The main theme of this move is the corruption of youth. The main character Derek Bentley has mental disabilities that give him the mentality of a 13 year old. Throughout the text, Derek is constantly manipulated and mislead by his peers who take advantage of Derek's disability. However it is not only disabled people who have a corrupted youth, but also the other children. In the first few minutes the audience can see the other character climb into a un-authorised building without permission which connotes to the rebellious youth who don't conform to the rules and laws of society. The text shows the audience how cynical the world really is, and how nobody is really you're friend but rather people with their own goals in mind, that shapes the youth.
Mental Illness
As mentioned earlier, the main character, Derek Bentley has a mental illness. Near the end of the scene you can see from his facial expression that he is under a lot of pressure and is very nervous due to the gunfire and death that occurs around him. Around 1:45 of the clip the audience can see that Derek is easily peer pressured into committing a crime that he never wanted to do, connoting to how people manipulate and pressure people with mental illnesses to meet their own goals. Some members of the audience with mental illness may be able to relate if they have ever been put into a uncomfortable situation because of peer pressure, giving that person personal identification with the character, making that person want to watch the text even more.
Rebellion
Throughout the entire clip there is a constant amount of rebellion. The two characters break into a building, carrying weapons and then one of them kills/wounds 2 police officers which is the ultimate form of rebellion - attacking the authority. The two characters are quite young and emotional, which is shown when Derek starts crying and shouting when gunshots start so sound and the other character starts to scream and emotionally fire into the sky, feeling more and more dominant with every round that he releases. Some members of the audience who have never broken the law may use the text for escapism into what it feels like to break the law, fight in the streets and actually kill people, which for members of the audience that have never broken the law can give surges of adrenaline and action, making them pay more and more attention to the text.
Aspiration and Escape
Although this theme may not be very obvious, the text reeks of aspiration and escape as the dull and boring, goody two-shoes Derek Bentley is transformed into a gang member who carries weapons and breaks the law with his colleagues. Derek was bored with his dull life and wanted a taste of what was seen as "cool" back in the era that the text was set in. Derek wanted to escape into a life that he had never experienced before, only seen. Certain members of the audience who can relate to Derek would enjoy this movie the best because the text is set through Derek's eyes and his emotions are clear, he is actually an innocent and kind young man, not the gangster who he has set himself up to be.
Isolation and Exclusion
The theme of isolation and exclusion becomes very clear as Derek freaks out when the gunshots start to fly all around him, he runs to be on his own, away from the other character with the gun. This connotes to how Derek is excluded by the gun which has connotations of danger and death. Derek is excluded from the life of danger and death in the text. Derek being the only character in the entire text who has a mental illness is definitely isolated as he has nobody who he can relate to so he chooses his friends poorly which results in the dangerous gunfight on the rooftop.
The mis-en-scene in four lions is very simple and subtle, for example the clothing of the main characters is scruffy and cheap, connoting to the kind of clothes a tramp would wear, all except the leader of the Jihadi group who wears denim jeans and a jacket, although still not very expensive clothing that shows that they are still normal people just like everybody else, which can connote to how modern day terrorists are quite poor and scruffy, there are never any rich Jihadi Muslims.
Also there is more mis-en-scene as the actors play on the modern day stereotype that terrorists are dumb muslims from the middle-east, which is followed up in Four lions, the 4 characters have a combined IQ of 170 between them. The incompotent group set out to do their Jihadi in the name of Allah so audiences watching the movie can gain information on terrorist motives, their method and execution.
The lighting in four lions is usually very bright to show that the movie is also comedic and not meant to be taken seriously as its kept lighthearted for the audience to enjoy. This is very important as the movie is mostly about comedy and that's why it's loved by so many. Also the fact that only muslims play the terrorists and that white people play the policemen again goes on typical stereotypes based on race, that white people are the authority and brown people are dangerous terrorists.
The movie is set in modern day as it uses the modern day threats of terrorism and the modern day stereotypes based on race. Another modern day mis-en-scene is the character Barry, as in the olden day a white muslim would have been considered strange but now it's more accepted as we are more culturally aware in the modern day compared to back then. Also in the modern day Jihadis still use explosives as their weapon of choice just like traditional even though back in the olden days gunpowder was used instead of C4 explosives.
Another common stereotype in British Social Realist movies is the facial hair. Most audiences expect the Muslim Jihadists to have lots of facial hair, especially as they are middle eastern men. The audience can personally identify the characers against any real muslim people the aidoence may know or be used for information on what the average muslim looks like
The mis-en-scene in Billy Elliot all points towards the location being the average working class town during the miners strikes such as the character's wardrobe. The large amounts of denim clothing connotes that the the characters are all working class labourers, which was the average clothing for a miner and his family during the pit closures, so that can give the viewers personal identification or add to the realism of the era that Billy Elliot was set in
Another hint of realism is the actor's accents, the father's accent is thick with Scottish and the kid's accents are all Geordie as the movie was based in Newcastle, where the rioting was the worst throughout all of the UK. This again can add to the social realism of the time period as having very thick northern accents were a normal thing.
