At the beginning of episode one, a shot reverse shot is used when Margret is looking at the clock then out of the window, the use of this shot shows the passage of time which represents women as people who have to wait a long time for things, on a larger scale this could represent that in the time period that `North & South` is set in women were not seen as very important and had to wait a long time to be given the same privileges that men were given a very long time before women for example the right to vote. The rule of thirds is used to show Margret looking out of the window, where she occupies two thirds of the shot. In the same shot, a close up has also been used to show Margret this shows emotion. Margret’s stance in this shot is Haughty, her gaze is firm which suggests that she is assertive, this shot shows women as powerful and assertive, which is not how they were viewed by society in this period. Margret also stands up straight which connotes confidence; she also shows style and prettiness, we can also see she does not rely on her clothes to make her look pretty. When Margret enters the factory, we see a `look of wonder` appear on her face, because she has entered this `foreign` world, there is a similarity between the `look of wonder` on Margret’s face and the `look of wonder` on the children’s faces in Narnia when they open the wardrobe and enter a different world.
A shot reverse shot is used between Thornton and Margret this connotes that a relationship may start between them. We can also tell that a relationship may start between them because of the non-diagetic romantic music, the way she has been positioned to look up at him and the misty effect that has been used. The use of the misty effect across the factory creates a mystical feel, which also creates a sense of mystery in the sense of that we do not know what will happen next, weather or not a relationship may start.
An orchestral soundtrack is used during episode one of `North & South`. When Margret enters the factory we start to hear the diagetic sound of the factory workers coughing, this suggests they are unhealthy however they are hardworking.
The use of non ambient lighting creates a darker setting and because you can control non ambient lighting, you can create the tone of lighting that is suitable to the production. The different accents that are used define the characters in their status’s. The factory owner, Thornton is portrayed as a harsh and violent man, we see this in a shot of him looking down from a height at the factory workers, a low angle shot is used in this shot, the use of this shot makes Thornton appear very important and bigger than everyone else. The use of violence displayed by Thornton shows masculinity. The way that Thornton has been placed looking down from a height, also represents his status in society as a male and as a factory owner, both of which give him more power of others in society. A close up shot is used of the fight Thornton has with a worker, this shows his violence. Whilst Thornton and the worker are fighting Margret shouts `stop` at them, this was very unheard of in this period for a women to speak up, this shows that Margret is assertive and was also not scared to speak out. Thornton asks Margret who she is and she reply’s giving him her full name, this shows she has a strong sense of identity.
In the scene in the factory, after the fight we start to understand that Thornton does not like people invading his space, we understand this because of the way he speaks to Margret, however he does not talk to her directly. Thornton says “get her out of here”, which is aimed at Margret, he then says “get that women out of here”, which shows that he has no respect for women and suggests that he believes women do not deserve to be spoken to in a polite manner, because women were seen as inferior in this period. After this the camera cuts to some female factory workers some of whom are very young, this tells us the factory is not an entirely male world, although women worked in the factories, they were entirely under the owners control, in this case the women were entirely under Thornton’s control. The use of children, who are as young as seven or eight, shows that children were not valued and no respect was given to them, this also suggests people did not have a sense of danger.
In conclusion to this question i think that in this extract of North and South; Male characters are represented as being violent and believing that they are superior in society, this shown in the way Thornton speaks to Margret. Female characters are represented as being characters who are seen as being inferior in society, however they are assertive.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Perfume advert - Florence
Who is your target audience?
My target audience for my perfume is females in the 16-21 age range. I think my advert will appeal to this audience because of the use of the image at the beach and encorporating the beach hut into the image. I think the use of these images will appeal to my target audience because of the summer lifestyle that they want, the summer lifestyle being a very relaxed way of life, being at the beach,surfing,beach partys. I also think that my advert will appeal to the target audience because of the fashion associated with the beach that appeal to this age range. My advert would probably been printed in magazines such as; Glamour and Look, it would also be shown mainly in summer becuase of its association as an advert with the summer season. The audience that i am aiming to target will be intelligent, have high aspirations for themselves, aspire to have a well respected career, however they will be fun loving, happy and the type of people who enjoy life to the full. My advert appeals to my target audiences values by using the beach setting and the bright contrast to represent happiness,enjoyment and having fun. My audience will view the advert from a female perspective because of the font that has been used which is very feminine because of the butterfly that has been drawn on the side of the `F`, the advert would also be viewed from a female perspective becuase of the perfume bottle, this would be because the bottle has a mirrored effect and the use and possesion of mirrors is usually associated with females.
