Opening sequence of shutter island...

In class we looked at the opening sequence of Shutter Island to establish how the genre was portrayed, and how we have an idea of the narrative through just the opening sequence.

How do we know what genre of film this is? What visual, aural signifiers are there to indicate this? We know from the opening sequence that this film is going to be within the genre of a thriller because of different reasons. Aurally the music throughout is very tenion building/suspernsory music, a common genre of music used in thrillers to evoke fear and suspense, this is done through the use of Contrepuntal, non-diegetic music, this lets us know that we are going to be thrilled by this film, reinforcing the thriller genre. Visually the lighting is quite dark and slightly sepia toned to provide and eeryiness to again avoke the emotion of fear. Also we know it is going to be a thriller as we see men dressed as police men holing weapons/guns, this signifies violence and crime a common factor of all thrillers. This is again reinforced when we see the prisoners tied with chains around the ankles. Use of the different camera shots helps us to solve the enigma.

How does the opening sequence establish the narrative of the film? How are we introduced to the characters, and in what way? What does this tell us about them?

The opening sequence of the film establishes the narrative, by showing us the characters surroundings, we know that the characters are in a mental prison, through the setting of the secluded building. The actors movements and gestures help establish what sort of characters they are which gives us more information into the narrative, for example, when we see the character played by Leonardo Dicaprio, taking out his gun, we see that his partner has difficulty taking his out, this suggests to us that he is probably not infact a real detective, which later on in the film is a vital part of the narrative. The use of status helps us to identify the characters and the narrative, as when we are introduced to the police men we see that they are in charge of the people through the gates of the secluded building, this lets us know that it is probably in prison, as the police men are in charge of every one else. From the begining we see that they are even in charge of the two detectives as he tells them to give them their guns. This suggests that they have higher status than the two detectives and they are in charge, and this would not usually be the case. This is infact a hidden piece of information, as we establish later on in the film, that the police men really are in charge of the two detectives for certain resons which are soon revealed.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAZXtB80p1I -Here is a link to the

Learning the basics on the camera and other settings...

Today we learnt how to do the basics on the camera and how to set up the tripod professionally. First you make the tripod taller to what height you want it keeping in mind that you do it from the lowest legs and tightening the catches on the legs.

Once you have done that you have to ‘bubble it’ which is where you match the bubble in the middle of the circle. This tells you that the platform is straight and that when you put the camera on the shot isn’t wonky. To make sure this is secured you tighten it by screwing the catch directly beneath the platform.

Now the tripod is steady to put the camera into place, at the bottom of the camera there is a thing which is specially designed to fit into place. You slide the bottom of it into the top of the tripod whilst holding the button on the side which allows it to slide off and on, and it should click into place. Once you have heard the click you tighten the catch on the side so the camera will not fall off. Then just to check, you give the camera a little shake to make sure it won’t come off.

Moving on to the camera side of it, we learnt how to change the white balance. To do this you point the camera on to something white in the room so you are able to capture the lighting and the darkness in the room. This is essential because if you don’t do this all the colours in the shot look strange and not what we are meant to be seeing.

We also learnt how to change how many frames there are per second. A camera is usually set to 50 frames per second, however sometimes this is changed to create and effect in the scenes. The frames are changes to 250 frames per second in the opening of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ where they are coming in on the landing crafts on to the beach.

There is also a sunglasses mode where you can change the setting of the camera that when you are filming outside and it is sunny, it will darken the lens making it adjust to the light.

Also on the screen there is information that tells you how much battery you have left and there is a time code which tells you how much you have filmed it also tells you how much space is taken up. In the bottom right there something that tells you how loud an how much the mics are picking up.

We learnt how to use the zoom and the focus on the camera. There are two wheels on the nose of the camera and the one at the front is the zoom. There is also another way of using the zoom which is located on the top of the camera. It looks and acts like a seesaw, if you push it forwards the camera zooms in and if you push it backwards it zooms out. Anyway to focus your shot you need to zoom all the way into something in the room and hen focus on it, then zoom out.

We also got told why there are two recording buttons, well to be specific more about the one on the top. This is there because you are doing a hand held camera shot or when you are doing a low shot.

Photoshop

The main things I learnt in Photoshop was how to use the main tools in Photoshop. I first learnt about a tool called the Lasso tool which enables you to cut finely around any image within the picture and do cool strange things to the thing in the picture you have selected. What I learned to do was to hold down Alt and click around the image you want to select very accurately.

Another tool I learnt to use was a tool called the dodge tool. This tool allows you to change the colour of the thing you have selected to white. Within this tool there are two more tools which are the burn tool and the sponge tool. . I used this tool when I was turning someone into a zombie. I turned the person’s eyes white on the picture.

 The burn tool allows you to change the image you have selected and subtly darken it and if you keep clicking on the image, it gets darker and darker until you can’t see anything. On the same picture as above I darkened the picture around their eyes giving him a look of scariness.

The other tool is called the sponge tool. This tool brings forward the colour of the picture wherever you are clicking it. I used this tool on the veins of the zombie picture to make him look freaky.

Photography

Photography brings a visual language that is universal in understanding. We must then understand its vocabulary which consists of shapes, textures, patterns, lines, colours, shade of light to dark and sharp to blurry images. Just as we must learn to arrange words in a coherent order in order to make sense when we write or speak, so too must we put visual elements together in an organized manner if our photographs are to convey their meaning clearly and vividly.

Composition means arrangement: the orderly putting together of parts to make a unified whole; composition through a personal, intuitive act. However, there are basic principles that govern the way visual elements behave and interact when you combine them inside the four borders of a photograph. Once we have sharpened our vision and grasped these basic ideas of principles, then we will have the potential for making our photographs more exciting and effective than ever before.

About my self...

Hi im Hector McAlister, I am a media student at Hurtwood House. I chose Meadia because i have made small films and music for a hobby for a long time. My faveroute film is the Business because i like the way the film is directed. I am also really into to dance music and I am a DJ. I have Djed and Ministry of Sound and other clubs abroad.