Film Theory: Task 3

Task 3: Analysing Opening Sequences

i) What forms can opening sequences take? Can you list the conventions of opening sequences?

Opening sequences provide an introduction to a film. This is the director's chance to grab the attention of the audience and also the time at which viewers can decide how they feel about the movie. Opening sequences should:

1. Set the scene- so that it is clear to the audience where and when the plot is taking place. Also, this shows the genre, as a horror would typically have darkness, or a teen-flick would be set in a high school in America.

2. Introduce the antagonist (or protagonist), or other central characters so we get a sense of the world typical environment. In Se7en, we are shown Morgan Freeman and his lifestyle; we see his home, clothing, personality and job, which gives the audience a sense of familiarity and understanding.

3. Make the equilibrium obvious and reveal how it will be disrupted, so that the storyline can unfold. For example, in Legally Blonde we are shown how perfect Elle's life is; she has a boyfriend, is extremely popular and the centre of attention and has lots of designer brands (so she is rich). It is obvious that her life will change as everything is just too good to be true.

4. Contain music as this is goes hand-in-hand with the mood of the film. Music can be used to create a happy environment or even tension in a drama. It is also essential when credits are rolling, if there was no music this would seem odd to the audience. Usually, silence is not present in films (unless intentional) as characters are speaking, or SFX are used, so music can be used to fill gaps or when time is passing.

ii) What narrative functions of opening sequences can you identify?

Narrative story refers to all events, whether explicitly presented, or inferred. Opening sequences are constructed to achieve audience understanding of events which have been grouped together to cause effect-action and event. Time and space can be organised in a compressed form so that many ideas can be presented. Narrative is achieved through:

• Camerawork
• Lighting
• Mise-en-scene

As we are dealing with films, the audience know that they are watching a closed narrative and therefore tight reading is involved.

There are normally few main characters so that we are able to see individuals in great depth. The characters are arranged in a hierarchy, which a central character, supporting roles, extras etc. As an audience we are able to identify with characters and like or dislike them. Directors can use lighting to influence the audience's opinion, e.g. in a horror: showing shadows or darkness on antagonists, so that we see they may be hiding something or are evil.

Time is compressed as there is a limited amount of screen time and as events are specific to a particular story, they may have no resemblance to the viewer's world. Flashbacks and flash-forwards are a good way of using a short amount of time to explain reasons for character motives or history.

iii) What do audiences gain from watching opening sequences?

Audiences are able to gain understanding of the genre and style of the film as a whole. An opening sequence is an insight into the rest of the film, so if viewers don't like what they see, they may not watch the rest. Not only do audiences judge what they are seeing in the opening sequence, but they may anticipate what they think may happen later on; they could be in for a shock if they are wrong, so opening sequences are vital as they are a taster on the film as a whole and can shape the audience's reaction.

iv) What do filmmakers gain from including an opening sequence?

Filmmakers can use opening sequences in a range of ways to shock or satisfy audience's expectations. Directors can use leave certain clues and tease the audience. By creating dilemmas at the beginning, viewers will have questions about characters, settings, plot etc. but the filmmakers can choose to delay the answers until later on, keeping the audience hooked. On the other hand, in genres like horror, filmmakers may deliberately want to trick the audience into thinking one thing so that they can have a twist at the end. We see this a lot in franchise movies such as Saw, Halloween and The Hills Have Eyes, where we think the killer is dead...only to return in the next film. Overall, a filmmaker wants the opening sequence to be captivating so that viewers are pulled in and want to watch the rest of the movie.

Film Theory: Task 2

Task 2: Barthes Analysis of 'Don't Look Now'

Roland Barthes was initially a structuralist thinker, but over time his ideas about narrative theory changed. In his essay 'S.Z..' he identified a set of codes which he proposed were linked together in productions of all stories:

1. Action Code: depicts the events- who,where, when.
2. Semantic Code: refers to characters/characterisation.
3. Enigma Code: involves the setting up of mystery, it's development and resolution.
4. Referential Code: involves explaining or informing. e.g. mise-en-scene
5. Symbolic Code: reading connotations of signs which transfers them into symbolic representation.
   

