comedy

i am uploading this just to show why i am against the idear of comedy. most people would find this disturbing and not funny, whereas i find it hilarious.

researched continued continued

http://video.aol.co.uk/video-detail/28-days-later-london-deserted/272887761
i could not find this video on youtube and therefore i couldent embed or tubechop it, so a link is the best i can provide for the time being. i have uploaded this link because it is what i consider one of the best scenes of all time. the dramtic irony in the scene of the charecter not knowing why london is abbandoned and reading bits of torn up newspaper and being confused about the nature of the situation. i also think the music in the scene goes very well in an eerie sense. with mise en scene i like the camera angles that suggest someone is watching him e.g. from high up places.

coursework research

i am working with Alex Farnell and we are currently researching film openings for our coursework project. we must film a 2 minute film opening to a genre of our choice which demonstrates all our knowledge and skill in filming and editing and how different techniques are used to develop different aspects of the opening scene. so far we have not chosen which genre of film we want to base the opening on, however we have been sharing with each other the openings of films we like and techniques we may like to use for our own project, for example Alex likes the opening to the film Juno because of the cartoon effect and how it switches to a real shot smoothly. I like this opening myself having watched it a few times and it is possible it may appear in our project when we come to filming, however something like this would be hard to create and was done by extreme professionals of filming and editing, therefore we need to continue to search for other openings to base our own on. a film opening i like is "snatch", directed by Guy Richie.
i like this opening because of how the shots switch smoothly to one an other in different places with different characters and introducing them one by one. this is a good way to start the film because of the cultural codes of the audience (mostly English or American viewers, familiar with types of theft) which will suggest due to the studying of the diamond and the disguises they are wearing they are thieves and gamblers because of the poker game. we therefore know the basis of the film withing one minute and 20 seconds, which is the general idea of a film opening: to introduce the film quickly and efficiently, and to deploy action codes and possibly enigma codes. another part of this opening that i like is the way in which that at the end of the title sequence the shot returns to the diamond from the start of the sequence.

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp was a ussian critic and litery theorist who in his career analysed over one hundred fairy tales in the 1920's. He proposed that it was possible to classiy the charecters and their functions into clearly defined roles and functions e.g. starwars; the princess, the hero etc. However, things such as pulp fiction do not match this, the model however, is sill useful as it difines differing between stories.
charector roles

• the hero (seeking something)
• The villain (opposes the hero)
• The donor (helps the hero with a magic object)
• The dispatcher (sends the hero)
• the false hero (Falsley assuming the role of the hero)
• The helper (provides support)
• the princess (reward for the hero's success, but also needs protection from the villain)
• the farther (gives away the princess to the hero)

narrative structure

Vladimir Propp also propossed a three part narrative structure seperated into three catagories:

the begginning (equilibrium) the middle (disequalibrium) the end (new equilibrium). the equalibrium is a a state of normatlity within the storyline. the disequalibrium is something which disrupts the equalimbrium, and the hero/protagonist has to set out to correct it. the new equalibrium is when the problem is resolved and a new state of normality is created.

Mise en scene

Mise en scene is the french term for what can be seen on screen at any point, this includes films, photos, adverts etc. Mise en scene includes:

• lighting - the effect of the lighting, the significances of where the lighting is, the effect on the scene that the lighting causes e.g. if there is little light the scene may be considered evil or sinister.
• setting - the area where the scene is taking place and what it suggests. the setting is usually shown through a series of establishing shots from distance and up close.
• characters acting/ facial expression - the expression and posture of the characters, connotating what they are doing and how they are feeling in the scene for example: a withdrawn pose with a scared expression will suggest to he audience that the scene is one of horror, and that the characters are reacting to it accordingly.
• costumes/props - the theme of the clothing and the props which are being used, for example if we someone dressed in a prisoners uniform with handcuffs around there wrists, we become immediately aware that this character is a prisoner.
• camera angles - the angles and different kinds of shots which are being used in the scene which develop certain aspects of emotion or suggest action codes, for example if we see soldiers running through a battlefield approaching each other wearing different uniforms, we know there is about to be a fight.

Roland Barthes- Narrative theory

Roland Barthes split narratives up into two categories: open and closed. an open narrative is a continuous thread which does not come to an end e.g. a soap. a closed narrative is a plot which ends, for example a film or a film and it's sequels. also covered in the lesson was the difference between a series and a serial: a series is a constant on going show every week for example, a serial is a set of episodes e.g. a series or lost or south park. within open and closed narratives there are also 5 codes to analyse:

• action code: applies to any action that implies a further narrative action, for example, when we hear the drums in eastenders, we know the credits are about to roll
  
• enigma code: refers to any unexplained part of a story which provides a constant question for the audience which demand answers.
  
• the semantic code: something in a narrative which implies further or additional meaning through connotation
  
• the cultural code: any part of a story which refers to a body of knowledge, e.g. something that will appeal to groups of people in different ways, for example, we would see a man eating pork as something casual, however people who were brought up as Muslims may find it offensive.
  
• the symbolic code: works with binary opposites.
  
• Binary opposites: the idea that an idea only exists because it is paired with its opposite, and that things can only be defined in relation to the opposite of itself. for example, there is only such thing as a hero because of the existence or cowardice
  

also, we covered a mediation, which is the way an individual interprets a text, and an ideology, which is a set of beliefs and ideas bound together to a person.

Camera shots

we covered several different kind of angles which are used by professional Filmer's and armature's for all different kinds of situations, for example, a long shot may be to give the perspective of someone being on there own or standing out from a crowd, it may give the effect of someone looking through binoculars or the sight on a rifle. here is a list of all shots other than long shots and their uses:

• establishing shot: one or more of theses shots are often used in the opening of a scene to show the setting, the characters in the scene.
  
• Medium shot: a shot which is neither extremely close up or far away, it is the most often used shot, also known as a normal shot.
  
• close up: a close up shot is usually used on the face of a person to show someones reaction to something, for example a woman's reaction to being proposed to.
  
• a point of view shot: this is used to show the surroundings through a characters eyes. a brilliant example of this is the opening scene to Saving private Ryan. the scene involves several shots through a hand held camera as the soldiers progress up the beach.
  
• two shot: this is a shot in which there are two people placed in the frame.
  

• Titled shot: a shot with a title featured in it, usually placed in the centre of the shot.
  

we also covered the following concepts of camera angles:

• zoom: to zoom in closer to the subject of a shot or to zoom away from it
  
• pan: to follow a subject across the scene and move the camera in accordance.
  
• tracking: a single camera shot lasting as the camera moves along a set out track
  
• hand held: a camera which is held like a basic home camera, also used in saving private Ryan.