Year 11 Visual Text Unit
Aims of Unit:
After this unit I will:
 Understand key film terminology
 Become familiar with camera angles and
shots and their intended effects
 Study the aspects of film (lighting, sound,
costume, makeup, characters, theme,
setting, special fx, camera)
 View and take notes on a selected film
 Write several essays on aspects of the film
Studying a film
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You can use the same text features
as written texts, characters, setting,
theme, etc. But a films quality is also
dependent on its technical features.
It is required that you comment on
these in your essays.
The atmosphere in film is created
by sound effects, music and
camera work.
 The camera (rather than
narrative or dialogue) is the main
way the audience attention is
drawn to what is important.
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The Literary features of Film
PLOT
CHARACTERS
FILM
SETTIN
G
THEMES
PLOT
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should build up to a climax which is
the highest point of tension in the
film and usually occurs at or near the
end.
Situation
conflict
crisis point
resolution
SUBPLOT
Sometimes there is a subplot
which runs side by side to the
main plot. Sub plots add depth
and complexity to a story as well
as emphasising some of the main
ideas.
Acts
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Most films have 3 acts.
The first act is about 17 minutes long
and ends with a crucial turning point
which leads into act 2.
This is known as the page 17
moment. This is the moment of no
return for the protagonist.
This is usually a conscious decision by
the director. 16-18 minutes
 At this point the protagonist has no
control over their life.
 In the second turning point, they do
have control or they take control.
This leads into the final act.
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The Grammar of Film
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A story consists of
letters
Which make up words
Words make up
sentences
Sentences make up
paragraphs
Paragraphs make up a story
A film consists of frames
Frames make up shots
Shots make up scenes
Scenes make up sequences
Sequences make up a film
Themes in film
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Most films have an important message.
This may be a comment on society, on
human relationships or values or the film
may have a moral.
Some films help the viewer to understand
others.
Other films present groups of people as
stereotypes.
Setting
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Films usually establish a setting early on
with establishing long shots quickly giving
the audience a clear idea of the location.
Once these have been established, the
events and characters should appear both
realistic and convincing as a part of this
setting.
Aspects of Setting
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Time - when
Place - where
Social Climate
– gender roles
- what was society like?
- traditions, beliefs
- economic state
- political/religious state
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Setting is conveyed on film through vehicles,
clothes, hairstyles, dialogue, music, songs,
building styles, furniture, props and all other
things that belong to a time and place.
Characters
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In film, it is important for the actors to
become the characters they are playing.
You can judge these characters on 3 levels
script, performance, direction(shots and
what the director has told them to do)
Only the second one is in the control of
the actor.
What to look for?
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How do they change?
What do other characters think of them?
What they say? What others say to them?
Their relationships, conflicts, decisions.
Their role in the film.
What we can learn from them.
What theme do they highlight?
Appearance, background, talents?
Technical aspects of film
Costume
makeup
Mis en
scene
lighting
Technical
Features
Camera
shots
Special
Effects
Sound &
music
Facts about V 4 V
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Based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel.
Set after a limited nuclear war which has
left much of the world destroyed.
Fascist party is called Norsefire and they
are the ruling power.
First episodes were published in black and
white between 1982-85
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Premiere was supposed to be on Guy Fawkes
night, 400th anniversary of the gunpowder plot.
London bombings postponed it to March 2006.
Director was James McTeigue – born in
Tauranga.
He directed the Matrix
The original graphic novel is much darker than
the film and was created as a response to British
Thatcherism in the early 80’s (Margaret
Thatcher).
Running time 132 minutes
Budget $54 million
Moore disassociated himself from the film due to
a continuous series of disagreements over film
adaptions of his work.
He did not want his name to appear in the
closing credits.
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The illustrator of the graphic novel David Lloyd
supported the films adaptation.
V for Vendetta was filmed in London and
Germany. Most of it was filmed on sound stages
and indoor sets.
The cinematographer Adrian Biddle died of a
heart attack in Dec 05, making V his last film.
The film was shot to have a future retro look,
with a heavy use of grey tones to give a dreary,
stagnant feel to London. The largest set for the
film was the shadow gallery which was made to
look like a crypt. This is V’s home and the place
he stores a lot of forbidden artifacts from the
government. E.g The lady of Shallot by John
William Waterhouse.
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One of the biggest challenges of the film was
bringing the character of V to life despite never
seeing him or his expressions. Lighting, sound,
and voice was used together to create the
proper mood. A microphone was placed in his
hairline and then to prevent muffling from the
mask, his entire dialogue was re recorded post
filming.
James Purefoy was originally cast for V but he
couldn’t handle wearing the mask for long
periods of time.
Questions??
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What was the name of the girl imprisoned next to V?
What was the movie she was well known for?
