Thursday, 18 April 2013

Evaluation Question 4

I think with the time I did my nine key frames in, I think it successfully gets across the point of my script, as it fits in with the numbers camera shot I have annotated on to my script. I think if I gave myself more time to manage with everything my nine key frames would have been a lot better and not done it photoshop, this we due to some issues with my actors as I could not find anyone appropriate to the age range of my young James Bond, so in the last minuet I used a eleven year old from one of the lower years in my school. But I believe I managed to get my purpose across editing the picture on photoshop, so it looks like they are in the 1970's. My purpose was to get across that Heros are not born they are made, this is shown in my script and nine key frames as James is shown as weak in the start and then get stronger toward the end.

Evaluation Questions 3

In all honesty the location report did not help all that much for myself. But it helped me more with my script, as searching on the Internet for my location gave me the ideas of how I wanted the final product to look and i incorporated this in to my nine key frames as I got the idea of what an English police office used to look like in the 1970's. The reason it helped me with the script was due to the fact I could describe the setting better, make it easier to visualise and write down on ,y script. I think if I had better time management I could have incorporated my location report in with my nine key frames, but due to the fact I left my nine key frames till the last minuet, it does not look as good as I would of hoped as I did it using photo shop, because I did not put all the effort I could have in to my location report, so I did not find a suitable location for a 1970's police station. This has thought me a lesson for next time, I should actually go out and find a location locally to me so it is easily accessible and can get my actors there and get it all done in one shoot.

Evaluation Question 2

Personally my script and 9 key frames follow the classic Hollywood narrative and propps stock characters, as my script has the typical characters with the protagonist, helper and antagonist. Although this might not be clear they are there. In my story, It follows classic Hollywood narrative as the hero has to overcome something in the end and he does and emerges as a stronger character. Mary can be seen as the helper in my script as she is there just to comfort James. My script follows the best aspects of of a prequel as it has characters from the previously films, and I also have the key frame from the bond films, 'my names bond James Bond'. I think this would work really well as a prequel as it follows all of the codes and conventions of one.
My main aspect in my textual analysis is the development of a hero, this is covered by my chosen aspect which is narrative, in my script and 9 key frames you can see and read the links between them, you can tell there is going to be a hero as it is in the action genre, has the characters you would expect and the meis-en-scene as it is set in a police station and this isn't somewhere you would expect to find a antagonist.

Evaluation Question 1

The reasons we did the script and the 9 key frames was to show our disruption scene in our prequel or sequel, I choose to do a prequel from the two films i have chosen, which were Casino Royale and Batman. I chose Casino Royale as my prequel for my script and 9 key frames as this would work more successfully. As in Batman Begins you find out what happens to him in his childhood and why he is the way he is from the narrative. Where as in Casino Royale, you are only given little hints to it as in dialogue from other characters and the other films in the Bond series. This showed a degree of more work and harder studying as i had to look in to the characters more in depth and analyses the relation ships more. Due to this fact it made it esiery to write a script for my prequel as i could work on the relation ships and narrative of the story, it follows a little bit of representaion as well. As those were my key aspects for my textual analysis. I believe that I had a very strong script, as it has a good narrative and follows the aspects of my textual analysis, as it shows the representation of the hero aswell.

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Final textual analysis

Thesis statement
The two Films I have chosen for my textual analysis are Batman Begins (2005) and Casino Royale (2006). In both films it is the start of them becoming hero's, I am exploring what happens in the narrative to make them heroic? Both of these films have aspects of classic Hollywood narrative. How it is shown to the audience through the Micro aspects such as Mise-en-scene. I am arguing both of these characters are physiologically damaged, the narrative shows this in many aspects through out many of the iconic scenes in each of theses films with the Mise-en-scene. I believe that the physiological issues behind the characters are what have made them the archetype of a hero's or more anti hero's. If each of these characters were not physiologically unstable we wouldn't have a story as the fact they are physiologically unstable is the reason they become heroes. Also if neither of there parents died we still wouldn’t have a story, this is not typical classic Hollywood narrative, this is more post modem, as audiences are getting bored with CHN as its been repeated for so many years. Each of the characters James Bond and Batman/Bruce Wayne are orphans as there parents both died when they were both young this could be one of the reasons why they are physiologically damaged, the reason they risk there life's as they both feel as they are to blame, for what happened to them, they feel they need some kind of redemption.

