Knocked Up Textual Analysis

Knocked Up Textual Analysis

Cathy Maddox

In the opening to Knocked Up, we see a group of young males having what they would think is fun, taking drugs, fighting, and going on rollercoasters. The shots use slow-motion and smooth tracking to really emphasise how much fun they are having.

The audience can tell from just the opening of the film that these young men are very reckless, and are not very mature for their age, and in the context of the film, it shows they’re in no way mature enough to be responsible for a child. Point of view shots (POV) are used to show that this is the life they’re living and they’re subjecting it onto people around them.

The group on the rollercoaster.

In one part of the opening, we have a POV shot of them in a rollercoaster, reflecting their personalities and lifestyles. They’re having a wild time and they’re not going to apologise for that, which we see when they show no remorse for hurting their friends when they are fighting. Seth Rogen – the main character – is a stoner, like in most of his movies, reflecting his reckless attitude once again and showing that he’s not a serious person. This makes the audience feel like he’s not able to be responsible for another human being, as he’s barely responsible for himself.

These young men also look like they are quite arrogant, which is reflected in the high angle shots particularly during the end of the opening scene. This shows that they may believe they are on top of the world, and are having so much fun that they don’t really want it to end. This also could reflect that they think they’re powerful, also justified by the fact that they’re fighting and taking drugs.

Throughout the scene, we are subjected to a group of young men who believe they are quite powerful, but recklessly so. They’re obviously not very serious or committed to anything like a job or a family since they’re taking so many stupid risks. The opening establishes their characters as having a very immature demeanour for men who should have jobs and be working towards their future.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

You have made a reasonable start Cathy - however I am disappointed that you didn't meet the deadline and get two analysis up on your blog. WHat you have written is of good quality, however it does heavily rely on camera movement, angles etc, with less on the other areas (editing? Mise en scene ? sound?) These areas are only mentioned occasionally. You have also not talked about the titles.  
Because of this your work is in a level 2. In order to improve you should:

•  Think about the questions below, ensure you are addressing all of them.
•  Embed JPEG images throughout you analysis (stills from the film) and a video of the opening sequence in order to illustrate your analysis.

  Study the opening sequences of any film from the Thriller, Horror, and Romantic comedy genre. E.g. Seven, The Dark Knight Rises, Halloween, Notting Hill, Love Actually etc. Analyse how the sequence has been constructed through its use of: Camera angles, shots, movement, Editing, Sound, Special effects and Mise-en-scene etc.

· In terms of editing how have the separate images been put together - Think in terms of frequency of cuts, fades in/out, jump cuts, dissolves etc.

• What visual images appear on screen throughout the sequence? And what do they mean?
• · Describe what narrative (story) is being displayed in the sequence from start to finish.
• · Describe what kind of music; diegetic/non-diegetic/incidental/ambient etc. is being played over the sequence.
• · How and what titles are being displayed during the sequence and in what order.
• · What kind of characterisation is evident? - Age, gender, relationships etc. 

Textual Analysis of Mission Impossible 2

Textual Analysis of Mission Impossible 2
Cathy Maddox

In the opening sequence of ‘Mission Impossible 2’, we learn a lot about the type of character we are going to be watching within the film.
The film starts with secret agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) climbing up the face of a red cliff without safety equipment. This establishing shot lets the audience know that the man they are witnessing is a strong person, someone fearless, and perhaps someone who’s prepared to take a lot of risks.
The red cliffs could symbolise danger, not only because of the colour, but also because of the height. However, this further establishes Ethan Hunt as a strong person as it shows he’s not afraid of danger whatsoever.

Ethan (Tom Cruise), hanging from the rock like Jesus did on the cross.

