Feedback - Miss Spencer

   You have made an excellent start Sam - using lots of media language and discussing the meaning of the elements you have picked out. You have really gone into detail, thinking about meanings, characterisation and narrative as well as sound, mise en scene. I would like to see a few tweaks:

•    Think about editing a little more
•    Add a few more images in some of the analysis
•    Make sure all of your fonts/text sizes are the same.

   I would put this on a level 3, bordering a level 4

    Well done

  

    Miss Spencer

Contextual Analysis of 'The Holiday' (Add Images)

In this analysis, I will show the difference between the openings in an Action Thriller and a Romantic Comedy. My first analysis was on ‘Mission Impossible 2’ which had energetic music and a possibly dangerous scene. There was also only one key character that was shown to be doing a near impossible feat of climbing the face of a vertical cliff without any climbing equipment. In this analysis, it will be shown that the aspects of a RomCom are very different to an Action Thriller.

Sound:

This is non-diegetic which means that the characters in the scene can’t hear it. The voice over is used to give a bit of context to the start of the story. It starts off with speaking about different types of love which tells the audience that love is the main subject in the film. However, at the end of the scene when the voice over is coming to an end, the speaker starts speaking about their own experiences with love. This lets the audience know that the speaker is a key character in the film. It also lets the audience know that the character is feeling hurt about loving someone who won’t love them back. This creates sympathy for the character and we hope that throughout the film their feelings get better. The title implies that a holiday might help her.

Before the voice over comes on, there is non-diegetic music during a romantic scene. As the scene is zoomed out, the music turns to diegetic as we discover that the first key character we actually see is playing the music for the scene on his computer screen. By changing the sound from non-diegetic to diegetic sound, it gives the audience an idea to what the character does for a job. This gives an insight to what the story around this character is about. When the voice over starts, the music becomes non-diegetic again as the main focus is no longer on him, but the speaker of the voice over.  

After the first spoken paragraph of the voice over, the music crescendos with the title. This could be used like that to emphasise the title. The music has a lot of string instruments in it which is normally associated with love. By making the music louder, this extenuates the theme of love in the film.

Mise En Scene

In the opening sequence, all the main characters are revealed along with a little bit of background to their story. As explained before, the first key character is shown to be writing music for a romantic scene. This is shown by the music being played but also the setting around him. There is a keyboard below two computer screens, one which has the scene and one with a music sheet. The character is playing the keyboard that is writing the music on the music sheet as he plays. The next key character is shown in a big city in an expensive car. This implies that they are wealthy and possibly American because the city looks like New York or California. Then the next main character is dressed in a jumper and in a traditional British pub. This shows the audience that he could possibly be British and that is winter time where he is. Finally the last main character is sitting at a desk. This shows that she has a desk job but not necessarily an office job as she is not confined in a small office. By showing these characters along with the voice over gives the audience an idea to whom they are without knowing their names and their full stories.

The character that is doing the voice over is the character that has the most focus on them. By having this certain character as the main focus, it gives a clear beginning to the story. If the story started with a different character’s story, the voice over wouldn't make much sense and the scene wouldn't be as smooth as it is as the voice over matches with the actions of the main focus character.

When we see the main focus character, we can see that they are wrapping a present; this shows that there is a celebration of some sort. The fact that they are wrapping the gift in red and gold paper and ribbon tells the audience that this film is set at Christmas as such colours are associated with that particular celebration. As well as the main focus character wrapping a gift, there are several people all in the same (possibly work) environment, holding glasses of champagne. Champagne is general known to be drunk at celebrations and parties. This could mean that the audience has the impression that everyone there is at a work Christmas party.

As well as having the setting for the other characters previously stated, where the main focus character is, there are lots of Christmas reaves and other traditional Christmas decorations. This just adds more of a festive feel to the setting and could create a happy celebratory mood to the scene even though the voice over speaker seems to be being negative. The decorations could also reflect everyone else’s moods as everyone is laughing and being cheerful.

Editing

During all through the opening sequence, the actor’s names and also the film maker’s names come onto the screen quite subtly. The font used matches the font used for the title in the film and also for any other media texts used to promote the film. This keeps a consistency so that the audience doesn’t get too confused with different fonts. If the editors used different fonts, this would be confusing and may make the audience think that the film is going to confusing and inconsistent as well. By adding the credits in subtly, the editors haven’t taken the focus away from the scene but have made it clear to the audience who’s in the film and who made it as well.

Before the scene starts, the production companies who helped plan, fund and make the film are recognise with their logos. This is basically to show the audience that this is a film they produced. The audience can then associate a specific production company with making good films if they enjoy the film.

As previously stated, the title is shown on a crescendo of the music to build effect and make the title clear. Additionally to this, the title is shown on a blurred background. This is to make sure that the audience sees the film title and id not distracted by anything in the background. Once the title fades, the scene comes back into focus as one of the key character drives into shot with their car. This creates a smooth transition so that nothing seems jumpy or confusing.

The title credit font is appropriate for the genere of film and matches the music in the background. The font is quite elegant which matches the elegant violin music. The font also has a slight comedic look to it because the letters of the title are different sizes. This connotes the the film will have differences within it

Camera

To start with, the camera is focused on a romantic scene from a film which is most likely a period romantic drama because of how the actors are dressed. From here, the camera zooms out to show that that scene is not actually the film. By using a zoom out sets the scene for the rest of the film but also gives the audience an insight into what the character does for a hobby or for an occupation. A circular pan also gives a bigger perspective on the characters surroundings as it shows all the equipment the character is using.

