Coursework - The Lost Boys

In this scene you see where the movie is set and are introduced to some of the main characters David,Micheal,Sam and Lucy. It starts off with a long shot of the fairground there is also non diejetic music. It then goes to medium close ups of David and the other vampires this introducing them as main characters.Next you see a close up of David talking to a lady and her boyfriend starts a fight with them, because there is a clsoe up of the woman and her boyfriend it makes you remember them and they have a bigger part later on in the film. There is then a close up of a security guard as he is yelling at David and the others to leave. There is then a point of view birds eye view shot of the security guard walking to his car then hes is killed there is also diejetic sound of bats this lets you know that you are seeing the action through the point of view of the vampires. Then there is then a jump cut, birds eye view shot showing you the new setting and non diejectic music as you see a tracking birds a view shot of a car, the camera then zooms into the people in the car and you see a medium close up Micheal,Sam and Lucy and the music turns dieject as it is coming from the car radio. The Lighting in the clip is mostly natural as it is set outside. you then see a point of view shot from Michael as he is looking at the Santa Carla sign this also sets the scene as you can see where they are moving to, also the sign is brightly colored making it look like a nice place to live but as they drive past on the other side of the sign it says murder capital of the world this shows you what Santa Carla is really like and that something bad is going to happen to Michael and his family.

City Of God

The film starts silently this straight away makes you anxious because you are waiting to see whats happening, there is the a diegetic sound of a knife beeing scraped across something you then see the knife this gives the impression that film is going to be violent. There is then quick close ups of different people this introduces the main characters. The next scene is of the gang chasing the runaway chicken when they run into Rocket and the police. This is when we are first introduced to Rocket and you can see that he is an outside beacuse he was not with the gang. We are then taken back in time with Rocket telling the story of whats happened in the City of God. I like the way this film is set out because near the end of the film it goes back to the first scene of the film this is good because you have gone back in time to catch up with whats happened then it is showing you the present moment.
The costumes that are used in this film are good for example Lil Ze when hes little and has not got much money he has scruffy clothes this shows how poor he is , but later on in the film as he is making money his clothes look better and more expensive.
There are a few tracking shots used in this film when people are being chased through the slum they are also birds eye view this shows you how big the city is. There is also point of view shots from Rocket as he is taking photos the main one being when he finds Lil Ze dead you see him take a photo of him.
The film is also narrated by Rocket this is good because the whole story is told in Rockets prospective and he introduces you to new characters and events in this life, by being told the story by the character you get to know them more and you want dont want anything to happen to him and you want him to reach his goal of being a photographer.
overall i didnt really like this film much because of the subtitles but i dint like how the film is set out.

Sound - Van Helsing

The scene i have chosen shows Van Helsing transform into a werewolf to fight Dracula in the final battle, it also shows where Anna dies.

The music starts of quite then picks up pace when Van Helsing transforms. As they both beging to fight the music is quite again but then as the fight becomes more serious the music speeds up again making you feel mre on edge and anxious about what is going to happen.
Also in this scene there is hardly any talking this makes it more exciting and you foucus on the music more to tell the story.

There is a bit in this scene where Van Helsing has Dracula by the throat the music picks up again by doing that it makes you think that the battle is going to end and Van Helsing is just about to kill him but then it slows and gets quite as Van Helsing then transforms back into a human.

Dracula is then backing Van Helsing into a corner the music pick up again and it sounds and is at the speed of like a fast heart beat this again makes you anxious and you want to know what is going to happen and scared if Van Helsing is going to die. Then the full moon is shown meaning Van Helsing transforms into a werewolf again the music is loud he then pounces on Dracula the music gets louder still and sounds triumphant as you then see Dracula dying. The music that is palyed while Dracula is dying contrasts with the music that is played when Anna dies, when you see that Anna has died it is very slow and sad and it shows Van Helsings pain when discovers that he killed her.
Overall the music in this scene is very important becuase it helps sway your emotions into whats happening in the scene like when Anna dies the music is slow making you feel upset.

Elephant

This film starts with a long shot of the sky with the clouds moving this is to show time moving as it starts of in day time and ends at night time. After you have watched the whole film you discover this was showing you that the film takes place in one day.
There is then a tracking shot of a car moving through the town and the camera follows it carefuly moving with the car so when the car is swirving you can tell the person driving is probably drunk.There is then a close up shot of John this introduces him as a main character.

This film uses a lot of tracking shots and these are mainly of the chracters backs so its like your following them. For exmaple there is a very long tracking shot of Nathan as he walks from the sports feild into the school and walks through the halls. As we only see his back for most of this it makes you a bit suspisous of him like maybe he is up to something.There is also a tracking shot of John walking through the school.

There is also an interesting part where Alex is in the cafeteria and there is diegetic sound of the rest of the studants talking this then continues to get louder and louder like the pressure is building up on Alex. For me this was the first time that i thought that Alex was up to something.

There is a point of view shot of Eric playing a video game that is of shooting people this also gives you clue as to what Alex and Eric are planing to do.

I like the way that this film is filmed because it goes through the same event of that day leading up to the shooting in different characters points of view. This is good because we get to know the characters and this has more impact when they die, where as if we just saw the day through Eric and Alex's point of view it wouldnt be so shocking when the people die cause they would just be random people that we didnt know.Also when the characters are introduced their names are shown this also helps you feels like you know them.

