Film Analysis

 

Film Analysis

THEORISTS

Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition

"Cinema is a set of universal rules, a set of relations that could be described as the grammar of film"

Levi-Strauss theorised that since all cultures are products of the human brain, there must be, beneath the surface, features that are common to all.

Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level

Examples of binary oppositions:

• boy vs girl
• human vs technology
• good vs evil
• protagonist vs antagonist

Vladimir Propp- archetypal characters 

There are always stereotypical characters within films: archetypes

Propp theory archetype examples:

• The Hero
• The villain
• The helper
• The princess or prize
• The false hero

Todorov's Theory

There are always 5 stages in the development of a story

1. Equilibrium/harmony

2. Disruption/ enigma/ disequilibrium

3. Realisation of something wrong

4. Rectifying the issue

5. Renewed state of peace after the conflict, a new equilibrium

Barthes: Action and Enigma codes

Action codes

- What will happen next..

- she falls over- will he catch her?

- she's been caught- what will he do with her?

Enigma codes

- A mystery within a text that is not immediately answered

- the audience question why...

- why is there a shoe on the floor?

Genre and Audience pleasures

Rick Altman that genre offers audiences a set of pleasures:

• Emotional pleasures: How does the text make you feel? 
• Visceral pleasures: Gut responses such as excitement, fear, laughter
• Intellectual pleasures: Does it make the audience think?

Micro elements

• Cinematography: lighting and camerawork 
• sound
• Mise-en-scene- setting, background, colour : visuals (everything on screen)
• Editing

Use of camera

• camera shot
• camera movements
• camera angles:

- extreme close up (ECU)

- close up (CU)

- long shot (LS)

- wide shot (WS)

- medium shot (MS)

- point of view (POV)

- low angle- puts the person in position of power and makes viewer feel inferior

- high angle- makes the camera feel vulnerable

Cross-cutting

To cross-cut is to edit together two sequences that the audience needs to know are connected in some way

Something is happening at the same time in different locations

A character reliving a memory

Cross-cutting can be used very effectively to develop a sense of drama. It can be used to create tension, increase anxiety, direct emotion, and make subtle links between characters.

Style of editing

• How shots are linked together
• The movement from one shot to the next is called transition.

Basic transitions include:

Straight cut

• Invisible form of transition
• One shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the audience's attention
• Straight cut helps retain reality. They do not break the viewer's suspension of disbelief.

Fade

• A gradual darkening or lightening of an image until the screen becomes completely black or white

Used to :

-Indicate the beginning or end of a particular section of time within the narrative

-Can show the passing of time

Dissolve

• Dissolving one shot off the screen while another shot is fading in
• The audience will be able to see both the shots on screen

Used for :

-If the filmmaker or director wants to show a connection between the two characters, places or objects.

Wipe:

-One image is pushed off the screen by another

-Images can be pushed left or right

Used to :

-Signalise a movement between different locations that are experiencing at the same time.

Advanced editing skills

Continuity editing

Eye line match:

• We see a character looking at something on screen and then we cut to a shot of what they are looking at 

Match on action:

• We see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next.

180 Degree rule

• Is a basic guideline that states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other
• If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line

Shot reverse shot

• Shot/reverse shot is used to show conversations, but also helps to establish relationships.

MISE-EN-SCENE

Everything we see in a frame

1. Setting and props

2. Facial expressions

3. Body language

4. Costume, hair and make-up

5. Lighting

6. COLOUR:

•     Hugh
•     Saturation
•     Brightness

Denotation and Connotation

Denotation- the literal description of an idea, concept or object

Connotation- what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object

Colour elicit emotions and have a psychological effect on people

Colours help to create mood

• Hue
• Saturation
• Brightness

 

7. Positioning of characters and objects in the frame:

Where objects and characters are positioned is very important

Objects and characters can be in the foreground, middle-ground or background

This can emphasise the relative importance of the object or character 

 

• If characters or objects are positioned evenly within the frame this will give a balanced feel to the shot
• If the characters are positioned at the outside edges of the frame then this indicated a distance between the characters.

 

Deep focus:

Where both the foreground and the background are in focus

This enables the audience to choose where to look

 

 

 

• The key light is the brightest and most influential
• The back light helps counteract the effect of the key light or creates an outline or silhouette
• The filler light helps to soften the harsh shadows that the use of key and back lights create
• Under lighting is when the main source comes from below the subject. Used in thrillers and horror films