Purpose
The movie is aimed for a mass international audience, it is made by 20th Century Fox which is a large international company so it will be used for commercial gain.
Genre
Cast Away is a sub genre as it is an Adventure/ Drama film. The film is based around a plane crashing and leaving a single male stranded on an island and he survives by exploring the island collecting supplies and making himself safe. There is a large amount of drama in the film to do with the mans family as they think he is dead and also with "Chuck" getting injured and trying to stop himself dying from blood loss, starvation or dehydration.
Form
I will be looking at and analysing feature films, generally films longer than an hour.
The film I have chosen is a feature film as the film is 143 minutes long (2 hours and 23 minutes).
Cast Away was shown in the cinema in 2000 and 2001 which made it a large sum of money.
The film Cast Away was showed first in cinemas in 2000 and then progressed on to DVD due to is success, it is now available on streaming software's such Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Style
Aesthetic quality
This can be influenced by the genre of the film, if the film is an animation it will not be filmed in real life, If you had a sci-fi film it will contain a lot of CGI.
It is set in the current times, as it doesn't contain anything futuristic and nothing to old, it shows a real life based time. It is set on earth so it will not be a futuristic film. The film creates an element of verisimilitude.
Content + Meaning
In 1977 Todorov went on the talk about his theory of narrative structures, Cast Away follows the theory which he thought of. This can be proven as at the start of the film, "Chuck is doing his job planning his parcel distribution with his employs etc, he then progresses to go on a plane with some of the parcels and the plane crashes which is the disequilibrium, as he survives on the island both good and bad things happen, but as a Resolution happens as Chuck arrives back in the US, he finds out his wife has got remarried as she thought he was dead. This is another Disequilibrium but as the Todorov theory goes there is a resolution after all and Chuck gets back to his job where he delivers one of the parcels he kept from the island which saved his life. He travelled to go see the person who the parcel was for and he meets the lady who the parcel goes onto.
Cast Away follows some of the narrative types that Kate Domaille as the "Candide" narrative type states, " The indomitable hero who cannot be put down", in the film Chuck, the main character manages to stay alive throughout the whole film and every obstacle that gets in his way he manages to get past it.
In Cast Away there is not a typical Binary opposition between gender but there is a discreet one between the protagonist which is the main character "Chuck", while the Antagonist is the situation that he is in, the plane incident is the problem that has Chuck stuck and in trouble like a villain would.
Micro Elements
There are 2 categories of sound :
Diegetic - Ambient, these sounds are natural to the diegetic . Dialogue is also Diegetic, as you can see the person talking on film. A collection of sounds in the environment, waves, birds etc.
We can have a diegetic voice over when one of the characters is which is in the story world talks over a scene.
Examples of Denotation
The film I have chosen denotes that a mass issue causes problems for a man who tries his best to get home, he does not give up on trying to get home, he has to fend for himself and survive. This connotes that obstacles get in your way and you should never give up, if you keep on trying you will eventually make it and you will be able to overcome the problem.
Mise-En-Scene
Location -
The film I have chosen is set on a deserted island which in the story is told to be just off the route which the aircraft Chuck was in, was meant to be heading too. The location where the film is recorded connotes a sense of abandonment as Chuck has been left to fend for himself because no one knows where he is. Chuck is stranded alone with no other life form on the island which he knows of, but with the time he spends on there he becomes crazy and starts speaking to a football he calls "Wilson". The location helps the film create an impact on the audience as it shows them how desolate the entire place is, making the audience sympathetic towards Chuck.
Acting -
In this part of the film you can see that Tom Hanks is clearly portraying across that he is trying to survive and make his life on the island safe and making sure he has food and warmth. He starts to shout aloud as if there is a large audience surrounding him. This connotes that he is starting to get lonely on the island and that he has finally been able to create a life saving resource of fire, he is celebrating but alone. Hanks plays the part perfectly as he shows clearly the different emotions he goes through, sad, happy, anger and stress, but he also makes the audience feel involved, in some cases by looking into the camera as it zooms in slowly on his face.
