Film analysis

Verisimilitude - how real the world of the story appears to the audience - is it believable

Diagesis/ diagetic world
- The world the film takes place in

Juxtaposition
- placing one object next to another to create meaning

Narrative theory
- theories that categorise narratives and find features common to them


Popular narrative theories

"cinema is a set of universal rules, a set of relations that could be described as the grammar of film"

Levi strauss' Binary opposition
- Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. this can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level.

- Good Vs Evil

Get out:

White Vs Black 

Rich Vs Poor 

Elitism Vs Impoverished

Old Vs Young 

Bad Vs good 

Wrong Vs right 

Criminal Vs Police 

Bourgeoisie Vs Proletariat

Female Vs Male 

Weak Vs strong  

Vladimir Propp

The Hero
The Villain
The helper
The princess or prize
Her Father
The Donor
The false hero
The dispatcher

8 character types (fish tank)
- Villain - Conor
- Helper - Tyler
- Princess or prize - Billie
- Her father - Joanne
- doner - Conor
- Hero - Mia
- False hero - Conor
- Dispatcher - Val


- propp

- The Hero - Chris 
The Villain - Girlfriend/ fairly - Rose 
The helper -Rod - cop 
The princess or prize - Escape freedom 
Her Father
The Donor - Walter 
The false hero - rose 
The dispatcher - rose 

- placing one object next to another to create meaning

- Diegetic sound is the sound in the world of the film (diegesis)


Action codes + enigma codes - Roland barthes 

Action codes - what will happen next? 

Enigma codes - the audience questions why  


Action:

Kidnapping 

man gets angry at camera clicking 

Enigma: 

Black man kidnapped in opening 

Stirring tea 

- Photos of rose with lots of black boyfriends and girlfriends 


Denotation - is what you can see 

Connotations - hidden meanings 

Genre and audience pleasures 

Rick altman 

Emotional pleasure: 

How does the text make you feel? - happy, sad, nostalgic 

Visceral pleasures 

Gut responses such as excitement, fear laughter   

intellectual pleasures 

- Does it make the audiance think 

Emotional 

Anger - realising the racism within the narrative 

Visceral 

Killing - shocking scene 

Rose's father excitement

Intellectual 

Black maid - makes audience wonder 

Crying laughter why there is such conflict 

 

Analyse how mise-en-scene elements contribute to the construction of stereotypes in a media products you have studied (12)

1:09:25 - 01:12:31

- Tilt/pan down to set the scene of the room showing the spectator where they are
- Symmetry in the room chris is positioned in the centre
- Non diagetic sound of the music to create tension and making the spectator feel uneasy before scene fully starts
- When Chris wakes up there is ECU to show shock on his face
- Diegetic and non-Diagetic music when he wakes up as you hear him struggling, but also easy music to show his fear even more
ECU of his face you see his lips tremble, bloodshot eyes to emphasis his fear
lighting shows sweat on forehead
- Mise en scene the room is bleak and brown to show his isolation and entrapment that he is trapped all alone
Goes from shallow depth of field to deep depth of field focusing on the moose head on the wall this can be seen as foreshadowing e.g. both trapped and might have same fate

The mise-en-scene, contribute to the construction of the stereotypes in get out. One way it does this is through the use of symmetry as on either side of Chris it is exactly the same showing how everything is in order and nothing is out of place. This shows how the stereotype of upper class white people being organised, and in control where in this scene Chris is the symbol of african american people. Who are stereotypically seen as not in control and passive which is Chris as he is tied up and not in control of he situation.  The use of the old fashioned looking setting shows to the spectator how this is an outdated way of thinking but however is still present in society. This the idea that Peele is trying to get forward to the audience. Just because it is outdated does not mean it is still not present in todays society. The use of symmetry shows how society should not be the same as the background is, there should be difference in colour and look as society is not mean to be uniform. The film draws from the stereotypes of the slave trade Deer symbolise the powers in nature that are not easily subdued. they are able to adapt very well to many habitats. this is showing how the slaves brought from their native countries are now integrated into society which is how Chris is presented through the deer on the wall as they symbolise each other. As chris had adapted from his ancestors to now, he is also presented as power in nature which is Peele showing how African americans are strong people. 

Analyse how genre conventions contribute to creating meaning in a media products you have studied (12)

The genre conventions are used to further create a meaning for the spectator one example is at the beginning of the film Get Out directed by Jordan Peele, the opening shot is a man in the centre frame walking along a dark road this is a convention of the genre of horror. A lot of the scene is left unseen by the audience creating that tense feeling of unease which is a large aspect of horror. . WHAT MEANING DOES THIS CREATE (Evidence). LINK TO A THEORY

There are many enigma and action codes presented in this scene. One example is where we see a masked man walk up behind the character we are following. There are many questions that the audience have towards the end of the scene setting up for the rest of the film. 

Another example of a genre convention is the constant addition of more questions within the narrative such as the car that pulled up next to the man. this is a convention of horror as we are always questioning what is going to happen and what meaning is connoted with what is happening. 

The use of the cinematography helps to reaffirm the thriller/ horror genre, the scene opens with a slow tracking shot following the man, the slow flowing movements create this tense scene as the audience is looking at the surroundings trying to gauge where they are. The lighting emphasise this as there are only the streetlights and there is natural lighting to give it a real feeling making the audience feel as if though they are in the Verisimilitude. 

There is a use of contrapuntal sound towards the end of the opening scene. As the man is unconscious and dragged off to the car looking as if he was a zombie, The sound is juxtaposed to the actions creating more questions for the audiences. The audience can see he is a black man and hear him say he sticks out therefore the audience has been given the visual and verbal cue that this may be linked to racism, showing the deeper ideological critical approaches presented in this film. 

The setting and time of night conforms to stereotypes. The scene is set on a suburban street, where the black character believes he 'stand(s) out like a sore thumb', suggesting that stereotypically the black community are of a lower class. Also, the scene is set at night, conforming to the stereotype that most crime happens at night, as that is when the protagonist is attacked. Strauss theory of oppositions   

 

There is however a challenge of stereotypes, in terms of black on white violence. 

Audiences will assume the dominant representation of black characters in the media attacking white people, however the scene challenges audiences expectations, by having a black character attacked by a white character in a suburban street. The attacker does however conform to the stereotype of while power as he drives an expensive car. 

Identify two technical conventions used in a media product you have studied that create specific meaning for the audience. Explain how each technical convention creates specific meaning for the audience ? 

1) one technical convention is the natural lighting. there is low key lighting creating a realistic urban environment this is used to sutre the audience as it is in a real world setting they can relate with to their own world. However there is the use of non diagetic sound to contrast this to help the audiance realise they are however still watching a horror film.