Rolands theories link to Life on Mars, by when looking at a shot, you can gain many different meanings from it.
Vladamir Propp
Discovered some narratives have characteristics and props. He analysed Russian folk tails and discovered the same events and framework being repeated. His main theories were that there was always: a villain, donor, helper, princess, sought-for person, dispatcher, hero and false hero. It relates to Life on Mars because the hero is Sam Tyler, the villain is Colin Reams, the princess in Mya and the false hero is Gene Hunt.
Levi-Strauss
He was a French theorist who lived until he was 100 years of age. Levi-Strauss was a huge influence before and after the war. His main theory was that in films there are always binary opposites. This means two complete opposites. This relates to Life on Mars because the first setting is set in a busy, modern city, and then once hit by the car, Sam is taken to the 70's which is hugely different.
Todorov
He was born on the 1st March 1939 in Bulgaria. He was a very influential from the 1960's an onwards. He published a total of 21 books, some of these were: The Poetics of Prose (1971), Introduction to Poetics (1981) and The Conquest of America (1982). His theory was that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo, where opposing forces are in balance. This is then disrupted by an event that then results in a series of events and problems are solved so oredr can be restored. This relates to Life on Mars because he's sent into the past which sets off events and he has to solve problems to try and get back.
Monday 25 October 2010
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Hot Fuzz Creators
Universal was first founded by Carl Laemmle in 1912 and out of the six major movie studios, Universal is one of them. As well as this, it is one of the oldest American film studios that's still in production. The very first film they made was in 1914, and have continued to make films to this date- even with filmsready for making in 2012. The very first film they made was called By The Suns Rays which was a silent western film. The most recent film released that has been created by Universal is Devil.
Working Title is a British film production company that is based in London. In 1983 it was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe. The institution have produced feature films and several television shows. Some of their most famous films created are: Wimbledon, Love Actually, Jonny English and About A Boy.
Studio Canal is a French based film production and distribution company. It was founded by Pierre Lescure in 1988. It also owns the third largest film libary in the world. Some of the films in Studio Canals library include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Basic Instinct, and they have international rights to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Graduate and much more.
Big Talk is an English film and television production company that is based in London. It was founded by Nira Park in 1995. Some of the films it's famous for producing are Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. As well as it's films, it's also famous for producing British sitcoms like Free Agents and Spaced. There are also a few actors that have gained a famous status after appearing in Big Talk productions, these include: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Bailey and Dylan Moran.
Working Title is a British film production company that is based in London. In 1983 it was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe. The institution have produced feature films and several television shows. Some of their most famous films created are: Wimbledon, Love Actually, Jonny English and About A Boy.
Studio Canal is a French based film production and distribution company. It was founded by Pierre Lescure in 1988. It also owns the third largest film libary in the world. Some of the films in Studio Canals library include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Basic Instinct, and they have international rights to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Graduate and much more.
Big Talk is an English film and television production company that is based in London. It was founded by Nira Park in 1995. Some of the films it's famous for producing are Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. As well as it's films, it's also famous for producing British sitcoms like Free Agents and Spaced. There are also a few actors that have gained a famous status after appearing in Big Talk productions, these include: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Bailey and Dylan Moran.
Merlin
What representations of gender are constructed by the extract through the use of: Mise en scene, editing, use of camera and sound?
After the opening shot, you can immediately see that the main character of the programme is a male. This shows that most of the focus will be on him. There is another shot very soon after of Merlin and the kings son. The kings son is wearing a suit of armour which give the impression to the reader that he is high in society and well respected. Shortly after this, you then see the king for the first time. The first image of him is him sitting on a throne wearing a crown, so as a viewer you gain full awareness of his power and authority. This is reinforced by the fact that his chair is on a step, which makes him higher than the people around him. As well as this, when he's heard speaking, his voice is very empowering. Lastly, with Merlin, there is editing used on his eyes that make them go a glowing colour. This represents something magical which is then followed by the idea of power, because if he has a magical ability he is certified omnipotence over the other villagers.
During the trailer for Merlin, the first woman you see is only showed for a very quick space of time, but she is portrayed as a very feminine female. She has very long black 'locks' which was very common during that period of time. She's also seen wearing a long purple gown. Purple is a very feminine colour which is very stereotypical. Also, the fact that the gown she wearing is long and not revealing could be down to the men in power deciding that women should be covered up. The next woman you see is a very old witch. It was a very common idea in the 1100's that there were many witches around, and most of these would be old women- so a very old stereotype was used. It also shows they had quite a low opinion of women by saying that they were such vile creatures, like witches.
After the opening shot, you can immediately see that the main character of the programme is a male. This shows that most of the focus will be on him. There is another shot very soon after of Merlin and the kings son. The kings son is wearing a suit of armour which give the impression to the reader that he is high in society and well respected. Shortly after this, you then see the king for the first time. The first image of him is him sitting on a throne wearing a crown, so as a viewer you gain full awareness of his power and authority. This is reinforced by the fact that his chair is on a step, which makes him higher than the people around him. As well as this, when he's heard speaking, his voice is very empowering. Lastly, with Merlin, there is editing used on his eyes that make them go a glowing colour. This represents something magical which is then followed by the idea of power, because if he has a magical ability he is certified omnipotence over the other villagers.
During the trailer for Merlin, the first woman you see is only showed for a very quick space of time, but she is portrayed as a very feminine female. She has very long black 'locks' which was very common during that period of time. She's also seen wearing a long purple gown. Purple is a very feminine colour which is very stereotypical. Also, the fact that the gown she wearing is long and not revealing could be down to the men in power deciding that women should be covered up. The next woman you see is a very old witch. It was a very common idea in the 1100's that there were many witches around, and most of these would be old women- so a very old stereotype was used. It also shows they had quite a low opinion of women by saying that they were such vile creatures, like witches.
