Sunday, 28 September 2014

Camera uses Bubbl.us LO1

This is a Bubbl.us diagram for the different camera uses

This fulfils LO1

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Narrative Structures bubbl.us LO1

This is the bubbl.us mindmap for Kate Domaille's eight narrative structures and Todorov's narrative theory


Friday, 19 September 2014

Analysis of Audio Visual Promos LO1

In today's lesson:
1. I will complete the Mise en Scene analysis of my 5 chosen examples of music videos OR film trailers that I want to pastiche.
2. This will enable me to complete section C and D for LO1: Understand audio visual promos.

This fulfils LO1

Friday, 12 September 2014

Mise en Scene analysis LO1

In today's lesson I will be analysing my five choices for Film trailers in terms of Mise en Scene, what certain aspects denote, and connote.

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Research of Audio Visual Promos LO1

In today’s lesson:
  1. I will embed  examples of music videos OR film trailers that I want to pastiche.
  2. I will complete section a,b,e as part of Learning Outcome one (Understand audio-visual promos) to be developed further into a written textual analysis/presentation/commentary over audio visual content
This fulfils L01

Introduction for all trailers:
All audio visual products are mediated to create a preferred reading (Stuart Hall 1980) to the viewer. This means they are encoded with certain aspects to make the movie appeal to a certain demographic, which can be through the use of stereotypes, common conventions, Mise En Scene, etc.

1. Kill Bill Volume 1; (2003); Movie Trailer; directed by Quentin TARANTINO; USA; Miramax Films, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ot6C1ZKyiME



A: Purpose: The purpose of the Kill Bill volume 1 trailer is to engage and entertain the audience. All Audio Visual products are encoded to have a set purpose (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience, and Kill Bill Volume 1's trailer does this with quick scenes, quick action and its soundtrack.

B: Form: The form of this Audio Visual product is a film trailer for Kill Bill Volume 1 (and some Volume 2) because it is non linear and only consists of clips from the movies it is advertising.

C and D: Content and Meaning:

Mise en Scene

Locations: Kill Bill goes from location to location throughout both the movie and trailer, however there is three types of places found in the move. There are modern day elements  encoded in the movie from places such as a modern household, airport and hospital like at 0:36 to 0:45 which connotes to the audience can know it's set in the modern day. The movie has Asian settings denoted at 1:22 to 2:15 where the bride both fights a Yakuza in a big Japanese house which connotes tribute to the Japanese Samurai movie conventions which Kill Bill uses a lot. Lastly there are also moments of more Western areas such as Deserts and a completely wooden Church at 0:27 in the trailer to convey some of the Western tropes also found in Kill Bill, however this trailer doesn't present as many as Volume 2, at that was more focused on such tropes.

Costumes and Makeup: Costumes are about how the characters are. The scenes set at Japan (best example of this is 1:33 onwards) denotes the Bride generally wearing Yellow and Black clothing which could be because of them being the colours of Hazard tape, creating the connotation of the Bride into a somewhat Hazardous character. The reason why I believe this to be the case is of how many people the Bride fights and the reactions people like the character at 1:53 have towards her. At the scene at 0:15, it's denoted that the other Assassins are wearing Turtle Necks at 0:15 to connote that they're under some kind of organised group as the turtle neck stereotypically gives off Spy-like qualities as you would expect in a Spy movie such as the 007 series to see James Bond wearing a turtle neck. Lucy Liu's character (O-Ren-Ishi) at 1:22 onwards wears thick white kimono to connote she's a very confident stereotypical Samurai inspired character as you would expect in other media to see a stereotypical Samurai wear a Kimono. The scene at 2:01 denotes Yakuza thugs all wearing the same suits and masks to signify they aren't important enough to be represented as their own individual characters but rather just people for The Bride to kill to represent her power. Gogo Yubari (1:38) has a Japanese school girl outfit which can be used to represent cuteness as stereotypically in Japanese anime type programme you would see a cutely drawn girl in a school girl outfit, yet her violent actions are to contrast them and create a somewhat ironic character who is incredibly violent for a comedic effect. The best evidence to support Tarantino may have taken the outfit from anime is (aside from the fact the scene is set in Japan) in the movie O-Ren-Ishi's backstory is told in anime-like animation. Lastly at 0:51 which denotes The Bride and Vernita Green fighting in the Kitchen, fairly normal every day outfits are applied to signify these are not just Assassins or Ex Assassins, but rather real people, creating somewhat of a Verisimilitude feel to the Kitchen scene. Not a lot of Makeup is used to too much of an extreme as a focus Tarantino had for Kill Bill for the females to not be the typical fashionable kind of characters but rather for them to be like Warriors, so while there is makeup used on characters such as Vernita Green and O-Ren-Ishi during their fight scenes, it's never to the point of them looking like they're always on a magazine cover. In fact the time where a lot of Makeup is used on the Assassins is when they're all towering over the Bride at 0:20 as if to say the attempted killing of The Bride was some kind of special event for these assassins which meant the characters wanted to look their best. Despite the lack of too much makeup and how the women are known highly trained Assassins, these females are still made to look attractive to the male demographic. While the "Male Gaze" (Laura Mulvey 1975) is challenged by the violence, these characters are still made to attract as well as act their warrior-like roles as popular stars who males found attractive at the time such as Lucy Liu who was known for Charlie's Angels who was considered really attractive around the early 2000s, Vivica A. Fox (She play Vernita Green) was known for Independence day and was also known for being attractive, and Uma Thurman from a lot of other Tarantino movies such as Pulp Fiction plays the protagonist of the movie who may have been attractive to people around the time.

Props: Since the trailer is mostly focused on Volume 1 which paid more tribute to Japanese cinema than western (which was what Volume 2 capitalised on), most of the props used in this trailer are of various Samurai Swords, one of which was used to be chopped into pieces as seen at 1:53 to connote weakness in both the sword and character. A weapon used by Gogo Yubari was actually a Chinese weapon known as the meteor hammer, which is most likely there for the fact that Lucy Liu's character is actually half Chinese and Tarantino wanted to pay respects to more of the Eastern world than Japan alone. Other props include kitchen knives and frying pans when The Bride and Vernita Green are fighting to capitalise that these Assassins are capable with any kind of weapons they could use, making them seem a lot more experienced in this kind of action than you might expect.

Lighting and colours: The lighting and colours vary from different scenes. Flashback scenes such as the wedding are in black and white to connote it was a very colourless and depressing scene, while flashbacks like The Bride's training are denoted in a washed out tone to emulate the look of an old Camera that would be used to record Japanese movies. Other than that though the lighting isn't used to too much of an effect as it's focussed on making the characters and action easy to see, which works well.

Gestures: Gestures are incredibly exaggerated in Kill Bill's trailer in attempt to make for some great action scenes and to entertain the audience as much as possible. The Bride's trainer does a huge flip in slow motion to give an impact to how agile he may be at 1:28, which is something The Bride had learned to do as she does a similar slow motion flip at 1:45. Other actions to connotes the skill of these Assassins include O-Ren-Ishi's sudden change from happiness to being alerted in which she throws a dart through a wall at 0:17, Elle Driver's somewhat bossy and annoyed Nurse walk at 0:45 to signify she is in great need of doing something violent, and O-Ren-Ishi's confident taking out of her blade at 0:46 to connote she's more than happy to fight with it are examples of this. One thing to note is that Vernita Green's actions aren't too exaggerated in comparison to some other scenes in the trailer to add to that very slight Verisimilitude feeling to an even greater degree.  Also The Bride herself when not fighting is a lot slower and calmer in what she says and how she reacts to certain events like Gogo Yubari's Meteor Hammer dropping to the floor (1:37) to push the Bride has no fear of the weapon but rather she sees it as an impressive tool that the person holding it isn't good enough to use, thanks to the condescending way she smiles and goes "hmm".

