Facial expressions and body language from alexmacleod537

Cujo Movie Analysis Key Elements of Mise-en-scene ( starts 4:08 - 5:51)

In the scene of Cujo the setting of the old house could be significant to the scene as it entails a mysterious opening to the scene. The darkness surrounding the house in the opening could connote the theme of evil in the upcoming event of the movie. The darkness can also suggest the mood of the story and relate to the genre of the movie. The internal opening scene could connote this horror will take place mainly in this house as the narrator decides to begin in the child’s bedroom The props in the subject’s room signify the age of the character in the scene. The producer may do this to build suspense in foreshadowing an upcoming event in the scene. This can also tell the audience about how the killer in the story targets his/her victims in the movie. The outfit worn by the little boy could highlight the time the scene takes place as he is in his pajamas's in the sequence. This could lead to the audience wondering what the little boy is doing up at this time at night. The body language of the little boy goes from happy and vibrant to anxious when he enters the room. The producer is conveying there is going to be a turn of emotions through the characters body language in the room. The facial   expression on the close up of the boy as he enters the room shows the fear the little boy is feeling in the room compared to how exhilarated he just was in the hall way. This effect gives the audience a sense of wonder to what had shifted his emotion. The lighting in the scene shows just a back light being the subjects room well lit in the hall way but as he enters his room it changes to being very well lit. The darkness in the hallway could foreshadow the sudden, peculiar turn of events in the sequence. Also the hall way is filled with the colour black which could connote the theme of evil in the rising event of the movie. On the contrary, the lighting in the room is bright giving a happier feeling. However when he turns off the bedroom light (the main light) the back light is the only light coming from the bedroom window giving an atmospheric feeling in the room. The colours in the room when the light goes off go dole and creates a sense of mystery in the little boy’s bedroom through the narrator’s use of colour and lighting. When the boy discovers ‘the monster’ in the cupboard his body language show him as a weak character in the movie through the use of character positioning in the sequence furthermore he is seen clenching the blanket looking trembled clearly displaying he is uncomfortable in his own bedroom leading the audience to believe the monster has just came as he was vibrant until he had discovered the monster in the cupboard. 

https://youtu.be/riC9z738E9s

cinematography

cinematography

shot types
medium shot:
a medium shot is used to give the audience of who/what the subject is. this type of shot films the character from the waist upwards.

long shot:
a long shot is used to show the character and the setting in the frame of the picture. this shot gives the audience an idea of the characters surroundings whilst allowing them to get an interpretation of who the character is.

extreme long shot/establishing shot:
an extreme shot is used to get a clear view of the setting in the frame and focuses less on the subject but more on the surroundings giving the audience a long distance view of the setting.

medium long shot:
this shot films the subject from the knee upwards and allows the audience to see further away than a medium shot. this type of shot gives us a clear idea of both the characters emotions in the scene and the setting in the scene.

canted/dutch tilt:  a dutch tilt is a camera shot that is deliberately slanted to one side. this could be used to portray unease,madness,disorientation or desperation etc.


angles and movements

tracking shot:
to follow the character but keeps them in the frame at times during the tracking.this effect gives the impression the character is up to something. for example this could be used when a character is being chased through a scene or frame.

tilt up : moving the camera lens up while keeping the horizontal line constant. this effect could be used to make the character look dominant in the scene.

tilt down : moving the camera lens down while keeping the horizontal axis constant. the effect of this camera movement could make a character look inferior in a scene .

dolly : a movement away or towards the subject in a scene which is usually on a cart with wheel which would go along the floor to follow a character of leave a character in or out of a scene.

crane shot : a technique where the camera is on a crane.  the crane allows the camera to move in great distances in all directions while flying high in the air. these shots are usually long shots or extreme long shots. the effect of this could leave the audience with a feeling of omniscience over the characters.

handheld camera : a technique that allows the cameraman to get more flexibility when filming/editing a scene. however this could lead to a 'shaky image' when filming therefore sights/lens's are often used to get a better shot in a scene/image.

aerial shot/ birds eye view : an external shot taken from a plane,helicopter,crane etc. this could be used as an establishing scene for the start or ending of a film.

zoom : a camera lens which has a focal point could easily be changed rapidly reducing/enlarging the size of an image. the effect could symbolize an importance to the meaning of a scene or the significance of a character in a scene.

Lighting from alexmacleod537

what is semiotics?

semiotics: The study of meaning and how it is formed by signs such as words, images or music. It can be used as a tool to help analyse the symbolic codes of a media text.

audio visual

• game consoles
• television
• films
• phone/tablet

print visual

• newspaper
• leaflets
• CD covers
• magazines 
• posters
• comic books

denotation and connotation are often used to describe the semiotics inside the frame/scene.

definition of  Mise-en-scene: what is put inside a scene or frame

there are 5 elements of  Mise-en-scene

• setting
• props
• costume, hair and make up 
• facial expression and body language
• lighting and colour
• positioning of objects/characters inside a frame

iconography :The images or symbols related to something

  

3 examples of iconography

• The cross of Jesus relates to his death
• country flags to symbolize the country
• bad guys wear black to symbolize evil in film/movie

in the duchess sequence the setting is :

• old fashioned and starts in an archway. the positioning of the characters show the difference between poverty and the rich in the opening scene.
• while the duchess is looking out of the window market stalls are shown to highlight to the audience that the town is busy and hard working but still poor.
• when the duchess arrives at the courtyard the producer uses gates to show the clear gap between the rich and the poor and uses the gate as a barrier.
• when the duchess enters the building the setting is shown as quite systematic as guards look like it is routine for them to be greeting new people in.

in the last king of Scotland the setting is:

• the setting begins by showing us a mosquito why could foreshadow the character is going to be in danger later on in the film. the producer does this to tell the audience about the setting.
• when he is in the car the kids shown outside the car believe he is the president this shows they live no where near where the president does.
• as the character get closer to the president the setting becomes more urban as infrastructure improves and streets are more crowded.
• the setting when he arrives is shown as beautiful and shows how rich the president of Uganda is.this could show the president as a dictator as he allows the village to be poor where the city is rich in the setting of the film.

key concepts

• media languages
• ideology and values 
• genre
• representation
• audience
• institutions
• narrative

• M- language is the code used within a particular medium to covey messages to the audience 
• I- consists of a set of attitudes, beliefs and values held in common by a group people and culturally produced within a community to sustain a way of life.
• G-identified by the occurrence of distinctive features/conventions.
• R-the process whereby the media construct versions of people, places and events in images.
• A-the group of individuals targeted by producers
• I- institutions determine and constrain the ideology, structure, content and distribution of media texts and are involved in the regulation and control of those texts.
• N-allows us to explore how plot/ story line has been put together, and how characters are integral to how the narrative is executed.

Mise-en-scene:Characters positions

Mise-en-scene:Characters positions from alexmacleod537

why I chose Btec Media Studies


 I chose Btec Media Studies as I found in interest in the subject due to my sister studying it in recent years whilst helping her with a project. I also wanted to be around the idea of drama and understanding what is involved in the process of making successful recordings. I initially wanted to study drama but lost interest in the subject but still wanted to be involved around it which encouraged me to look more in to media and how the plot and storyline is developed behind the scenes.