Textual Analysis.

Analysing Film language for the opening of Rear Window.

Film language	Denotation: What I see	Connotation: What it means/tells me.
Setting	Blinds coming up over a window overlooking other houses. An urban area where the houses are bunched closely together. There are people sleeping outside.	The blinds tell me that it is morning and maybe someone is looking out at the other people possibly spying on them. By people sleeping outside shows me that it is hot weather so it is too hot to sleep inside and it also shows me that the neighbourhood must be a safe place as people would not sleep outside. The people in the neighbourhood are trustworthy.
Lighting	Bright light from the sun when the credits are coming up on screen and it is also bright in the flat.	The brightness from the sun shows that it is summer and it also indicates that it is going to be a happy day or a happy environment.
Sound	As the credits are rolling up there are violin strings which are very loud and is a fast tempo.	It indicates that there could be something bad going to happen during the film. It was very fast so it could indicate that it is a fast paced film and a lot of action happens.
Characters	The other neighbours in the neighbourhood – couple arguing and woman exercising. There is also L.B. Jeffries. He has a cast on his leg and he is in a wheelchair staring into the other houses. He is alone staring at the woman exercising.	The other neighbours tell me that it is your average neighbourhood as there are all different types of people – not out of the ordinary. L.B. Jeffries must have had an accident as he is in a cast and wheelchair - severe accident. By him staring at the woman exercising it suggests that he does not have a wife and is lonely.
Camera angles	Close up on J.B. Jeffries face. Extreme close up on the thermometer.	Close up tells you that he is an important character in the film as they have highlighted his features. The extreme close up tells you that it is very hot weather and is in the summer.
Editing	Zoomed in through the window. Cross cutting from J.B. Jeffries to neighbour shaving.	This tells you that they have kept it realistic and shows that the man is very nosy as he has been looking at everyone and knows peoples routines. It has also been done to establish an action occurring at the same time but in two different locations.
Props	Broken smashed camera. Newspaper pictures. Wheelchair.	The broken camera suggests that the camera has been broken out of anger or has been broken as a result of an accident as he is now in a wheelchair. The newspaper pictures suggest that he is researching about a specific accident that has happened or maybe he is a photographer and they are his pictures.
Story/events	You find out from a phone call that the man is a photographer – he took the pictures of the car crashes. He is interested in staring into other peoples houses. He stood in front of the automobile on the racetrack – how the camera broke – why he is in a wheelchair.	This tells me that he is a very nosey person as he stares into the windows of other people. Also, by him being a photographer it shows that he is interested in taking pictures of other people so he could be staring at other people as he wants to take pictures of them.

Here is the link for the opening sequence of Rear Window and is the section of the film that I analysed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXCv3LccQEU&feature=related




Analysing Film Language for After Life.

Film language	Denotation: What I see	Connotation: What it means/tells me.
Setting	Funeral Director’s morgue.	The fact that the introduction to the film is a shot set in a funeral directors, tells me instantly that there is something sinister about not only the film but the man in the shot.
Lighting	Bright light from the lights of the morgue.	The bright light represents the stereotypical morgue, but it could also have a second secret meaning. This could be a twist on the story when people die they are meant to see a bright light.
Sound	Sharp and quick.	This helps create a sense of unease. The scenes went from silence to having one quick sharp hit of noise creating people to jump. This is successful as it makes the viewers want to watch more.
Characters	Eliot Deacon	Deacon is the first character you see, when you see him he is prepping a body for a funeral. The scene does not introduce him, just a quick shot of his face. This makes the audience want to know more about the character and wonder what he was doing and why.
Camera angles	Low angle on Eliot Deacon.	This shows the power of the character. The fact that the first shot of the characters face is a low angle shows that he is powerful and makes the audience focus on him as they wonder on his importance,
Editing	Fade shot between shot of woman’s body to dead body.	This shows that these shots are of importance. It may not look realistic but it indicates to the audience that it is important to what is going to happen within the storyline.
Props	Needle on medical tray.	This shows the importance of the needle to the story. The fact that it is shown straight after seeing Deacon lets the audience know that it is relevant to not only that character in the story but the makes them wonder why was this shown and gives them a sense of unease towards Deacon.
Story/events.	You find see that Deacon is a funeral director as he is prepping a man’s body. You also meet Anna and her boyfriend and see the strain on their relationship. Anna then goes to her ex music teachers funeral where her and Deacon meet.	When you first see Anna and Deacon meeting you straight away notice that Deacon staring at Anna. This makes us wonder about his interest and why he would be staring at her after just meeting her. This also helps the audience see that the storyline will revolve around these two people which makes them want to watch on to find out why.