Costume/makeup -
In the particular scene we see that Chuck has been on the island for a while now as he has grown long hair and a large beard. With being on a deserted island he has no way of cutting it, so this gives a sense of time, how long he has actually been on the island for. Also looking at his face he has bruises which connotes danger as living in an unstable and unpredictable place is not always the safest place to live and you expect to get some injuries. The costume and make up Hanks wears while on the island makes him look like he is going through a tough time, the beard connoting that he has been there for a long time, but the bruises and cuts are showing the struggle and pain he has had to with stand to keep himself alive.
Props -
With in the film a key prop is taken in as a character, the volleyball Wilson starts off as an ordinary prop in the film, but as time goes on he forms into a character and a friend of Chucks. This connotes a desperation or loneliness as he is alone and by using a unique prop and turning it into a main character makes the audience feel sorry for Chuck as he starts to go insane and talks to the ball and he thinks it is talking back to him. This denotes a male using his imagination so he will not feel as lonely and he will have some friend to share the island with.The ball connotes a friend but denotes an object of lifelessness, this makes the audience feel sympathetic towards Chuck.
Sound
You can also hear the sound of Chuck trying to crack open some coconuts by hitting them with and on rocks this connotes the struggle and the amount of work he has to go through which also creates an impact on the audience as they realise that he is determined to get home.
A third example of diegetic sound would be dialogue, during the trailer there is a lot of talking between characters and also talking to themselves. Most of the dialogue is based around Chuck talking to the football Wilson, but Wilson can't talk. At one point we see Chuck throw Wilson out of the cave and shortly after he runs out shouting "I would rather take my chance out there in the ocean than stay here and die. When Chuck talks to Wilson he talks in an informal way and this would be a peer to peer mode of address. It is also a way of getting sympathy from the audience.
A final example could be the scene as Chuck starts to get a fire going you hear the wood rub against each other and then you can hear the fire starting to burn the shrub This connotes successthat finally Chuck has created the fire and that he is overly excited by it, over the amount of times he has tried and got himself injured by it.
During the trailer we hear a male narrator talking over the footage talking about how events can change some ones life for ever by it being such a big part of them. "in an unordinary life, extraordinary events, can change a mans life forever". This connotes that the narrator is hinting at the story line having dramatic changes which will change the characters videos.
Over the entire trailer there is non-diegetic music which is calm and outlines the equilibrium in the diegesis and it also changes when the disequilibrium occurs when the plane is crashing into the ocean, after we see Chuck living on he island and the calm music starts to play again, this connotes that it may still be part of the disequilibrium but it also it is the resolution of him trying and risking his life to get home.
When looking into the different camera shots they are used to create effect within the diegisis and also towards the audience. The different shots show the different views of the characters and each one mean something else. The purpose of this is the get the audience involved with the story to create a spectacle.
There are three main categories that camera work divide into:
Shot Types
Camera angles
Camera movement
Each different shot means something such as a close up is used to look at expressions or to gain detail of something in particular, while a long shit is to get a large amount of scene in the shot and also a full person if needs be. An establishing shot is used to show the scene and to create verisimilitude of the of environment. Also to link in with the narrative stage showing the audience where the film is based and where the film is heading. Some shots are used to show emotions to the audience to make them feel part of the story and feel the same emotion.
Angles are brought into the shots also to give different impressions. If the shot was at a high angle it would connote power and importance but if it was at a low angle it would connote weakness and submissive to the dominant character. A high angle shot is looking down onto the character but also makes the person looks big and strong, like they have a lot of authority and power. A low angle shot is looking up on someone from below them. This looking up feature makes it look as if the person is small compared to their surroundings. Also these different angles can also be used no just to connote power but gender, as a male is deemed to be stronger and the dominant gender while women are stereotypically smaller and weaker.
While in some films this is challenged, in cast away we see there is mainly 1 male character and theses different shots and angles connote his emotions, sometimes he is alone and needs help where the camera will be looking up on him while the other times when he shows his "manliness" the camera looks down on him showing his strength and independence.
The movement of a camera is mostly used to show speed or movement in different ways. In the film we see him rowing on the ocean, the camera movement follows the flow of the ocean to make the audience feel as if they are on the raft with him, that they are part of the story.