What is the Chancellor’s name?
Each of the law enforcement structures take their name
from parts of ?
How old was Evey when her parents were detained?
Who deactivated the bomb set by V?
How did Evey know the anchor woman was lying about
Prothero’s death?
How did Evey’s brother die?
What is Gordon’s secret?
Evey appeared in what Shakespeare play as a child?
Who does Evey go out after curfew to visit?
What is the famous poem that Evey and V recite?
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When Evey comes back to see V on the eve of
November 5, what does he ask her to do?
What type of flower did V leave with his victims?
What is the slogan on the sign V slices into?
What is the last thing Evey says to V?
What is Evey’s last name?
What is the first building that is destroyed by V?
Who plays the character V? Evey?
What did V call his home?
What did V endure years ago?
Who lived at 6 Albery Street?
What does the guard say to Evey when she refuses to
answer their interrogation when she is captured?
Why can she go from her cell?
Why did V torture her?
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Is V a freedom fighter or a terrorist?
Do you think Evey and V love each other in the
end?
Who sympathises with V?
What has happened to the rest of the world
outside Britain?
Stephen ? And Stephen ?
Who plays the role of the Chancellor?
What is the piece of classical music that V uses?
Where does Evey work?
Why does Evey escape from V?
Why does Gordon’s home get searched?
What is so significant about Evey getting her
head shaved?
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What is the Inspectors name?
Britain has previously suffered from war and
terrorism due to their assistance in the ?
Norsefire has to restore order so enemies of the
state ??
This caused the country to be deeply ?
A ? occurred which killed over ? People
A cure for the virus was distributed which made
Norsefire a huge amount of money. This mean
that they could ? all opposition and ? the next
election by a landslide.
The attack has been engineered by ? to gain
power of the people.
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Who were the people detained at the Larkhill Detention
Centre?
What was special about V?
Why is he called V?
What does V ship out to hundreds of homes?
What is so important about these masks?
The wearing of these masks encourages some of the
citizens to do ?
Why does V go to meet the Chanceller and Creedy?
Why does V survive the barrage of bullets?
How does he kill Creedy?
Who kills the Chancellor?
Why does Inspector Finch let Evey carry on and blow up
parliament?
Who is V?
Using the Camera
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To make a good film, you must
understand the language of film making.
How to use a camera, compose a
sequence of shots, control lighting,
change the depth of field and edit to
produce a quality finished product.
Technical Terms
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Subject: The person or thing being filmed.
Aperture: the size of the opening of the lens which
controls the amount of light reaching the film.
Each time the camera stops and starts again, a new shot
begins. Each attempt at a shot is called a take.
Depth of field means the amount of the view through
the camera which is the focus.
The flow of shots which deal with the same subject in
order is called a sequence.
Sequences which run together produce a scene.
A frame is a single picture on celluloid or magnetic film.
The Camera
Movement
Special
Purpose
shots
Shots
Camera
Angles
Focus
Speed
Angles
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High Angle – Camera is higher than
subject and looks down so the subject
appears to be small, weak or threatened.
Level Angle – Usual level for filming.
Camera is at subject’s eye level.
Low Angle – Looking up at subject who
now appears to be tall and powerful.
Shots
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The main shots you need to learn are;
Close up
Extreme close up
Long shot / establishing shot
Medium / mid shot
Reaction shot
Over the shoulder shot
Crane shot
Hand held camera
Movement
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Walking with a hand held camera will produce
an unsteady picture, as if the viewer is in the
scene and are the eyes of the subject.
Using a tripod enables a steady picture.
Static – The subject remains in the same
position, so the camera does not need to move
at all.
Zoom – Requires a zoom lens. The subject can
be made larger or smaller without moving the
subject or object.
Pan – Swivelling a mounted camera from side to
side.
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Tilt – Tilting the camera vertically up and down.
Head on – The subject moves towards the camera and
involves the audience.
Tail away – The subject walks away from the camera.
Tracking – Requires some sort of mobile support called a
dolly to wheel the camera along as it follows the subject.
Pull back – The camera moves back from an object first
seen in a close up to a place in context. This shot usually
suprises the viewer.
Special Purpose Shots
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Cut-away – a very brief shot of something
connected with the scene but outside the
action. Usually some clouds or scenery.
Cut-in or insert – a very brief shot of
something involved with the action.
Re establishing shot – Usually a long shot
which shows the audience the whole
scene again.
Focus
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Focusing on close objects or subjects keeps our
attention while other objects or the background seems
blurred. An impression of depth is given by changing the
focus or arranging objects in the scene to show distance.
Focus is not just about getting the subject clear. Most
shots of a nearby subject look best if the background is
blurred.
The smaller the lens opening (aperture) the greater the
depth of field.
