Textual Analysis: Film Poster

Textual Analysis: Film Poster

In this poster, character positing is used to establish who our main characters are. Chris Pratt, the character in the middle, is likely to be our main protagonist due to his placement in the centre of the poster making him an unique selling point. His strong stance suggest that his is the leader of the group and isn’t easily overcome. The positioning of the four other protagonists around him portrays a sense of unity between them and determination to protect one another.

The facial expressions of the characters are quite stern and aggressive which could suggest that the characters are angry or vengeful. This could create an interesting enigma for the audience because you don't usually see the protagonists of an action adventure superhero film be seen negatively or vindictive.

Chris Pratt’s costume isn’t stereotypical of a Marvel heroes’. Instead of having a slick and practical suit like most heroes, his costume is a lot less ostentatious. His long red leather jacket and jeans makes him seem a lot more relaxed and almost . However, this less cliché look could seem more relatable to the target audience and they might enjoy seeing a more realistic, non conventional hero.

The costume that the woman at the front, Zoe Saldana, is wearing is slick and rather revealing. Similarly to Chris Pratt’s costume, her costume and stance go against the stereotypes of women in action adventure or science fiction. Women are often seen as the ‘damsel in distress’ and always need a man to protect them but the poster clearly indicates that that is not the case in these circumstances. Her going against female stereotypes would no doubt appeal to women but her costume and stance could be seen as some what sexually appealing therefore attracting a larger audience. 

Near the bottom of the poster it says in a bold gold font, “From the studio that brought you the Avengers”. Avengers was extremely successful and had a huge target audience. This statement would allow the audience to almost predict what the film was going to be like an distantly be able to identify whether they’d find it appealing for not. The colour gold has connotations of compassion, courage and wisdom, all of which we hope to see within our protagonists.

The setting clearly establishes that the film is going to fall into the genres of science fiction and action adventure. This is evident through the use of images like planets and stars in the background and their props. All the characters have some sort of weapon, none of which seem like they belong in our time. By establishing the genre, the studio would have been able to target the types of things that science fiction fans enjoy seeing and use it to their advantage. The props and backdrop would have helped them to achieve this. 

Opening Sequence Analysis

Opening Sequence Analysis

Mission impossible: Ghost Protocol is an action film, premiered in 2011, that opens with an establishing shot of a prison in Moscow where our protagonist, Ethan Hunt is being held. This shot helps inform the audience where the action is taking place and gives an insight as to what the prison is like. The fact that the opening sequence is set in a Russian

prison rather than a prison in another country such as America where our protagonist is from, suggests that the character is undercover and or in danger. The shot also establishes how securer the prison is suggesting that the type of criminals our protagonist is with are very dangerous and also gives the audience an insight as to the scale of his crime. 

 Another shot used was an over the shoulder shot of the ‘Captain’ of the guards. The camera looks over his shoulder, onto a computer screen where we see that nearly all the

cell doors are being opened without authority and the prisoners are escaping. This shot would make the audience feel a lot more immersed in the action as they are seeing it from a perspective much like the character is as well as seeing their emotions which also gives them an insight as to how much damage is being caused. 


A close up is used when establishing the emotions of one of our protagonist’s overly cautious friends. Bogdan as Ethan tries to convince him to leave. These close ups provide quite a comedic moment in-between all the chaos that is going on around them. It also allows us to see that Ethan is trustworthy as Bogdan agrees to follow him through the mayhem and to their freedom. 

Towards the end of the sequence, a tracking shot is used as our protagonist is trying to run through the prison whilst struggling to avoid the fights going on around him and dragging a friend through with him. This shot exposes the audience to the amount of chaos being caused by all the fighting going on. The shot also suggests that there has been a bad relationship growing between the guards and the prisoners as there is a lot of tension and violence shared between them. It is almost like the status has been reversed and because there are so many more prisoners than guards.