Semantic Code:

• little girl in red raincoat-important character
• couple and boy-the couple are shown to be parents of the children-they are shown a lot so will obviously play pivotal roles throughout the film
• the father is shown more than the woman-is he more important than her? Why is she so withdrawn? Why is he the one who realises something is wrong?
• the tragic moment where the young girl dies is obviously important as it disrupts the equilibrium and will set a chain of events into action will will inevitably add to the storyline.

Action Code:

• The first character shown is the young girl and the audience focus on her playing, showing her youth and importance in the plot.
• The couple seem normal and happy but when the ink runs from the photograph, we see that something is wrong. The father immediatly senses this which shows he is clever and aware which connotes that he may have more to add to the story later.

Enigma Code:

• the colour red (raincoat, photo, bicycle, seems to be an on-going symbol throughout the sequence. It is associated with blood, murder, passion, love. Maybe these will be present later in the film.

Referential Code:

• The scene shows a large house with grass and a stream outside. This shows that the family is quite wealthy. We do not see a lot of the house, though, which could suggest that it is not very important or will not be featured much later on.
• Even though it appears to be a normal day, strange things such as the ink running from the photo and the boy breaking the window could suggest disturbances and other things out of the ordinary may happen.
• As the girl is rescued (albiet to late), her father is dirty and distressed, showing that he could be very connected to his daughter and his muddy clothes symbolise that he may be going into 'dangerous waters' later.

Symbolic Code:

• The most obvious symbols are of death, danger and sorrow. The colour red connotes blood, anger, danger, murder etc. As the girl is dressed in red and then dies, we are confirmed that death is significant.
• The photographs being ruined also suggest that bad things will happen throughout the film, even if they are quite small.

Film Theory: Task 1

TASK 1: Levi-Strauss analysis of Pale Rider and Die Hard

Levi-Strauss argued that narrative (or as he called it, "Myth") has two main characteristics:

1. That it is made of units that are put together according to certain rules
2. The units form relationships based on binary opposites, providing the basis of the structure.

Opposites can create different moods and effects when in conflict, they can add to the narrative, such as in Westerns such as Pale Rider or Action movies like Die Hard.

Pale Rider:

Thinking about: framing, composition, characters, mise-en-scene, camera work

• Mountain/Desert
• Silence/Noise
• Man/Nature
• Peace/Action
• Civilisation/Frontier
• Settlement/Wilderness
• Happiness/Anger
• Peace/Wild
• Men/Women
• Innocence/Corruption
• Victims/Villains
• Post/Pre-War
• Living/Dead
• Day/Night
• Clear Skies/Thunder+mist
• Music ~ Calm/Vengeful
• Panic/Mourning
• Godliness/No God?
• Christian/Pagan
• Cold/Warm
• Town/Village
• Plain Clothes/Suits
• Rich/Poor
• Men ~ Old/Young
• Nice/Mean
• Eastwood ~ Present/Disappearing
• Crime/Justice
• Old/New
• Fear/Power
• Strength/Weakness
• High angles/Low angles
• CUs/LSs

Die Hard:

Thinking about: dual structure, repetition, parallels

• Plane ~ Flying high/Low
• Peace/Danger
• Confidence/Weariness
• Active/Passive
• Experience/Unexperienced
• Home/Office
• Family/Work
• Still (Sitting)/Motion (Airplane)
• Humour/Seriousness
• Silence/Noise
• Party-full of people/Foyer-empty
• Marriage/Divorce
• Happiness/Sadness
• Normal/Strange
• Wife looking for husband/Husband searching for wife
• HA (on Asian boss)/LA (on McClaine)
• Men wearing black/Woman in red
• Plain clothes/Formal suits
• Light/Dark
• Law/Criminality
• Victim/Perpetrator
• Injustice/Retribution
• Black man- chatty/White man- silent
• Impostors/Employees
• Americans/Foreigners
• Peace/Destruction
• Jolly Music/Classical
• Moving Camera (on street)/Still camera (in bathroom)