Kill Bill Analysis

Here is the link for the opening sequence that I watched to analyse Kill Bill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xVDDBLOsnI&feature=related

Kill Bill – made by Miramax	Denotation – what you see	Connotation – what It means
Camera angles	ECU – of her eyes, CU – on woman’s cut face, see a man wiping blood away, 3 person shot – two women and a child, CU of woman’s face.	Extreme close up of her eyes shows the anger in her and how she is feeling. Close up on her face shows how badly she has been hurt. 3 person shot shows two different stories occurring at the same time and how they are going to interact with each other.
Editing	Cross cut – Woman to man’s foot back to woman, Fade out – women on bed, continuity – cutting out section for walking to the door, Flashback – pregnant woman in wedding dress on the floor.	This is done to miss out certain sections of the scene and how 2 things are happening at once. Fade out of the woman on the bed shows that she is powerless. Continuity editing for the walk to the door fastens up the speed and makes it more exciting. The flashback gives you an insight into her life and what it was like, it shows you the reality of what her life was like.
Sound	Panting of woman’s scared voice, Nancy Sinatra Bang Bang song played when you see the woman shot, slow music, glass breaking sound, gun shot sounded on Tarantino’s name.	The panting of the woman means that she is in trouble and that something bad has happened. The Band Bang song indicates that someone has just been shot and describes how bad things are. The glass breaking is a very loud noise and shocks you. There is a also a gun shot when Tarantino’s name comes on screen which shows that this show will be an exploding experience, a lot of action will happen.
Storylines	Bill is an evil man, the woman is vulnerable, she tells the man it’s his baby. In the flashback the woman is fighting and she is pregnant.	By Bill being evil it shows that he is the bad character in this film and that we are not going to like him throughout the film. The woman lying on the bed shows she is vulnerable and we will feel sorry for her throughout the film as she is helpless. The woman fighting when she is pregnant is bad as it tells the audience that someone is out to get her and we feel sorry for her as she is expecting a child and we don’t want her child to have a bad upbringing.
Mise en scene	Woman lying on floor with cuts on her face bleeding, in a suburban area, you see the mans shoes and nothing else, there is a hankie with the name Bill on it. You see a woman in a coffin.	The cuts on her face shows that she has been in a bad fight and that she Is badly injured as there is a lot of blood. By only seeing the mans shoes you can tell that he is a mysterious person and we might not see his face. By seeing the woman in a coffin it shows us that maybe that is a look into the future and later on in the film she will die, foreshadows. The hankie with the name Bill on tells us his name and gives us a bit of information on the mystery character.
Lighting	Dark – black and white background highlighted on the face, red colour in the flashback, bright light in the suburban area.	The dark lighting makes it feel eerie and we know something bad will happen, also the black and white background on the highlighted face tells us that she is in danger and something bad has happened to her. The red in the flashback highlights the danger the woman’s facing and anger the woman has. The brightness in the suburban area has a complete contrast to what you have already seen and disorientates you. You do not expect danger in such a suburban and happy area.
Titles	Bullet pointed names on the credits at the start, white on a black background, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’.	The bullet pointed names tells us that they are important people and that they appear in different parts of the film. The white words on a black background highlight the words so they stand out and the quote from the opening credits tells us that the woman is after revenge. That something bad has already happened to her.

Matrix Analysis.