In the film Castaway, there has been a huge range of different camera shots used, from close ups, extreme close ups all the way to establishing shots. Some examples would be;
Close up
Extreme Close up
Establishing Shot
This is an establishing shot from the final scene, the establishing shot is generally used to start a scene and define the location of the scene, this establishing shot shows the area and that is a deserted area, just like the island he was on before.
Long Shot
This is a long shot from the scene where Chuck takes his anger out on Wilson and throws him out to the ocean. We can see this is a long shot as the main feature on this shot would be Chuck who is stood in the water and as you can see his entire body, baring the feet as they are in the water but it is far enough out to see him and other surroundings as he is looking for Wilson.
Editing
Editing is a key part of making a film, it involves manipulating the footage you have recorded and adding in things such as transitions or SFX and audio FX.
Continuity editing
Continuity editing is creating a smooth and continuous storyline for the audience to understand, this is making the clips you have recorded fit in with each other, not allowing any jumps between scenes which don't make sense and follow the pattern. It is a constant feed of clips and cuts which will allow the audience to bind with the film.
While editing you can make a lot of different shots which follow a structure and create affect within the diegesis
Shot reverese Shot
This is when you have one shot which is aimed at one person it is then juxtaposed to the other character which is in the scene. This is common in conversational scenes. In Cast Away there is a wide range of these shots, one of the key ones being when Wilson is first brought in and Chuck places him on the log and he starts to talk to it, the camera looks at chuck then switches to Wilson then swaps back during to who is speaking.
Action match
An action match technique is when you piece multiple shots together which are one piece of action/movement, this allows the audience to see the movement in more than one perspective and it also can connote skill or power depending on the genre of film. In Cast Away near the end where Chuck attempts to escape the island on his raft, there are many action match clips where we see him trying to row through the waves at one angle then other. This is showing the struggle in different perspectives.
Eye Line Match
The eye line match technique allows the audience to see what the character is looking at from different perspectives. It follows the same structure as the shot reverse shot technique but it is based along the eye line height. In one scene where chuck has his first attempt of escaping we get a shot looking straight at Chuck at eye level as he stares back at where he came from, and then the camera shot cuts to seeing the island where he was looking at. This connotes to the audience that over the years it has been his home and it has served him well but it almost like a good bye scene.
Production Process
Pre-Production
This is when the company is planning out the film and coming up with ideas which could fit in to make the audience's emotions fit in with the genre the film is meant to be.
When planning the film Cast Away they had to plan things such as the location where it would be filmed, they directors and planner had to come together to find an ideal place which would fit in with the films storyline and would be suitable. They ended up filming at a place called Monuriki, which is a small island in Fiji. The island fitted the film perfectly as it was secluded and it was a small island covered in vegetation which covered up most of the land, this gave the audience a feeling of curiosity as we do not know which is in there. The location was real to create the verisimilitude.
Also during the pre-production stage they had to come up with who should play the characters and with talking to the director he stuck to his plan of engaging in with Tom Hanks. They had to plan for an actor who would fit the part, they went with a male actor as this follows the stereotype of the male being strong and independent.
Production
This is when they start to record the film and create the props which will be used in shot.
When entering the production stage they had to travel to the correct location near Fiji so they could film the stranded scenes. They had to go through a lot of health and safety precautions with being on an island which is very secluded and being close to and open flame which was made.
During the production stage they had to create props and surroundings that would be used in the film, while shooting they had the character Wilson which was a ball that chuck threw when he cut his hand open, leaving a head shaped bloody hand print on the ball, this had to be designed and made by the crews design team and then Tom Hanks / Chuck would start to draw a face on the ball.
Post Production
This is the stage after all the filming has been done and they begin to put the film together.
At this stage all the clips were filmed and they had to be put together into the correct order to make the narrative of the film, while doing this they would have had to make any corrections or add any features such as transitions or cuts to the film in the editing stage.
Also in the post stage they would have had to add any sound effects to the film such as music or any additional noise they couldn't pick up at the time such as non-diegetic sound.
No comments:
Post a Comment