Analysing Films

While in lesson, we analysed some different posters - seeing how much detail we could pick out just from looking at the images. The two main posters that we looked at were Captain America + Inglorious Bastards. 
These were different but similar at the same time;

From just looking at the two images you can see that they both are in some kind of war. 
By looking at the Captain America Poster, you can see the ash in the sky behind him which shows that he is in battle. You can also see he is looking down towards something, which could be the other people - this makes him look quite powerful. He is also representing America as he is wearing the American colours and has a star on his uniform. The sheild he is holding is quite battered which shows he has fought a lot and is still survivng by himself. He could be quite lonely as his facial expressions dont show any signs of smugness or power, maybe lonliness and guilt. 
However on the Inglorious Bastards, the first thing that attracts you to the poster is the red in the background, this looks mostly like blood as it is smeared. It could also mean anger as red is quite a fiery colour which most people either associate with anger, love or death.  You can see that Brad Pitt is standing at the front of the three men, showing that he is in control while the two other men follow him, he could be their leader and they are his teammates. 
There is a man however, at the top of the poster which could be the enemy and a general as he is wearing a hat and is above everyone else. It looks as if it is set in WW2. They are all holding weapons which means they are in some kind of war with eachother.
Looking at both of the posters, you see that in Inglorious Bastards they are working in a team trying to deafeat the enemy and in Captain America, he is a one man army showing that he could be most powerful by himself.

Spooks - M.E.S, Camera & Editing

Also in last weeks lesson we watched an extract from Spooks, it was set in a court room where it was quite dark and we had to look closely to notice what kind of costumes and colours the characters were wearing. 
We also had to look for Mise en scene, camera and editing throughout the clip. 
I have created a brainstorm to show what we found:

I thought that editing was quite tricky to write about so i made sure i knew what had to be involved when writing about it,
Editing:
Who has the most time on screen
How many times do we repeat on this character
CUT shot
PACE.
How the shots are put together ( Juxtaposition) - Trying to find a relationship.
Basically unpicking every detail and seeing how it works.

M.E.S & CAM

We discussed aspects that contribute to M.E.S - Mise-en-scene and Camera. 
Some of the things that are known as mise en scene are:
-Light
-Prop
-Colour
-Costume
-Characters-Appearance
-Facial Expression
-Location 
We then had to decide in groups, what we thought was most important from the list and what wasn't as important. 
In my group we decided:
1. Costume and characters
2. Props
3.Facial Expressions
4.Location
5.Colour
6.Light
We thought that costume and characters were the most important as that is the first thing we tend to notice when we first look at a scene. I think that facial expressions are also important as sometimes they can help you identify whats happening in the scene without seeing the actual problem. However i think that colour needs to be moved up as if there are bright colours used, that is where i would look first.

Mock Exam Prep

In order for us to prepare for our mock exam on Monday, we had six tasks to complete in class. The first task was to create a brainstorm based on aspects that will help us to get the highest grade.
I created my brainstorm on key things i think will help me pass: 

Dr Who Analysis

During class, we had to watch an extract from a doctor who series, the clip would represent gender and the power held between the different characters. 

Camera - analysing meaning 

There were certain aspects that i had to look at when analysing camera:
Proxemic Codes - the relationship between Amy and Rory is quite close but distant as Amy is trapped behind the tardis door and they can only talk to eachother through it without being face to face. Rory and the doctor also have distance between them because of the disagreement over Amy's demise.
- The composition in the scene shows that their relationship is confusing, distant and not promising for the future as both Rory and Amy and seperated in the future but also together. 
Foreground/background - Rory and Amy are both presented in the foreground while having the emotional discussion while the doctor is in the background.
Characters - Amy and Rory are facing eachother but with a door seperating them,this could be shown by using a side angle. Rory and the doctor face eachother while talking, there could be a shot reverse shot used here. 
High/low angle - The doctor has the most power out of the three characters, making the main decision that involves Amy. A low angle is used here to show the emotions on the doctors face and to show he is the more dominant out of the two men. Amy is both weak and strong in this frame, she is weak as she wants to get out of the tardis and doesn't want her life to end but takes power and decides to end her life.
Close-ups - There is a close up of Amy and Rory on either side of the door when switching to each character, it only involves face and shoulders. There is also a close up of the doctor when he is panicking and when it is time to make the decision. 
Pace/movement - The movement throughout the scene is quite fast when the doctor is running back and forth in the tardis, deciding what the best option is. There is emotional direction when deciding to shut Amny away in the tardis. The shot could be more masculine as the pace is quite fast and society expect males to be somewhat erratic and speedy. 
Character associated with - I think it is from Rory's point of view as the problem mainly involves him making the biggest decision of his life, he is quite heartbroken having to make the decision and quite emotional.
Steady/smooth/detached - It is quite steady throughout the scene but quite erratic at times when there is panic, when shutting Amy way and when she is running at the door to try and escape her death.

Modern Masculinity & Post Feminism

While separated into our expert groups, there were two more groups to present; Modern Masculinity and Post-feminism.
Modern Masculinity;
How society expects men to act today and how gender has changed.
In the first clip, it was set in an institute/prison and showed a man also showing his feminine side- by showing emotion and cuddling another man.This is not something an alpha male would take part in.
We watched two extracts from youtube, it showed a man sitting on the toilet reading a furniture magazine, this shows how his feminine side comes to light, completely opposite to the typical alpha male stereotype who is quite independent and doesn't play house. The last thing he would be looking at in a magazine would be furniture.
Post-Feminism;
How feminism has changed.
We watched an extract from the TV drama series, Doctor Who set on a pirate ship. It was not the typical gender layout, typical alpha male pirates but Doctor who himself  is a pacifist and doesn't believe in violence so when his life is put on the line he tries to negotiate however the woman in this scenerio is playing the part of the alpha female, having control over the other pirates, using violence to solve the issue. She is basically trying to save the men which you don't expect from her.
Also the demon that is presented in the programme, is a small female figure who uses lust to control the other men and takes the masculinity away from them, this makes the women powerful over the men.

Traditional Masculinity - Rome Analysis

While in our expert groups, myself,Adam and Joe represented camera and had to analyse different aspects of camera from the extract of Rome.
The different aspects that were needed for Rome were Proxemic codes, foreground, characters, angle, close-ups, track shot and pace.
Proxemic codes- All the men were working quite close together, this represents that they work well in a team.
Foreground - Alpha male is represented at the front, could be to show importance and the characters are in teams.
Angle - A low angle is used to look up at the character making him look bigger.
Close-ups - There is a close up of all of the characters fighting to show the tension and gender representation between the males.
Track-shot - There is a track shot used when the horse is moving along.
The clip is quite fast paced to show more masculinity, as if it was feminine it would be slow, emotional and dissolve in and out. Where as there are decisive cuts making it more masculine. This is also known as genderising editing. 
Character - the character that we associated with is quite alpha-male/ masculine/rebel type.
There is not a very steady shot and is not detached, quite erratic and not very smooth.