	Denotation.	Connotation.
Camera Angles.	Mid-close up. Long shot (establishing shot). Extreme close up (shot wound).	The extreme close up of the shot wound lets the audience know that it’s a factor to focus on as it would be important to the storyline and what these people do. The long shot is used so the audience can establish what is going on in the scene.
Editing.	Dissolve – fire and explosion. Zoom in and out – titles. Slow motion – fighting scene.	The slow motion during the fighting scene may be used to show the audience the extreme strength of the fighters and help them establish what is going on in the scene. This also helps create tension in the scene.
Mise-En-Scene.	Ship – computers, wires etc. Blown up bike. Shattered glass. Fire/explosions. Two people mid air.	In the fighting scene you see all the factors come together to create the best effect possible. You see fire, shattered glass, city buildings, special effects, shot wounds etc. They all come together to make the scene as realistic as possible.
Lighting.	Dark green outside. Dim light inside.	The dark lighting outside suggests something more sinister is going on in the scene, the green lights gives a more sci-fi feel to the scenes. The lighting is also something that helps the audience relate to the matrix franchise.
Sound.	Creepy. Sci-fi. Car crash.	The creepy sounds are created by high pitched and fast paced string instruments which is a convention of thriller films. The sounds are also very sci-fi like which helps the audience recognise what the film would be about.  The sound helps create the tension in the scenes to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
Storyline.	Super strong woman battles with another super strong man.  Woman gets shot falls out of window in slow motion. Two men in ship.	As the first character you see is  a super strong woman fighting with numerous men shows the strength of the characters that are going to be throughout the film.  It makes the audience wonder who the woman is and why she is fighting with these men.
Titles.	Font-type writer. Black background with green writing.	The black background with the green writing keeps to the films colour scheme. It helps the audience recognise the film franchise.

Kiss The Girls. Textual Analysis.

	Denotation	Connotation
Setting	·         House (residents are women)	Being set in a house makes the audience feel uneasy as it’s normally a setting where you are meant to feel safe. This helps create tension in the first section of the film as you want to find out why and how this man has intruded into someone home and their personal space. It also makes you wonder why this man is so interested in these people’s lives.
Lighting	·         Dark/dim ·         Fire	The dark lighting creates a bad atmosphere making the audience know something bad is going to happen, this is a convention of a thriller film as it makes the audience know there is something bad about this person and situation. Part of the opening sequence is lit by candle light, this is normally related to a romantic situation which makes the audience wonder if this man is romantically involved with this women. It also gives off a sense that something bad is going to happen as candles are easy to blow out and this causes a bad atmosphere within the situation and cause the audience to worry about what may happen.
Sound	·         Sharp high pitched sounds ·         Narration ·         String instruments ·         Screams	The high pitched string instruments makes the audience uneasy as it represents that something bad is about to happen. This effect is seen in many thriller films over the years, and more famously in Psycho. This helps the audience relate to the conventions of a thriller film. The narration helps the audience keep up with what is going on in the scene but it only gives the audience a teaser of what is going to happen in the film. The fact that the narrator is also the killer makes the audience very wary on what you are hearing him say. You hear a conversation between the man and an interviewee, this makes the audience ask who is this woman and why is she asking these questions about what this man has done. The screams that you hear gives the audience a taster of what may happen in the film and it causes a bad atmosphere as you know these women are in trouble.
Characters	·         Mother ·         Daughters ·         Narrator/killer ·         Therapist/police woman	We first meet the narrator which we soon realise is the killer, this makes the audience relate to the killer straight away and makes them want to know what this man has done and why he has done this. You then see shots of the mother and the two daughters, this makes you see why this man is so interested in the characters, the first shot you see of one of the daughters is when she is laying on the bed, show you that this man is sexually involved with the women. You then hear a voice over of a mysterious woman interviewing the killer, this makes the audience wonder who this woman is and why she is so interested in the situation. The audience can then think of who this woman is themselves, whether she is a therapist or a police woman etc.
Camera Angles	·         Close Up ·         Medium Shot	The close up used to show a heating vent makes the audience think why is this so important to the story and what this is used for in the story it was used to make sure the audience focuses on this particular object. The audience can come to their own conclusions on what this is used for, it may be used for the killer to spy on the women, this cause tension in the audience as they see how something so simple and a everyday object can be a window to someone terror. A medium shot of a woman laying on the bed naked with bed linen draped over certain parts of her body suggests that something sexual is happening in the sense, the fact that a medium shot was used is to make the audience see what is going on in that scene and makes you wonder why is she positioned like this. The fact that she is also with her back towards you and you don’t see any of the women’s faces in the opening shows that these woman do not need to have an identity, they are seen as objects rather than a subject.
Editing	·         Zoom in/out ·         Fade ·         Cross Cut ·         Quick cuts	The zoom ins are used to show the audience that this particular part of the scene is important to the story ahead and that they should focus on what is going on. The fact that the director has chosen to use transitions that are usually not used in many films as it is does not give off a more realistic feel show that he wants to show the change in time and what the audience should be focusing on. He also uses many quick cuts which creates tension in the scenes.
Props	·         Candles ·         Newspapers ·         Needles	The candles show that there is a romantic situation in the scene it also gives sense of unease as this is the only light in the scene and that this could easily be blown out to create darkness where something bad can happen. The newspapers are used to show us that this killer is well known and talked about in the public, the way the are positioned on the wall lets the audience see that they are collecting stories about this killer and they may be proud of what they have done. The needles are used as many people have a fear of them, they can also be filled with something very sinister. This cause a bad atmosphere as the audience is led to wonder what these needles are used for and why are they important to the storyline. It can also represent that the killer has a physical or mental illness on where he has to inject himself. This can go two ways with the audience as they can either feel sorry for him or they can wonder why he would do such a thing.
Story/events	The narrator tells the audience about how a man started with the daughters and now is moving on to the mother.	The events that happen only give the audience a taster on what happens during the whole film, the ay you get told how the man started with the mum and then worked his way to the daughters makes the audience wonder what this man is doing and why I she so interested in this family.

