Analysis of Film Extract

Between 0 - 3.15

Boyz In Da Hood

In this essay I will be discussing how the director uses conventions of a film to appeal to a target audience and create the setting. Director John Singleton carefully chooses the right mise-en-scene, lighting, sound, cinematography and editing to create an effect for the audience. Boyz In Da Hood is about a group of friends growing up together ‘in the hood’. The movie shows them struggling to escape the violence and drugs, some of them opportunities for education, pinning their hopes on college, others are caught up in the violence that is common to the neighborhood.

The opening shot is a shot of the Columbia Pictures logo with non-diegetic sound of young men talking in the background. The young men seem to be in a group and are angry about something that may have occurred earlier. They seem to get into a car and gun shots are heard with people screaming. While this is happening the shot changes so that we are shown the title of the film. While we are shown the title the gun shots are heard which shows to us the audience that the film will contain violence. Also, as the shots changed a sound bridge was used in order to hear what was going on in this background.

The next shot is a quick shot of statistics about black males and violence. This also hints to the audience that the film is about black males and violence thus showing us that the genre is gang violence and action. In the background there is a young child saying ‘they shot my brother’, this shows the consequences of the violence and gang violence. It also shows how gang violence affects many other people around them.

The next shot is a medium shot of a young black male waiting for his friends at the bus stop. The shot is a tracking shot to show the young children walking and talking. Also, the young children are wearing casual clothing which seems to be cheap. This shows that they are working class and are not rich, this is also backed up by the neighbourhood they are in. At the bottom of the screen it says South Central Los Angeles 1984. This shows the audience where the film is set and at what year. South Central is known for its high crime rate and violent history. There is a medium shot used to show the surroundings and also how run down the community is. The lighting is high key to give the sense of daylight and naturality. This shows to the audience that the scene is in the daytime.

The shot then cuts into a close up of a wall with bullet holes next to a poster. This shot is a close up to show us how many bullet holes there are and making the audience wonder why there are bullet holes there. This shot is very quick and there is a big close up which follows after that with a non-diegetic gun shot sound at the same time. This effect is used to show the audiehow fast the bullets are ad how much damage they can cause. It is set in an alley way with lots of rubbish on the floor and old sofas on the side. This shows that the community is poor and seems to be a run down area. Also, the yellow police tape around the area with the gun shots shows to the audience that it may have been a gang related attack and that the police have been to the scene. It also gives the hint that the area has a high crime rate. A slow beat comes into the scene which build up tension for the audience as they will be wondering what is behind the tapes. The close up shot of the young girl and boy shows their facial expression when they see the blood on the floor. The girl seems to be scared and this is shown through her being behind the boy. The boy’s facial expression shows him not to be scared as has a straight face and seems not to care. This shows to the audience that he is cold hearted and may have seen this before. Furthermore, the diegetic sound of the girl asking is that blood shows that she is innocent and that she may have not seen this before.

There is then a straight cut which is a close up of the blood spot. There is a big patch of dark red blood which connotes violence. Also during the shot we are able to hear flies flying around the blood which usually happens when the blood has been there for a while. This indicates to the audience that the incident happened a few days ago and still no-one has bothered to clean it up. The shot then dissolves into another shot which shows a drawing of a man in a coffin. We are able to identify that the drawing was done by a child because of the coloring and style. During the shot there is a woman talking in the background and a sound bridge is created because the shot then dissolves into another drawing of a black man being arrested by police and then after the shot dissolves into another picture of a police helicopter shining their light. The shot then zooms out and we are able to see that these drawings are on the walls of a classroom and are likely to be drawn by the students. The camera then tracks around the whole classroom to show us the students and we are able to see that the majority of students are black which indicates that they are living in a highly populated Black area.

From this clip we can see that the primary target audience is teenage males between 16-25 years old. This is because the audience can realize that there will be lots of violence and may even contain racial comments.

Extracts From Different Era's

Psycho (1960)


At the beginnig of the clip, there is many close up shots used to concetrate on the body parts for example, the hands against the wall during a shower and also the feet. We can also see the shower curtains being pulled at which shows that someone is in danger or is being hurt. Then we see a man in a medium shit holding a knife which indicates that he is evil. Also, the man is in low key lighting and we cannot see his face. This creates an enigma at the begninning as we, the audience want to know who it is. In addition there are many short shots used to show all the characters in the film and also to show the surroundings of the area and whereabouts they are, such as a motel. There is a long shot used when we see a house in low key lighting. The shot is from a low angle which symbolises that the house is big and dangerous. the low key lighting conotes that the house maybe evil and bad things may have happened there before. the music is very slow which builds up tension and seems to be kept in time with the shots, towards the end the music speeds up until it reaches the end where there seems to be a 'bang' noise. This makes the audience realise that the genre of the film is horror and this is also presented throughout the low key lighting and the props e.g. knife.