How did the technologies help in the process of constructing the advert, and how comfortable are you using the technologies?
I used digital photography to take my photograph of the beach landscape. I used the website dafont to create a suitable font for my advert, which used the same theme as my perfume. I also used Flickr and Blogger, which enabled me to annotate my advert and post both my advert and analysis questions. I used photoshop to enhance my image, I increased the brightness and contrast, in order to brighten the image and create a summery look to the advert. I used the burn tool on the sand dunes and part of the sea, in order to enhance this part of the image, to make it look brighter and to create a reflection effect on the sea. I used the sharpen tool to bring out the black in the font more and i also used the colour recognition tool, which helped me find the exact colour of the background so i could use the fill tool to fill in the background of my font in order for the font and image to blend together better.
How does your advert represent particular social groups?
My advert represents women by using an informal, pretty and feminine font, my advert also represents women by the use of the perfume bottle, because of the elegance of the bottle. The advert represents women as; fun loving,happy,succesfull and fashionable. The advert implies to us that a womens place in society is somewhere fashionable,fun,exotic and happy. The advert also shows that women are represented in this advert as being people who want to be succesful,fashionable,happy and enjoy their lives.
Assessment sheet
Monday, 16 November 2009
The opening narrative shots and title length of thrillers.
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver was directed by Martin Scorsese in 1976.
We watched the first two minutes of Taxi Driver and we are first introduced to the character by the use of an extreme close up of the man,a shot reverse shot is used to show the man then the city then it cuts back to an extreme close up of the man which focuses on his eyes. A low angle shot is used to show the taxi, this shows the audience the importance of the taxi in the film. A diagetic sound is not heard until almost the end of the two minutes; when we hear the ringing of a phone, before this we hear a non-diagetic instrumental soundtrack. Editing would have been used to show the red and oragne lights of the city.
In Taxi driver, it takes 10 seconds for the diagetic sound to appear after the non-diagetic sound disappears.
Taxi Driver was directed by Martin Scorsese in 1976.
We watched the first two minutes of Taxi Driver and we are first introduced to the character by the use of an extreme close up of the man,a shot reverse shot is used to show the man then the city then it cuts back to an extreme close up of the man which focuses on his eyes. A low angle shot is used to show the taxi, this shows the audience the importance of the taxi in the film. A diagetic sound is not heard until almost the end of the two minutes; when we hear the ringing of a phone, before this we hear a non-diagetic instrumental soundtrack. Editing would have been used to show the red and oragne lights of the city.
In Taxi driver, it takes 10 seconds for the diagetic sound to appear after the non-diagetic sound disappears.
Identity
Identity was directed by James Mangold in 2003.
In the two minute opening of Identity, that i watched the director; James Mangold uses a vast amount of extreme close up and close up shots. He uses these close up shots to show us various tapes with a the same mans name written on all of the tapes. The use of the close up shots make it very clear to the audience who the film will focus on. Mangold uses the rule of thirds on the title, which holds for 5 seconds, the use of the rule of thirds in the title creates an instant point at which are attention is drawn to. In the title shot, the word `Identity` slowing dissapears, one letter at a time, this technique is used with all of the words that appear on the screen, this technique would have been added in the editing process of making the film. At the beginning of the opening we hear a diagetic sound of thunder, this sets the scene for a thriller film, as it creates a dark feel and creates a sense of the unknown. The use of the tapes which show just one mans name, and the very dark lighting creates a question to the audience of weather this man is mentally unstable.
Heat
Heat was directed by Michael Mann in 1995.
The the first shot of the opening of Heat, Micheal Mann uses a long shot of a train and the diagetic sound of the train is introduced and becomes louder as the train draws closer. The shot then cuts to an over the shoulder shot from behind of someone travelling down the escalator, the use of this shot creates a sense of mystery. In the beginning of the opening Heat is set in a trin station, however towards the end of the two minutes the setting changes and we enter a hospital.
The title shot, is held for 3 seconds and each credit is held for 4 seconds until it cuts to the next.
London to Brighton
London to Brighton was directed by Paul Andrew Williams in 2006.