This opening of the film is successful as the audience get drawn into the story straight away. The audience also gets to make their own conclusions on what may have happened in the story. It also tells you parts of the plot so it make the audience want to know more about what is going on.

Analysing film language for Along came a spider

Here is a link for the trailer for Along came a spider. Unfortunatley I have not been abe to find a  clip of the opening sequence of Along came a spider so hopefully by looking at the trailer you will be able to see what I am talking about in the table below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdoursSfYLw



Along came a spider – made by Viacom company	Denotation – what you see	Connotation – what It means
Camera angles	Ls On Cars CU of woman in car CU of man in office – cop ECU on leg stroking	LS on cars - It establishes the surrounding area of the cars and that they are on a motorway. CU of woman – Shows the emotions that the woman is feeling and how she is reacting to what is happening. CU man in office – This shows where he is and how he is feeling. Shows he is a calm person in a bad situation. ECU on leg stroking – This shows that the man wants sex from the woman and shows how this is going to happen.
Editing	Fade down screen – Credits, looks like web is breaking Cross cut – between Helicopter and car	Fade down – This links with the name of the film Along came a spider as webs are breaking. It shows that there will be someone within the film who is crafty like a spider – weaves in and out of places without being seen. Cross cut – This shows that the helicopter is chasing the car as it is happening at the same time and this shot establishes that.
Sound	Voice over credits – phone call, or interview. Noise of helicopter Creepy music	Voice over – This shows that the film is going to be a thriller as it is very creepy and also sets the scene for the rest of the film. Noise of helicopter – shows that the helicopter is quite close to the car and that the car might be caught. Creepy music – this sets the tone of the film and also makes you feel uncomfortable about what is happening and what will happen.
Storylines	Serial killer is on the loose, undercover cop in car with him. Helicopter wanting to follow car. There is a calm cop in control of the situation. The woman is used as bait.	This means that the film is going to be an action packed thriller as there is a car chase at the start and a serial killer. This shows that it will be a fast paced film and keep you on the edge of your seat.
Mise en scene	CCTV of the car, two people in the car driving on the motorway.	The CCTV shows that the people in the car are being watched and that they can’t escape. It also shows that the people or person in the car have done something wrong and are wanted by the police.
Lighting	Flashes of different colours green and blue. CCTV – black and white. At night on highway.	The bright colours contrast with the black and white and disorientate the audience as it shows something bad will happen because there is such a quick sudden change. Also, because it is at night it means something bad will happen.
Titles	Comes down screen and breaks like a web, placement over action.	This means that there will be a lot of different stories breaking off from the main story and in the film they will all link back at the end, like a spider making its web.