Narrative structure 
The narrative structure is actually quite different to the movie. The movie itself is non-linear in style which is unlike a lot of typical movies, yet funnily enough the trailer is more linear through the use of the Todorov narrative structure as it presents the equilibrium from the beginning of The Bride with the assassins and her getting married (0:00 to 0:28, scenes set after the enigma are denoted here but the narration sets them in a way where they could be used in the context of the equilibrium), until the distortion is denoted where everybody is shot down at 0:29, with the rest of the trailer being the way the Bride resolves this issue by fighting and hunting down the assassins (everything after 0:41). In terms of Kate Domaille's Narrative theory, Kill Bill uses a combination of the Orpheus narrative type as The Bride loses her husband and unborn child, alongside Candide where The Bride is an unstoppable hero who isn't put down but deals with some kind of hardship at some point, case in point her training at 1:28.

Camera Work:

Camera shots: Many camera shot types are denoted in the Kill Bill trailer, but the most common one used is the midshot. Midshots denote both the facial expressions of a character, their costumes (something taken advantage of in the movie) but most importantly their gestures as this is an action movie so having gestures clear is a very important thing to have with the trailer. An example of midshots is at 0:56 which is not only a midshot but also a twoshot as both of these characters are fighting and dodging each other's weapons meaning both of them being present in the frame is important. The use of close ups is also common in the trailer for Kill Bill as the characters in the movie are a pretty big focus since The Bride hunts them down one by one, alongside the facial expressions the Bride may need. Examples of close ups include the shot of Bill found at 0:23 allowing the audience to know the character since a close up connotes significance, the shot of O-Ren-Ishi at 1:36, and a close up of the Bride waking up at 0:38 since her reaction is significant. Lastly there is an extreme close up of the meteor hammer at 1:50 to connote the deadly nature of the weapon and make sure it is a big focus for the audience since the power of the weapon is what drives the scene.

Camera angles: Kill Bill uses many different camera techniques and camera angles are no exception. At 0:11 a low angle is used. Usually a low angle connotes power to the person who looks big, and while this rule could be applied as Gogo Yubari is in power at this scene and she looks the biggest, this is used to denote the Bride hiding within the ceiling while Yubari has no idea of it, which could also connote power to The Bride. A low angle is also denoted for multiple purposes at 0:14 as the typical power usage of a low angle can be applied since the assassins are in power, there's also the context of The Bride near dead on the ground looking up at them. This also applies to high angles since at 1:37, Yubari is denoted above The Bride connoting the Bride seeming weaker and more insignificant in comparison to Yubari. High angles are also used for stunt purposes since the scene at 1:45 denotes The Bride doing some kind of flip in the air in slow motion putting emphasis on the flip which adds an aspirational element to the character - this is one of the uses of camera angles which does not use power in an expected fashion (low for power, high for weak). Canted angles are denoted in the trailer but not for the use of a distorted scene but rather to have an alternate take on the Bride's flips, as if the camera is trying to be flipped alongside The Bride. These are incredibly quick and short instances of the canted angle but an example would be at 1:46 giving a new way of viewing a flip.

Camera focus: Camera focus is used in just as any movie in general. A shallow depth of field is denoted when a character or object is the main point of the frame while a deep depth of field is when the background is the most significant part. For moments when depth of field is unnecessary since everything is important, no depth of field is used. An example of a shallow depth of field is the shot of Bill found at 0:23 as he is without a doubt the most important part of the frame and the background is not in focus. There is also 0:41 to 0:44 where all the frames denote a shallow depth of field as that is just what is important to the audience. An example of a deep depth of field is denoted at 1:23 where while the weapon crafter is in front of The Bride, he is out of focus since what is said by The Bride is more important for the scene.

Camera movement: With Kill Bill being an action movie driven by a lot of motion, Camera movement is denoted for an added feeling of motion for the audience as whatever the camera sees, the audience also sees, mainly using tracking shots. This can vary from being obvious to being more subtle. One of the slightly more subtle uses of a  tracking shot is found at 0:09 which denotes The Bride walking and the camera follows her. This connotes added motion and that the audience is following The Bride on her journey, also because a pan or any other movement would not seem as forward moving as the tracking shot. This kind of tracking shot is found at 0:40 to connote the same purpose as it denotes The Bride in a wheelchair; this could also connote the hardships of The Bride's journey which she overcomes. Tracking shots can also be used for action purposes thanks to the scene at 0:58 has the denotation of The Bride and Vernita Green fighting with kitchen equipment follows the two as they move which can connote some adrenaline to the audience, alongside the throwing axe denoted at 2:03 allowing for the impact of whether the axe hits someone or not to take place. However they're not all tracking shots as the scene denoted at 2:23 has a tilt movement of The Bride from the bottom of her legs connoting she is a very metaphorically big character due to the way the camera makes her appear very big, and if follows the sword right until it is held forward by her.

Editing: The trailer for Kill Bill takes advantage of many different editing techniques as Kill Bill is a movie which relies on its specific style and the use of editing techniques help elevate that. Throughout the trailer the use of simple cuts are found as the movie this trailer is advertising is about quick, high impact action so quick cuts connote that speed as anything else may slow things down (denoted at 0:46 to 0:55). However there is also the use of jumpcuts in the trailer timed in with the movie's action as found denoted at 0:57 to 1:01 which creates spectacle through how many different cuts and angles there are, alongside how quickly they're compressed together all in a way which makes sense for the scene to not look overdone. Transitions are also used in this trailer but in inconsistent ways. Denoted at 0:20 are quick fades to white which connotes a camera taking a photograph with the flash on as white is the colour a camera flashes, the characters being shown here are very important so this camera assumption makes sense, and the sound effect of a camera taking a picture. VFX used in Kill Bill mainly consist of coloured filters such as black and white on scenes such as The Bride's wedding denoted at 0:27 to connote it's a very dull moody scene, and the washed out colours found at 1:28 which signify the scene is to emulate older samurai movies as a VHS movie or old camera would appear like this. Slow motion is also used in this trailer at 1:45 as slow motion can allow the audience to see what they wouldn't without slow motion, and it can look appealing to people if the shot is good.

Sound: Kill Bill uses non-digetic sound because it is an action movie so things such as music and over-the-top sound effects are denoted throughout the trailer for the connotation of a big impact. Digetic sound is found within the movie's world which includes dialogue and realistic sound effects.

E: Genre: Kill Bill is an all-round Action movie. Non linear editing is done in the movie but not used as much as say Pulp Fiction does it but rather for Flashback Purposes. The movie also has a focus on blending the best aspects of Japanese Samurai movies in terms of its over the top fighting scenes and  specific Camera angles & techniques (in the movie there's a scene where The Bride's trainer's face is zoomed in and out like those styles of movies) with the style of settings and characters you may get in a Spaghetti Western movie such as Bill and Budd. The Soundtrack also helps capture this as Japanese Samurai style melodies are used in combination with Old West instruments. The movies are at times more style over substance but Volume 1 is more action packed while Volume 2 is more about the Bride as a character, and how she develops.