Preliminary Exercise

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

• Natasha, Ella, Joseph
• We had a meeting
• Did shooting schedule, storyboard, script, planning
• Switched roles. Me + Ella were actors, so Joseph + Natasha were mainly directing or sound/lighting technicians.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

• We did a walk-through to see if there would be enough room to shoot, the acoustics would be right, the lighting would look good and the camera could actually be placed where we wanted.
• Planning-paperwork (storyboarding+shooting schedule+script very important to know what we were doing)
• Levi-Strauss theory of binary opposites (normal vs. strange with Ella+I)

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

• Hardware:

1. Canon HDE Camera
2. Mini DV Tape
3. Shotgun Microphone
4. Tripod

• Software

1. PC based digital editing suite
2. Adobe Premiere Pro (razor tool to cut sections, output monitor and source monitor to see what is actually being shown, video and audio timelines to differentiate between shots, onboard titling software for text, rubber bands to edit sound and create fades, dragging and dropping etc.)

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

• Time management- make sure we can shoot and edit in the given time slots. Storyboarding and the shooting schedule helped with this, as we could work efficiently with a plan.
• Location-for camera, for tripod, for actors
• Restrictions-with the location as we had a classroom to work with, not a set. Also with time, as we had an hour to shoot and an hour to edit.
• We had to take into account what we are shooting and remind ourselves that there are requirements and not too stray too far from the brief as this would create more work for ourselves than is needed.

5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and what with hindsight, would you improve/do differently?

SUCCESSFUL POINTS:

• We met the brief and fulfilled all parts.
• The sequence flows.
• We had two match-on-actions (opening the door and me running away), so we gave a little extra.
• The sequence is 26 seconds, so it is short and not too long and boring, we fit everything in without shooting too much.

IMPROVEMENTS

• Immediately at the beginning, Ella walks in without opening the first door so it looks to rehearsed. We should have filmed from outside of the room first to look more realistic.
• I seem like a strange character, but we didn't really explain to the audience why that was. We could have explored character types more in depth.
• When Ella is talking, her hand switches positions between cuts which distracts the audience and takes away from the continuity of the sequence.

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will ths learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

• 180 degree rule and 30 degree rule-makes shots look good on screen so they don't appear jumpy to the audience.
• This exercise re-inforced the importance of planning as the storyboard, script and shooting schedule were so helpful and reduced the time we needed to shoot.
• I learnt just how important it is to shoot EVERYTHING, as even the smallest details could be necessary, as we noticed when editing.
• I learnt about the roles in media and how each person has a responsibility that contributes hugely to the production of film.
• I saw how a walk through can be very useful, as if we hadn't done one, we would have wasted time when shooting on shots that would have been to hard to shoot.

Group 2C

Propp's Analysis of Stories: The Lion King

In The Lion King, the main characters that provide narrative functions are:

*The villain- Scar

*The donor- Rafiki

*The helpers- Timon+Pumbaa

*The princess- Nala

*Her father (in this case mother)- Sarafina

*The dispatcher- Nala

*The hero- Simba

*The false hero- Scar

In our board game, however, we did not show Sarafina as does not play a large part in the story. We showed the other characters by:

*Scar-if you land on a square with him, you miss a go or are sent back

*Rafiki- a drawing of him with the words "what will your destiny be" (magical, relates to how he is in the movie)

*Timon+Pumbaa- they take you across a bridge. This is an iconic moment in the film, which shows time passing as Simba grows from a cub to an adult lion.

*Nala (princess)- you marry her at the end of the game and win

*Nala (dispatcher)- you land on a square where she helps you to advance in the game.

*Simba- he is shown as the antagonist throughout the game.

