Tuesday 29 September 2015
Wednesday 16 September 2015
John Gurung - MEST 2 Exam blog
The first film: ‘Blade Runner’ by Harrison Ford I
think is about intergalactic warfare, simply by looking at it, at first gander
I can already spot what seems to be the rear end of some form of a spaceship.
Both antagonists in the cover are also displayed in opposite ways; for example
on the left side, we see the male character against a ray of light, possibly connoting it as a
metaphor for a hero and someone who enlights. Completely in contrast is what is to the right. We
surprisingly see a female, smoking – this is similar to the lore in typically film noire genre films,
where the female or feme fatale in French seduces men, and ends up killing
them. Her background in the cover is also pitch black, again completely
opposite to what the hero has, so we can evidently say that she is the enemy in
Blade Runner. The genre I think is confidently to be Sci-Fi because its conventions consist of
futuristic Nano technology, which we can refer to as the spaceship. Likewise
futuristic and obscure settings, such as outer- space which we also see. The
target audience may be highly likely to be young adults who are curious, so
mostly
likely in my opinion to be ages ranging from 20-39. In addition the whole ideology of aliens became popular in the 1980’s from sightings of UFO’s, and the movie was released 2 years after the uprising of it, so then also came the popularity of the movie.
likely in my opinion to be ages ranging from 20-39. In addition the whole ideology of aliens became popular in the 1980’s from sightings of UFO’s, and the movie was released 2 years after the uprising of it, so then also came the popularity of the movie.
The second film: ‘Scary Movie 2’ was kind of
confusing to see what the plot was about. Typically in horror movies we have a
murderer and a bunch of people obliviously dying, however also acknowledging
that this is part comedy, part horror things may be different. So a murder film
with a few hilarious deaths. The font of the movie title doesn’t look scary or
intimidating at all, in fact it is a blatant giveaway of a comedy movie. The
facial expression of people in the cover also doesn’t denote any emotions involving being
horrified, petrified, terrified etc. And the fact that the setting in the cover
is in ironically a cinema, it is just another factor to why “Scary” Movie 2
isn’t entirely scary, at all. The target audience may be young adults, ranging
from ages 20-39, predominantly because as a horror movie, some scenes may be
frightening for younger people, but I think the comedy side of it makes it
neutral. So the age ranging for this movie is something to be very pessimistic
about in opinion, however according to the movie the appropriate age is for
16+.
The third film:
‘UZAK’ from an initial look, looks like a setting of a rundown place,
possibly from war, and in fact the place is Turkey. So taking into
consideration of the location it could most likely be from war, plus things
like bombs and gunshots are only capable of that kind of destruction. So maybe
the plot is about a refugee (as we see on the cover) that has fled from their
country due to war, and then comes back to see the horrifying aftermath. I
think the genre belongs to thriller, because we associate war with violence so
there may be some graphic scenes in the movie. The target audience I think are
adults of 18+ because I think the movie demonstrates more about the agenda of
war, rather than just a cool action film which teenagers will look for.
The fourth film: ‘I’m Not Scared’ I think is
about a group of children that find a hole, or something interesting in a cave,
and because they are so fascinated by their discovery they dare one another to
go in there to find out, so then came the title "I'm Not Scared" to go see whats inside. The genre may range between thriller and action, because the colours inside the font what appears to maybe be flames, and maybe a hole to hell? The taglines comments on the left and right also makes the film to be less sinister and thrilling due to the font. Conclusively a movie for ages of 13+ which I think is a fair estimate.
The fifth film: 'Sin City' I think includes a story line involving gang related violence, simply from the word 'City' where gangs are fighting for a living; to survive. It links to a contextual point when in the late 90's in places like suburban, ghetto areas where you either had to be affiliated with a gang, or die - there was no choice but to be cynical. In fact some cities were so violent that formerly known city Chicago is now known as 'Chiraq'. The genre I think belongs to the action and thriller category, because we can obviously relate something intense involving guns, and the same for action. The colour choice of just black also signifies a very dark mood, also not to mention the pitch red font which could again connote blood i.e. gang violence. Conclusively a film for ages of 18+.
The sixth film : 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's chest' is an easy plot to find out in my opinion, because the whole story is pretty much in the cover. Typically expect a pirate that is looking for an ancient, hidden chest i.e "Dead" man's chest, and clashes with another pirate gang while obviously encountering problems like a giant sea monster as we see in the middle of the cover. The man in the middle and woman on the right possibly are also heading home, while stranded on an island, and kept hostage by village people like we see on the bottom left. The genre is a pick between Fantasy because of a giant sea monster octupus/squid, or Adventure. Age rating would probably be 13+ purely because I see nothing that is threatening, or giving a sinister impression from the cover. Plus it involves pirates which is always funny.
