Unit 4

Unit 4 - Media Theory

In this Unit, we will be learning about film theory, which includes things like shots, angles, types of films, colours, audio and more. This will help me understand what makes a good film and how to use different techniques to convey an idea in film.

Film Types

Realism

Realism or “neo-realism” started in post occupation Italy and focuses on real people/situations. They use no SFX, minimal editing and on location filming. The first neo-realism film was Luchino Visconti's “Ossessione” (Obsession) in 1942. It was a bleak contemporary melodrama shot in Ferrara. In the film, two people meet and the woman convinces the man to help murder her husband, which leads to more death and betrayal.

Classical

Classical is a blend of Realism and Formalism, and is realistic stories based on human connection. They use some realistic SFX and more complex editing than Realism films. “Fight Club”, “The Shining” and “Singing in the Rain” are examples of Classical Films because they all focus on people and use some SFX such as audio or gore.

Formalism

Formalism uses all the techniques and tools available in editing, including lots of SFX, heavy editing, visual effects and are usually shot in studio. Some filming techniques or technologies that fall under formalism include CGI, wires on the actors, and facial action coding system. The Avatar movies, Star Wars and Marvel movies are examples of Formalist films.

Shot Types

Birds eye shot

Kill Bill

A bird’s eye shot is a shot filmed over the set looking down. An example of this is in “Kill Bill” when the main character is surrounded by lots of samurai’s and needs to fight them off. They used this type of shot because it shows the audience how everyone is positioned and that she is surrounded with no way out.

Close Up Shot

Get Out

A close up shot is a shot of someone that includes their head and shoulders. In “Get Out” there is a good example of this, and I think they used this type of shot in this scene because it focuses on his emotions and distress, as there in nothing else in frame but him. It is also level, which puts the audience on even terms with the character.

Wide Shot

Road to Perdition

A wide shot is a shot of something big, like a landscape. In Road to Perdition, this scene uses a wide angle shot to show the vastness of the ocean in comparison to the character. It makes him seem small and also solitary.

Angles

High Angle

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

A high angle is when the camera is above the character, looking down on them. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this scene includes a shot at a high angle, which makes Harry seem small and vulnerable compared to the being he is up against.

Low Angle

Matrix

A low angle shot is a shot that is filmed low to the ground, looking up at something. In “the Matrix”, they use low angle shot in this scene to show that these men are intimidating and hold power.

Lighting

In film there are different styles of lightings to portray different moods/atmospheres. High key lighting has a low contrast level and is bright, whereas low key lighting has a high contrast level is used in darker scenes. Another style is Chiaroscuro, which takes the high contrast of lowkey lighting extreme which creates dark patches and silhouettes. This style is usually used in Noir films to help create their dark and mysterious narrative.

The Exorcist

In The Excorsist, they use Chiaroscuro lighting which I think helps give the film a scary, dark and eery mood. This makes it feel more scary for the audience as it is a horror movie.

Colour

Colour can be used in film to represent emotions or settings. Films usually have a few colours they mainly use throughout; this is called the colour pallet.

Discordant: occasional usage of a colour that sticks out from the rest.

Associative: colour pallets that refer to specific ideas, characters or mood.

Transitional: a colour pallet that changes throughout the film, whether it refers to the world or the character.

Monochromatic: black and white.

Triadic: three colours that are evenly spaced apart on the colour wheel.

Analogous: colour pallet that consists of colours in the same area on the colour wheel.

Complementary: using two colour that are opposite on the colour wheel for contrast and dramatic tension.

The movie "Thirteen" uses transitional lighting. Throughout the movie the colour scheme gradually becomes more monochromatic, representing the main character's deteriorating mental health.

The movie "The Corpse Bride" uses associative lighting throughout the entirety of the film. The colour pallet consists of cold, blue tones, symbolising the theme of death, unease and darkness.

Sound

Diegetic: sound that is recorded on set or could exist in the scene. This includes foley, props, dialogue or music from musicians/radios.

