Three part narrative system
Beginning -Equalibrium-A state of 'normality' in the narrative
Middle - Disequalibrium-Something disrupts this normality and the protagonist/hero must go on a quest to restore the normality.
End - New equalibrium-A new 'normality' is created.
Vladimir Propps theory
Vladimir Propp studied ancient Bulgarin folk tales. He was a Russian critic and literacy theorist. He analysed over 100 Russian fairytales in the 1920s and proposed that it was possible to classify the character and thier actions into clearly defined roles and functions:
The hero seeks something
The villain tries to prevent the hero
The donor helps the hero by providing a magical object
The dispatcher sends the hero on his way
The false hero falsely assuming the role of the hero
The helper gives support to the hero
The princess the reward for the hero
The princess's father who gives the reward to the hero
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Using Mise en-Scene, select one character to analyse and explain the ways in which the chosen character is represented.
In Media, we watched the begining of the Royal Tennenbaums film and chose one character to analyse and explain. This is my essay.
In 2001, the motion picture 'the royal tenenbaums' was created and directed by Wes Anderson, later to be released on 15th March 2002 in the UK, starring nmerous actors/actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Owen Wilson. The film was nominated for an Oscar and went on to win various other movie awards. The film shows an extent of drug use, and scences of a sexual nature, resulting in its certificate rating at a 15.
The romantic comedy consists largely of five main characters: the Mother, Ethline, the Father, Royal and the three children; Chaz, Richi and Margot. The film portrays the upbringings of the three children and consequently how they turned out later in life. I chose to anaylse MArgot's character as i think her upbringing was the most influential. Margot is played by Irene Gorovaia as a young girl, and Gwyneth Paltrow as a woman. Unline her two brothers, she is the adopted daughter of Royal and Ethline Tenenbaum, which I think is a huge factor to Margots character. The film begins with a long shot of the Tenenbaums house, showing the three floors. On the first floor is Chaz's room, on the second floor is Richis room and on the third floor is Margot's room. This connotes to the audience that Margot is the most distant member of the family, possibly due to her heritage.
Margot's main interests are reading books, writing plays and possibly animals. She has perfectly cut blonde hair and is always shown with dark smokey eyes. This appearence gives the impression that she may be sayd, lonely, miserable or maybe resentful. In most scenes, Margots setting is considerably darker than others. For example; when her bedroom is shown, there are numerous bolts and locks on the door with a 'DO NOT ENTER' sign, this makes us aware that she is a very closed person and doesnt want to/like to interact with others, or be interupted. As you enter the room, Margot is sat in the middle of her bed listening to music through a pair of headphones perhaps symbolising that she doesn't want to share and likes to keep herself to herslef and drown out everybody else. Also what you notice when you enter the room is that there are curtains either side of her room, creating Margot as the center of perfect symmetry. This scene to me symbolises a stage and Margot being center stage. I think that this shows that although she comes across as closed and dark, she enjoys playing a fictional character as this prevents her audience from seeing the real her, which also seems to be how she acts in her everyday life. On the walls in her bedroom there are images of animals and Margot is often captured reading books about animals. This could be interpreted that she finds almost a saftey net, something she can rely on without them being able to speak and let her down or judge her.
The nest scene is Margot in her dark room which also shows a sense of how she likes to be alone as she cannot socialise in this hobby.
Her costume and props are all very personal relevant to her. For example, despite her love for animals, she is shot wearing a fur shaul and in her first play she is dressed as a blood-splattered animal. This possibly could be representing that altough she loves them, they are hurt, and likewise, she loves her parents but still feels neglected and lost. She perhaps wonders that if nobody cares for her, she she care for them. Another accurate symbolism of her, is her brothers 'failed' paintings of her, where she is always drawn without a smile, which says a lot about Margot as a person; very unhappy and shows little emotion. Considering this extreme noticeable unhappiness, her parents are either oblivious to it or generally dont care.
