Roland Barthes Five Codes Clip Analysis - DYM H/W 2

ENIGMA CODE

• How is the man turning all the lights off? Magic?
• Why is the man talking to a cat?
• "Professor" - at which establishment?
• Why will he be famous?
• Why does the baby have a lightning shaped scar?

 ACTION CODE

• The man puts the lights out by magic - expect him to be a wizard
• Audience see the cat's silhouette changing - expect the woman to be a witch
• Hagrid is bringing 'the boy' - expect to see him soon
• Flying motorbike - expect a wizard to be flying it and maybe bringing the boy
• Magicians referred to as 'Professor' - expect to see the school where they teach

  SEMIOTIC CODE

• The young baby represents good and stands for a 'New Age'
• The three adults represent the boy's future education
• The animals (owls and cats) represent the wildness and animosity of the magical community

CULTURAL CODE

• Old white man, long white beard, tall and wearing strange clothes - usually associated with wizards
• Young boy being passed on to relatives - audience expect that he has become an orphan

SYMBOLIC CODE

• Harry's scar represents the torture (physical and emotional) that he will have to undergo for the rest of his life
  
• The taking-away of the lights suggests that magic must be hidden(?)
• The cat's shadow (before it turns into a woman) represents how the wizarding world has to live in the shadow of the Muggle world - it's hidden
• Leaving the boy on the doorstep symbolises his transition from magical to not magical

"MEAN GIRLS" FILM CLIP ANALYSIS - BLK H/W 2

TECHNICAL CODES

• OTS
• SHOT REVERSE SHOT
• LS
• MCU
• MS
• CU
• 2S-LS

GENRE CODES

• HIGH SCHOOL
• CAFETERIA
• LUNCH TRAYS
• LOTS OF KIDS TALKING IN BACKGROUND
• "NEW GIRL IN SCHOOL"
• "POPULAR" GIRLS
• "BURNOUTS"

CULTURAL CODES

• PUSHY, WHITE, BLONDE LEADER WEARING PINK & BLACK - FASHIONABLE
• STUPID BLONDE WEARING BLUE & BLACK TIGHT SHIRT
• NEEDY BEST FRIEND WEARING CARDIGAN (LOOKING LIKE SHE'S TRYING TOO HARD)
• ALL POPULAR GIRLS ARE PRETTY
• GINGER, SOCIALLY AWKWARD NEW GIRL WEARING CASUAL CLOTHES, NOT TRYING HARD AT ALL
• EMO, BLACK HAIRED ENEMY (OF POPULAR GIRLS) WEARING LONG BLACK CLOTHES
• CHUBBY, HOMOSEXUAL BEST FRIEND OF EMO GIRL, LOOKING FASHIONABLE WITH BAGGY CLOTHING

Reflections on Shots - BLK H/W

Conventions of the Horror Genre

Before we started shooting, we decided that our chosen genre would be Horror, because everyone in the group knew the stereotypical conventions for the Horror genre; there should be a young, innocent, female victim and a broody (although not always supernatural) murderer with a grudge. The horror genre also uses low key lighting, particularly on the face of the murderer, to make he/she look much more ominous and spooky, and also to create a sense of foreboding.

My Chosen Shot

I decided to choose this shot, because I thought that the framing and use of space here was quite effective; the girl in the locker, looking terrified, looks so small and compacted, and the audience feels sympathy towards her for having to take such measures to escape from the murderer's wrath. Also, the medium long two-shot shows the necessary details without missing out or adding any unnecessary information; we see the girl, victimised, her face terrified and listening closely against the locker for the footsteps of her attacker; we also see the attacker full on, looking deranged and maniacal, his hands tense with rage; we can also work out the setting of the still- it is clearly in a school because of the use of motif via the lockers. 

If We Had To Reshoot

One of the key problems with this Horror shoot was the lighting- it was midday and the Sun was very bright, causing our shots to look far brighter than we had planned them to. I think that the lighting on the girl looks good, because she is in a very dark shadow, but maybe next time, we should choose for the attacker to be in a much darker light, in order to make him look far more threatening. I would also not have the left edge of the frame, where the lockers are appearing midway from the frame and curving up, because it looks messy and uncomfortable to look at. I would also have the attacker come forward more, because there is a lot of empty space above his head and it looks unnecessary.

Film Still - DYM H/W

I chose this film still from "The Avengers" because I thought that the representations used here portrayed the characters well. For example, we see Bruce Banner thinking intensely while holding onto his glasses, which presents him as an intelligent, hard-working character. We also see Thor in the foreground, suggesting that what has just happened has had something to do with his character specifically, and he is trying to figure out a way to fix it. The use of costumes here also creates a fantastical feel, as Captain America's costume is quite extravagant and colourful, Black Widow is wearing a skin-tight leather catsuit and Thor is wearing some form of uncomfortable looking metal armour; all in all, not exactly casualwear at Topshop. Also, the setting here looks quite futuristic, due to the glass table with glowing screens and the metallic colours of the walls.