Vladimir Propp also stated in his theory that there are 31 functions in a story. We identified some of these e.g.:

*Member of the family absents himself from home: Simba leaves

*Villain causes harm: kills Simba's father Mufasa

*Hero discovers the lack: Nala informs Simba

*Location shifts to the place where the lack is to be found: Simba returns to Pride Lands

*Villain defeated: Scar dies

*True hero recognised: Simba wins at the end

*Hero marries and ascends throne: Simba weds Nala

We used many different techniques to illustrate the theories. We drew pictures to show important moments (e.g. when Simba is born and held up over Pride Rock-iconic moment).

Also we made some squares with information in them (e.g. 'Timon and Pumbaa find you' or 'You marry your childhood sweetheart')

Furthermore important settings in the plot where established- Pride Rock is shown with a picture and a central square witch is the only coloured in one-this centralises Pride Rock as it is vital to the story.

EVALUATION

What made things hard with this theory is that it was written in the 1920s, so it is there is bound to be a problem when applying such an old theory to contemporary media. It was hard to demonstrate how the film used Propp's functions, as some seem repetitive or may not be exactly right. Also, the eight character types where supposed to be different people but in some cases the same character can fit into two types (i.e Nala = dispatcher AND princess).

Also, I found it fairly difficult to physically lay out the board game- i.e. what goes where? Where do we place crucial parts of the story on the board game? What goes in which box?

All in all, we tried hard to make our game look asthetically pleasing, make sense and follow the plot exactly, which I believe we achieved. However, I think that the one thing we failed to do was make sense of which character's point of view we played from... We had different counters, s a player could be Simba or Nala or Timon etc, but we seemed to have it from Simba's POV.

So, we may not have been the best board game creators but we completed the task and used Propp's theory accordingly. :)

HOMEWORK TASK 2: Todorov

Applying Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium
Tzvetan Todorov suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium where any potentially opposing forces are balanced which are then disrupted by an event. This sets in chain a series of events where problems must be solved so that order can be restored and a new equilibrium created.

1. Who are the agents: the protogonist (the main hero who propels the narrative forward) and antagonist (opposing agent).

The protagonist is obviously Lola/Mary as she is shown for the duration of the film, even though she can be quite over the top and dramatic we are made to sympathise with her as her world has been turned upside down. The antagonist appears to be Carla as in the first encounter she has with Lola she is extremely cutting and snide. Also later on she approaches Lola and is quite nasty about Ella who seems to innocent. She says that she "better stop before she gets nasty," implying that she can be even more mean.

2. Describe the Equilibrium. How is it represented? What kind of camera shots can you identify.

Immediately, we see how Lola is forced to move from her beloved home in New York to New Jersey . She refers to NY as 'the centre of the universe,' while NJ is 'another planet/Deadwood.' These two states are neighbouring, which shows how she can exaggerate. At 3:00 a LS is used when Lola arrives at her new house in the car. This establishing shot shows that the scenery is pretty and warm but how small Ella is in comparison to this new place. Even though she is with her family she does not fit in because she feels so drawn to New York. Afterwards a MS is used to show how Lola crosses her arms and disapproves of the situation, adding "Oh Mom."

Lola, although seemingly innocent, acts quite self-centred. We see this many times, in particularly from 3:41 to. Many shot types are used; an upwards tilt to show Lola's over the top outfit, a WS of her riding her bike down the street and a CU of her looking around the place. Her voice over is also played coincidently. So much is going on to make the audience focus on Lola although it seems that she thinks even more about herself, as she crashes into a tree by not looking where she is going.

3. Is the Disruption or Disequilibrium introduced or hinted at?

When she gets to school a WS is used to display Ella and Lola meeting each other. They mirror each other's actions and the shot order eventually goes from WS to MS to CU showing that th two immediately click and ill be close.

