Gladiator - Textual Analysis

After watching Gladiator, I analysed the opening 12 minutes of the film. We first start by seeing the Dreamworks logo which has been edited to show an orange colour which blends in with the first scene. This tells the audience that it will fit in with the genre and theme of the film.

Cinematography
The first scene is set in a corn field which gives the film a peaceful feel. The orange tone gives it a gentle feel and also a warm one. The low macro shot moves forward on a dolly to make it feel more peaceful. The wheat seams to be lifeless and leaning over rather than upright and healthy. This is in contrast to the next scene which is is very dark with black, white and grey as the main colours. The first character that we are introduced to is looking down, suggesting that he isn't important however his following actions and clothes suggest that he is important.

The shot is a close up one. He goes to walk off but then spots a robbin. He looks at the robbin as it flies off, symbolising freedom and also peace, a contrast to the character who looks like he has been fighting due to his beard. Both the character and bird are alone however the man cannot give up.

The next shot is a wide shot, showing the scale of the land. The trees closest to the camera have been destroyed possibly suggesting a battle has taken place. When the Romans start to ride onto the land, it confirms that this is a frequent battle place. The shot that follows this is a crane shot to show the scale of the Roman army. The sound or the horses is diegetic and is louder.

The next shot is a low down shot which zooms into this character. The zoom tells us that he is an important character as we are looking up to him. The shot after this is of the first Character, Maximus Decimus Meridius who is walking in-between soldiers. They all step back and look at him as he is walking past. The camera then changes from his perspective with people looking at him and talking to him. The shot is smooth and not too fast showing a sense of peace and importance.

The next few shots are from different angles showing how prepared the army are. Helicopter shots are not used to stick with the age and theme of the film. The shot after this shows a horse running back. This is the main noise and as the horse is white, is stands out more. When the next shot of the horse being injured is shown, we know that they have encountered something from that direction.

The scene after this is of the Barbarian who is holding up a Roman head. He is shown in a negative light as the film is biased to the Gladiators. The Barbarian then runs back behind the rest of their soldiers showing them as cowards. The wide shot showing the space between them is foreshadowing a battle.

The character that we was first introduced to then gets on his horse and says "At my signal; release hell", this shows his importance. The dog runs off with the horse before we see a high shot of the Barbarians. We then see quick different shots of the Romans who are getting ready. One shot is with flames in front of the archers which shows that they are serious. This relates to the phrase "playing with fire".

The camera then goes back to the old man. With another reference to him, this suggests his importance. The camera the gives us a wide shot of how prepared the Romans are.

After this, we see the first soldier, who rode off, arrive around the back of the Barbarians. We are then shown a panning shot of all the horses lining up. Again, this shows the scale. After this, we see a wide shot from the side showing the woods to have a foggy effect with it being dark with shadows. This shows the scale of woods by giving it depth. It also reminds us of how dark the place is, metaphorically. The sound in this scene echoes.

The film then goes back to the Romans preparing and shows us it in different shots however they are quicker and more rougher - done by handheld shots. An effective shot is when the flames are being lit with the flames coming towards the camera. People's arms and heads also get in the way giving it a more 'natural' and less set up look.

After this, in a wide shot, we see a burning arrow being fired over the battlefield. This is shown as a flare however flares are normally used as a sign for help but it's not in this case. After this we see the rest of the Romans light their arrows and fire them. The strong reference to the fire suggests hell and also war.

After a panning shot of all the Romans firing away, we see more handheld shots as the battle takes places. This makes it seem more rougher. In a wide shot already, we can see the devastation caused in less than a minute.

Distance shots are showing the scale whereas the close-up shots are showing the pain and the action. Slow motion shots show how much is happening in a short amount of time. The noise of the battle is still louder the music showing how fierce it is. Towards the end of this battle scene, slow motion shots become important. The shots in slow motion are normally stutter more making it more blury.

