Saturday night sunday morning scene analysis

Director – Karel Reisz

Year – 1960

This film focuses on several key concepts. The main ones being Rebellion and Societal change.

Factory scene – Rat

In this scene, Arthur takes a dead rat and puts it in a pile of screws that a woman was working at. When she returns, she screams. This shows that he doesn’t take his job seriously. Arthur is part of the angry young men group. He is rebelling against society by not working hard at his job like his relatives did. His family were alive in the second world war. Arthur was born during the time of the baby boom. This occured when the men returned from the war and had lots of children. This saw a huge rise in population. It also meant that britain was on course for a change in societal rules and values. Arthur just wanted to rebel and wanted to get drunk every weekend and live his life for that.

Film Studies – Micro Features – Lion King Sequence Analysis – Mufasa Death Scene

Film Studies – Micro Features – Lion King Sequence Analysis – Mufasa Death Scene

Ashley Taylor

The film I have chosen to analyse is the 1994 animated film “The Lion King”. This film makes prominent use of certain micro-features. The micro-features I have chosen to look at for this are as follows: Cinematography (This will cover camera and lighting), Sound (Diegetic and nondiegetic) and Mise En Scene (what is visually in the frame).

The first micro-feature I am looking at is Cinematography. The cinematography in this scene varies greatly. We see busy shots of the African Buffalo stampede and you also see shots of the barren landscape. The variation helps to generate certain emotional responses with the audience. For example, there are shots of the desolate African landscape. The empty landscape is enhanced with the use of cinematography (along with Mise En Scene and sound) because the wider shots help to show the immensity of the situation. This can signify danger as it enhances the sense of solitude. This can in turn foreshadow coming events in the film.

For example, we see a wide shot of the empty land which then becomes flooded with the Buffalo during the stampede. These shots are almost identical but provide a strong contrast between both as they portray one extreme to the other and are used to show the immensity of both the barren land and the stampede. This makes the audience feel alone due to how wide it is but then immediately feel concern because the shot looks busy due to what is going on. Most of us don’t get to experience such vast landscapes in our lives so it can be hard to relate to. However, the angle also helps to make the audience feel distant from what is going on, but through filling the scene (which I will cover more when I discuss Mise En Scene) the audience can feel more involved with the chaos.

We also see a ground shot of the stampede. This shot gets filled up with the Buffalo and the dirt from the ground. This immediately puts you into the situation and leaves the audience on the edge of their seats. It makes them feel scared and concerned because it’s a stressful situation to me in. Once again, this creates a huge contrast from the empty landscape that was shown previously. This is more related to Mise En Scene due to how cluttered the shot is, but the shot still shows a wider angle and thus leaving a huge amount of room for the producers to use and fill up.

We also see an extreme close up shot of Simba’s eyes. This helps to show Simba being innocent but it also shows his frantic eye movement. This helps the audience to connect with him because we often connect with younger characters who are innocent. Through emotional contagion, it also makes the audience feel distressed in a similar way to the way that Simba feels during this sequence.

We also see a close up shot of Mufasa as his face hits the side of the rock face. This shows the pain that he is in due to his facial expression here and you can see parts of the rock come away from the cliff. This shot is a close up for several reasons. The first reason is that it shows that this is an important event. By getting up close to Mufasa, the audience can see that he is a major character because the audience get the chance to be up close and have a short yet intimate moment with him. This immediately makes the audience connect with him even though this shot is short. It also helps to draw detail to his facial expressions showing the discomfort and pain that he is in. The way he holds his teeth and the way the camera is positioned shows that he is grinding them together to show his determination to survive.

Once again, this makes the audience want to support Mufasa and they hope he survives because he is a key character and one that the audience are meant to connect with.

