ANALYSING ACTION FILMS (covered 2/10/13)

What was covered in this week's film society, in case you missed it, it's the start of analysing action films, but these categories will also be explored for other genres later on:

VISUAL ANALYSIS:

CAMERA FRAMING– what’s included and excluded in the shot CAMERA SHOTS– long, mid, wide, close-up, point of view, over the shoulder, bird’s eye ANGLES– high, low, eye-level MOVEMENTS– panning, tilt, tracking, hand held	SOUND DIEGETIC- what the people on screen and the audience can hear NON-DIEGETIC- what only the audience can hear
MISE-EN-SCÈNE what’s in the scene  - including: Use of colour Position of objects in the frame Setting Sartorial codes (clothing and hair) Lighting (natural, artificial)	EDITING TRANSITION- Cut, dissolve, wipe, fade PACE- fast cutting or slow cutting CROSS-CUTTING- Where you cut between two different lines of action, suggesting that they are occurring at the same time and at one point will cross lines MATCH CUT- Where you cut between two shots that are similar in composition, creating a strong continuity of action

CONVENTIONAL ANALYSIS:

REPRESENTATION:

                                                   

MEN	WOMEN
•  Powerful •  Dominant •  Logical •  Calm	•   Passive •   Hysterical •   Dependent on the man

PLOT:

• The characters have the odds against them
• A character dying (but not he main character)
• Love interest
• Single stranded, linear, closed narrative
• Clear binary opposites (e.g Good vs Evil)
• Forming a team of innocent characters who happen to get caught up in the action
• Exotic locations
• Classic 3-act narrative structure
• Act 1: set-up
• Act 2: confrontation
• Act 3: resolution