The seventh film 'Bride & Prejudice' I think is about a man that is in love with an Indian bride, however his stereotype of Asian parents that oppress the cultural Indian weddings is a bit too much for his needs, and controversy arises. Hence the prejudice as the husband, and just the bridge. We also see in the far distant right corner of the Taj Mahal - maybe a hint of the agriculture as it is a symbol of India's rich history. Conclusively foreign love that crashes - a domestic tragedy. Also to mention the tagline "Romantic, funny" is a blatant hint of the genre being Romantic and Comedy. Nothing explicit in the movie, except maybe a few sex scenes as the tagline goes "so sexy", so maybe 16+.
The last film (finally) 'Million Dollar Baby' looks to be possibly a novice athlete that progressively gains ranks amongst the top tier counterparts in the sport. Straight away the main antagonist we presume to be (the girl) due to a main focus on, is seen to be very masculine - completely contradicting what we typically expect from a feminine aesthetic. The pitch black dark background colors also connote a very blank, very serious story where there is no cheating, no boosts, just pure hardwork and dedication to become top. Maybe a good inspirational and motivational movie for the audience in the Drama genre. For ages 14+
MAZE RUNNER - MISE-EN-SCENE
The beginning scene, about 20 minutes in we already see key conventions that make it a thriller/adventure film. First off we already see the dystopian setting - a dome/maze that is around 70 feet tall which is an intimidating figure. Also to mention the weeds that grow out and between the boulders, perhaps an easy hint that people have been stuck in the maze for quite some time; as well was the dirty texture. The cage like maze also connotes an isolating emotion, that hope is very little in escaping - this is more evident in Thomas' (antagonist) facial expression and body language. He seems to turn around, perhaps from astonishment upon seeing the face of the maze, and to look for people's answers on how to get out. Or his hope is irredeemable, and he knows his grim destiny to die and rot, left speechless. The lighting of the sky is also very cloudy, this gives us the sense that everything is very dim, so is hope as people's faith in escaping slowly fades away, dimming. The green grass outside the maze looks to be very natural, almost as if the people trapped inside are like cows that feed on grass. Cinematography wise Thomas is placed to the right corner so that the view of the maze is more emphasized, and to wow the audience.
The Hunger Games is a dystopian city, where two areas are divided: the poor and the rich, also known as "The Capitol". The poor are under the penance of the rich and tyrannical citizens, and as punishment a male and female is picked randomly in a "reaping" to fight in an arena till the death, just for entertainment.
The setting is outside each homeland's districts, bordered by the Capitol's guards. The depressing ideology of being forced to fight, and if refused it will be enforced by guards is what already hints he audience of its twisted and wicked nature. More evidently, at around 1:47 of the clip is when the same effect settles in more, because we only have the Capitlist clapping, while all the peasants are put to silence, in dismay - a very bitter kind of sadness is shown here. Clothing as well plays a big factor in out blurring the isolation between rich and poor. Contextually speaking, Katniss' (antagonist) clothing is very typical of the working woman class, or maid. But on the other hand Effie (the Capitolist) is dressed in a rather bizarre style, so the contrast is an easy hint to spot. The makeup on Effie is also very immense, whereas Katniss barely has any, or if any, and perhaps nudges the audience to show how much difference there is in the social hierarchies.
Maze Runner: Scorch Trials - "Open this door!"
The setting is in a very hollow underground tunnel, while being corned by the guards, not to mention that they are armed with syringes at 3 seconds in, and the only way to escape is with an authentication ID card that possibly may OR may not work. Already the tension build up is rapidly, as well as the beeping sound which makes it that much more intimidating and seat gripping, almost like the sound is metaphorically a ticking time bomb. Their clothes are also very basic and typical because they are kept as hostages - not much is to say about them, except the fact they've been wearing the same ones for a couple of days, and probably need a shower. The most significant part is during the end, when the metal door is slowly closing, and Thomas' running pace increases, so does the audience's suspense. Facial expressions were obviously in dismay; in shock, but it is a genuine sign of their fear, and how much they want to escape the infantry.