The lighting here is often meant to be natural looking in most of the shots. Most of the light is meant to be natural looking. This lighting comes from the sun. We know this because the entire sequence is set at day time. To create shadows, there is a use of dust from the dry mud and sand of the ground during the stampede. This makes it hard to see in certain parts by darkening the shots by blocking out the light. Due to this film being animated, there isn’t an actual light source. All depth comes from shading. The dirt and haze can be a signifier of the unknown and could also signify evil when we see Scar. It creates a contrast between the good and the bad. This makes the audience feel distanced from the more evil characters. The producers will have done this so the audience won’t connect with the characters that they’re not supposed to connect with. The producers then remove the haze effect (which is the dirt rising from the ground) when we see Simba. This makes the audience feel disconnected from Scar and the stampede of Buffalo but makes them connect with Simba and Mufasa. The only shot where we see Mufasa in the dark is when he is holding on to the side of the mountain before he falls.

We also see that Scar is often in the dark. When he is up on top of the mountain, the face of the mountain blocks the light from his face creating shadows around his face, causing him to have sharper and more defined features that are common with evil characters in the media. . This lighting technique is similar to the Chiaroscuro lighting technique which helps to create three dimensional depth. This could also be soft lighting because it’s meant to look natural. Although it is meant to look natural, it still creates a shadow behind Scar, immediately making the audience feel like he isn’t a character that they are meant to connect on a deeper emotional level with. We are meant to see Scar as a bad character and the lighting is intentionally set up (through shading) to make shadows, harsh lines and stronger structures.

The second micro-feature I’m looking at is Sound. Sound in this film comes as diegetic (what the character experiences) and non-diegetic (what the character doesn’t experience but it has been added by the production team to create a more significant emotional response.)

At the start of the sequence, we hear that the score is orchestral based. The use of an african choir signifies that it is set in Africa. This is because a lot of African music is performed by large groups (or choirs). The score is in a minor key. This is also because minor keys can signify sadness because of the flattened notes in the scale. This sound is non-diegetic. The score is made up of a lot of orchestral instruments. The sound is dissonant and creates an eerie and tense atmosphere.  The use of string instruments creates tension due to the playing techniques used. The pitch of the violins tends to be very high when you see the buffalo come down the cliff face. The notes don’t fit with each other and create a discordant sound. With the addition of percussion it also gives the music a rhythmic effect adding to the pace of the buffalo in the stampede. This makes the audience feel sad or worried and can make the audience feel like something worse is going to happen. The dramatic score foreshadows other events because it builds up tension throughout the sequence until the point where we see Mufasa fall to his death.

There is also the sound of the buffalo’s feet, stamping on the ground. This is diegetic sound because the characters experience it first-hand. The use of this sound creates another rhythmic effect and immediately puts the audience in the position of a character (similar to a camera with audience positioning). The camera and sound can make the audience feel like they are part of the situation and this helps the audience relate to the characters.  The audience feel however the characters are feeling in this scene. In this case, the audience feel scared, worried and helpless.

The final micro feature I’m going to look at is Mise En Scene. This is what is visually in the frame in a certain shot.

During one shot, we see that Mufasa has Simba in his mouth. We also see that they are involved in the action of the buffalo. Mufasa is seen running through the shot in a sweeping motion, sweeping from left to right and dodging the buffalo in hope to protect his son as well as himself. He has a determined look on his face too. He starts up at the top of the frame. This shows he is a powerful character and this makes him seem more authoritative to have him further up the screen. As he moves further down, we see that he looks less authoritative and more vulnerable than he previously did. He is looking almost directly at the camera allowing the audience to connect with him. There is dust around to show the pace of the shot and to show the immensity of the situation he is in. This involves the audience in the scene immediately. By putting them into the action, they feel like they’re part of the film and this forces them to see what is going on.

In the shot before Mufasa falls to his death, we see scar. Scar is placed at an angle, almost turned to a 45 degree angle. This means that the audience doesn’t have a chance to make eye contact with him and means that they can’t connect with him on a more intimate level. His eyes are narrow and are almost glowing in a somewhat eerie way. This immediately creates a feeling of evilness with the audience. We also see that he is placed slightly higher than the audience which shows his dominance.