F. Intended Audience: Kill Bill in term of audience appeals to the age demographic of 18 and above thanks to the age rating given for it has an incredibly large amount of violence encoded into the movie that may be considered unsuitable for ages under 18. As for gender, Kill Bill appeals to both sexes thanks to the high amount of action and violence that would appeal to the male demographic as power is a theme commonly associated with males; while females may enjoy Kill Bill for the female dominant cast, alongside the representation of females as more than side characters for males, but rather actual warriors who can be fully independent. ABC1 audience with a disposable income.

2. The Shawshank Redemption; (1994); Movie Trailer; directed by Frank DARABONT; USA; Columbia Pictures; available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmzuHjWmXOc



A. Purpose: The purpose of the Shawshank Redemption trailer is to engage the audience. All Audio Visual products are encoded to have a set purpose (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience, and The Shawshank Redemption's trailer does this with the main plot of the movie, showing the characters which may appeal interesting and its central theme of hope.

B. Form: The form of this Audio Visual product is a film trailer for The Shawshank Redemption because it is non linear and only consists of clips from the movie it is advertising.

C and D. Content and Meaning:


Mise en Scene

Locations: All locations in the Shawshank Redemption are to create verisimilitude. The movie is set from the 1940s to the 1960s so areas in this movie are meant to appear as so.  The Shawshank Redemption's main location is obviously Shawshank State Penitentiary which has the most put into how it looks. Like a stereotypical jail, there are rarely any windows in Shawshank, a dull grey covers it completely, and there is a very dirty and gritty feel to it when indoors which could be because of that being the location where the unpleasant events of the movie happen, best proof of this is 0:37 to 0:45. However Shawshank outdoors appears to be much friendlier on the eyes with wider open spaces, a slight touch of colour overall as that's when Andy meets Red properly. Other locations use purely natural areas as they are to serve the meaning of hope in the movie since as soon as Andy mentions hope at 1:17 it is followed by a scenic view of the ocean to make the audience connect outdoor environments out of Shawshank towards hope and positivity.

Costumes and makeup: The Shawshank Redemption is meant as a movie that creates verisimilitude; characters aren't supposed to look their best since it wouldn't make much sense for the setting. Outfits don't look distinct at all because a muddy mix between grey and green is all you will see prisoners wearing as their uniform which helps to convey the miserable tone of prison. Non prisoners however wear suits and ties to connote they are at a much higher rank and power than the prisoners as the suit and tie can be used to represent how smart, wise and higher power one is. Proof they act like they're of higher power is how prisoners are taught rules by the man at 0:43, the controlling way the man at 1:24 demands Andy's in his cell gives him the persona of a man in charge, and his suit and tie helps the audience connect a difference between prisoner and ones in control. There is only one female in the trailer who is denoted at 0:09 which, while dressed attractively, isn't meant to appeal to the male demographic with the "Male Gaze" (Laura Mulvey 1975) as she is very soon killed off and shown in shadow. The reason she is there is for the plot of Andy being framed for her killing to pursue.

Props: Props of Shawshank Redemption all are meant to create verisimilitude as the locations are all set in the 1940s to 1960s. This means props look really authentic such as the gun Andy allegedly "killed" two people with that you see at 0:13 which almost looks lifelike, even capable enough to be reloaded. Another significant prop is also a gun but in this case multiple tommy guns are used to guard the prison which actually adds a big sense of threat to living in Shawshank as if you do anything wrong you could simply get shot. Lastly one of the most surprisingly significant props is Red's glove and balls as it teaches us Shawshank isn't all misery when outdoors, it's one of the moments where Red and Andy got to really know each other, it gives off a sense of hope and happiness to the movie as playing a game is a complete contrast to what goes on inside Shawshank's building.

Lighting and colours: Inside Shawshank's building uses low key lighting a lot. There are a big lack of windows and natural light, and it helps to keep threats like the characters you barely see at 0:41 in the shadows have a sense of mystery to them. However outdoors for the most part use high key lighting as the outdoors can represent freedom as most of the outdoor scenes are positive and have hope to them. However one outdoor location at 1:51 uses low key lighting and the colour blue to create a dark cold feeling to  the scene as it's one of the signature emotional scenes in movie as it is used on posters (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/ShawshankRedemptionMoviePoster.jpg), and also the use of rain to set the scene is pathetic fallacy.

Gestures: Gestures in the Shawshank Redemption aren't exaggerated but they do help convey the character's personalities very clearly without being ridiculous or overdramatic. Andy is an afraid quiet man who rarely moves throughout the whole trailer but rather uses his faces and language for his personality. Though the rain shot at 1:51 is a contrast as Andy is far more expressive than ever connoting this is after some kind of scene where Andy experiences a big problem or trauma or negative event of some kind. Red is a man who was arrested many, many years ago, doesn't care as much as he once did and now accepts he is in Shawshank. This means the way he catches and throws balls at 0:50 is done in a casual and confident way to say he may have done this plenty of times and the way he raises his spoon to point out what Andy's saying signifies he just knows how to respond to Andy thanks to his facial expression and literal pointing out with the spoon.

Narrative structure 
The narrative structure of the trailer in terms of Todorov's narrative structure theory does not follow a straight plot. It begins with the enigma from the start, the character of Andy is at court for the crime not committed at 0:00 to 0:30, Andy and the audience find out how harsh Shawshank as a place is such as scenes like at 0:36 and 0:41, and how we're told about hope implying Shawshank requires hope to be bearable (1:17). No hint of the repairing of the enigma in the trailer as that's at the end of the movie which would spoil the whole thing, however the trailer does present the ups and downs of the prison with the friendship contrasting the beating and such. Out of the 8 narrative types by Kate Domaille, The Shawshank Redemption is a combination of Orpheus as Andy loses his free will due to being arrested for the crime he did not commit, and Cinderella for his dream of leaving Shawshank is a common theme in the trailer.

Camera Work:

Camera shots: The Shawshank Redemption is meant as a character based movie through the majority of the trailer being the conversations between characters. To help benefit this theme, facial expressions and subtle gestures are important so the use of medium close ups are denoted many times throughout the trailer (Examples being 0:07, 0:40, 0:57 and especially 1:13 to 1:18). This benefits the importance of the characters in the movie as the medium close up connotes emotion with the facial expression. Another shot (found at 0:47) is a tracking shot towards a guard with a tommy gun which smoothly transitions to an over the shoulder view of Shawshank with the gun still in view connoting the sense of threat in Shawshank Prison found in the movie.

Camera angles: The Shawshank Redemption's trailer make use of power and weakness through the angles. The scene at 0:33 denotes an incredibly high angle used over Shawshank State Penitentiary which makes the prisoners appear ant like, connoting their insignificance compared to the big picture, which is again used at 0:48 but on a lesser scale.  At 1:29, a subtle low angle is encoded when the guard is the most significant part of the scene connoting the power and importance of this guard, which is significant in comparison to the prisoners. Lastly the contrast of angles in especially executed well from 1:46 to 1:55 where it denotes Andy at a tree with a low angle used connoting the significance of Andy reaching the tree as it makes the journey seem large, but then it is followed by a high angle shot of Andy in the rain which connotes he isn't significant in this scene thanks to the camera (which will be the audience's point of view) looking down on Andy like he doesn't matter.

Camera focus: The trailer mostly has scenes which denote shallow depth of field. This is important as The Shawshank Redemption is a character driven film which works to effect as characters appear even more significant in comparison to the rest (example being 0:57). However the use of a deep depth of field is encoded as well for scenes such as 1:01 has Red out of focus with the background and Andy being in focus connoting Morgan Freeman has some slight relevance to be there  but Andy and his reactions to his surroundings is the main point of the scene. However there are scenes denoted where no depth of field is used at all connoting everything on the frame is relevant for the narrative, these moments can be viewed at 1:46, 0:30 and 1:24.

