Cinematography: Gravity

This is the opening scene to Gravity directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The first shot of the film is an establishing shot, introducing to us the setting which is in space. The next shot is a medium and long shot of both protagonists Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski, so we as the audience, get the idea of their situation. The camera seems to be revolving around them. At this point there is a wide shot of the bottom half of the earth, giving the audience the impression that something is going to happen. There are also several close up shots in this scene that only briefly concentrate on the protagonists individually to signify how they have no time and gives the atmosphere a sense of danger. From the crane and tilt shot makes this scene more extreme when things start to go wrong and they have lost control building suspense. By the camera following the characters every movement, the audience feel a part of the action and desperation. There is another intense long shot when Matt is trying to help Ryan escape which is then followed by the close up of when Ryan is spinning alone making it clear to the audience her state being panicked and terrified. This scene is one continuous shot and ends with how it started through an establishing shot and also an extreme long shot where we can see the protagonist drifting off in space alone leaving a sense of mystery and uncertainty of what may happen to her next.

Film Noir Research

Film Noir is a type of genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and problems. The term originally came from french critics which mean "black film" or film of the night .This is a genre that doesn't make you think about happy endings. They are mostly set in locations that have are dark always, involving shadows of alleys and cities. Most film noir films have cigarettes and smoke to build tension in scenes. I have noticed that the women in theses film are portrayed to be independent and more eager to kill men rather than love them. In terms of dress code, women wear floaty hats and dresses, high heels and lipstick whereas men have more of a business-like look wearing suits and ties. Film noir is mainly set in the 1940s-50s in the era of  There are many high and low shots and fading scenes. Relationships in which "love is the final card in the poker game of death". Film noir has been inspired by crime which was a very big part of film noir that reflected America during that period of time. Film noir presented what America was going through in the Depression of the 1930s.

Blog Feedback

WWW: Overall, this is a very solid start to AS Media and I enjoyed reading your blog. You’ve picked out some really interesting clips and images to study which to me suggests you have great potential as a Media student. I’m particularly impressed with Drive – it’s a fascinating film, incredibly atmospheric and not a mainstream release so an excellent choice to analyse. It’s so important for Media students to be engaging with interesting and alternative texts outside of lessons and it looks like you’re already doing this.

EBI: You have a few bits missing or incomplete that we need to keep an eye on. The workload in AS Media is significant and it’s vital you stay on top of it – as long as you’re putting in the five hours or work outside of lessons you’ll be fine. The incomplete work: lighting – still image analysis and Film Noir research; Sound LR – you haven’t discussed who you thought produced the top three sound videos and why. In terms of the work you have posted, you are picking out some interesting details but overall you will need significantly more depth to your analysis in order to reach the higher grades in AS Media. Take the Drive poster – there is so much more you could say about the mise-en-scene here. Why a scorpion on the jacket? What about the neon lights in the background? The shadows? The upturned collar? Is the jacket slightly worn or dirty – what might this signify? Always go the extra mile in your analysis and explore every possible interpretation or detail.

LR: Firstly, make sure you catch up with the missing work by the end of this week. Then, for your LR, reflect on your first month of Film Language. What is your strongest piece of work so far? What is your weakest? What specific skills or knowledge do you need to develop over the rest of the course?

Sound Analysis

Funny Games (2001) by Michael Haneke

The characters are seen to be a typical middle class family playing middle class games (guess the classical music). The diagetic sound is calm and relaxing which is reflects the families relationship with one another which emphasises the fact that this is a normal family. After a while, the music changes it is contrapuntal sound to the scene. This foreshadows future events in the film that give the audience an understanding of something happening to the family.

 Clockwork Orange (1971) by Stanley Kubrick

From the opening scene, the mysterious non diagetic sound that is heard creates a tense atmosphere which continues even while we are introduced to the characters. Their facial expressions give the audience the impression that the film will be sinister and dark.

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) by Sergio Leone

      

In the opening scene of Once Upon A Time In The West, the sound is parallel to the scene giving it a sense of mystery and tension. This is reinforced through the facial expressions of the characters.

Sound Video Feedback/Learner Response: Parallel & Contrapuntal

Interesting description/ inspiration- young + old Great choices of images for parallel they work well.Colour is a real strength here- vibrant party atmosphere contrasted with black and white images for the second half. Not sure the contrapuntal works- gets something of a reaction but perhaps not enough of a jump ( and with old people smiling could even suggest a different version of parallel?)

My Feedback: I think that my video had a good concept  with the colour scheme and however, I do agree on the fact that the black and white pictures of the old people could be interrupted to being parallel which is why I focused more on the colour scheme than the expressions of the old people.

LR: 

• Learner response: compare your video against your evaluation of the top three videos in the class. Who did you think was best and why? How could you have improved your own video?