How they are portrayed at the start of there heroism?
In each of these scenes it shows that both of the characters at the start of the narrative and the start of there journey as a ‘hero’ or being reborn. In Batman it shows that the character of Bruce Wayne is fuelled by anger and revenge and is physiologically damaged. These are not really qualities that hero’s show. In the scene (The Will To Act) it shows Bruce trying to over come this anger and revenge and turning it in to justice. This is where the character of Batman is born. his mentor Raj al Gaul blames Bruce’s dad for there murder as he did not step in and stop the murderer, teaching Bruce the true meaning of being a hero, but now Raj has become Bruce’s father figure, after. In Casino Royale it introduces you to the character of James bond in the his first kill situation that is in black and white showing it is a memory or a flashback. It's set in a cricket club toilet, find out the he is a ruthless killing machine, that likes to feel people die under his own hands already James Bond shows as the archetype of a antihero. You can tell he is inexperienced at this point in the narrative as it takes him a while to kill the man and also they crash though toilet cubicles and also break sinks and mirrors, but you see his ruthless side as he drowns his victim in the sink of the bath room. In his next kill you can see he has been changed and is more of a confident man as he smug after he kills the section chief and doesn’t seem to effect him in anyway as if he has been reborn as a killing machine, with no trace of his former self. To manage all of this they had to loose their humanity, forget about their pasts. change there morals for a different set of values this causes them to become a completely new person 'reborn' as an anti hero.

How the characters costumes portray state of mind?
(Batman’s first appearance). In the narrative he is still quite inexperienced, but it shows you what he is capable of doing. It shows that he uses the cover of darkness to hide himself from the enemy and to disrupt their plans in the mob the fact that he uses the shadows says the he could also be trying to hide from is own personal demons. Also this scene backs up the fact that he is physiologically damaged as he say “we are not one person we are two”. The fact that he wears a costume and puts on a voice when he is fighting injustice also backs up the ideal the character is physiologically damaged from his parent’s murder so basically Bruce Wayne has split personality’s. the colour black on the costume shows that he is a dark isolated character, the cape also backs up this fact as it can been seen as his past always clinging on to his and as much as he try's to get away from it he can't. This shows that the character of Bruce Wayne is a coward by hiding behind the mask of the vigilantly of batman and can only do these great things by being his spilt personality, other aspects of the meis-en-scene backup the physiologically unstable state of mind for example batman only comes out at night this shows that he uses the shadows to hide, it similar to the fact Bruce Wayne runs away because he doesn't want people to blame his for his parents murder. Where as in James bond he always wears suit to show he has had a complete transformation from who he use to be, now he is just ruthless killer, sociopath and closed off emotionally. Except in the scene where Daniel Craig is coming out of the sea in his speedo's this still shows people he is a threat as his muscularity is more superior than anyone else in this sea. This also implies the female gaze.

What happens in the narrative to make them unstable?
In the key scenes I have chosen each of the characters are being torched but both in highly different ways. In Casino Royale it shows physical toucher. This scene emasculates Bond has he has been strip of his clothes and weapons, this seems to take away all of his power and makes the character of l’chife the most masculine, another way this emasculates Bond is the fact that l’chife is hitting Bond in his genitals with a piece of rope, Bond takes control through this scene as he mocks l’chife while he is torturing him he says “every one knows you are going to die scratching my balls” this shows that Bond would never let another man be more masculine than him. Where as in batman it is what he witnesses that at that moment in time that makes him the person he is in the rest of the narrative. This is the reason he hides behind the costume and mask as he believes he is to blame, this scene that in my personal opinion that scars him most. Now he believes that he has to serve justice to the people who show injustice to society. This can be seen as a plead for redemption as he still hasn't forgiven himself for his parents death.

how mies-en-scene can show what the character is feeling?
In Bond, the scene where (Vesper) Bonds love interest, betrays him for the freedom of her Algerian partner, this show that he is not just a ruthless killing machine it also shows that he still has some emotions left in his hollow shell of a body. When the building in Venice is sinking where Vesper drowns herself as she believes that Bond will not forgive her for what she has done. The fact the building is plummeting into the river be linked in to James heartbreak for her, as after this he does not seem to have any solace for anyone else. The reason for this because his hard exterior has been shattered by the emotions of a woman, making him in some way weak.

Conclusion
Batman Begins and Casino Royale, both of the stories evolve in to becoming the hero’s we know, but the things they do in the narrative make them anti-heroes. Each of these films different ways they become anti-heroes. In Batman he becomes a hero because he blames himself for his parent’s murder, he believes that he needs to be redeemed for the murder, so he goes out as a vigilante so he can feel some kind of redemption in himself. The reason he wears the Batman costume is because Bruce Wayne himself is a coward and needs something to hide behind. Where as in Casino Royale, James bond is a completely different character. He does not hide behind anything he want to let people know he is a killing machine and he wants people to notice he is a threat to the enemy. The narratives are both similar in a way as they both start off with them at the start of their journey as a hero and the narratives both end in a form of revenge.