Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Media Definitions
Coined by French film critics (especially Nino Frank in 1946) who noticed the trend of dark and downbeat the themes of many American crime and detective films were following the War (although not all Noir films are crime/detective.)
Examples of some of the first recognised Noir films are: The Maltease Falcon (1941), Murder, My Sweet (1944) and The Woman In The Window (1944).
Strictly speaking, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style, point-of-view, or tone of a film. It is also helpful to realize that 'film noir' usually refers to a distinct historical period of film history - the decade of film-making after World War II
(http://www.filmsite.org/)
FEMME FATALE:
1. A woman of great seductive charm who leads men into compromising or dangerous situations.
2. An alluring, mysterious woman.
(www.thefreedictionary.com)
MISOGYNY:
The hatred or extreme dislike of women.
(www.thefreedictionary.com)
Audience Research
Thanks to my survey, I also discovered that it is true that those that go to the cinema the most earn the most money, however this isn't always the case (the participant that went to the cinema the most (once a week) earnt between £101-£200, whereas some participants that earned up to £500 admitted that they 'hardly ever' went to the cinema.
In my questionnaire, I asked participants about their favourite genre of film and music. However, I was unable to gather enough data to make reliable links between the two. There was a hint of a correlation that I saw, which was that many people who said they favoured Alternative music also said that their favourite genre of movie to watch was 'horror.'
My research wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, as I had no time to take to the streets of Norwich to ask people to complete my survey - therefore it was done by only people in my age rage and by a small sample of participants. If I'd had the chance, I would have liked to looked further into the connections between movie and music genres, and also whether those that were taken or had children went to the cinema more often.
My Survey Questions:
Gender:
Male ( ) Female ( )
Age:
13-15 ( ) 16-18 ( ) 19-25 ( ) 26-29 ( ) 30+ ( )
Marital Status:
Single ( ) Taken ( ) Married ( ) Married with Children ( )
Who do you normally come to the cinema with?
On my own ( ) With Friends ( ) With my Partner ( ) With my Children ( )
What is your favourite genre of film?
Romance ( ) Horror ( ) Thriller ( ) Comedy ( ) Rom-Com ( ) Action ( ) Chick Flick ( )
Childrens ( ) Musicals ( ) Adventure ( ) Crime ( ) History ( ) Sci-Fi ( ) War ( )
Westerns ( ) Other _______
How much money fo you earn a month?
Pocket Money only ( ) Under £100 ( ) £101-£200 ( ) £201-£500 ( ) £501-£1000 ( )
Over £1000 ( )
How often do you go to the cinema?
Hardly Ever ( ) Once a month ( ) Once a fortnight ( ) Once a week ( ) More than once a week ( )
How do you hear about the films you go to see?
Trailers ( ) Internet ( ) Peers ( ) Reviews ( ) Radio ( ) Magazine/Newspaper ( )
Posters ( ) Interviews ( ) Merchandise ( ) Billboards ( ) Other______
How do you prefer to watch films?
Cinema ( ) DVD ( ) Computer ( ) TV ( ) Other______
What is your favourite genre of music out of the answers provided?
Pop ( ) Rock ( ) RnB ( ) Drum and Bass ( ) Alternative ( ) Metal ( ) Rap ( )
'Ambition' Perfume Advertisement and Analysis.
My perfume advert shows a locket on the foreground of a British flag with a photo of a couple inside. I wanted to infuse a number of different items onto the advertisement as I believed that it would add some depth.
I used a simple photo of a British flag and edited it to make it look unique and almost dreamy. I wanted to make it look different, as I believe the way I edited it makes it looks more edgy – which insinuates that the perfume being advertised will give you an edge over everybody else and make you stand out. The ‘dreamy’ aspect of the flag goes along with the theme of the advert which is telling the consumer to have a ‘dream’ or an ‘ambition.’
