecutive shots are matched in terms of the way they look it is called a graphic match.

Thriller Conventions

Thrillers have fast pacing, frequent action and resourceful heroes that thwart the plans of more powerful better equipped villains and use devices such as suspense, red herrings, cliffhangers. They usually have hard men as their heroes, however they be ordinary drawn into danger by accident.

Thrillers occur on a much grander scale than Mystery Films: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Danger and violent confrontations are standard plot elements of a thriller
The climax of a mystery is when the mystery is solved, a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others.

There are many types of thrillers and they are; legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller.

An example of a thriller is the film Taken.

"A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris" - IMDb Taken (2009) 

"Taken (2009)"

The film involves these thriller conventions and uses them throughout the film to create an atmosphere of suspense and curiosity to the audience. It also keeps the audience glued to the movie and keeps them active as they ask themselves questions and try guess what's going to happen next.

Taken follows Todorov's theory by starting at an equilibrium and this is in the opening sequence of the film then as we the audience just get to know the main character, Bryan Mills, and all of a sudden there is a disruption and something bad happens. This indicates to us and the audience that something is not quite right and this is where the real story begins. At this point we want to know who was the kidnapper. Going further into the film Bryan Mills realizes what has happened and this links up with the next stage, which is an attempt to repair the damage. As soon as the action has finished and the hero has overpowered and outwitted the villain there is a new equilibrium. Things are back to normal, however there is a sense of safety and awareness. 

The film Taken involves all the great devices and this makes it a great film. It involves the right balance of suspense and red herrings. This means that the audience are kept on the edge of their seats for majority of the film, but in the end after the hero defeats the villain they are relieved for Bryan Mills and his daughter.

Mise-en-scene

In the scene or in the frame - "mise-en-scene" has five key elements and they are: 

1. Settings and props 

2. Costume, hair and make-up 

3. Facial expressions and body language     

4. Lighting and colour 

5. Position of characters 

The mise-on-scene used in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" has been well thought through and has made the film a huge success. There are certain settings and props that The Hobbit would need to have because its genre is fantasy. This means that the producers of the film need to be creative in order by setting the scenes in remote places and the props that are used such as swords and arrows need to be created so that they fit in with the genre.

The costumes used in The Hobbit have been designed to perfection for all of the characters. This is so that each character looks appropriate for their scenes. The costumes are designed by highly skilled costume designers so that they suitable for each character. Costumes is a major part of The Hobbit because the film is a fantasy so it means that the characters cannot just wear ordinary modern clothes, but they have to wear unique and mysterious attire.

Facial expressions and body language is also a key element for mise-en-scene and this is because if the actors/actress' are not able to fit into the role of their characters then that ruins scenes and bad scenes ruin the film. In The Hobbit there are many different types of characters such as dwarves, orcs and elves. It is easy to make all the characters look convincing, but if they're unable to act in a certain way then it ruins the film.

From the trailer we can tell that the producers have thought and selected the actors and actress' that they think would be able to play the characters in the film well. The actors/actress have done well to fit in with their characters as some characters are are weird and have some challenging things to do throughout the film.

Lighting and colour is used so that when filming the action that is happening appears clearer on camera so that when it is edited it makes it easier for the editors to put it together and spot any mistakes or errors that need to be removed. The lighting and colour in The Hobbit is different in some scenes because sometimes the shots are out in the open which means that natural light is used and in other scenes they have to make their own light and set it up in places where it'll be most effective. 

The positioning of characters needs to be convenient and fitting with its scene so that the film does not look rushed and unprofessional. Also by having the characters in the correct positions it helps the film flow better. The director of The Hobbit has done a great job in making sure that all the characters are where they should be because when watching the whole film it makes us, the audience, understand what is going on and it keeps us engaged with the film so that we don't go off track and get confused about the plot.

Sound Filming Excercise

In our sound filming exercise we were familiarizing ourselves on ways to use different sound techniques. Unlike our cinematography filming exercise we came up with a short horror story. We did this because we felt that in horror there are many different types of sounds involved and we were able to think of ways to include them into the sequence. Having planned our story it meant that when we went out filming we wouldn't have to rush and we could have attention to detail.

   

We had difficulties with the boom and that affected our sound exercise because we were unable to cooperate different sound techniques into our short sequence. As well as that the camera that we used was not very good so that is why the finished piece came out with bad quality.

"North by Northwest"

North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is about an ordinary businessman who is mistaken for someone else by a group of foreign spies and is chased across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

"North by Northwest"

In the crop duster scene there are different aspects that we can analyse and they are camera work, editing and sound. These different features contribute towards the genre of the film. Alfred Hitchcock said; "thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action". This is true because the different types of shots used in the sequence, the type of editing and the sounds used give this effect.

For example in the crop duster sequence the camera work varies. The scene starts of with an establishing that establishes the country and shows how vulnerable Mr Thornhill is and has nowhere for shelter or anywhere to escape. Straight after there are point of view shots and medium shots. They keep switching and this gives us the idea that Mr Thornhill is confused and how isolated he is. There is also a tracking shot for when Mr Thornhill tries to get cover. 

The editing used in the short sequence is basic but has a big effect. The scenes are constanty changing and it starts off with long takes with staright cuts. These then develop into short takes and the speed of the switching changes and becomes faster as Mr Thornhill gets into trouble, however whne he finds cover and the tension decreases the switching of the scenes slow down and become longer teakes as he is safe. The frequent scene switching could be used to portray Mr Thornhill's heartbeat in the tricky situation that he finds himself in. 

The crop duster sequence has diegetic sounds because all the sound that is being made has a source that the characters can hear and see and the audience can see too. There is paralell music played at the end of the sequence where the tank of a lorry blows up and this adds to the effect of Mr Thronhill's scary and weird situation because the music has a fast pace to it and this is a good opportunity for Mr Thronhill to make his escape. 



Crop Duster scene: Mr Thornhill being
chased by a plane.

Alfred Hitchcock said that he wanted to transfer the menace that appeared on screen into the minds of the audience. What he meant by this was that he wanted the audience to feel the distress that Mr Thornhill was going through as he was trying to survive whilst being pursued by a group of foreign spies.