The Sixth Sense – Close Reading

Q1. Visual Element.
Close ups – Close ups were used a lot in this scene (the scene when he starts to realise that he is dead). The close up makes it easier for the viewers to see the terror on his face which eventually turns into sadness throughout the scene. This shows the viewers that it is a complete shock to him that he is dead, even though he has been dead for a while. It also shows us, by his facial expressions, that he now understands that his wife didn’t leave him and that she couldn’t be with him anymore. A close up shot is also used when he starts to look around the house after his wedding ring is dropped from his wife’s hand in her sleep, he sees that the dinner on the table is set for one person, it close ups on this to show the viewers more effectively that his wife now is alone since he died. A close up shot is also used when his wife’s breath is cold and it zooms in on this to make it obvious. This is important because when ghosts are around it is believed that it turns cold.

Q2. Aural Element.
Music – The music builds up with the tension of the scene as he realises that he is dead, it decreases in pace and increases again with his heartbeat and his emotions. The music is one of the most powerful elements in this scene, because the music builds tension. It is powerful music; it makes u wonder what is happening and keep you on edge by the vast variety of instruments all playing together.

Q3. Editing and Production Design
Pace- The pace of this scene starts off slowly while he thinks they are having a conversation, it becomes faster after his wedding ring is dropped and rolled along the floor. After that happens this scene turns into quite a fast scene, and everything happens all at once, although some shots are longer than the others, it still all happens quite fast. The pace of the scene increases as the music increases and the tension built up as well. The pace of the scene slows down when Dr. Malcolm Crowe’s wedding ring is dropped onto the floor from his wife’s hand in her sleep, to show make sure the viewers understand and to add more effect.

Q4, Q5. Character
Dialogue – Most of the dialogue is through memory flashbacks. For example his wife says “Why did you leave me?” when she is asleep, he answers by saying “I didn’t leave you”, this is when he starts getting confused and not understanding what is going on. Also it is important when his memory flashes back to the little boy saying “They don’t know they’re dead”, this is powerful dialogue because it is when he starts to realise that he had been dead all this time and didn’t know, so he starts to understand a lot more about what had been going on. Also near the end of the scene he says to his wife (and partly to himself as he knows she can’t hear him) “I think i can go now”, that shows the viewers that he has accepted the way things are and that he is dead.

Q6, Q7, Q8. Atmosphere.
Lighting – No big lights on, only small lamps lighting up the room; this makes him stand out. It is at night, we can tell this by it being really dark in the scene and the fact that his wife has fallen into a deep sleep on the chair/sofa.
Use of Camera Shots – There are a lot of camera shots used in this scene. Long shots are used to show the distance between Malcolm’s wife and himself. This helps the viewers understand the distance between to two of them and how they can’t be together again. Long shots are also used when Malcolm sees the flashback of him getting shot by his ex-patient, it shows his wife rushing to the bed to try and save Malcolm while he is dying. Mid shot is used when he moves away from his wife when he sees that something is different. A mid shot is also used when the flashback comes into his mind of when they are out to dinner and she takes the cheque books to pay for the dinner, at the time this scene is shown the viewers are lead to believe that she is paying for herself because she doesn’t want to pay together, but now the viewers understand that she did that because he wasn’t really there and she couldn’t see him. Close ups are used a lot in this scene to show his facial expressions to help the viewers understand how he is feeling (e.g. terror, confusion, sadness). A close up shot is also used when he sees that the dinner table, where a half eaten dinner and dirty plate, is just set for one person (his wife) and not set for him as well, this shows that she has been eating alone.
Sound Effects – There aren’t many sound effects used in this scene, except when his wedding ring is dropped by his wife in her sleep. The sound effect used when the ring rolls along the wooden floor is to show more effect, it make the ring stand out which shows the audience that this is an important symbol in the scene, making them pay more attention (if the sound effect wasn't there then the viewers wouldn't have paid as much attention). It also shows Malcolm that something is seriously wrong when he looks at his hand after the ring is dropped and realised that his wedding ring is not on his finger. Another sound effect is the gun shot, this is shows us that it is important and one of the main flashbacks.