Camera movement: The trailer for The Shawshank Redemption denotes more subtle camera movement in comparison to some other movie trailers. For the most part there isn't any at all through the trailer as this isn't an action movie where events are happening around leading to camera movement being necessary, rather The Shawshank Redemption is all about the characters which would look melodramatic if camera movement was used while speaking. However camera movement is used in the scenes that denote the appearance of Shawshank where tracking shots are used, these scenes include 0:30 and 0:47. The connotation of this is to make the audience realise the size of Shawshank Prison, and the threat of being in its walls. Another use of tracking shots is when the guard is looking for Andy at 1:24. Why this is used is so the audience sees his facial expression as he looks for Andy, so if the camera didn't move then he would walk right through the camera. This could also be used, intentional or not, to create a sense of power to the guard as even the cameramen want to stay away from him. Lastly Tracking shots are used once again for all outdoor environments aside from Shawshank provoking a sense of freedom.

Editing: For the most part, The Shawshank Redemption only uses simple cuts and jumpcuts. Examples of simple cuts include 0:00 to 0:15 where the cuts go from a flashback to the crime Andy is getting blamed for, to the gun that the court believes he used. Another example of a simple cut is during 0:45 when it goes straight from a shot of Andy and two other prisoners to the view of the prison itself. These cuts are used to elevate the trailer is a moderate pace, and do not require fades. Fades are also used in this trailer however, as the scene at 1:45 which fades from black which connotes an introduction to a scene, but then a dissolve is used at 1:50 to signify a slow gradual change to the complete opposite of the shot before.

Sound: Non-digetic sound found in the Shawshank Redemption is the score denoted in the background which connotes hopeful emotions since The Shawshank Redemption is a movie about hope. Digetic sound is what is in the film's world and this will include dialogue and sound effects.

E. Genre: The Shawshank Redemption is a Drama about a man called Andy (Tim Robbins) who is arrested for a murder he didn't commit for the rest of his life where he meets friends, learns about the prison life and how terrible it can be, alongside other things. The main focus on the movie is friendship as the movie mainly focuses on Andy's relationship with Red (Morgan Freeman).

F. Intended Audience: The Shawshank Redemption is a movie that appeals to a large audience but not a mass audience. When it comes to age demographic this is a movie intended for teenagers and adults as the age rating for the movie is 15. The movie has dark things like murder, rape and suicide but not to a big extreme. When it comes to gender while the movie has an almost male only cast, this is a movie that can appeal to both genders as hope is a common theme for everyone, which is what The Shawshank Redemption includes. ABC1 audience with a disposable income.

3. Airplane; (1980); Movie Trailer; Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker; USA; Paramount Pictures; available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07pPmCfKi3U


A. Purpose: The purpose of the Airplane trailer is to entertain the audience. All Audio Visual products are encoded to have a set purpose (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience, and Airplane's trailer does this with the use of many of the movie's jokes, its quirky way of presenting itself and some of the movie tropes that are parodied here.

B. Form: The form of this Audio Visual product is a film trailer for Airplane because it is non linear and only consists of clips from the movie it is advertising..

C and D. Content and meaning:

Mise en Scene

Locations: Airplane takes place in multiple locations but mostly (obviously) an Airplane. It's meant to look like an authentic 1980s Airplane as much as possible to create an impact when certain jokes and characters are added, making them seem even more out of place. Other locations include the Airport which is also used to look authentic, a beach which is covered in rough seas and seaweed which connotes a joke of a romantic kiss there being interrupted by the weather and a dance floor to make a joke about how cartoony and out of place those shirt swings look with a cartoon sound effect.

Costumes and makeup: Costumes and make up varies from person to person. Exaggerated outfits on people aren't the focus but rather how they act. Airplane's odd people are meant to trick the audience by them looking like regular people you could find in a non comedic movie with basic clothing like suits and ties with basic colours such as black, brown and grey, with not too much exaggeration. But instead the audience find out that they act more like Cartoon characters, connoting a sense of irony. Costumes and makeup can also be used for humour such as at 2:07 where the Captain takes off his sunglasses only to another pair of sunglasses which connotes humour through the unexpected twist of him wearing another pair underneath, alongside the use of the woman putting on her makeup while the Airplane deals with intense movement at 2:59 which causes it to go all over her face in a comedic way. However Makeup isn't used comically for the character denoted at 3:07 wears makeup to look attractive for people at the time which works for the "Male Gaze" (1975, Laura Mulvey).

Props: Airplane is a comedy that uses a lot of visual gags, so naturally a lot of props are used for a comedic effect. Such props include a heart that's about to be transplanted jumping up and down at 0:52 to subvert the expectation of the heart being in a very safe and controlled condition so a transplant isn't unsafe, the various weapons to be used to calm the panicked woman out which connotes irony due to the fact the people queuing up towards her should be considered more crazy as a result found at 2:50 and the acoustic guitar the woman uses to sing to the ill child at 1:17 benefiting the joke of putting the child in a large risk accidentally while singing about her.

Lighting and colours: The colours and lighting in Airplane is nothing to write home about to put it simply. The lighting varies from more low key lighting at 2:20 to natural lighting at 1:09. Lighting as a whole was not a focus for this movie as it's never used for a joke or to help capture any plot details. It just serves its job to make everything visible to the audience and nothing more. The same goes with colours. Since Airplane was produced in the early 1980s, colours of buildings, airplanes and almost everything varied from brown to beige to grey - Airplane does the same as the locations and people are supposed to create Verisimilitude but the way they act are meant to be uncanny.

Gestures: Gestures are where Airplane shines as it elevates a big chunk of its comedy. One example of this is how at 1:17 while singing and playing a song to an ill girl on her guitar, the Airplane assistant swings the guitar popping out the girl's tube which makes her have to try and get the attention of the singer or her mother in a currently crippled and almost helpless position for dark humour. Another example of gestures is how at 2:18, after hearing the plane is probably going to crash, the people on the plane act really melodramatic and moving to emulate humour in fear. Last example of this is at 3:09 where after being told to do crash positions (which in reality would be Brace positions), the passengers of the plane look as how they would if the plane actually crashed, which would be lying down all over the place.

Narrative structure 
In terms of Todorov, the trailer for Airplane has no narrative structure at all as clips from different parts around the movie are placed together in the trailer's category style. This is because Airplane is a comedy so to interest people enough to watch the movie they need to present a lot of the movie's jokes rather than lay the details of the plot. All that is known is that at some point in the movie the plane will be about to crash. Out of the 8 Narrative types from Kate Domaille's theory, Airplane fits under Achilles for Ted Striker is an ex fighter pilot but after getting traumatised by a war and losing his girlfriend, his character changes completely into someone more upset than confident. Also this movie fits under Romeo and Juliet as it has the love story of Striker and Elaine through the use of flashbacks to see how they are and that the plot ends up bringing them together in the end.

Camera Work:

Camera shots: The trailer for Airplane denotes many different camera shots for the purpose of its jokes. For jokes that are vocal such as the "don't call me Shirley" joke (which appears at 2:20) there is the use of a close up as gestures aren't used for the purpose of that joke. When jokes combine gestures and vocal humour a medium close up is used (such as the one denoted at 2:09, in fact that one also uses and over the shoulder view which denotes to the audience that the person the Captain is talking to has no reaction to the sunglasses). When a joke includes all of the people on the Airplane itself a crowd shot will be used as each of their reactions is important to make the joke funny (2:18 and 3:09 include this). To parody Jaws there's an establishing shot used between each category to appear like the plane is a shark and the clouds are the ocean (such as 1:05). Lastly at 1:51 there is a joke that uses a twoshot which creates the connotation that both characters are important as they are both in the same scene as each other.

