MISE-EN-SCENE

I decided to make my post on the mise-en-scene in "Star Wars: A New Hope". I chose this movie because mise-en-scene makes the movie what  it is. 

One example of mise-en-scene in A New Hope is the setting. Of course, there is not only one setting, but some of the most memorable settings are the Cantina, and Luke and the twin suns. The cantina is messy, crowded, loud, and dark. This establishes the idea that it's a sort of "shady", or dangerous place to be.  In the twin suns scene, there is a serene, beautiful setting while Luke overlooks the sunset, reflecting on his idea to leave the farm.

The lighting throughout the movie also plays a huge role. Referring to the cantina scene again, the lighting would be considered low-key lighting. The frame is cast with large shadows, and it's hard to distinguish many details. However, when the alien's hand it cut off after he harasses Luke, the lighting gets noticeably brighter, but returns back to dark immediately after, showing almost a climax of the scene, then the dying back down. 

The costumes in Star Wars don't have the same effect on the movie as they do in most. In most movies, costumes set the time period. Here in star wars, they convey many thins such as economic status, good or evil, or personality. For example, darth vader wears all black and a mask. The fact that he is covered from head to toe completely gives off a mysterious vibe, seeing as the audience does not know what lies beneath the mask, and the black shows evil, in contrast to the white and tan colors that Luke Skywalker wears. Also the use of red and blue lightsabers (as seen in the fight scene between Darth Vader and Obi Wan) represent good (blue) and evil (red).

The spacing in Star Wars: A New Hope can be noticed in the fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. When the scene begins, Obi-Wan enters a room, and his facial expression changes from slightly calm to concerned. However, you don't see what he's looking at until a few seconds afterwards. This is an example of offscreen space.

SOUND EDITS

https://youtu.be/cjWXO0noea4

          The first sound in our video was under the "contrast" master edit. This is an example of a non-diegetic sound. For the bird flying, we played the upbeat and suspenseful theme from Mission Impossible. For me sitting on the ground, we played Simon and Garfunkel's melancholy "The Sound of Silence". This represents the contrast between the bird flying freely in the air and me sitting bored on the ground.
          The second sound in our video was under the "symbolism" master edit. This is an example of music. Over the video of the American flag in nations square, we put the star spangled banner. When we zoomed out from the map of the United States, we just edited the music to sound more intense, and much louder. It is the same music, just altered, which represents the relationship in the two scenes, and the symbolism.
          The third sound was under the "simultaneity" master edit. This is an example of direct sound. The sound was not altered, there was no post synchronization dubbing and no non-diegetic sound. All of the sounds such as the quiet murmur from insider the classroom, and the loud buzz of the courtyard at lunch were left with the sounds that there were when it was recorded.
          The fourth sound was under the "parallelism" master edit. This is an example of synchronous sound. We played a song called "How You Feel" and chose the part that transitions from one rapper to another. When Kelly turns around one rapper says "Danny, how you feel?" and when I turn around the other rapper says, "I feel great". This is a representation of the change in scene/character, but a similar situation, which is why we kept the same song, just with different rappers conversing. This represents synchronous sound because it matches with our movements and the transition well.
          The fifth sound was under the "Leitmotif" master edit. This is an example of post synchronization dubbing. In the scene of my lizard standing there, we added the sound of crickets over it to emphasize the quiet thinking of the lizard. For the video of Kelly hitting and kicking the Trojan, we recorded the sound of us hitting metal hand rails in the school it make it sound like Kelly hitting the Trojan statue. There wasn't much sound coming from Kelly actually hitting it, which is why we hit the metal poles and added this over after to emphasize the sound it should be making to create the effect more.

MASTER EDITS IN VARIOUS FILMS

The first master edit I noticed was simultaneity, in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2". This was a scene where Harry pushed Voldemort off of a building. I feel that this represents simultaneity because in one shot it shows Harry and Voldemort fighting and wrestling, and the other in what's going on on the "outside", which is the black smoke flying around. It is showing the same event, just from two different perspectives. This is the cutting between two simultaneous events, which as a result drives up the suspense.

The second master edit I noticed was symbolism, also from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2". The first shot shows the stairway with nobody on it, and a completely empty and quiet room. The scene then briefly shows students marching into the school, then cuts back to the same stairway, just from a different angle. Also, there are now students on it marching down as a man watches them. This shows symbolism because it shows empty stairs, then the children walking on them. It shows that something important is about to happen, which indeed it did, moments later in the film Harry Potter battled Voldemort on the stairs. 

The third master edit was leitmotif. In another scene from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", Professor McGonagall battles Snape. There is very quiet, almost no music playing, then once she throws him out the window and puts the lights back on, the students cheer and the theme plays. This theme usually plays at a moment of relief, or joy. This is considered a leitmotif because it shows a recurrent musical theme associated with a person and a moment.