Django is a Western film, produced in 2012, that opens with a long shot. This shot establishes the hot, desert location that the opening sequence is set. This shot suggests that the anyone we see in the next few shots will have been travelling for a long time in excruciating temperatures. This shots soon pans to the right and turns into a mid long shot

where we see a line of black men with scars across their backs, likely inflicted by a whip, led by someone on a horse. This could suggest that the men whom we see walking are either in trouble or, due to the era and location it's set in, they're being put for sale as slaves by the man on the horse who's likely in charge. The shot also allows us to see that the men are stumbling suggesting that they have been walking for a long time and that the man on the horse shares not pity for them.
Another shot used was a close up tracking shot of our main character, Django that starts with a deep depth of field and eventually changes to have a shallow depth of field. When in a deep depth of field, we can see Django but our main focus is on the rocks to his left, establishing location and time frame because we can see that the light has dimmed since the opening long shot. When the depth of field changes, we see the detail in Django's face

giving the audience an insight as to what he's thinking and feeling. By using this shot the audience can already being piecing together the story and anticipating the outcome.

A panning long shot is then used to establish how time has passed as the lighting has dimmed significantly since the close up. After panning, the camera zooms through a parting between some rocks to create an extra long shot of the men. In this shot, we see a lot more greenery which suggests that they're nearing the edge of the desert suggesting they are near their destination. The extra long shot presents the characters to be very small compared to their surroundings again suggesting that they've been walking for a very long time.
Towards the end of the sequence, there is a point of view shot from Dr Shultz as he approaches the slave traders and the slaves. This shot establishes that Dr Shultz is either the protagonist or at least a character whom the audience will find appealing mainly because you don't usually have a point of view shot from the antagonist because audience members don't want to associate themselves with them. 

Barefoot In The Park is 1967 American romantic comedy. The opening sequence is very different to Django or Mission Impossible because they have a variety of shots throughout whereas in 'Barefoot In The Park', the opening sequence is made of a couple of close ups and five mid long tracking shots, all of which follow a horse and carriage with a young couple kissing in the convertible carriage. These shots allow the occurring events to seem like they're  continuous and go uninterrupted, similarly to how the young lovers were probably feeling. These shots do establish a location of a park within a city but it is not

clear where exactly where. I believe this is because in 1967 they didn't have as advanced technology as we do and would have had limited options making some shots next to impossible for them.

Camera Workshop No.2

Camera Workshop No.2

When filming a scene, you always film a wide angle shot first and then to establish the placement of the characters so they know where to stand in the other shots for continuity purposes but also so that if for some reason something goes wrong, you'll have all the footage you need in your wide angle shot.

Continuity is important because it helps the film seems realistic and seamless. Without visual continuity a movie becomes a series of unnatural jarring moments that take the audience out of the illusion that your movie is a depiction of real life.

It is hard to sustain continuity because you may be filming over a few days of weeks, making it hard to keep all the little details the same. If an actor is using a cigaret as a prop in a scene, the script supervisor has to make sure that the cigaret is the same length each time because it would be strange if in one shot, their cigaret has just been lit then suddenly it's completely.

On set there are thing called 'call outs' that the film crew use throughout the filming. Before filming, the director will call, 'Stand by'. They won't start filming until everyone from sound to cinematography has answered back. The reason why the words 'stand by' are used is so that they cannot be mistaken for anything else. If the director shouted the word 'ready' people wouldn't necessarily realise whats going on. The next call would then by 'camera rolling', when the cameraman/men are rolling they call back 'rolling'. After waiting a few seconds, the director will call 'action' and the actors will begin the scene. When the scene ends, the director usually waits a few seconds before saying 'cut'. The cameraman stops recording and the take is over.
Directors will always let the camera roll for a few seconds before calling action and then after the scene before saying cut. The reason for this is so that they ensure that they don't miss anything and also incase something different and interesting happens, which they would otherwise miss.

When setting up the camera a body double is often used. A body double is someone who is the same height and size as the actor. The body double is placed in the frame for the cameraman to focus on them. A marker is then placed so that the actor knows where to position themselves and so they go to the same position for each take. It also means that the cameraman doesn't have to re-focus the camera for every take.

You shouldn't watch every take back when on set mainly because it would make the filming take an unnecessarily long time going back and watching every shot after every take. It's also not good to allow the actor to watch themselves as it can often put them off causing them to start acting weirdly on set, trying to irradiate the things about themselves that they didn't like in the previous take.

