Analysing Media Language

1. Analysing Media Language

2. Analysing Media Language • This set of slides takes you through a series of tasks that you will need to do before your first lesson in September. • A lot of this will involve watching and analysing film stills and clips • These tasks form a vital part of preparation for your Unit 1 exam in January.

3. Analysing Media Language • The PowerPoint contains tasks for you to do- you need to fill these in on the PowerPoint • You can start extra slides to do this. • You will give in the completed PowerPoint at the end.

4. Analysing Media Language • The most important part of all of this is that you understand the terms and the techniques described. • If you struggle with some of the bits of analysis that is OK. • You will build up this skill of analysis as you go along, but you do need to understand the theory as soon as possible.

5. Moving Image Media Language involves: Camerawork Editing Mise en Scene Sound

6. Part One - Mise en scene

7. Definition: Mise En Scene • A French term meaning what is put into a scene or frame • Visual information in front of the camera • Communicates essential information to the audience

8. The Elements of Mise en Scene Each aspect of mise-en-scene has hidden meanings within a text and sends signals to the audience about how we are supposed to feel at a certain point • Settings & Props • Costume, Hair & Make Up • Lighting & Colour

9. 1. Settings & Props • Settings & Locations play an important part in film-making and are not just ‘backgrounds’ • Sets are either built from scratch or a great deal of time is spent to find a setting which already exists • Settings can manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn

10. TASK- Fill in here- use extra slides if you need • What settings and props you would find in: • A Science Fiction Film • A Romantic Comedy- bright colour backgrounds. Lots of flowers, romantic and slow music, a restaurant over looking the city, • A Horror Film – scary costumes, flashing lights, creepy sound effects (thunder storm), Creepy costumes, voice changing effects.

11. In Taxi Driver (Scorsese 1976), the dark dirty streets of New York add feeling and mood to the sleezy atmosphere of the film

12. In American Beauty (Mendes 1999) we see the perfect world of suburban America with its white picket fences and perfectly manicured gardens.

13. 2. Costume, Hair & Make Up • Costume, Hair & Make Up act as an instant indicator to us of a character’s personality, status & job • It tells us immediately whether the film is set in the present and what society/or culture it will centre around • Certain costumes can signify certain individuals (i.e. black cloak of a vampire, Spidey’s Spiderman suit)

14. TASK- Fill in here- use extra slides if you need What does the costume in these shots tell us? The costumes in this shot tells me that the women are on a night out and ready to go to a club. These costumes also tell us that they are expecting to go somewhere quite posh and upper class. Also the costumes are very eye-catching so that can draw attention to them.

15. TASK- Fill in here- use extra slides if you need What does the costume in these shots tell us? This costume tells me that this shot is based around the olden days. In the olden days, royalty would wear very tight corset tops and a big skirt on bottom to match the corset. The women would have the corset so tied up that it would singe in their waste to make it smaller. This costume also tells me that in the olden days they did not like to us vibrant colours in their clothing so they kept them plain and neutral.

16. What does the costume in these shots tell us? This costume tells me that this shot is based on a western themed place. The cowboy hat shows that the characters facial features seem very gloomy and suspicious. This costume also tells me that this scene is in a desert that has no type of living at that certain place. The costume on the alleged cowboy tells me that this scene is set in the past due to the fact that cowboys are not around in the present times.

17. What does the costume in these shots tell us? (clue- does gender make a difference here?) The costumes in this shot tells me that they could have just come back from a horse ride. The mans hat shows that he may be doing this activity for much longer than this little girl has because his hat looks very worn. The man also looks quite old because he has a grey beard, this suggests that he has been doing riding for a long time. This shot also shows that the man is doing up the stuff on the horse, this shows that he is being a gentleman towards the little girl.