Camera angles: Like the camera shots, camera angles for the Airplane trailer are used for the purpose of the joke, however angles aren't encoded to as much an extent as shot types. At 2:57 both a high angle and a canted angle is used for it simulates the plane rotating vigorously and it connotes how unimportant each of the people appear to be in this area for the humour of seeing people move around with no emotion like a rag doll. A canted angle denoted at 3:02 is also implemented as the plane is still rotated and it gives the Plane assistant an excuse to smack the food into the passenger for the purpose of the joke. Otherwise camera angles are always consistent.

Camera focus: Camera focus is never used for humour as there isn't much room for humour there, rather Focusing is used just like in any other movie. At scenes such as the one denoted at 3:04 you can see a shallow depth of field to make sure that Ted Striker is in focus. The majority of the shots don't use any depth of field.

Camera movement: Camera movement isn't encoded into the trailer for Airplane to a large point. Most scenes in this trailer do not use Camera movement. However, the scene at 2:27 after zooming out from the woman's face uses a pan towards the line of people waiting to "calm" her down which is done so the line is a surprise. There is also the zoom found at 0:26 which connotes the plane coming closer and closer.

Editing: The trailer for Airplane does not use many editing techniques, at least not for the raw footage. Simple cuts are used throughout the trailer as this is a trailer to highlight the movie's jokes into categories (so simple cuts are effective, can be found at 0:28 which cuts to the building with the plane crashing, and the cut from the text "DANCING" to the dance scene a 1:25 show this). Jump cuts are also used as at 1:01 to 1:04 you can see the cut to the same fight but in a different shot for the joke of the men lifting their drinks to avoid spillage. The text however uses some more editing techniques and it can have a horizontal curtain wipe (0:18), a wipe (0:37), and zooms.

Sound: Non-digetic sound found in Airplane's trailer is the score denoted in the background which connotes that Airplane is an exaggerated movie thanks to the over-the-top music placed over the events in the movie, alongside the cartoony sound effects found for a comedic effect. Digetic sound is what is in the film's world and this will include dialogue and realistic sound effects.

E. Genre: Airplane is a a comedy movie which uses a lot of visual gags such as the heart bopping up and down at 0:41 and the ridiculous amount of sweat at 3:04. The movie also parodies some of the clichés you would come to expect in movies in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. Some of these clichés are still commonly used to this day so it makes Airplane an almost timeless movie. The visual gags are still as comedic as ever.

F. Intended Audience: Airplane appeals to a wide range of people. In terms of age demographic, Airplane can appeal to children and adults as it uses a lot of slapstick and visual gags which don't require specific knowledge about things which may alienate a specific age group, alongside the jokes are generally friendly for anyone. However the only time where more adult themes is used in the trailer is denoted at 1:42 that has a paedophile pilot used for comedy, which may alienate younger people due to this being an overall tone shift. The movie itself is rated 12A meaning everyone can see it but those who are under 12 need to be accompanied by an adult. As for gender representation there isn't anything males or females may enjoy over the other gender, however usually comedy movies have some more male viewers than female. ABC1 audience with a disposable income.


4. A Clockwork Orange; (1971); Movie Trailer; directed by Stanley Kubrick; UK; Warner Bros, Hawk Films; available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN-1Mup0UI0


A. Purpose: The purpose of the A Clockwork Orange trailer is to engage and inform the message of the movie to the audience. All Audio Visual products are encoded to have a set purpose (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience, and A Clockwork Orange's trailer does this with mysterious clips of the movie out of context making the audience raise a lot of questions.

B. Form: The form of this Audio Visual product is a film trailer for A Clockwork Orange 40th Anniversary edition  because it is non linear and only consists of clips from the movie and Blu Ray it is advertising.

C and D. Content and meaning:

Mise en Scene

Locations: A Clockwork Orange is a movie set in a dystopian future London, yet its locations aren't exactly exaggerated to look (at the time of release at least) futuristic. Outdoor locations in particular look the same as how they would look in the 1970s or even today, however the indoor designs are what make A Clockwork Orange's locations get a chance to look different and unique. The Korova Milk Bar looks nothing like you would expect a bar to look like as the walls are completely black with white writing in a somewhat funky looking font with furniture in the shape of women which presents this Milk Bar isn't a very pleasant place, signifying the fact the time here is dystopian. The women statues, while completely naked, are in an ironic way challenging the "Male Gaze" (1975) as instead of being made to appear attractive, these statues are set up in a way where they're so perverted, they are disgusting. Not only that, but the fact they are made to appeal to a gang of criminals which means theses statues are used to represent the perverted nature of some people in a negative way more than anything. Another location is Alex's bedroom which is designed with clean and slick colours, sharp edges and spotlights for lighting capturing the sleek and clean style people generally imagine the future to hold. The last location to present these designs is at 0:53 (you may need to pause the video to really look into it) which has golden metals around a what appears to be circular room which is unlike the types of interior design you would come to expect in the early 70s which, again, captures that this movie is set in some kind of future.

Costumes and makeup: Definitely one of A Clockwork Orange's most creative aspects when it comes to how the movie looks is the costume and makeup design for the Droog gang. Stanley Kubrick knew that fashion was a large aspect of development in society so using the futuristic setting as a reason, Kubrick got to be as creative as much as he could in what the characters wear. The Droog gang outfit is almost completely white with trousers tucked into black shoes, beige overall and underwear over the white outfit and different shaped but all black coloured hats on top. This outfit is to make the Droogs stand out as the violent gang they are through the somewhat perverted way underwear is emphasised, the hats they wear which adds a playful aspect to them sort of like the Mad Hatter or a magician type character, and the colour white to stand for that clean and clear aspect to the future the movie is set in. Also Alex in particular has thick black eye lashes at 0:29 to capture an animalistic sense to the character.

Props: Significant Props in A Clockwork Orange include the glasses of Milk at 0:16 as the Milk contains drugs that make the Droogs stronger for violence (leading to the plot of the movie). Other props include Alex's stick to beat people including his own Droogs, and the lid locks at 1:27 which is meant to create the connotation of an unsettling feel towards the audience as Alex is forced to watch something in terror, becoming a big part of A Clockwork Orange's plot.

Lighting and colours: A Clockwork Orange takes advantage of different colours and lighting to a large degree. It's not meant to be a pleasant or Aspirational movie, rather it is based off a dystopia, so low key lighting and dull natural colours are a plenty. My personal favourite use of lighting is at 0:06 where the Droogs' shadows completely tower over the scene as these big and threatening people in this cold dark area. Why I get the idea of a cold temperature is the use of the colour blue which is used very often to relate to cold temperatures, making the audience not only know the sound and look of the area, but also give off the temperature through the use of colour. As I mentioned in the movie's locations, indoor designs use colours such as whites and light greys to look sleek for the futuristic setting, and that especially in Alex's bedroom at 1:08 , the spotlights make up the rooms lighting to a warm looking effect where the lighting is quite high key to contrast a lot of outdoor environments you see in the trailer, making the audience see this is Alex's safe haven sort of place in the movie.

