Film Language

Filming Language

"rolling" - Cameraman - has started recording
(5 seconds)
"action" - Director - start acting
(5 seconds)
"cut" - Director - stop acting
(5 seconds)
Turns off camera - cameraman

Media Techniques-Editing

Editing techniques

Includes transition of image and sound - continuity and non-continuity systems.
Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic math, action match, jump cut

Continuity editing

• continuity editing is the dominant editing technique found in narrative feature films, television shows and web content
• It is used to unify a series of disconnected shots into a scene that plays out in a logical fashion that makes sense  
• This editing is smooth, continuously and coherent and appears invisible 

Part of what makes film so unique is that editing allows the viewer to see a wide shot cut to a close up-something out eyes dont see in real life. This could make a story haf to follow, but continuity editing combined with solid planning allows the viewer to easily get immersed  in the story

 Non continuity editing

In continuity editing the effect is that the choices made are supposed to be invisible to the viewer. Discontinuity editing however intents to be visible. These effects call attention to themselves and violate viewers expectations of continuity

Eye-line Match

It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on screen is seeing. The eye-line match begins with a character looking at something off screen to his left, followed by a cut to the object or person ay which he is looking. For example, a man is looking off screen to his left, and then the film cuts to a television that he is watching

The 180 Degree Rule

The first rule that any filmmaker needs to learn before they pick up his camera is the 180 degree rule.

 This way  the actor is on the left side of the frame and the actress is on the right side in the master shot, they will stay in those established positions throughout the scene as the medium shots and close ups are editing together. If the camera crossed the line and the actress appeared frame left and the actor frame right, became disoriented because the established spatial continuity had been violated. Once the spatial distance and position has been established, you should not violate it if you want to maintain it.

Class analysis - Memento

Class Analysis Memento

The opening title sequence for the film memento begins with a credit sequence fading in and out very slowly, once the text is at its peek the colouring and text is at its boldest and fades out very quickly, this could link to the main character as he has memory loss and his memories could possibly fade in and out quickly. The opening sequence also gives the audience important information about who the film is produced by and who stars in the film. The text is presented in a blue font which connate the sadness of the character or the main themes of the film. The slow rise in volume of the music creates a very tense mood which links with the theme of murder. The credits slowly fade into the screen, this establishes a feeling a tension in the audience. The slow fade in and out could potentially also link back to the main protagonist of the film. From the establishing shots we can see that the main character cant recall how long he has been in that hotel room for, so the fading out letters could represent the characters fading memories? The first time we ever see the main character we are introduced to him just after murdering someone. From his blank facial expressions we can gather that this is not the first time he has ever taken a life and that he is a not remorseful about killing this man at all. Also because when we see the murder we see in in a non-linear structure, it makes the audience question the motive? Why has he just shot this man? Was it self-defence? Was it revenge? These questions that are created are called the narrative hook. These questions are what will engage the audience and make them want to watch the rest of the film. The next shot we see is the main character In a hotel room on his own. The character is questioning where he is and how long he has been there.

Media Techniques-Sound

Sound

Diegetic sound- Diegetic sound is sound whose source is visible on screen, for example:

• Voices of characters.
• Sounds made by objects on screen, such as pans being dropped.
• Music represented as coming from an instrument in the story.

Non-diegetic sound- Non-diegetic sound is sound whose source is not visible on screen, for example:

• Narrator's commentary
• Off screen sound effects

The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening.  We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are  represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. 

Sound motif-A sound motif is a sound effect or a combination of different sound effects that are associated with a particular character, setting, situation or idea through the film. The sound motifs condition the audience emotionally for the intervention, arrival, or actions of a particular character.

Sound Bridge-Sound bridges are one of the most common transitions in the continuity editing style, one that stresses the connection between both scenes since their mood is still the same

Score-A film score or background score is an original piece of music written to accompany a specific film.

Incidental music-Incidental music is used in a film or play as a background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere.