Margot is free spirited and individual as we notice in the things she does (eg plays), but also has a closed and dark peronsality. All of this could be due to the resentment she feels about the lack of a father figure. In the camer angles used in the film, the camera is always very centre and based on symmetry in the set. The sue of camera levels are used to show social class/power/status usually. Alot of the camera angles on Margot are high angles, meaning she is looking up at the camera. This gives me the impression that she longs or seeks something, perhaps a dominant male figure in her life.
The enigma code in the Royal Tennenbaums could be taht how did Margot lose her finger when she ran away? The symbolic cold is most accurately expressed when the bird is set free fromt he roof top, symbolising the upcoming freedom of the Tenenbaum children and for them to fend for themselves.
Personally, I think Margot's character is the most influential and interesting to analyse, as her thoughts, passions, fears and abitions all become clearer as the story unfolds. This is very skillfully done my Wes Anderson as the audience become intrigued to know more about her. She leaves lots of unanswered questions and mysteries for teh audience to pick up on. In terms of Vladimer Propps theory, I think that Margot plays the hero as she constantly seems to be seeking something, a father figure, recognition, love or just a greater meaning to her life.
In 2001, the motion picture 'the royal tenenbaums' was created and directed by Wes Anderson, later to be released on 15th March 2002 in the UK, starring nmerous actors/actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Owen Wilson. The film was nominated for an Oscar and went on to win various other movie awards. The film shows an extent of drug use, and scences of a sexual nature, resulting in its certificate rating at a 15.
The romantic comedy consists largely of five main characters: the Mother, Ethline, the Father, Royal and the three children; Chaz, Richi and Margot. The film portrays the upbringings of the three children and consequently how they turned out later in life. I chose to anaylse MArgot's character as i think her upbringing was the most influential. Margot is played by Irene Gorovaia as a young girl, and Gwyneth Paltrow as a woman. Unline her two brothers, she is the adopted daughter of Royal and Ethline Tenenbaum, which I think is a huge factor to Margots character. The film begins with a long shot of the Tenenbaums house, showing the three floors. On the first floor is Chaz's room, on the second floor is Richis room and on the third floor is Margot's room. This connotes to the audience that Margot is the most distant member of the family, possibly due to her heritage.
Margot's main interests are reading books, writing plays and possibly animals. She has perfectly cut blonde hair and is always shown with dark smokey eyes. This appearence gives the impression that she may be sayd, lonely, miserable or maybe resentful. In most scenes, Margots setting is considerably darker than others. For example; when her bedroom is shown, there are numerous bolts and locks on the door with a 'DO NOT ENTER' sign, this makes us aware that she is a very closed person and doesnt want to/like to interact with others, or be interupted. As you enter the room, Margot is sat in the middle of her bed listening to music through a pair of headphones perhaps symbolising that she doesn't want to share and likes to keep herself to herslef and drown out everybody else. Also what you notice when you enter the room is that there are curtains either side of her room, creating Margot as the center of perfect symmetry. This scene to me symbolises a stage and Margot being center stage. I think that this shows that although she comes across as closed and dark, she enjoys playing a fictional character as this prevents her audience from seeing the real her, which also seems to be how she acts in her everyday life. On the walls in her bedroom there are images of animals and Margot is often captured reading books about animals. This could be interpreted that she finds almost a saftey net, something she can rely on without them being able to speak and let her down or judge her.
The nest scene is Margot in her dark room which also shows a sense of how she likes to be alone as she cannot socialise in this hobby.
Her costume and props are all very personal relevant to her. For example, despite her love for animals, she is shot wearing a fur shaul and in her first play she is dressed as a blood-splattered animal. This possibly could be representing that altough she loves them, they are hurt, and likewise, she loves her parents but still feels neglected and lost. She perhaps wonders that if nobody cares for her, she she care for them. Another accurate symbolism of her, is her brothers 'failed' paintings of her, where she is always drawn without a smile, which says a lot about Margot as a person; very unhappy and shows little emotion. Considering this extreme noticeable unhappiness, her parents are either oblivious to it or generally dont care.