Contrary to this Carla and Lola's relationship is set up to look negative. We know this because as Ella and Lola are having a friendly conversation music is played while Carla ad two friends walk into what was a WS illustrating closeness. The camera then goes to a MS of Carla so that we focus on her as she seems to want as much attention as Lola. It is now clear that the equilibrium will be disrupted by Carla.

4. Are there any visual/verbal/aural clues that hint at what the hero's journey might be?

The band Sidarthur play an important role in the film. In this sequence all three main characters (Lola, Ella and Carla) have some connection to it. An ECU of a poster on Lola's wall is used while she describes the lead singer as "The greatest poet since Shakespeare'." Lola and Ella connect due to their love love of the band and Carla knows them personally. It seems as if they will all reconnect due to this common element shared between the girls, possibly causing friction as Carla is very rude, and appears to believe that Ella and Lola are not good enough.

Towards the end of the clip, from 6:52 onwards, Carla approaches Lola saying that she is sitting in her seat, as she likes to be "dead-centre." This remark seems almost scary, as 'dead' is such a powerful word. Moreover she criticises Ella's style, which proves that she is shallow-but her attention seeking, fashion loving ways seem to be just like Lola's so it is clear that the two will clash and become rivals. They are too similar in that they both strive for the top, but only one person can win.

5. From your knowledge of the film, how will the equilibrium be restored and what will be the new equilibrium?

As we know, the equilibrium is disrupted when Lola moves to Dellwood (which she refers to as Deadwood) and meets a friend and enemy. In the film Lola and Carla are constantly competing with each other. They both audition for a part in the school musical, which Lola wins then Lola beats Carla and a dance game. However the real challenge to Lola arises when she discovers Carla has tickets for Sidarthur's sold out performance. So that she does not lose out to Carla, Lola claims she also has tickets. The journey begins to the gig, where Lola and Ella fail to get tickets for the show but manage to get into the band's after party. They make friends with the lead singer, who at the end of the play turns up at Carla's party to see Lola. Lola tells her friends that Sid is here to see her but he claims differently. Carla is ashamed and ends up falling into a fountain but Lola helps her up. A new equilibrium is restored, as Lola and Carla are now friends: there is no antagonist or disruption to affect Lola.

Homework for week beginning 28 Sept Part 2

*Immediately at the start of the sequence we can see how the 180° has been used while the prison guard is in front of the bars while the prisoner is behind. This careful placement of the camera is used to ensure that continuity is maintained throughout so that is makes sense to the audience. Not only does this add to continuity but also to the plot which presents the wardens as being authoritative.

*use of shot ORDER- take the audience smoothly through the narrative in order to take the viewer across physical space steadily (e.g. 0:20 LS, 0:23- two shot, 0:29- Mid shot, 0:34- CU)

* There are many different cuts and transitions involved in this movie and rather than dissolving to the next shot at 0:57, there is a push to the side which such signifies a change in space and time, making it clear to the viewer what is happening.

*at 2:47 there is a good use of eyeline matching. As the prison guard opens the door, the camera is placed at a low angle and the prisoner looks up as the camera is placed at a high angle. Not only do their eyelines match from out of the frame, but the use of angles shows how one person is ranked lower than another and has less control in the situation, which adds to the sad mood created.

*At 4:00 there are a series of shots in which a football is kicked from one end of the field to the other. This used match-on-action cut so that on the first shot when the ball is kicked from the bottom LHS of the frame, on the next shot it is in the air in the middle then follows through to the next shot. This means that the sequence makes sense and prevents glitches or a ‘déjà-vu’ feeling.

*From 4:25 onwards we are shown a sequence where a number of players kick footballs across the frame whilst three men are watching at the same time. This is a prime example of matched cut, where the action matches up the last frame, because as a player kicks a ball across the frame the other men’s heads turn, following the ball. This gives the audience an awareness of spacing.

*In the beginning of the sequence we see how the film uses shot-reverse-shot in a conversation between two people. This is typical of a movie and appears across most music videos, adverts, movies and TV programmes. Further on in the sequence at 5:05 we see a different form of shot-reverse-shot where two enemy groups are doing different activities. The first group shown are predominantly black males who are running, the second group is a predominantly white group who are talking about the others. This displays segregation and tension amongst the men which is crucial to the storyline.

