Secrets and Lies - EIGHT

Notes on EIGHT

Mise-en-scene-Man wearing a classic black suit and bow tie although contrastingly dressed in a ‘fez’. This is a  felt hat either in the shape of a short cylinder made of kilim fabric; both usually have tassels. The purpose of this may be to convey that the man is originated from Greece, Turkey or Morocco; traditional ha worn by these countries.

     -Angry as he is objecting to the flash on the camera. His facial expression seems agitated which creates a frantic atmosphere.

     -His posture in upright to certify his power although he is moving his hands to object to the camera flash.

Light/Sound Key lighting positioned onto his face to show his emotion clearly. Diegetic speech exclaiming ‘I told you, I don’t want a flash!

Representation of Britishness His elegant bow tie and sharp black suit creates a James Bond persona, although this iconic character is submerged with the Fez and a heavy black moustache. This can show the cultural diversity of Britain today; collaborating two different ethnicities in one outfit.

Stereotype He is wearing a false moustache on his upper lip. This can be a stereotype; ideology of men in the Middle East.

Secrets and Lies - SEVEN

Notes on SEVEN

Mise-en-scene -The Asian man is dressed in a simple Brown, old fashioned suit. This is accompanied with a cultural patterned tie; colour matched with suit. His shirt is crisp white with no creases. The purpose of this may be to show he prides himself for being smart. His top button is done up with a perfect tie. This signifies his sophistication. On his left hand there is a gold watch. This can convey his wealth, (a semiotic) and show how he can support his future wife in the long term.

    -The man has Black thick hair with a middle parting. This is culturally determined as being a typical Asian hairstyle.

    -His facial expression is anxious and nervous as it is a photo for his ‘arranged marriage’ to suitors in India. He also look very serious as this image can determine his future.

    -The body language expresses his personality. He seems reserved and almost shy with hands together placed on knee; denotes tense environment.

Stereotype Asians always have arranged marriage. This is a practice where family members (often parents) choose the partner for marriageable youths, sometimes with little or no input from or option for the partners themselves. Also his mono-brow can emphasize he is Asian.

Colour Dull colours of cream intertwined The connotations of this colour is bland and boring; resembling  personality of the character.

Light/Sound His accent seems like an Ilford/Asian as he uses slang terms such as ‘innit’.

Secrets and Lies - SIX

Notes on SIX

Mise-en-scene 

Costume – The older woman is wearing a plain black dress which is a very ordinary and plain style. Her hair is in a smart bob and is wearing little make-up. By not showing a lot of effort into her dress she is showing the audience that she wants this photo mainly to make her pet look good. This also shows that she has put a great deal of thought into this photo shoot telling the viewer that the cat means a great deal to her. 

Body language&Facial expression-  the woman is very smiley expressing how much she is enjoying showing off her cat and she does not take her hands off it giving hints to the audience that not only is she very possessive over her cat, she is desperate not to lose it.

Lighting – The background is darker than a few of the previous clips. this could be done to contrast with the light fur colour of the cat and to make the woman’s clothes blend more into the background again exaggerating how the woman wants the main focus to be on her cat.

Sound- There is no music while the photo shoot is taking place so the speech from the photographer is clearer.

References to Britain- The photographer again has a stereo typical cockney accent and the woman has a well-spoken British accent. There is also the stereotype of british people and the love of their pets in this shoot.

Colour- the dark background and the darker costume of the woman contrasts with the central object (the cat and chair)

Secrets and Lies - FIVE

Notes on FIVE

Mise-en-scene

Costume –  again typical late 1980 to 1990 style dress, women wearing a baggy, bright red jumper with matching red trousers that is now very dated. The jumper also has pictures of dogs on them giving hints of her small obsession with her dog. Her hairstyle is also similar to her pet dog in which she has a long fringe that nearly covers her eyes.

Body language&Facial expression- The woman is frantically brushing her dogs hair showing that she is desperate for the dog to look perfect in the picture. The dog is calm and obviously oblivious to what his owner is doing to him.

Lighting –  The back lighting is more of  a yellow colour than the previous scenes. This could possibly be to contrast with her red clothing or to match and exaggerate the golden colour of the dog.

Sound- There is no music while the photo shoot is taking place so the speech from the photographer and the dog owner is clear.

References to Britain- The photographer again has a stereo typical cockney accent and the woman has a British accent, the tribute to the dogs on her jumper is a reference to the stereotype of poor British fashion sense. 

Colour- the use of pastel, light colours contrasts with the colour of the costume to make them stand out.

