Representation - Lester Burnham

Mise en Scene
Everything in shot looks very picturesque, or carefully arranged, apart from Lester's bed; clearly he is not a very tidy man himself, but the fact the house is so immaculately arranged shows he is not the master of the house. At first impression, before you see his wife and child, you would assume he was single. Due to the masturbation in the shower, and the fact he was alone in bed. The contrast between him and his wife is huge, her appearance matches that of the house, carefully kept in check to maintain a certain image. Whereas Lester's appearance is the opposite, quickly thrown together and haggard. This appearance gap is significant, as it applies to the relationship of the pair as well. When we first see Lester there is a shaft of light shining on to his bed, as if he was in prison with only a single window, which pretty accurately sums up how the clip portrays him. Trapped.

Camera Shots
The clip opens with an establishing shot of the neighborhood, which helps set the scene, knowing he Lester lives in a very generic sub-urban location, this is followed by a longshot and midshot of Lester. As a viewer I immediately got the impression that he was bored, or unhappy with his lifestyle. When he's in the shower, the use of a close up showing his facial expression reinforces a feeling of boredom or dissatisfaction. An arc shot follows which shows him masturbating, his posture doesn't suggest enjoyment though, just boredom again.

Sound
It's Lester's voice narrating throughout the clip, which is very monotonous and helps set the picture of a man who feels trapped and bored, the music in relation to his voice is very upbeat, and doesn't really match the pictures being shown on screen, but this helps put emphasis on just how monotonous his voice is.

Tony Representation

Representations

Who is he?
An older male, of Caucasian ethnicity, from the look of his clothing and demeanor, he is probably homeless/very poor. He may just be trying to imitate this look though, as despite having patched up clothes, they are clean and in good condition. His shoes also look expensive and in relatively good condition.

What does he do?
He is a model or actor posing for a photograph to be taken, he probably usually plays/models characters of a certain type (old, haggard looking).

What's his story?
He started off as a homeless man, then was scouted to realistically play/model a homeless character, then made a career out of it.

Who is she?

She's an elderly female fashion designer, she's dressed incredibly flamboyantly/eccentrically, displaying her latest rang of clothes.

What does she do?
Makes and sells clothes she makes, if all of them are as disgusting as the ones she is wearing then she probably does so unsuccessfully.

What's her story?
She was always a bit odd, and she made her own clothes throughout her life, one day someone sarcastically suggested she sell them and she actually went through with it.

Who is he?

A stressed out, middle-aged man. Probably fairly well off but doesn't enjoy the money much because he is always stressing out.

What does he do?
Sells designer sunglasses to tourists/rich customers at his shop that has a pretentious name.

What's his story? 
Grew up in a wealthy family, never had to work for anything as a child and coasted his way through education getting mediocre qualifications, and borrowing money off his parents to set up his shop.

Camera Shots, Angle and Movement

Basic Camera Angles

Basic Camera Movements

Basic Camera Shots

Examples:

Throughout this clip there is repeated use of the close up and the mid-shot.

For the first minute and a half of this video, there is repeated use of the over the shoulder shot, two shot.

The clip starts with an establishing shot/crane shot, then proceeds to use a mixture of long shots, mid shots and pan shots.

The majority of this clip is point of view shot.

This clip utilizes repeatedly the tracking shot, with bits of arc, pan and tilt mixed in.

A sideways track (crab shot) is used right at the start of the clip, with zoom used later on.

Textual Analysis and Representation (The 7 key areas of representation)

Technical elements (in the last post) create specific representations of individuals, groups, events or places and help to articulate specific messages and values that have social significance. 

Particular areas of representation that may be chosen are:

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Ethnicity
4. Sexuality
5. Class and status
6. Physical ability/disability
7. Regional identity

Textual Analysis and Representation (The 4 key areas of textual anaysis)

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement, Composition

· Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.

· Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.

· Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.

· Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

· Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.

· Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

· Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

· Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

Mise-en-Scène

· Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.

· Lighting; colour design.

The British Film Industry and America's influence Questions

British Film Questions

What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?

- 15%

What was this % in 2009?
- 6.8%

What might this change indicate about British film?
- It is becoming more successful over time, or at least dominating a larger percentage of the market.

What films have been responsible for this change?
- Skyfall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and Oscar-winning hit The King's Speech.