Margot is free spirited and individual as we notice in the things she does (eg plays), but also has a closed and dark peronsality. All of this could be due to the resentment she feels about the lack of a father figure. In the camer angles used in the film, the camera is always very centre and based on symmetry in the set. The sue of camera levels are used to show social class/power/status usually. Alot of the camera angles on Margot are high angles, meaning she is looking up at the camera. This gives me the impression that she longs or seeks something, perhaps a dominant male figure in her life.
The enigma code in the Royal Tennenbaums could be taht how did Margot lose her finger when she ran away? The symbolic cold is most accurately expressed when the bird is set free fromt he roof top, symbolising the upcoming freedom of the Tenenbaum children and for them to fend for themselves.
Personally, I think Margot's character is the most influential and interesting to analyse, as her thoughts, passions, fears and abitions all become clearer as the story unfolds. This is very skillfully done my Wes Anderson as the audience become intrigued to know more about her. She leaves lots of unanswered questions and mysteries for teh audience to pick up on. In terms of Vladimer Propps theory, I think that Margot plays the hero as she constantly seems to be seeking something, a father figure, recognition, love or just a greater meaning to her life.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes Narrative Theory
In one of our first theory lessons, we learnt about a narrative theory from Roland Barthes consisting of 5 codes.
Action Code: this applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. for example a gunslinger draws his gun on and adversary and we assume that the result will be shooting.
Enigma Code: this refers to any element in a sotry that is not explained, therefore esixts as an enigma for the audience. This raises questions that demand explanation.
The Semantic Code: This is any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meanings by way of connotation.
The Cultural Code: This is any element ina narrative that refers to a science or body of knowledge. In other words, the cultural code tends to point to our shared knowledge about the way the world works.
The symbolic Code: This is all to do with binary opposites. For example, one person is considered fat because another person is thin.
Levi Strauss: Levi Strauss believed that the world consisted of a series of binary opposites. Essentially only one thing can be defined in relation to something else. This links in with the symbolic code very well.
Also a narrative can be labeled in two ways; Open or Closed.
An open narrative can be unravelled in lots of different ways for example soap operas.
A closed narrative only has one obvious thread to pull on, for example a film.
I enjoyed learning about this first narrative theory as it gave me a better insight into films/commercials/tv programs etc and everything that has to be considered for them to be made.
In one of our first theory lessons, we learnt about a narrative theory from Roland Barthes consisting of 5 codes.
Action Code: this applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. for example a gunslinger draws his gun on and adversary and we assume that the result will be shooting.
Enigma Code: this refers to any element in a sotry that is not explained, therefore esixts as an enigma for the audience. This raises questions that demand explanation.
The Semantic Code: This is any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meanings by way of connotation.
The Cultural Code: This is any element ina narrative that refers to a science or body of knowledge. In other words, the cultural code tends to point to our shared knowledge about the way the world works.
The symbolic Code: This is all to do with binary opposites. For example, one person is considered fat because another person is thin.
Levi Strauss: Levi Strauss believed that the world consisted of a series of binary opposites. Essentially only one thing can be defined in relation to something else. This links in with the symbolic code very well.
Also a narrative can be labeled in two ways; Open or Closed.
An open narrative can be unravelled in lots of different ways for example soap operas.
A closed narrative only has one obvious thread to pull on, for example a film.
I enjoyed learning about this first narrative theory as it gave me a better insight into films/commercials/tv programs etc and everything that has to be considered for them to be made.
Spike Jonez
Spike Jonez
View more presentations from leonieholder.
In my group there was Jack Reid, Laura Danson and me. We were given the director Spike Jonze to look at and create a powerpoint to present to the rest of the class.
Spike Jonze, born as Adam Speiger, was born on October the 22nd 1969. He is an American director of music videos and commercials and a director and producer in film and television. He is probably best known for his film 'Being John Makovich'. He also is the co-creator of the hit MTV show 'Jackass' and owns his own skate park.