When the character first in the scene looks in front of him with a smile on his face, the camera starts to zoom in on his expression. Without knowing who or what he is looking at, the audience can infer that he is looking at someone who he loves because the camera is zooming in on his expression. This has the connotation of love because the camera makes it look like he is transfixed by the person in front of him and that he is drawn in by them, like the camera is to him.

When the car first drives into shot, it looks like there is only one character in the car. However, using the 180 degree rule, a second shot is taken of the other character. Both shots only show a single person, even though the audience knows they are both in the car. Then a medium long shot is taken of both characters together as the male character looks away. The camera focus is more on the female character at this point to draw the audience’s attention to her reaction to the male character turning away from her. By using these 3 different shots, the audience can infer that they aren't in love like the previous characters were. By showing them separately could mean that they are separating from each other in their relationship. This is opposite to what the audience originally thinks may happen in the film and therefore encourages them to carry on watching to see what happens to these two characters.

Once the voice over say “And then there’s me,” the camera focuses on the back of a character so that we can’t see their face. This could have been done to represent their feelings about how they are seen by the person they love. By not showing their face straight away could imply that she believes that they are invisible or faceless maybe to that one person she has affections for. 

Mindmap

Contextual Analysis For ‘Mission Impossible II’

Camera Angles:

    Aerial shot that moves around key character: This shows the vastness of the setting as it is set in a desert with mountainous rocks. This type of shot exaggerates the fact that he is climbing the rock on his own without climbing equipment. This shot is most likely taken from a helicopter. This shot could also be a point of view shot. This is because there is a sound of an Eagle which also sets the scene as it could be a typical place for an Eagle to live. This could mean that the shot is from the view point of an Eagle.

Zoom out to an establishing shot: After a wide shot focusing on the key character, the camera zooms back out to an establishing shot, similar to the one at the start of the opening sequence. This is used to exaggerate how small he is compared to his surroundings. This could imply a metaphor which is saying that the key character is inferior to the vast surroundings. However this changes when he reaches the top and shows him like David in the story of David and Goliath which is a religious connotation.


Close-up on sunglasses: The sunglasses are an important prop in establishing the role of the key character. The sunglasses give the audience a clue to his occupation and suggest he is a secret agent or a spy. The close-up adds the effect of mystery because we cannot see the characters eyes so it is as if he is hiding his identity like a spy would.


Action Elements:

    The slow motion jump: By editing the jump to be in slow motion, the director has created tension which is felt by the audience. This makes the audience ask questions such as ‘is he going to make it?’

    The way he hangs off the cliff: The way his arms are spread could be implied as a religious symbol. His arms are reached to the sides which imitates Jesus   on the cross. Jesus is seen as the saviour to the world in Christianity so imitating this could imply that the key character is also the hero of the film and is possibly going to save the world.

     Key character is prepared with chalk: The fact that he is prepared with chalk shows that he planned to climb the cliff even is the camera angles sometimes suggest that he is being hunted (eagle’s point of view shot). Even though he is prepared with chalk to stop his hands slipping, he does not have a harness. This could show that he likes to take risks and portrays a brave heroic key character.

Visual Elements:

    
Title sequence shows orange and red tones: In general, these tones are associated with danger and risk. Adding the title sequence after the opening scene adds clarification to the ideas the audience have about the story; the film is most likely going to be filled with action and danger.

    Gladiators and knights in the title sequence: Gladiators and knights are associated with strength and bravery. As the audience have only seen one key character so far, they are more likely to link these types of figures with him, adding to his image of being brave and a saviour.

Sound:

    Eagle sound: One connotation of this sound it is played at the beginning of the scene which suggests that there is danger already which is linked to the point of view shot talked about previously. Another connotation is that the eagle is an American symbol which shows this is an American film and that the key character is American too.

    Up beat music fades in: At the start of the opening scene, there is no music and all the audience can hear is the wind and the key character breathing. After a few seconds, African sounding music starts to fade in. When the audience can hear the character breathing, they may imply that he is struggling and that he has had to climb the cliff by accident. However, when the music fades in, it eases the audience as it changes the tension and shows maybe he’s there on purpose.

     When he jumps, the music changes: There is a part in the opening scene when the key character has to make the decision to jump to a ledge to be able to climb to the top of the cliff. When he is preparing to jump, the vocals on the music stops and the audience just hears a dramatic drum beat. This change in music creates tension and makes the audience interested in what is going to happen to him; they wonder whether he will fall or not.

    
     Makes a risky move on the beat of the music: This is used for dramatic effect and exaggerates the move. This is joined with a close up on the hand to make sure the audience notices how much the key character is holding on the cliff.

    Music crescendos when key character reaches the top of the cliff: This highlights the grand scale of his success. This is joined with a point of view, establishing shot which could be from the helicopter the audience hears in the background.

    Spy music when canister is fired: When the canister is first fired, the audience may get the impression that the key character is getting attacked. This changes when he opens the canister. Without the spy music, this section of the scene may not be as interesting as using the spy music informs the audience that this is where the mission starts.

     Voice over: The voice over is a man giving the key character a mission. This is important as it gives the audience some background information before the main story begins.

     Images in title sequence move with music: This emphasises the importance of the music. The music used is the main music track for the film. This give the film an identity as when someone hears the music they will automatically think of the film.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

A good evaluation Sam, you have included all of the elements I asked for in the film and discussed the question in reasonable detail.
To improve you could put stills of the elements you are discussing to illustrate your points.
Level 2/3 border.