MacGuffin and Forest Gump

Firstly we were shown three objects: a cricket ball, chewing gum and a Buzz Light Year toy. We were then asked to write down what came into our mind when thinking about the 3 objects.

Cricket Ball

• sport
• bounce
• Australia
• Ashes
• summer  

Buzz Light Year toy

• Childhood
• Fun
• joy
• toy story
• space
• infinity
• Astronauts 

Chewing Gum

• sticky
• fresh
• minty
• tables
• school 

All these are connotations for these objects. Connotations: The non Literal meaning we interpret of something e.g. a box can connotate  feelings of excitement,, suspense and anticipation 

We then looked at the connotations of a feather, these are some of the ideas I came up with:

Feather 

• float
• light
• pure
• flight
• freedom
• peaceful
• beauty

After looking at the connotations a feather might have, we then looked at the opening 2 minutes of Forest Gump (1994). Here we see a feather falling from the sky and landing next to someones feet

Next we looked at MacGuffin, and I put the definition into my own words. MacGuffin : in fiction, a MacGuffin is a plot devise in the form of goal or desired object that moves the narrative along and also informs the audience what the film is about.

After this we looked at the feather connotations again and linked this to the film. we originally said that the feather is pure and peaceful, we know  from watching the film that Forrest Gump is also pure and peaceful and therefore we can see that the director has shown us the character of Forrest Gump through the use of a feather. We also can see from the clip that the feather goes on a sort of journey to get to the character of Forrest Gumps feet. we know from watching the film that Forrest too goes on a journey. This also creates enigma for the audience as we want to know what the journey is and how he got to the place that he is in now.

'Inglorious Basterds' film opening analysis

The Film opening we analysed was 'Inglorious Basterds' by Quentin Tarantino. The film is an action thriller with elements of black comedy that is a essentially a parody of war films.

After we had watched the opening of the film we deconstructed it into visuals and sound which can be seen in the photo below

In the first 0-0:30 seconds the universal logo comes onto the screen, this logo is in a old fashioned design suggesting the time in which the film is set in. At 0:36 seconds Quentin Tarantino's name appears on the screen and then 4 seconds later at 0:40 seconds the title of the film come on to the screen. The font that it is in stands out and makes the audience realize that this is the name of the film.

The soundtrack starts at 0:20 seconds and runs all the way through the opening title sequence until it starts to fade out at 2:00 minutes. The main cast all have their own names on the screen individually and other cast members have their names on shared screens expect for guest stars who are featured in the film who, like the main actor in the play, have their name individually on a screen Brad Pitt's name is the first to be seen on the screen at 0:40 seconds then comes other members of  the cast.

Editing

Editing refers to how shots are put together into sequences to make up media text

Three Areas

When analyzing editing you must break it down into three areas to help the quality of the analysis

• Transition- how one shot Moves to the other 
• Continuity- how one shot Merges into another
• Shot Duration- how Long a shot is

Transition

Different transitions can create slightly different meanings for the audience

• The Cut- The point where two shots come together
• Dissolve- The blending of two shots to communicate a passage of time and /or location
• Wipes- When shots change across the screen
• Cross Zooms- When it starts small and gets bigger on screen
• Flash Frames
• Jump Shots- Normally to do with props or objects.

When Creating  a short film The Cut and Dissolve are the best to use.

• Fade down ( of sound)- Gradual diminution of sound level
• Fade in (of Pictures)- Gradual appearance of the image
• Fade to black- gradual disappearance of image into black screen

Shot Duration

The duration of a shot will usually reflect the narrative context

• Short shot duration- conveys urgency
• Long shot duration- conveys detail and intimacy with narrative 

Continuity 

• 180 Degree rule- A rule which maintains that the line of action should not be crossed in the interest of fluid continuity. You can cross the 180 degree line, but you must show that you have moved. you can not just cut to the other side as you will confuse your audience
• Cross Cutting- Also known as parallel editing. alternation between two or more different  scene which are (usually) developed simultaneously
• Cut Away- a brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuity action by briefly inserting another related shot.
• Eye Line Match- a common convention to maintain continuity is a character looks at something and in the next shot we see what they are looking at.

