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.