The Godfather (1972)


At the beginning we see a close up shot of a man talking about his daughter and the problems. As he speaks the camera slowly zooms out of him and we can see that he is speaking to a man, The Godfather. We then see a close up to the Godfather. From the close up we can see that he is an old man who is wise and very powerful. His clothing which is a smart expensive suit shows that he is rich and also very powerful. This is also backed up by the fact that a man came to him with his problems. there is a medium shot used after which shows the surroundings in which the godfather is in. we can see that there are many men in suits around him, the shows that he is the most powerful man in the room and is the don (leader). The lighting is also very low key which shows that they are criminals and they are not good people.

Analysis of Still Images

Menace To Society

This image from Menace To Society is a close to show the actors facial expressions. The close up shows us that the man holding the gun has an angry face which shows that he may be doing something violent and harmful, this is also backed up by the gun in his hand. The man who has the gun pointed at looks scared and this shows us that he is the victim in this shot. also, we can see that this shot is set in a car becuase of the car roof and also the door behind the man. in addition, the lighting is high key which gives a natural look to the image and we know that this crime is happening during the day. Half of the actor's face who is holding the gun is in shadow which conotes that maybe he has a bad and good side to him.

Rush Hour 2

This still image of rush hour 2 is a medium shot to show the characters and also the surroundings in which they are in. The 2 main characters are seen to be getting a massage by chinese women and are in a massage parlour. Also, at the back there is a plant and the door seems to be chinese style, hinting that the film may be set in China or Japan. The characters facial expressions show that they are happy and relaxed, this is also presented through what they are wearing.

Scarface

This image of Scarface is a close up/ medium shot. The shot shows us the characters facial expression and also some of the surroundings for example liquor and cocaine. The character seems to be distraught and may have problems in life. Also, the fancy suit and smart clothing shows us that he is rich and very powerful. this is also showed through the way he is positioned in the big chair. The cocaine and liquor may suggest that he is a criminal and also a drug dealer who earns his money through selling cocaine. The close up also allows us to see cocaine on his suit which shows that he may be drugged up and has been sniffing cocaine.

Apocalypto

This image is a close up to show the characters pain and desperation. We can also see the background which seems to be the characters house and it is on fire. The character seems to be running away from danger and the facial expressions shows us that he is trying his hardest. the clothing shows us that the character is an African or is in a tribe and is the film seems to be set along time ago.

Lighting and it's Effects

This poster is the film poster for the horror film The Exorcist. The lighting is low key which symbolises the genre of the fiml (horror). It seems to be set outside a house at night with a bright light coming from the top room. This is called backlighting as the light is coming from behind the man which only shows the shape of his body and no description. This gives the effect that he may be evil or something evil may happen to him. The low key lighting represents death which may hapen in the film, this gives the audience an insight into what may happen in the film. Furthermore, the window that is shining with light seems to be shining more light than usual, in comparison to the window next to it. This may give the audience a clue that the room may be an important setting in the film. Also, this may give the clue that somethign 'good' is in the room due to the light. This lighting technique is typical in horror films as viewers will generally pick up straight away that it is a horror film. The darkness creates a hostile atmosphere ideal for horror films.

Extension Task

• The gun in Will Smith's hand shows that the film has action scenes in it therefore suggesting that the genre of the film is action.
• Also, the costumes that the characters are wearing shows that they are quite wealthy and may have good jobs.
• this is also backed up with the dog chain which Will Smith is wearing and this could suggest that he is a police officer or an undercover cop.
• The sunglasses show that he is working for some sort of agency wheter it be criminal or not.
• You can also tell that the two characters on the poster are the two main characters in the film and are on the good side.
• the lighting is very high key lighting which conotates that these two characters are not bad and are on the good side.
  
• the characters facial expression shows that they are not happy and the film may be serious.
• the title 'Bad Boys 2' is in bold capitals in black colour. this is purposely done so that they can aim this poster at it's target audience.
• The film's target audience seems to be males in between 16-34. this is because the gun symbolises violence and action which is what men usually like. Also, the two male characters show that a man will be the main character.
  

"A British independent Film and Television production company"

Case Study 2

Institution Case Study

Case Study 1

Originally known as Société Pathé Frères in Paris on September 28th 1896. Pathe was discovered by brothers Emile, Charles, Theophile and Jacques Pathe. Pathe had become one of the largest film equiptment and production companies. Charles Pathe was the man who started the company alongside his brothers. As he was successful he decided to expand his company and made the company public where there were shares available at the Paris Stock Exchange.

In 1896 Mitchell Mark of Buffalo, New York was the first man to import Pathe films to the United States. By 1902 Pathe expanded to London, where they set up production facilities and a chain of movie theatres. By 1909 Pathe had built up over 200 movie theaters in France and Belgium and by the end of 1910 they had theaters in many other countries such as Madrid, Australia and New York. It was estimated that at one point, 60% of all films were shot by Pathe equpitment.

By the time Pathe stopped producing the cinema newsreel in 1970 they had over 3500 hours of video, 12 million still images in 75 years of entertainment. British Pathe is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust Group however British Pathe footage sales are now managed by ITN Source.


Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathe
http://www.britishpathe.com/aboutpathe