Die Hard Sequence for analysis

Film Poster Conventions

Poster Conventions

• An eye-catching image or images – often related to characters (and the stars in the film) or the setting of the film

• The title of the film, carefully constructed in terms of font style, colour, size and placement; a lot of thought goes into the title – it is meant to be memorable and also to suggest the genre of the film

• A tagline for the film –which is lie the catchy slogans of advertisements – offering another clue to the genre and main themes or content of the film

• The names of well-known or key people connected to the film. These are usually the lead actors but may also be the director or producer

• Endorsements from other media productions (for example EMPIRE magazine) giving their comments such as ‘an unmissable film’

• Details of any award nominations or awards that the film has already won. These will be placed clearly on the poster

* The Director's name

• The production ‘blurb’ – called ‘The Credit Block’ – which lists in tiny print the production and distribution companies, the main actors and director and other information

• The certificate is often shown

okay so what about 'The Orphanage' then?!

Well did you enjoy that?
How was your first class experience of watching a film in another language?
Was it like you thought it would be?

What you should do is this;

Write a review of the film - see post below for questions to cover
AND
Write a short (about 100-150 words) comment on your feelings about your experience of watching a film in another langauge.

Access your school work from home

You need to be using a PC - this will not work on a mac - shame :-( - then go to THIS LINK and download the program called 'Ranger Outpost Client'. It is a small program and there is a manual too. This can now also be accessed from the school webpage by selecting it from the 'Staff' drop down menu.

SEVEN

Brad Pitt & Morgan Freeman in 'Se7en'







Write a brief review of the film as if you were writing ONLINE on a film website where the main audience for the review site is young people aged between 15-24.

You need to include some comments about:

1. the storyline (narrative)

2. the characters

3. How quickly the story developed

4. The lighting and colour in the film

5. Any unusual or interesting camera work you can remember

6. What you personally thought about the film

7. A comment on what films are similar so 'If you liked the Saw series, you'll love this film' although you will need to come up with other films, NOT the Saw series as I've just used it!



Try to include a PICTURE and perhaps a LINK to a youtube extract. If you're not sure, there is another post here on how to write a good film review (and there's one on yr11 film's blog) and there are lots of guides on the internet on how to post and other things on your blog if you google search.

Have a great Half Term and see when you come back

mrs T x

Example rough storyboard

photostoryboard

In your group, look at the photo story. You also have a small extract of dialogue between two characters. Your task is to script 10-16 shots that match the dialogue. Here are the 'rules'
1. You must use at least 5 different shot types
2. You must draw a reasonable storyboard before you can get a camera (stick men are not allowed - start with stick men perhaps but you should flesh them out)
3. Each member of the group must draw at least 3 of the storyboard frames
4. Each group member must take at least 3 photos
5. Meaning needs to be clear to your audience
6. You must check every shot to make sure it is not blurred or that there isn't something in the frame that shouldn't be
7. Remember not to brake the 180* rule

Enjoy

Film Language Grid

This is how you put in a picture

Images to analyse for lighting and its effects

The questions to answer ON YOUR BLOG are
1. Would you describe the lighting as realistic or 'stylised'?
2. What moods are created?
3. What aspects of mise-en-scene does the lighting emphasise?
4. What sort of film does each shot come from?

Is the lighting High Key or Low Key?

Writing a good film review

Okay so you have to write a film review...but what are you going to say??
You will obviously want to say what you thought of the film as a viewer but you can't just put 'I thought the film was rubbish'! You wouldn't see this in Empire or Sight and Sound and so as film students and budding film critics, you need to qualify what you say. What does that mean? It means you must back up your ideas.

So if you thought is was good, say why. If not, say why.

So what else should you comment on?? Here're some ideas:
1. The main stars and their performances - were they good? believable?
2. What was the film 'mood'? - dark? funny? light?
3. What was the colour and lighting like?
4. Did you find the narrative (storyline) easy to follow? Were there flashbacks and other unusual ways the story was told?
5. Did the tension mount throughout the film? Did you feel the tension or were you let down by poor effects or acting?
6. How was music used - did it help...were there any parts of the sound you especially remember?
7. What genre was the film? How did you know - for example was it very predictable and typical of its type or did it have some interesting twists?
8. Would you recommend it to others? If so, who specifically would you recommend it to? - You could give ages and possibly something like 'If you liked Die Hard 3 then you'll love this film'.

I hope this helps you for now.

Mrs T

Welcome lovely year 10 filmites!

So here's the class blog! You will need to email me your blog address so I can link you to this main page...my email is thrasherj@welling.bexley.sch.uk.

Once you're linked, make sure your blog has links to this class blog AND the main film blog site (see the links in my links box - top right).

Most of our work will be posted through here and this will mean you can make your work bright, colourful and moving and you won't have to carry stuff to school! No more forgetting or losing pieces of paper - more trees will survive - it's all good!

If you have any problems, see me or GERRY in media and we'll help. Don't leave it and think that will make a good excuse - I expect you to come and tell us so we can help you!

I hope you thoroughly enjoy film studies....

Mrs T
(The Thrashernator)