Ambient sound-Ambient sounds are background noices which are present in a scene or location. Common ambient sounds include things such as, wind ,birds, thunder, rain ,crowds, traffic etc.

Practise film

Shot types film example

Media Techniques-Mise en scene

Mise-en-Scène:

• The arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play
• The setting or surroundings of an event

Production Design

The overall look for a film that illustrates the settings and visual style of a story. This includes:

• design of the sets
• locations choices
• choice and supervision of props

costume, Hair & Make-up

• Costume, hair and make-up can be an instant indicator to us about a character personality, status or job
• They can immediately indicate the location, society
• They can signify a lot of meaning or internal thoughts about the character 

Props

• Props are objects on a set that are small or light enough to be carried by the actors
• These are distinct from larger pieces of furnitures of décor which merely from the background of the set
• They can have particular significance or be import focal points of the film 

Media Techniques-Shot Types

Extreme wide shot/establishing shot-This is used so that the audience can grasp a basic understanding of where the film/series will be taking place.

Wide shot-This shot is used so that the audience can see the characters full body, this is important because the audience can now see clothing and his body language which helps create a basic character profile.

Medium shot-This is used so that the audience can see the character in more detail, to help create a more in-depth character profile.

Medium close up-This is is used to so that audience can see the characters facial details, but also still have an idea of the location the character is in.

Close up-Really highlight facial expressions, by showing less of the background the audience automatically takes in more information about how the character feels.

Extreme close up-This focuses on one specific feature of a character

Two shot-establish a relationship

Over the shoulder-used for conversation (two images)

Point of view (POV)-To see what the character sees, and feel what they're feeling

High angle shot-makes the character look weak

Low angle shot-makes the character look powerful

tilted angle-creates panic

Birds eye view-A shot above the actor, almost like a birds perspective

Bullet Time-Slow motion arc shot (multiple cameras)

camera movement:

• Pan-pan is when the camera looks left and right
• Tilt-tilt is when the camera tilts up and down from a fixed position
• Track-when the camera follows  the actor on a track
• Crane-when the camera is attached to a crane and gets lifted up and down
• Zoom-where the camera zooms in and out (not used often because quality decreases and it looks homemade)
• Hand held-looks more rushed and is useful is situations which are fast pace

Foreground/Background

• When designing a shot remember to keep in mind both action in the foreground and the background

Framing

• Keep THE RULE OF THIRD in mind when designing your shot. The viewers eye is drawn to the corrections of a frame, this is where your action should be taking place 

Deep and shallow focus

• Depth of field is the front to back range of focus in an image - that is, how much of it appears sharp and clear 
• In deep focus the foreground, middle-ground and backgrounds are all in focus

Key Terminology

Media Text       

In media we call any product we are discussing a media text

·      This does not mean it has to be a point product with writing on it, any pieces of media (film, magazine advert etc.) will be referred to as a media text.

·      Language

·      Institution

·      Audience

·      Representation

Language= codes and conventions

·      Media texts follow the same rules depending on the platform they use

·      So TV/Film follow the rules of visual media

·      Shot types

·      Mise-en-scene

·      Editing

·      Sound

These rules are called the codes and conventions. They make it easy you understand what kind of media text you are looking at.

Media institutions

·      Institutions are the ones who make Media texts. They can range from being big companies and conglomerates to small independent companies.

Conglomerate means a company that does more then one thing.

Media Audiences

·      People who listen, watch, read or use media texts are called the audience.

·      Audience are grouped together by things such as their gender, age, how much money they earn and their interests.

·      Institutions work hard to make their media texts appeal to the right audience.

Media Representation

·      The way real life is represented in the media is known as representation

·      Groups of people, based on things such as age, gender, race and social class, are often represented in a certain light so that people begin to believe all people in that group are like that. That is called stereotyping

Genre

·      We separated media into genre types.

·      The word ‘genre’ comes from the French word meaning ‘type’.

·      Media genres can apply to all different types of media product such as the “horror” film or the television “soap opera.”

