Opening sequence analysis - Guardians of the galaxy

 

The sequence opens with Baby Groot trying to connect two cables but struggling. This immediately shows the audience how clumsy and baby like Groot is. The immediate contrast between Groot struggling with attaching two cables together and the rest of the crew struggling with fighting a monster sets the comedic tone of the movie. The song 'Mr Blue Sky' starts to play whilst the rest of Groots crew are battling and trying to kill a huge monster. This diegetic and upbeat song juxtaposes the action going on in the background. The audience can tell the music is diegetic because Baby Groot is dancing along whilst everyone else is struggling in the background.

What I have learnt so far this term

 

Camera: I have learnt many new camera angles, shots, techniques and general camera jargon. There are angles such as wide and close angles and shots such as birds eye view and tracking shots. I have also learnt how certain camera angles can show hierarchy between the characters in the shot for example, a low angle shot can show one character as taller or higher up meaning they have more power or dominance over the other character's in that scene. Characters can also be placed higher up in the shot to achieve the same effect for example, one character could be raised by a platform or up a level from the other characters. 

Editing: I find editing the hardest to analyse however i have learnt many things such as short and long duration shots which can add different mood and impacts to a scene. I have also learnt about smooth transition shots which are used when an actor is moving or in motion. 

Sound: I have found sound very interesting to write about as you have to think about a lot of things including where the sound is coming from, who can hear the sound and if it happening at the scene or being input afterwards. There are sounds such as diegetic and non-diegetic which means the characters can or cannot hear the music or sound the audience can hear.

Mise En Scene: Mise En Scene is probably the easiest to write about as it includes nearly everything apart from camera, editing and sound. For example, Costume, background, foreground, location, people etc.

Opening title sequence analysis - Sexy Beast

The sequence opens with a camera shot directed towards the sun, immediately telling the audience we are somewhere hot/sunny. The camera then cuts to a birds eye view of a man sunbathing and commenting on how good the weather. The mans cockney accent and the jewellery tells the audience he is a wealthy man who is perhaps living in a hot country. Upbeat, Non-diegetic music starts to play as the man sits up from his sun-bed. The music complements the location as it has references to the sun and sunbathing. The man then tells the pool boy to start working harder, once again showing his wealth and dominance to the audience. The man then puts a cold, wet flannel over his genitals to cool them down. This and his strong cockney accent and the jewellery helps the audience to see that he may not be a formal business man and might be a gangster. 

The camera then cuts to another birds eye review but of the man next to the swimming pool. There are two hearts in the tiles of the pool. It then quickly cuts behind a women driving a car. This suggests to the audience that this may be his wife or partner because the hearts suggest there was a lady's touch involved with designing or purchasing the villa. The camera then cuts back to the man he sits up once again and commands the pool boy to go and get him some beers, once again asserting his dominance. The man then stands up and starts to walk towards the pool and pics up a fan. The camera then cuts to a rolling motion on a hill as we soon find out is a boulder rolling towards the man and his villa. 

The camera does short duration shots between the rolling motion and and still view of the boulder rolling down the hill. The boulder misses the man and lands in the pool. The camera then immediately cuts to the woman driving again. This gives the audience speculation that the women may have been involved because in the first shot of her driving she went from right to left of the camera and the second time after the boulder hit she went from left to right suggest she was driving to and away from the villa.

Opening title sequence analysis - The Shining

The non-diegetic and ominous music sets the tone for the movie and juxtaposes the beautiful scenery. The music immediately sets the genre as a thriller/horror. The long shot durations and wide shots show the long journey and how isolated and alone the family is. This adds to the immediate ominous tone of the movie. The camera stays behind and follows the car for the majority of the sequence which makes the audience think that something is following the car. The only other cars seen are going the other direction which leads the audience to think there is something wrong with where the car is heading towards. 

The camera plays around with the audience as the distance between the camera and the car varies as it gets closer and quickly distances again. This leaves the audience wondering who is in the car and draws their attention as they want to find out more.

Hello, my name is Luke Bedford and this is my media blog.

I chose media as my third subject because of my love for film and movies, especially horror films. My other two A-Level subjects are Dance and Theatre. I have been dancing for as long as i can remember and acting since the age of 7. My interest for horror films came from my dad as he let me watch my first one, 'Insidious' when i was around 7 years old, this did lead to several years of nightmares but now i love them so i think it was worth it.

I prefer to be up and active however i like to sit in bed after a long day and binge watch some movies. I also like TV Series as well as movies but i hate having to wait for a new season to come out. Some of my favourite movies are Interstellar, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Sweeney Todd and The Step up films. I like to think i'm quite an abstract person and i try to be as original as possible with the things i do, music i listen to and movies i watch.