When the Romans have won, they all raise their swords in victory as the camera eases out to show how many Barbarians they have killed. The camera also goes back to the old man who although seems important, doesn't seem to support what the Romans have done as he doesn't smile or cheer. He appears to show a sign of relief.

Editing

The very first editing that we see is the colour change of the Universal and DreamWorks introduction. This has been given an orange tint to blend in with the next scene and theme of the film. When the title and text of the film comes up, it fades in making it peaceful and not too intrusive. Our first shot is of a man brushing his hand through a field, done on a dolly track, this makes the shot go with a flow and seem peaceful.

When we are first introduced to the Romans who are preparing for battle, it doesn't seem like any colour correction has been made. All of the shots are cut and are not faded as the film is not trying to show a sense of emotion. To make the audience more engaged, the film often shows the same thing from different angles, e.g. the horse riding back is shown from, low, high and close shots.

As the Romans are preparing for the battle, the music becomes more tense and there are more shots that are more quickly paced. This is to show that a lot is going on. Several shots of the arrows and trebuchet and shown to show the scale and enormity of the Roman army. When the trees becoming alight, this is shown from different angles to show how damaging the Romans are.

When the Romans attack from behind, this is shown from different angles to increase how dramatic it is. Some bits are shown in slow motion so that we can see what is happening in just a few seconds.

Film Rights & Loglines

Why films might not be able to legally sell

Some reasons that films might not be able to sell might be:

• Release forms not signed
• Extreme content
• Music copyright (difference between lyric and performance copyright)
• No permissions with regards to locations
• Using other peoples footage without permission
• Usage of brands
• Going beyond certification rules

Errors and Omissions insurance can protect you from things like this however it is quite expensive and not usually within the budget of smaller films. Some examples of films that have been affected by this are:

• Eddie Loves You – This film featured the character ‘Eddie’ which shows a strong representation of the Muppet, Elmo. Despite the film’s success at film festivals, the film was unable to be sold due to the usage of this copyrighted character.
• The Crush – In this film a character had a name similar to a real person. With the name being not that common, the person insisted that the character’s name was directly aimed at her. The film dubbed over her name which deteriorated the overall quality.
• Witless Protection – In this film, an actor was named after his role in another film. The problem with this is that the character’s name had copyright. This cost the production a huge loss in money and reputation.

• 48 Hrs – In this film, it features characters singing a song in which they dance to. The song wasn't the problem but in fact what one of the extra’s was wearing. With an ‘I <3’ t-shirt on, the place featured was not New York and the state decided to sue the production. Although the top was only featured for no more than a few seconds, legal costs soared to thousands.

After learning about this, we learnt about log lines, the short synopsis of a film. My two examples were:

                        Skyfall

Action film starring Daniel Craig. The British agent hunts down a terrorist who targeted MI6, resulting in a return to his childhood home.

Loyalty is tested as the past returns to haunt M and James Bond after the British Secret Service is the target of the UK’s biggest cyber terrorist attack.

Planet of the Apes (1969)

On the verge of human extinction, an astronaut crash lands on earth nearly 3,000 years after leaving it. After being captured by a race of talking apes, he is unable to escape, but he is the only human who can talk.

Short Film - Dignity - Proposal and Treatment

Short Film Proposal
In this 10 minute short film, a well known criminal is the target of an armed siege after a gang come to collect their debts. Set in a classy private bar, the man is prepared to protect his dignity.

Treatment

In the silent dark, a car headlight appears, fading in as it comes closer to the camera. Driving along a main road at Canvey Island, we see various shots of the car driving along at speed.

Arriving at the house, a foot gets out of the car. The noise is silent apart from the footsteps. The scene cuts to two men at private bar. One man is sitting down at the bar, the other is a barman dressed smartly round the other side. 

They start to discuss arrangements that have been made regarding a 'deal'. The barman gets a package from under the bar and passes it to the man. Opening it up, he gets a gun out and starts to ask whether the police have examined it. He puts it away and asks for a whiskey, a top up. 

