Pulp Fiction - Poster Analysis

Shutter Island - Poster Analysis

Children of Men - Poster Analysis

I didn't think that there was much you could tell about a film just from the poster, but I was wrong. All though it just looks like  a promotional poster, it does give a lot of information about the film, including the films genre and what it's about.

    Children of Men is a film set in a dystopian future and the fact that it is set in the future is immediately obvious because the poster says 'The Year 2027' in large, red font, which catches the eye. Under this, it says 'The last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years.' This tells me that this is a dystopian film because is is clear that something has gone wrong and it not quite right as the poster states that this is 'the last days' of humanity and that no children have been born for '18 years.' Although this is written in the top left hand corner, it is still eye-catching as the date stands out, being a larger font than the rest of the text. The fact that this is written  in red may suggest danger as often whenever danger is presented, red is shown. This highlights again the genre of the film. 

     The title of the film is printed in large, white font, however, some of the letters seem to be tarnished. This could suggest once again that the future presented is damaged just like some of the letters are. The contrast of these white letters against the black background also make it stand out, separating it from the dark background. The use of the colour white may also symbolise hope as white its the colour of purity and hope which contrasts with the red font used for the rest of the font on the poster.

    The big picture of Clive Owen also tells us that he will be playing the main character. Only his face is shown, looking rather rugged. His face is also framed by some sort of broken glass. This once again highlights his importance throughout the film. The red writing next to the poster also states that 'he must protect our only hope,' showing that Owen will play the hero, however, even from the poster, we can tell that Owen is an anti-hero from his rugged look, his unshaven face, rugged brown collar and messy hair. The stern look on his face makes him look serious, like a hero and makes it seem as though he is taking his responsibility seriously. He is looking right down the camera, making it seem like Owen is looking at you personally.

    The red and black eye with the small image of the baby as the pupil and a red tear dripping down can also suggest that there is something that is not quite right in this version of the future. It makes me think of an ultrasound showing a baby in a womb, which could suggest that there are problems with fertility in this film (although the poster has already told us that a child hasn't been born in 18 years), but it can also suggest that in the film, these problems could be fixed. The tear could signify the loss of hope of the people and how upset they are about what has become of the world and the issues they face. 

    The shattered glass could symbolise the shattered, broken future that is portrayed in this film. It also makes things seem dangerous as the sharp, point of the glass pointing to Owen's face could hurt him. This could show that what he is doing could potentially cause him damage. The fact that the glass frames Owen's face, not only highlights him as the main character  but it makes it seem as though he has broken the glass, suggesting that something he will do will  shatter the barrier to infertility (like the solution is trapped in a glass cage) and that he will set the people free from this dystopian future, once again, presenting Owen as the 'savior' of humanity.

Filming the Prelim

I was really excited to be using the camera to film a preliminary task. This was the first time, we had actually got to use the camera to film an actual scene.
     After setting up the camera (fairly quickly I would say - that practice at setting it up really paid off!), we got to work, looking at the storyboard, getting to know it and working out what we needed to do, this was the easy part. We worked out who would stand where and where the cameras should be positioned for the first take.
    We started to film, completely forgetting to set up the white balance, and it was only after we got halfway through filming that we realized that we needed to set this up. Of course as soon as we realized, we set it up easily using the white section of the storyboard to do so. We decided we would observe continuity and film the entire scene from one angle first (whether it be a wide angle shot or over the shoulder) and then from the next as we would edit the film to fit the story board later.
    We were told before we started that we had to obey the 180 degree rule which looked harder to do that it really was. All we had to do was remember to stay on one side of the line or it will look like the 2 people are standing next to each other rather than opposite one another.

    Our acting wasn't brilliant, we couldn't find anyone to be in the film, so I stepped in along with another group member. We weren't the best actors (and that's being kind) but we made it work, even if it meant that we forgot our lines a few times! The main problem was getting the camera and tripod high enough to do a low angle shot from above my head - they should of chosen a different actor! Generally, it went well, I had the easy part, just repeating 'I can't' and 'I know' a few times. 

    Other than acting, I gave directions to other group members on what we should do and how we should do it, I even helped my fellow actor with their skills (although my advice probably wasn't very good). I helped to set up the camera and tripod, and positioned it where it should be and when. 

    There are many things I would improve about this would be to do the white balance right from the start as this will make a big difference to the colours shown on  screen. I would also make sure that the actors were standing in the exact same position the entire time as we did move around the room between takes. 

Using and Setting up the Camera

How do you set up a camera? Well, we had absolutely no idea, and so, we were just staring at the equipment blankly. But, after being shown what to do it was our turn to set it up.

Step 1: Set up the dolly. We pushed the buttons on the back of the dolly to swing the arms out. This was to be used to  move the tripod around (but seeing as we didn't need to move the tripod just yet, we put the brakes on).

Step 2: Set up the tripod. We unscrewed the blots to extend the legs, and then put these into the dolly and secure them using the locks. There was a spirit level on this tripod, so we made sure that the tripod was level by checking that the small bubble was inside the big one.

Step 3: Now we could add the camera itself.  We flipped and pulled down the red lever under the base of the tripod and slide the camera on. We put the battery in the side of the camera and turned it on. We were now ready to go!

Now all that was left was to know how to actually use the camera. We were told that the camera has 2 modes, manual and automatic, manual meant we could play around with all the functions a lot more. We quickly found the zoom (smaller) and focus rings at the front of the camera near the lens and played around with these for a bit to get used to them. We also looked at the iris control and saw how to make images brighter and softer. We also learnt how to use the white balance and we were told that we needed this to ensure that the white colour we see seems natural. Then, we could finally practice filming with the camera, using this pan and tilt mechanisms.

About Me

Who am I? Well, my name is Miriam Kershaw, my midd and I'm 16 years old. I started JFS School in year 7 and I am currently in JFS Sixth Form. For my AS levels I chose biology, chemistry, French, dance, and of course media! I know, I'm taking 5, all my friends say I'm crazy.
     I decided to take media for A-level because it looked really interesting, and after having studied dance in years 10 and 11 where I had to look at different aspects of performance, including costume, accompaniment and lighting. We had to answer questions like what does the costume add to the performance, and why was this specific lighting chosen? I already knew that these were aspects that are part of studying media, along with camera angles, sound and the dialogue itself. I like to be behind the camera, I think it's because I like to be creative, I enjoy creating something from nothing! Its fascinating to see what goes on behind the camera as we only ever get to see the finished product, with all the effects added. Watching films is fun but being behind the camera is a new experience that I can't wait to have.
    I love to dance and in my spare time, I take ballet classes. Dance is another way I like to be creative and express myself.
    My favourite film is 'Edward Scissorhands' (directed by Tim Burton), and when I watch it feels surreal, and Depp really makes you esmpathise with the character.
I'm a big fan of boy bands (as cliche as that is) but my favourite band is 5 Seconds of Summer! I think they are a good live band who know how to put on a show.