The 180 degree rule is a vital part of continuity. When setting up the camera, you are deciding what side of the action you want to film. You have to make a mark in your mind about where the 180 degree line is and make sure you don't pass it. The main reason for this is, if you are filming a conversation between a man and a woman and you start filming it with the woman on the left and the man on the right, you cannot exceed the line. If you do then the woman would be on the right and the man would be on the left.

Camera Techniques

Camera Techniques

There is a lot that you can infer from the angle in which the camera is placed to view the action within a scene. Different shot types can be used to connote status or emotion in a subtle or obvious way and can also be used to associate different character types. Below is a video that gives examples of some shot types.

One shot type that I didn't think the video propose very well was an establishing shot. They're usually used at the beginning of a film and also briefly at scene changes. They establish the location helping the audience understand where and when the film is set.

Camera Workshop No.1

Camera Workshop No.1

Today we had our first camera workshop and we learnt all about the cameras and tripods

we’ll be using for our filming of our thrillers. We were shown how to set them up and the basic rules we need to respect when using them. For example, Paul talked about the ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ rule which was a rule as to how we need to handle the camera when it’s not on the tripod. This rule is placed so that we don’t drop the camera when handling it or passing to another person. If you want to give it to someone you say ‘yours’, when they know they have it they say ‘mine’ so that you know if you let go then the camera won’t be dropped.

We then learned about how to level, focus and set up the camera. To ensure the camera in level you have to check the ‘spirit level’ and make sure that the bubble in within the circle marked on the camera. If not levelled, the frame would look slanted and probably slightly disorientating for the audience. After establishing that the camera is level, you have to focus the camera. To do this, you have to zoom in on what it is you want to focus on within the frame, focus it manually, then zoom out. The cameras focus will stay on the thing you zoomed in on and will stay like that until you change it. 

ISO is the cameras sensitivity to light. If the ISO is quite high, the footage will be very bright, if low, it will appear darker. A disadvantage to using ISO to alter the brightness high because it can cause more noise to appear in the footage. The ideal ISO to use is 400 however, if filming in the evening or a very dark setting, you may have to increase it in order to see it.

The shutter angle is what alters the ‘frame-rate’ of the filming. The optimal shutter angle is 180 degrees as that is the setting in which the discs open and allow light to enter once per revolution to each exposed frame causing the camera to have a higher frame rate as it is the amount of time the sensor is exposed to light.



White balancing allows us to discard the more unwanted colours from the frame as often when something appears white in reality, on camera it looks slightly off because the camera hasn’t adapted to the different temperature of the light. If there is a high light temperature, the colour white would have a slight blue tint however if there’s a low light temperature the colour of the footage would have more of an orange tint.

When filming, it is important not to film with effects, instead you should add the effects during the editing process. This is mainly due to the fact that if you film with an effect, you have no other option in post-production but to use that effect however, if you film in ordinary colour, then you'll be able to edit the effects in any way you choose.

Tension Within a Thriller Opening: Sync Corp

Tension Within a Thriller Opening: Sync Corp

The story of ‘Sync Corp’ is about two henchmen who seem to be on a mission to either kill or ascertain information from the woman, who is likely to be a spy. The henchmen are presented at the beginning disguised as caretakers cleaning the food hall they're in, with the woman sat at the table behind them doing work on her computer. The men reveal their guns but when they turn around she’s gone. When searching for her both men get killed confirming that the woman is highly trained in her field of work.

We are only introduced to the two men and woman, non of of whom are named. Due to the nature of the narrative it is hard to decipher who the protagonist or antagonist is and how the events in the scene will effect the rest of the film if it was to be made.

Tension was created several times within the opening firstly, when the camera pans over the woman, we see that the documents she’s observing say ‘Sync Corp’ and ‘launch code sequence’ which is no doubt very important and dangerous information. This partnered with the suspicious looks that the characters share in the first few moments suggests there will be some form of conflict, creating tension as we anticipate the outcome.

Theres a moment where the men share a nod which must be an indication that they were ready to conduct their mission. Seeing the men pull out their guns creates tension but we also see the woman running off in the background suggesting that she knew they were after her. This creates tension as we now know that there will be some sort of dangerous confrontation. 