The barman places his whiskey on the bar then looks at a TV next to it, displaying a fuzzy CCTV image of the front door. "We have company". ROB looks the screen. He finishes his drink, downing it in one. 

"Give me 5 minutes and a....Sea Breeze Bomber on my return" says Rob. He gets the gun back out of the package and walks out of the bar. 

He waits in a location out of sight of the group of the 5 men coming up the stairs. He loads his gun and waits in anticipation.

One man comes up and walks to the bar, "where is he?" he says in a strong russian accent. He walks back out and Rob fires at him, missing the first time, Man 1 fires back and rob shoots again, getting him in the chest, the face.

He walks forwards and waits at the top of stairs, hiding again. When another man comes up, he hits him with the but of his hang gun before shooting him in the throat. The man falls down. Rob walks down the stairs silently, stepping over the second body at the bottom.

He ducks at the bottom of the stairs and waits for another man to come out. 1 does and shoots at him first, missing and hitting the glass door before him. Rob shoots and hits a door. The man fires several shots and Rob reloads. He shoots and misses and throws the magazine hitting the man in eye.

Rob moves forwards and hears two men in a room. He gets out a package from his back pocket. Covered in tape and wires, he pushes a switch on it as it bleeps. Bleeping faster he throws it into a room before it explodes.

With dust everywhere and the alarm going off, he walks to the bottom of the stairs to leave however hears a clicking noise behind him. He looks up to the barman. "You nearly won" With an extreme closeup of the barman's machine gun, the waiter says 'Your bomber is ready'. Rob dives out the way as the barman shoots at him.

He runs into the smoke and see's two wires hanging, connecting to the alarm box. He squints and puts the two wires together. We see the barman get covered in spoke.

With a dusty suit, Rob walks out. "Waste of good Scotch". He walks to his car and drives off.

Introduction to Film Deconstruction

When analysing films there are many aspects of it that should me considered. These can be divided into 'Form and 'Content' and both of these play essential roles in the final product.

Form	Content
Mise-en-Scène - This is creative deisgn aspects of a film including props featured, costumes, characters, lighting e.t.c	Story - The events of the film; what is happening and who is doing what.
Cinematography - The making of the film, camera angles, types of shots, camera movement e.t.c	Themes/Issues - What the production is about e.g. good vs. bad or revenge.
Script - The text for a film, advert or any sort of video. This will include dialogue, stage directions e.t.c	Narrative - The story and the plot of the film combined. The story is the events whereas the plot is the order of events.
Sound - This could range from diegetic or non-diegetic sound, the difference being diegetic is the natural sound i.e. the sound of an actual radio playing in the room where as non-diegetic is sound that is dubbed in like a voiceover and sound effect.	Genre/Sub Genre - What the film is generally about i.e. a horror film or a comedy. Sub genres are more precise, for example, a sub genre for horror could be zombies.
Editing - Films are made of scenes and scenes are made of shots and these are all edited together. In post production, editing covers an array of things ranging from colour correction to special effects and transitions. Transitions are normally fading shots or just cuts however they can be super imposition (one shot over the top of the other) however this isn't as common.

Hitchcock 1964 - Marnie
After watching the opening scene of the film, I studied it looking at it from a cinematography perspective. I discovered the following:

• At the start it shows the close-up of a bag. The bag is neon yellow and therefore contrasts against the dull colours and bleak location that is the train station. A dolly shot is used from behind to film a medium shot, which is hiding the identity of the character. As the camera is focussing on the bag, it infers that the bag has some significance. The women is walking on the red line, which suggests she is taking a risk as she is walking directly on the line and it is also red which suggests danger. When she reaches the end of the red line, she stops and walks closer to the track - taking a risk. There isn't a soundtrack over the shot which makes it seem even more bleak, with just the sound of her heels. 

