THE ART OF THE TITLE

DAYS OF HEAVEN (Terrence Malick, 1978)

Set in 1916 and telling the story of a tragic love triangle, this film evokes both the period and genre in its opening sequence, which reflects Malick's knowledge of photography and willingness to use little studio lighting. 


The film's cinematography by Morricone models itself on silent films, which often used natural light. Malick also drew inspiration from painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Edward Hopper (particularly his House by the Railroad), and Andrew Wyeth, as well as photo-reporters from the turn of the century, such as Alfred Stieglitz, Weegee (Arthur Fellig) and Jacob Riis. The street scenes capture the urban poverty of the period and explain the desperation of the film's protagonists whose future is precarious . 


We have studied Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange as an example of the power of photography as reportage and its use in social change; the close-up of the infant's and young woman's faces exert a strong appeal and tug on our heart strings. The films concerns with social difference and the need for financial security are hinted at by the stills of the girl in the wedding veil and the three young women drinking tea intercut by shots of manual workers of various kinds.


The subject matter gradually moves from the urban to more of the rural, reflecting the narrative trajectory of the film.


The enchanting orchestral music echoes the use of musical accompaniment in silent film to suggest emotion.


Period colors (brown, mahogany and dark wood for the interiors) and period costumes from used fabrics and old clothes to avoid the artificial look of studio-made costumes. The colours create the illusion of period photographs, street journalism: an essential part of creating verisimilitude or 'real life' on screen. As a result, the footage is imbued with the quality of documentary truth, of scientific 'fact' which allows the viewer to engage fully with the world of the film. 


Art of the Title comments: Firing a mix of critical thought and mesmerizing immersion, Dan Perri's title design for Terrence Malick's Days of Heavencombines street level photojournalism and credit-to-character inferences drawing the curious eye at will, the ears aswoon with "Carnival of the Animals - The Aquarium" by Camille Saint-Saens. You are nowhere if not here, with these people, in the Gilded Age of American history.'


'And then the last shot of the opening title sequence] subtlety shifts us from photos and into the world of the film. In a masterful move, the last shot perfectly replicates the same look of the previous images, but...it is one of the actors, Linda Manz (in a photograph taken by Edie Baskin.) It’s through her perspective that we will take this journey so it is fitting that she is the one who bridges the gap from the opening credits into the first shot of the film'. Read the analysis by Cinema Sights

SHERLOCK HOLMES (Guy Ritchie, 2010)

Watery cobblestone logos and longitudinal linotype layer, lace and lash Prologue Films’ opening and end credit work for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. Key visual codes include pen-and-ink line wash drawings that emerge from live action film, handwriting in ink in a flowing Victorian hand complete with ink spatters for authenticity, sepia colour tones and the quality of foggy London pea-soupers that conjure up a shady, dangerous underworld where crime lurks in the shadows.

SE7EN (David Fincher, 1995)

Se7en is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements. The now classic opening sequence to Se7en that helped rejuvenate title design in mainstream cinema. The dvd has a long video about the making of this sequence. Title Designer: Kyle Cooper

TV DRAMA: GREY'S ANATOMY

EXAM WORK
Textual analysis of TV drama: extract from Grey's Anatomy.
The extract is on the school's Google Classroom.
Practising analytical skills for successful exam technique: how to identify a technical code (that is, an example of media language such as camerawork, editing, mise-en-scène or sound) and explain how it is used to create meaning.

For example:
The establishing shot is a bird's eye view wide shot of the harbour and busy city of Seattle. This situates the scene of the drama and reflects the tone of the whole piece which is set in a modern hospital with the dynamic cast of a busy. team of medics and surgeons. The rapid hard cuts combined with the upbeat, fast-paced non-diegetic sound track establishes the city as a bustling modern hub of activity, the centre of action. 

Dr Bailey is introduced by the camera tracking back in the hospital corridor as she walks her toddler son. What is unusual about this scene is the disjuncture between what the audience sees and what they hear: we see a calm mother silently guiding her tiny child's first steps and his radiant face in close up, full of the joy of achievement and the promise of discovery. However, the soundtrack is a voice-over monologue of an absent female adult speaker describing her frustration: she aspires to be a first-class surgeon but bemoans her inability to focus as she is held back by a love affair that she cannot forget. The effect is to spark questions in the audience: we are intrigued by the intimate confession, the promise of dramatic complications and the visual metaphor of the toddler at the start of his life's journey, as Grey is at the threshold of hers. The parallel but different paths excite our curiosity.

Bailey is witness to the next major trigger of the drama and tension of the extract when her boss Dr Webster triumphantly pins a news bulletin about a prestigious award to the staff noticeboard. In the two-shot of the pair, close-ups of Webster's face showing smiling satisfaction contrast with Bailey's impassive and guarded reactions. 

The brief verbal exchange between Dr Bailey and her boss Dr Webster that follows this generates more tension and drama for the audience as it is made clear though a series of close-ups of their faces, with reaction shots, that the news that Webster brings about the award will affect Dr Christina Yang badly. Bailey's clipped  response "Yes, sir" deflates him. This lets the audience deduce at the same time as Webster that the award will cause problems not just bring honour to the hospital. Webster's face crumples and he sighs. By contrast, Bailey is presented as more tough and realistic about the event. She takes the information in her stride, but she shows better knowledge of the team.