When you narrow the depth aperture to increase the
depth of field, you cut down the amount of light which
reaches the film.To make up for this, you need to
increase the amount of light available as you reduce the
size of the aperture so that the subject remains clearly
visible.
Speed
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Many cameras have adjustable film speed.
Speeded up shots are created by slowing
the film down.
Fast motion is often used for humour or is
sometimes effective as a means of
compressing time.
Slow motion is used to focus attention on
an action or emotion.
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Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was written to
commemorate Russia’s 1812 defense against
Napolean’s advancing Grande Armee at the
Battle of Norodino during the French invasion of
Russia.
The Overture debuted in the cathedral of Christ
the Saviour in Moscow on August 20, 1882. It is
best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire
and ringing chimes. It is used often in the US for
celebrations like Independence Day.
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What happened?
On September 7, 1812 (75 miles) west of
Moscow at Borodino, Napolean’s forces met
those of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov from
Russia. The French Army was known to be
invincible. The battle saw casualties as high as
100,000 and produced victory for neither side. It
did however break the back of the French
invasion.
The Russian army retreated and Napolean’s
forces moved into Moscow but had no food,
froze, endured famine etc. The Russian forces
barred their way out of the country. Napolean
abandoned them and the army was one tenth its
original size by the time it reached Poland.
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Sixteen cannon shots are written into the musical score,
each one combined with a mixture of notes and playing
of “God preserve thy people” portraying the increasing
distress of the Russian people at the hands of the
invading French.
At the turning point of the invasion, the score calls for
five Russian cannon shots. The descending string
passage represents the subsequent attrition of the
French forces, followed by the victory bells and
triumphant repetition of “God preserve thy people”. A
musical chase appears, out of which emerges the
anthem “God Save the Tsar!” thundering with eleven
more precisely scored shots.
VOILA
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"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast
vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes
of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it
vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the
once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what
they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a
bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to
vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding
vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious
violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a
vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and
veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and
the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers
most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my
very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
Sound
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Music should be suitable for the setting
and mood of the film.
It is used to support the dramatic
sequences by inspiring tension and
expectations in the right places.
Sound effects add to the realism of the
film.
Sound Terms
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Ambient: ‘live’ background sounds
creating the illusion that we are seeing
and hearing a real world such as the
sounds of distant birds or cars.
Wild (live) sound: sound actually recorded
while the shot is made, e.g footsteps,
clapping, birds chirping.
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Background music: Off screen, non diegetic
sound. The music does not originate from
within the action but accompanies it to heighten
the emotional intensity or drama.
Dubbing: Replaces sounds, voices or languages
on the sound track with others, though
maintaining their sync with the image as much
as possible.
Sound effects: Mixed into the sound track to
accompany action as if they were already there.
Diegetic???
Diegetic sound: Source of the sound is visible
on the screen or implied to be present by the
action.
e.g voices of characters, objects in the story,
music coming from instruments
Another word for digetic sound is ‘actual’ sound.
It comes from the greek word diegesis meaning
‘recounted story’.
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Non diegetic??
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Sound whose source is neither visible on
the screen nor has been implied to be
present.
e.g narrator’s commentary
Sound effects added for dramatic effect
Mood music
Mise en scene
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An expression used in theatre and film to
describe the design aspects of a
production.
The french term literally means “putting
on stage”. This refers to everything that
appears before the camera and its
arrangement.
Guy Fawkes
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15 April 1570 - 31 January 1606
Sometimes known as Guido Fawkes
Was a member of a group of Catholic
revolutionaries from England.
Robert Catesby actually thought up the
gunpowder plot but Fawkes was put in charge of
executing it because of his experience.
Fawkes was caught guarding the explosives as
he was wearing a coat, boots and spurs. This is
of course what V wears.
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The English parliament repressed local Catholics.
One example was a lady called Margaret
Clitherow who protected Catholic priests in her
home and as a result was crushed to death.
England was divided between Protestants and
Catholics.
Fawkes spent 10 years fighting for the Spanish
Catholic cause as a soldier. He gained a lot of
experience with explosives during this time.
The plot was to kill King James 1 of England, his
family and most of the aristocracy by blowing up
the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster
during the State Opening of Parliament.
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When Fawkes was caught, he was asked by one
of the Scottish Lords “What did you intend to do
with so much gunpowder?” He answered, “To
blow you Scotch beggars back to your own
native mountains.”
On 31 January 1606, Fawkes and a number of
others were tried in Westminster Hall. After
being found guilty, they were taken to the Old
Palace Yard in Westminster and St Pauls Yard
where they were hanged, drawn and quartered.
Fawkes, however cheated the hangman by
jumping from the scaffold, breaking his neck
before he could be drawn and quartered.