Barthes Theory

Appling Barthes' Theory




1. The opening of Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny shows the origins of Jack Black's character, and shows his upbringing. It is a montage sequence and summary of his life up to the point that the movie really begins. It is a prologue of sorts. His character also meets the other main protagonist of the film, Kyle Gass, and they play together for the first time.

2.  How will Jack Black's characters origin affect his character in the movie? Will him and Kyle Gass go on to become an amazing rock band? How will Jack Black survive in Hollywood with no money or house? Why was Kyle so harsh to Jack Black when they first met? And what is the pick of destiny?

3. The main characters are Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who make up the band Tenacious D. Together, they represent friendship, even though in the start of the movie it is unclear if and how they will end up together. Jack Black represents the rebellious hero who breaks out of his oppressive upbringing to presumably become ridiculously successful by the end of the film. Kyle Gass, in the opening, provides the role of reluctant best friend.

4. The image of Dio is used on a poster, along with various other Rock Stars. This provides us with an idea of which direction the music will take in the film. It draws on the audiences previous knowledge of rock music.

The Hollywood sign. This is a very famous city in the world, and it gives the audience certain expectations as to the subject of the film, based on our previous knowledge of Hollywood and what goes on in the city.

In the title sequence, we see many tarot cards and old religious imagery. That suggests that the film will not be entirely realistic, maybe with future telling or ancient monsters being involved. The devil is also featured quite alot, and based on previous knowledge of the devil, the audience can make decisions as to what is going to happen.

5.  Music is clearly a massive theme in the movie, seen through the fact that the film actually has an opening number. It is unusual to see a film like this have music in it, but the opening number makes it clear that this will continue. The film is also about a band. And the music theme is continued as Jack Black is holding a guitar all the way through the opening, and he meets Kyle Gass while he is playing guitar. It is clear this film is going to be about music.

Religious imagery. Used in the actual title sequence, we see many images of religuous stories and characters such as the Devil. This makes it clear that we will see more of this theme as the film progresses.

Continuity

This is the a scene from 'The Italian Job', a conversation between Seth Green and Jason Statham. It is a good example of how continuity is important in a film, to create a seamless flow of narrative which suspends the disbelief of the audience. The scene opens with an establishing shot from the back seat of the car, which shows both characters and their positions. This type of shot is often used to start scenes, as it quickly establishes in the audiences mind who is in the scene, where they are, and what sort of action is occuring.

We cut to Seth Green looking through a camera. The shot directly after this is from the point of view of the camera. We can tell this by various bits of information on screen which tell the audience we are looking through a camera, things you would commonly see if you looked down the viewfinder of a camera. The fact that the two shots were placed in this order is a continuity effect in itself- it would not have made sense to the audience if the film had just cut to the camera's perspective immediately- we need to see Seth Green holding the camera first for it to make sense. The same technique is repeated again with Jason Statham's character, as we see him looking through binoculars, then from the POV of the binoculars, indicated by the circular black border around the frame.

Shot-reverse-shot has been used in this conversation to create a seamless flow for the audience. The characters converse in the car, and the camera simply cuts between the two, using eyeline matching and an over the shoulder type of shot to keep the scene seamless. Sound bridges have been used between the shots aswell, so the characters dialogue carries over into the next shot, creating a smooth and easy to understand conversation between the characters.

Eyeline matching is further used as Statham climbs out of the car and walks towards the girl. Seth Green's eyes follow Statham across the parking lot, even though we cannot see Statham in the shot. This creates continuity and believability as it seems like he really is watching him. It seems like simple stuff in a feature film but it is very important to keep the sense of realism alive!

