Class D1 Task 1 - Analytical Approaches to film
Annabelle
" 12 years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, where they soon become the target of the doll-maker's possessed creation, Annabelle. "
Genre analysis - I know this movie belongs to the horror genre because when I watched it, it evoked fears and terror in me, therefore achieving its aim. Also, the plot of the movie includes an intrusion of an evil force which in this case in Annabelle. Another way I can tell Annabelle is of an evil gender is by its dark colours, use of pathetic fallacy and evil/wicked references and remarks.
Content analysis - I came across the movie for the first time when I saw it on a billboard on a local bus. What made my interest for the movie to grow was the official trailer because it showed another perspective to the movie other than the printed version.
Narrative analysis - The story of the movie involves a family being hunted down by a possessed doll called Annabelle.
Definition of reception study - Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes each particular reader's reception or interpretation in making meaning from a literary text. Reception theory is generally referred to as audience reception in the analysis of communication models.
Definition of fan study - Fan studies if a field of scholarly research focused on media fans and fan culture.
Feminist Theory - Feminist theory is the extension of feminist into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality.
Class D1 Task 2 - Film Theory
Auteur Theory - The auteur theory holds that the director, who oversees all audio and visual elements of the motion picture, is more to be
Auteur Theory - The auteur theory holds that the director, who oversees all audio and visual elements of the motion picture, is more to be considered the "author" of the movie than is the writer of the screenplay.
Feminism - the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.
Queer theory -
Marxism -
Theory of Films
My chosen director for this report is Quentin Tarantino. He is considered an auteur because of certain symbolic characteristics he uses in his movies. Quentin Tarantino often uses the same actors in his movies and even acts himself. This also shows he is an auteur.
I will be analysing two of his movies : Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds and their shared similarities. I will also be talking about the techniques used in both movies by the director.
Kill Bill
The cast of kill bill included actors and actresses such as:
Setting
The opening scene of Kill Bill is set in a dark house in the morning time. I can see this because of the day light shinning down the characters face. The setting which is in an old, deserted house, which can make the viewer feel a little fearful about.
Mise en scene
The camera only reveals the characters face and shoulders, not allowing to see her full costume. But judging from her shoulders, she does not have any clothes on. This makes me feel sympathetic towards her seen as she seems homeless and destitute.
The opening scene does not contain much props apart from a wipe that was utilized to clean the main characters bloody face. In contrast, there is another scene in the movie which utilised a lot of props. The scene involved a lot of sword fighting, meaning a lot of the props were swords, hammers, etc. There were also furniture such as chairs, tables and paintings. The use of props makes the movie more realistic for the viewers to watch, giving them a sense of enjoyment.
Acting
I believe the acting in the first scene is perfect. The main character demonstrates her feelings through terrified facial expressions ; this clearly shows she is scared and fearful of the unknown man that is in the scene with her. Her eyebrows were raised together in fear, producing wrinkles on her forehead, further proving her fearfulness. The main characters body language always shows she is scared because every time the man touches her she is reluctant and hesitant. Her breathing is uncoordinated and hard, showing her scared body language.
The mans vocal quality is restful and resonant indicating his calmness. This makes me feel a little bit scared because he talks in a calm manner whilst doing something creepy which is cleaning her bloody face. In contrast to terrified facial expressions, the main character revealed bravery through her facial expressions and body language in a fight scene. Whilst fighting a group of suited swordsmen, she remained call and brave ; and killed them all.
Colour
For this particular scene there isn't any contrasting colours because the director only utilized one colour which is grey. The colour grey is an emotionless colour with no mood which is also often associated with the meanings of dullness and lifelessness. As the viewer, this makes me feel dull towards the scene since it is what the colour is associated with. Comparatively, there was another scene (fighting), which only included the colour grey. The scene involved a lot of blood shed but you could not see the blood as red seen as the whole scene was shot solely with the colour grey. Again, I believe the director done this with the purpose of making the viewer feel dull towards the scene.
Technical Codes
The camera angle of this scene is high level because the camera is pointing down for a higher angle. The shot size is close up ; this makes the viewer appreciate the characters facial expressions and features more. I like this concept seen as I can see what/how the character is feelings closely and I can pay more attention. Related to this, the camera movement is still when it focuses on the main characters face. I believe the director chose this for the same reason stated above, which is to allow the audience to focus more on the characters facial characteristics/features.
Editing
The director chose the editing for the scene that I will be describing as short and spontaneous.
Sound
The director chose minimal sound for the opening scene, apart from the dialogue between the two characters. I believe he done this to add a sense of dullness. This will most likely effect the viewer because they are not being distracted by other noises and sounds and will solely focus on the dialogue from both actors. This is effective because the viewers will focus more on the acting other than other sounds, further helping them to understand the storyline.
Camera Angles
In this scene, the camera angle is at eye level, simply meaning it is pointing straight ahead. Eye level camera angles are often used so that if the actor is looking at the lens, he wouldn't have to look up or down. I believe Quentin Tarantino used this camera angle with the intention to be objective.
Inglourious Basterds
Settings
The opening scene of Inglourious Basterds is set in a farm in France. This scene is set in the morning time. Apart from the fact that it is day time, I can see this because a character in this scene is performing activities people normally do in the morning such as drying out clothes and eating breakfast.
Mise en scene
Acting
Colour
Technical Code
Editing
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