The lighting in Billy Elliot starts out to be dark and grimy but later turns into ambience and overly bright as Billy accepts his love of ballet, this can connote to how the audience may be able to personally identify how their life gets brighter as they find their purposes and become happy just like Billy Elliot.
Also the small living spaces that were bought on the low wages of a miner are also included as you can see the characters not having alot of space to themselves in their own kitchen, so audiences that grew up in this kind of space can personally identify with the scene or people can use it for escapism into a miner's family life at home.
We used the 180 degree rule and match on action but unfortunately we had a lot of empty space within the filming we had done. This is defiantly something that I would have improved if we were going to film again. Because there is "dead" space within the shot it becomes unattractive to the audiences. For example in this shot all of the action is on the right of the camera while the left half is a barren wasteland with nothing to offer to the audience.
However me and my group used match on action really well as it was fluid and accurate in the timing of the cutting and editing, for example
By using match on action well we help the audience stay orientated and not become confused by the editing and cutting. However there was an continuity error with my hands as they are in the opposite places than the 1st shot, another thing that if we were to go and record again we'd fix.
We used the 180 degree rule while we had a conversation in the filming so that the audience stayed interested in watching the rest of the conversation and was careful not to break the 180 degree rule incase the audience became disorientated by constant angle changes, making it unappealing to the audience.
Me and my group encountered several challenges post-production such as a faulty battery and then another dead-battery for the cameras we were supposed to record on, and a teacher wanting to use a camera when we also wanted to use it. If we were able to change this and start again I would make sure we are fully equipped and ready to start filming as soon as possible rather than having to start late and record in our own free time, making it less rushed and have more quality. There were also problems such as other students/teachers accidentally walking into the scene unaware that we were filming and then disrupting the filming sequence. If I were to change this then I'd make sure that everybody understood that we were using the space and politely ask them to be careful with noise around our filming.
The overall strengths of our work was the creativity, we worked well together and efficiently as we finished on time especially as we ended up starting later than all the other groups, we were also one of the first groups to have completed all of the editing work. Our movie was creative and fun for the audiences we displayed it to as it had hints of comedy and schadenfreude for the audience to enjoy. The technical side of the production of our Media Preliminary Task was difficult laying our hands on Final Cut Pro for the first time to edit as we had never used it to edit before but one of the people in our group was a GCSE Media student so we weren't completely helpless in the editing phase of our film.
The weaknesses of our work was the planning in the post-production stage, it caused us to work quite late compared to the other groups and caused us to rush our work adding more continuity errors to the production of our movie. Another problem was that Fabio's trousers ripped whilst we were recording and then we had to start recording from the beginning. So this made the post-production a massive series of problems until we ended up finishing recording.
Film Four is an British Terrestrial TV Channel and Film Producer. It has aims to develop new British Talent and be a leader of innovation in the British Film Industry. It has lived through multiple guises such as Channel Four Films or FilmFour International, since it's inception with Channel Four. Film Four has been recognised to have been behind some of the most significant British films of the last twenty seven years.
The themes shown by Film Four have built a reputation for producing social realist films, referred to as kitchen sink dramas. These films display domestic hardships of working class Britons as realistically as possible, even using untrained actors to achieve setting the tones and great smash mouth openings for British Social Realism films. One theme is aspiration and escape from Fish tank, the main character is an untrained actor and has a heavy accent as the main character tries to escape from her tedious and mundane life into an serene and peaceful way of living. Another key theme is drug abuse and rebellion found in Trainspotting. Where the actors considered doing method acting of actually injecting heroin in themselves to understand the characters better. Film Four is also known for breaking the mould in British Films and push boundaries on controversial themes such as sexuality, drug abuse and sexual violence, which initially the audience respond with shock but later learn to respect the characters and their choices.
Film Four's ethos is to invest in upcoming British Talent, to invest £500,000 per film at around 20 film per year, centred around controversial and/ or British Social Realism themes. To support inter nation independent films as well as British Social Realism
Sound techniques are used in movies to set the mood for whatever is related to the visuals, without sounds movies would be nothing but pictures, no music, no foley, no sound effects. Without these elements movie making would not be the same.
Diegetic Sound
Any sound in which the characters in the scene can hear for themselves
For example in this gunfight from Matrix all of the characters can hear gunfire, the huddle of several moving men, the sound of guns being raised for example. In this scene all of these sound elements conspire to making this fight scene. Because of the diegetic sound we, the audience can feel the excitement and adrenaline rush emanating from the fighting all adding to the realism of the visuals. Another use from these sounds being used specifacally is the satisfaction coming from Catharsis, hearing the ammo fall or guts falling out can be extremely satisfying to some members of the audience.