Homework for week beginning 28 Sept: Part 1

1. What did you think was the point to the activity?

*We learnt how specific shots can to contribute to the mood that we are aiming to create and how storyboarding may aid us in planning these shots.

*The point to this activity as to get us thinking about how to make shots flow within a sequence so that they make sense to people watching.

*This helped us to learn the rules of continuity, even by breaking them as this will mean we can learn from our mistakes.
2. In regard to your finished sequence, what worked well?

*We used lots of slow shots, which is good for the audience as they have time to take in all the information they are seeing without being rushed.

*We used a lot of shot variety and used shot order to take the viewer across physical space steadily, again so that the sequence looked good on screen and wasn't too jumpy.

*The second shot, a LA mid-shot is also framed very well. Furthermore, the pan around the subject is filmed fairly steadily.

*By using a range of different perspectives we are able to create a mood within the sequence, e.g. the first shot (LS tracking) exaggerates how the subject is alone. Also as he is in a field we get a sense of space.

3. What would you aim to improve about your sequence?

*First of all we notice that although the first shot is long enough for viewers to understand what is going on, it is far too long and results in the audience getting bored already.

*The 1st shot has bright, natural lighting but the second shot looks too dark and just looks irregular.

*Afterwards, we break the critical 180° and 30° rules which make the scenes look jumpy as we have shot from shots which have the camera places at opposite sides of the 'line'.

*Also there are a few glitches and breaks in the sequence which detract from the rhythm and pace.

*In the 4th shot there is an unwanted person in the shot, which distracts from the subject and doesn't make any sense.

*Overall the accident itself is too artificial, especially at the end when George jumps on the ground, but this is only because we had run out of time and believed that something was better than nothing.

4. What did you learn from doing this activity?

*The main thing I learnt was that storyboarding is important but also to test the shots to see that they work, as many of our shots looked good on paper but realistically were difficult to shoot. This also meant that we wasted time trying to plan new shots and did not have enough time-so timing is essential

*We already knew that continuity is important, but through this exercise we were able to see exactly how continuity is established (i.e. through the 180° and 0° rules)

DYM Homework Evaluation

Legally Blonde:
Narrative Expectations:
* We see the main character in slow motion-perfect manicured nails, song 'perfect day' playing in background connotes that the main character is perfect.
*A card with the name 'Elle' is passed around the sorority, which means that the main character will be Elle.
*A university, cheerleaders, jocks and other typical high shool/college iconography is shown, so we will expect a college themed film.
*Elle has a Tiffany's necklace, prada bag, mercedes benz, dog dressed in pink etc. which shows she is rich.
*She takes care of herself and is popular-her friends are signing a card to wish her luck for homecoming queen, she has a boyfriend-she seems so perfect.
*Elle wears a lot of pink, her dog even wears pink, she is blonde which makes people think of a typical ditsy bimbo.
*She has a boyfriend, Warner-everything seems so perfect-something will go wrong?

Shot Types:
* Lots of ECUs and CUs to show detail such as manicured nails, brushing her hair-all signs of perfection.
*LSs to show other characters and set the scene at university.
*Slow motion as well as ECUs are used on Elle to create an enigma, as we want to see her face. This makes the audience focus on her more than anything else.
*Tracking used to follow the card to Elle, so the audience get a sense of her surroundings, but while simultaneously seeing parts of her. In the end, both parts (the card and Elle) will meet to give an end to the opening sequence.

Character Types:
* Elle-we are made to think she will be a dumb blonde, as she loves pink, has a small dog and talks on the phone about shopping and her boyfriend-too materialistic.
*Jocks-stare at the good looking girls, as if that is all they are there for.
*Girls-seem so perfect; doing they're hair and make up, working out, cheerleaders, homecoming queen etc.


