Analysing a film poster.

PS I LOVE YOU.

The colour code makes the genre of this film very obvious. The poster is Black, White and Red. The Black and White makes the poster look very simplistic and it also makes the Red stand out. The colour red indicates love, passion which are both conventions of Romantic films. This tells the audience the genre is Romantic. 

At the top of the poster we see "FROM THE PRODUCERS OF THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA." The Devil Wears Prada is also in a bold font and this makes it stand out. This tells the audience it is produced by the same institution and also attracts the audience from The Devil Wears Prada, in the hope that if they liked the devil wears Prada, they will like this film. We see the films rating  (5 Red stars) against a White background, which makes them stand out, this makes it clear that the film has been rated 5 stars so is obviously very good and a lot of other people must have liked it. Underneath, we see the word ‘company’ in bold red writing, this tells us that it was rated 5 stars by company magazine, which is a very popular women’s magazine. Targeted at women aged...........This therefore suggests this is the films target audience although some men will like it too as they may go and watch it with their girlfriend and the main female character is also pretty which may attract some men.

Underneath that we see a review of the film, starting with the word Brilliant in a bold red font, which stands out to the audience. It is a focal point of somebody else's opinion. The Red might make people evoke feelings of love and passion. The actor’s names are in Black and their last names are in bold Red font, this is because they are often referred to by their last name, so it stands out and people will recognize it. 
Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank are actors that don’t usually appear in romantic films, this widens the audience, in the fact that the people that have seen other films they have been in, will also like this film.

The title of the film is then in a bigger, darker red font against a white background, again this makes it clear to the audience what the film is called. Underneath the title we see a tagline it says ' Sometimes you have to live life one letter at a time' this is a bit of an Enigma as we also see a letter in the woman's pocket but we don't know who or where its from and what it says, so we know that letters must be a big part of the film.

From the couples gesture code we know that they are together as they have their arms around each other, they are very close and he is looking at her. They are both good looking so this will attract a bigger audience, the men will watch it for the good looking woman and the women will watch it for the good looking man. 
We can also tell alot about the couple from their dress code. She is wearing a Red top, indicates love and passion and he is wearing a White top which suggests purity. The couples body language portrayed in the photo expresses feelings of intimacy and love through closeness of the bodies- they are chest to chest, hip to hip and he is holding her symbolising an all encompassing love, he is holding her with both arms indicating he is protective . He is looking at her very intensely but he is also smiling. She is drawing the audience in by looking directly at the camera and smiling.

Finally, at the bottom of the page we see a Yellow triangle saying PG. This tells us there isn't an age limit to watching this film. 

Practical Lesson. (Creating a Sequence)

Practical Lesson. 

Today we had another practical lesson. We learnt how to film a mini sequence using Wide Shots, Mid Shots, Close Ups and Extreme Close Ups. 

We also learnt how to film from different angels to make it more interesting. We filmed from different points behind a 180 degree line close to the item/person. This is so it looked right, for example; if we filmed a car driving from the right and then from the left, it would look like the car was about to crash into itself.  We also had to be very aware of continually so therefore we put markers on everything to make sure it looked the same in different shots. 

I was in two different groups, first i was in Lucas' group and we filmed a sequence of of Zell tying her shoe, with a close up of the shoe. Next I was in Simy's group and I was filmed hugging Freddy. We used a close up of Freddy's face when we hugged. 

Analysing and Comparing 3 Opening Sequences.

Saving Private Ryan.                                                                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HUf68gFGEE

In the mise en scene of this mid long shot we see a group of people of different ages which we assume is the family, because they are all together we assume it is a special day/event. 

We then see this low angle shot of an American flag, the flag conotates the genre of the film, which is  war. Low angle shots are known to show power therefore this tells us that America has power, However, we also see a low angled shot of a French flag suggesting they also have power. But we are still not sure who is fighting in the war.

We then see a tracking tilt showing an old character in a war cemetery. This tilt goes down to up, making the actor look small and venerable. The shot is also a wide shot, this puts into perspective how many people have died in the war and also establishes where we are. 