Shane Meadows 2007 - This is England

• The introduction to 'This is England' features an selection of news clips from England in the 1970's and 80's. Most of the shots are wide angle and show what society was like. The first clip is a novelty one showing British humour which was iconic at the time. This is a contrast to the different tone of what the following clips present which is a much more serious and also violent one. Not all of the clips are violent though with several shots of the Prime Minister and Royal family. The Royal famil shots are in widescreen to show their popularity. The music that is being played blends all the clips together. Later on in the film we see a montage sequence. 'Montage' comes from the French for cutting and is a sort of reduced timelapse, only showing the most important clips of the day usually with music. 

Stephen Norrington 1998 - Blade

• I analysed the opening scene of 'Blade' and looked at it from a Mise-en-Scène perspective. The setting of the film was the emergency department of a hospital, most likely an American one with the characters being doctors, an injured women and also her baby who is introduced half way through the scene. The lighting is quite bright giving the film a blue/white washed out and desaturated look. This particularly contrasts to the red blood. In a horror film the colours are generally dark for suspense however the brightness in this suggests that she is safe now, peaceful, and that her pain will be going soon, foreshadowing her death.

Storyboard Planning

Storyboards are required to visually show what is going to happen in accordance with the script. Some camera shots are shown as some shots will be moving i.e. on a dolly. Storyboards are divided into frames or cells which show the scene. These are drawn and are not normally in colour, just a sketch. Alongside the main image, we can see details of the scene.

These might include the shot number, which will basically number your frames, what type of shot it is, so close up, medium e.t.c, a description of the shot which will explain what is happening, the location of where it is being filmed and what actors are required, what sounds there will be, including the voice of the actors and also dubbed in sounds, any edits or transitions for the shot, i.e. colour correction or a fade out to black and also the duration of the shot which will normally be short. My storyboard can be seen below:

Formatting a Script

In order to successfully write a script, you should:

• Use capitals for characters names - When writing dialogue write the characters name above it in capitals. This makes it easier for someone to follow. When writing actions, you should only use capitals when you first introduce a character.
• Writing in the centre - Characters names should always be in the centre in capitals followed by the dialogue below in normal case.
• Text - All text should be in the font 'Courier' and in size 12. The font is from the classic typewriter face.
• Scene Heading - Scene headings are showing in capitals on the left. They either have 'EXT.' for exterior before it or 'INT.' for interior. Scenes are not numbered.
• Scene description - Scene description should be in lower case and should describe what is happening but only in basic detail. This should be double-spaced below the previous bit. 
• Transitions - Transitions should be on the right of the page in capital letters. This should be before and after a gap and would usually say 'CUT TO:' or 'FADE TO:'
• Length - The length of a page should be roughly equal to a minute of screen time.
• Camera Directions - Camera directions are not included in the script, they will be in a separate one as this could make things confusing.
• Continuation - When log passages are continued use 'MORE' at the end of it and 'CONTINUED' or 'CONT'd' on the next page.

Horror Themed Script Intro

Idea's influenced from Carry on Screaming

Madbrook Woods

EXT. Madbrook Woods

JACK and SARAH, two young lovers who are fair in complexion, are sitting together in the woods. It is dark and foggy. Sarah screams.

SARAH

What was that horrible noise?

JACK

What noise?

SARAH

It sounded like a 'huh huh'.

Sarah makes breathing noise.

JACK

Well I can't help being a bit affectionate.

SARAH

Oh I don't mean you Jack!

JACK

Well who then?

Jack says in shock.

JACK

Forget it, oh Sarah..

They go to kiss. Sarah screams.

SARAH

There is something in those bushes.

JACK

Oh for Gods sake Sarah, let me prove there isn't.

Jack gets up and walks off into the woods. We hear a rustling noise. Sarah looks around to see where he went. A shadow is cast over her. She turns back to camera, as a ring of rope gets put around her neck. She grabs at the rope trying to pull it off but is unsuccessful.

CUT TO:

INT. Haygarth Manor celler

Big heavy footsteps walk down the steps to the cellar, leaving mud traces in its path. We see the back of ASCROF who is carrying Sarah over his shoulder. He walks over to some concrete beds and places her on one, lying on her back. We hear more steps coming down the stairs.