Se7en
Narrative Expectations:

*An Average Joe is getting ready for work-he lays out his suit, does his tie, has coffee. There is no music and the low lighting and dark clothes suggest a serious film
*The man is the main character, as the camera follows him through his routine and then to work.
*Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt seem to be arguing a lot, they represent the opposites that are usually found in films; personalities clash-Pitt is louder, sarcastic, Freeman is quite, almost boring.

*Both characters wear leather jackets and plain clothes, which gives a sense of normality.

*It is not until later that the titles and credits are shown. They consist of crime scenes, blood, letters etc. which connotes an intense, more chilling movie.
* The titles coming after the clip of Freeman conducting his everyday life suggest to us that his life was normal and boring before the unseen person went into his life.

*Music is also only played after the intro, when the main points have been established (main characters, genre of film)

Shot Types:
* LSs of characters together, tracking from in front as they walk towards the camera
*Wide shots used where the main characters are central, to show how important they are, but also get a feel of the background
*Low angles make the characters seem bigger and more important

Character Types:
*Detectives-obviously a crime/thriller/murder
*He seems to have OCD or something wrong with him, as he seems to do thing perfectly and needs help sleeping at night, so maybe he has something to hide or change.

*Morgan Freeman seems lonely, he is single-he wakes up alone and goes to sleep alone.

*Brad Pitt seems smart but there seems to be conflict between the two characters.

*Freeman seems boring, but his distinctive voice makes him an interesting character, he is sarcastic "Look at all that passion on the wall," (referring to blood)

What similarities can you identify between the two examples? What are the differences?
*Both films immediately establish the main characters in their typical environments.
*However, in Legally Blonde there is a lead up to Elle's life, whereas in Se7en Freeman is shown right away, which adds to the seriousness of the film.
*Legally Blonde starts off with an upbeat song and bright colours which suggests to us that the film will continue like this and have a happy ending. Se7en starts off dark and the titles only begin after Freeman has gone about his everyday business which connotes a complex/thriller film that may not have a happy ending.
*In Legally Blonde there is harmony between all the characters; Elle is popular and her friends all like her, but in Se7en there is conflict between Freeman and Pitt.

BLK Homework Evaluation

1.
*This is a high angle MS of a white teenage male.
* He is wearing a grey hoody-the hood nearly covering his eyes so it casts shadows across his face, signifying that he may have things to hide.
*He sits against a brick wall in the dark with a spotlight shining on him which creates an interrogation-style effect.
*As one eye is covered a sense of mystery is connoted, as well as darkness which could represent that the character is evil.
*The actor is giving direct address to the camera, which seems chilling and gives a sense of horror.
* The photo is in colour, but the actor is wearing dark clothing which makes him seem evil, as he is central in the photo and we are drawn to the darkness.
*We had to turn off the lights in the hallway so that there was darkness surrounding the actor and the only light came from the police, as if to signify that the character is bad and the police interrogating are good, which plays upon opposites which are a common feature in horror films.
*Furthermore, the actor looks like a 'deer in the headlights', which is great we achieved a feeling that he was not expecting to be caught.

2.
*The shot was acheived using a teenage male sitting against a wall, with someone holding a pag light (without filters) in front of the male.
*I also put dark makeup underneath the teenager's eyes so that he looked more devious.

3.
*I think that the strongest point about the picture is the way the lighting is used. The spotlight accentuates the darkness of the character, but also the darkness beyond in the corners, which makes the wall look slightly concave and distorted.

4.
*Even though the picture is good, it could be improved. For example, it is not very clear that it is supposed to be a torchlight/spotlight intereogation effect, so if I could retake the shot I would go in closer with the pag light so that the light is more defined against the dark wall.
*Also, the carpet does not really tie in with the mood that is wanted. The background is supposed to seem rugged and rough and outside, with the brick walls, but as there is carpet, it is obviously inside and connotes softness, which is the opposite to what we wanted to achieve.