·      A genre can be recognised by its common set of distinguishing features

·      These features associated with a genres style and content may be, for example

-Style

-Settings

-Characters

-Props

-Colours and lighting

Sub and Hybrid Genres

·      Genre can be more complex then one type at once

·      Sub genre – A sub category in a particular genre. Like vampire moveis in the genre of horror

·      Hybrid genre – Two or more genres in the same text. Such as a rom-com (Romantic & Comedy)

Media- Narrative

·      In media studies, its more important to tell me the difference between story and narrative

·      Story= a sequence of event, known correctly as the plot

·      Narrative= the way those events are put together to be presented to an audience

Linear Native

·      As the name suggests, linear narrative follow a straight line. Starting at the beginning, moving to the middle and proceeding to the end of the story.

Non-Linear Narrative

·      A non-linear narrative is how a film uses different techniques to tell stories out of order to have greater effect. These might include

·      Flashbacks

·      Out of sequence

·      Dream sequences

What a narrative needs

·      Narrative is delivered to audience by expectation, suspense, tension and closure

·      The audience is led to expect certain things to happen which leads to tension and excitement

Typography

• In media we call the types of font used typography 

Verisimilitude-the appearance of being true or real.

Key Theory

Todorov's Narrative Theory

• Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be looked to any film.
• He believed that all films followed the same narrative.

Todorov's Theory:

• Equilibrium-Where we first meet the characters
• A disruption-Where something happens to effect the characters lives
• Realisation-Where characters realise they need to fix the situation 
• Dis-equilibrium-The characters have to deal with the situation and often try and fix it
• Equilibrium again-Everything is restored back to the way it was or in a better place than when it started

An example of this is Interstellar

Equilibrium

Here is the main family living their normal life.

Disruption

Here is the Main character looking at a code sent to him from a being from a different dimension.

Realisation

The main character realises he has to go to space and save the human race.

Dis-Equilibrium 

The main character searching for suitable planets to move the human race to.

Equilibrium

 The new planet that the human race now live on.


Barthes-Enigma & Action Codes

• Roland Barthes was a semiologist; basically he was paid to look at 'texts' and decipher how they were put together
• If you imagine a text is like a ball of string - can i be unravelled in more then one way?
• His idea was that 'text' could be:

Open (unravelled in different ways)

Closed (there is only one thread to be pulled on)

• Births decided that the threads you pull on to try and unravel meaning are called narrative codes
• These include Action & Enigma Codes 

Action Codes

• Action codes are significant events which moves the narrative on in a particular direction
• It applies to any action that implies a further narrative action
• For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be.

Enigma Codes

• Enigma codes pose questions to the audience which are then answered shortly after or late on in the film
• For example, who is she? where is she going? why is she doing that?
• They refer to any element in a story that is not explained and therefore, exists as an enigma for the audience, raised questions that demand explanations.

Strauss - Binary Oppositions

• Levi Strauss believed that the world was split into a series of binary opposites
• This means that one thing can only be defined in relation to something to something it isn't 

-Example: So a hero is only a hero if there is a villain too.

Propp - Character codes 

• Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to all media

Character types

The hero-in every story there is a major character with whom the reader will normally associate most strongly and who is the key person around which the story is told.

The villain-the sharpest contrast against the hero is the villain, who struggles directly against the hero. The villain typically is morally and, highlighting the goodness of the hero

The princess-she may be the object which is deliberately sought by the hero, perhaps finding where the villain has taken her.

The helper-The hero is supported in his, or her quest, who appears at critical moments to provide support

The donor-the donor is a person who gives the hero something special, such as a magical weapon or some particular wisdom 

The dispatcher-An early role in the story that of the dispatcher  who sends the hero on the mission

The false hero-A variant on the villain and a potential complication within the plot. Whilst their motives may seem goof at first it becomes clear they have villainous traits or are perhaps working for the villain 

The princess's father-finally, there is the princess's father, who constrains the princess or who may dispatch the hero on his mission to save the princess 

Representation Types 

Age

Gender

National/Regional Identity 

Race

Disability 

and Class