Felicity

Have we got another one?

ASCROF

Yes.

FELICITY

Excellent. Ah, well done, she is lovely. We should vitrify her.

Her tone changes to more serious.

FELICITY

You've done well. Go and rest.

Ascrof walks off. Felicity walks over to a couple of beds along to DR. WATT. He reaches for a lever above his head and pulls it down, reviving him.

Brain Storming

Synopsis:

A 20 year old male, Jake, is a game enthusiast who is always on his xbox playing games. Being someone who never leaves the house, he is in for a surprises when he joins the army. Unaware of what he is doing, he thinks he is going to war gaming fair but he has no idea of the reality of military training that he is actually signing up to... Going for training at ATR Willworth, he experiences life like never before. Undertaking the training, he thinks that it will be like the games that he plays however the 5am starts and intense training gives him a well needed wake up call. Presuming he is training to influence characters for a game, he continues the 8 week course, finding a friend to confide in along the way, Sarah, only to find out that there is more to life than games and decides to accept a 15 month trip to Afghanistan alongside Sarah.

Tagline:
Man Down - 1 life remaining.

Characters:
- Jake
Name: Jake Newland
Nickname: Newland
Gender: Male
Race: British White
Age: 20
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Hobbies: Gaming
Family: Mum, Dad, younger sister
Relationship Status: Single

Physical Appearance
Height:
Weight:
Build: Tall, slim
Skin: White, pale
Hair: Short, brown
Eyes: Blue
Tattoos: None
Scars: Above his left eye

Life
Personality: Kind, keeps himself to himself
Sense of Humour: Amused at games
Favourite Colour: Red
Fears: Drowning
Achievements: 3 GCSE's, only game achievements
Goals: To be best game player or to maybe make his own game
Most important thing: Games and his xbox


-Sarah
Name: Sarah Martin
Nickname: Stropps (Stroppy)
Gender: Female
Race: British White
Age: 21
Location: Wimbledon, London
Hobbies: Self defence, exercising
Family: Mum, Dad, Twin Sister
Relationship Status: Single

Physical Appearance
Height:
Weight:
Build: Tall, muscular
Skin: White, pale
Hair: Long, brown
Eyes: Brown
Tattoos: British flag above her ankle
Scars: 3cm scar on the top of her left arm

Life
Personality: Kind, determined, strong, firm
Sense of Humour: Amused at some jokes, mainly sarcastic
Favourite Colour: Black
Fears: Heights
Achievements: 10 GCSE's, Best Under 16 Karate Champion
Goals: To fight for her country and to help others
Most important thing: Family, friends and county.

Film Poster:
Retro/game design, shows Jake as the big, main character looking serious (to show his importance within the film) looking to the left of the poster with an xbox controller in his hands and ear phones in his ears with Sarah as a serious, smaller character looking at him seriously from behind offering him a gun (less important but also influences Jake). The background is blurred army buildings. This shows Sarah as a life line giving him a gun to cope with in the army as supposed to an xbox controller.

Pre-Production

After watching 'Star Wars - within a minute' which was based around the pre-production of the a 49 second clip from episode III, I now know the some of the pre-production roles. The documentary detailed that if 1 person did every thing, then it would take then a staggering 70,000 hours for just the 49 seconds.

The term pre-production refers to the work done before filming takes place. This includes:

• Script Writing - The script writing is the very first stage. This details events that are due to happen in the film in a text format. It gives dialogue, stage actions, scenes and maybe even when music starts.
• Risk Assessment writing - A risk assessment is drawn up which highlights the possible risks and what actions should be taken to avoid them occurring. This could be anything ranging from tripping over wires to stunts that are too dangerous. This is important as they don't want actors or crew hurt and it will also affect their insurance.
• Drawing the storyboard - The job of drawing the storyboard consists of drawing out each camera shot. This could be a fight scene, but split into the different stages and angles of it.