The costumes in this film are just casual clothes as its set in a school. i noticed that two of the characters Nathan and Michelle were wearing red tops this to me made them stand because they were wearing a bright colour.

The lighting is mostly all natural because it is set in a school and outside on the sports feild.

This film is quite slow moving becuase it takes you through the same events this makes you relaxed and a bit confused about what going on really, but when the shooting begins it all happens so fast this makes it more like oh my god whats just happened.

The film ends the same way it starts with the clouds moving through the sky showing time is passing again.

Cinematogrphy

The Lost Boys


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7T-YG_6uMU


At the begining of this scene it starts with a birds eye view shot of the fairground this helps show you the surroundings where the action is going to take place.


















Next we see a medium close up of David and this gang this could be used to show that they are going to be a the main characters in the film.
( close ups of the others cut out from youtube)

Another part that has been cut out on youtube but is really good. The next close up is of the security gard as he is tells David and the boys to get off the merrygoround. this shows you that he is an imoprtant character. The next time you see him he is walking to his car he is then attacked by the vampires in their bat form you see this take place by the vampires point of view as a birds eye view shot.


Next there is another birds eye view shot showing you again the new surroundings. There is then a tracking shot following the car that Michael, Sam and their mum are in.



























Next we see another medium close up of Michael, Sam, Their Mum Lucy and Nanook the dog in the car. by using the close up it draws more attention to them this lets you know that they are going to be main characters.

There is then a point of view shot from Michael looking a the sign of Santa Carla this helps set the scene beacuse it tells you where they are moving to. Also the sign is brightly coloured which make you think its a nice place to live. but as they drvie past the sign on the other side it says " Murder capital of the world " this instantly makes you aware what the town is really like and that something bad is going to happen to the family.

Editing

Editing is the changing shots in a film. Editing is important because it creates the atnosphere of the film, for example if there is a lot of action going on the editing is faster making the scene more exciting or tense. Or if there is not a lot of action in the scene the editing will be slower making it more relaxed and layed back.

Examples Of Editing In Pirates Of The Caribbean

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uKvBWqPe-o

At the begining of this scene there is an establishing shot this shows you where the location of the scene is. Then there are close ups of the main characters so you can see where they are and what they're doing. The speed at which the shots are changing starts of slow then begings to get fatser when the close ups begin, this starts to build tension.

Through out this scene Crosscutting or Parallel editing is used a lot this shows you that Davey Jones and Captin Barbosa's actions are linked and they are preparing for battle in the same way. This also builds tension because you can tell that the battle is going to start.

When Will and Elizabeth are kissing the camera zooms out so you can see the action that is going on around them.

Costumes and Make-Up

Costumes and make-up play a big part in films because they can make different characters stand out from the rest and show their personality. Costumes also help you to see where the film is set and in what time period it is set. The costume can also reflect the mood of the character for example if they are sad they are more likley to be dressed in black or dark colours,but if they are happy then they may be dressed in more bright colours.

Examples

In Grease the costumes that the characters wear show you the time period that it is set in (1959). Also in this film it also shows the changes the main character Sandy goes through for example in the begining of the film she wears like cute little dresses and skirts making her seem sweet innocent and a goody goody type.But at the end of the film her costume changes alot she wears tight clothes that she wouldnt noramaly wear. By her costume changing you can see that she is trying to drop the sweet childish image and become more grown up.

Costumes can also show you a characters personality a good example of this would be Ace Ventura. In the film Ace is a very happy bubbly character.He also is a bit strange and wacky and different from normal detectives. His costumes help show this because he is always in bright colured flower shirts that make him stand out and shows his personality.

Leon

I really enjoyed this film its not a type of film i would normally watch but i thought it was very good.

Shots
when main characters are introduced the shots are zoomed in which shows you that they are going to be the main characters.
There was a point of view shot when Leon was holding the knife to the mans neck. I liked this becuase it made it more tense because you could see what was going to happen.
there is also a point of view shot of what Matilda is seeing when she is practicing shooting.
Another point of view shot is when Leon is shot.

Sound
The music in the film changes alot for example when there is a gun fight scene the music is louder and faster making it more tense.There is also happy music the bit where you see Leon and Matilda together in the hotel rooms when he is training her.

Props
The main prop in this film is Leon's plant. The plant was kind of like a friend to him that he looked after and was the only thing he cared for untill he met Matilda. The plant was also like him in a way beacuse he was trapped in hotel rooms and not really free and the plant was stuck in the pot. But at the end Matilda plants it so it can be free and Leon is also free at the end.
The Milk is also a big prop because the 1st time it saves Matildas life really because she goes to buy it when her family is killed. But at the end when she goes to buy milk it is how she is found.
Matildas teddy bear this prop shows her to be vunerable and very young but when she has a cigarette this shows her trying to act grown up.

Setting
It was set in New York which was good beacuse it is a famous city and you know what its like there so can relate to it. also it is a good place for this film to be set because it is big and busy so would be easy for Leon and Matilda to hide.

Lighting
the 1st gun fight the lighting is very dark and this makes it more exciting and scary.
there is also a good use of lighting when Matilda comes back to the apparment block after her family have been shot when she is knocking on Leons door. When he opens the door a bright light shines over her it kind of reminded me of like a guardian angel she is safe and Leon saved her life.