Micro features

 Micro features

Semiotics is the study of meaning and how it is formed by signs such as words, images or music. It can be used as a tool to help analyse the symbolic codes of a media text.

Roland Barthes created the study which we now call semiotics.

Moving image language: its split into 4 elements Mise-en-scene (what is put into scene), Cinematography (camera works), Sound and editing in film studies these 4 motive languages are called microliters.

Mise-en-scene:

Mise-en-scene: it’s a French term meaning what is put into a scene or a frame, When you see everything in the frame what can you analyse from that, all the elements are setting, props, costume, hair and makeup, facial expression and body language, lighting and colour, positioning of characters/ objects in the frame.

Props in scenes:  Gun seen in action films, knives seen in horror, big ben associates with London, a taxi associates with New York, Gadgets used in spy/science fiction films.

Costume, hair and makeup: this shows the characters personality, job and status. For example a vampire wears a black cape, Spiderman wears a spider suit.

Facial expression and body language: if someone is smiling we assume they are happy and if it was accompanied with scary muse

Positioning of characters & object within the frame: thing in the frame can Signiant feelings of two different characters, positioning in the frame can draw attention to certain objects / characters.

Colour: Colour can give a particular look or effect or mood and can over all be used for a dramatic effect. Red = danger, Can be used to how a characters hidden emotions or to highlight important objects and characters within the frame, to make the character look mysterious i.e shadowing parts of body, bright = happy, dark = disturbed.

Lighting: there is low key lighting and high key lighting,

Low key lighting is created by back lights and key, which creates sharps contrasts of light and darkness areas, deep, distinct shadows/ silhouettes are formed.

High key writing: more filler lights are used lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes, produces brightly lit sets or a sunny day.

Hairlight is used to separate you from the back ground and makes you pop out more.

Key light: most important light in the scene, creates dramatic scene, half dark, most brightest light

Fill light: less dramatic, not film like, more realistic to our eyes as it feels in all the shadow spaces so it’s more lighter

To get less light push the light further away

Hair light turns it into a film- shines it down on the back of actors head, if the hair light was by itself it makes the scene dramatic or dreamy light depending on the apache.

Sound

Sound doesn’t seem important but it helps you understand how important it is to make up the scene

Diegetic: any voice, musical sound that comes from the film world that the characters can hear

Non diegetic: music originates from outside the film and adds meaning to the audience which the film characters can’t hear.

Voice over: non diegetic, the voice over is used to describe and help us understands what’s happening in the scene even though the guy talking isn’t their

Sound bridge: links two scenes together for example music plays in one scene and continues to a different scene which connects the two scenes and suggest the mood is still the same and often has a common theme.

Pleonastic sound: exaggerated sound, can be exaggerated from the use of foley sound, sounds that are quiet made louder, sound effects example handling of guns, kissing and tap dripping.

Contrapuntal sound: sound that don’t match the image and can confuse people and doesn’t link to what you see could create a mystery effect. Example Happy music playing while two people are being aggressive and angry arguing with each other. Creates a humorous effect example Shawn of the dead

Silence and dialogue: creates an impact, pitch/tone/volume creates a meaning of how character mood an atmosphere of a scene. Creates a tense scene a quit noise to a loud sound can be frightening.

Cinematography

The way the camera is angled to show the meaning.

Composition of visual elements

Cinematography is made of shots angles and movements

Need to think how to frame a shot how it’s organised on who or what is in the frame to create a meaning.

Close up: used for facial expressions, show emotions, can be used to show fear or evulsion, and makes the audience feel closer or repulsive from the character.

Extreme close up: used to identify detail that you wouldn’t really notice, can cause tension and makes you realise how important some certain objects are.

Two shot: allows you to see two characters together to show the relationship, its usually a mid-shot upwards shows two bodies to allow you to compare.

Over the shoulder shot: camera angle from over someone’s shoulder, helps you understand two characters and shows an angle from ones perspectives of what they are looking at.

Point of view shot: first person view and puts you in the characters shoes, leads sympathy to the protagonists 

High angle shot: allows you to see a characters angle from above makes the subject appear small a venerable.

Low angle: makes people look big tough and dominant, it’s a camera angle shot from below looking up. 

Pan: horizontal turns movement of the camera from left to right or right to left on the spot.

Tilt shot: like a pan shot but moves up and down on the spot.

Editing

Editing a film involves selecting and combing sequences in no particular order.

Good editing is used to get the audience to understand the films story by creating and enhancing the mood, emotion and characters.

Sequences is a bunch of clips together.

Montage: A montage is created through assemble of quick cuts, disconnected time or place that combine to form a larger idea. A montage is frequently used to show a time happening as they

Parallel editing: filming two different locations at the same time so you can see it happening at the same time and can be used to mislead the audience. It’s also when it cuts back and forward between scenes.

Split screen: runs two shots side by side in the same scene, this effect causes simultaneous actions.

Dissolves: dissolves are a form of transition, allows you to get from one scene to another

Elliptical editing: the use of editing to compress time, the use of transition such as cuts or dissolves to compress time e.g in Batman begins Bruce Wayne has an on screen time of 58 seconds in which he climbs a mountain so it shortens down the journey.

Graphic match: Graphic match is when a scene links to another scene using the same shape or colour that match up

Rhythm and pace: the rhyme and pace helps set the scene by the music or mood by the paste of the edit to create a tension shot by speeding up the cut of the scenes and to create a more relax scene slow down the cut speed.

Long takes: long take without cutting

Jump cuts, match cuts and cut away: jump cuts used to travel in time or create disorientation, match cut is used to follow the movement of a person or object, cut away is cutting away from the shot then returning to it

180 degree rule – it’s used so you don’t confuse the audience, you can’t cut from one side to the other.