Some of the production roles include:

• Producer - The person who is primarily in charge of production and who oversee's the roles of others and ensures they have what they need.
• Direction - The director has the creative control and will decide what it will visually look like.
• Concept Artist - The concept artist will draw initial art designs. This will be the scenery et.c. which will allow the director to choose what he wants. They will also get the directors input over the months as he draws up the plans. Once a final art design is chosen then a draft script is made.
• Script Writer - A script writer is the person who writes the script. This is the first stage.
• Pre-visulizator - These people will generate a 3D image to show the director what it will look like. This is where the director might decide to change aspects of it now that they know what it looks like.
• Location Recce - The job of the location recce is to find suitable locations for filming and to get permissions to film at them. A contract will be signed stating that the production team have permission to film there and additional allowances i.e. cutting down tree's to film. Locations could range from forests to studios.Additional film roles in 'Validation':

• Costume Organiser - This person will be responsible for buying and also looking after the costumes required for the production.
• Composer - The composer is the person who writes and/or plays the film score. Pay rates will be cheaper for less well known composers. For example, a friend might compose the music for free however if you wanted to use a track from a popular artist, i.e. Beyonce, they costs will be about £4,000 per every 15 seconds.
• Runners - Runners will do all the little jobs where people will not be required to do just that role. For example, runners might tidy sets, organise cables, ensure that producers and crew have everything they need e.t.c.
• Caster - This person will be responsible for casting auditions and finding the right actors for the roles.
• Financer - This person will watch the budget and make sure things are going to go over the budget.

The budget might be spent on:

• Locations - Hiring the right place or paying for licenses.
• Actors - The cast will be paid.
• Catering - The actors will need food to keep them concentrated. This could substitute for pay on low budget productions.
• Props - Money might need to spent to pay for props however many productions will just borrow props.
• Equipment Hire - Money might need to be spent on cameras, microphones, tripods e.t.c
• Travel - Money would be spent on allowing actors to travel to your location. For low budget films, most of the actors will be friends or family who live locally.
• Composition Copyright/Usage - Money will go to the artist or to the record label for money to be used however prices are normally quite high especially if the artist is very well known. A cheap substitute would be to use royalty free music under agreement or to get a friend to compose the music for you.

Cost Examples:

Although the prices significantly vary, deals can be done when booking areas.

• Location Manager £395/day - Will get equipment such as high vis jackets, dust sheets e.t.c, will organise traffic and make sure things flow smoothly. http://www.uklocations.co.uk/what-we-offer/ 
• Camcorders £75/week + £300 deposit - Prices vary dramatically particularly due to quality or how new the model is. E.g. A new 4K camera would be a lot higher than an older SD camcorder. This HD one is from £75 a 5 day week with a deposit of £300. http://www.vid4hire.co.uk/video-camera-hire/Sony-Camcorder-Hire/Sony-HXR-MC2000-Hire-Rental
• Music Rights - Music rights can be very expensive however the cost is dependant on who the music is by and how much you want.
• Catering £9.80/head- Being a possible substitute for money, catering is quite important to keep morale and energy levels high. Buying in bulk can be cheaper however the higher the quality of food, the higher the cost. http://www.rocket-catering.co.uk/guide-to-pricing.html
• Props - The cost for props can vary and using items you already have it a lot cheaper however some items such as medical equipment for example, you might have to hire. If props aren't available from a studio or included in a filming package then you could buy the props from normal shops i.e. a table from a furniture shop or if you wanted period equipment, it might have to be especially made or hired for a higher price. http://www.eventprophire.com/index.php
• Travel £175/person/return - A limousine return from London will cost £175 however for celebritires they might have their own limo. For the travel of crew and equipment they will most likely take a minibus in which prices are from £70. http://limousinehireessex.co.uk/fleet.html

Lesson 1

Today, our first lesson, we did many discussion tasks such as introducing ourselves and a partner, discussing rules, getting our timetable e.t.c We have also created our blogs which we will use for future use to post our assignments and work here. So far I am liking the college and the people who I am with.