Gestures: Since the movie has Alex as the main focus alongside the fact he is the movie's anti hero, his gestures tend to have violent and sociopathic instincts to them. At 0:13 onwards, Alex very slowly brings his glass of Milk plus towards his mouth while he looks towards the camera, head down with a viscous smile to connote Alex is a character who wants to look threatening through the facial expression, and planning because of how slowly he drinks his milk as if while he brings his milk to his mouth he's thinking of violent things to do. At 0:54 onwards while the man looking for the person to do the experiment on narrates how he sees Alex, you see a lot of gestures to capture his violence, including screaming while jumping to signify his insanity, stabbing a homeless man with his stick in the chest, and without even looking Alex hits all of the Droogs at once with his stick as if to say he's done it so much he doesn't even need to look any more.

Narrative Structure
The narrative structure is non-linear like the majority of trailers so Todorov's Narrative Structure theory cannot be applied in order. It begins with a shot of Alex being tested on which is the movie's enigma but then carries onto the, while twisted, standard equilibrium of the movie. The rest of the trailer doesn't have a narrative structure in itself as it play clips from the entire movie with a lack of context. This could be because it's of the 40th anniversary Blu Ray meaning it could expect the audience to have already seen the movie, or possibly the lack if context makes the audience raise more questions than answers causing them to watch the movie for themselves. Out of the 8 narrative types by Kate Domaille's theory, A Clockwork Orange fits into Faust as Alex, as a criminal, decides to be tested on to make him better (found at 1:33).

Camera Work:

Camera shots: A Clockwork Orange's trailer is a trailer that takes advantage of many different camera techniques. For Camera shots the denoted of a Crowd shot is very common as the protagonist Alex is the leader of the Droog gang. An example of a crowd shot is the iconic one of them in the Korova Milk Bar which denotes them sat down found at 0:05 and 0:13 (minus the cross editing of different shots). This features Alex in the centre with his menacing face connoting he is the one in power of the situation signifying he will be the significant character of A Clockwork Orange. Another crowdshot is denoted at 0:35 using the exact same effect as the crowdshot earlier. There is a gang, Alex is the leader. However other crowdshots are denoted in this trailer, but they don't serve the same purpose. At 0:59 one is denoted but Alex is not the one in the centre of attention rather the character speaking is for he is in the middle of the frame. This could connote Alex is no longer in power but what needs to be mentioned is that the character is picking out Alex for something which could also connote any of this crowd could have been picked but Alex is the one who has creating some subtle importance to the character. Other shots include a close up on Alex's face at 0:41 connoting his dialogue and facial expression has significance, an extreme close up on Ludwig Van Beethoven's tape at 1:05 signifying the importance of the music in the film, a midshot of the character found at 0:47 connoting the importance of his gestures and surroundings and at 1:47 the scene denotes and over the shoulder view which signifies we're seeing the direction and things Alex is seeing.

Camera angles: This trailer takes advantage of Camera angles well for A Clockwork Orange is a movie that utilises the themes of power and confusion. Power is connoted by low and high examples as a high angle connotes a small, weak or insignificant character and a low angle connotes a powerful important or significant character. The denotation of a powerful low angle can be found at 0:54 as Alex, while jumping, looks down at the camera as he covers the entire frame with himself connoting he is a very big, important and powerful. However while not to a large effect, Alex appears weak at 1:35 for a subtle high angle is encoded as if the camera is looking down at him like he is not important, which makes sense for the scene of him out of his comfort zone screaming. Lastly the denotation of a Canted angle is found while Alex is committing his crimes which create the connotation of unease for the audience, Alex's actions are not pleasant by any means so the denotation of an angle which is different to the usual camera angle you may find in cinema helps that connotation, which is found at 1:13.

Camera focus: This trailer is for A Clockwork Orange which is a movie that experiments with many camera techniques but the trailer is lacking the use of focusing. Throughout the majority of the trailer no depth of field is used for the size of how characters look though shot types is enough to create the connotation of how important characters are, but also the lack of a depth of field helps connote the environments are just as important as the characters. Take the scene denoted at 1:04 for example, the man is in focus but so is all of his books, interior design and clean white walls - allowing for the connotation that he is a reserved and civilised person which contrasts Alex and the Droogs when they invade his privacy. However some light camera focusing with a shallow depth is utilised in the trailer but not to a great significance. The background in these scenes have no relevance so the characters are the ones focused, such as the scene at 0:35 denotes Alex walking with his Droogs with the building in the background out of focus due to its irrelevance.

Camera movement: The use of Tracking shots is common in this trailer. For example the scene where Alex runs to kick the table at 0:31 follows him as he runs connoting a sense of motion in his action, the tracking shot at 0:42 in the scene which denotes Alex and the Droogs walking helps signify the audience is following them as they find out what the Korova Milk Bar looks like. Tracking shots are also used at 1:48 and 1:52.

Editing: Since A Clockwork Orange is a psychological movie, the use of different editing techniques help create that connotation.A lot of cuts are used very often at specific times in the video such as 0:00 to 0:33 where the Korova Milk Bar is shown now and again - usually from a fade from and to black (establishing) but the rest of the clips are a lot of Alex's actions such as the gang slowly walking through the tunnel, grabbing a tied up man, cars driving all over the place, and getting knives out. There are also images that may shock and create an uncomfortable feeling for the audience like what looks like a silhouette of the devil, and a very very quick cross cut of Alex being zoomed in black and white with a sound effect found at 0:27. This quick editing is also found again at 1:44 where clips of Alex's actions are in time with the music creating spectacle in how it is executed, and a quick glimpse of the character. The use of Slow motion is denoted at 0:34 to 0:38 connoting this is a very significant scene where a character may do something important which is why the audience needs slow motion to see, and at 1:10 onto 1:15 very quick dips to white are encoded into the trailer for that extra creation of unease to the audience.

Sound: Non-digetic sound found in A Clockwork Orange's trailer is the score denoted in the background which connotes disturbed emotions thanks to how Ludwig Van Beethoven music is placed over Alex's violent actions. Digetic sound is what is in the film's world and this will include dialogue and sound effects.

E. Genre: A Clockwork Orange is a psychological thriller about humanity and experimentation. It's about a criminal named Alex who is the leader of a gang who steal, beat people, rape people and later in the movie kill people, who is given the chance to change himself through human experiments on making him disturbed by the awful actions that people such as him has done, to the point where all he wants is to be morally broken but can't do that due to his lack of free will. Stanley Kubrick's movie focuses on  questions like "Should we take an awful person's free will?" and it could be used as a critique on human testing in general.

F. Intended Audience: A Clockwork Orange is not for everyone. This is a movie that is intended for adults as it uses very controversial themes like violence, human manipulation through testing, and sexual desires in a disturbing way. The movie is rated for ages 18 and above and was even banned for its content for 27 years. As for gender this movie appeals to both males and females who are interested in the subject matter as any violence or representation of any gender in a sexual way is meant to disturb the audience. ABC1 audience with a disposable income.

5. Iron Man; (2008); Movie Trailer; directed by Jon FAVREAU; USA; Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures; available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8hYlB38asDY



A. Purpose: The purpose of the Iron trailer is to entertain and engage the audience. All Audio Visual products are encoded to have a set purpose (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience, and Iron Man's trailer does this with the main plot of the movie, plenty of action scenes, CGI used to full effect and rock music provoking a sense of adrenaline.

B. Form: The form of this Audio Visual product is a film trailer for Iron Man because it is non linear and only consists of clips from the movie it is advertising.