Wednesday 13 October 2010
British'ness'
British films have uses many features that enable you to identify them as British, some of these features include: the film being set in a country side or rural environment as we have a lot a green/ farm land. However, they could be set in a run down, council estate as that is very common in big cities. There's also references back to British cultural experiences, such as the 1980's, or the film includes iconic things we associate with Britain. We are also famous for being self deprecating in our films, simply because other nationalities would find it humorous.
During today's lesson we watched two sequences from Hot Fuzz, and were asked, what is uniquely British about Hot Fuzz?
The opening scene is set in the busy city that is London. In this area you see very British looking streets, there's a Thames landscape, run down factories in urban communities as well as a mention of knife crime. The very first sounds we hear is a police whilstle, which then progresses to a bell, and this is then followed by a siren. You then see a policemen dressed in uniform, hear him mention being a constable and see the Queens crown on his police badge. Each of these are all aspects of the British police force. Lastly, during the entire opening sequence, the non digetic music being played is by Adam and the Ants, these were a very popular band in the late 70's/ early 80's, which reffers back to British culture.
The next scene we looked at was when Angel moved to a quaint countryside village, named Sandford. Upon his entrance, you notice that its raining heavily straight away- typical English weather. As well as the brown road signs you see regularly on our roads. You also see him arrive in what looks like a noticibly British taxi, and not your yellow American taxi. Once he's arrived in the village, you notice the old churches, cobbled streets, dated hotel and a pub. All of these you would expect to see in a country side village. Lastly, the pub in which he enters has many distinguishable features, these are: timbre beams, british laws postered, pint pumps and brass saddles which are all very common in British pubs.
Overall, I think Hot Fuzz does a very good job in presenting 'best of British' as it includes humorous ideas and features that a British viewer can relate to as well as having other nationalities being able to understand the content.
Wednesday 6 October 2010
The Inbetweeners
This week I decided to watch The Inbetweeners as an example of a TV drama. I would defiantely class it in the comedy genre of TV dramas, as there was a lot of humour in the episode. I think it's defiantely a programme to be watched by young people, around the ages of 15 to 19 maybe- this is because they can maybe relate to some of the situations. Overall I think it's a very good show and i'll continue to watch the rest of the series.
Shynola
Overall, my favourite director out of the selected directors was Shynola. I like their work because I think it's imaginative and unique, and some of their ideas they use are very unusual. I am a fan of the video below, for Blur, especially because even though there's no colour used at all it still manages to catch my eye, and is very thought provoking. I think the four of them put there ideas together well, and manage to compliment them nicely.
Different Directors
Shynola
There are four men that make up Shynola, these are Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard Kenworthy and Jason Groves. One of the films they was The Jerk. As well as films they have also made music videos for Blur, Queens of the Stoneage and Coldplay. Their style is mainly animations and they use unrealistic themes. They have a very wide range of audiences as they direct many things.
Wes Anderson
He's an American director, but he's also had many other careers. Anderson went to university where he met Owen Wilson, and went on to write three scripts with him. You can see that he casts the same actors/ actresses for his films, including; Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson. He aslo uses a similar soundtrack- which usually involved The Rolling Stones. As well as this, he is a fan of using symmetry in his work. He's been nominated for two Oscars and has a strong fan base, with a wide target audience.
Anton Corbijn
He was born in Holland in 1955. Some of the films he directed were Control and Run Pussy Cat, Kill! Kill! which had a strong them of woman empowerment- this gained him many female fans. He's also famous for directing Coldplays video, Viva La Vida, which was a very melancholic video. He's also photographed many famous people, inclusing: David Bowie, U2 and Bjork. He was very famous for using black and white in his work. His target market is mainly teens and middle aged people.
There are four men that make up Shynola, these are Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard Kenworthy and Jason Groves. One of the films they was The Jerk. As well as films they have also made music videos for Blur, Queens of the Stoneage and Coldplay. Their style is mainly animations and they use unrealistic themes. They have a very wide range of audiences as they direct many things.
Hammer and Tongs
Made up of two men, Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith. Some of their work includes the video for Vampire Weekend, A Punk, and films such as Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy and Son Of Rambow. They also have a wide range of audiences- from older males to teens. They have a distinctive feature that they use often which is using hand puppets.
Michel Gondry
He is a French director who has once been described as "wierd". At first he wanted to be an artist but soon changed his mind and went on to make music videos for people like Paul McCartney and Kanye West, commercials for Levis and films like Be Kind Rewind. He has a very distinct feature that is using bold colours.
Spike Jonze
He is a 40 year old, famous director born in Maryland, America. He has won many awards, including Oscars, Golden Globe and an MTV Movie Award. Some of his films include Where The Wild Things Are and Jackass. His audience can vary but it is mainly teens or younger children.
Wes Anderson
He's an American director, but he's also had many other careers. Anderson went to university where he met Owen Wilson, and went on to write three scripts with him. You can see that he casts the same actors/ actresses for his films, including; Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson. He aslo uses a similar soundtrack- which usually involved The Rolling Stones. As well as this, he is a fan of using symmetry in his work. He's been nominated for two Oscars and has a strong fan base, with a wide target audience.
Anton Corbijn
He was born in Holland in 1955. Some of the films he directed were Control and Run Pussy Cat, Kill! Kill! which had a strong them of woman empowerment- this gained him many female fans. He's also famous for directing Coldplays video, Viva La Vida, which was a very melancholic video. He's also photographed many famous people, inclusing: David Bowie, U2 and Bjork. He was very famous for using black and white in his work. His target market is mainly teens and middle aged people.
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