Children Of Men

Children of Men, released in 2006; exemplifies many different filming and editing techniques that contribute to setting the scene of the film. The four main factors that influence the mood of the film are mise en scene, sound, cinematography and editing. The film is set in 2027 and is a story about how the world’s population can only decrease when humans become infertile and the world hasn’t seen a birth in over eighteen years.

 Based on the first five minutes on the film, it appears to be a Sci-Fi movie including elements of both an action and a thriller. This could be assumed as there is an explosion early on in the film and explosions feature in many action movies, the film also includes deaths, dark colouring and even a woman missing a limb.

Theo the protagonist of the film, played by Clive Owen; is not initially portrayed as a heroic character, however, it is easy for the viewer to grasp that Theo plays a leading role as throughout the first five minutes of the film he is continuously in the centre of shots and is the only character who has spoken at this point. Theo’s character does not fit all of our established ideas of what a hero should be; this is mostly due to his ordinariness and the careless image he depicts. After the first five minutes the audience could conclude that he plays a character that is not typically heroic but has the status thrusted upon him.

Children of men is based in North West London, this area is portrayed negatively, as dull and depressing, this is done through mise en scene, the objects, actors and scenery are coloured in darker shades like grey and blue. Mise en scene is used to suggest the time, location and situation to the audience; for example, time is represented by the actors dressed in work attire packed into a coffee shops, this automatically suggests the audience that scene is set in the morning of a working day. The situation of the scene is set by the deflated mood throughout the first few shots, this mood in created mainly by the use of dull colours, however it also shown through the objects shown on the desks of the office workers who has such as toys and small cricket ornaments, this could suggest to the audience that these middle-aged working class characters are wanting to live in the past, away from this, what seems to be dingy and dark. In the opening shot we see a group of people gathered in a coffee shop, the extras used are also part of mise en scene as actors are often chosen for specific ages or appearances etc. This is relevant as in Children of Men the group gathered in the coffee shop are of a range of ages showing that what is being shown on the television screen in the coffee shop is of interest to a wider range of people. Although the film is set years in the future,  mise en scene is used to portray London in an old fashioned way; besides the advanced technology shown through objects such as floating televisions, transportation such as rickshaws are shown on the streets of London, this is a suggestions that although the film is set in the future, the world has taken a step backwards.

Sound also influences the mood of the scene; the film starts with a voice over of the news playing over a black screen; this encourages the viewers to listen to what is being said as there are no distractions, it also helps to set the mood of the opening scene and the seriousness of the situation occurring. The use of non-diegetic sound massively influences the mood of the scene, after Theo leaves the coffee shop sad music plays, the director has done this to subtly but surely set the gloomy mood in the scene. Noises such as the explosion and the high pitched ringing that follows are sounds that aren't originally shot in the scene, but added in later when the film is being edited. 

Cinematography influences the way the audience view the film as different camera work can show a different point of view. In Children of Men the camera in the first few shots appears to be handheld to reflect a human’s point of view. This is made clearer to the viewer as the camera follows Theo leaving the coffee shop and also reacts to the explosion in a human like manner by abruptly turning and running towards the scene of the incident. This makes the filming of the movie a lot more like a documentary; this is unusual for a major feature film as they are usually filmed in a more professional manner. This style of filming could have been used to show a more personal view to the audience to help them grasp the feelings of Theo and the general mood of the film. 

The movie was made by Universal Pictures, this would affect audience appeal as it is a major producer of motion pictures. Due to the events that occurred in the first five minutes of footage, it can be assumed that this film is aimed mainly at males aged from young adults to retirees. This is because a male would appreciate the action and thrill that the film provides and being an adult would make the film more understandable with themes such as infertility; this theme however could also influence an expansion in the target audience as it may be of interest to more females.

 

Today's Lesson: Editing

What I learnt in today's lesson
In today's lesson we studied the importance of editing in film making. We watched numerous extracts from movies and music videos, analysing the difference in number of shots and how this makes an impact on the scene. For example, when a sequence of short shots are used it adds intensity and excitement to the footage. This music video we looked at in our lesson today is a good example of how lots of short shots can make the video more exciting.

Sound in Mulan

Film summary- 
Based on a Chinese folk-tale, Mulan is a young high-spirited girl who tries hard to please her parents but always feels like she is disappointing them. Her father is drafted into the army which amounts to certain death because of his old age. Mulan disguises herself as a man and takes her father's place in battle, guided by a guardian dragon, Mushu. At the height of her success her secret is revealed and she is banished from home. But, undaunted she fights and defeats enemy invaders and saves the Emperor, bringing great honor to her family.

Sound in the opening scene- 
The opening scene of 'Mulan' exemplifies both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. At the start of this extract, the only sound heard is the backing music which sets the scene, this is an example of non-diegetic sound. Examples of diegetic sound in this scene are the sound of the bird, the voices of the characters and the sounds made by objects in the story (e.g the door opening,, the fire burning etc). 

Diegetic and Non-diegetic sounds

Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame. It is any sound presented as originated from sources within the film's world, for example: 

• voices of characters 
• sounds made by objects in the story 
• music (that is coming from instruments in the story- not backing music) 

Here is an example from the movie Mean Girls

Non-diegetic Sound

Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story space. Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: 

• narrator's commentary
• sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
• mood music

Here is an example from the movie Jaws

Mise en Scene- 'The Last King of Scotland'

In yesterdays lesson, we watched a clip from the movie 'The Last King of Scotland.' The short clip displayed two cleverly used techniques to show Nicholas Garrigans journey and the contrast between to the two places; 

Colour-
 The colour creates the atmosphere in the scene, and helps the viewer to gain an understanding of the setting. In this particular extract of the film colour is used to represent the differences between the two different settings in the film. 

Journey- 
Nicholas Garrigans journey is shown through a montage of videos giving the viewer the impression that they are literally following him on his journey, however in an interview, Michael Carlin stated that the shots were filmed in several different locations.