Film language
In today's lesson we were leaning about film language and specifically we learnt about the four main aspects of film language and what to analyse:
- Camera
- Editing
- Sound
- Mise En Scene
Camera
The acronym we learned to remember what to look for in the camera was FAM
Frame - Extreme close up, close up, mid shot, mid long shot, long shot and extreme long shot.
Angle - Worms eye view, birds eye view and level.
Movement - Pan, left to right, tilt, up and down, tracking shot, Steadicam and hand held.
Editing
Transitions - Fade to black.white
Order of narrative - Beginning, middle and flashbacks
Pace - Slow, fast and editing in romance and horror and action scenes.
Special effects (SFX)
Sound
Dialogue - What/how
Music - Tells us how to feel in a scene
Diegetic - Sound that actors hear and we don't. Non-diegetic is opposite.
Mise En Scene
Costume
Lighting
Actors - class, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, body language and make up.
Make up
Props
Setting
Boyz n the hood Film Language - Link
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=boyz+n+the+hood+dutch+subtitles&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=BCA98CE309ED50662AF4BCA98CE309ED50662AF4
Camera
The opening few minutes shows many different types of camera frames, one of them was the tracking shot. This was used to set the scene and show the setting of the movie. The tracking shot was used to follow the teenagers through their ride on the motorbike onto the murder scene, which was in a wide field. The tracking shot shows the background of the teenagers which shows graffiti and a discriminated place, which shows that the children have not grown up in a well place. Additionally, another camera frame that was used was the tilt shot, which was used at the start when it shows the STOP sign. This was very effective as it showed the directors views on the status of the African American community. Also, the angle of the shots are usually POV, this was to put us on the same level as the children, to make use feel like we were actually there as well.
Editing
An example of great editing was used when the mother is talking on the phone and Treys is walking down the street as the mother and teacher are almost narrating/summarising up his day as Trey walks through men fighting on his way back to home. This shows the environment that they live in and it makes it seem like Trey is used to seeing men fighting as he is not at all fazed by the fight that is happening next to him as he is walking. Also, the transitions to enter the shot of the group of four walking to the murder scene are very effective to establish the brutality of what happened and of the movie with color changes.
Sound
Diegetic sounds are very important in the opening scene with the sound of the sirens and people in the car talking. Additionally, the sound of the gunfire music with the sound on the car and men talking in the back ground. Non-diegetic sound us also used when Treys walks down the path with his mother on the phone.
Mise En Scene
All of the characters had varied costumes throughout the scene and the main child was wearing a much more smart/formal clothing while all of the other children at the school were wearing casual clothes and clothes that would represent clothes of youths. This shows that the boy is different to the community in the way he dressed, acts, walks and wants to be, this could represent a complicated character mixed any many different minds. The setting of the scene also sets up the setting for the whole movie as this gives a representation of the life that characters in the movie lead and will help the audience understand different attitudes of different characters.