Non-diegetic: sound that does not exist in the scene and is recorded off set. This includes dramatic music, transition effects and voiceovers.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD CLIP SOUNDS

Diegetic sounds: dialogue, car tyres on the road, clapping, injury sound effects, slurping tea, doorbell, glasses clinking, TV

Non diegetic sounds: transition sound effects, background music, voiceover

Editing Techniques

There are many different techniques used in editing film which can vary depending on the style of the film, the professionalism of the film, demonstrating a concept such as a montage of memories, and more.

These editing techniques include:

Continuity: taking different shots that fit together to guide the audience through a scene that follows along with the timing and location of the characters/events.

Classical: lots of time between cuts, which is how they did it in the early film days to save time editing.

Radical subjective continuity: shots from different times and locations which are not in order.

Thematic: cuts that show a common theme.

Dialectic: cuts that show contradiction.

Cutting to the beat: cuts which coincide with the beats in the audio.

Jump cut: when a single shot of continuous movement/action is cut with the footage taken out of the middle, making it skip time in the shot.

Match cut: a cut between two scenes with a matching object, where the object will stay in the same place in the shot's frame in during the transition.

Shot and reverse shot: this is used when two characters are speaking and it cuts between each character to show their reactions and dialogue.

Eyeline match: a shot that is done so the audience can see what a character is focusing on/looking at.

Cross cutting: cutting between different scenes simultaneously to imply the scenes are taking place at the same time.

So far on this course, I have used continuity, cutting to the beat and jump cuts in my promo video we made in Unit 1. I also used shot and reverse shot at the beginning of the year when we made a short film demonstrating our pre-existing skills before we started learning.

Mis-En-Scene

Mis-En-Scene is the idea of all the elements of a scene coming together. It is mainly practised by the director but everyone plays a part. It translates to "actors and their positions on stage".

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL CLIP MIS-EN-SCENE

Elements in the clip of "The Grand Budapest Hotel" that contribute to mis-en-scene include:

background music
costume
set
dialogue
different angles and shot types
actors in frame

Film Analysis

A film I think has good examples of the elements of film theory is "The Whale" by Darren Aronofsky. It is a classical film which uses colour, lighting and sound to portray emotions and ideas the most in my opinion. The colour pallett and lighting of the film is dark, dull and is quite de-saturated. There are not many bright colours used, as the film focuses on depression and mental health, so this colour pallett conveys sad and empty feelings for the audience. The film includes diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. The diegetic sounds include dialogue, weather and props, and the non-diegetic sounds include the music used, which carries a melancholy theme throughout the sound track. "The Whale" includes a variety of shots and angles which I think are all used perfectly according to the scene and the ideas associated with it, and they are realistic shots of the characters which I think helps the audience relate to them more. Lastly, the editing tecnhiques in this film mostly include continuity, thematic, and cross cutting. The editing in it is nothing over the top and is quite simple, which I like because it makes the film feel more realistic which makes it easier for the audience to relate to the movie and feel more involved.

Link

This image demonstrates the colour pallett and lighting in the film, and also the shots that help the audience feel like they are in the room with the character.

Genre

Genre is a word for the style or category of something, in this case films.

Some genres include:

fantasy
horror
drama
comedy
thriller
sci-fi
action
adventure
romance
documentary
mystery

My favourite genres of film are comedy drama and horror. I like comedy dramas because they are light-hearted and often funny. However, I like horrors because they are fun to watch and I enjoy things like jumpscares or creepy stuff in general.

ACTION

Action movies usually have a goal oriented narrative and focus on action sequences. They usually use lots of SFX to combine fight choreography, weapons and vehicles.

A good action scene I know is a scene from Deadpool. In the scene the main character is trapped in a building and an explosion happens. In this scene they use SFX for the fire, and when the other character comes in and they start fighting they use SFX for the injuries. I think this scene is very good because the silence in the beginning after the explosion makes the audience think he is dead, until he emerges, looking much different to what the audience is expecting.

FANTASY

Fantasy movies contains elements of mythology, folklore or supernatural, usually set in medieval or historical settings with lots of SFX. The main character in the movie usually goes on a journey, which often is made up of little tasks and adventures.