The final sequence of the film is a parallel narattive. We cut between Green mimicking the conversation in the car, and the silent view of Statham talking to the girl. Sound bridges are used so Green's voice is overlayed onto the conversation we can see Statham having, and the cutting is sharp and precise between the mid shot of Green and the two shot of Statham and the girl. The editing is intended to make the scene seem as if it is in real time. Eyeline matching is further used when we see a POV shot from Green's perspective. Statham turns round and looks directly at the camera (or Green's eyes), which creates continuity as we believe both these characters are together in this parking lot. Green's eyeline also stays the same as he watches Statham with disbelief at his ability to pick up girls.

After analysing this very small scene, it is easy to see how important continuity is in film making. It is something which, if it works, is barely recognisable. However, if it doesn't, a film seems very very amatuer and highly unrealistic, as the success of most films relies on the fact that they can suspend the audience within the film's world, and convincingly depict a story.

Todorov and Levi-Strauss

Todorov's Theory

1) The main agent, or protagonist of this film is Douglas Carlin, played by Denzel Washington. The antagonist is kept a secret for the opening scene, as the movie is a thriller and presumably more will be revealed as the film develops.

2) Many establishing shots of the boat and celebrations are used, to give a sense of scale to the film and show the large ensemble cast. The equilibrium is shown through the joyous celebrations of the people and generally happy tone. The film begins with a long montage over the titles, mostly with large scale establishing shots, cutting between groups of extras so the audience can feel the scale of this celebration which is occuring.

3) The equilibrium is disrupted only five minutes into the movie, before the protagonist is even introduced, with the explosion of the boat. Daunting music hints at this disruption from the beginning of the movie.

4) In this sequence, the protagonists journey is left highly ambiguous, for effect. It is revealed immediately he is a federal officer of some kind, as his car pulls up and we see the logo beloging to his organization emphasized heavily.

5) I haven't actually seen the film, and the only suggestion of the future of the film is that the disaster with the boat will be averted by the protagonist.

Levi-Strauss's Theory

1) The genre of the film is action fantasy. The signifiers are introduced when the main character falls under the ice and inexplicably seems to teleport straight into a library. The film is also introduced with a voice over from the main character, who is telling the story of how 'it happened for the first time'. This lets the audience know the focus of the film will be the fact this character can teleport, and how it changes his life.

2) The main character of the film is called David Rice, played by Hayden Christensen. It is clear he is the main character from the start, as it is his voiceover which accompanies the opening of the film. Another main character is Millie Harris, played by Rachel Bilson, who is the romantic interest of the film.

3) The main theme of the film is the fact that David can teleport to any location of his choice. It is introduced primarily with his voice over, and he speaks about 'the first time it happened', before the audience actually see's this event. It is clear from the setup, and unusual nature of this power, that it will become the main focus of the film.

4) The narrative at the beginning shows the conflicts raging from the main character. He has a poor relationship with his father, shown through the fights and distance between them in their first scene together. His mother has been missing for years, as well. We can also see that this character is awkward with girls, as he is shy around his crush, Millie Harris. More conflict is set up with a bully character, who provokes him and is actually the reason David discovers his power to jump. All these conflicts are set up almost immediately, and will no doubt evolve or be resolved by the end of the film. There is another major conflict present in the film, that of Samuel L. Jackson's character- however, this is not introduced or even mentioned in the opening sequence of the movie.

Continuity

Continuity is a massive part of making a film successful. Lots of effort and time is spent by many people to assure the films flows logically, with the intention of suspending the audience's disbelief for the length of the film. If the continuity of a film is good, you will not even notice any effort has been put in.

Different continuity techniques include:

- Using the camera. The camera shots must be selected and edited together in a logical order, to keep the audience included. For example, if a film jumps around between very long shots and extreme close ups a lot, it can be confusing to the audience and have a jarring effect.

- Editing techniques. A narrative flow needs to be established in a film, and most of this work takes place in the editing room. Without a seamless flow between shots and between scenes, the audience does not feel intergrated with the films action, story and characters.

- The 180 degrees rule. We all know what this means!

- The 30 degrees rule. This rule is intended to avoid odd 'jumps' between shots. Basically, if a shot is within a 30 degree angle of another, they should not be edited together one after another. It seems odd and jumpy, and sometimes unintentional.