Q9. What could be used that wasn’t? What effect would have been created by this?
They could have used a tracking shot when he starts to go up the stairs in the house when he starts to realise he is dead. I think this would have made it more effective because the viewers may have felt more like they understood how the character was feeling and what he was doing. They could have used tracking shot quickly to show that he was frantic, terrified and confused.

Brave Heart - Close Reading

Braveheart

Visual Element.
Close up – There are a lot of close ups of the main character while he his talking to the local men that said that they would fight, trying to motivate them and persuading them to fight. There is a lot of close ups of the main character when he is pacing up and down on his horse, the close ups on his face show us that he is trying to make eye contact with the local men (his ‘warriors’) to get his message through to them. The extreme close up is also important to show us his facial expressions. His facial expressions can give away a lot about how he is feeling, and not only can you hear the determination in his voice, you can see it in his face when he is talking when ‘extreme close up’ is used.

Aural Element.
Music - The music is in the background, you can hear it if you listen carefully when the main character is talking about freedom and you can also hear it when he stops talking to think or when he is waiting for a response from the ‘army’. The music starts off slowand slowly builds up as the ‘army’ becomes more hopefull for their freedom. It sounds sad, hopeful and inspirational at the same time. The music adds to the feeling of hope that builds up within the ‘army’. The music in this scene is important because it makes it more tense. The instrument is a violent, it is high pitch and classical-ish style.

Editing and Production Design.
Setting – This scene is set in a field. The huge open space is significant because that is the kind of area where wars used to happen. The weather is significant because if they were in this field and it was a really sunny day it would make it look like a happy scene, but because it is a windy and overcast day the audience can tell that it isn’t a very happy scene.

Character.
Costume and Make-up – The ‘army’ and the main character in this scene are wearing old fashioned clothing, because it is set in the past. Their clothing is also quite tatty and dirty, leading the viewers to believe that they havent had a chance to rest in a while. Most of them are dressed in dark colours, for example brown, grey and stained white. Most of the people in the ‘army’ are holding spears or have some kind of armour and/or weaponry. The main character is dirty and his hair looks unbrushed. Their make-up has been made to make them look unclean and grubby. Their make-up and clothing shows that times are hard.
Dialogue – The dialogue used in this scene is old fashioned. In the main characters voice the viewers can hear persuasion, encouragement and motivation in his voice. The dialogue is very important, especially in this scene because the scene is about the main character making a speech to motivate the ‘army’ to fight. In this scene the viewers can tell that the main character has a lot of hope and truly believes that they can win. He reminds the ‘army’ that they can freedom again and that there is hope. This is shown mostly by dialogue.

Atmosphere.
Lighting – It is filmed outdoors in a field and therefore the light is mostly sunlight. The time of day in this scene is hard to tell because of the overcast, i think it would be early morning, because (along with the dialogue) the viewers are encouraged to believe that it is a new day.
Use of Camera shots – There are a lot of different shots used in this scene. For example, mid shot, long shot, close up, panning shots and tracking shot. The tracking shot is quite important in this scene, it tracks the main character in the scene when he is still talking while he is walking with his horse. The close up and extreme close up shots are also used when he is talking, but also when he is looking around at the ‘army’ waiting for their reaction. Mid shots and close ups are also used when it films the ‘army’; this shows how the facial expressions of the ‘army’ change from the start of the main characters speech to the end of it. Panning shots are used to show how big the army is and what the people look like/what they are wearing and what weapons they have. Long shots are used to show the main character and the army. They are used to show the main character on his horse infront of the ‘army’, this can represent the power and leadership that he has.
Editing pace/Rhythm – The scene has a lot of cutting in it. It is cut quite quickly when filming the different people in the ‘army’ to add more effect to the scene. Cutting is also used when the camera shot goes from filming the main character in this scene and then goes to the ‘army’ to show their reaction (facial expressions), but at that time it is at an average speed.
What could be improved? Angles – This scene used a number of different types of camera shots but it didn’t use many different camera angles. Most things are at eye level (and the viewers can see the whole face of the character). The director/film makers could have shot the ‘army’ looking up at the main character in the scene to show that he is leadership he has, or the director/film makers could have done a birds eye view to show the full amount of people who were ready fight; that would have made the scene a little bit more intense.

