The Big Issue Cover Evaluation

WWW: I feel that I've captured the bold, bright colour design typical of BI covers, and thus is very eye-catching. The mast head is prominent, the focal image is large and fills up the space. The headline "Marvin Singer" is bold and easily readable.

EBI: Have more of a variation in topic of the inside stories other than just music and artists. Perhaps try out different colours and textures of text other than just white. Wear a different costume, one with brighter bolder colours so as to fit with the background more.

Continuity Task 2 Evaluation

My Role
I was involved in every aspect of production, such as script writing, story boarding, set dressing, producing, directing,camera operating and editing. In addition to this, I was also acting as character Jerome.

Factors We Took Into Account When Planning, Filming and Editing
In planning, we had to schedule our shoot in the lobby so it didn't clash with the other group. We needed to rehearse the blocking of the scene with the actors to make sure they walked, stopped, and sat at the same places and positions for the sake of continuity.
When filming, we tried to stick to these positions and actions so that the shots connected together to have a good narrative flow. We also had to take into account the space of the room, and where the camera could be placed so that the tripod could fit, and to avoid having the camera show up in reflective surfaces.
When editing, we knew from our brief that we couldn't use any additional music or audio-visuals, so we tried to use the silence or "atmos" of the room for comedic effect, showing the over-the-top tension between the characters.

How Successful?
I am very happy with the final product and believe that we fulfilled the demands of the brief. There were plenty of moments of match-on-action and we demonstrated shot-reverse-shot, all while sticking to the 180-degree rule. The story and character relationships were mostly told visually, with minimal dialogue. The story, while a bit silly and odd, makes logical sense and the characters are stereotypical but realistic. There was one discrepancy in continuity when the clock in the background of two shots showed a skip in time of ten minutes, when mere seconds had passed in the story. Additionally, the framing of Jerome's mid-shot (OTS of Ms. Perkins) could have been better.

What I Have Learnt
I've learnt to always be wary of the background and changes in it that can break continuity. I've learnt that it is important to spend time to ensure that framing and composition look good. For future tasks, I would be more aware of the aforementioned things, and would like to experiment more with creating visual comedy, as well as writing a good script.

Disney Trailer Analysis: The Incredibles 2

The trailer opens with a very familiar and relatable situation - the family dinner. As well as establishing the film's theme of family life mixing with superhero life, it appeals to family audiences (Disney 4-Quadrant Marketing Plan)and gives the audience a sense of the ordinary with only a dash (no pun intended) of superpowers, preparing them for the extraordinary things they are about to witness. The sibling rivalry in this scene provides comedy, and is again, very relatable, but with a superhero twist.

After setting up the family dynamic, the audience is shown a montage of the inciting incident and first act of the film, where Elastigirl is recruited to spearhead a publicity stunt to regain the public's trust in superheroes. This montage will appeal to female members of the audience, giving them a powerful (literally) action-hero role model. The rising cinematic action hits in the soundtrack reinforce the superhero genre, and create a triumphant atmosphere, perhaps suggestive of the sequel finally being released into theatres - the wait is over.

Immediately after this, the iconic Incredibles musical motif plays, while the institution information is displayed in an intertitle. The music speeds up, indicative of rising action, and we see the comical gender role reversal of the dad having to stay at home and take care of the kids while the mum is out working. The fast-paced and dramatic music here suggests another of the film's themes, that parenting is just as much of a heroic act as stopping supervillains.

Then, as the trailer reaches its climax, the music and editing pace building, while intertitles saying "It's time to get back... to being Incredible" would appeal to the nostalgia of general adult audiences and hardcore Disney fans, as they would remember the original film from their childhoods. The return of beloved characters Edna Mode and Lucius (Frozone) would also appeal to fans of the original.

The climax of the trailer is interrupted by an almost-fourth-wall-break, as the film's main villain, the Screen Slaver, hijacks the trailer. This creates intrigue and mystery, as the audience would want to find out more about this powerful new villain whose powers have leaked into the real world.

In my opinion, the trailer for The Incredibles 2 is highly successful in selling the film, as it appeals to a broad range of audiences, doesn't give away too much of the plot, and remains faithful to the original.

Continuity Task 1 Evaluation (6-Shot Accident)

The Story
Megan wants to cut out a dashing model from a magazine, so asks to borrow a pair of scissors that Hugo is playing with. He obliges and throws the scissors over to her, only for it to stab into her hand! She screams and Hugo reacts in horror.