Secrets and Lies - FOUR

Notes on FOUR
Mise-en-scene

Costume – The baby is wearing nothing showing that the parent is trying to make the photo look more like an old fashioned oil painting. The woman is dressed is all white, giving her a natural, beautiful and angelic look. Her hair is full of lustrous curls making her hair style look old fashioned. This costume shows that she has put a great deal of thought into this photo shoot telling the viewer that the baby means a great deal to her.
Body language&Facial expression- The woman is holding the baby close to her showing that she is a caring parent and that the baby means a lot to her. She has a genuine smile the whole way through the shot especially when looking at her child. The other woman is coming in on the side of the shot and is caressing the baby’s foot showing that she too cares for the baby so could be a auntie or grandmother of the baby.
Lighting – The background is blue, creating an angelic theme showing that the woman wanting the photograph to look like a painting.
Sound- There is no music while the photo shoot is taking place so the speech from the photographer is clearer.
References to Britain- The photographer again has a stereo typical cockney accent and the woman has a well-spoken British accent.

Colour- the use of pastel, light colours again produces an angelic, paint like feel to the shot.

Secrets and Lies - THREE

Notes on THREE
Mise-en-scene 

Costume – The woman is dressed as a nurse, which shows her profession which is also clarified when they discuss an award for nursing for 15 years.
Body language&Facial expression- She is standing very still whist holding on to the chair in front of her showing that she is very shy. There is very little emotion shown on her face telling the viewer that she is very confined. There is a final smile at the end which gives a small hint of what her personality is really like; shows that although she doesn’t show it often, she does actually have a sense of humour.
Lighting – There is a darker background and strong lighting coming from above the woman shining down this is so that the main focus is the woman and the darker, plain background makes the light source clearer and could also be considered as a prop backdrop for the photo shoot.
Sound- There is no music while the photo shoot is taking place so the speech from the photographer and the lack of dialect coming from the woman shows her character. 
References to Britain- The photographer again has a stereo typical cockney accent, the woman is not British but has the accent .

Secrets and Lies - TWO

Notes on TWO

Mise-en-scene 

Costume – The man is dressed as a professional boxer giving the impression that he either has an exciting and unusual career or that he is wearing a fancy dress costume. 
Body language&Facial expression- His body is never still, as one should be when in a boxing match, which gives hints that he is a fan of the sport. The occasional pose for the camera and the rather large grin in his face makes him come across as arrogant and cockey.
Lighting – There is a darker background and strong lighting coming from above the man shining down this is so that the main focus is the man and the darker, plain background makes the light source clearer and could also be considered as a prop backdrop for the photo shoot.
Sound- There is no music while the photo shoot is taking place so the speech from the photographer and the noises from the boxer emphasises his enthusiasm towards the photos of him 
References to Britain- The photographer again has a stereo typical cockney accent but there are no obvious british features from the man as he doesn’t speak and is wearing a boxer’s costume.
Colour- There is a contrast of the dull background with the bright red boxing gloves creates excitement. Red is also the colour of danger and boxing is considered to be a dangerous sport.

Secrets and Lies - ONE

Notes on ONE

Mise-en-scene 

Costume – Typical late 1980 to 1990 style dress, women look like they have made the effort in their dress; younger woman has visible make-up which shows their enthusiasm towards the photo, the man had to have his tie adjusted and his paper removed from project which shows lack of enthusiasm, boy had stereo typical young teenage clothes; baggy rock tshirt , scruffy hair.

Body language&Facial expression- From the man, there was clear expression in his face showing that he didn’t want to be where he was, his hands clasped together close to him showed that he was uncomfortable. The younger woman was quite over expressive with her laughing and smiling giving hints of being nervous. The younger boy had little movement with the occasional roll of his eyes which matches the feeling of the male giving the viewer a stereo typical idea of how males are very unenthusiastic towards family events such as having a family photo taken. 

Lighting– There is a darker background and strong lighting coming from above the family shining down this is so that the main focus is the family and the darker, plain background makes the light source clearer and could also be considered as a prop backdrop for the photo shoot.

Sound- There is no music while the photo shoot is taking place so the speech from the photographer and the family is clearer and their lines are overlapping; this gives the scene a very realistic setting and feeling of an everyday event

References to Britain- The photographer has a stereo typical cockney accent and the family has a typical posh sounding London accent.

Colour- There is a lack of bold, bright colours to reflect the dullness of the situation.

Stereotypes are used frequently in this clip so that it is easy to relate to and is entertaining. 

