Glossary of camera shot types

Gender stereotypes in Primeval

To make the media text easier to analyse, I have split it into four sections. The sections are as follows:
Section 1=beginning until the roar of the saber tooth
Section 2=roar of saber tooth until gun shot
Section 3=gun shot until discussion at base
Section 4=barn scene

Section 1

In the opening of the extract there are contradicting representations. The following reasons support this:

• Woman looks weak as she walks out of opening scene upset with the male represented as the 'protecter' by saying "She's been through a lot, leave her" which suggests he is the stronger of the two characters.
• Camera angles position woman in digger as high up whereas the man is viewed from a birds eye view. This makes the male look weak yet the female looks strong which contradicts common stereotypes.
• Woman is located in a large digger which is a bulky, angular piece of machinery which would ordinarily be associated with 'man's work'. Therefore, she's representated as strong and capable of the responsibility, supporting the idea that the male looks weaker with his mere hands for machinery.

Section 2

This impression is reinforced as the extract continues. The following reasons support this:

• The woman in the digger has the role of attacking the saber tooth which suggests that she has enough strength to tackle it, whereas the male possibly doesn't. The saber tooth is a cat which is stereotypically associated with feminimity, so the idea of strong female characters is reinforced here.
• The man is shot trying to get away from the saber tooth which shows weakness in fear. Therefore, there is a contradiction of traditional roles within this scene as the female is representated as stronger than the male.

Section 3

As the text continues more traditional images about gender are created. The following reasons support this:

• As the scene begins, the characters all move in a line towards the camera. The woman is marginalised meaning that she's pushed to the edge of the camera. This suggests that the males are superior to her at this point.
• Also, eyeline shots are frequently used on the male characters which means that they are important and worthy of the character space.
• However, weaker male characters are also identifiable through the use of mise-en-scene. For example, a man wears a pink top which makes him look feminine, which further makes him appear weaker than the other males visible in the frame.

Section 4

By the end of the media text these traditional representations of gender are reinforced. The following reasons support this:

• The farmer appears strong due to his typical appearance, i.e. stubble, short hair and masculine clothing. He also holds a gun which connotes powerfulness and masculinity. The farmer holds most of the screen time because he has more control over the situation.
• Eye level shot is present when farmer pushes woman to the floor, making her look weak and him look much more superior.
• When the male and female from digger scene appear, the man stands in the foreground which suggests that he's in control of the woman behind him which supports the original stereotype of a woman.

 

Do generic conventions help or restrict film makers?

Group 5 2012 AS from Media @ CCC on Vimeo.

EVALUATION:

• I think that our presentation was well structured because we made clear points that were easy to interpret.
• I also think we worked well as a group because despite us all having different, busy timetables we came together by communicating via facebook to organise the presentation. As well as this, we had practiced the presentation previous to its filming so that there were minimal mistakes.
• However, in my opinion the presentation could've been improved by collecting more evidence to back up our points. For example, after watching other student videos it is clear that by using example films and information the presentation appeared much more length and more thought out.
• I also think that the presentation could've had more in depth information in it to have supported our ideas.
• Following on from this, we concentrated mainly on the disadvantages of generic conventions and didn't take in much about the counter argument which I think would've made a more successful presentation.

Shutter (2004) Analysis

Shutter (2004) is a Thai horror/thriller film.
Camera:

• The lense of the camera is always red which automatically connotes danger and blood even before the film has started. This influences the audience to believe that despite the film not even have started yet, they already know the intentions of the film are.
• As well as this the camera shows short flashes at photographs which introduce the character within the film. These flashes of photographs increase with speed alongside the music, adding to the suspense.
• Also, random words appear on the camera lense which implies that anything could be round the corner which makes it eery.

Editing:

• The film is edited in a rough, jagged way that almost makes the audience jump. This gets their emotions on edge and creates a scary, eery atmosphere.

Sound:

• The music within this film is high-pitched, screechy music that gathers in speed and volume as the introduction goes on. This adds to the tension within the scene, which is already scaring the audience and nothing has even happened yet.

Silence of the Lambs Analysis

Camera:

• Due to the tracking of the woman through the forest, it shows the audience that she breaks the stereotype of a traditional woman, and at the time of the movie being produced (despite being made in 90's) woman were still partially expected to be simple housewives. This is shown through the fast paced tracking meaning that she is running fast, and this sport ordinarily connotes men. Furthermore, this displays her dominance and masculinity despite the film having been only approx 10 seconds in and the audience already know the main character. 
• It also pans across the forest at the beginning of the sequence which gives the impression of isolation and eeriness, which may be an insight as to the emotions of the main character. This pan shot also reinforces the dominance of her character because it is seen that woman shouldn't be alone in a foggy forest but she isn't afraid at all.

Sound:

• At the beginning of the opening sequence, the music matches the eery surroundings but as the bass comes over and dialect begins, the music softens because the character is being familiarised with the audience.

Editing:

• At the beginning, the shots are seen as fast paced because the editing is abrupt and jagged to match the speed of her running, however when she begins to slow down the editing does. Also, at the beginning of the sequence (in between the fast editing) the scene slows down as the editing allows for a long pause on her face to introduce the character.

Mise-en-scene:

• Clothing used within the scene introduces the main character effectively by showing that she is part of the FBI.

Panic Room Analysis

Camera:

• From the birds eye view shot of New York City it sets the scene for the whole film and allows the audience to familiarise themselves with the place at which the film is set, the time at which the film was set etc. The birds eye view also makes humans look minuscule and therefore weak and insecure.
• As the camera pans across skyscrapers, it shows the inactivity from above which makes the audience feel isolated to the "real world"

Sound:

• The music used throughout this opening sequence is the main point of interest within this film because it tells the audience that this is not a "happy clappy" (for want of a better word) film. This is because with the use of a wide shot of New York City it can create a very broad idea in the audience's minds (for example, the skyscraper shot is also used in Sex and the City-a very different film) so the music is used to create an eery, suspense-filled atmosphere so the audience are aware that even so early in the film, all is not well.
• This is reinforced through the use of slow, low tones instruments which, as well as the use of rising tempos throughout the scene which add to this feeling of suspense, and give the impression to the audience that something is about to happen.

Mise-en-Scene:

• The mise-en-scene is used to create the "normal" happenings of day-to-day life in New York from above, such as yellow cabs and business-dressed individuals. This also adds to the suspense because this added to the camera usage shows that the people in shot aren't aware of any danger however the audience is, which draws us further into the film.

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