- Eyeline matching. Keeping the eyelines of the characters the same between shots creates the illusion that they are standing still and makes the scenes more believable. Otherwise it may seem as if their height is changing, or, if in a two person conversation, it can seem as if they are looking in different directions each shot.

- Keeping lighting and sound at a controlled, even level. Problems can occur easily as different shots will have different sound levels or lighting levels, and can look and sound strange once edited together.


These techniques are going to be very vital for our film making process. They are not suggestions, but rules that you need to follow in order to make a film which seems professional and believable to the audience. Without these rules, it looks very amatuer. Saying that, it is not unacceptable to break the rules once in a while, as long as it is for an intended purpose or audience response.

Either way, you must get to grips with the rules before breaking them, and only break them for a reason!

Storyboarding

Why is storyboarding an essential part of the film making process?

- It enables the director to visualize the scene before shooting

- It helps the director make decisions on sequences of shots, movements of actors, along with camera and lighting directions.

- It establishes the narrative flow of the film, how the shots will link from one to the next. Storyboards try to represent as best as they can what the finished footage will look like on screen.


'P' is for Psycho'

a) In the opening sequence, we see a man washing his hands of blood in a bathroom, presumably from a previous victim. A boy enters the room, and the man puts a gun into his belt. As the boy comes in, the man turns and apparently shoots him.

b) The narrative flow is established quickly. We begin with an establishing shot of a toilet, with low key lighting and a gloomy mood. The film immediately sets up the tone of the scene, which is continued as the blood is seen draining down the sink. The narrative is clear, focusing on the man in the toilet, with a brief shot on the boy who enters behind the man. The gun is another massive sign which reveals the tone of the movie to the audience, and the fact that the child is seemingly shot at the end will leave the audience wanting to know more.

c) If directing this sequence, i would extend it slightly, in order to build more suspense and tension. It would have more shots of the boy sneaking in, at low angles, and claustrophobic close ups to try and signify the fear of the boy.

Narrative theory

Deja Vu Opening Sequence (< Click here!)

(only the first 8 minutes)

The film opening i chose to analyse is Deja Vu (Scott, 2006) starring Denzel Washington. It's a crime thriller, but also includes elements of science-fiction, as time travel plays a large role in the film. The story is set in New Orleans, over the course of one day in the life of Agent Doug Carlin, played by Denzel Washington.

In the first 8 minutes of the film, we see Mardi Gras celebrations taking place in New Orleans, and a large ship full of sailors and their families being taken to a celebration. We also see someone working on the boat, who investigates a car which had had it's radio left on while stationary on the ship. It turns out the car has a bomb inside, which explodes, completely destroying the entire boat and seemingly killing everyone inside. Choas ensues, and we see an official looking car pull up to the scene, and Denzel Washington steps out, beginning to survey the situation.

The events do link together in this opening sequence. It is all surrounding this large boat full of sailors which then explodes. The film then continues to straight afterwards, introducing Denzel Washington to the audience.

The film reveals immediately that he is an officer of the law (of some kind), as he pulls up in a squad car when we first see him. He is also wearing a uniform. He is given an emphasized introduction, which lets the audience know he will probably be the hero of this movie. He doesn't have a single line of dialogue and yet the film establishes a lot about the character very quickly.

In terms of story, the film keeps things very ambiguous. In the opening scene, there is no explanation of any kind as to what has really happened to make this boat explode, who is responsible, or any kind of plot the film will involve. After finding out later on that the film involves time travel, i can certainly say there was no implication of this direction being followed in the opening sequence to the film.

The audience needs to know nothing after watching the opening sequence of Deja Vu. It is deliberately vague, leaving lots unanswered for the audience to find out. Overall, i really like this sequence. It is really intruiging, and leaves the audience (myself included) begging for more, and to find out what is really going on.