Preliminary Task- Found

Student Evaluation

The Consumer
I gave this piece of work 58 out of 60. Despite the simpleness of the production I felt there was a brilliant choice of actor, the music choice was exceptional and there camera work was brilliant. They took some really effective shots, especially the one of the Murderer in the mirror. I also liked the fact that the story line was very easy to follow and I was never lost at any point.




The Awesomest action film ever.
This film was a complete contrast to the first film, I felt this one was very poor and only score is 38 out of 60. They had very shaky camera shots in places and the acting was pretty stereotypical and very similar to many tasks I had already viewed. The setting they filmed it in was also very boring and didn't have anything to do with the genre (filmed in a school). The props were also very bad, a toy plastic gun had no impact on the audience at all, and finally the titles were very cringey and boring






Withdrawl
This opening sequence was a tale of two halves. I scored this 49 out of 60 as I felt the start was excellent. The acting was very good, the props were very believable and it came across as very realistic to begin with. The soundtrack was also very relevant and matched the slowed effect of the camera shots. However the end spoilt it for me with the unreal diegetic off screen sounds of this unknown beast. Was this an effect of the cocaine or was the creature real, I didn't think it worked and spoilt the film a bit. Other than this I thought it was very good.

Opening Scene Analysis

Boys In The Hood (1991)

MISE EN SCENE
Costume: Most children as well as the fighting adults dressed casually in tracksuit bottoms and hoodies (one in a vest). The girls, women and main character (Tre Styles) are dressed more formally in smart shirts, trousers and dresses.
Lighting: The whole of the opening scene is shot in the daytime so the light is generally good and bright throughout.
Actors: Mainly children apart from the teacher, mom and fighting men.
Props: Made up of school equipment bags, pens, paper etc. Also there is use of a telephone and the Cain when Tre gets into a fight.
Setting: The opening scene is set in 1984 in Los Angeles, USA.
CAMERA
From the Camera work there were five main shots that stood out for me and left a lasting impression in my mind. All of these shots enforced an early theme of crime and violence this is why they are so affective.
- The very first shot from the scene which featured the STOP sign. It had a really strong impact after the facts that are shown before the film begins.
- Secondly, the bullet holes on the election poster. This showed strong opposition and hatred towards the campaign as well as conflict within the city itself.
- The punch in class is also a very prominent shot. It shows that violence is rife even throughout the younger age groups during this period.
- Another shot that once again enforces this theme of violence and crime is the street beating. The camera work is very clever in this shot as the camera is focussed on the young characters in the foreground whilst the beating is taking place in the background as if its an everyday occurrence.
- Finally, the last shot that stood out for me was the one of the drawings in the class that pictured crime, police and dead bodies. It was the innocence of the kids drawings that really show the viewer that it is something they experience every day and is very common.
EDITING
As the film is quite old (1991) there isn't a large amount of evidence present in the film. There is however one piece that has a very big impact on the reader, this is the facts that are displayed on the blank screen about deaths of black males. It is also the sound that is added after that help hammer home impact on the viewer from this editing.
SOUND
The most effective sound is the diegetic off camera sounds of the drive by shooting at the very start of the sequence. It really helps you to imagine what is happening despite there being no visuals.
The rest of the sound is mostly dialogue which is very clear.


Saving Private Ryan (1998)

MISE EN SCENE
Costume: All the actors involved in the scene are dressed in American army WWII soldier uniform.
Lighting: This opening scene is very dark and gloomy, early morning mist is also present which enhances the miserable feel the sequence.
Actors: The actors are all young to middle aged men, typical of the soldiers that were present at this time of war, this is very accurate as this particular part of the film is based on a true story.
Props: Props involve many war related items such as guns, radios, military backpacks and amphibious craft.
Setting: The opening scene is set on Omaha beach, Normandy, on the 6th of June 1944 (D-Day)