Shaun Of The Dead - Close Reading (Group Activity)

At first we see a black screen. The background music is 60’s Horror themed; it builds up but eventuates to nothing. With the ding of a bell the horror themed soundtrack abruptly stops and is replaced with flowing music, we are introduced to the main character (Shaun). This relates to the film in the way that the film builds up to but results in nothing really.

He is sitting in a bar, we can tell this by the bartender calling out orders, the sound of people talking, glasses clanking, a game machine and the fact that Shaun is holding a cigarette and drinking a beer. The expression on Shaun’s face shows that he’s paying minimal attention and isn’t involved in the conversation around him. The fact that they’re in a loud environment and there are people interrupting those shows that their conversation isn’t exactly private. This shows that how easily distracted Shaun is and how nothing about their relationship is secret to their friends.

The conversation is about the two main characters’ relationship, a subject most couples would like to keep to themselves. While his girlfriend (Liz) is trying to talk to him the noises in the bar (mentioned above) are overpowering her. This tells us that Liz isn’t always put first and is often pushed aside for other things. When Liz asks a question of Shaun he answers what Liz wants to hear but his friend Ed in the background is saying what Shaun’s actually thinking. This sets a humorous tone to the scene and suggests that Ed and Shaun are very in tune with one another.The information established in this scene alone is vital to the telling of the rest of the film. The crumbling of Shaun and Liz’s relationship, The closeness between Ed and Shaun, the involvement of the couples’ friends in their relationship and Shaun’s lazy attitude in life.

Shaun Of The Dead - Review

It took a while for me to get into Shaun Of The Dead. There was not really a story line, not an important one. The humour in it was better than the actual story line, I could tell that it was writen by someone with a good sense of humour, even though it is based on the horror film Dawn of The Dead. I thought that if there was no humour the film would have had nothing special about it, apart from the good use of editing and filming.

This film really made me feel like i was there, not because of the acting or the story line, but because of the scenes being cut and the camera angles and techniques that were used to keep the audience interested.
I was disappointed about the acting in this film after seeing the main actors in other films and then seeing them in this. For example at the end of the film when Shaun's best friend Ed was a zombie and they were playing playstation, i felt that they could have made this scene a lot better. I didnt like the actors in this film, especially in this part. I also didnt like how this film ended.

Close Reading - Shaun Of The Dead

At the start of the film, the music ('old school' horror music) builds up to nothing because the film is about nothing and there is nothing to the main character. Even in the opening scene we start to see what the most important things are to the main character, Shaun; the local bar 'The Winchester' and his best friend. We can tell this because while Shaun's girlfriend is trying to have a conversation with him the background noises in the bar are overpowering her (the game machine, the bartender, the bell, the music and Shaun's best friend).

When the camera zooms in on Shaun's face you can see that he has trouble concerntrating on anything, this is shown by his blank expressions and constant interruptions in the opening scene of the film. For example, Shaun's girlfriend is trying to have a serious conversation with him but Shaun is more concerned with what is going on around him at the bar; what his best friend is doing, what drinks are being ordered and what music is playing. When he finally does concerntrate the film has been edited to cut quickly to capture the audiences attention.

In the background in the opening scene of the film you can hear Shaun's best friend swearing, saying the words that Shaun is thinking while his girlfriend is trying to talk to him.

Definitions

Definitions.
Film. A noun used to descirbe the physical material when images are captured by a camera and then projected onto a screen to an audience.
e.g. The Titanic
Cinema. A place where people go to view films.
e.g. Berkley Cinemas.
Also, a general term used when talking about film and filmmaking.
e.g. Cinema studies.
Shot. A peice of filming with no interruptions at all.
e.g. Close up.
Edit. When a shot finishs and another one starts.
e.g. Cut.
Scene. Collection of shots arranged in a specific order.
e.g. Two people arguing or talking.
Frame. The edging around the film.
e.g. The the lines at the side of a widescreen tv.
Framing. Choosing which images are shown and how.
e.g.
Diegesus. Everything contained in a film; every aspect and element.
e.g. The film Australia.