What part does the mise en scene play in the introduction of the character of Indiana Jones in the opening of Raiders Of The Lost Ark(Steven Spielberg, USA 1981)?
Tom Williamson What part does the mise en scene play in the introduction of the character of Indiana Jones in the opening of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, USA 1981)? The Raiders Of The Lost Ark starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones was made by Steven Spielberg in 1981 in the USA. The film is set in 1936 and is located in South America and Central America in the opening scenes. It is an action adventure film and Indiana Jones is the film's hero. Indiana Jones is Harrison Ford and he is a very famous actor based in Hollywood and known worldwide. Steven Spielberg scripts Indiana Jones as a sex symbol in Raiders Of The Lost Ark which may have been an attempt similar to James Bond to appeal to both sexes. Indiana Jones the sex symbol to the female sex as and the action hero Indiana Jones to male. Indiana Jones' introduction is important for two main reasons. Primarily to establish Indiana Jones as the hero of the film and secondly to set the scene for the rest of the film, i.e. It is an action adventure film. Indiana Jones is the hero who is fearless, clever, rugged, strong and courageous. He searches for ancient artefacts and in these opening scenes he is looking for a particular artefact. He has a competitor however who stole this one that Indiana Jones found. We wouldn't know anything of the story, the genre of the film, the character of the hero and who his
How useful is the concept of genre to media producers and audiences? Discuss with reference to specific examples.
How useful is the concept of genre to media producers and audiences? Discuss with reference to specific examples. All areas of media such as film, TV and music can be classified into recognisable types also known as genre. These can be divided by what is known as sub-genre. For example a film such as 'Rush hour' can be classified into category of action-comedy. The main element of the film is action but has comedy within it so would fit into the sub-genre of action-comedy. Generic codes repeat with regularity and are useful to the producer of the film, the people who make it and the audience alike. Genre is a very useful tool, for the people whose idea it is to make the film, to the audience who finally consume it. The use of genre makes advertising a particular film an easier process. A film poster is quite an important aspect of a films advertising. This therefore means what is advertised on the poster is very important. The genre of the film must be instantly recognisable by a potential consumer of the film. 'Cabin Fever' is a film where the genre is quickly recognised by the audience. The poster shows a hut in the distance, with a forest around it but only red and black colours are used. The use of the colours signifies to the audience blood and horror. The designer of the poster has used these colours because of the way audiences sub-consciously or not recognises
A critical analysis of how Vladimir Propp’s The Morphology of the Folk Talecan be applied to mainstream Hollywood cinema.
A critical analysis of how Vladimir Propp's The Morphology of the Folk Tale can be applied to mainstream Hollywood cinema. Vladimir Propp was a Russian literary theorist and critic whom analysed 100 Russian folk tales during the 1920's. His book, The Morphology of the Folk Tale, was published in 1928 in the light of his findings. During his studies he found that there is a standard set of classifications that can be applied to the characters within traditional fantasy stories, and that these classifications accurately depicted (and in fact predicted) the characters' role within the narrative. I suggest that his theories are still valid today, but that they are not necessarily as applicable to contemporary cinema as they are to a traditional fairytale. Various film theorists have contributed to the study of narrative structure, often supplementing and confirming Propp's original framework. In this essay I will identify Propp's findings, investigate how they work within the context of narrative theory, identify those theorists that have contributed to the narrative theory of film, and apply Propp's framework to two mainstream Hollywood films; Jaws and The Princess Bride. In The Morphology of the Folk Tale Propp identifies eight character roles and thirty-one narrative functions that, he believed, were present in every classical fairy tale narrative. The eight character
Mise-en-scene. The film I have chosen to analyse for this assignment is 'Shaun of the Dead', the 2004 summer blockbuster from Simon Pegg
Mise-en-scene The film I have chosen to analyse for this assignment is 'Shaun of the Dead', the 2004 summer blockbuster from Simon Pegg. The film is basically a parody of George A. Romero's cult horror 'Dawn of the Dead', described by its makers as a 'Rom-Zom-Com' which stands for Romantic Zombie Comedy. The first scene I have chosen to analyse is where Shaun (Simon Pegg) is walking back from the shop with a Cornetto and a can of Diet Coke whilst blissfully unaware that he is surrounded by blood thirsty zombies in a street full of destruction. It is 26 minutes and 5 seconds into the film. I have chosen to look at colour, the camera frame and movements in this shot. Colour stands out in this scene, especially around our leading man. We see Shaun in the same work clothes as the previous day, his white shirt, black trousers, red tie and red badge. We can see red ink on his shirt from a leaky pen yesterday morning, combine this with the red tie, red badge, the red packaging of a strawberry Cornetto and the clear red 'Coke' sign on the can and it is clear that he is surrounded by the colour. As we know, red is a very powerful colour with several meanings, one could be to emphasis that he is key role in the love interest in the film. It could be there to symbolise passion and love. I feel however that he is portrayed in this way not because of passion or love but blood
Critically analyse the Representation of the American Dream in American Beauty and Rocky.
The University of Adelaide Politics, Power and Popular Culture Major Essay November 2009 Marius Zanin a1141224 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness' (The Declaration of Independence, 1776). Critically analyse the Representation of the American Dream in American Beauty and Rocky. The American Dream is 'that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement' (Adams 1931). 'It is a desire of people to be recognised by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. It is to dream of opportunity and success, with the promise that regardless of ascription or background (race, class, gender) hard work and fair play will almost certainly lead to success' (Cao 2009). It definitely sounds appealing and therefore it's no surprise that the storyline of the American Dream plays a role in many popular Hollywood films. Some films, such as Rocky (1976) support the idea of the American Dream while others such as American Beauty (1999) criticise it. The American Dream began back in 1776, when the idea of freedom being a right and that tyranny could be successfully opposed was the
Macro Analysis "Silence of the Lambs".