How We Attempted to Achieve "Narrative Flow" (Continuity)
- We made sure to follow the 180-degree rule.
- The film opens with a wide establishing shot, which then moved closer in, to Mid Shots, then Close-Ups.
- Dialogue used to help to make the character's goal (to get the scissors) clear.
- Used a quick pan to "follow" the path of the scissors in the air, giving it a sense of speed and motion.

Did We Achieve Full Continuity?
Almost. Megan's position is slightly different when we cut from the wide to the mid shot, and there is a very jarring jump cut when we move into Hugo's mid close-up from the mid shot.

In Hindsight, What I Would Change/Improve
I would change Hugo's mid close-up to a big close-up of just his arm and the scissors, so the cut isn't as jarring. For that shot, I would also set it up on a tripod and whip pan out of it, so that it transitions seamlessly onto the next shot's whip pan into Megan's bloody hand.

Reflections on Practical: TV Drama Still - 'Western' Genre

The Cowboy Showdown

Planning
Our group really wanted to play around with interesting props, costume and locations, while staying realistic to our limitations. Therefore we ruled out Drama, High Fantasy and Adventure and were left to decide between the genres Heist or Western. Since I had a few items of Western-style clothing and I knew a friend who could lend us a few props, we decided to go with Western, as we thought it would be a challenging but fun genre to attempt. We knew we couldn't use the conventional iconography of the sprawling desert scenery of Westerns (since we didn't happen to have one handy in school), so we decided to focus more on indoor shots, such as stone staircases or wooden saloon interiors. We  opened a group chat where we sent photos and exchanged ideas of props and clothing that we could wear on the day, and I contacted my friend to borrow some props.

Analysis
We wanted to use as many genre conventions as possible in our shots, and in my shot above, we utilized the semic codes of the costumes (cowboy hat, leather waistcoat, jeans) as well as the props (the pistol), which are all signifiers of the Western genre. The shot is framed so that the cowboys are on opposite sides of the mise-en-scene, connoting their conflict, and the juxtaposition of the characters - we are focused on the cowboy in the foreground, who is a lot bigger than the other cowboy in the frame - suggests that we are following the foreground cowboy's point of view, or that he has more power in this situation.

Audience Interpretation
The high noon cowboy duel is a conventional narrative moment in Westerns, and following Barthe's action code, the audience can infer that only one cowboy will walk out of this scene alive. There is also enigma created as the audience wonders who these cowboys are, why they are having a duel, and what the stakes are.

What Was Succesful
I'm happy with how the costumes and props turned out - since we used actual items of clothing instead of cheap "cowboy costumes", and the pistol is also actually made of metal, so there is a good level of realism to the characters. I also think the framing was quite successful in connoting the power and conflict of the scene, especially the focus on the pistol.

What I Would Do Differently
If I had the chance to do it again, I would choose a different location, as the modern row of seating and clean-cut wood does spoil the realism a little bit, considering it's set in the American West in the 19th Century. I would also spend more time experimenting with angles and framing. Since the shot is supposed to be a tense, dramatic showdown I would especially like try out different ways of lighting the scene for more dramatic impact, since the shot at the moment seems a bit too evenly lit. I would experiment with low-key lighting; having the sun in the back so as to back-light the characters, creating silhouettes; or even go a bit abstract and use spotlights on the characters, to signify that in this moment, nothing else matters, they have zoned out of the world and are focused only on killing the other.

The Planning Storyboard

TV Drama Still Analysis: Breaking Bad

An iconic moment from the show

This still from Season 1 Episode 1 of the TV Drama Breaking Bad is extremely effective in connoting the show's main premise of an ordinary man turned bad, as well as its subgenres: 

Crime, Black Comedy, and Western.

The still is a long shot of Walter White, our protagonist, alone on a desert road with his back to us. 

He is not wearing any trousers.

Walt is also carrying a gun in his hand - a signifier of the Crime genre. His wide, ready stance combined with the sprawling desert scenery and use of shadows is highly suggestive of the Western genre - he looks like a cowboy preparing for a duel.

The most striking thing about Walt is the fact that we see his bare legs and underwear. This is a very comical image that, in addition to showing Walt as just an ordinary Joe in an extraordinary situation, it also signifies that we can expect the show to be darkly funny.

What can we learn from this? Well, this proves that a simple pair of tighty-whities can indeed successfully show both narrative and genre.

Good on you!