Haywire scene analysis

Haywire:

1.      Blue reflection on the car window.

·        Camera – Close-up of characters’ face and shoulders.

·        Lighting – Blue reflections are connotations of calm, coldness or sadness.

·        Editing – Slightly slower cuts.

·        Mise-en-scene – Tree reflection in the window…isolated location?

·        Sound – Non diegetic instrumental, ominous feel, isolated.

2.      Broken glass on the floor and close up of a dead body.

·        Camera – Worms eye view/close-up. Shallow depth of field drawing attention to the glass and the body, concealing identities. Dutch angle when the female character is in the bathroom, showing that she may be the murderer or have something to hide.

·        Lighting – Low key, yellow tint with connotations of happiness.

·        Editing – Parallel editing, showing that the two scenes are happening at the same time.

·        Mise-en-scene – Female character is shown having a shower, possibly cleaning the evidence from her crime. Clothes and a women’s shoe on the floor, showing that she may be a dangerous female/femme fatale. Close-up on the male’s phone (Blackberry), showing the male could be a businessman. Female character has a cut on her thumb, linking back to the male’s murder. She is wearing a hat, concealing her identity.

·        Sound – Non diegetic, long drawn out notes.

3.      Woman phones man and he answers phone.

·        Camera – High angle then low angle, showing his lack of power and then his rise to power once answering the phone. Backwards tracking.

·        Lighting – Half of his face is in shadow, showing that he may be untrustworthy.

·        Editing – Straight cuts, parallel editing.

·        Mise-en-scene – Male is wearing formal clothes, showing he may be wealthy or in a position of power.

·        Sound – Non diegetic music, diegetic speech

4.      House.

·        Camera – Low camera angle, showing the importance of the house.

·        Lighting – Low key lighting. The house is well lit. The characters identity is initially slightly concealed by light. House is well lit inside, showing that it may be a safe place.

·        Editing – Straight cuts.

·        Mise-en-scene – No other light sources, showing the location could be isolated.

·        Sound – Non-diegetic instrumental music. Diegetic phone ringing.

5.      Woman walking down the street.

·        Camera – Tracking shot in front and behind her. Point of view shot. Tracking from behind, allowing the viewer to feel like they are following her, feeling more involved in the storyline.

·        Lighting – Even outdoors, the lighting is still fairly low key.

·        Editing – Straight cuts, sense of realism.

·        Mise-en-scene – Clothing disguises her face and she blends in with her surroundings. Location is in a foreign country as the car licence plates are reversed.

·        Sound – Diegetic bleeping noise, making the viewer aware of the danger, that she is being followed.

Jane Eyre - Summer film

My favourite film over the summer was the 2011 adaption of Jane Eyre. The film was released on 11thMarch 2011 in the US, and 9th September in Great Britain and Ireland. The cast stars accredited actors, including Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench and Jamie Bell. The screenplay of the film was written by Moira Buffini, based on the 1847 novel by Charlotte Bronte.
I first saw the film in the cinema, when it was first released in the UK, but I hadn't watched it in a couple of years and my main memory of the film was positive, therefore I decided to re-watch it. In 2006, a television adaption of the novel was aired on BBC, in a four part series, starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. The series was nominated for numerous awards and won 4. I watched this series when it was first aired on television, and was apprehensive as to whether the film would compare to the television adaption, having also read the book before watching the television series and the film. Having read many Bronte books previously, this encouraged me to watch the film, sceptical as to whether I would enjoy it and how it would compare to the novel in my personal opinion.
The casting of the film was chosen very well in my opinion. Mia Wasikowska plays Jane wonderfully, with the northern accent, plainness and strong willed character that Charlotte Bronte intended. However, the Edward Rochester character, played by Michael Fassbender was intended to be stern and not particularly handsome in appearance. Fassbender plays the role to a high standard; however as an actor who has modelled for Vogue and GQ, more of an effort could have been to make his appearance slightly closer to the original idea of the character.
The mise-en-scene of the film was exceptional in my opinion, up keeping the era that the novel was set in, such as period costumes, buildings, the location that the film was set in e.g. moors, countryside and the manor house, and even small but noticeable features such as speech and dialect. The film emphasised gothic elements of the classic novel, including features such as furniture and lighting, as the scenes filmed at night are lit in the frame by candlelight. The music is also fitted in well with the film, as tense and emotional scenes include classical compositions, which is also upkeeping of the era. The camera angles feature a mix, with high camera angles when Jane’s auntie is ill, showing her lack of power and sickness, and low camera angles for Edward Rochester, as he shows power and authority over Jane and his servants, however when he is standing with his suitor, Miss Ingram, they are equal and the camera angle is even as they are both identical in power and wealth, he then kneels down, so she is above him, showing her dominance and control.

Overall, in my opinion, the film had wonderful qualities and technical features, such as camera angles and mise-en-scene. Although I felt that some aspects could have been improved, such as the appearance of Mr Rochester, as the character is originally intended to be not particularly handsome, although Michael Fassbender plays the role brilliantly.

The Lone Ranger success

The 2013 film, The Lone Ranger is an American western action film, produced by Walt Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. The cast features Hollywood accredited names such as, Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter and James Badge Dale.
Budget: The film was inundated with production issues and financial worries, which at one part led to the premature cancellation of the film, with the film grossing a total of $239 million worldwide, against a $225 million production budget, making the profit low in comparison, as the profit amounted to $14 million, with half of that going to the cinemas. The film underperformed in its opening weekend, with many media sources calling it a ‘box office flop’ and comparing it to the film John Carter, which was a big-budgeted Disney film that failed commercially in 2012. In comparison with Despicable Me 2, which opened the same week, The Lone Ranger earned just under a third of the money.
Critics and reviews: Reviews were mostly negative, especially from critics in the US. With comments such as “bland script, bloated length, and blaring action overkill” and “misshapen mess, a stillborn franchise loaded with metaphors for its feeble attempts to amuse, excite and entertain”. Outside of the US, reviews were mixed and positive, with Empire magazine giving the film four stars, finding “real storytelling, well thought-out and beautifully, at times insanely, executed, with excitement, laughs and fun”. Johnny Depp and Jerry Bruckheimer blamed critics for the films failure, with Depp suggesting that the movies performance was hobbled by unfair expectations and bad reviews, many of which were drafted before its US premiere. “(The critics) had expectations that it must be a blockbuster. I don’t have any expectations of that. I never do.”
Timing: The timing of the film release could also be a contributing factor of the lack of success of the film. With already negative and mixed reviews, the public may see the reviews and choose a different better rated film to watch instead. With films such as Despicable Me 2, The Wolverine, The Smurfs 2 and Monsters University to contend with, which were all shown at cinemas at the same time, and all have raving reviews, it was predictable to many from early on that The Lone Ranger would be unsuccessful.
Audience: The film was made by Walt Disney productions, with a usual target audience of children and families. However the action science-fiction film was not the usual type of film to be made by Disney, resulting in a fall of viewings. With more family orientated films such as Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 to contend with, it appeared clear which films families and young children would rather watch instead.
Release: The Lone Ranger faced many setbacks in the release date. The film’s release was initially planned for mid-2011, which was then shifted to December 2012, but budget concerns changed the release date once more to May 2013, but production delays meant that the film was not going to be ready for the planned date, but finally the film was released on the 4th of July 2013. However the film was met with more negative than positive reviews. Depp states that the reviews had already been written by critics before the release and the expectations were too high, possibly because of the setbacks and the constantly changing release date, this may have caused people to lose faith in the film?