Film analysis essay
Film Analysis
Introduction
I have been asked to analyse a range of film clips, or short films, from different genres in preparation for a series of programmes on fictional film genres.
My critical analysis of the purpose, format, narrative structure, visual storytelling, genre and audience of my chosen films, and genres, will be used by the production team for a new series to inform the content of one or more of their programmes. I have been asked to present the outcomes of my analysis to the production team.
I would like to begin with fiction film genre and what fiction films are. Fictional films are the most common type of film genre of them all and they tell a narrative. There are many different formats of fictional films such as action, horror, fantasy, drama, crime and many more. This is why fictional films are the most common and the most watched around the world because there are so many genres within fictional films for audiences to choose from.
Genres of films were made to make audiences choose what they like to watch and what genre of film would be someone's favourite. By creating loads of genres of films, an individual has a wider selection of choice and can watch multiple genres whenever they want so they will not ever get bored of watching similar films.
Genre repetition and difference theory by Steve Neale:
“Genres are instances of repetition and differences”
Neale believes that films of a particular genre (e.g. romance or thriller) include features that are similar, so the audience know that it is a romance or thriller film, but also include features that are different, to keep an audience interested.
This is also where audience require similarity in the films and genres they watch, but also want new and exciting characters to make it seem like they are watching something brand new. However, there must be an element of difference for the audience such as new scenery or actors to make the films still exciting to the audience for their enjoyment. As a whole, the use of repetition and difference is crucial when making new films with the same genre as this will allow the audience not to feel bored by watching something similar but also engaged because they like the specific genre.
Hybridity and Subgenres:
Hybridity is the combination of 2 or more genres within one film and can also be classified as two genres as a title for example ‘romantic comedy’ or ‘horror western’. These combined genres may have a wider target audience to aim at as there is more than one genre which the audience can engage with. Subgenres are genres used within a larger one to create a more complex viewing for the audience and a twist in the storyline. Using subgenres could be risky as people who watch could have certain expectation of the film being a single genre but might be disappointed when subgenres are introduced.
Generic conventions of my two chosen genres:
Sci-Fi:
What I would expect from Sci-Fi films would be for them to incorporate scientific elements and themes to create an unrealistic and escape from reality feeling for the audience to engage with. Common Sci-Fi conventions would be to include characters such as the heroes and villains to encapsulate a thrilling storyline for the audience and allow them to engage with the characters and pick which characters they like more. By creating these character types, it also allows stereotypes and assumptions to be created about these characters and this is referring to Propp’s character theory. This theory argues that the storyline is character driven and that the plot develops due to the actions of characters and how they function. This theory also states that certain characters have very similar traits and actions in almost every film such as what the hero’s actions would be.
Thriller:
Thrillers are more ‘realistic’ to real life scenarios, and this can also engage the audience as they will almost have something to relate to. This genre of film also has an over the top atmosphere and plot which works as a counter to the realistic vibe of the film and incorporates all aspects. Thrillers typically add crime into the film to introduced different character types just like Sci-Fi has. However, these characters are not like the stereotypical hero wearing a cape and villains having the superpowers, they are more realistic characters and do not have supernatural things to use against each other.
VENOM
Mise-en-Scene:
The director purposely uses the contrast between ‘naturalness’ and the ‘super naturalness’ of the scene, encode certain meanings. The audience should be able to decode these meanings which is then a must to establish the significance of mise-en-scene with regard to the narrative.
This extract is taken from a Sony Pictures Sci-fi film ‘Venom’
In the clip I have chosen, there isn’t much light and I believe the director has done this to link with the character Venom as it is portrayed as a dark scary character so by added small light within the scene I have chosen, it will add to the tension throughout. When there was light before Venom and the swat team start fighting, it was just shining on the man inside Venom and then Venom when they change to show the loneliness of the characters vs the whole swat team. Costumes- costumes play a crucial role in this scene when all the swat team wear their uniform. Each and every one of them wears the exact same outfit and there is no difference between any of them. This is to show the togetherness as a group and power they show in when they first encounter the man when they are all stood in unison with their guns out in the scene and puts an element of nervousness to the man and the audience, but the audience know that venom will appear and take all the power and authority away from the swat team. The setting in this scene is a quite beautiful night in San Francisco with an overview of the whole city lit up with the character venom on top of a skyscraper. They have done this to show the contrast between the picturesque city and the terror and scariness venom possesses.