CAMERA
There were five main shots that stood out for me from this sequence, all of the shots really set the tone and the genre of the film. Each shot shows us that this is going to be an action war film. The Mise en scene of each shot really enforce this.
-Firstly, the shot of the soldier searching for his lost arm was very powerful, he is searching around as if he has lost an everyday item yet he is searching for a body part is incredible. There is a look of pure shock on Tom Hanks' face when he see's this, which is very effective.
-Another shot that stood out was when the man running out of the landing craft engulfed in flames. This shot was good as it was so realistic, the actors reacted to the flames as you would expect in real life, with shock and horror.
- Next shot I found interesting was when the main characters simply poured the red bloody coloured water out of his helmet. It was the simple act coupled with the sound effects that made it seem like the viewer and actor are deaf, that made this shot stand out.
- The shot over the German heavy gunners shoulder (a long shot) allowed you to capture the full setting as a viewer and gather the full sense of death at the amount of bodies that littered the beach.
- The final shot that  stood out for me was the look of relief on the soldiers faces as they reach the edge of the beach, the close ups allowed the viewer to take in all the emotion on the actors faces and was very effective.
EDITING
There wasn't much editing at all in this scene, it was raw acting and pyrotechnics that gave the sequence its action and war feel. The only editing that was use was the sound editing which was extremely good. It involved the diegetic sound that the actor should hear being muffled and a subtle ringing being added. It gave the impression that the actor had been deafened by an explosion, it was a very clever piece of editing.

SOUND
See above point for special sound editing. The scene also contained diegetic war sounds such as gunshots, explosions and shouting.


Argo (2012)
The opening sequence of Argo is an interesting one to analyse as it is set in the format of a cartoon strip. It is very different to what you see in most film.

MISE EN SCENE
Costume: The costume was mainly made up of traditional Arabic dress, Burqas, suits and there is some army uniform present.
Lighting: It is difficult to comment on the lighting as it is mainly imagery, but you can see everything clearly and brightly so the lighting is good.
Actors: Actors involve men, women and children of all ages as it shows the progressive chain of the nation of Iran. It also shows many real life historical figures, such as presidents and army officials which relate nicely to the fact this is based on a true story.
Props: Props involve everyday items, vehicles, weaponry all manor of objects.
Setting: It is set in Iran from the early beginning of the nation up until 1979

CAMERA
Shots that stood out
-The image of the man hanging by his ankles being tortured represented the cruelty of this period of time in Iran.
- The images and shots of the large crowds protesting were very prominent as there was such a vast number of people demonstrating against the regime. It really stuck your head due to the size of the crowd more than anything.
- A shot that stood out the most for me was probably the images of the men and women being executed in the middle of the street by firing squads. It was not just the incredible act of murder that was being committed that stood out however, it was the fact that everyday people were just carrying out there business as if it was an every day occurrence that was most shocking.
- The penultimate shot that stood out for me, was when the Shah was pictured shaking President Kennedys hands. To globally famous people together in one shot certainly captured the viewers attention.
- The final shot that stuck with me most was the final slide before the opening entered the main film. It was simply the black backdrop with the words 'based on a true story'. If you did what I did and carry on watching the whole film, you will understand why these words were so shocking to me, the main story of the film is so incredible that its hard to believe that it actually happened.
EDITING
Almost all of the opening scene had been edited and illustrated as it was one long cartoon strip. Real life footage had been cut, edited and inserted into space in the strip which was very effective. Also text had been added at the bottom of the images as well as at the end of the sequence.
SOUND
Finally, the main sound that is present is the voice over of the narrator (non diegetic off screen) who is explaining the history of Iran up to this point and commentating on the images we see. There is also a small amount of diegetic sound when images of the large crowds are present.

An example of Contrapuntal sound

Sound

Sound

• Diegetic: this is sound that the actors can hear and is present in the area which they are located within the scene.
• Non diegetic: This is sound that the actors themselves cannot here, such as a sound track or voice over. These types of sounds are normally added using editing after filming, during editing.
• Dialogue: This is how spoken dialogue sounds during a scene, like how a persons voice sounds, do they have an accent? etc
• Voice overs: These are often used to get inside the actors head during a film or scene. These tend to be added during the editing process on top of the diegetic sound.
• Contrapuntal: This is a type of sound which contrasts what is happening in the scene. Above I have given an example of this in the film 'Incidious'. Another example of this is in Die Hard, during an office fight scene, all the audience can hear is the music that is playing in the cleaners headphones. This is very effective as it contrasts the fight happening behind her, it adds a comical element to the action.
• On screen sounds: This is sound that is being produced in shot that you can see.
• Off screen sound: This is sound that is not being produced in view of the camera that you cant see.