Composition and it's use in "The Hustle"

Rule of Three

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1) In the first horizontal third, we can see the dress- The object of importance. The character in the red coat is looking at the dress. This shows the object is of some importance in this shot, as the character has her attention focused on it. 

2) In the second third, we see the character who is of importance to the shot. The character is in the centre of the shot, which means she's the audiences focus, and is important to the scene. 

3) The last third, on the right, shows location of the scene. You can see dresses on sale hanging on display, and a woman browsing through them. This clearly shows the location of the scene as a shop.

Depth of Field

Background- You can see a character of obvious importance (due to the close shot and panning movement at the start which followed her) move into the background of the scene. This shows that she's not quite important in this part of the scene. The focus is moved away from her and into the foreground, and she moves into the background. This could also show that she's behind, trying not to be noticed as the characters in the foreground speak. This might show she's up to something- Perhaps planning something.

Mid ground- The salesman is shown in the mid-ground, showing he's of more importance. However, he is not very active in this shot at this time, and so hangs around near the front. 

Foreground- The subject of the shot is in the foreground, in front of everything else i the shot. This brings more focus towards her, and away from the others in the mid-ground and background.

The 180 Rule

If you imagine the scene as being a stage in a theatre, the audiences always stay on one side of it- Going to the other side could cause confusion. In this scene, the camera never goes past 180° and goes to around the other side.

Focus

Shallow focus


~JB

Verisimilitude and representation

Verisimilitude is the construction of a plausible, believable world in a text.

TV programs can represent;
 -Gender
 -Age and Ethnicity
 -Social Groups
 -Places
 -Time periods and themes

You should become familiar with this minutia of the mark scheme;

~JB

Sound 'n' stuff

-Dialogue- All the words and vocal expressions of the actors.
-Music- The music soundtrack that may be in parts or all of the sequence.
-Effects-  Things you might not notice, in the background, like footsteps or traffic.

Sound effects help create a sense of 'reality' of what is happening- We see a door open, and expect to hear it too.

Diegetic

Sounds which come from the world of the film, any event that is seen on or off screen which has a noise audible to the characters.

Non-Diegetic

Sound which is not from any source within the diegetic (world of the movie), such as music or voice-overs  This is usually used to create or enhance audiences emotional responces.

Parallel - Matches the emotions.

Contrapuntal- Contrasts with the emotions. 

Sound Bridge

Used to link two sequences together and is employed in conjunction with editing to move the action in time or place, or both. 

Can be diegetic or non-diegetic sound.

~JB

Some Key words...

-Polysemic- Has many different meanings.

-Arbitrary- Means different things to different people. It means some things to a group of people only. For example, "Bait" to most means it's literal definition, but to others, it means something is "obvious". Arbitrary meanings can change over time.

-Anchorage- When ships ride at anchor, the anchor stops them from drifting away, just as text anchor the images and such used. 

Sign Systems; 

-Signifier- The thing that is doing the signifying. An image of a knife with no context could mean many things, a murder weapon or perhaps a cookery tool, but if it was on a cookery program, you'd relate it to cooking. If in a horror movie, it would be related to murder. 

-Signified- The meaning is attached to it, in reception, by the audience. 

-Indexical sign- has an obvious meaning, like a Cat on a Cat food tin.

-Iconic Signs- A representation, like the person but obviously separated. An example might be an image of a dog. It isn't the dog- It represents the dog. 

-Symbolic signs- Has an obvious relationship, but is removed.

-Connotation- Going into more depth on the subject.

We generally deconstrucy texts at three levels; 

  -Syntactic- What it is.

  -Representational- What it tells you.

  -Symbolic- Deeper meaning.

~JB

Editing

Editing controls Text Progression;

 -Picture Relationships
 -Space Relationships
 -Time Relationships
 -Rhythmic Relationships

Editing Styles

-Straight Cut- A very basic cut, in which a shot ends to be immediately replaced with another.

-Fade Out- The shot either gradually changes into a colour or image.

-Dissolve- When a shot changes into another shot gradually.

-Wipe- A shot shown on screen is pushed away by a new shot, which usually comes in from the right.   It pushes the previous scene away, and takes its place.

-Jump Cut- Two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions which vary just slightly.


~JB

Semiotics

Semiotics- The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Meanings change over time, and symbols might mean something to a group of people, and something completely different for another. For example, The swastika means to some death and destruction as a result of the Nazis who used the symbol, but originally, it was a Hindu symbol for Peace. 


~JB

Shot types

Camera Angles

-Birds Eye View- Shows a scene from directly above. Often used to make the subject seem insignificant, perhaps ant-like.

-High Angles- Elevated above the action using a crane. Makes the subjects appear smaller and insignificant.
-Eye Level- A reasonably neutral shot, as if the scene is being observed by a human.
-Low angles- Makes a subject appear higher, and can be used to give the viewer a sense of confusion, powerlessness in the scene.

Camera Distance

-Extreme Long shot- A scene setting, establishing shot which shows the landscape the scene is set in, or the outside of the building. Gives a general Impression of the setting, often with little detail.

-Long shot- Usually shows the whole subject, from head to toe, and background detail.

-Medium shot- Shows perhaps about 1/2 the subject, i.e. from the knee's/ waist up. Usually used for dialogue scenes or to show detail in the action taking place. This shot can include up to three characters. (then it tends to become a long shot)

-Close up- Shows little detail of the background, and usually shows the face of a character, or shows an object in more detail. This magnifies the subject and shows it is of importance, or the emotions on a characters face.

-Extreme Close up- Would perhaps show only one detail of the subject, such as the eyes or mouth of a character, with absolutely no background detail. Used for dramatic effect.

Camera Movement

-Pans- Scans a scene horizontally. The camera is placed on a tripod, which is used as an axis point which the camera is turned on. This may be used to follow a moving object.

-Tilt- Scans the scene vertically.

-Tracking Shot- The camera is placed on a moving vehicle, which goes along with the action.

-Zoom in/Out- The camera zooms in or out.

-Aerial Shot- Usually taken from a helicopter, it can show a scene from high above. It's very flexible, allowing movement to where ever, and is exciting. 

Rules of Three

The rule of three is quite effective in shots. The red dots show effective places to place objects in a shot, as these places are where the eye is usually drawn to. If a close up of a characters face is being shown, it'd be best to try and make it so the eyes fit snugly where the red dots are shown.

~JB

Narrative structure- Applying to a film of my choice....

I've decided to apply Propp's theory and apply it to the film/book "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy"
Below, I've noted down what I believe plays which roles, and why.

Narrative Structure

Propp

After studying many stories, Vladimir Propp concluded that characters in a story could fit into eight character types;

-The Hero (protagonist)- The character who seeks something on a quest, such as to resolve a matter or to receive an object.

-The villain (Antagonist)- Opposes the hero, and struggles against them.

-Princess- The Hero's reward, the object of the villains plots.

-Princess's Farther- Rewards the Hero.

-Dispatcher- Sends the Hero on his quest.

-Helper- Helps the hero, and aids him on his quest- A sidekick. 

-False hero- Not actually the hero, and can disrupt the hero's success from time to time, though he's not necessarily bad.

-Donor- Gives information or an object to help the Hero.

Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss's theory was about 'Binary oppositions', sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts, such as Good ad Evil, Male and Female, etc, these being opposite from each other.

Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov suggested that to begin with, two potential opposing forces are in balance, and that stories begin with an Equilibrium. An event disrupts this, causing other events. In the end of the story, the problems are resolved and balance is restored.


~JB