What % of the British film industry makes a profit?
- 7%

What % of Hollywood films make a profit?

- 17%

How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?

- Only 4% of films with £2m or smaller budgets made a profit, whereas 17% of films costing £10m or more making a profit.

What might we infer from this difference?

- Bigger budget films are, on the whole, more successful.

Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?
- Over 45's

Why do you think this might be?
- This could be due to the rise of films marketed at an older audience, for example, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
- 3D films which previously made up 20% of the market, have now dropped to 18%.

Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?
 - The 'big family films'.

What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?

Who is Paul Greengrass?

- Paul Greengrass is a British film director.

How did he describe the British film industry?

- He described it as a 'success story'. "With success comes choices and a need to continue to build growth and sustainability. We're nowhere near where we were in the '80s when we were trapped in low budget British film-making, with films that no-one wanted to go and see."

What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?

- The BFI spokesperson makes the point that the 7% figure included very small budget films which are not necessarily expected to draw big profits, but have cultural, artistic or social value.

What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

 - The film's budget was $5,000,000 (estimated) and made £247,860 in the UK on the 29th September 2013 (38 screens).

What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

- That the 'huge budget' helps sell the film, despite them sometimes being 'not very good'.

What is VOD?

- Video on demand, e.g. Netflix, NOW TV, or Amazon Prime Movies.

What % increase did VOD see last year?
 - 50%

What impact might VOD have on distributors and Studios?
- It might reduce the importance of distributors and studios.

What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?
- With VOD dominating the market, Blockbuster was forced to close down, they were made obsolete by the fact it is easier and cheaper to just get a netflix subscription.

What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'?
- It was the first film to be made available simultaneously in cinema, on TV and DVD and on VOD. 

What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?
- He says it is not making a good film that is the most difficult bit, but getting it to reach an audience.

Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?
- The rules have been relaxed to 'puts us on a level playing field with our creative content tests and other European culture tests'.

How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?
- Visual effects 'points' have been increased for films to qualify as British, Alex Hope of visual effects company Double Negative said he was "delighted" with the tax changes, hoping foreign productions filming in the UK would hire British effects companies rather than taking the work back overseas.

Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End
Five of the rules:

• Film set in the UK
• Lead characters British citizens or residents
• Film based on British subject matter or underlying material
• Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language
• Represents/reflects diverse British culture, heritage or creativity

The Kings Speech - Is set in the UK, has British leads and is based on British subject matter. The film features original dialogue in English, and represents diverse British heritage.

Kill List - Is set in the UK, also has British leads and is based on British underlying material. The film also has original dialogue in English, and represents diverse British creativity.

The World's End - Is set in the UK, as well as having British leads and is based on British subject matter. The film also has original dialogue in English, and represents diverse British culture.

What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?
- George Osborne announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure.

What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?
- Skyfall (2012)

How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?
 - £102.9 million (587 Screens)

American Influence - Variety links

Why has Sony opened a Digital Motion Picture Centre at Pinewood studios?
- Sony has opened the Digital Motion Picture Center at Pinewood Studios in the U.K., which will be used to provide hands-on training for cinematographers and other crew members to help them get the most from Sony’s 4K cameras. The center also houses a post-production area, which contains the latest tools for end-to-end 4K workflows, and a 4K screening room.

What benefit might this have for the British film industry?
- It will train British film-makers in 4K production, and help the British film industry keep up to standard on the world stage.

Where else have they opened facilities like this?
- L.A, Beijing and Mumbai. 

How many films have been produced using the F65 camera?
- More than 30 feature films, such as "Oblivion" and "After Earth".

What has been the consequence of Blockbusters to US film production?
- It has drove up the costs of producing big blockbusters, and hiring the actors for them. This has created a dependence on the superstar or the franchise, meaning less and less original ideas are coming through.

How big a loss to Sony expect to post?
 - $181 million dollars

Which films are responsible for this?
- "White House Down" and "After Earth".

How is Lionsgate different to Sony?
- It has no physical studio to support, and less overhead costs than the more major studios, so can generate huge amounts of income from films like "The Hunger Games".

Why is "the new mandate to avoid niche products"?
- Because they want to appeal to the general public, not just a specific niche, because that isn't where the money is.