Focus on specific camera shots and camera angles
e.g. Frodo is shot from a point of view of the ghost and from a high angle. When Frodo looks up at the ghost the point of view is from a low angle. This is a classic cinematic trick showing vulnerability and power relationships. It is also used in Terminator 2 when Sarah Connor sees the Schwarzenegger for the first time since the first film when he was chasing her. She is crawling along the ground trying to escape as Schwarzenegger looms over her.
Go from the specific to the general . Make your point using textual evidence and explain fully.
Ian made a good point about the ring whispering to Frodo ‘quietly and seductively’ as if they have a secret between them. ‘Giving the ring a voice in some way personifies it making it a bit like it has a living consciousness.’ Very perceptive using skills of textual analysis used in GCSE English when you also interrogated a text.
The skill in textual analysis is making perceptive points and the linking them with textual evidence whether a film , television or print text. In the exam you could be given any media text to de-construct so expect the unexpected. You need to develop a confident, fluent style of writing.
The most successful responses are those that show effective note taking. You view the extract four times so you can organise your response into a series of points. Make notes using what the exam board call a toolkit for analysis concentrating on different aspects such as lighting, genre, narrative, sound, mise-en-scene, camera angles and shots and special effects. Also discuss representation and audience as they are key concepts in media studies.
Focus on specific points and write as much as you can in time allowed.
Monday 27 September 2010
AS start of term
We have been analysing extracts from film texts and gaining an understanding of terminology. We have also been thinking about a trailer for a horror film.
We looked at the importance of sound in blockbuster films and analysed extracts from Bond films. We looked at the Bond Franchise as a business model and discussed the changing representations of Bond focusing on Daniel Craig's mean and moody version. We compared this to the Bourne franchise and what this explained about changing audiences.
We watched a documentary about sound in Casino Royale. The sound editor explained that sound is 50% of the film in a blockbuster like Bond with lots of explosions, chases and gadgets. We saw how individual sounds were heightened in foley post-production. For example, when someone hits the wall, we hear the crunch as sounds are enhanced in post-production. The software in Final Cut Studio allows us to put on sound effects and we will use this in our productions. An example was the 'Schwing' sound of the sword as it clatters to the ground. There are lots of details and we saw how the music was composed for a full orchestra. The music was exciting, increasing tension with the Bond signature tune a theme throughout. Depending on the country Bond was in the music would be matched to reflect the place. As in Final Cut Pro lots of tracks were laid on top of each other. There are 15 minutes of music in the Miami sequence of action.
We went on to analyse extracts from Mission Impossible, Star Wars and Spiderman. A brief written response was asked for in response to Lord of The Rings as an initial assessment.
We looked at the importance of sound in blockbuster films and analysed extracts from Bond films. We looked at the Bond Franchise as a business model and discussed the changing representations of Bond focusing on Daniel Craig's mean and moody version. We compared this to the Bourne franchise and what this explained about changing audiences.
We watched a documentary about sound in Casino Royale. The sound editor explained that sound is 50% of the film in a blockbuster like Bond with lots of explosions, chases and gadgets. We saw how individual sounds were heightened in foley post-production. For example, when someone hits the wall, we hear the crunch as sounds are enhanced in post-production. The software in Final Cut Studio allows us to put on sound effects and we will use this in our productions. An example was the 'Schwing' sound of the sword as it clatters to the ground. There are lots of details and we saw how the music was composed for a full orchestra. The music was exciting, increasing tension with the Bond signature tune a theme throughout. Depending on the country Bond was in the music would be matched to reflect the place. As in Final Cut Pro lots of tracks were laid on top of each other. There are 15 minutes of music in the Miami sequence of action.
We went on to analyse extracts from Mission Impossible, Star Wars and Spiderman. A brief written response was asked for in response to Lord of The Rings as an initial assessment.
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