Media Language

This task was to learn media vocabulary and apply them to movie openings.

Camera
Frame - extreme close up, close up, middle shot, medium long shot, long shot, extreme long shot.
Angle - birds-eye, high angle, level, low angle, worms-eye view.
Movement - pan left, pan right, tracking, static, zoom, whip pan, drone, helicopter shot, handheld.

Sound
Music
Contrapuntal
Diegetic/Non-diegetic
Off-screen/On-screen
Voice over
Emotion
Dialogue

Mise En Scene
Costume
Lighting - high key, low key, natural light.
Actors
Make-up
Props
Setting - place, weather, time, date.

Editing
Screen time
Transitions
Order of narrative
Place
Special effects

Boyz n the Hood Opening Analysis




'Boyz n the hood' is a drama about a young black boy that lives in Los Angeles. In the opening scenes he is seen walking to school with some friends. On the way to school they stop off at a crime scene. The scene then transitions into the classroom at school where the teacher is teaching her students History. The young boy, Tre, is rude to his teacher who then suggests that he comes to the front of the room to teach the class. After explaining that all human originate from Africa, he gets into an argument with another student and it becomes physical. His teacher then phones his mother to explain what happened but ends up insulting her. Tre's mother explains that he will not be returning to school because he is going to live with his father.
The children in the opening which are walking to school see a crime scene with blood flooding the floor. This is something that you would not usually expect a child to see on their way to school. The children seem very interested in this find and not at all 'bothered' by it. This could suggest that this was a regular thing for them to see, and while they are still intrigued, it is not particularly shocking.
In the opening, African Americans are represented in a negative way. First with the fact about them killing each other at the beginning, and then showing the audience black people being violent with each other.
Medium long shots are used when tracking the children as they walk to school. This clearly shows the audience how many children are their and their location. Close ups and middle shots are used often when a character is talking or their reaction is being recorded. Close ups are also used to focus on the children's drawings in the classroom. The drawings represent the horrible lives the children are living as you can see the violence within the drawings.
A key icon in the opening is the police tape. There is no focus brought to it but is a subtle hint that the community is under pressure and violence and is not a pleasant place to live.
Sound is used frequently to give the audience signs that a key theme in the film is violence. At the start you can hear a young boy saying that his brother had been shot and killed. You can also hear gun shots (something that will cause harm to people), a helicopter (used by the police in emergencies) and a police radio.
The editing also hints at this as a fade transition is used between the crime scene and the classroom, showing that the violence from the outside world is able to enter the classroom environment and the lines between the two are blurred. Straight cutting is used within the scenes which gives them a realistic finish.