In Avatar, the main character's journey starts with working in a science corporation where they are investigating a forest inhabited by tall, blue creatures called Naavi. The scientists can create an avatar of these people that they can control and their goal is to befriend them and destroy their home to get what they have. However, when the main character meets the love interest, he realises they are good people and he decides to help them instead. His goal is to stop their home getting destroyed and to become one of the Naavi. Main characters in fantasy films usually have something special about them or they are "the chosen one".

The heroes journey usually follows a similar plot:

Meet the hero
Call for adventure
Refusal of call
Supernatural mentor/aid
Crossing the threshold
New allies and enemies
Road of trials
Death of mentor
Battle with the brother
Temptation
Road back
Refusal to return
Ultimate reward

WAR

War films focus on true wars or events within them, and they are not usually restricted to a specific time. They usually follow an individual or group of soldiers with a specific goal. Pyrotechnics and SFX are used in these films.

Dunkirk is a war film about World War 2, and The Wall is about the Iraq war. There are lots of movies about world war 2 and world war 1, whereas there aren't many about the Iraq war. I think the media does this because almost everyone knows about the world wars so they know the films will get more attraction and profit than if they focus on it something people know less about. However, there are still many movies about the Iraq war.

Sub Genres

TECH-NOIR

This includes dark and mysterious themes of noir but it is usually more sci-fi and technology based.

BODY HORROR

This is horror that focuses on the manipulation of the human body, and is usually very gruesome.

PARKOUR

Parkour is based off the French sport, it is usually within action movies and focuses on the lead's ability to escape.

ALIEN INVASION

This is Sci-fi films that focus on aliens coming to Earth.

FOUND FOOTAGE

This is usually used in horror movies and uses clips that are recorded to look like found footage.

ROM-COM

This is a combination of romance and comedy.

Obscure genres

NECRO-REALISM

These films cover morbid themes with humour.

BIZZARRO

This is what cult classic's become if they don't get their following. They cover strange and nonsensical but thought provoking themes.

SEA LIFE SPORTS FILM

This originates in Japan and they are usually sports films that involve sea monsters. An example is Calamari Wrestler, a wrestler that turns into a giant squid.

PSYCHO-BIDDY

This is like horror but usually focuses on older women who used to be young and beautiful but are now mentally unstable and a bit crazy. An example of a film in this sub genre is "Whatever happened to Baby Jane". It's about Jane, who as a child was very good actor, but when her performance style went out of fashion, her sister who was always in the shadow of Jane became a Hollywood actor. Jane proceeds to do horrible things to her sister because she became mentally unstable from alcoholism.

Expectations and subversions

NON-SUBVERTED

This is a film that follows the usual conventions of the genre it is.

SUBVERTED

This is a film that does something out of the ordinary or different according to the genre it is.

Genre Analysis

Horror movies usually focus on an individual or group of people trying to survive and overcome the antagonist, which is usually a person or spirit. Horror movies often have a similar plot; introduction to characters, they start noticing things, everything goes to disaster, meet people who can help, big battle with protagonist and antagonist, then the ending, with a plot twist somewhere along the way. These films give the audience a sense of unease through the use of subtle, eery audio along with jumpscares, SFX and unsettling themes.

A horror movie that falls under these conventions of the genre is "The Conjuring", a classic horror movie about a family who gets haunted by an evil spirit when they move into their new home. It follows the conventions of the genre because it focuses on a family who's life is being disrupted by a paranormal activity. It includes jumpscares and SFX such as objects moving on their own and corpses. There is also a plot twist, where the mother gets possessed by the spirit, however it is a happy ending for everyone. This is quite a typical horror film plot. During the film we meet the heroes of the movie, who help the family get rid of the demon from their house. I think the directors followed the conventions of the genre on purpose, because they wanted to make a good, scary classic horror film that would become known and attract lots of attention. I think it would attract attention because it is based on a true story, so if the genre of horror consists of these conventions, the audience will be shocked and scared when they find out these events have happened and can happen.

However, a horror movie that does not follow these conventions is "Spree". Instead of the main focus of the film being the protagonist, it is actually the villian. This movie does not follow the usual conventions of horror, as there is a comedic side to the film from the main character who seems funny and casual until you watch the film. It is also very modern and revolves around social media and live streaming, as the main character kills people on live stream in order to get attention. There are no paranormal factors in this movie, just gore. I think the directors did this because it targets a more up-to-date audience as they relate and understand social media. I also think they did this because before watching the film you're not really sure what to expect.