Venom in my opinion is an unconventional Sci-Fi however; in comparison Rakka is the complete opposite and is conventional Sci-Fi. I think this because Rakka incorporates a lot of elements you would see in a convention Sci-Fi such as the lighting. In a lot of Sci-Fi's, the lighting is very dim to incorporate the actions taking place. This is shown at 04:00 minutes into the clip I have chosen. In this part of the clip the lighting is really dim/dark, and this is done to show the actions taking place by the strange creature on the human and really allows the audience to focus into these action/movements as they cannot see or focus on anything else in the clip as the lighting is too dark. Another reason Rakka is a conventional Sci-Fi is because of the prop use, the props used in the clip I have chosen are very common to see in Sci-Fi films and are associated with the technical and science side of a Sci-Fi film whereas the clip I showed from Venom doesn’t have any technical or science props and instead targets the fantasy aspect of the character Venom.
Camera Work:
A conventional Sci-fi would show the unrealistic sides of characters quite frequently and allow the audience a close viewing of this to gain understanding of the characters and this happens in Venom. The director has specifically added a lot of close-up shots of the character ‘Venom’ to allow the audience to understand how scary and viscous the character is. This is shown at 2:13/4:04 in the clip. The use of close-up shots in this particular clip is crucial to ensure that the audience does not miss it and the audience can understand the characters emotions or feelings in the scene. The director decided to use a crane camera move at 00:07-00:11 seconds into the clip when venom is climbing the vertical building. They have done this to show the velocity and speed the character venom is moving up the building and this type of camera move adds to the tension of the scene and shows the audience the danger. The director also uses an arial and pan camera move when the character Venom reaches the top of the building at 00:16-00:26 seconds. I believe the director has done this to show the beauty of San Francisco but the contradiction in the terror and harm Venom causes just being up there overlooking the whole city. In Rakka, they show some similarities to Venom when filming their shots. For example, in the clip I have chosen at 16:11 minutes in they have used an arial pan similar to Venom where I have talked about the arial pan in that clip and this is to show meaning of how fast the military cars are going and why they are going so fast and what the reason is for them to being going from left to right as shown in the pan.
Sound:
When the swat team are waiting at the bottom of the building for Eddie all the sound disappears, and the scene goes silent. This has been done to create tension and a tense atmosphere between him and the swat team. The silence is significant in the scene because of the atmosphere it creates and acts as a source of sound to us as the audience. When Venom is climbing the big building overlooking the city at 00:12 seconds the director has decided to add the sound of venom steps going up the building. This is to emphasize how fast and how much velocity Venom is going up. This is used over a slightly quieted piece of slow but harsh music which all combines together to really make the scene have that tense feel about it. Rakka in comparison has a different opening to the clip than Venom. In the clip of Rakka that I have chosen, the director has chosen to add a voice over to explain the film and the characters background and meanings before actually showing them. In conventional Sci-Fi films this is expected to be introduced during the opening of the film as it allows the audience to gain an understanding of the concept before watching it. In conventional Sci-Fi films this happens, and the dialogue is usually portrayed as a space or science voice over and this happens here in the opening of Rakka.
Conclusion:
In comparison I think that both films are very different despite being the same genre (Sci-Fi). This is shown in several elements of production throughout the films as a whole. The use of sound is different, the use of camerawork is different but has some similarities to them both and the use of mise-en-scene is different. Venom has gone away from being the typical Sci-Fi film and i think this is to get away from the narrative and show the directors skills of how to film a Sci-Fi in a completely different way. Some aspects are the same between the two films to keep it a Sci-Fi but not many and this it to do with Venom being unconventional.
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