Media AS Preliminary task

Media AS Sound Exercise

Media AS Lighting Task

James Bond thrillers.

All the James Bond thrillers contain:

- A heroic secret agent.
- Eccentric villain of equal strength.
- Gorgeous women.
- Exotic locations and plot devices.
- Eye-popping, stunt driven action from the top shelf bottle of absurdity.

The James Bond films have been viewed as fascinating, giving the audience great satisfaction. Many of the Bond films take the audience by surprise individually and this is what makes each one successful.


The first Bond film was in 1962 with 'Dr. No' based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel. In this film, Sean Connery plays James Bond. This was such a success being the fifth most favoured film and being shown in 168 cinemas in the UK. 


As the first James Bond film was such a success, many more followed which include;
- From Russia With Love
- Goldfinger
- Thunderball
- You Only Live Twice
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Diamonds Are Forever
- Live And Let Die
- The Man With The Golden Gun
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Moonraker
- For Your Eyes Only
- A View To A Kill
- The Living Daylights
- License To Kill
- Goldeneye
- Tomorrow Never Dies
- The World Is Not Enough
- Die Another Day
- Casino Royale
- Quantum of Solace
- Skyfall

North By Northwest.

North by Northwest is another great film directed by Alfred Hitchcock it is based on a New York advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

This film is based on the previous Manchurian Candidate film from 1962, but it is a more modern version of it. The difference in this film is that they are under control of the Manchurian Global and Benjamin Marco is the one who is having the weird dreams about the brainwashing that took place after the war in Kuwait. Raymond Shaw was given the medal of honor for rescuing all but two members of his army unit. Benjamin Marco persists that these dreams show what actually happened but everyone just thinks he's a psycho. At the end he kills Raymond Shaw and his mother, he then returns to the place in Kuwait where they were brainwashed to re-track the memories he had as the truth comes out in the end of what happened.

This film is also different in that there is more editing throughout the film to demonstrate the horror that they experienced in Kuwait. This film is also very fast pacing to show how much of an impact the dreams have on Marco, it also makes the film more tense, showing that it is a suspense thriller.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate is an American Cold War thriller. It is about a Korean war hero who returns to America after being brainwashed by Communists into becoming a political assassin. Raymond Shaw has no memory of his actions that he carries out. Benjamin Marco discovers that Raymond is being hypnotized by the queen of diamonds and so he tries to get him to break the links between the cards and stop him from following any more tasks that they set him to do. Raymond ends up shooting his mother as she is the one who makes him carry out all the assassinations, this is then followed by him shooting himself.

Preliminary task.

The preliminary task will demonstrate continuity editing by using the following techniques:

Match on action - This is where we see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next.

Shot/reverse shot - Where two people are having a conversation and the camera switches from one person to the other, demonstrating the conversation with several shots on each person.

Eyeline match - This is what the character is looking at, the shot will continue to switch between the character and what they are actually looking at.

In the preliminary task we will also ensure that we do not break the 180 degree rule by keeping the camera on the same side when recording. The scene will have the same left/right relationship to each other.

Sweeney Todd.

Sweeney Todd is an excellent film directed by the much famous Tim Burton. The genre of this film is thriller/horror and is aimed at anyone who likes thrilling, horrific and gory films. Johnny Depp plays Benjamin Barker who was the demon barber of Fleet Street who has returned in order to get revenge on those who have messed him about in the past. In particular, he wanted revenge on Judge Turpin, who accused the barber of a crime he did not commit in order to get close to the barber’s wife, Lucy. Lucy was so distraught when Benjamin was sent away and tries to kill herself by drinking poison. However she survives but after being driven insane she results to begging in the streets. Benjamin and Lucy also had a child, Johanna, Turpin then takes Johanna and appoints her as his ward. When she turns 16 he offers her marriage and she declines of which he cannot comprehend. When he sees Anthony Hope looking at Johanna, he has him beaten and threatens him that he will have him killed if he even comes close again.

After 15 years in exile, Benjamin returns but under a new identity of Sweeney Todd. He meets Mrs Lovett who explains that Lucy drank poison years ago, he then wants revenge and so starts up his barber business above Mrs Lovett’s pie shop in order to get back all those who have made him suffer and lose his beloved family. Turpin wants to impress Johanna so goes to Todd’s barbers for a shave. Todd is about to kill him but is interrupted by Anthony who reveals Johanna is going to escape from an asylum that Turpin sent her to. On Turpin’s return to the barbers, Todd convinces him to have a shave; this is the scene where he is brutally killed.