Divergent - "Zip lining"
The setting is from a skyscraping building at night, while zip lining - pretty awesome. At 20 seconds in, we see from a POV of the audience, of the height difference from below the building, and is effective in creating a jumpy feeling as we travel in Beatrice's view as well. The time is also set at night, maybe to connote nocturnal creatures i.e. owls that soar through the air at night. Makeup isn't really necessary for Beatrice as she is an action-fighting character in the film - having said that she kind of has a tomboy vibe to her. The music in between the zip lining duration also sets pleasant mood, also not to mention the reflection we see of Beatrice at 45 seconds, then suddenly a stunning view after 3-5 seconds. Her facial expressions obviously seemed that she was genuinely enjoying her experience, The objects such as the abandoned building with a hole in it made it that much more immense for the audience too, at exactly 1:00 we see broken metal bars, placed and hanging randomly, and stirs up a suspense of emotion to the audience to whether she is going to crash there, or not. Same effect near the end too, when she has to pull her zip lining brakes, otherwise she will end up with a pretty, pretty bad face plant against a brick wall while going 60 miles per hour.
FILM LANGUAGE: LIGHTING
I strongly think the technique used here is low-key lighting, simply because there is a strong contrast of light and darkness between her partially lit right cheek, and the rest of her face, as well as the pitch black background. There is also back lighting, because to say that there is top lighting would be to say to emphasize on her face, and glamorize it which is not the case as a third of her face is flashed. The lighting effect creates and emphasizes on the smoke - this would be significant as typically it is shocking for a female to smoke, speaking contextually for the film's period. This then is a blatant connotation of the female being portrayed as a possibly devious, dissentient etc, or in other words a feme fatale.
This image is also low-key lighting, because there is again a strong contrast of pitch black and light on the woman's face. And obviously, it is also top lighting in order to accentuate the woman's face. The overall effect of the pitch black background is what opens the image for lots of various interpretations. For example, it could be the image of a horror film, because a dark room could connote something sinister pulling her, evident because we see two hands grasping her face, or it could just be her own hands. So overall the colour scheme just makes the picture more exciting, and gets the viewer thinking.
This image is purely high-key lighting, because the contrast between light and dark is less pronounced. Typically, we expect the background to be darker, however even it is drastically light, or even the same level of light reflecting on the person. It also seems that light is coming from all angles, because if it was backlighted the face would appear much, much darker than we see in the picture, and if it was top lighting his face would be the most visible. Conclusively it is a mixture of top-lighting and underlighting.
This image seems to have been a product of low-key lighting, because the light reflected on the left side of his face and to the right is very noticeable in contrast. This type of lighting is very complementary of it's dark theme, especially with the rain. The other lighting used seems to be top lighting - maybe the effect created by this is mysteriousness, because we only see part of his face. Also to add, the skyscrapers and buildings have been highlighted to maybe showcase the extent of his characters, as someone wearing a cloak, with a mangum, while in the rooftops is very obviously very suspicious.
This image at first glance is a strong hint of low-key lighting, particularly because shadows are created, hence why there is also back lighting used in this image. The back lighting has created a perfect shadow of her body, as well as illuminating the majority of her body. This effect allows to see the facial expression of a person, as well as the created shadow being common in horror movies, where the dramatic shadow figure shows body movement when for e.g. in a movie where a vampire attacks, and then the camera focuses out of the physical figure and instead shows the shadow.
This image is no doubt a product of high-key lighting. We see a very realistic image, where no purposeful angles of light are drawn in, just the natural light cutting through the blindfold curtains. Hence meaning it is hard to depict whether it is neither backlighting, underlight or toplighting. The overall effect is very natural and realistic, and very fitting for a romance movie.
This image has a blatant use of back-lighting, evident from the sharp light contrast, against the shadows formed from each figure. This also means it is obviously low-key lighting, because a silhouette is formed. The overall effect of appearances being covered by the lighting makes the picture much, much more mysterious. From what I see the four figures are either aliens or men, or astronauts, and this is what makes the use of back-lighting full of interpretations of people. Excitement and suspense is created.
At first glance the contrast between the light and shadow appeals the most, therefore low-key lighting is used here. There is also top-lighting coming from the left side, it allows us to see her facial expression, and is very significant and effective in horror movies. The dramatic shadow is also complementary of its genre.
In this image, light and dark are neutral therefore things are more pronounced and visible, meaning it is a product of high-key lighting. It also seems top lighting is used because light is directly shun to the person's face, evident by the shadows under the neck. Overall a realistic effect created, although in my opinion a dark background would be better, because it would look like for e.g. holy light shun upon the person that prays as light is more emphasized.
This image seems to be low-key lighting because the moonlight from outside depicts whether it is day or night. The contrast between the light and pitch dark is more pronounced too. Backlighting is also possibly used because his body is almost the same as the pitch black basement, due to the silhouette effect created. This is very effective because the two are complementary of its genre, and implies something sinister, and an overall scary atmosphere.