Non Diegetic Sound
Any sound in which the characters in the scene can hear themselves
In this text orchestral background music helps set the scene by playing instruments usually associated with epic battles such as violins, drums and piano. By doing this the audience can feel the emotion of the characters unfold onto themselves as they get more and more excited and stimulated by the fanfare. Without the background noise there would be almost no emotions following this scene, just dull masses charging, but by adding the epic saga style of music the producers follow the main conventions of medieval warfare music, rather than choosing music that would not fit the scene in anyway, e.g. dub-step.
Dialogue
Words that are spoken between characters or more
Dialogue is the arguably the best way in which to get to know a character, because you can see their mode of address, what they have to say. Dialogue is very important as it decides who the character will be, the general conventions of a fool, or intellect or comedian. In this example i can understand that the subject is a very peculiar one who nobody quite seems to understand, and is "backwards" to everybody else in The Office
Mode of Address
The way in which the subject communicates with others e.g. informal, formal, cockney, geordie
Mode of address is very important in texts in which the location, stereotypes and documentaries are key in the film. A lot is revealed through Mode of Address for example their accents, whether or not they're formal or informal and standing within society (e.g. working class, upper class etc). For example in this text i can tell that the main character is from England with a very thick urban accent which is associated with working class. So with just her accent i've been able to discover where she is from and where she stands in society.
Synchronous Sound
This is where the sound matches the visuals and was filmed at the same time.
Most of the sounds we hear in films are counted as Synchronous Sound, as most of our movies have the right lip syncing and not as much Asynchronous Sounds. Synchronous Sound is important for the orientation of the audience and the overall quality of the film. If there is too much Asynchronous sound then the audience members will become disorientated by the text.
Asynchronous Sound
This is where the sound is either out of sync or completely unrelated to the visuals
Asynchronous sound is usually used to emphasise something that is important to the plot of the movie waiting to be discovered by the audience. In this example the man is down on the floor dazed as he slowly begins to hear ambulance sirens, voices, voices of doctors and children whispering which can signify how the subject is slowly losing his peace of mind. The audience gains the benefit of gaining insight into the subjects mind equipped with a better understanding.
Sound Motif
A piece of music or catchphrase that is commonly linked to a character or a film
Sound motif is very important as it symbolises a piece of music or catchphrase to a specific individual which can greatly boost the popularity of the text as remembering certain sound motifs have become a part of pop culture. For example whenever a fan of Dexter would hear the main theme music then they would instantly associate the music to Dexter or just like how somebody like Arnold Schwarzenegger has the iconic catchphrase "I'll be back" that instantly reminds you of his character The Terminator
Sound Bridge
A sound that links two scenes together, usually to hide a cut in the editing
Sound bridges are important to hide cuts in the editing, they fill the "awkward silences" in the trailers and movies, so that we focus on the music rather than the silence which would make cuts much more obvious, without this the audience can become disorientated, lowering the quality of the text which is bad for the directors.
Sound Perspective
This refers tot he volume and quality of sound depending on who/what is emitting the sound
Sound perspective can be very detailed, for example at 1:10 you can hear the villain's weapon rattle as he swings it in attack, a sound you wouldn't normally would pick up on if you were watching the movie as a pleasure rather than an objective. Sound perspective is great for audience members who love going into detail with the text, they gain personal gratification by discovering small things that other audience members would not always pick up on
Soundtrack
Usually songs already realised by wrists and used in films depending on the genre
Soundtracks much like Mode of Address is a very important factor when the text is largely factored by things such as location, accents and social standing. In this extract the soundtrack is a rap song which has connotations of gangs, fighting, rebellion and riots which is just what is shown in the trailer, if it was classical music for example the music would be too melancholic and be unpleasant.
Score
Often music composed specifically for the film
Ennio Morricone composed most of the music for spaghetti westerns in the 70's, a famous score soundtrack/ sound motif he created was for Clint Eastwood's the good the bad and the ugly. By having music specifically made for a certain text the composers can spend less time having to find the right music that suits the text and focus on other stuff. Also this music became very iconic for Clint Eastwood
Incidental Music
Often background music used to create atmosphere (ambience)
Incidental music is important for creating ambience within the scene and hiding cuts within the editing sequence, for example when the music starts playing at 1:10 starts creating a stimulus for the audience to get excited and active as they can guess a fight sequence will be following the music
Sound effects
Sounds often created by a computer as they do not exist in the real world e.g. a laser sword
Sound effects are some of the best parts of a sci-fi movie, as they arouse the imagination in a playful way, obviously because the device of a lightsaber does not exist the director must make a sound of his own to go with the sound of a lightsaber. Also the constant high beam sound created from sound effects made on a computer
Foley Sounds
Foley sounds are created in studios by Foley artists to mimic "real-life" sounds
Foley sounds are useful in movie sound techniques because, for example actors in a movie don't want to actually stab, punch and shoot at each other, they act it out whilst trying to make it look as realistic as they can. In this fight scene at 1:00 during the fight, the punches, lunges and breaking seems very realistic and a lot of the audience would believe they are genuine fighting, but because injuries are a serious problem they hire Foley sound artists to imitate "real-life" sounds without having to go through the risks during the acting part