The fourth master edit was contrast. In "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", there is a scene where Greg Heffley is performing in a school musical, with his mom, dad, little brother, and older brother Rodrick watching. The scene cuts back and forth a few times from Greg singing seriously, too Rodrick laughing at him and making faces from the audience. This shows two things happening at the same time, but different emotions are felt from it. When you watch Greg you can see he is concentrated and a little embarrassed, but when you look at Rodrick you see him laughing and making jokes.

The fifth and final master edit was parallelism. In Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train", the opening scene shows a very clear example of the parallelism editing technique. The first shot is of a man helping another man with his luggage. It then shows the ONLY the man's shoes as he walks out of and away from the car. The next shot is the same exact sequence of events and type of camera shot/angle, just a different location and different men/shoes and luggage.

FIVE MASTER EDITS VIDEO

        The link to our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFgE6NAsQa4&feature=youtu.be

        The first master edit that kelly and I did was contrast. The first scene showed a bird flying quickly in the air, and the next one showed me sitting on the ground, bored. The first scene represents having fun and being free, while the other shows boredom, and confinement. This shows contrast because these are two completely different "feelings", or scenes.
        The second master edit we recorded was symbolism. For the first scene I slowly walked down nation's square and recorded all of the flags on the ceiling. Then, I zoomed in on the American flag. For the next scene, we started out zoomed in, then zoomed out to reveal a huge map. We zoomed out from the United States. This shows symbolism because we went from the American flag in nation's square, to a map of the United States in a different building.
        The third master edit we recorded was simultaneity. The scenes we alternated between were a decently quiet classroom where everybody was sitting down, and a loud courtyard where everybody was moving around. This shows two things going on at the same time in different places. Having a classroom and a courtyard emphasizes the difference between the two scenes.
        The fourth master edit we focused on was parallelism. For this edit, I recorded Kelly putting the hood of her hoodie on and turning to face away from the camera. Then, I put on Kelly's hoodie, stood in the same place that she was standing, and put the hood up. Then Kelly recorded me turning around to face the audience and taking the hood off. This shows parallelism because similar, but not the same exact scenes are used to transition to one another. By using the hoodie we flowed from Kelly to me, and changed scenes completely by just using a similar object.
        The fifth and final master edit we recorded was Leitmotif. The first scene was my pet lizard sitting there not moving. The second one was Kelly fighting the trojan statue in the courtyard. We alternated between these scenes a couples times. This is supposed to show what is going on in the lizards head.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES USED IN THE HUNGER GAMES

       The movie I chose to analyze was The Hunger Games. In the movie, the twelve districts of Panem each pick two tributes, a girl and a boy, who compete in the televised "Hunger Games". The tributes fight to the death, until one victor remains. Katniss Everdeen, the main character, has volunteered as a tribute to save her sister. The movie focuses on Katniss, and most of it takes place in the arena during the actual games. Many camera techniques are used throughout that are meant to express a feeling to the audience.

       The first shot I noticed was a close-up. A close-up shot gives the audience a key focus to look at. It generally indicates that something important is about to happen regarding the object of focus. In this scene in The Hunger Games, that's exactly what it meant.

This shot was taken during the reaping, where Effie Trinket, the escort for the District 12 tributes, is drawing the female name for the annual Hunger Games. By using a close-up shot for this scene, the movie is telling the audience to pay attention and remember this object, because it will be important later on. It creates a sense of  mystery, because it leaves the audience wondering what the significance of that object is. Sure enough, the card happened to be Primrose Everdeen's name, Katniss's sister

       Another shot I noticed was a high angle shot. A high-angle shot makes the subject appear to be vulnerable, or powerless. It makes them seem as if they're insignificant in relation to something "greater".

This shot was taken during a scene where Katniss and her best friend/lover Gale were in the woods hunting, when suddenly, a Capitol blimp flew by, parting the trees to almost reveal the two characters in a "no trespassing" area. This shot establishes the idea that the citizens of Panem fear the Capitol, and shows that the capitol is considered to be above of, or holding more importance than the districts.

       The next shot I noticed was a low-angle shot. A low angle shot makes the subject appear to be larger than, or more important than others. 

This shot was taken when Effie was announcing the annual Hunger Games before she drew the names of the tributes. The low angle shot shows that Effie is part of the Capitol, emphasizing that the Capital is of higher power, and that the others are below it.
       Another shot I chose was an establishing shot. This shot helps to set up, or establish the context for a scene by showing the setting. This was also a point of view shot, because it was from Katniss's point of view. The camera moved around frantically, mimicking Katniss's nervousness, and her looking around at her surroundings

This was the first look at the stadium for the 74th Hunger Games, showing the forest, the mountains, and the cornucopia. This gives the audience an idea of the surroundings, and helps to better understand the situation that the tributes are in. Also by looking through Katniss's eyes, the audience can understand the anxiety and fear that she's feeling in the arena.

