Task 2: Reseach into Existing Products

Things to Think About When Doing a Textual Analysis



Cameras

Camera Movement:

• Zoom


• Tracking


• Pan


• Tilt


• Steadicam

Camera Shots:

• ECU - Extreme Close UP


• CU - Close UP


• MCU - Medium Close Up


• MS - Medium Shot


• MLS - Medium Long Shot


• LS - Long Shot


• ELS / ES - Extreme Long Shot / Establishing Shot


• HAS - High Angled Shot


• LAS - Low Angled Shot


• SRS - Shot Reverse Shot


• OSS - 'Over Shoulder Shot'


• POV - Point Of View

Sound

• Diagetic Sound - Where the sound is expected to be there i.e. if the scene is set in an office you expect to hear phones ringing, people typing etc


• Non-diagetic Sound - When the sound isn't expected to be there i.e. if the scene has a lot of tension in it then there is often a build up of music

When doing a textual analysis you must also think about the mise en siene. This means everything that's in the scene. Elements of mise en siene are:

• Lighting


• Sound


• Costume


• Props


• Camera

I have studied and researched three differnet genres; romantic-comedy, horror and thriller. I looked at the way the opening scenes and credits had been structured and why they have been shown like this.

Romantic Comedies

In the opening credits of a romantic comedy, there is often a simple structure. The film often starts with it's main focus one of the main characters and tells us bits about this characters lifestyle. For example, the job they have, dailt routine etc. Then we see the credits appearing these are often shown in a romantic font with curved letters and joined up handwriting this is one of the key elements that tell the audience it is a romantic comedy. During these credits, there is often a romantic scene in the background prehaps a beach or a sunset. Afterwards, we get an insight into a different characters lifestyle, this character is often the one that will inevitabally fall in love with the character that we first saw.

The setting that is shown when the credits are rolling is generally the place where the two characters will fall in love. For example, in the film Pretty Woman we are shown the classic 'Hollywood' sign, this is where the two characters meet.

Often the two characters that meet will have a different background to each other. One will be of upper class and will have a hard-working, well-paid job and the other will be of a lower class, often middle class or working class. This is shown in Pretty Woman when Edward has a high paid job. This is evident through the mise en siene, the main setting is a grand house with a big water feature, the characters are wearing suits or posh dresses (if the characters are female). Edwards status is also refelcted in the cars that he drives, many of the cars are sports cars and at one point there is reference to a limo. However, the other main character in this film is Vivian. Vivian works at night in the backstreets of the rougher areas of Hollywood. We see her walking out on to the corridor of the block of flats she is living in. On seeing her landlord she realises she hasn't paid her rent. This could also imply that Vivian isn't selling her body out of choice but simply because she does not have a high-paid job.

The music used in the opening scenes is often reflected on the genre of the film. For example, there is often slow, classical music to tell the audience that there is an atomsphere of romance

Thrillers

This is the genre that is there to make people think, there's is often a sense of mystery in these films. Often in thriller films, they over lap a variety of different sub-genres as well. Quick cuts between scenes rapid movement of camera angles is shown particularly in the opening credits of a thriller movie, this is to pick up the pace of what is about to happen in the actual film. The pace of the music reflects on the pace of the film, for example fast, upbeat music usually has a lot of action in the film at a faster pace, often set over the space of one day. However, slow music to a thriller usually means that there is a slower pace to the film and generally takes place over several days. A thriller film is designed to thrill and has no intention of scaring the audience at all.

A thriller is often told from the perspective of the antagonist (the bad guy) of the film. A thriller often tells the story of how the "bad guy" came to be in his current situation, which is often in some sort of trouble with the police. There is generally a lot of law enforcement used in thrillers for example, the police, scenes set in court, judges and prison cells.

Examples of thrillers are:

• Se7en
• Resevoir Dogs
• Pulp Fiction
  

Horrors

Horrors at the types of films that are created to intentionally scare it's viewer person. There is usually a main criminal and his victims are usually a group of people, often people that know each other. For example in House of Wax, the victims are a bunch of high school students on their way to a football game and the murderers are a trio of brothers who were abused as children. Often in a horror film, the murderer has some sort of mental trauma and things that it's only fair that other's were treated how he/she was once upon a time. However, in some films like Silence of the Lambs, the main character is a psychotic cannibal with now reasoning for his actions. Often the music in a horror is eerie and often played on the piano where several minor chords are evident in the audio. The music used is composed to send chills down the audience's spine and to make them feel like they aren't at ease. There is often a lot of blood and violence in these films with the people being killed in the most unhumane ways.

