BLK2 Film-making conventions and cultural codes

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9A1O8kD2PA

Film making conventions (technical codes and genre conventions)

• Blurred opening shot- creates more suspense when you see the girls' new image
• Wide angle/half shot- open and friendly set up- allows you to freely the whole transformation of the girls
• Slow motion walk- reinforcing the new status of the girls
• Men stopping to look at the girls + being pulled away by the girlfriend- stereotypical shot of men being attracted to a girl by just her physical appearance
• Perfect make and hair- how typically the girls always look flawless
• The classic 'dumb blonde'- a common genre convention where the character is clueless and only cares about looks
• Music- positive, upbeat- sets the tone of the scene

Cultural codes

• Wolf whistle- showing how men are physically attracted to them 
• Men stopping to look at them 
• The wardrobe- girly and provocative- a stereotypical view of teenage girls in America
• Emma Stone comments on the makeup of society
• Use of classic/modern technology (mobile phones)- reinforcing the image of a classic American teen.

DYM1 Analysis of Film Still

Analysis of Film Still- 'The Woman in Black'

This film still is from 'The Woman in Black'. This film is a horror/ thriller that aims to scare the audience and question what is reality.

• The main focus of this shot is Daniel Radcliffe. He is at the centre of the shot in the fore ground whilst the background behind is blurred. The blurred background is effective as it makes the viewers feels vulnerable as they cant see clearly behind the man. In addition this creates mystery as the audience question whether anybody or thing is there 
• The lighting for this still is very dark and gloomy- a convention of horror films. The low lit shot further reinforces the viewers venerability as they cant fully see everything in the shot. The candle at the foreground providing little light furthers creates a sense of danger as it creates the idea that the man can't see what is in front of him but the man senses it could be dangerous.
• The framing of the shot is successful as Daniel Radcliffe looking behind the camera makes the audience feel as though the 'danger' is behind them. Making the audience feel included is key in this type genre as the main aim is to scare the audience. 

BLK1 Reflection on film stills

HORROR

Original shot

Our chosen genre was horror. We chose this style as many of the locations within school had a historical feel which helped to further create the ambience needed in a horror films. Horror films use gloomy lighting and settings, in order to scare the audience. We tried to capture this in our shot as well as include other conventions associated with the horror/mystery genre such as an obscure centre point and an isolated subject. 

We chose to frame this image as a very long shot, coupled with a tilted angle. This made the main feature of the image mysterious as it was unfocused, building the suspense. The mis-en-scence of the chairs framing the passage to the girl, only reinforcers the viewer's focus on the image. We used a tilted angle which furthers add to the disorientating feel of the image. 

The angle and the framing is the most successful element of this image as the two together, with the out of focus girl, reinforces the horror element of this shot. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of the lighting at the front of the image, contrasted with the lighting surrounding the subject at the back. 

In hindsight, the overall image should be darker to increase the horror aspect of the shot. I would also make the subject a bit more prominent, perhaps by going slightly closer to make it clear the subject of the shot is a person. 

After shooting I edited this picture to see the different atmosphere created with darker lighting. I think that the effect created is much scarier than the original shot and therefore fulfils the conventions of the horror genre better.