I then decided to use a locket as the main feature of my article, as lockets hold the connotations of special or cherished memories. Again, the colour of the locket (gold) gives the customer an implication of wealth – something which many people are ambitious about. I believed that using a locket would be a good idea as it gives the idea that this perfume will help you to achieve things that are worth holding on to or cherishing.
The photo inside the locket was originally a photo of a couple in a park/field kissing. I edited the photo a lot because I decided that I wanted to put my own mark on it. First, I decided to cut out the couple so that I could choose which part of the background they would stand on – I decided that I should put them under a tree as I believe that it shows the beautiful nature of the world (or England) and it also contrasts with the colours of the flag, therefore drawing the eyes of the consumer towards the main feature of the advert.
As you can see, I have smudged the background in the photo. There are many reasons for my decision behind this – the biggest being that I wanted to carry on the ‘dream’ theme of the advert. It almost makes it seem as though it hasn’t happened – which could imply that it is somebody else’s dream or ambition – something which they wish they can achieve which again tells us that everybody has a dream.
Another main reason behind doing this was the fact that it goes with my slogan of the advert: ‘Do it how you want’ (which admittedly, could be better but I couldn’t think of another phrase that would say what I wanted that hadn’t already been taken by a famous product. I believe that the way the background in the locket almost looks surreal connotes that the purchaser can do whatever they want or alter their world in whichever way they wish to and will have the power to with the product being advertised.
At first I wanted to leave the figures as they were to show that the dream or ambition of the consumer was achievable, however thanks to the light in the original photo, it didn’t stand out very much and was slightly hard to see thanks to the edited background. I decided to darken the couple as I believe it makes them stand out, and also slightly makes them look like silhouettes – which can hold connotations of a sunset or a ‘happy-ever-after.’
I then went on to write the name of the perfume on my ad. I decided to use the Stencil font as it holds connotations of an army or strict regiment which implies there is no ‘mucking around.’ This suggests that the perfume will help give the customer determination and again, the power to achieve their goal. I had to have a background to the name and slogan, as there was no other way it would have been clear to read it. However, I found it difficult to choose a colour, in the end I decided to use the same green that was in the main photo as I believed it showed continuity (that the people could follow their ambition through to the end) and also carried on the theme of nature/beauty.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Dolan's Cadillac Analysis - Ending. (DRAFT)
Director: Jeff Beesley
2009
Company: Cadillac Prairie Productions
User Comment:
“I found surprisingly little to gripe about and actually one or two additions that I found impressive. Christian Slater seems to be enjoying his part without turning it camp and Beesley manages to convey some real human emotions without seeming to reach for the Oscars. In this sort of movie, restraint is just as important as ideas, seeing as how countless thrillers just go overboard on a desperate quest for "impact". The cinematography and sound engineering stand up to scrutiny and the minor parts are well executed. In short, this one works.”
User Rating: 5.8/10
Dolans Cadillac is a movie about the main characters’ drive for revenge after his wife has been murdered. The audience follows Rogerson as he attempts to find a way to get back at Jimmy Dolan - and thanks to the music, camera angles and various brilliant mise-en-scenes, by the end of the film, the audience is completely on Rogerson’s side, despite the fact he ends up slightly crazy.

