Creative writing break down: Funeral blues.

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message "He is Dead"
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W.H. Auden

Tense: the Author wrote this poem in both past and future tenses. Past tense was used to describe how much her husband (?) meant to her, using the tense to show how this has changed. Future tense is used for the instruction-like exclamations (eg. stop all clocks). These exclamations are not literal, and are instead used as a hyperbole- device.

First person: the poem is written in first person, as evident by phrases such as "my" and "I".

Personification is used in the poem in the "let the aeroplanes circle" paragraph. Moaning/ scribbling are human characteristics, applied to the aeroplane. This was used to personify the character's grief in inanimate objects, so they can relate to their emotions.

Metaphors: are used in the poem in phrases such as " My working week and my Sunday rest" and the rest of that paragraph. Metaphors were used in the poem to portray how much the person who passed away meant to the character. This consequently meant that the characters grief seemed so much more hopeless.

Hyperbole: is used in phrases such as " pack up the moon" and "dismantle the sun" which is obviously impossible. This is used to show the desperation and intensity of the character's grief. The hyperbole used (eg. dismantle the sun) all had a common theme of impossible destruction. This shows us how the character's world has been destroyed with the death of a loved one, and how is feels like everything can be taken away.

Motif and dutch angle (level one film study)

Motif
What is a motif: any recurring element which has symbolic significance.
Why are they important: Because they are used to express the overall theme of a film.
what makes a great piece of at: When it comes to film, getting new meaning from it every time you watch it.

Dutch angle
What does it do: create an unsettling feel to a scene.
what is it: a tilted shot, wher the x axis isnt perfectly horizontal.
who created the dutch angle and when: It was first used by German expressionists in the early 20th century.
3 considerations: identify an unsettling moment, consider using a dutch angle and enhance the unsettling moment.
How to enhance one: contrast a dutch angle with a static, more usual angle to show the imbalance.

Shots (level one film study)

Insert shot
what is an insert shot: It is a shot which focuses on a specific detail within a scene.
why is it used: To get the viewer to notice something specific within the scene.
what are the three main aspects of an insert shot: Composition, colour, timing.
What helps the audience feel about the shot: shot size, angle and camera movement, which all come under composition.
what does the colour help with in the film: Colour can be used for mood or contrast. Perhaps bringing up a detail from earlier in the film.
How is timing used: To let the audience see something or convey a sense of timing (eg. a fire starting would have a quick insert shot, to show how urgent it needs putting out).

Over the shoulder
What is the effect of an over the shoulder shot: it used used to connect characters.
what film aspect shows a disconection between characters: a single shot.
How does the director show the disconection: by changing a shot from OTS to a single shot.


POV shot
what is a POV shot: a shot which is showing us exactly what a character sees.
what is a point of thought shot: a shot which helps us to understand a characters thoughts, often through eye movement.
why are they important: Both shots are important to get your viewer invested in a character, and to connect with them,

Establishing shot
What is an establishing shot: a shot that builds a relationship between a scene and it's location.
Why is it used: To let the viewer understand where the scene is taking place.
Why are they so expensive: Because of the details found in a wide shot. You can see everything.

Tone and colour (level one film study)

What else can we call tone: tone in film can also be called brightness.
What are the three main elements of tone: Lighting, which is how you light a scene eg. even lighting or high contrast. Exposure is how much light you allow into the camera, whether it be little or completely blown out. Art direction is how much tonal difference is in the set dressing, props and wardrobe.
How is tone used in the godfather: Darker lighting is used to represent the marfia, while lighter, more natural lighting is used as an outer appearance.
How can directors control the feeling of the scenes: Directors can change to tone to symbolise many different things. Making a scene darker makes it feel more sinister, compared to a bright scene. This can also be used ironically, for humour.

Colour:
How does colour in film affect people: Colour can affect people due to the psychology behind certain colours.
What are the three factors in determining colour: Hue (what colour), saturation (how strong the colour is) and brightness.
why is the hue in 'The Matrix' mainly green: The colour green is associated with code and the green of the scenes feels sickly and off putting, like what is going on in that world.
why do some films desaturate: desaturating a film can make it feel more gritty, this is used a lot in war movies.
what can brightness and lack of brightness show in a film: The change in brightness can show contrast in a film, often as a external persona and an inner, darker motive.

Contrast in film (level one film study)

Contrast in film (level one film study)
In English we are currently doing a film study unit. This unit is mainly self directed learning, letting us take our time to get through all the tasks.
LO: our learning objective is to identify and understand film aspects and why they are used. In this particular activity I have learned about how contrast is used in a visual text and explained why I think it was used in this advertisement.

What are the ways directors can contrast in film?There are many ways contrast can be used. It could be the difference in colour, saturation, music tempo, volume, speed ect.
What is the contrast in this ad?To start the ad off, the main character is pushed to one corner of the shot. There is no music, just loud sound effects of her environment. The shots are all dark, the clothes, lighting ect. Her facial expression is tired, potential sad, her movements are slow and she only makes small movements.
In this part of the add (she just got home), the lighting is still dark, but there is more colour. She still moves slowly and has a tired, perhaps depressed expression on her face.
Here, we can see more colour, her movements are bigger and quicker. Her facial expression has changed and the lighting has become brighter. All of these changes evoke a sense of freedom, she is free to move as much as she wants and she is free to be happy.
The colour of the scenes has moved from monochromatic and dark to heaps of bright colours. Compared to the first image (that I took from the ad), she is now in the centre of the frame, rather than being pushed down to one corner.
Why did he use this contrast?The director used this contrast to evoke a freed, happy feeling along with the use of the product, to create a positive correlation which inspires people to buy one.

Blocking in film (level one film study)

What are the three ways directors use blocking in films: Directors use space, shapes and lines to block a scene. Could be the distance between characters or the distance between the camera and a character. Shapes are used for different feelings and dynamics within a scene. Lines can highlight a particular part of a scene or convey power dynamics.
what are the three basic shapes for film blocking: Three main shapes are used in blocking. These could be found in props, space between characters or actor's faces. Circles are the most inviting, they seem calm and happy. Triangles are harsh, due to the sharp lines and angles. This could be used to portray a scary scene, or something that would have the viewers on the edge of their seats. Squares are used to limit space, and can be used to box characters in, or create a claustrophobic feel.
what are two things blocking can help with: Blocking can help with revealing more about the characters or the film as a whole.

Example:

In this scene of the breakfast club the characters and backgrounds are arranged in a square like formation. This reflects the fact that they are trapped in the library until detention is over. Claire and John are closest to the camera, which shows how they are the characters which have our focus for most of this scene. Alison and Andrew are closer together than any of the other characters, which also reflects the relationship they are building. All of the characters are sitting, their bodies are in a diagonal line, which reflects the vulnerability shown by all of the characters in the scene.