The two minute opening i watched of London to Brighton, did not give me a great insight into what was going happen or what the film would be like, however the first shot when we are first introduced to the characters, Paul Andrew Williams uses a close up shot of the women and the girl. The setting where the two characters which we are introduced too are; a toliet cubicle in London, gives us an idea of what the characters backgrounds and lives may be like, Williams focus`s on the grime of this setting. The use of the mirror in the toliet creates an illusion that it is bigger than it appears to be. The opening of London to Birghton, although it does not give us a great idea of what will happen, we can start to understand the basic storyline, the language and settings help us to understand this. We can start to understand that the film is about the women and the girl who are the first characters we are introduced and towards the end of the two minutes we start to understand that they need to get away from someone and are going to get the trin to Brighton, however they need the money to pay for the train tickets and this is when the topic of prostitution is introduced.
Red Road
Red road was directed by Andrea Arnold in 2006.
Red road opens with a black screen, where the word `Glasgow` appears in white, this instanstly tells us where we are. The shot then cuts to a blur of colours which then pans out to reveal CCTV screens. Arnold uses a medium close up of the CCTV operators face, by using this shot we can see the emotion that she feels from the CCTV cameras. In this two minute opening it does not tell us as an audience much about what is going to happen during the film.
Identity was directed by James Mangold in 2003.
In the two minute opening of Identity, that i watched the director; James Mangold uses a vast amount of extreme close up and close up shots. He uses these close up shots to show us various tapes with a the same mans name written on all of the tapes. The use of the close up shots make it very clear to the audience who the film will focus on. Mangold uses the rule of thirds on the title, which holds for 5 seconds, the use of the rule of thirds in the title creates an instant point at which are attention is drawn to. In the title shot, the word `Identity` slowing dissapears, one letter at a time, this technique is used with all of the words that appear on the screen, this technique would have been added in the editing process of making the film. At the beginning of the opening we hear a diagetic sound of thunder, this sets the scene for a thriller film, as it creates a dark feel and creates a sense of the unknown. The use of the tapes which show just one mans name, and the very dark lighting creates a question to the audience of weather this man is mentally unstable.
Heat
Heat was directed by Michael Mann in 1995.
The the first shot of the opening of Heat, Micheal Mann uses a long shot of a train and the diagetic sound of the train is introduced and becomes louder as the train draws closer. The shot then cuts to an over the shoulder shot from behind of someone travelling down the escalator, the use of this shot creates a sense of mystery. In the beginning of the opening Heat is set in a trin station, however towards the end of the two minutes the setting changes and we enter a hospital.
The title shot, is held for 3 seconds and each credit is held for 4 seconds until it cuts to the next.
London to BrightonLondon to Brighton was directed by Paul Andrew Williams in 2006.
The two minute opening i watched of London to Brighton, did not give me a great insight into what was going happen or what the film would be like, however the first shot when we are first introduced to the characters, Paul Andrew Williams uses a close up shot of the women and the girl. The setting where the two characters which we are introduced too are; a toliet cubicle in London, gives us an idea of what the characters backgrounds and lives may be like, Williams focus`s on the grime of this setting. The use of the mirror in the toliet creates an illusion that it is bigger than it appears to be. The opening of London to Birghton, although it does not give us a great idea of what will happen, we can start to understand the basic storyline, the language and settings help us to understand this. We can start to understand that the film is about the women and the girl who are the first characters we are introduced and towards the end of the two minutes we start to understand that they need to get away from someone and are going to get the trin to Brighton, however they need the money to pay for the train tickets and this is when the topic of prostitution is introduced.
Red Road
Red road was directed by Andrea Arnold in 2006.
Red road opens with a black screen, where the word `Glasgow` appears in white, this instanstly tells us where we are. The shot then cuts to a blur of colours which then pans out to reveal CCTV screens. Arnold uses a medium close up of the CCTV operators face, by using this shot we can see the emotion that she feels from the CCTV cameras. In this two minute opening it does not tell us as an audience much about what is going to happen during the film.
Storyboard, Shooting map and Shot list for preliminary task.
Storyboard for my preliminary task.
My shooting map for my preliminary task
Shot list
My shooting map for my preliminary task
Shot list
- Close up of feet
- Extreme long shot from behind
- Tracking shot
- Panning shot
- Close up of hand on the door handle
- Over the shoulder shot walking into the room
- Extreme close up of the face
- Extreme close up of the eyes
- Tracking shot to table and chairs
- Over the shoulder shot, showing the new character
- Two person shot
- Side shot of the tow characters talking
- Over the shoulder shot, character leaves
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