The end of the film is extremely effective, and Beesley has included many signifiers of the thriller genre in this particular part of the film. Rogerson has tricked Dolan’s driver onto a road that will collapse, and results in the driver dying, one of the men to get seriously injured and Dolan to get extremely mad. In this part of the movie, the camera tracks Dolan’s car driving down an isolated road (pictured), the black colour of the Cadillac contrasting with the subtle, dull colours of the fields around it. The fact that he is driving down an isolated road is a generic signifier, although it is the exact opposite of the classic signifier of a claustrophobic space, an isolated field can be just as scary as there will be nobody around to help or see you. Another reason an isolated space can be seen as a signifier is also that there is nowhere to hide, The car almost symbolises the evil of Dolan, and the looming shadow it casts shows how it can be intimidating and also how out of place it is – such a big, ‘city’ car on a small, inoffensive and dull coloured country road. Looming shadows are yet another signifier of the genre in question.

We then see a close up of Rogerson watching as the car falls through the road (pictured.) The close up, here, is extremely effective as we can see the emotion and his reaction to what he has done. Close-ups is a shot that is frequently used within the genre, this is for many reasons: for one, the audience can clearly see the emotion of the character, and secondly, when there is a close up, it is impossible to see what is around or behind the character (unless a close-up is used like above) and therefore raise the tension. Consequently, it seems that there is no remorse but only aggression on Rogerson's face. The mud we see on his cheeks could symbolise how he is ‘dirty,’ or that he is doing something that is lowering him to the level of Dolan. Rogerson is not centered in this shot, and we can see the road-works warning sign behind him. This is extremely significant, as it warns us of what has happened – it could also be a warning that he has become slightly insane.
For the rest of the movie, Dolan is stuck in an enclosed space, unable to get out – this is a big conventional signifier of a thriller movie, and is used by many great directors (such as Tarantino in Kill Bill 2 etc.) In this movie, it has been used to show that the ‘bad guy’ who normally holds all the power has now lost all control.

There is a mid shot of Dolan after the crash. This shot shows his vulnerability now that he is not in control. The blood on his forehead shows that he is not invincible – this is the first time we see any sign of weakness in his character. The fact he has his eyes closed is quite important, as, again, it shows vulnerability because he won’t be able to see what is happening, it is also a sign that he is giving up – however, the sign he is holding the gun close to him shows that he is trying to keep hold of any power he has left. The lighting in this shot is very dark, other than the lights on Dolan himself – this signifies that he is the ‘bad guy’ (compared to Rogerson who is in a wide open landscape with light colours), and that he is helplessly trapped as the details are hard to make out. This technique is used in many thriller films - the binary opposites of dark lighting for those that the director wants to be portrayed as the 'bad guy' against the open locations and light mise-en-scenes for the 'good guys.'

The camera tracks Rogerson as he jumps onto the car with a crowbar, asking Dolan to open the sun roof so he can ‘help him out.’ (pictured.) The smoke coming from the car (although it’s hard to see in the screen shot) helps to create tension and mystery, and also helps us to understand that Dolan still doesn’t know what is going on. This technique is used in other thriller films (such as Extreme Measures) to prevent clear vision and as I said earlier, raise the tension. The audience can see the area in which the car has fallen, compared to the fields in the background which shows the contrast between ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ Rogerson has stepped into the darker part of the mise-en-scene, which shows that his actions are bad. The audience, in this shot, can clearly see the costume of Rogerson. His t-shirt, both black and white, suggests that he is both good and evil – that he may be doing something for the right reasons, but it’s a bad thing to do. These colours are often used in thriller films, as it is simple to do but thanks to the binary opposition look effective and can help to create a certain mood in the scene.

Later in the film, there is a shot of Dolan inside the car, he has become slightly manic in his desperation to get out. I believe that the shot above is extremely powerful, as it shows how Dolan has been submerged with his sinful lifestyle of trafficking women and killing people. The complete darkness around Dolan suggests that he has become lost, and the chairoscuro lighting here is another thriller signifier.

In my opinion, the above shot is the best in the movie. The darkness surrounding the shot, again, portrays the dark side of humans, and it could also suggest here, the fact that Dolan is close to his death. The blue sky shows the expanse of freedom that Rogerson has, but also it is known that blue is commonly associated with sorrow – in this film, it could be the grievance of Rogerson when his wife was killed, or the devastation that Dolan shows when he realises he’s going to die. The mud on the window shows that neither of them are completely good, and that they don’t understand each other, and we see again how Rogerson has gone mad with the desire to get revenge. Again, this is a widely used method in thrillers, although variations are used. For example, in Urban Legend, heavy rainfall is used to prevent a clear view through the window and subsequently raise tension.
Overall, I believe that Jeff Beesley has used lighting and shots extremely effectively in the ending of Dolan's Cadillac to create a tense atmosphere and a brilliant ending to a good film.