Marketing

In the industry different genres of film are advertised and marketed in different ways. This can include font, colour palette, music and where they are advertised. We will be working towards a project which is to make a trailer or a poster for a movie of our choice of genre. I have picked thriller, so I am researching how these kind of movies are typically advertised.

Shutter Island

The Prestige

Zodiac

These are some examples of the posters for some thriller films. What I have noticed is they all have a mysterious theme which is made by the use of dark photos, dark colour schemes and ideas such as weather, and vignette. The titles are also bold and clear to read.

I watched the trailers for each of the film examples, and I discovered that the "Shutter Island" and "The Prestige" trailers both have a similar structure. They both start with short clips to introduce the film with not much information, and then they both get more fast paced and chaotic throughout, leaving us wanting to find out more.

However the "Zodiac" trailer doesnt get very fast paced. It has a consistent pace throughout which isn't too fast or too slow, but it is still a captivating trailer. All three trailers have similar beginnings though.

My Poster

Following my research of how thriller movies are marketed, I will be making a poster for a pre-existing thriller film. I have chosen to make a poster for "The Menu". To the right is the real poster for The Menu, which is a photo of the main antagonist with underlighting to make him look scary, along with the title, actors and the tagline. I aim to use a dark and mysterious photo like this one to depict the scary aspects of the genre and to intrigue the audience.

I like these three images of the main protagonist because I like how the angle of the shots are eye level to her. However in the second photo I like how she isnt looking directly at the camera which shows her unease and discomfort in the scene, so I think that would be a good photo for the poster.

Evaluation

I think my poster for "The Menu" was successful, as it follows the conventions of the genre and has many similarities to the original poster such as the lowered head and eyes looking forward from the characters on each poster and similar fonts. I used PhotoShop to make my poster, and I started by editing the photograph of the protagonist in the film. I think this was a good choice of photo because she looks scared and has an intense look on her face, which matches the genre of thriller and is often seen in these movies. I made adjustments to make the photo darker and more mysterious, for example lowering the exposure and brightness and increasing the shadows and adding vignette. I did this to give the poster a mood that matches the genre and themes of the film. I added text to the poster with a mix of serif and sans-serif fonts. I made the word "menu" to be the only sans-serif font in order for it to stand out more as it is the main subject of the title. I also included a tagline from the movie, which I got from IMDB. I like this tagline because it is short but the words are effective and describe aspects of the film, and also sound quite sinister. At the bottom of the poster I added the three main character's actors, so it attracts the audience and makes them more likely to watch the film because they are well-known actors. My poster follows the conventions of the genre as it is dark photograph of the main character with a serious facial expression and a bold title with a short mysterious quote for the film, which is typical for a thriller poster. I think my poster would work best in a theatre or cinema, as billboard posters usually include more photos or detail.

Debate Research

In class we are going to be carrying out a debate based on the question: "does visual media have a tangible and significant effect on people's mental health and/or likely hood to commit crime?" To prepare for the debate we will be researching both sides of the argument by finding statistics, facts and quotes that provide evidence for each argument.

Visual media does have an effect on people's mental health

social media can make you feel bad about yourself
it can mess up your sleep schedule
takes up time when you could be doing productive things

Source: Social Media and Mental Health: What's the Connection? (healthline.com)

can be dangerous for young people - Almost 60% of adolescent girls report having been approached by strangers on certain social media platforms in ways that made them feel uneasy
can impact brain development in adolescents

Source: Social Media and Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health | National Center for Health Research (center4research.org)

Visual media does not have an effect on people's mental health

gives access to information and resources easily
can connect with like-minded people
is an outlet for expressing yourself

Source: Social Media and Mental Health: What's the Connection? (healthline.com)

the majority of teenagers report feeling more accepted (58%), supported (67%), creative (71%), and connected with friends (80%) with the help of social media content

Source: Social Media and Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health | National Center for Health Research (center4research.org)

Debate Evaluation

In our debate, I was on the team that was arguing for the statement "does visual media have a tangible and significant effect on people's mental health and/or likely hood to commit crime". The debate was successful as at the end we had a vote and 9 people agreed with our side, whereas 8 people agreed with the other side. First we gathered all our personal research together and chose a team leader who would give points for our argument for 1 minute, and then the same with the other team. From there each team made counterarguments with statistics to back our arguments for each point that was made until the majority of the class agreed with one side of the argument. We covered many different topics within the media such as video games, movies and social media and their impact on society, but at the end our team won the debate. However, I think the other team made some good points that could influence my opinion but overall I agreed most with our team.