Cinematic time-  The time a sequence takes to play on screen as opposed to 'real time'. In film time can be expanded and shrunk.

•  When you see Match on action in a film this is cinematic time and therefore real time.

During editing you can:

• Shrink time- Through a series of fast paced cuts we can see things that would take a long time in just a few seconds on the screen. Instead of watching a character get in a car and drive for 20 minutes we see then get in and get out, letting us assume that the journey has taken place.
• Expand time- The editor can expand time by adding additional details. For example, someone is sitting in a chair waiting for the phone to ring. in real time this might only last half a minute, but the editor can build up tension by including shots of the person's eyes, tapping fingers (to show impatience) etc, drawing the scene out to a minute or more. here we are looking at Film time not 'Real Time'.
• Finding Rhythm- Editing sets the rhythm or pace of a scene. this could be dictated by either the music used behind a scene or the mood that the editor is trying to create and the pace that you edit. To build up tension in a scene you might cut from one shot to another very quickly. however, in a relaxed scene the editing will progress at a much slower pace, dwelling longer on each shot.

Sound

We started the lesson by listening to 5 different theme tunes to well known TV programs and then had to answer two questions on them. the questions asked were how does it make you feel? and what type of TV program are you expecting to watch?

The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air:






How does it make you feel ?

• Happy
• Up Beat

What type of program are you expecting to watch?

• Family program
• younger audience 
• Young character - rapping 
• West Philadelphia 
• Bel Air - posh place
• America 

The A Team:

How does it make you feel?

• Up Beat
• Happy

What type of program are you expecting to watch?

• Dramatic
• Action
• Army/Military 

Doctor Who:

How does it make you feel?

• excited
• Happy

What type of program are you expecting to watch?

• Science -Fiction
• Alien's

Eastenders

How does it make you feel?

• Excited
• relaxed

What Type of program are you expecting to watch?

• Family show
• Drama

Hollyoaks

How does  it make you feel?

• Happy
• Up Beat

What type of program are you expecting to watch?

• Family Show
• Drama

Technical Vocabulary 

Diagetic sounds

• Ambient Sounds
• Dialogue 
• Sound Effects

Non- Diagetic Sounds

• Sound Track
• Theme music/ tune
• Sound Bridge
• Parallel Sounds
• Contrapuntal Sounds

Depends

• Direct Address

Why is Sound used in Television Programs?

Sound is used in TV programs to communicate feelings/emotions through the use of voice overs, music etc. It can create tension/ happiness for the audience and sometimes characters.

Depth and Focus

Depth

How far the camera is away from the background and the subject

Focus

How Sharp or soft (blurry) the focus is, which allows the audience interpret the scene.

Shot movement

Pan: When the camera moves side to side on a fixed point/ axis Tilt :When the camera moves up and down from a fixed point/axis Zoom: When the camera lens moves in and out from a fixed point Track: When the camera follows a subject and is unattached from a fixed point

Framing/ Shot aspects and Composition

Framing 

Framing is what you want in your frame. You can chose what you want to include inside it and can edit out anything you don't want / need .

Composition

Composition is everything you need in your scene, anything that is is important that you need in your scene to make sure it makes sense.



Task :

once we had learnt the shot types and the different camera movements we were told that we had a task . Our task was to re-create still images from 4 different films making sure we got the right camera angles, the right depth and shot type,as these were still images no camera movement was needed.
The four films included: Indiana Jones,Shawshank Redemption, Taxi Driver and Pulp Fiction.
Here are our attempts at the four stills:

Indiana Jones :

Taxi Driver :

Pulp Fiction:

Shawshank Redemption:

The best aspect's of our recreation was our focus on each still and how we made sure that it matched the real still. To improve we need to look close at the depth of the subject toward the camera, especially with our Indiana Jones still, it wasn't quiet there with the depth of the camera and the subject.

overall this task helped me improve my understanding of the different aspects of focus, depth and shot types as a whole