Task 2:Research into Existing Products

What is Textual Analysis?

Camera shots include:

• Extreme Close Up (ECU)
• Close Up (CU)
• Medium Close Up (MCU)
• Medium Shot (MS)
• Medium Long Shot (MLS)
• Long Shot (LS)
• Extreme Long Shot (ELS)
• High Angle Shot (HAS)
• Long Angle Shot (LAS)

Reperesentation- Re-presintation, things are presented in a certain way to make us think things- it often isn't the truth.

Signification- how we make meaning out of things we watch- what does it mean to us?

Denotation- describing what we SEE in a media text.

Connotation- describing what we see actually MEANS.

The Tools of Textual Analysis are:

• Sound

-Digetic sound is sound that is actually happening in the scene, for example, the sound of someone cutting a tree.

-Non-Digetis sound is sound that isn't actually happening in the scene, or sound that has been added in editing, for example, music during the opening credits.

• Camera

-This is all the camera shots, for example, a Long Shot.

-A shot can be used to give the audiance an idea of what is happening in the scene, if the camera is looking dow on a person, we belive that someone is looking down on them.

• Editing

-This is when each shot is cut an shown in a way to get the best understanding, of what is happening, or being felt.

-Editing can be used to enphasise a point, for example, a shot revers shot can show how two people are looking into eachother's eyes lovingly.

• Mise en Siene

-This is everything on set, so evry prop, stage, and costume is thoght out carefully.

-It can be used to give a more dramatic and realistic feel, for example, if a film was set in the 1950s the costumes would have to be from that period, and so would the cars, style of homes, and all other 'objects'.

Stereotypes and Representation

How are stereotypes established?

How isthis linked to 're-presentation'

Some steriotypes are:

• Pentioners
• Teenagers
• Footballers
• People from Africa
• Blonds
• Asians
• Glamour Modles

REPERESENTATION is MEDIATED and CONSTRUCTED by a PRODUCER for a DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP.

Conventions

Horrors

• Horrors are ment to scare the audiance.
• We useally see a merder.
• We are left feeling scared that those things would happen to us.
• There is often a simple plot line, but it is the horror we get from watching it, rather than the storyline, that intrigues the audiance.

Rom Coms

• Boy meets girl
• Problem-for example, boy looses or can't get girl
• Boy gets girl

This is the genrel storyline of a Rom Com.

In the opening sequence, you often find find:

• It set in a public place.
• A Narative.
• The main charicters introduced to the audiance.
• Classical Music
• A gentle feeling in the credits (it won't often be fast paced and flashy)

When I looked at the opening sequence of Love Actually I found that it matched the conventions of a Rom Com very well. We were met with the arrival gate at Gatwick airport, and we new straight away that this would be a movie about love, as all the characters, even though they were not part of the main storyline, were showing signs of love, such as hugs, kissed, waves, and smiles. This suggested that the main characters were going to show signs of love to one another. Another indication is that all of the credits have at least one letter in the 'love culour', red. As if this is not enough to tell us that this is a story of love, we then have a narrative to explain this to us. The gentle male voice tells us that love is all around, and we know straight away that love will be all around this movie.

In the next few minuets we are introduced to over five main storylines. In each one we have a clear indication of what their story will be about. Firstly we meet an ex-pop star who is trying to get back into the industry, after a drug addiction, in this scene we clearly see that that he and his manager have a very strange relationship. We can sense that even though there relationship is not a homosexual one, but is still one of love.

We are also introduced to a ‘triangle relationship’. It is clear that a man and a woman are getting married, yet another clue that this is a rom com, which seems simple enough, until we start getting hints that the best man is in love with either the bride or groom. In this scene we are given another huge indication that this is a story about love, the cast start singing ‘all you need is love’.

This may be a movie about many different love stories, but all the stories are unique. This next story of love is about a man who has just lost his wife; we are already given the question, ‘Is this man’s love life dead?’ We are given clear indications that we are going to see some changes in this mans life, however we are not yet introduced to the person he is going to change it with.

