Monday, 16 January 2017

Hot fuzz opening scene analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAkY4R691E

Hot fuzz is a british comedy film released in 2007. The two main casted named charcters are played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who are well known for their comedic values. Hot fuzz was directed by Edgar Wright and produced by Nira Park. The initial budget of the film of $12million and made $80million in box office and also lots more elsewhere. The film follows the narrative of two police officers who attempt to solve a series of mysterious deaths in Sandford, a fictional village based in England.

Throughout the duration of the opening sequence of Hot fuzz there is a non-diegetic input of a voice over that narrates what is shown on screen and also some subtext of Simon Pegg's character. The voice over is of Pegg and his descriptions are of his life up to the point of the initial opening to the film. This gives the audience an establishing subtext of information for this particular character. This section consists of flashbacks of his life as he comes to describe each section. For example as shown in the previously stated picture from the film, Pegg is taking a test as he describes doing very well in this particular test. The sound in this opening scene is mostly non-diegetic sound as the only clear sound in the scene is the voice over.


 
 
The opening scene uses camera movement with a vary of different techniques. One example in the opening scene is the camera using track movement to follow the character as they walk. This shot is particularly interesting as it uses the dirty hot technique as many objects pass the camera becoming in the way of the shot. As the sequences progresses it cuts to a close-up of his face creating an interesting shot to introduce the character. The reason for this particular shot is to show the facial expressions of the character as the close-up highlights this particular factor. The lighting throughout this opening scene is typically neutral consisting of normal outside or building lighting to highlight Pegg's character to be conveyed as a normal, hard working individual.
 
The implementation of the voice over creates a montage affect in the opening sequence from the variety of different descriptions from his life and this therefore had lots of different locations and settings shown in the first set of scenes. From the use of the flashbacks this highlights the location to not be a significant part of the opening equilibrium. On the other hand the section where his feet are tracked whilst he walks through the office is at present time and this is important as it links to this office being an important factor in the narratives initial beginning. The key identifiable costume in this sequence is the police uniform and due to this the audience can clearly find out from these aesthetics his job within the piece.
 
The picture shown above is an example of a dirty shot and this is used a few times effectively within the opening sequence. The use of the dirty shot is good because it steers away from simple shots like tracking from behind. This shot shows a clear juxtaposition of different shots.
 
To conclude, the camera shots, mes-en-scene and editing is places well together and creates a very good and interesting piece of media for this opening scene of Hot fuzz.
 

 

Sunday, 15 January 2017

Star Trek Timeline analysis

Star Trek:

0:09- Black blank Screen
0:10- Long shot
0:11- Protagonist moving into camera focus
0:12- Mid shot
0:13- Low shot
0:14- Mid shot
0:15- Close-up
0:18- Company indents
0:19- Low angle
0:21- Close-up
0:22- High long shot
0:25- Low close-up
0:27- Fade in and fade out of a low shot
0:31- Mid shot
0:32- Fade out
0:33- Establishing shot of location
0:40- Long shot
0:41- Low shot
0:42- Fade out
0:43- Close-up
0:48- Birds eye view
0:50- Long shot
0:51- Close-up
0:52- High angle
0:54- Release date credits
0:55- Long shot
1:00- Close up to fade

Media notes


 

Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Research of Codes and conventions of the thriller genre

What is a thriller?
A thriller usually consists of a battle between the protagonist and the antagonist, when there is a distuption in the equilibrium. The story then shows a chain of bad events building tension and suspense for the climax. The main aim of the protagonist in the Thriller genre is to retire justice, wile the antagonist seeks to destroy it.

Key specifics that support the Thriller Genre:
-Low-key lighting
-Quick cuts
-Shadows
-Tension Music
-Changes in the angles of shots
-Diegetic sound of breathing
-Black and white shots
-Montage of shots
-Protagonist is in the mercy of the Antagonist

Characters:
The protagonist is often a brave who seeks to restore the equilibrium.
The antagonist will have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses. Often the antagonist goes out for revenge from a past event.

Themes of thriller:
The storyline will be designed so the audience will think that it can happen to them, which will make them feel scared.

Cinematography of a thriller:
There will lots of closeups and extreme close ups of the protagonist character, this is often to show their emotions, also it can be used to focus on props to aid the narrative.
The shots of the antagonistic character will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity, e.g. A shot of the back of them, a low key shot, the silhouette, or shadow of the character.

Editing of a Thriller:
The director will include lots of jump cuts because there will be things happening that the audience is unaware of but is essential for the film to make sense. Cross cutting is a key point in editing as it s used to build suspense which is essential for a thriller. Continues editing is used to help the audience understand the film better.

Friday, 9 December 2016

Representation




This video is a Vlog of one of my group members explaining the representation of the film.