Friday 4 December 2015



The Falling's clip starts off with a close-up and slight panning of a bruise, presumably from the young girl, given that her mis-en-scene reveals about her rough character from the shadowed eyes, almost no make-up, hence her tomboyish outlook and ultimately giving hints that she is the protagonist. A then panning shot to the right is seen, then suddenly a straight-cut to a completely, unexpected sex scene which may be some sort of a link to her, but not to the audience which then raises enigma codes and curiosity to what the clip meant.

The clip also seems absolutely contrapuntal to the mood that was initially set, but then the bizarre and abrupt sex scene of course did otherwise, and the director of this art house film has definitely done good so in playing around with the emotions. Furthermore is then a straight cut to a medium-close up camera shot after the sex scene. The medium-close up I think emphasizes on the protagonist's facial expression, and so we can see her staring blankly, meaning that the previous clip was some sort of a memory/flashback to her. To support this then is a very fast paced series of images, demonstrating a montage of again her memories.

Something noteworthy to add about the montage is that it also shows a stuttering flicker to perhaps show some sort of corruptness, loss of memory too? The transition then leads to the end of her school time, where a slow panning from the school bell leads to the medium shot of the school exit. The school's student crowd also adds more realism to the scene, to then again a slow 180 degrees slow panning, then to a long shot and straight cut of someone waiting.

Researching the film's main target audience, it has no specific set of people according to the director, Carol Morley, and that the film has "lots of accessible ideas" so it's really hard to pin down an exact group, but it's safe to say that it appeals to all ages of people. 




Donnie Darko starts off with contrapuntal sounds of a soothing, calm music that is played over the protagonist's past memory, along with the use of straight cut to suture people into the mood, to keep attention. Perhaps this was to reflect the happy memories the protagonist once had, so it would only make sense to add music that also reflected it. 

Camera movements from the cinematography are also very hard to spot, almost unnoticeable. We see a very, very slow camera movement that focuses onto the boy, also significant because it applies to the boy only, again evident of why he is the protagonist. Noteworthy is also the correlation between the level of how much the camera is zoomed in, to the importance of their dialogue - perhaps this is to show a clear view of emotions that each person gives from the medium-closeup. Similar to this is also the straight cut to a medium shot that shows both the therapist and the boy, this sort of breaks the tension as the protagonist delivers a significant and iconic line in the film. Then straight after returns to the medium-closeup to bring all attention back again. Reverse shots then play a part, back and forth.The 180 degree rule was also obviously well done, we can see a very deep-rooted conversation between the two characters, yet still keep attention, which the director of Donnie Darko has done very well so in doing.

The mis-en-scene and lighting has also been appropriately used. Casual clothing, along with the location set in the house, with low-key lighting to add realism totals up a perfect scene that involves a therapist/psychiatrist - a scene that would normally associate with the real world. 

The age range would be around teenagers, about 16+, mostly because the plot is something that includes phenomenons, superstition etc on a scientific basis, but some viewers may not even be aware of this.


       Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has great use of cinematography to add realism to the film. In the first few seconds we already see both variations of panning and tilting, almost as if its a hand held camera to then a straight cut, using the 180 degree rule properly. Tracking shots then emerge, adding realism to the cinematography as there are shakes that resemble e.g. someone walking - this sort of allows the audience as if they are the ones that peak through the bookshelves and follow around the two characters.

The mis-ens-scene for the girl is also an easy answer to who's the protagonist. Someone with bizarre clothing, red hair etc, a goth type look would obviously look the unusual, hence special type. Reverse shots are almost avoided while there is a tracking shot ongoing, instead it moves from one of the character's view (steadicam) to the other from tracking shots, again. Noticeable is also just the use of medium shots, from torso to face, it keeps a balance for both the facial expressions - an important role, especially in Romance genre movies like this, and the body language.

The target audience could be either teenager or adults, so probably a mix between the two would be a more likely option. I'd say teenager at first because they're known to be appealed by drama, hence Romance, too. 



Appropriate Behaviour. Straight from the beginning we hear a sound bridge, of a medium-ish long shot of the outside store to then a straight cut that leads to the actual scene. This gives the character subjectivity, e.g. store, hence shopping. It stresses the connection between the two scenes. With this being said, lots of medium shot variations are demonstrated, maybe for realistic reasons e.g. there just isn't enough space in the shop. We can also see a very slight shake, as well as slight tracking shots too, and this allows to shoot a scene all in one take while undergoing a medium shot, which makes it almost unnoticeable for the audience. However if close ups were used, so will reverse shots have to be used too, continuously, although it does allow a clear view of each character's facial expressions. 

Diegetic sounds such as the store's music also play during the entire clip scene, but it it almost unnoticeable, however it does set some kind of mood. Also significant is that the clip scene avoids silence, perhaps to avoid an awkward, tense mood, and that the music also loudens a tiny bit when there is no dialogue.    

Target audience would most likely be young adults, knowing that Appropriate Behaviour is a mix between romance, drama and comedy, and this mix of genres usually have a plot that appeals to young adults, maybe even teenagers.  





Let the Right One In - a vampire film, starts off with diegetic sound of the radio that would seem contrapuntal to a potential death scene that is about to occur, It messes with the emotion and confusion is caused.  

The mis-en-scene of the three gangster characters also show blatant invasion in the swimming pool area. They wear outdoor, casual clothing which would seem unusual in a swimming pool, so we can establish that they're obviously here for another reason, but definitely not to swim.

Cinematography also involves a tracking shot, focused on the eldest and antagonist perhaps? It sort of has a low angled crane shot, which asserts his dominance and proceeds to take his jacket off, raising action codes that he is about to get down to business. Other action codes also add tension to the scene, such as when he unsheathes his knife. Other close ups of the villains also allow us to see a facial expression, example at around 1 minute and 53 seconds, we see a worried face, coming even from one of the villains would exaggerate how sinister and bad the situation is. We're also left with a shot of the boy holding his breath for about 25 seconds - it creates a tension as the seconds build up, not knowing whether he is still holding his breath or has died from drowning.

Let the Right One in shares a genre of both Romance and Horror, quite similar to the Twilight series. The target audience for this film would be wider than an ordinary horror. It's Swedish, so it appeals to a totally different segment than the traditional Western audience. The film would appear less to those who would revolt themselves in the grotesque, violent, gore scenes, hence why the "horror" in this movie is much more subtle, so perhaps the Romance is used to broaden the appeal.

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