Narrative Analysis "Curfew" (2012) I will be applying Roland Barthes's narrative theory to the 2012 short film "Curfew" directed by Shawn Christensen. Roland Barthes believe a text is either open (which is that it's open for interpretation) or clones (which means there is just one obvious meaning in the text. If a text is open, Barthes suggests these 5 following codes can be used to unlock the meaning of a text: Enigma Code Action Code Semantic Code Symbolic Code Referential Code Most texts will follow at least a few of these codes, if not all and they're all used to drive the narrative forward in different ways. The enigma code is an unanswered question, a mystery. Clues will be given throughout the text for the mystery to be resolved and the effect of the enigma makes the audience want to know more. Unresolved enigmas tend to frustrate an audience but also makes a text open for interpretation. The action code is there to crea...
Editing! Q1: The cut is the most basic editing techniques and is essentially cutting from one shot to another. Q2: The purpose of the cut is to change the perspective and to advance the story. Q3: Cutting in action is cutting a scene whilst the subject still is in motion. Q4: Cutting in action is often used on punches and kicks but can be as simple as a character turning or someone walking through a door. Q5: Cut away is when you cut to an insert shot and then back. Q6: The purpose of a cut away is to show that something is a part of the same diegesis or e.g showing what's going o in a character's head. Q7: Cross cutting is when the editor intercuts between locations. Most phone conversations in films are usually cross cut. Q8: When cross cutting is used effectively it can amp up the tension and suspense in a sequence. It's also used to show what's going on in a character's head. Q9: Jump cuts is when the editor cuts between the same shot and is usually us...
Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) vs The Lady from Shanghai (Welles, 1947) These are screenshots from one of the romantic scenes in each film. The setting in both scenes are very dark but with different sorts of lighting. The lighting in BR shines through some blinds which is a characteristic in classic film noir. In TLFS the lighting is high contrast low-key lighting which is basically the film noir lighting. In TLFS they use a soft focus which they don't use in BR. As you can see in the two screenshots there is a similar use of camera angles, two over the shoulder shots. In the scene the women are both very vulnerable, being overpowered by their men.
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