Todorov Narrative Theory

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Ideologies Presented In Film

Propp's Character Theory

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Developing An Awareness Of Audience

Old And New Hollywood - Case Study

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Researching The BBFC

Audience profile

Preferred Genre Of Film: 

• Horror
• Romance
  

Areas Of Strength In Practical Work:

I can use a camera well as I have already learned these skills before. I also know different camera movements and angles in order to take a photo/ video. I can come up with good ideas for films to help participate and share ideas with my group.

Areas Of Improvement In Practical Work:

Thinking about how to make the film and make all our ideas work in order to put them together. I need to learn how to use some of the software which I have not previously used. 

Areas Of Strength In Theory Work:

I can design good mood boards for inspiration for films. I can also use Photoshop well which will be a large part of this task as Photoshop is used to edit filming etc.

Key Skills At Attributes I Would Bring To The Group:

I will bring my knowledge of media key terms and good ideas to my group.

Theories Of Identity Including Gauntlett

Preliminary Task

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Comparison Of 'Bullitt' And 'The Dark Knight'

The start of ‘Bullitt’ opens with low key lighting to prepare the audience for the oncoming challenge ahead. This is because this is a thriller movie thus the audience will find it more intellectually challenging therefore the producers aim the movie at an ABC1 type category. The titles which fade in and out leave shadows on the characters faces and this portrays Todorov’s theory of binary opposites, representing good and evil characters.

This also means that Propp’s theory of characters is used, as there is a good character a bad character and a sidekick. The non-diegetic soundtrack in the background which is used is very typical of a crime genre. It is very mysterious which links to the opening scene of the film. The music stays at a steady pace the whole way through the opening scene, until it gets to the end and the music becomes amplified when the car pulls out of the car park which shows that there is some conflict happening in that particular moment of the scene. The lighting is very low key throughout the opening scene which creates shadows on the characters faces; however high key lighting is produced when the window is smashed and this highlights and emphasises the conflict going on in this part of the opening scene. The title and credits of the film move across the screen, come towards the audience and then disappear which could suggest the storyline of the film, a person going missing, as the way the credits are animated is very mysterious.

‘The Dark Knight’ opening scene similar to Bullitt in some ways. The robbers have masks over their faces which links with Bullitt as the men in Bullitt had shadows over their faces. This is still hiding each of their identities and giving a mysterious feel to the audience as we want to find out who they are. As this opening scene is set in the day, there is high key lighting outside as it is sunny. However, inside the bank which the robbers are robbing is a different story and the lighting is more low key, especially in the safe and this could be because the acts that the robbers are committing in the safe, stealing the money, are very wrong and solemn, therefore the low key lighting emphasises this. The outfits which the robbers are wearing are very dark, and this links to the men’s clothing in Bullitt. The dark colours are very conventional to the genre of film that they are. One major difference between these two films is the use of CGI. This is because The Dark Knight is a much more recent film, and therefore the film companies are more able to use modern day technology and special effects, whereas when Bullitt was made, they were much less able to make their films more technical. 

Opening Sequence

In the opening sequence of 'The Dark Knight', it is clearly set in a busy city as there are lots of people walking around in the background and numerous amounts of tall buildings. This is most likely to be set in America. Also the bank which is broken into for the robbery is an American bank with American employees. The clothing which the robbers are wearing are all dark, this conveys danger which is reflected in each of their characters as they all carry some sort of weapon and have intentions to rob a bank and kill people. The robber's faces are all covered with masks which have untidy face paintings of clowns on them. This hides their identities as people, and also their facial expressions; however, this is very conventional of a bank robber as they would tend to hide their identities so that they don't get caught. On the other hand, the people working inside the bank are dressed in smart business attire, and this portrays their characters as being smart and intelligent, but also having morals, unlike the bank robbers who terrorise these people. The way the two sets of characters are portrayed to the audience show that Strauss' theory of binary opposites (good and evil) has been used in the opening scene of this film.

Strangely, this crime is committed in broad daylight, however, the shadows and colouring of the buildings and their clothing completely contrast against this. When the robbers enter the bank, the facial expressions of the employees hold fear and hopelessness as they are approached and then handled by the robbers. The facial expression on what appears to be The Boss or Manager of the bank, when he first learns that the bank is being broken into holds the expression of confusion, yet he doesn't seem to be fearful. The lightening used in this opening scene differs from being either high key or low key. The high key lighting is used more in the main bank where the robbers are terrorising the employees, this is a contrast as this is not a positive or good scene, where you would typically see high key lighting; whereas the low key lighting is used more where the robbers are in the safe, stealing the money and this gives a much more sinister effect.

Film Institutional Research

Harold and Maude Pre 1980's Essay

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Introduction

Hello, my name is Jody and welcome to my Media blog.

On this blog you will see research skills, pre-production textual analysis, production, editing and evaluation which will all be relating to a two minute film trailer that me and my group will produce, based on a Thriller genre. As I took Media for GCSE, I can share my knowledge of Media with my group which includes knowing different forms of editing and camera shots, understanding how to use a camera and edit what I document online using websites such as PhotoShop. I understand a vast amount of Media key terms which will be vital in the written element of this subject and I could share these with my group if they haven't taken Media before as a subject.

I decided to take Media again at A Level as I enjoyed the subject very much at GCSE. Media is one of my stronger subjects and therefore I wanted to carry it on. I am excited to be taking Media at A Level as I feel it will push me a lot more and widen my understanding; plus the course interests me a lot as by the end of it I would have made a film trailer with my group and have made a large number of blogs.

My group: Jody, Billie, James, Todd.