The killing of Judge Turpin takes place in Sweeney Todd’s barber shop which is above Mrs Lovett’s pie shop. The barber shop has a rather interesting setting because it is in an attic which demonstrates the thriller by allowing the audience to understand that they are going to witness some form of killing as they get an uneasy feeling from the surroundings that it is set. The scene begins with a dialogue between Todd and Turpin, as they talk Turpin then realises Todd’s real identity is Benjamin Barker.

 Throughout this scene, many filler lights are used, this creates shadows onto the key light which softens it but it also allows a shadow to be shown onto the characters which demonstrates the contrast. The main lighting is top lighting, which can be seen as coming from the outside as the windows are located at the top of the room. The effect of this is that it makes the lighting seem real and that it is coming from the natural daylight.

The tension is built up throughout this scene. To begin with, non – diegetic sounds are played which creates a chilled and calm mood. Then as Turpin discovers who Todd really is, there is a change in the music to more horrific sounds which create an uneasy feeling and can allow us to know that a form of killing is going to follow. The sounds are off screen and are played alongside different sound effects which also raise the tension. Just as Todd goes to kill Turpin, diegetic sound effects are brought in which allows the audience to understand what is happening by the sounds as well as the horrific sights they see. The sounds become very parallel to the image being shown. The sounds are also very complementary to the images as they fit very well and demonstrate the terrible sights where the barber savagely stabs Turpin in the neck before slitting his throat and then dropping him into a chute leading to Mrs Lovett’s basement.

The actors are also dressed very well in costume, the barber has very wild hair but sophisticated clothing which gives off a portrayal of what the character is like. It makes the character seem very mad and insane which fits with the story line of him getting revenge after having his beloved family taken from him. As the killing takes place, there is a substantial amount of blood present which emphasises the brutality of the murder. The characters also act very well which flows with the plot making it a better thriller film.

A further point on the film language is there are very good camera angles. Leading up to the killing, the scene is shot from close up angles which emphasise the importance of the characters. The other effect of having close up shots is that it allows the audience to focus on something in particular, Tim Burton uses this and zooms in on the blade in which Todd uses to kill Turpin. When he is killed, the film is shot from a high angle which portrays how vulnerable and week the victim is. 

Editing.

Editing is the process of looking at all the footage shot during the making of a film, tv programme and placing it in the desired order and joining it together.

Speed of editing: how long does it last?
Style of editing: how each shot is joined to the next?

In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes but the length of each sequence establishes the pace of the film moving the action along.

The speed of editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

Speed of editing:

If the audience is to feel anxiety and suspense the editing will be quick, the scenes/shots change frequently. If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and change less frequently. Scenes at the beginning of a film, as it begins to tell its story, must be long enough for us to be able to understand where we are and what is going on. It is also slow to introduce the main characters. As the film progresses scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between telling two or more story lines at the same time.

Straight cut:

-Most common and invisible form of transition.
-One shot more instantaneously to the next without attracting the audiences' attention.
-Straight cuts help retain reality, they do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Sound.

Different sound techniques are used throughout filming in order to create different effects to match or contrast with the films world to either create tension or demonstrate what is going on clearly.

Diegetic sounds: Match the film's world.
Non - Diegetic sounds: Fake sounds added in post, do not match film's world.

Sound bridge: sound from one scene to the next, creates a smooth transition and enhancing continuity.

Parallel sounds: Sound which complements the image.
Contrapuntal sounds: Conflicting/contrasting with the image.

Dialogue: conversations between characters.

Sound effects: extraneous sounds, can be diegetic or non-diegetic. 

Film language.

Denotation - what you see.
Connotation - what you think of.

Graphic match - something that cross fades into another object/image.

Complement - something that goes with something else.
Juxtaposition - Something clashes with something else.

Intertextuality - one text making reference to another.

Preconceptions - previous expectations, prior knowledge, based on past experiences.
Experiential knowledge - what has been previously experienced, how it might influence the way a film is read.

Lighting.

There are different lighting techniques used throughout filming, for the purpose of creating different effects, suiting to the genre of the film. The different types of lighting are:

-Key Lighting: main light on the subject, this is the brightest light.

-Filler lights: shadows the key light and softens the image.

-Under lighting: when the main source of light comes from below the subject, mainly used in horrors.
-Top lighting: when the main source of light comes from above the subject, highlighting features to create a glamorous and flattering look in a star.
-Back lighting: counters the key light, adds depth of field. Makes the subject look more rounded. Creates silhouettes, the main light source is behind the subject.
-Low key lighting: using only the key and backlights, a sharp contrast of light and dark is created, forming deep shadows.
-High key lighting: more filler lights are used to create a bright, daylight effect. Lighting appears more realistic.