Examples of Horror films include:

• The Grudge
• Halloween
• The Omen

For my research, I decided to analyse the following films;

• Bridget Jones' Diary
• When Harry Met Sally
• Love Actually
• The Birds

These are my findings:

Bridget Jones' Diary:

The opening credits of this film is set in the flat of the title character, Bridget Jones. We see her lying on a settee watching Fraser. Whilst watching the television, we see her lying in her pyjama's and smoking a cigarette. This could imply to the viewer that Bridget Jones is feeling sorry for herself, with non-diagetic sounds, All By Myself, playing in the background, we automatically assume that Bridget is single and doesn't want to be. Another reason she may be feeling sorry for herself could be that she has recently broken up with her partner. Bridget is also drinking wine, this is often classed as the typical drink that a man and woman would drink whilst on a date and/or a drink that a woman would drink whilst getting over a loved one.

Throughout this scene, the credits that we see are written in a light pink colour with curved joined up font. This sets the genre of a romantic comedy. In this scene, the only diagetic sound we hear is when Bridget presses a button on her answer machine and hears "no new messages" this implies to the audience that she may have been expecting a phone call from someone important.

In the duration on this scene, the lighting is quite dim, this reflects on the mood that has been conveyed to the audience. The dim lights add to the idea of romance but also, when a person is depressed they tend to sit in the dark. Bridget wears red throughout the opening sequence of this film. This also reflects the theme of romance as red is categorised as the colour of love.

When Harry Met Sally:

This film begins with a black screen and white writing in a big, bold font. There is jazz music being played in the background, this could imply that the characters are of a higher status and/or are of upper class. This screen then fades out and we see an elderly couple sitting on a vintage style settee. They then begin to tell the story of how and where they met. They could either be telling a younger relative about how they met or just generally informing the audience. This convention could have been used so as the audience can recognise that the genre of this film is a romantic comedy. This scene then cuts to a close up of a young couple kissing with non-diagetic sound of a slow romantic ballard playing in the background. From this, the audience could read into it in two ways; that this is the story of how the couple met, or, that love is an emotion felt from anyone of any age. There is panning of 'Sally' driving down a road, it ends with a medium close up of the car. This could reflect on the character's status in the film, as she is the first main character to be seen and she her name is mentioned in the title of the film. Sally's friend then introduces her to her boyfriend, Harry. This occurs by the use of cutting the scenes without it fading. They then drive off in Sally's car, this indicates to the audience that something big is going to happen because Harry has just met Sally.

Love Actually:

The opening credits of this film begin at an airport in London, Heathrow, and the use of panning follows a girl running up to her partner and hugging them, this is shown through a medium long shot. This occurs frequently during the opening credits and soft, gentle piano music is played at throughout. Whilst this is happening, the narrator uses non-diagetic sound over the scene that is being acted out. The narrator says "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrival's gate at Heathrow Airport." This gives the the audience an optimistic view on the way society is. The narrator states "When the planes hit the twin towers......they were messages of love". By using the word "love", the audience can imediately tell that they are watching a romantic comedy.

This particular romantic comedy breaks the standard conventions of a romantic comedy as it doesn't follow the regular pattern of a seeing the male characters point of view, and then the female's as well as seeing a meeting place in the middle. Reasons for breaking the conventions could be; it's something different for an audience to see, it was an original idea, there hasn't been a film like this before. The narrator puts forward the idea that through all hatred comes love. This is emphasised at the end of the credits when the word "is" is highlighted in red, symbolising that his statement is a fact. Then the word "love" is also highlighted, telling the audience that the film is going to be a romantic comedy.

The Birds:

The opening credits of this film has birds, possibly crows (to symbolise evil), flying backwards and forward across the screen on a white background. This could indicate to the audience that th film is a thriller because the black and white contrast and could represent good and evil which is a typical feature of thriller films. The font of the writing is big, black and bold, this is one of the most common fonts used in thriller films as it is formal and most thrillers are about undergoing an investigation and therefore, needs to be taken seriously. As more credits appear on the screen, the birds begin to fly faster, reflecting on the pace of the actual film. As the birds fly past the writing, it fades, this could symbolise that there are more pieces fitting together which could, in turn, represent crime solving in the film that the audience is about to see.