Finally, we are introduced to the story that all the other stories revolve around. It seems to be a simple enough scene, a young man has just been appointed as Prime Minister. Little does he know that he is about to meet the love of his life. We know within thirty seconds of meeting him, that he is a single young man, as the script tells us. We immediately think that he just might meet someone, low and behold, ten seconds later he is introduced to a beautiful young lady. We know right from the start that they shall have a story of love of their own.

In each scene it is very clear that this is a Rom Com. This is a very clever opening scene as we are also introduced to many of the characters, and feel as though we understand their background.

Thriller

• There is a problem, for example, a murder. But we don't know who did it.
• We are given clues as to who did it, or how it was done.
• it is not made to scare us but thrill us
• We have a suprising end when we find out who did it.

This is the genral story line of a thriller.

In an opening sequence, you will ofeten find:

• Fast pased or load music.
• Hand held camera.
• A sence that something Big is about to happen.

I looked at Fight Club. In this opening sequence I found:

• Fast pased music.
• Fast moving camera.
• Flashing lights.
• Shaking Credits.
• A swetting man.
• A Narative.
• A man with a gun.
• A dark scene.

When I choose to look at Thrillers I watched the opening sequence of ‘The Number 23’. It is very obvious from the beginning that it is a Thriller. It opens with a shot of an old scrappy paper, which then has blotchy writing on it, which suggests that it’s rough. This is shown while there is slow but pounding music, which makes the scene intense. The shots are flickering from one to the other, which also gives the effect of being rough.

We then get lots of shots of the number 23, that and the title show that this will be a movie about 23, it is shown in a messy way, which also suggests it being a thriller. When the title comes up it is in red, which suggests blood, another indication of it being a thriller, which intensifies the audience. At this point the music starts to speed up and is still pounding, and is getting louder and louder, which makes the scene even more intense, as it suggests that the movie will start off slow, but get faster and faster, and even more intense. Blotches of blood are starting to appear, and they are spreading over the actor’s names, which suggest that there will be death in the movie, or at least the effect of it.

We are then taken to a slow moving scene compared to the credits, which reminds us that we have been hinted that the movie will start slow but get faster, and more intense. The audience then hears a narrative explaining that that day should have been a normal day, which shows that that day won’t be a normal day, so again it is indicated that this will be a thriller. When we go back in time to the 23rd of December we know that it will be a very important date as it reflects the title, so the suspense heightens.In this opening scene it is very obvious that this movie is a thriller.

I also choose to look at ‘Identity’. It was also clear in the opening sequence that it was a thriller, as it fitted all the conventions, and the audience was given many hints. First we hear the sound of thunder, and we immediately get the feeling of suspense, and know we are in for an intense. We are then met by the sound of a deep voiced narrative, at a slow pace, which also heightens the suspence.

We then meet a character that we guess is mental, as he is being treated by a doctor, and he is being recorded on a tape that says he is a patient, it also says session 12, the word session is often used for mental patients, and so we wonder what will happen with him. We become entreated. We are also shown many quick shots of scrap paper, with many ‘hang men’ drawn on them, which suggests that there will be a few murders in the film, and we are intrigued. Then there is blood shown over the hang men, which makes the scene even more intense.

Next we see a few shots of finger prints, which also gives a suspicious feel to the scene, and we guess that there will be a crime committed, but we don’t know exactly what, which is why we are intrigued to watch more. We then see that the next character shown has had a hard life, as he says that his mother has died.

Then there are many shots of newspaper cuts, and we immediately know that it is about something bad as bad news sells. This is confirmed when we see a woman dead with lots of blood around, and then we are shown more bodies, all with a lot of blood. We are then told that 6 residents of a home have been murdered. We get more and more interested in the story with more we are shown. This is a very good opening sequence as the audience knows it is a thriller, and want to continue watching the film.