C and D. Content and meaning: 

Mise en Scene

Locations: Iron Man's time period isn't really known but it does look to be set in some kind of future thanks to the sci-fi technology you see. This means you see Tony Stark's mansion look very shiny and clean with a round and curvy architecture unlike even the best mansions today, with all kinds of technology littered around the place. Now this could be due to the time period but also it works due to the fact that Tony Stark is not only a billionaire but also an inventor, meaning he himself most likely designed the mansion to appear like that. A contrasting location such as a hostage cave in a war torn Afghanistan (0:35 to 0:53) would seem to look extremely dirty and gritty as walls would be extremely dirty, maybe some blood around etc, yet in the movie it doesn't go too far into making it seem as bad as a warzone really would be since the movie needs to appeal to a broad demographic including children so they can't present anything too horrific as it would lose a large amount of the audience if they had to increase the age rating. Other locations are meant to be aspirational. As I said, Tony Stark is a billionaire so his house looks very Sci-fi, but ever more realistic looking areas like at 1:21 has a ton of expensive looking cars in the background with lens flairs to make them look even more shiny and attractive to the audience.

Costumes and makeup: Characters are all made to look as good as possible making the movie appear more of a fantasy than a verisimilitude reality. Realistically someone wouldn't be wearing sunglasses in a place such as Afghanistan yet Tony Stark does to connote he's a care free character (proof of his care free attitude is him not deafened or reacting to the explosions behind him at 0:25). However Stark is imprisoned as a hostage soon after where you should expect a much darker look at him yet he doesn't look dirty at all aside from when his face is uncovered at the start, and his hair doesn't look as messy at it could since for that broad audience, characters have to look as good as possible to attract people. Robert Downey Jr is the Star actor of Iron Man so obviously they'll need to keep him looking good enough for the audience, but what is interesting is that even an extremely minor character like Ho Yinsen who appears at 0:44 appears to be unaffected completely by his current situation wearing smart looking clothing. This could be to elevate the stereotype of the Doctor/engineer type character to be wearing typical smart dress including glasses, a white shirt with sleeves, a black tie, and and suit vest, while keeping clean. Either way it is not realistic, something they weren't going for with the production of the movie. Almost the entirety of the rest of the trailer is set outside of Afghanistan so it looks less jarring when people like Pepper Potts look clean with high quality clothing. Pepper Potts is, while a developed and capable character, made to look attractive to appeal to the male demographic through the "Male Gaze" (Laura Mulvey 1975) as she wears plenty of makeup and her hair is always tidy looking, However this also can be challenged by the female in the armed forces who appears at 0:13, not meant to look attractive in any way but to fit her Army uniform. Overall rarely any major stereotypes are given to side characters as they just seem to appear how they would for their job creating a sense of verisimilitude despite Iron Man being a movie which doesn't focus on realism. I would mention the Iron Man suit itself as there most likely are moments where a real suit is used but almost all instances in the trailer are CGI thanks to Iron Man flying around.

Props: Props of Iron Man's trailer aren't as plentiful as other movie trailers since the main hypothetical prop is computer generated imagery itself, and Marvel needs to have Iron Man seen in action as much as possible to get people and fans of the comics to be interested. However what is there includes Tony Stark's glass of alcohol at 0:10 to connote the care free attitude of his character before he casually doesn't react to explosions, the machine guns of the terrorists at 0:35 onwards to give them some kind of threat as villains and to elevate the stereotype of terrorists always holding machine guns,  and when building the prototype Iron man at 0:41, Stark is using a Blacksmith hammer which indicates he is experienced with more traditional ways of creating equipment, making him seem like a more capable and therefore likeable character. Other than that props are rarely denoted because the Iron Man suit is the main focus which is done in CGI.

Lighting and colours: When it comes to lighting, the trailer denotes both high key and low key lighting, but in a way where the characters are always visible. In Afghanistan before Stark is kidnapped, high key lighting is denoted to give an emulation of what Tony Stark is feeling which is casual and good feeling. Evidence of this feeling is both Stark's cool actions like surviving explosions and the denotation of AC/DC Back in Black which is a catchy and good feeling song. However when Stark is kidnapped the lighting becomes low key for he's in a cave without a big light source yet since one of the main principles of the movie is for characters to look good no matter how low key the lighting may be Tony Stark is always visible thanks to some kind of light source, and considering the majority of scenes in the rest of the trailer use low key lighting that's important to maintain.

Gestures: Without a doubt you could safely say the main focus of this trailer is Tony Stark. Robert Downey Jr is one of the biggest aspects of the movie so I will be focusing on his gestures. Tony Stark is a character who is designed to look as cool as possible in situations that are good to him. When the scene at 0:21 denotes Stark testing his weapons, during the explosions he raises his arms as if he is expecting an applause for the destruction and he times it perfectly so when he arms are at the highest  the explosion impacts the soldiers and himself - followed by him raising his glass casually. Why this would be considered cool is for it subverts realistic expectations people would have to seeing people really deal with this kind of thing. However I mentioned earlier that Tony Stark does become more responsible for his actions which is just what his gesture at 1:11 captures as it's a complete contrast to the laid back attitude he had previously as his facial expression, almost forced looking positioning and control teaches the audience Tony Stark is taking this a lot more seriously than his demonstration of weapons.

Narrative structure
The Narrative structure of this trailer is fairly linear in plot points when using Todorov's narrative structure. The equilibrium of Tony Stark testing weapons in Afghanistan appears right at the start of the trailer, followed by the kidnapping which is then followed by Stark creating the Iron Man suit and how he has been upgrading it. Clips after 1:01 are non-linear, jumping from scenes non-chronologically to make the movie appear as entertaining and exciting as possible. However it is all done in a way where a sense of progression is present thanks to Tony Stark appearing more and more responsible as the trailer goes on. Out of the 8 Narrative types from Kate Domaille's narrative theory, Iron Man fits into Candide as Tony Stark is an indomitable hero who cannot be put down; it fits into Romeo and Juliet a slight bit as a love interest is encoded into the movie for a preferred reading from fans of love stories (found at 1:57) and some Orpheus as Tony Stark loses his care free life when he is kidnapped influencing his decisions for the rest of the trailer.

Camera Work:

Camera shots: Many different camera shots are denoted in the trailer for Marvel's Iron Man. Since the character of Tony Stark is a big focus in the movie, the opening of the trailer denotes a lot of midshots for his facial expressions, dialogue and gestures are all important at the same time such as at 0:25 for he demonstrates his weapon saying what it is and then as soon as it's put into effect he raises his arms, connoting this is his career and his gestures say he enjoys it. Then while he is kidnapped, Tony Stark needs to build a very early prototype Iron Man suit and once again midshots are used at 0:41 as his gestures are incredibly important as they signify. Stark is out of his comfort zone at this point in the trailer. Other shots include over the shoulder medium close ups at 0:56 creating the connotation that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' relationship with sarcastic banter is important for the movie, an establishing shot of Tony Stark's mansion at 1:01 connoting the importance of the place for the movie and franchise and it tells the audience where Stark is and a twoshot at 1:16 creating a significance to the conversation they're having which will play a big role in the movie.

Camera angles: The denotation of camera angles in the Iron Man trailer is not to as big an effect as in other movies but they are implemented. At 0:17 a low angle towards the weapon Stark is demonstrating create the connotation it is significant and powerful thanks to it looking big from the low angle. A low angle is used again at 1:22 using the same effect but this time on the Iron Man suit itself and how powerful it may be, which is then contrasted at 1:33 with a high angle signifying work needs to be done on the suit for he is crashed into a car. However the following scenes present the upgrades made so at 1:59 the use of a low angle is used again returning the significance of Iron Man to the trailer with a high angle used again at 2:09 focusing on everyone in the audience as if they're insignificant.