Next, we see an extreme close up of the mans eyes, this is to show emotion, but can also indicate a flashback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RTzi5Vt7w

 The scene has changed, showing the audience, it was a flashback and then we see a hand held shot, it is very shaky and makes the audience feel as if they were there, in the middle of the sea, about to fight in battle.

We then see an extreme close up shot of a mans shaking hands, it then zooms out and we see his  face, it carries on zooming out to a mid shot and we see a lot of other men standing around him,   this  puts into perspective what is about to happen. 

Next we see an over the shoulder, high angle shot. The soldiers venerable and small, which subverts the stereotype as soldiers are usually portrayed as big and strong. Once again, this shows the audience how big the war is and how dangerous it actually is.

Finally, we see a POV shot, this puts the audience in the characters position and makes them feel like they are there and part of the battle.

The genre of this film is War. The use of POV shots, high angled shots and mid shots are used to put this into perspective for us and to make us feel like we are really there.

Pretty Woman.                                                                                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EClS57_GlkQ                                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljeIQwZZi9E 

The film starts off with a mid shot of a man talking on the phone. From his dress code, we can tell that he is quite wealthy and possibly as business man as he is on the phone. 

Next we see another mid shot of the same man, but he is looking over Los Angeles out of the window and we also see people below him outside. This tells the audience that the man is powerful. 

Next, we see a close up of a lotus car(which was a really nice car in the time that this film was set) this also establishes wealth. 

 We then see a high angled pan of a street and some sky scrapers, we see a close of Carole Lombard's star on Hollywood walk of fame and we also see a Pan of the Hollywood sign. These three frames are all establishing shots and tell us that the film is set in Los Angeles. 

Finally, we see a close up of a hand giving drugs to another pair of hands and we also see two prostitutes by the side of a car. This is an example of junta position, as the drugs and prostitutes have been placed next to a wealthy business man.

There are many different angles used in this opening sequence. The genre of the film is Romantic Comedy so the use of all different angles indicate everything going on within the film and helps us establish a little bit about the characters.

The Last Song.

First we see a close up of an orange colour, but we are not sure what it is. 

Next we see another close up of something dripping down onto the floor, but the audience suspect that is what has caused the fire. 

We then see the church on fire from a birds eye view. This puts it into perspective for the audience to see how big the fire is. 

We see a mid shot of 3 figures, but we aren't sure who they are as they are silhouettes. This is an enigma, as we assume the two people on either side are firemen, but we are unsure who the person is it the middle. Who are they? Why are they there? and did They start the fire?

We then see a high angles shot of a road and a wide shot of a landscape. Both of these are establishing shots, although we only know we are in America, we are not exactly sure where abouts. 

 Finally we see two tracking close ups of Miley Cyrus, this tells the audience she is a main character and because she is very well known, it could possibly widen the audience for this film. For example: If they have seen Miley Cyrus in something else and liked it, they might want to watch this to see if they like this too. 

The genre of this film is also Romantic Comedy, so there are many different angles used. The high angled shot established where this film is set, the midshots make it clear to the audience what has happened in the past and the close ups give us extra information about what has happened and who the main characters in the film are.

COMPARING. 

All though each film has a very different opening sequence, they all use very similar camera angles and movements. I think Pretty Woman used very good establishing shots to make it clear that the film is set in Beverly Hills. I think the camera angles in the last song are quite enigmatic as they don't give a lot away and leave us to try and work things out. However, I think Saving Private Ryan have used the best camera angles and movement because it really makes the audience feel involved and feel as if they are there, this keeps the audience watching, whereas Pretty Woman and The Last Song don't have any POV shots or hand held camera shots which doesn't make the audience feel as involved. 

Camera Tutorial.

Camera Tutorial.