18. What does the costume in these shots tell us? This costume in this shot tells us that it can be involved in a spy scene because the way the man is about to whisper something in the mans ear suggests that they are trying to keep a secret. This costume in this shot also suggests that the scene could be based in a smart restaurant. Also, the mans facial expressions show that he seems to be wary about what he is surrounded by and that he is looking suspicious due to the man whispering something in his ear. This suggests that the man has heard something he doesn’t like.

19. What does the costume in these shots tell us? This costume in this shot tells me that she has just finished an exercise and she has come back to a surprise that she wasn’t expecting. From the expression on her face, she seems to not be impressed by what she has overcome. The way her hair is messy and all over the place tells me that she had put a lot of effort into what she had been doing. Also her face is glowing and that can represent her sweating so that can also back up why she is wearing sport wear.

20. Colour • Colour carries certain connotations which may add meaning to a scene (i.e. Red = Danger/Passion) • Can give a scene a particular look, feel or mood • Can be used for dramatic effect

21. Colour The greatest invention after sound in the movie business? Regardless it is very effective. A modern film like La Haine shot in B&W is very powerful in communicating the bleakness of life. Traffic, uses a grey/blue filter at times to represent the different situations to us Collateral was shot in HD, illuminating the colours of the night even more

22. Colour also can create mood and atmosphere, Shindlers List for example uses a touch of colour during the rounding up of the Ghetto scene. The red coat of the little blond girl, highlights the pain of the situation with great clarity and emotion.

23. TASK Use of colour Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tILIeNjbH1E TASK Choose your favourite one of these and make notes on its effectiveness.

24. The effectiveness of colour • Can create a better look for the film itself. • It can make the film more eye opening. • If certain colours are in certain places, it can become very powerful for people viewing it. • Different colours can create different emotions. This can be ideal for when you are creating a distraught mood to the scene. Ideally you would use very dark colours for it.

25. TASK: Find 3 still images from different films where you think the colour is powerfully used- explain what effect you feel it has: I think colour has been powerfully used in the jungle because I find that the colours represent a great surprise to the characters. I feel that the colour makes the scene very eye-opening and unusual to an every day jungle. I find that the colour in this scene of The Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is very vibrant and it makes me feel very exotic. I think this is because the colours remind me that they are trying to duplicate fruit because they are so bright. I find the dark colours in this photo gives off a very dull and emotional look. The way the lighting is positioned shows their shadows and that gives me a sinister effect.

26. Lighting & Colour Lighting & Colour can be used to achieve a variety of effects: • To highlight important characters or objects within the frame • To make characters look mysterious by shading sections of the face & body • To reflect a characters mental state/hidden emotions (i.e. bright = happy, dark = disturbed, strobe effect = confused

27. Types of Lighting • LOW KEY LIGHTING: • Created by using only the key & back lights • Produces sharp contrasts of light and dark areas • Deep, distinct shadows/silhouettes are formed Example: Horror Films

28. TASK: find a still from a film which uses low key lighting • LOW KEY LIGHTING: • Created by using only the key & back lights • Produces sharp contrasts of light and dark areas • Deep, distinct shadows/silhouettes are formed Example: Horror Films

29. Types of Lighting • HIGH KEY LIGHTING: • More filler lights are used. Lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes • Produces brightly lit sets or a sunny day (right) Example: Rom-Coms

30. TASK: find a still from a film which uses high key lighting • HIGH KEY LIGHTING: • More filler lights are used. Lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes • Produces brightly lit sets or a sunny day (right) Example: Rom-Coms

31. TASK What types of lighting are used in the following images: B C A This image is using high key lighting because although it is an dramatic scene, they are not using natural lighting and because they have no shadow in the image, it isn’t very dramatic as it could have been. D E F This image is using low key lighting because it is very dark and creates a shadow with his body. This also creates an dramatic look for the image.