Macro Analysis "Silence of the Lambs" Focussing on the macro aspect of the opening sequence of Silence of the Lambs (1991), the genre of the film is clear. The establishing shot is of a dark, spacey forest (woods near Quantico, Va), which leads into a vulnerable looking woman who appears to be running alone. This gives a traditional horror movie setting. Also, the cinematography of the scene backs up the horror genre because of the subjective camerawork. There are many p.o.v. shots which make the character appear to be being chased, building up the tension and suspense, again backing up the horror genre aspect. Some other techniques used are: the eerie orchestral music, use of steady cam so it could sometimes appear to look like you're seeing through the eyes of the person who's supposedly behind her, and the use of cold dark blue colours. This gives everything a gritty grim quality in the tradition of classic film noir. Also the use of omniscient view, as if we knew she wasn't getting chased we wouldn't have that suspense and horror genre feel that has been created. It turns out that the woman isn't infact being chased. The young Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy trainee is undergoing a physical challenge of endurance, an obstacle course, alone in the woods. Straight away this shows her independent character. This part of the scene also focuses on her
What are the codes and conventions of the Western?
What are the codes and conventions of the Western? In this essay I shall examine the various codes and conventions which are present in the Western film. I shall examine three films. These are The Searchers, a film which includes as its hero John Wayne playing the part of Ethan, A Fistfull of Dollars, in which Clint Eastwood plays the part of the hero with no name, and Stagecoach, in which John Wayne is also present, acting the part of The Ringo Kidd. I shall examine the first sections of all three films, as to perform a detailed analysis of all of the three films is a task beyond the scope of this essay. Beforehand, however, I shall describe some common aspects of cinematography. . . A high camera angle is used to make the audience appreciate the significance of a character in the Western. This camera angle is used to make the person look ordinary or common, inferior to another character, or small in relation to another character in the script. A low camera angle is used to stress the importance of the dominant character. The person's status within the film is very easily measured by how large they appear to be to the viewer at one particular time. If the camera follows one character in a film for example, this could provide a link between scenes in the mind(s) of the viewer. If the camera stays in a static position, and the person walks away for example, this could
An Analysis of How Hitchcock Uses Various Techniques to Create Suspense.
An Analysis of How Hitchcock Uses Various Techniques to Create Suspense Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born August 13, 1899 in the East London area of Leytonstone. At the age of 19, he was hired at Henley Telegraph Company. Hitchcock began to study art at the company in the evenings and eventually got a job at the advertising department at the Henley Telegraph Company. This interest in art and media lead him to make his life changing decision of becoming a director. Before he had died he had directed and written more than a dozen spine chilling movies Hitchcock believed that the suspense he generated would get the viewer onto the edge of their seat. He used camera angles, camera shots, soundtrack, mise-en-scene and lighting, to create this everlasting suspense. Hitchcock kept the suspense building, so that the viewers would scream for the action to stop. He used this technique in many of his films and became known as "the Master of Suspense." His use of suspense in films can be compared to a rollercoaster ride, as the car goes along the track the suspense builds up and you sweat with anticipation as you wonder what is beyond the bend. In this essay, the techniques used by Hitchcock to build suspense, will be compared. (The films that are going to be discussed are Psycho (1960), starring (1954), starring Janet Leigh as Marion, John Gavin as Sam, Anthony Perkins as Norman
An essay explaining how two filmsdiffer in film-techniques - 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Goldeneye'.
An essay explaining how two films differ in film-techniques The two films Of Mice and Men and Goldeneye are very different in plot, but in structure they share many similarities. Many filming techniques are apparent in the opening scenes of both films; the establishment of the hero, the use of soundtrack, colour imagery, camera angles and sympathetic background. In Goldeneye the hero is James Bond (Also Known As 007). We first meet him running along the top of a very high dam. It was very dramatic because after running, he clipped himself onto a railing and dived off the top of the dam, falling for about 20seconds on screen onto the USSR chemical plant, which came up as a subtitle. We didn't see his proper face until about three minutes into the film. This told us that 007 was very daring, adventurous and was in some way connected with the USSR. Later on in the opening scenes, we discover, he is planning to blow up the Chemical Plant "For England" along with his sidekick 006. He is also quite a humorous character. In Of Mice and Men the hero is George. We first meet him in a sitting position, thinking hard about something. We can also tell he is on a train, as the sound represents that. Bars are in front of George, who is sitting in his own shadow, with light flashing on him. Each time the light does this, we see more and more of him. This then dramatically changes in
Is Documentary Film Still a Distinctive Media Form?
Is Documentary Film Still a Distinctive Media Form? Documentary film has existed for a substantial amount of the time that television has existed itself. From titles such as 'Nanook of the North', a silent film which followed a group of Eskimos as they went about their daily routines, to more recent documentaries such as the 'Walking with Dinosaurs' series, which used special effects to present an amazingly authentic - looking Jurassic environment, as well as using conventional techniques to produce a film that, aside from the use of special affects to recreate a non existent society, was still widely recognised as a documentary. Traditionally, the main purpose for documentary film is to inform and educate. Indeed, the Cambridge Dictionary defines a documentary as "a film, radio, or television programme that gives factual information about a subject". In modern times, this is still true, but there is a lot more emphasis placed on entertaining the audience nowadays. The documentary is more often than not easily recognisable because they tend to follow the same set of conventions, however in recent years this distinction has become somewhat blurred with the advent of reality television, fly - on -the -wall documentary, and also comedy has been sneaking into the genre by parodying it. (for example, the award-winning series, 'The Office') The website
