Film Studies 2018 - Louie Summers

Micro features: Mis-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing, performance One way Andrea Arnold uses micro features to create meaning in wasp is through the use of cinematography, this is seen through Arnold's use of hand held camera which creates a shaky look and feel connoting chaos and instability in the family's lives, it can also be interpreted as giving a documentary style look a common trope of the British social realism genre, which grounds the short film in reality allowing the audience to better empathise with the characters. This is combined with the mis-en-scene of natural lighting from sunlight to street lamps to further cement a realistic look and feel, scenes are also shot on location in pubs and council housing another trope of British socio realism that adds to the realistic feel. Another use of mis en scene is to imply danger with pit bulls, motor ways and wasps with the kids in the same frame showing just how vulnerable they are in this dangerous world, the

Time code Micro feature Meaning created 1:30:00 - Scene in which Mia discovers Connors true identity Cinematography  -         Tracking with Mia (exclusively) shows her isolation – camera stops with her as if it’s a person or being followed -         Shallow depth of field -         Medium shot size -         Hand held -         Natural lighting dull -         Low angle shot / close up 1:31:37 -         Chiaroscuro -         POV whip pans -         Creates feeling of isolation and her being followed -         Shallow depth of field focuses viewers attention -         T -         T -         T -         Creates a feeling of claustrophobia like she’s trapped combined with narrow framing which she takes up most of -         Binary opposition, she is on threshold at this age, internal conflict, she is mostly consumed by darkness, only small crest of light remaining (lit

Time code Micro feature Meaning created 4:00 Metaphor of the horse She feels out of place like the horse – she cant break it free 7:05 Dull colour palette – muted colours – overcast sky in the council estate to connote misery Harsh surroundings, void of passion or joy 10:50 14:40 Cluttered room Council flat setting / framing (always in frame) Chaotic, lacking order or routine – very realistic setting This setting is always in frame even with hip hop/ dance in the background (her dreams and the current setting she’s in preventing her success) 26:00 26/29 (car ride) 30:25 32:15 38:43 43:00 46 Softer lighting   - orange hue -         Kuleshov effect Out of focus close up bright natural lighting close up of the two + heavy breathing frequently looking out windows gives the feeling she wants to escape sounds of the city – drilling – sirens – man yell

- Entertainment and art form  - Auteur - distinctive style - A lot of creative influence over the film e.g Wes Anderson  - Tim Burton as an Auteur - Gothic, surreal, colour, make up, chaotic busy sets, german expressionism (sets)  - Wes Anderson - limited colour, symmetrical, slow tracking shots,  - David Lynch - Twin Peaks  - Ida (2013)  - why use technique - directors intention  - cinematographically  Good fellas  Raging bull 

Colour Palette - enhance emotional aspect of film - guide the way a viewer should feel Three colour trilogy - unique colour palette for each film - colours of french flag - liberty, equality, fraternity - films based on and colours based on - anti trilogy, anti comedy - colour can set a tone for a scene - colour as symbolism - red for danger or passion - colour to show character - e.g Marie as purple showing how she feels like royalty - black and white films - focus on actors, political point, focus on message of film Framing and composition Quadrant system - split shot into four for aesthetic purposes or deeper meanings to carefully put things in frame - rule of thirds works same way Blocking - position of characters in the frame - used to make scene visually appealing or connote importance or meaning - Kurosawas films use blocking very effectively e.g focusing the attention on a character - how the characters move around the scene - can show dominance Lin

Sets Frit lang FW Murnau Tim Burton - Expressionist (German expressionism) - Naturalism Expressionism in film - Originated in Europe in the 1920's - Artistic genre seen as rejection of western conventions such as the wealth gap and capitalism - Depicted a widely distorted reality E.g Metropolis 1927, Fritz Lang - German Expressionist film critiquing western capitalism, depicting a surreal world where the working class literally live and work below the upper class who live in the glorious utopia above, built by the oppressed working class who work tirelessly. This is all seen through the love struck son of the architect of the utopia, who witnesses the injustices the working class endure. F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu 1922 - German Expressionist horror film and take on Dracula, extremely influential and just a tad anti semitic - heavy use of shadows to set gloomy and gothic mood Tim Burton - Uses german expressionism in his films in a modern way - He uses dark styl

- melo drama - exaggerated (hair spray)  - Naturalism - daily routine (a serious man)  - Realism  - Comedic                 Actors and their importance - expectations                        - over acting  The stars  - The real person  - The reel person  - The star's persona  The star image has four parts  - What the industry puts out  - What the media says  - What the star says or does  - What we say  Stars can mean different things to different people (so Sidney Poitier has a different relationship to black audiences and white audiences)  Overall stars might be considered 'Intertexual' - a cluster of meanings and parts, often referencing one another Stars might be considered  - As a deviant - stars life controlled by studio and there is little room for resistance  - As a cultural value/sign/fetish - stars are shifting signifiers; they reflect the time in which they work and their work becomes a sign reflected in soc

Music   Non - Diegetic - doesn't happen on screen - Voice over - Additional music/ soundtrack/ score - hyper real - exaggerated like a heartbeat Diegetic - within the diegesis of the film - Dialogue - Ambient sound scape - Background sound Diegesis - the films world Diegetic audience - an audience within a film Contrapuntal sound - music that clashes with the onscreen action, creating a particular effect on the audience Music - rhythm - instrumentation - harmonies - tone/key - major key = happy - minor key = sad - timbre = mood of piece (kind of) - whats the spectator response     - crescendo and diminuendo - Pitch - high or low - Dynamics - big/small     soft/harsh             - musical motif - short repeated pattern of music - leitmotif - a reoccuring theme throughout associated with a particular person or idea - voice over gives to much exposition - can help us to emphasise with a character e.g red in Shawshank - Thin Red Line uses voice ov

Editing techniques  The Kuleshov Effect - E.g shot of woman and baby, shot of man smiling = sympathetic man VS shot of woman sunbathing, shot of man smiling = creepy pervert man Apathy - lacking in emotion - negatives on society = less compassion and understanding, allowing more to suffer Rhythm and Pace   - old movies, film had to be cut so more long takes where used - 'Three colours red' - slow pacing - the camera creeps through the scene as the protagonist does - 'Taken 3' - very fast choppy editing - can't really see whats happening - Birdmans minimal editing - very few cuts - shot to look like one long shot - Ropes - Alfred Hitchcock - montages - a lot of cuts - passing of time - Breaking bad prison killings sequence - montages can have music and no dialogue Graphic Matching - and dissolves - Strong visual similarities between shots making a link between the two images/scenes/ideas - A space.... 2001 - bone vs space ship - Lawrence of A