In conclusion, the three micro features play an important part in the way that the film creates emotional responses with the audience as a whole and an individual person (due to their ideologies). Cinematography is used as audience positioning, to involve the audience in the action and act as their eyes so it forces them into the situation. Sound is used to create tension and provide different moods or atmospheres with the viewer. Finally, Mise En Scene is used to visually show the audience what is going on and also visually create tension by putting certain things (such as the buffalo and dust) in the frames.

Lighting in film

Lighting is used in all forms of film and visual media.

High key – This is harsh light. Usually very bright and can wash out light colours (such as the peach tones in skin). Photos and film that are shot in high key often have a plain background. Usually white. This makes the subject stand out and can be used to highlight main points in the frame.

Low key – Low key lighting can be more flattering on people. This is because the scene isn’t as bright and the light sources usually have a diffusers on them. Soft boxes are common light sources in low key lighting.  Low key lighting can be used to create three-dimensional depth too. This is also known as the “Chiaroscuro effect”. The softness allows the contours of an object (or person) to be accentuated making people appear more mysterious in many cases.

A prime example of low key lighting is in horror films. Here we can see that the light reflects of the mask in the background and the girls cheeks. Her eyes seem much more hollow than they would if the lighting was high key. The reason for this is because it creates more depth and it is a typical convention of the horror genre. By allowing the light to highlight the mask, it draws attention to it, showing that he is a main character and allows the audience to focus on him.

This famous scene from Nightmare on Elm Street is a perfect example of low key lighting as it hides the characters face and also the audience cannot see what is either side of him which will build a lot of tension among the audience. It also allows for the dehumanisation of this character. It allows the audience to see him as a character they aren’t meant to connect with. Similar to the last image, the lighting here is blue-toned, adding a cold and possibly lonely feeling to the shot/scene.

Editing in film.

In film there are several editing techniques that are common. Each editing technique can create a different feeling.

Cross cutting – A technique often used to show significant evens happening at two different locations during the film. The camera will cut away from one shot and show another in another setting to show the action on a wide scale.

Cutaway – This is where the main shot changed to another shot “cutting away” from the master. The main shot is interrupted by another, perhaps to show different components of the scene. It is usually followed by the previous shot coming back allowing the audience to revert back to the master shot.

Establishing shot – This is a shot that is widely used in television and film. It is used to set the scene. For example, if a scene was set in a suburban area of a city, it would show the exterior of the building and a large portion of the city around it too. It is usually a long shot (sometimes it can be an extreme long shot) and it often pans across or zooms in. It occasionally does both too. An establishing shot doesn’t have to be external. It can also be inside the building and is often used to show characters (this is common in sit-coms).

Jump Cut – This is where the editor cuts between different parts of the same scene. Often a cut from the same footage from the same camera. It’s used to show the passing of time and creates a “jump” effect where the character or subject rapidly moves from one place in the frame to another. The framing and angle usually don’t change during jump cuts. As well as showing the passing of time, jump cuts can also be used to show the distress of a character.

Master shot – It is just one shot, often set up on a tripod. This shot is the main focus of the scene and is usually a long shot, a medium shot or a medium-long shot. It is scene by many film makers as the most important shot due to the importance of it.

Laura Mulvey, The Male Gaze and Feminism in the media.

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist that is well known for her “male gaze” theory. She focuses on film and media.

The Male Gaze is a theory that shows how women are represented through a camera. The camera is seen as the eyes of a heterosexual male and this theory focuses on how men view women, how women treat other women and how women see themselves. Mulvey created the term “male gaze” in 1975.

The male gaze is shown in almost every film (according to mulvey).
If the camera lingers over curves on a woman, Mulvey see’s this as part of the male gaze. She see’s this as objectification in many ways. For example, the camera focuses on a girl. What ever else is going on doesn’t really appeal to the audience. For example, the setting. It could be a girl in a supermarket in a certain shot but since the camera is seen as the eyes of a heterosexual male, it draws more attention to her body.

Feminism in the media.