Spike Jonze has a very respected reputation in the music industry which is shown through the various videos he has produced which are shown below;
- Fully Flared for Lakai
- Sonic Youth-100%
- Beastie Boys-Sure Shot
- Fatboy Slim-Praise You
- Tenacious D-Wonder Boy
- Wax-California
- Pavement-Shadylane
- Bjork-It's oh so quiet
- Beastie Boys-sabotage
- Weezer-Buddy Holly
On the iconic cinematography slide we commented on Spike's individual style portrayed in the various camera angles he does. In the trailor, he picks out key emotional events from the film that give the audience a clear conception of what the film will be about. This was an unusual project for him to direct as he usually works on music videos and films that relate to his own personal interests rather than fiction stories. Also in this film he relies greatly on setting the scene by incorporating a scenic background for atmosphere which he doesn't usually depend on.
In our last iconic cinematography slide, we have a clip of a video named 'Unkle', this shows Spike's urban style of work portraying his own interests very clearly (Skateboarding and dangerous activities). In the first half he using sharp editing to cut the scene just before something happens which creates tension. The second half remains in slow motion but concludes the clips shown in the first half. Lots of smaller explosions are shown with eventually a huge explosion at the end.
I enjoyed working in a group to create this powerpoint presentation and enjoyed looking at the slightly different aspects of Spike Jonze's directing skills. I think I need to be more clear on what I need to say when presenting to the class next time to prevent reading off the screen.
Friday, 9 October 2009
leoniee
Preliminary video exercise
Our second preliminary exercise was to create a short video clip incorparating a range of shots and camera angles. In my group there was me, Erica Forshaw and Jacob Phethean. Me and Erica acted whilst Jacob filmed us and we all contributed to directing. The objective of the film was to walk in, exchange dialogue and walk out. In this, we used a long shot, a close up, an action shot, a mid shot, a shot reverse shot, and pan across. After this we loaded all 8 of our clips onto a program called imovie and edited each clip individually so that they ran together coherently.
Our second preliminary exercise was to create a short video clip incorparating a range of shots and camera angles. In my group there was me, Erica Forshaw and Jacob Phethean. Me and Erica acted whilst Jacob filmed us and we all contributed to directing. The objective of the film was to walk in, exchange dialogue and walk out. In this, we used a long shot, a close up, an action shot, a mid shot, a shot reverse shot, and pan across. After this we loaded all 8 of our clips onto a program called imovie and edited each clip individually so that they ran together coherently.
Monday, 5 October 2009
School magazine cover
My first task in media, was to create a magazine cover and contents page for a school magazine.
It had to include a midshot and 3 or 4 pieces of suitable text.
To begin with, we took several pictures of what we considered to be photogenice student in year 11, 12, and 13. We then uploaded them to the computer and chose one that we liked the look of and that seemed suitable for a magasine cover. We then uploaded this image onto photoshop and cut out the image of the person from its background and put it as a layer on our magazine cover. We then thought of our title 'Spotlight' and several pieces of text which would hyperthetically be included in the magazine and arranged them around the main picture. Finally we added a bar code, and issue number and date and a price. This task was quite a quick task to do and I feel more confident about using photoshop for editing and creating images and covers.
It had to include a midshot and 3 or 4 pieces of suitable text.
To begin with, we took several pictures of what we considered to be photogenice student in year 11, 12, and 13. We then uploaded them to the computer and chose one that we liked the look of and that seemed suitable for a magasine cover. We then uploaded this image onto photoshop and cut out the image of the person from its background and put it as a layer on our magazine cover. We then thought of our title 'Spotlight' and several pieces of text which would hyperthetically be included in the magazine and arranged them around the main picture. Finally we added a bar code, and issue number and date and a price. This task was quite a quick task to do and I feel more confident about using photoshop for editing and creating images and covers.
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