LF: Film Language, Media Audiences and Institutional Context





Skyfall (Sam Mendes 2012)

 

Film language:

- mise en scene portrays meaning in the sequence as it is under water which conveys struggle and death, which is what the bond series are all about.
- the camera portrays meaning because the some shots are filmed in extreme close up which suggests mystery and reinforces the genre of the film.
- the camera never pans but only stays in 1 position or has a pull zoom etc, this shows the producer doesnt want to show establishing shots of the scene, but more about the characters, which portrays the meaning of the film, as in the bond films, it is all about finding out about characters and what they do, not about the scene or setting.
- sound anchors the visuals because when the mood is slow, the sound is at a low tempo and the instruments used and strings or piano, which reinforces the mood.
- when the action starts to come in, more furious and angerful singing is introduced which supports the visuals.
- throughout the sequence not much is revealed about the characters but due to the fact a man is under water and helpless shows the audience he is weak and has either made a mistake by himself, or has been overpowered by another character in the film.
- the NVC on one characters face (Daniel Craig - 'James Bond') is very stern and emotionless which portrays the meaning that he is serious in what he does.
- the director uses a lot of special effects on screen to improve the continuity of the opening sequence. This is because there a lot of different locations in the opening, and cross cuts to these different locations would not make sense, therefore the director has included moving images and props to use for the change of scene.

Silence of the Lambs (Jonathon Demme 1991)

Media audiences:

- the target audience is the core audience males and females as it has no prodominantly male or female attitudes or values.
- the probable reading of the text is that the male that is inside the cage and who is a cannibal, will overpower the female character as stereotypically, males are more powerful and stronger than females, and this negatively stereotypes the female as it is a psychological horror/thriller.
- a possible reading is that the female will win, and will get the evidence and information she needs from the suspect without being drawn into his mind games.
- as a british teenager i evaluate the text as very unrealistic, eventhough the filming and mise en scene creates verisimilitude.
- my reading is obviously influenced by the fact i do not come from America where the film is made and produced, therefore my beliefs will be different, and the fact i am only young, and throughout the film, representations of older people are shown, which i may not be able to relate to as much as others can.

Green Mile (Frank Darabont 1999)

Institutional Context:

-  Tom hanks has been used in this film as a starring role and this is important as he is a bankable star which the audience will see in the trailer or marketing of the film and will increase their probabilty of watching the film.
- Castle Rock Entertainment was the studio and Warner Bros. where the the distributors of the film. Because Warner Bros. is a worldwide, horizontally intergrated industrial company, is boosts the buzz factor, and marketing can be made a lot easier and wider.
- In the marketing of the film, Warner Bros. signed a deal to promote its upcoming movie "The Green Mile" through www.hsx.com, a promotions site operated by Hollywood Stock Exchange Inc., Los Angeles.

- the context is evident as the name of the company appear at the start of the clip, and the quality of the opening sequence is very good, and this explains that is is a industrial and Hollywood producing company.