Prior to the other romantic genre image, this one is also high-key lighting because the levels of light and dark are neutral, again. This is very fitting for a romantic movie, because the conventions are very natural and realistic, hence meaning a realistic image needs to be created too in respect. The light also seems to be coming from the left, emphasizing more on the woman's shadow. Perhaps a connotation implying shadows are a dark, evil figure, hence a hint that she is a feme fatale.
The fifth film: 'Sin City' I think includes a story line involving gang related violence, simply from the word 'City' where gangs are fighting for a living; to survive. It links to a contextual point when in the late 90's in places like suburban, ghetto areas where you either had to be affiliated with a gang, or die - there was no choice but to be cynical. In fact some cities were so violent that formerly known city Chicago is now known as 'Chiraq'. The genre I think belongs to the action and thriller category, because we can obviously relate something intense involving guns, and the same for action. The colour choice of just black also signifies a very dark mood, also not to mention the pitch red font which could again connote blood i.e. gang violence. Conclusively a film for ages of 18+.
The sixth film : 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's chest' is an easy plot to find out in my opinion, because the whole story is pretty much in the cover. Typically expect a pirate that is looking for an ancient, hidden chest i.e "Dead" man's chest, and clashes with another pirate gang while obviously encountering problems like a giant sea monster as we see in the middle of the cover. The man in the middle and woman on the right possibly are also heading home, while stranded on an island, and kept hostage by village people like we see on the bottom left. The genre is a pick between Fantasy because of a giant sea monster octupus/squid, or Adventure. Age rating would probably be 13+ purely because I see nothing that is threatening, or giving a sinister impression from the cover. Plus it involves pirates which is always funny.
The seventh film 'Bride & Prejudice' I think is about a man that is in love with an Indian bride, however his stereotype of Asian parents that oppress the cultural Indian weddings is a bit too much for his needs, and controversy arises. Hence the prejudice as the husband, and just the bridge. We also see in the far distant right corner of the Taj Mahal - maybe a hint of the agriculture as it is a symbol of India's rich history. Conclusively foreign love that crashes - a domestic tragedy. Also to mention the tagline "Romantic, funny" is a blatant hint of the genre being Romantic and Comedy. Nothing explicit in the movie, except maybe a few sex scenes as the tagline goes "so sexy", so maybe 16+.
The last film (finally) 'Million Dollar Baby' looks to be possibly a novice athlete that progressively gains ranks amongst the top tier counterparts in the sport. Straight away the main antagonist we presume to be (the girl) due to a main focus on, is seen to be very masculine - completely contradicting what we typically expect from a feminine aesthetic. The pitch black dark background colors also connote a very blank, very serious story where there is no cheating, no boosts, just pure hardwork and dedication to become top. Maybe a good inspirational and motivational movie for the audience in the Drama genre. For ages 14+
MAZE RUNNER - MISE-EN-SCENE
The beginning scene, about 20 minutes in we already see key conventions that make it a thriller/adventure film. First off we already see the dystopian setting - a dome/maze that is around 70 feet tall which is an intimidating figure. Also to mention the weeds that grow out and between the boulders, perhaps an easy hint that people have been stuck in the maze for quite some time; as well was the dirty texture. The cage like maze also connotes an isolating emotion, that hope is very little in escaping - this is more evident in Thomas' (antagonist) facial expression and body language. He seems to turn around, perhaps from astonishment upon seeing the face of the maze, and to look for people's answers on how to get out. Or his hope is irredeemable, and he knows his grim destiny to die and rot, left speechless. The lighting of the sky is also very cloudy, this gives us the sense that everything is very dim, so is hope as people's faith in escaping slowly fades away, dimming. The green grass outside the maze looks to be very natural, almost as if the people trapped inside are like cows that feed on grass. Cinematography wise Thomas is placed to the right corner so that the view of the maze is more emphasized, and to wow the audience.
Hunger Games - "I volunteer as tribute!"
The Hunger Games is a dystopian city, where two areas are divided: the poor and the rich, also known as "The Capitol". The poor are under the penance of the rich and tyrannical citizens, and as punishment a male and female is picked randomly in a "reaping" to fight in an arena till the death, just for entertainment.
The setting is outside each homeland's districts, bordered by the Capitol's guards. The depressing ideology of being forced to fight, and if refused it will be enforced by guards is what already hints he audience of its twisted and wicked nature. More evidently, at around 1:47 of the clip is when the same effect settles in more, because we only have the Capitlist clapping, while all the peasants are put to silence, in dismay - a very bitter kind of sadness is shown here. Clothing as well plays a big factor in out blurring the isolation between rich and poor. Contextually speaking, Katniss' (antagonist) clothing is very typical of the working woman class, or maid. But on the other hand Effie (the Capitolist) is dressed in a rather bizarre style, so the contrast is an easy hint to spot. The makeup on Effie is also very immense, whereas Katniss barely has any, or if any, and perhaps nudges the audience to show how much difference there is in the social hierarchies.