As one of the men approaches the kitchen there is a crescendo in the non diegetic sound track creating tension. This music partnered with the action match used during the combat creates a very smooth and sophisticated ora about the woman which could be interpreted as a clue foreshadowing the following events.

Film Review on Mad Max: Fury Road

Film Review on Mad Max: Fury Road

Years after the collapse of civilisation, the brutal dictator Immortan Joe subjugated all survivors within a desert fortress called the Citadel which he controlled by restricting peoples everyday needs such as water. Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) attempts to escape with Immortan Joe's five precious breeding wives, and return to her homeland where she was taken from many years ago. They're apprehended by Immortan Joe and his 'War Boys' where she meets Max, a recent captive being used as a 'blood bag' by a war boy. They form an alliance and together try to outrun the ferocious army in a deadly high-speeds chase through the ruins of their destructive earth.

Mad Max was released in 2015 and won 6 academy awards in the 2016 Oscars Ceremony such as: Best costume, best film editing, best sound editing, best production design, best sound mixing and best makeup and hairstyling as well as countless other awards. Mad Max is an action adventure movie that also includes elements of fantasy and speculative fiction which together create a touching but highly violent and somewhat disturbing story allowing it to withstand a vast target audience.

Although I love to see all the amazing things filmmakers can now accomplish with CGI, one of things I enjoyed most in Mad Max was the lack of CGI and how so much of it was filmed on location with hundreds of stuntmen and highly elaborate set and props. I felt like this created a really immersive and engaging foundation for the film and made it seem more realistic which was almost quite worrying as the narrative of Mad Max presents a possible outcome for our world. This was one of the Director, George Miller’s main objectives, to make the film as realistic as possible to make the audience slightly uncomfortable because we may well experience similar circumstances one day.

Personally, my favourite character was Furiosa, an imperator of Immortan Joe’s and driver of his war-rig, played by Charlize Theron. She was one of Immortan Joe’s most valued possessions but she’s also a very determined and ruthless character which is why she not only left but took his five wives. She didn't believe in giving up and staying in the Citadel as a belonging of Immortan Joe’s. 

I also love all the stereotypes she breaks within the film. All the other women who we see in the film have a determination to leave just like Furiosa but they are presented quite differently. Immortan Joe’s wives are locked in a volt so they cannot escape and all have to wear chastity belts so that no one else can lay their hands on them. Immortan Joe needs these women to try and have a healthy son to be his heir as his other two sons along with himself and all the war boys have severe health problems probably due to repercussions of the collapse of humanity. The wives are used for nothing but breeding and are seen as almost completely helpless without Furiosa. Whereas Furiosa doesn't need the help of others to leave. If she hadn’t taken the wives and a lot of the Citadel’s valuable oil, she wouldn’t have had any problem leaving. She is one of the protagonists in our film which especially in action adventure films, is quite rare. Her mental strength encourages the audience to trust her. However, when she finds out the truth about her homeland and completely breaks down we see the wall that she uses to protect herself completely fall and she crumbles into a vulnerable character.

It is at this point in the film where I feel Max's character becomes vital to the survival of Furiosa, the wives and the other women from Furiosa's homeland who have joined them. Up until this point in the film, I didn't feel like I could properly trust or associate myself with Max as you usually do with the protagonist. However, when all hope seems to be lost, we see Max assuming the role of the protagonist alongside Furiosa. Together, they strike back on the army chasing them. The high-speed chase creates a lot of tension

as we see the characters putting themselves in jeopardy to protect each other. On of my favourite moments during the chase is when Max is trying to make his way back to the war-rig and Furiosa just catches him. Just when we think everything going to be fine, a war boy comes up behind Furiosa and stabs her. The reason why I really liked this moment is because usually we see the protagonist as very independent and sure of themselves but this moment and the moments after show that they can't always rely on themselves. 

There are several times throughout the chase where you see either Max or Furiosa going out of their way to help each other. These moments were quite touching because they whole film is based around the consequences of of a collapsed civilisation but there is still humanity left within a few people- these were the people who would save the others in the Citadel from their strictly dictated lives.