Of central importance in the narrative is the intense scene in the therapist's office in which Dr Meredith Grey confesses how her fantasies about a fellow surgeon obsess her. The mise-en-scène reflects the confidentiality of the situation: a sofa with plump cushions, low level lighting and soft furnishings contrast with the clinical atmosphere outside the therapist's haven. The narrative is delivered through a series of close-ups on Meredith's face as she confides her concerns and shot-reverse shots with the therapist who leads her to the conclusion and self-revelation that she must face reality without Derek. Diegetic sound dominates this scene to allow the audience to focus on Meredith whose body language is tense as she leans forward. She is represented as driven by the ambition of becoming a top surgeon but is also characterised as someone who suppresses her emotions. She comes across as taut and earnest, demanding 'tools' to deal with her fantasies. The medical jargon positions her as a medic with a perhaps desperate faith in professional intervention.

By contrast, the object of her affections Derek is constructed as easy-going, self-confident and romantically successful in the scene where he encounters his new conquest, Rose. The sexual tension between the couple is depicted through the two-shot in the elevator despite their complete avoidance of physical contact. For the audience, the promise of future romance is delivered through the dialogue in flirtatious undertones with smiles playing on lips. The light-hearted non-diegetic mood music creates the meaning that their new love affair is fresh, easy and going well.

A key scene in the narrative about the impact on the medical team is set in front of the notice board. The four-shot of the interns who swivel to hide the notice when Christina arrives is comedic in framing but also fraught with tension. Christina's head is shot from behind in the centre of the frame. It blocks the audience's view of the notice, generating our curiosity. as the identity of the winner is still withheld. Christina's reaction is conveyed in the close-up of her set face as she turns away: she is abrupt but outwardly stoical. Her ambition and self-control are made clear but also her deep disappointment as she cannot stay or confess her upset. Her friends' loyalty in their efforts to shield her feelings position them as a close, supportive team.


PRACTICAL
Additional activities:
How to use Fuzel collage tool to create composite images including animated photos (and choose the template, fill, text)
How to upload photos to Blogger, position, caption and delete them.
How to add a hyperlink.
How to add items to the side bar (add a gadget > blog), name them
How to add the search engine
How to customise the main background and the photo behind the title.

CREATE YOUR BLOG

In class, we launch individual blogs which should be attractive, easy to read and well organised.
PREP Customize your blog by changing the width, the background image and the title bar.
Aim for an individual but 'media' look.

Customize your title:

Add the following PAGES by clicking on Pages then New Page: 
FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO
CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

REPRESENTATION: MEDIA LANGUAGE

As we look at various screenings, we aim to consider how the media language constructs representations through  CAMERA MOVEMENT, SHOT TYPES, EDITING and MISE-EN-SCENE. Let's apply these to an extract from American TV drama.
Here are CIE's expectations:

AUDIENCES and INSTITUTIONS: THE FILM INDUSTRY

We study the UK and US film industry through case studies. The work flow is from conception, through production, distribution, exhibition and consumption. These terms refer to who makes the film, how it is advertised and marketed, how it reaches audiences and where they see it.

Useful starting points include the Film Distributors' Association. We watch the introductory video below:

 

Specialist courses include Future Learn's Film Distribution.  We will follow the course below over the coming days:

• Film distribution and the film chain

We will look at the different types of film distributors, what they do and and see how they fit into the overall film industry.

• Acquisitions, markets and festivals

  
  

  Film distributors need to acquire films to distribute. The ways in which they go about this differ from the major studios to the independent studios.
  
  

  
  

  The crowded marketplace

  
  

  One of the biggest challenges facing any distributor is finding a place for their film (when and how to release it most appropriately) in an overcrowded marketplace with over 900 films being released in any one year.
  
  

  
  

  
  

  What is the attraction?

  
  

  Before any planning of a campaign the film distributor needs to carefully consider what type of film they are dealing with and who the potential audience might be.
  
  

  
  

  
  

  Starting to plan: positioning the film, marketability and playability

  
  

  Bearing in mind the genre of the film and the potential audience for the film the film distributor is ready to start planning a distribution campaign.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
   

PREP Read through this step-by-step presentation on the film industry by Launching Films, of the FDA here. https://www.launchingfilms.com/step-step-guide

INDUCTION

Welcome to CIE 9607. First, congratulations to the GCSE students who achieved excellent results: 6A*s and 4 As!

Have a look at the CIE AL Media Studies course, our class blog and examples of student blogs.

We study four key concepts: REPRESENTATION, MEDIA LANGUAGE, AUDIENCE and INSTITUTION.

Today we look at REPRESENTATION, its meaning, theories behind the term and practical examples starting with the Star Trek poster in the media studio. We analyse the visual codes then consider how these codes attract and address their target audiences. Who are their target audiences?

We then consider the four strands of media language in relation to film language: mise-en-scene, camerawork, sound and editing.
 

Today we focus on camerawork: camera movements, shot types and angles.

Useful resources include:

• three guides to basic camera movements, shot types and photography (OCR support materials to download) 
• Below is what our exam board expect you to recognize as you analyse an extract from American TV drama. Knowing these terms also gives you tools for describing and evaluating your own Production Portfolio.

To support your understanding, please pick 5 shots from a film opening and identify the camera angle in each.

We will make our own blogs and you will send me your url for linking.

FILM INDUSTRY

Essay planning: "Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices." To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the media area you have studied? (2011)