Video essay Planning

For the end of the unit, we will be making a 3 minute long video essay about a genre and the conventions of it. To prepare for this I am going to research a genre of my choice. I have chosen to research the Romance genre.

RESEARCH

A good romance movie is "The Titanic". Typically, romance movies follow a similar plot, which is something like this:

the main character has an unfulfilled desire
the two protagonists meet and their personalities instantly clash
the protagonists are happy together, not necessarily romantically yet
obstacles arrive when the characters' original life plots cause issues
protagonist begins to face the obstacles and find solutions
depsite finding solutions more obstacles arise
protagonists have to make a choice whether they want to continue the relationship or not
characters have to face the consequences of their choice
they have an epiphany and realise something
they (often) end up together happily

Some examples of romance films that follow these conventions are:

Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Titanic
Dirty Dancing

Modern romance movies may not follow these conventions and may have factors that make them more unique. This is because the media is much more inclusive and technology has advanced, allowing us to make romantic movies such as "Wonder Woman" which aren't necessarily realistic.

ESSAY PLAN

Introduction - talk about my chosen topic and what it is (30 seconds)

Talk about romance genre and some well-known films of that genre (30 seconds)

Explain the conventions of the genre and how they have changed up until now (1 minute)

Talk about famous directors of romance movies (30 seconds)

Talk about my favourite romance movie and why it is my favourite (30 seconds)

Video Essay Script finished.docx

Following my research I wrote a script for my video essay. This included the essay I will be reading over the top of the video, and also a script of what is happening on-screen. This is very helpful for working efficiently because I already know what clips I need to find and how I will edit them together.

I recorded my voiceover for the video essay using RodeReporter and the length of the essay was almost 6 minutes. For this reason I am intending on cropping out some of the essay to create a more reasonably lengthed video for the task we have been given. I decided to re-record my voiceover as cutting out parts to make it shorter wasn't effective because it didn't sound smooth and natural. I altered my script by taking out the last two paragraphs and then recorded it. I recorded it in my bedroom with minimum additional background noise and with the microphone close to the audio source (myself) in order to maximise the signal and minimise any other noises. However I was careful not to hold the microphone too close to avoid low end bass build up.

To get clips of the different films and images, I screen recorded short moments from YouTube and downloaded images from google on my phone, making sure to note down the links of where I got them from.

Editing process

I am using PremierePro to put together my video essay. I first added the audio to the timeline and then added the clips and images and made them match up with the audio. I then added titles with transitions and also transitions between clips. I added any additional text such as movie titles, and background music to add more to the romance theme of the video.

editing timelapse video essay - Made with Clipchamp_1704909856308.mp4

Here is a word document which has all the links to where I got the clips and images.

video essay clip links.docx

Final Video Essay

final video essay edited.mp4

video essay Evaluation

I found creating a video essay quite challenging as there was a lot of work to do but I did enjoy it overall. I am also pleased with the outcome of my video essay. During this project I learnt a few more things on Premiere Pro such as using the effect controls to move over an image so that it isn't still while I am talking to keep the audiences attention more, and I also learnt how to modify video transitions. My script was originally longer and slightly different, but I had to make it shorter as it was too long. However I am glad I re-recorded my audio because I changed a few small things that I think improved it, and I was also able to improve the noise to signal ratio of my recording. For the editing process, it went very smoothly as I had already got an idea of what I wanted the clips to look like alongside the audio. I found it quite easy to do. I downloaded some free-download background music of a piano/violin tune to fit the romantic theme. I used serif fonts in italic styles also to fit the theme, including the titles I added to each clip/image of a film to reference it and the year it was made.

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