Camera focus: The trailer for Iron Man uses the simple depth of field effects you will find in most modern movies. Examples of shallow depth of field include the head terrorist at 0:37, both Pepper Potts and Tony Stark as they have their conversation at 0:56, and the Iron Man suit at 1:22. The use of a shallow depth of field is to connote what is in focus is the most important part of the scene. A deep depth of field is used in this trailer for the same purpose as a shallow depth of field, to make sure the most important part is in focus. Examples of a deep depth of field include the driver at 0:13 and the shot of Stark sorting out his suit at 2:02. The rest of the trailer generally doesn't use much depth of field as a lot of it includes Tony interacting with the background or everything denoted is important.

Camera movement: Camera Movement in Iron Man's trailer is implemented but not to a significant level. At 0:22 a tracking shot is used on the missile to connote the motion of it and give it an added impact when they collide with the ground. Other subtle tracking shots are used throughout the trailer, but overall camera movement is rarely used in the trailer as there are a lot of cuts instead.

Editing: Editing plays a major role in the Iron Man trailer in comparison to some other film trailers I have analysed for this is a much newer movie and big budget so therefore more editing techniques, and special and visual effects are used. Cuts at the start of the trailer are in sync with the AC/DC music which is denoted at 0:06 to 0:29. This creates excitement as rock music already does that, but putting clips in time with it make an even better job at creating spectacle. Another editing technique is it introduces some scenes in a unique way where they open up in fast motion and then stop which doesn't look like is done in the actual film. This is found at 0:08, 1:05 and 1:13, as fast motion can be used to create spectacle. A special effect found in the Iron Man trailer is the hats of the solders blowing off their heads denoted at 0:28 which connotes Tony Stark's weapon is incredibly powerful and that this scene can be used for comedic purposes. Another special effect is Tony Stark testing the flying at 2:19. VFX are definitely what are used the most in this trailer, as you can find explosions at 0:30 which create spectacle, and the Iron Man suit itself is done in CGI as a lot of what is done is impossible to do with a real person as he flies around at 1:49 and shoots things out of his hand at 2:16, all of which once again are to create spectacle, making people entertained by the trailer and therefore wanting to watch the full movie.

Sound: Non-digetic sound found in the Iron Man trailer is the score denoted in the background which connotes spectacle and excitement to the audience as rock songs such a Back in Black is used. Digetic sound is what is in the film's world and this will include dialogue and sound effects.

E. Genre: Iron man is a Super Hero action movie based off of the comic book character of the same name. It includes elements of comedy in some of the scenes where it's needed, it has plenty of action in the movie because that's what sells and is entertaining to a wide range of people. It's about how Tony Stark, as a person, has a character change from a carefree unsympathetic weapons builder to a more caring protector, thanks to the creation of the iron man suit. As he gets further in the creation of his suit the more likeable Tony Stark becomes in the movie, appealing to people as if they got their money's worth.

F. Intended Audience: Iron Man appeals to a much more broad audience than the other movies in this analysis. When it comes to the age demographic, Iron Man can appeal to children and adults. This is because of the age rating of 12A which means anybody can see the movie, but children under 12 require parental guidance to watch it, why it is 12A is the use of adult themes like terrorism in the movie alongside some violence. For gender, Iron Man definitely is a more male friendly movie thanks to the action found in the movie and the fact it's based off a comic book which appealed to males a lot more than females, however Iron Man can appeal to females too as action can be a universally entertaining thing, alongside the character of Pepper Potts being a developed and independent character.  ABC1 audience with a disposable income.

Warp Films Bubbl.us


Monday, 8 September 2014

Learning Objective 08/09/14

In today's lesson I will be explaining three Warp Music videos and three Warp Movie trailers in what the narrative of what the trailer/music video holds, what its purpose is in terms of entertaining, educating and creating spectacle, and what I would like to Pastiche (use in my own trailer/video)

Friday, 5 September 2014

Ownership and Warp

In Today's lesson:

1. I will be researching Warp and their ownership.
2. I will be embedding examples of Warp films and music videos that are similar to what I want to produce for this unit on to my blog.

This fulfils L01


Three Warp Records examples: (by the way if anyone of my teachers see this before I've done it, I will be editing it to be archived, just under a time limit right now)

When the Sun goes Down - Arctic Monkeys (2006) Music Video paul FRASER-  - 

Narrative: A homeless woman meets a man who becomes in control of what she does, getting stranger and more twisted as the video goes on.

What is it meant to do: It's meant to both entertain in its music and the shock the audience a little as it gets darker and stranger throughout the video.

What would I like to pastiche: I'm a fan of how it progressively gets weirder throughout the video, alongside some of the grim lighting. Also I really dig that the opening of the video is a shot at the woman's face and the ending also does this, to show her life isn't improving

Knife - Grizzly Bear (2007) Music Video


Narrative: A guy in a desert dies or something so another guy gives him crystals out of his crotch which make a bunch of claymation veins or something come out of his chest.. it's artsy..yeah

What is it meant to do: No idea. Entertain? For audiences to admire the stop motion blending with live action? If so it worked, I'm interested in the idea.


What would I like to Pastiche: maybe my nightmares will give me some inspiration. Seriously though I always love stop motion imagery, will maybe use in trailer.

Big Love - Jamie Lidell (2013) Music Video;

Narrative: Seems to not have one, generally just dancing and with a feel good tone to it overall.

What is it meant to do? Fit towards the music with dancing and quick edits to convey

What would I Pastiche:  I like the concept of a guy just walking in a city without a care in the world but other than that, not much to take out of it in my opinion.

Three Warp Films trailer examples:

This is England - Warp Films (2006) Movie Trailer - Shane MEADOWS
Narrative: Child growing up in the 1980s befriends a skinhead gang who soon prove to have bad influences on him, all while he deals with growing up and realising the problems of the world in that time period.

What is it meant to do? It appeals to the people who may have grown up in that time with nostalgic imagery at the start, but then flip it around and possibly shock people in the actions of people who were around then, specifically the skinheads.

What would I pastiche: Sudden shift in tone when the Bald guy comes is a pretty good way of doing a tone shift, the moral decline of someone (in this case, Shaun), the montage at the start seems like a good way to show time period.

Dead Man's Shoes - Warp Films (2004) - Shane MEADOWS

Narrative: Story of two brothers one gets abused by a gang of Drug dealers so the other gets revenge by murdering them one by one, hiding in a Gas mask. Things get tenser and more violent throughout the trailer.

What is it meant to do? It's meant to shock people with the extremely sudden change in tone, and it's also meant to create a sense of tension and suspense to the audience to get them to watch the movie. It does that by raising questions like "What did the gang do to his brother?" and "What made him so Psychotic?" etc.

What would I pastiche: I enjoy the use of flashbacks in the trailer and I'm also a fan of the use of a choir for the soundtrack.
Four Lions - Warp Films (2010) - Christopher MORRIS.


Narrative: A group of Terrorists in Britain attempt to cause Mayhem but aren't sucessful so they go to Pakistan to train... still not successful. One isn't happy due to his relationship with what appears to be a non-terrorist girlfriend.

What is it meant to do? It's meant to make the audience laugh at some of the jokes (but not spoil them all due to the fact that it would ruin the movie if all the jokes are there), meant to tell the audience the plot of the movie and engange them due to the fact that one of them is trying to be civil. Is he trying to be good or is him and his girlfriend okay with the terrorist actions of his friends.

What would I like to Pastiche? I do enjoy the comedic aspects of this so I may use some comedy in my own trailer, also I like how instead of it being a joke-fest a story is here that does seem compelling. I may use those aspects in my own film trailer.