Todays lesson was in the film studio where we learnt how to set up and use a tripod and camera correctly. First we were put into 3 groups of 5, I was in a group with Zell, Eliza, Lucas and Alex. We were then showed a tripod and we were showed how to set in up and then in our groups, we had to set it up ourselves by unfolding it, then twisting the clips at the bottom and then pulled it up high enough so that it was high enough for us all to see without having to look down. We then had to bubble the tripod to make sure it was straight and steady.

Next, we got the camera out of the box and put it onto the tripod by holding the button down and then sliding it on and clicking it into place. We then put the battery in the camera and turned it on. We took it in turns to play around with the camera and we had to find out how to change the brightness, zoom and focus the camera. 

After that, we learned about white balance and how to make the colours correct by zooming in really close on something white and then click the white balance button on the side of the camera and then zoom out so the colours are how we see them in real life. I really enjoyed and learned a lot in this lesson today as I have never worked with cameras like that before. 

Lesson 2.

This week, we got into groups and filmed a short sequence. I was in a group with Lucas, Simy, Alex & Xalil. We practised filming different shots so eventually, we could edit them together and then make a little sequence. We shot a long and mid shot of Simy sitting writing at a desk & we shot a close up of a phone ringing as we wanted the focus to be on the phone. 

We learned about fading out. That is when, for example, you want to film a mid shot of someone at some point in the sequence, you film the whole sequence in a mid shot so then you can cut and edit when you want. We also learned not to delete any shots whilst still filming, this is because it wastes a lot of time and you could also delete some useful footage that you could later on use. 

Pretty Woman Film Review.

Pretty Woman Film Review.

My favourite film is Pretty Woman, it was made in 1990, written by J.F. Lawton, directed by Garry Marshall and produced by Arnon Milchan and Steven Reuther. The film is about a rich businessman named Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) who is on a business trip in LA when he meets prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) on Hollywood Blvd and asks her for directions to his hotel. Gere then decides he wants to hire Vivian for the night and the following morning asks her to stay for the week and offers to pay her a large amount of money, to which she says yes. Julia stays at his hotel for the week and we see her transform from a prostitute, into a beautiful and elegant lady. As the film unravels, the couple end up falling in love and it ends with a fairytale ending. It is my favorite film because it is quite old and I don’t think there is any other film like it even to this day. It is also set in LA, which is my favorite place in the world and I love watching her walk down Rodeo Drive to all the shops and seeing her transform from a prostitute to a classy woman. The film makes you feel many emotions such as sad, angry but most of the time it makes you smile and feel happy. The film also stars Ralph Bellamy (James Morse), Jason Alexander (Phillip Stuckey), Laura San Giacomo (Kit de Luca) and Hector Elizondo (Barney Thompson). Julia Roberts was nominated for /Best Actress in a Leading Role’ at the Oscars and won a Golden Globe for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical.’ I would recommend this film to Girls over the age of 14, but I am sure some men would also like the film. I would give the film 5/5

                     

Tension within Thrillers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhqwLgyzy38

We can tell tension is created during this opening sequence because of various reasons. Firstly, the music continues to build through out the sequence, giving the feeling that something is going to happen and gets the audience on the edge of their seats. We also see a wide shot of a young girl in a swimming pool. The water looks very choppy like a rough sea, this is pathetic fallacy, which suggests something bad is about to happen. 

 Next we see an underwater shot of the girls body, this tells us that the girl is very focused on what she is doing and is not aware of what is going on around her. This builds tension as we know something is going to happen but know she is not aware of it yet. While she is under water, we also hear the sound of a heartbeat which builds more tension.

The slow motion shot that happens at 0:55 also helps to build tension as it slows everything down making it longer to watch when the audience are desperate to see what is about to happen.

Next, we see a man (we can tell that he is a man from his body shape) entering the room. This builds a lot of tension because firstly, it is an enigma,  we don't see his face and secondly the audience know the girl is unaware of everything going on around her so we know she doesn't know he is there which makes us panic and feel scared for her.

The sound of a heartbeat is then repeated as the man walks closer to her adding suspense. It then goes into slow motion again as the girl comes up from underneath the water and realises the man is there, her mouth drops and the music drops telling us the climax has been reached.