Q2 - Weeks 2 & 3 Assignments

Due 11/02

This week and next you will tie all that you have learned about the elements of film together into one paper which you will post to your blog.  You will actually complete the first part of the AICE Media Studies Exam which was administered in May of 2018.  The only difference is you do not have to write this exam in one classroom sitting, instead you will have all next week to complete it.  The exam is based on viewing the first 5 minutes of the movie "Agent Carter, Marvel One-Shots, 2013, dir. Louis D’Esposito".  Before viewing this film, each of you will create a graphic organizer of your own, which will help you recall all the different elements of film we have studied so far.  I am placing a partial sample below of one type of graphic organizer you might like to make.  You may have another graphic organizer you feel fits your study habits better.  You can create it on the computer or you can make it by hand.  Feel free to discuss ideas about this graphic organizer with classmates but you must create one of your own.  Post the graphic organizer to your blog this week and the essay to your blog next week.

1) Blog:  Create a new post and upload a picture of your graphic organizer, if you create it on the computer embed the jpg file you created.  Title this post "Film Elements Graphic Organizer".

Partial Sample:

2)  Blog:  View the film extract and write a complete essay following the directions below.  Title this blog:  Film Viewing Practice Essay

You can view the film on the school network drive.  "S" Drive, AICE Media Studies Folder,
or you can bring a flash drive and copy it,
or you can watch it on youtube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uq8TpsCGPY,
but this version plays a little weird with stars behind it.  You should stop it at 4:20 if you watch the link above and 5:09 if you watch the version on the school network.

Agent Carter (Marvel One-Shots, 2013, dir. Louis D’Esposito)
Clip duration: 5:09
Start point: 00:00
End Point: 05:09

In essay format, discuss the ways in which the extract constructs meaning through the following:

• camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scène.

Q2 - Week 1 Assignments

Due 10/19

Mise-en-scene

What is this mise-en-scene, I speak of?  Well, once you read the article below and take the corresponding quizzes you will have a better understanding of this film term.

1)  Article - Mise en scene

     Q2 Week 1 Quiz 1 - MISE-EN-SCENE (Part 1)
     Q2 Week 1 Quiz 2 - MISE-EN-SCENE (Part 2)

2)  Blog - Watch one movie or TV episode of your choice and describe the four general mise-en-scene areas: setting, lighting, costume and staging.  Explain in your post how these recognizable attributes helped to tell the story, aided the success of the movie, or contributed to why you like the movie. (300 words)

I will post an example about the TV show, "Versaille", later this week.

     I decided to change my movie comments on mise-en-scene away from the television show “Versailles”, to the M. Night Shyamalan movie, “Unbreakable”.  I made this decision primarily because I wanted to show that you can easily write about the sets, costumes, lighting and blocking in a film where these elements appear to be less prevalent, rather than in a show with sets and costumes which are obvious period elements.  I also chose this film because of my recent interest in it due to its writer, director, producer being M. Night Shyamalan, one of my favorites and due to the fact that it’s sequal, “Glass”, will be arriving in theaters in January.

     The movie opens to a shallow space setting on a train with the Bruce Willis character quietly sitting and soon to be having a conservation with a woman to which he appears to be attracted.  The shallow blocking gives the viewer a sense of being a passenger in the seat just in front of the conservation.    Soon after this conversation the setting changes to a hospital room with a deep space set, showing Bruce Willis in the background and a dying passenger being worked on by medical staff in the foreground.  This deep space blocking helps the viewer focus on the total scene rather than just the conversation between the main character and the doctor.

     As you move through the first few scenes of the movie you will notice that the lighting is low-key, helping to portray a sense of gloom and depression for all the characters involved.  This darkness aides in the viewers interpretation that this is a low time in the lives of these characters.  The family’s meager home is gloomy, dim and lacking of life, further adding to the sadness of the film.  Inversely, just after the main character and his wife have a conversation about working on their marriage, the lighting changes to a high-key format, giving the feel that things will be looking up for this family.

     During the 1974 scene where the younger version of Samuel L. Jackson’s character is having a conversation with his mom, the set designers chose to represent the 1974, Philadelphia West Side apartment through a reflection of their conversation in a vintage television.  The reflection not only succeeds in showing the 1974 décor of the apartment, but also contributes to the feeling of doom and gloom with the low-key lighting it provides.  The mood changes for this character as well when he chooses to venture outside, despite his frailness, and goes for the present his mother has placed on the park bench.  The color purple is introduced during this scene by the purple present sitting on the park bench. Then as the character moves out into the bright sunny day the camera pivots around to his front revealing his iconic purple shirt which will become prevalent part of his future wardrobe.

     My observations were limited to the first 23 minutes of the film due to the fact that on your AICE media studies exam you will also view just a clip from a film.  You will then write about all the elements in the clip we have studied so far this year; cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.  As you can see, after completing this assignment you should be ready for the first part of the exam.

Quarter 2

### Whew, that was a whirlwind 1st Quarter--now on to Quarter 2 ###