REVIEW ON MY CLASSMATES' CAMERA SHOTS

The first camera shots I looked at were Zoe's. I chose to comment on her head-on shot, follow shot, establishing shot, and close-up shot. For the head-on shot, I love how Zoe used her dog as the subject of the shot, it was unique, and really gave me the sense that the dog was coming directly towards me. For the follow shot, Zoe did a great job of keeping the camera steady, so the shot wasn't just all a blur. I felt like i was trailing right behind the subject. The establishing shot in Cassadaga was well done because Zoe moved the camera slowly and steadily, and got a lot of the environment in her shot, which made me feel very familiar with where she was, and almost as if I had been there before. Finally, Zoe's close-up shot was another unique shot. I love how instead of using a person or an actual object as her subject, she used the shoreline and the waves. I really saw the details in the sand and water, and I really like how she took that shot.

The second camera shots I looked at were Sarah's. I chose to comment on her point of view shot, follow shot, high angle shot, and establishing shot. In Sarah's point of view shot, she mimicked a person walking by loosely holding the camera so it moved with her footsteps. This created a very realistic moment, and made me feel like I'm the one walking, not like I'm watching a video. For the follow shot, I love how steadily Sarah held the camera. I felt as if i was walking right behind the subjects, or moving in a car almost because of how steady the camera was. For the high angle shot, Sarah found a good angle to really make the viewer feel like they were standing above the subject, or much taller than her. Lastly, Sarah's establishing shot was very well done. Her use of her surroundings, and the lighting from the sunrise really established the setting and made me feel like I was sitting there watching the sunrise with her.

CAMERA SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES

      

Dolly Shot: To create this shot, I held the camera in front of me and held it still as i slowly walked closer to my friends. This created the effect that the audience is moving closer to the people, even though it's just the camera. It was hard to keep the camera stable when recording this.

                                           
 Extreme Close-Up: In order to get the extreme close-up right, I had to make sure that I was close enough to to see tiny details and really focus in one one or two specific features of the subject. I had to make sure the subject filled the entire frame. It was hard to get close enough and keep the camera focused.

                                           
 High Angle: I stood on the building 3 balcony to get the high angle shot. This makes the point of focus appear smaller, and slightly powerless. This was an easy shot to create, seeing as I just had to point the camera downwards facing the subjects.

                                           
 Close-Up: To record the close-up shot, i focused on a specific movement and object, and made sure only those things were in the frame. I made sure you could only see the scrunchie, and Kelsey's hand grabbing it. This was also an easy shot to get, I just stayed focused on one area without moving.

                                           

 Extreme Long Shot: I recorded the extreme long shot at the Grand Canyon. The landscape is so large that everything else, including the subjects seem so small. To record this i stood on a rock and slowly panned my camera across. I took this shot over the summer, and it was hard to keep the camera at the same level, and also keep it stable.

                                            
Point of View: I had Kelly hold my phone directly in front of my face at eye level, and I held my hands out in front of me, making it appear that I was touching Renee's face, and allowing the audience to "see through my eyes". This shot was hard because i couldn't record it on my own, and needed somebody else to hold it while i put my hands in front of the camera.

                                            
 Full Body Shot: For the full body shot, I recorded Kelly from a distance, and made sure my angle was correct so i could stay in landscape, but still fit her entire body into the frame. This shot was easy to record, It just took a while to find the right position so I could get her whole body into the frame without having her too far away.

                                            
Low Angle: For the low angle shot, I got as low to the ground as possible, and tilted my camera upwards facing Kelly. This can make the subject appear powerful, as if they're looking down on the audience. This was hard to record, because the angle where I was crouching down it was hard for me to see the screen, so I wasn't entirely sure if i was getting a good angle.

                                            
 Close Shot: A close shot shows greater detail. I recorded Kelly from the waist up, so you could see the details in her hair and face and clothes, but she didn't take up the entire frame. This was easy to record.

                                            
 Choker: A choker is similar to a close shot, except it shows just the subject's face. This was a little hard to record because I had to make sure I got close enough to Kelly's face to fill most of the frame, but not too close to the point where it became an extreme close-up shot.

                                            
Cameo Shot: To film the cameo shot, I found a neutral background (the walls in the building 3 hallways) and filmed Kelly standing against it. This brings the focus on Kelly, rather than on a background that stands out, and would direct the audience's attention away from her. This was easy to film, I just had to hold the camera up, and find a neutral background.

     

Reaction Shot: I recorded Kelly to make it appear as if she was reacting to something occurring off-screen. I held the camera close enough to see her facial expressions, but not too close so her hand motions were also visible. This was a fairly easy shot to record.

WHY I'M TAKING AICE MEDIA STUDIES

By taking AICE Media Studies, I hope to better understand how media plays a role in our everyday lives. I want to learn all of the tiny details and work that go into making a movie, tv show, or a youtube video. I hope that by the end of the course, my understanding is good enough to get an A or a B level on the final AICE exam. I also hope i can use what I learn in this class in the future, whether it's a college project or for my future job.