Horror Still

The picture I have taken is of a horror scene which involves a murderer and a young female victim. I considered many factors of mise-en-scene when setting up this photo. The large sharp knife foreshadows what is about to happen. The horrified and scared facial expression of the young girl and her small arms held tightly and timidly into her chest makes the scene more frightening. The blood and dirt on the murderers hands show that he is a dangerous character who was harming other people as well as this victim just before. The setting shows that the murder is unexpected and that it is taking place at night. The picture is taken from a high angle and it is a mid shot as if the shot is through the eyes of the murderer. I also blurred the edges of the image to give the effect of the murderer being confused or in a state of madness or panic. There is also little middle lighting as it is night. The lighting in the image isn't over powering or too bright so although image is clear and you can still see what is happening, it still has a scary look. The background is lighter than the knife  so that it is clear to see and it also exaggerates the darkness of the action. Although I believe that this photo is a successful horror still, the way it differs to what I pictured is that I would have liked the background to possilbly be slightly darker just to give it more of a scary effect.

Whilst trying to take the shot I didn't find it very much of a challenge to get myself and the people in the photo into position; her lying in bed allowed him to kneel over her and so I was able to stand over the both of them to take the shot.

Overall, I am pleased with my finished shot and believe that it is an effective horror still.

Review On Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a classic detective story known by all and possibly considered by some to be a cliché. However, the action twist given to the new film was very typical of Guy Richie; his ability to fuse action with comedy without losing the important characteristics of a detective genre made the film both refreshing and exciting.

The director's use of camera movement and music particularly stood out for me in this film. The folk music being played during fight scenes added his classic comedy throughout and the slow moving camera added the perfect tension-building moments whenever necessary, it also captured the excessive violence that make up an ideal Guy Richie masterpiece.

The well-known cast was the main ingredient to make this film a huge success. The star role, played by Robert Downey Jr , complimented Richie's classic film style and transformed Sherlock Holmes from an old, career-focused intellectual to a funny (and sometimes lazy) charmer who is a genius when it comes to solving a mystery. His side-kick, Dr John Watson, played by Jude Law also gave a great deal to the film. The two actors together became a brilliant comedy duo and made the character's relationship relatable but at the same time, absolutely hilarious.

Set in 1891 London, the plot revolves around the capture of a creepy serial killer and sorcerer Lord Blackwood (played by Mark Strong) after he mysteriously rises from the dead. Sherlock Holmes is called up once again to save London and along the way is reunited with a past fling with the glamorous criminal mastermind Irene Adler (played by Rachel McAdams).
This is a film that I enjoyed immensely; the exciting mix of a detective film with action and comedy, the dramatic victorian costumes, the phenomenal settings and most of all the opportunity for a sequel at the end of the film.

Exemplifying Camera Movements

Bird's Eye view


Also known as a "crane shot" or an "aerial", the bird's eye view shot it when the camera is filming directly above the subject, mainly showing the top of their heads.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPutHJ4qCss 


Crash Zoom


Like a whip pan shot, the camera movement is very rapid but instead of moving side to side, the camera closes in or moves away from the subject.
Example:
www.youtube.com/v/QlgLI0tW7lQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f


Panning Shot


This is a simple, commonly used shot where the framing moves from left to right, scanning the scene with no vertical movement. The camera is usually placed on a tripod and follows a moving subject which is kept in the frame's centre.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vpt9wq0KmU


Tracking Shot


This is a shot where the subject and the camera are parallel to each other. There is usually smooth movement alongside the subject. The tracking shot can sometimes be used interchangeably with:

• A zoom shot 
• A Track back/ track in 
• A dolly shot (trombone shot)
• A pull back shot

Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCG6CMFbPiI

Trombone Shot

The Tronbone shot (also known as a "Dolly zoom" or a "Reverse Tracking Shot") is the combination of a tracking shot and a zoom adding a hard ability for the viewer to keep focus on the image as a whole.
The camera is mounted on a track and a dolly and is moved towards of away from the subject in such a way to keep the subject the same size in the film throughout. During this zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion that the background appears to change size relative to the subject.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv41W6iyyGs

Whip Pan

This is a shot where the camera does a very fast movement to the side and the picture becomes blurred into a streak like pattern. Commonly used to show panic, frantic moves of action and passes of time.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snBax-TNmEc

Worms Eye View

The subject is filmed from directly below themselves to make the subject seem larger, taller and sometimes even powerful. This angle is a contrast to a high angle shot.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV0_TMLdeXA

Film information on Sherlock Holmes

Director - Guy Richie

Writers - Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham

Cast - Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes)

Dr John Watson (Jude Law)

Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams)

Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong)

Welcome to My Blog

This is the first post of my Media AS blog. On this blog I hope to record what I will learn during this course and what I intend to do for my film opening. this blog will represent all the hard work that I have put into my AS coursework.