Aliyah: Unit 20

Open/closed ending narratives O pen-ended narrative: The Dark Knight Rises (2012) An open-ended film is when a film or show ends with no clue as to what will happen next whereas a closed-ending narrative is when a film or a show ends with no confusion and the audience don't have to question what will happen next. The Dark Knight Rises is an open-ended film, this is due to the fact that it ends with Bane and Talia revealing that there is an armed device due to detonate just before they die. As the film ends like this, it is open for future directors to make a sequel to the film. This is effective because it means that they can make even more profit from a popular film by making sequels. There are also many other advantages such as the fact that it keeps the audience guessing what will happen next and contains an element of surprise as often in open-ended narratives there are plot twists, take The Dark Knight Rises as an example of this as in the end of the film we find...

Editing and framing techniques: 180 degree rule: This allows the director to establish an invisible line, normally separating the sides each subject is on so that each shot is kept the same and it is not disorientating for the audience. An example of the 180 degree line is in the film venom, as shown in the image below, venom is on the left whilst the other character is on the right, if in the next shot the two characters were facing the opposite way this would confuse/disorientate the audience as they would see a clear difference between the two shots and therefore the 180 degree rule ensures that they are able to make the scenes flow more naturally and overall, create a smooth transition. Rule of thirds: The rule of thirds is a grid which is used to show where the subject should be placed (on the intersections of the grid). Typically, the character's eyes should be leveled with the top line just as its shown in the image below from the film, The Incredibles, espec...

Camera movement techniques: Panning:    Panning is a camera movement technique where the camera is usually positioned on a tripod and pivots from left to right or vice a versa. This is particularly effective when the director wants to show a setting/view as it allows the audience to feel more engaged with the scene and to see specific elements which may contribute to the plot, for example a character or a location. In the video you can see that the panning shot allows us to see the man who is on the phone as well as the hallway next to him. This is important to the director as it also allows them to show other elements of the film which could be key to the storyline. Furthermore, the panning shot in this example is at eye level which gives the audience a sense of familiarity as the camera pans into the hallway. Tilting: Tilting shots are when the camera is stationary once again however moves up and down instead of side to side. This is effective in shots wh...

Todorov's narrative structure: The Lord of the rings Todorov's narrative structure is the theory that most stories follow the same narrative structure which consists of five parts: equilibrium, disruption, recognition, repair and finally a new equilibrium. He proposed that this was to keep the reader intrigued so that they keep reading or watching. In this essay i will be using J.R.R Tolkiens series of books/films 'The Lord of the rings' to analyse how Todorov's narrative structure is presented. EQUILIBRIUM:   During the equilibrium stage of the film we see Bilbo Baggins hand down the main prop in the film which is the 'one ring' to Frodo, that as far as we know is rightfully the creature, Gollum's property as it was stolen from his cave after he stole it from Sauron during the ancient battle for middle earth. After Frodo accepts the ring the wizard Gandalf is  introduces him to the quest that comes with it. This is intriguing to the audien...

Taylor Swift "we are never ever getting back together" single camera analysis: In Taylor Swift's music video for her song "we are never ever getting back together" the director Declan Whitebloom used a single camera production in order to achieve the appearance of one continuous take. This was beneficial for the music video as it was easy and quick to set up and flexible to film the 5 different sets with one camera especially as her apartment set contained a trick wall that backed away leading to a bar. Furthermore, using a single camera production allowed a much more fluent shot which was vital to the director as he wanted to make the video unique by using such a difficult filming technique but also wanted the video to be free-flowing at the same time. One of the biggest challenges that they faced was changing Taylor's wardrobe in each scene, however thanks to quick and efficient work they were able to do it and still create an amazing music v...

Music video: Lady Gaga "a million reasons" single camera technique production In Lady Gaga's music video for her song "million reasons" she uses single camera production to film. The purpose of the music video is to convey a message/ideology that seems quite personal to her. In the music video we see a switch between her life away from the stage, fame and glamour and get to see that fame isn't always easy and it comes with great sacrifice - perhaps she is trying to show that love and friendship can be challenged by her lifestyle which she clearly finds difficult to cope with, as shown through her music video. In particular, the scene using a medium close-up at a low angle shown below portrays an image of Lady Gaga lying on the floor of the desert in dark, plain clothes which juxtaposes her usual glamorous appearance and setting, therefore, already suggesting that something is off/different. Moreover, from the fact that it is shot in a desert we can infe...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo9SOZr5aQU One of the main benefits of using a single camera production for wildlife documentaries such as this one is that the camera man is only using one camera therefore it is more flexible to film the animal - in this case a leopard as the camera can move around it more easily and into tighter spaces than if there were several cameras to manoeuvre.     Furthermore, using a single camera to film the wildlife in this Kruger national park could be extremely useful as it is much less intrusive for the animals and won't scare them off by setting up several cameras. Moreover, this would be useful for quickly catching shots of rare animals or moments as one single camera can be set up quickly and easily and is therefore more efficient compared to multi-camera production documentaries. Single camera filming is also known to be much more fluent as only filming with one camera from one angle allows the camera-man to easily follow ...