Now, feminism is becoming more accepting. Once, women weren’t allowed to be seen as powerful figures at all. In recent years, the empowerment of women is becoming widely known and it’s obvious that it’s now fine for a women to have ambitions, goals and for a female to want to succeed. With celebrities such as Beyonce sampling feminist speeches from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
In her speech, she says

“We teach girls to shrink themselves
To make themselves smaller
We say to girls,
“You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful
Otherwise you will threaten the man.”

This shows the older views on women and how they are scared of women being more powerful.
In her speech, she later mentions the definition of a feminist.

“Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes”

This shows that being a feminist doesn’t mean that a women believes she is more important than a man, but as a human being, she should have the same rights.

The representation of woman in media

Women in the media differ greatly from how men are represented. These representations are often called shallow or narrow minded. One way women have been represented in the media is through the use of sexualisation and objectification. This is where women are seen as nothing but sexual objects and this has caused huge amounts of uproar from the general public.

For example, if we take music. Music videos are hugely popular with some videos getting hundreds of millions of views. A lot of these views are from people that want to see it because of the girls. Music videos aren’t about the music as much any more. It’s clear that sex sells in the media.

If we take a recent music video, we can see that the producers have clearly used women to make money. For example, Nicki Minaj’s recent video for “Anacodna”.
We see in this video that the main focus is girls rear ends. We also see in the video that the girls look sweaty. This is one of the ways women are sexualised in modern media. Slow motion twerking adds to the sexualisation too. It shows the movements in extra detail. The women in this video tend to be more “curvy” that girls that we are used to seeing. This is because this song is mainly in the hip-hop genre and hip-hop is strongly based on black culture. In black culture, it’s hugely popular for African-American women to be larger than women that are white.

However, we also see that women are represented in other ways. Magazines constantly promote being “healthy” but show heavily photoshopped models with flawless skin, eyes, hair and even go as far as increasing breast size and decreasing other parts of their bodies. Here we can see that the arm on Avril Lavigne has been edited incorrectly and here she has a seriously disfigured arm.  We can also see on this image that she has no pores. This is how far editors can go with this process. They are promoting the idea of perfection within women causing females across the world to aspire to have this body image. Their idea of perfection is promoted as being “healthy” when in fact nobody can look as flawless as the airbrushed models we see on the covers of magazines. They promote an idea of perfection and often sell this through fear, often forcing the audience to believe that they have to look like that in a certain amount of time (e.g the weeks before summer)

film studies essay

Film studies essay – Trailer comparison

The trailers I have decided to study are from the supernatural/horror genre. The films are: “Paranormal Activity”, “The Exorcist” and “The Sixth Sense”. All these films show codes and conventions of the supernatural horror genre and they all have similar conventions.

One common technique throughout the trailers is the use of the music and audio. They often use long, drone sounds. This sounds usually come from deep string instruments or synths. The use of sustain is common throughout the horror genre. In the trailer for paranormal activity, we hear the use of heavy percussion and long drones. The sounds are mainly from synths in this film. These sounds often fade in and fade out, applying heavy use of effects such as reverb to make them sound longer and wider, almost as if the sound is haunting the audience and prolonging their fear and discomfort. This is common in more modern horror films because of the technological advances that allow producers to create eerie and unusual sounds. We expect to hear this because it is more modern than “The Exorcist” and “The Sixth Sense”. This is an aural code. Aural codes are what we expect to hear in a certain genre. Given that these films are in the supernatural/horror genre we expect to hear long, drones, because they create a sense of darkness. This is also common in the trailer for The Exorcist. We hear the sound of household items being smashed. Once again, we hear the dissonant drones, typical of this genre. The sounds in this trailer come from more typical orchestral instruments. Although these sounds are more common they still provide that dissonant drone that is common in this genre. Finally, we also hear this in the trailer for “The Sixth Sense”. When Cole Sear is asked where the woman with the broken back is, he replies with “Standing next to my window”. Soon after this, the long sustained drones fade in. Again, the drones are from discordant string instruments. Deep percussion comes in too and create a dark, impacting feeling. In all of these trailers, they show similar audible techniques. The long sustained drones are common in supernatural horror films. They all have typical elements and there isn’t a contrast