32. TASK What types of lighting are used in the following images: B C A This image is using both low key and high key lighting. Low key lighting because the lighting has created a shadow of a silhouette of the man on the wall. It is also high key lighting because they are not using natural lighting they are using artificial lighting. D E This image is using low key lighting because they are just using the back lighting to light up certain places and has a very sharp contrast in the photo. F

33. TASK What types of lighting are used in the following images: B C A High key lighting because it is using natural lighting and there is no use of studio lighting. Also because they are using natural lighting D E F This photo also uses high key lighting because the sun is going straight through the window and creating shadows on the people in this scene.

34. Three point Lighting The back light picks out the subject from the background The fill light from the opposite side makes sure that the key light only casts a faint shadow Bright key light highlights the object

35. TASK: For each image, answer the following questions: (first one is done for you) • What type of lighting is used in each image (High or Low Key)? • Where are the KEY LIGHTS, FILLER LIGHTS & BACK LIGHTS in each image? Google these ! • What effects/meanings does the lighting suggest?

36. AnalysingMise en Scene

37. BACK LIGHT FILLER LIGHTS KEY LIGHT

38. Low Key lighting because a the contrast is very high due to not having any natural lighting. Key Light Back Light The lighting suggests that they are trying to make this image seem very dramatic and tries to tell the viewers that it isn’t over yet.

39. Back Lighting Key light Filler light

42. Analyse a sequence When we analyse a sequence in terms of mise en scène, we need to look at how all the different elements and techniques work together to: Tell a story Evoke an atmosphere Give the audience information Provoke an audience response Highlight key themes

43. TASK Imagine a room . How would you decorate it and what would you put in it to suggest the following inhabitants: • A poor and destitute couple in the 17th Century • The room what have very old paintings hanging up on the wall. The room would not be clean. The woman would be made to do washing and cleaning. The men would be made to work in a factory to gather such little money. The walls would be a plain white or cream color and dark furniture and curtains to not have much access to having light in that room.

44. TASK Imagine a room . How would you decorate it and what would you put in it to suggest the following inhabitants: 2. A middle-class couple in the 1940s I would decorate the room as a big vintage fire place with plants on the window side and a bright colored curtain covering the window with matching blinds. I would also get a brightly colored table with matching chairs. Stripy wallpaper to add more color to the room. Brightly colored flowers to make the room brighten up. Lots of books and statues placed around the area.

45. TASK Imagine a room . How would you decorate it and what would you put in it to suggest the following inhabitants: 3. A spy in the present day The room would be a casual place to sit in and to relax. It would look like a standard lounge area where you can chill. But it would have secret compartments to it and hidden secrets that only they would know about. It would look like a simple lounge are so it would have a TV and a few couches around the area and a coffee table.

46. TASK Imagine a room . How would you decorate it and what would you put in it to suggest the following inhabitants: 4. A businessman in the present day The room for a businessman would be a very simple lounge area with a filing cabinet and a coffee table that is covered with papers and sheets from work. Cups of coffee spread also across the coffee table and stationery placed in a pot on the side. A slight slanted couch in the corner and a rug under the coffee table.

47. TASK Imagine a room . How would you decorate it and what would you put in it to suggest the following inhabitants: 5. A business woman in the present day She would have her suit hanging up ready for work on her wardrobe door. Her work papers would be piling up inside her bag bursting the zip. A desk with a matching chair in the corner of the room and a mood board covering the whole of the desk. Pencils and pens scattered all over the desk and floor surrounding the desk. Shoes spilling out the wardrobe and business wear chucked all over the floor from indecisive choices.

48. TASK Imagine a room . How would you decorate it and what would you put in it to suggest the following inhabitants: 6. A group of students The students room would have a mini fridge in the corner next to their working desk and timetables with their lessons pinned up on a board hanging above the desk. A few beds scattered around the room with mix matching duvets and pillows and old washing bundled up in the corner and old underwear spread across the room.

49. Analysing Media Language Part 2 Camerawork (Cinematography) and editing

50. Cinematography • Lens • Camera angle • Camera movement • Focus • Film stock