During the scene, the aerial shot of Ethan could also symbolise an eagle, as various calls can be heard. This shows that he’s invading the eagle’s habitat and doesn’t belong there. Furthermore, it could also show that Ethan is an all-American and is a national symbol of America.
During the opening scene, Ethan jumps from one ledge to another, showing that he’s not afraid to take risks, despite knowing that he could fall a fatal drop and that he doesn’t have any safety equipment. After he slips, he assumes the position that Christ took on the cross. This religious symbolism could show that just like Jesus, Ethan is a saviour, as well as someone who can do the impossible.
Overlapping the scene is non-diegetic funk music, which contrasts a lot with the scene. The audience doesn’t really click onto the purpose of this until the end of the scene, when we’re then told that Ethan is on holiday. This makes the audience feel like Ethan is someone who takes risks for fun and to relax, as that’s what holidays are for.

Ethan wearing the high-tech sunglasses.

When the helicopter comes into the scene, the audience hear it before they see it. This creates tension as we the audience aren’t sure if it’s a threat to Ethan or not. Tension is created even more when the man in the helicopter points some sort of a gun at Ethan, to the audience, this appears as a threat because the audience doesn’t know the person’s motive for pointing the gun at Ethan.
After we learn that the man in the helicopter is not a threat to Ethan, there is a close up the high-tech sunglasses, showing that Ethan is someone powerful enough to have access to such technology.
In the end, we learn that Ethan is a spy, which answers all of the audience’s questions regarding his strength, risk taking, and overall perseverance.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

This is a good evaluation Cathy, you have answered the questions in detail and thought about your film.
In order to finish this post you need to upload your film and add some images to illustrate your points.
You also need to divide the writing up by the questions in the evaluation.

Media Preliminary Task Evaluation

In our prelim task, we were given a guide to help us and to follow so we could make the perfect cheesey action scene. However, our group decided to make our own piece. We decided to build tension with lots of cuts and shots that varied throughout. We wanted to include some typical action shots, such as the shot of Harvey's feet on the floor, the match on action, and the eyeline match. Ben, who was our director, went on to include some shots which I thought really benefitted the film, such as the pan ups and the cuts between the two. I think this is typical for most action films, and although it makes them a little cheesey, it was definitely effective in making the scene as tense as it could possibly be, as well as making it unique from everyone else's.
Once we were given our task, Ben got straight to making our storyboard. As he's an avid filmmaker, it didn't take him very long before he was finished. We liked what he had planned and decided to go straight out and film the piece. I think that we all trusted Ben to not do something too adventurous or out there, and as we are all quite good friends, I knew that Ben wouldn't get us to do anything that we didn't really want to do.
I found the filmmaking process pretty easy, which I think is mainly due to Ben's directing and Harvey and mine's willingness to perfom, despite however alien it may have been. I think that I would have preferred to direct, since I've had very little experience in it before, but I think that in the time it would have taken me to learn all the ins and outs of using the equipment, we would have ran out of time, so on the whole, I'm glad that Ben directed because we met the deadline of our film.
During the editing process, Harvey and I had little to do, aside from finding suitable music and sound effects. I tried to use After Effects to make some titles, but found it very difficult to get used to the software in such a small space of time. However, I plan to do some practice in my own time to get better for when we make our film. I did watch Ben sort out the greenscreen and special effects, and it looked quite difficult, I didn't really understand the tutorial Ben was trying to deliver to me, but I'm sure I'll learn.
In the process of filming, I did find out about some new camera shots and techniques used in film, which I think are vital parts of most genres, particularly thriller, action, and horror.

• 180 Degree Rule: the 180 degree rule is when two people are having a conversation, the camera must remain on the side that it has started on on the 180 degree line. This is so the audience does not get confused. The only way the camera can break the 180 degree rule is if the movement to the other side is shown on screen.
• Match on Action: the match on action is where in a normal shot, the camera will cut to a close up of the shot, before cutting back to the normal shot. This is used if things are picked up or items are exchanged, and puts an emphasis on the object or item being interacted with.
• Eyeline Match: an eyeline match is when a character on screen is looking at something off screen, and the camera cuts to whatever it is the character is looking at.