All these films use dark colours. In the trailer for paranormal activity, everything tends to be very dark. The use of dark lighting and colour signifies mystery, evil and the supernatural. It also signifies absence due the lack of harsh or bright colour. The use of black signifies the idea of the paranormal because black is a signifier of death. In “The Exorcist” they also show darker colours because it helps with creating a darker atmosphere in certain scenes.   We only see this change in The Sixth Sense. The opening in the trailer for this shows an outdoor scene with police cars and traffic. This shows that something has gone wrong but it doesn’t show anything horror related until Cole says “Standing next to my window”. Shortly after this, you see Cole in the house and the room is darker. This creates a tense atmosphere and the darkness signifies emptiness and death. These are iconographic codes. Iconographic codes are conventions we expect to see in a certain genre. For example, in sci-fi films, we’d expect to see bright colours, lights, lasers etc. In the case of horror, we expect to see the darkness and the absence of colour.

Another common idea running through these films is that that there are often a lot of innocent people being mixed with evil coming from ghosts, aliens or some other supernatural being. In all these films, we see innocent people being victims of the supernatural. For example, in the trailer for “Paranormal Activity” we can see that the couple in the film are victims of ghosts and demons that have entered their house. We then see things moving around in their room while they’re sleeping. In one part, you can see the door closing without anybody being near it. This is a common idea that is used in supernatural horror films. In “The Exorcist”, we can see household items being blown around the room. The window is open and cracks start forming in the ceiling, once again with no human contact. In the trailer for “The Sixth Sense” there is one part where there is yet again, another door. The door is shaking although it’s locked. It suggests someone or something is trying to get in. The idea of doors moving without physical human contact is a common idea in supernatural films. This is a narrative convention. Narrative conventions are things that we expect to be in the plot. So here, we expect to have moving objects and innocent people in the plots of these films. You can see that in supernatural horror, narrative conventions are recycled over and over again so that they can fit into that genre.

Finally, in these films, they all use different camera techniques, especially in “Paranormal Activity”. Here, we see that the film is set up in a home. This film is meant to show the footage as amateur video, opposed to the high budget films that use higher end equipment. In “Paranormal Activity” there aren’t any typical shots that you’d find in a professional film. The camera is usually just set up and it looks fairly still. The film follows a story of how two people live and are constantly in contact with ghosts. This film is based on a true story so the producers have tried to follow that idea by showing it as a “homemade” video. In “The Exorcist”, we see here that it is more set-up. The angles in this trailer have clearly been planned out to create the feeling of shock and horror. For example, the shot of the woman with her mouth wide open. This is a close up shot and this has been used so that it’s clear to see that she is in shock. It also is used so that the audience can connect with it. In the trailer for “The Sixth Sense” we have the same idea. The shot where Cole is in bed is a key point in the trailer. Here, the camera zooms onto his face and he says “I see dead people”. This is done for the same reasons as the shot in “The Exorcist”. It’s used to highlight the key point of the trailer. These common techniques are known as Technical Codes. Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a certain type of media. In this case, the camera techniques (for example, the angles) in supernatural-horror films.

Overall, we can see that these films are very similar in a lot of ways. The plots differ, but the ideas behind the plots still remain the same. For example, all of these films feature people that are completely innocent and don’t deserve anything wrong. However, they’re often terrorised by the supernatural. However, it isn’t unknown for these ideas to change in the horror genre overall. The camera techniques are similar in two of these films. They’re clearly set up to fit into that genre. In Paranormal Activity, the angles are set up so that it looks homemade. This could also be to challenge the audience’s expectations. Producers tend to challenge audience expectations in films but they also have to meet their expectations so that the films will do well. The producers also use similar iconographic codes so that, once again, they can meet the audience’s expectations. Iconographic codes are also used so that the film can fit into the genre. It wouldn’t meet audience expectations if the film was promoted as a supernatural-horror and then when it was shown in cinemas it was actually about something completely different.