Maze Runner: Scorch Trials - "Open this door!"
The setting is in a very hollow underground tunnel, while being corned by the guards, not to mention that they are armed with syringes at 3 seconds in, and the only way to escape is with an authentication ID card that possibly may OR may not work. Already the tension build up is rapidly, as well as the beeping sound which makes it that much more intimidating and seat gripping, almost like the sound is metaphorically a ticking time bomb. Their clothes are also very basic and typical because they are kept as hostages - not much is to say about them, except the fact they've been wearing the same ones for a couple of days, and probably need a shower. The most significant part is during the end, when the metal door is slowly closing, and Thomas' running pace increases, so does the audience's suspense. Facial expressions were obviously in dismay; in shock, but it is a genuine sign of their fear, and how much they want to escape the infantry.
Divergent - "Zip lining"
The setting is from a skyscraping building at night, while zip lining - pretty awesome. At 20 seconds in, we see from a POV of the audience, of the height difference from below the building, and is effective in creating a jumpy feeling as we travel in Beatrice's view as well. The time is also set at night, maybe to connote nocturnal creatures i.e. owls that soar through the air at night. Makeup isn't really necessary for Beatrice as she is an action-fighting character in the film - having said that she kind of has a tomboy vibe to her. The music in between the zip lining duration also sets pleasant mood, also not to mention the reflection we see of Beatrice at 45 seconds, then suddenly a stunning view after 3-5 seconds. Her facial expressions obviously seemed that she was genuinely enjoying her experience, The objects such as the abandoned building with a hole in it made it that much more immense for the audience too, at exactly 1:00 we see broken metal bars, placed and hanging randomly, and stirs up a suspense of emotion to the audience to whether she is going to crash there, or not. Same effect near the end too, when she has to pull her zip lining brakes, otherwise she will end up with a pretty, pretty bad face plant against a brick wall while going 60 miles per hour.
FILM LANGUAGE: LIGHTING
I strongly think the technique used here is low-key lighting, simply because there is a strong contrast of light and darkness between her partially lit right cheek, and the rest of her face, as well as the pitch black background. There is also back lighting, because to say that there is top lighting would be to say to emphasize on her face, and glamorize it which is not the case as a third of her face is flashed. The lighting effect creates and emphasizes on the smoke - this would be significant as typically it is shocking for a female to smoke, speaking contextually for the film's period. This then is a blatant connotation of the female being portrayed as a possibly devious, dissentient etc, or in other words a feme fatale.
This image is also low-key lighting, because there is again a strong contrast of pitch black and light on the woman's face. And obviously, it is also top lighting in order to accentuate the woman's face. The overall effect of the pitch black background is what opens the image for lots of various interpretations. For example, it could be the image of a horror film, because a dark room could connote something sinister pulling her, evident because we see two hands grasping her face, or it could just be her own hands. So overall the colour scheme just makes the picture more exciting, and gets the viewer thinking.
This image is purely high-key lighting, because the contrast between light and dark is less pronounced. Typically, we expect the background to be darker, however even it is drastically light, or even the same level of light reflecting on the person. It also seems that light is coming from all angles, because if it was backlighted the face would appear much, much darker than we see in the picture, and if it was top lighting his face would be the most visible. Conclusively it is a mixture of top-lighting and underlighting.
This image seems to have been a product of low-key lighting, because the light reflected on the left side of his face and to the right is very noticeable in contrast. This type of lighting is very complementary of it's dark theme, especially with the rain. The other lighting used seems to be top lighting - maybe the effect created by this is mysteriousness, because we only see part of his face. Also to add, the skyscrapers and buildings have been highlighted to maybe showcase the extent of his characters, as someone wearing a cloak, with a mangum, while in the rooftops is very obviously very suspicious.
This image has a blatant use of back-lighting, evident from the sharp light contrast, against the shadows formed from each figure. This also means it is obviously low-key lighting, because a silhouette is formed. The overall effect of appearances being covered by the lighting makes the picture much, much more mysterious. From what I see the four figures are either aliens or men, or astronauts, and this is what makes the use of back-lighting full of interpretations of people. Excitement and suspense is created.
At first glance the contrast between the light and shadow appeals the most, therefore low-key lighting is used here. There is also top-lighting coming from the left side, it allows us to see her facial expression, and is very significant and effective in horror movies. The dramatic shadow is also complementary of its genre.
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