Organisation and Planning

The organisation and planning for this movie production was very important as it determined the outcome and also the quality of production. The four key points which this consist of were:

• Actors
• Locations
• Costumes
• Props
  

If these key points were planned and organised correctly then the success of the film would be positive. Furthermore, all these Key points help the audience realize what the genre is and if these key points are correctly organised then this will help with the genre.

Actors

The first point which I covered was actors, to find our actor was quite a challenge because the role which he played was a depressed and lost character. We held an audition for a few actors which we thought may be appropriate for this role. We then decided to choose Billy Steel because I think that he would best suit the main character Max.




Location

The Location which was used in the filming was in a house as we tried to make the location like a apartment flat. The four places which were mainly used were the bedroom because it was plain and small which created a sense of loneliness, the bathroom because it was a very simple which was relating to the character because of his depression also the mirror in the bathroom which captured the expressions of the character, the corridor which was used for the start scene with the dream and the outside of the house in the garden. We took a Risk assessment for each of our locations to see see if there were any risk of injury. However, we were lucky enough to not have any major risks, but we had to watch out for cables for some of the controlled lighting and electrical equipment. Below are some pictures of our locations which we had not yet modified.











Costumes

The costumes which we used for the main character Max was a plain white top which matched the location and also the the plainness of the top signified that the character was empty inside and could not express any feelings inside because of the incident with his wife. We also made him wear pyjama bottoms because we are trying to show that he would wear this everyday and that he wont change and make the effort.


Props

The props which were used throughout the filming were the gun because this is a generic convention, Jack Daniels alcohol which links to the character and how he is trying to wash away his depression, the newspaper articles to help the audience realize what happened to his wife, the video tapes linking back to his past and how he is still dwelling on the past, the tablets which also linked to his depression and loneliness, empty photo frame which tells us that a part of him is missing, the telephone and a picture of him and his wife also give a link to the characters past.

Textual Analysis of Max Payne and Poster

In the start of this three minuite opening straight away digetic sound is used which is Max's voice (the main character) on the blank screen which signifies that he is lost also what he says creates the mood for the audience. The narrative of the opening sequence starts of with Max speaking on a blank screen, suddenly it then goes to a scene where Max is drowning and he is trying to escape, this connotates that he might of had bad experiences in the past or that the idea of him being lost. Next a fade in transtition occurs this suggest that time has past since the last scene. We then see him walking towards a door and he opens and see's his his wife and child murdered on the bed with blood everywhere the lighting in this scene is being controlled and is made very dull its at the point of just black and white, however, still some colour for example the colour red which is a generic convention because it make the audience think of action, thriller, someone has been murdered als the colour red is emphasised alot this is telling the audience that killings have happened and also danger, the lighting in the scene creates a very lifless and withered away feel which also tells the audience that someone has died. Max then wakes up then it suddenly goes straight to the police station where generic convention are used throught this scence such as guns and police men giving a action feel. Furthermore, we notice that a sign is shown which says "Cold Case" this is suggesting that this where people who have been murdered go this also tells the audience that the genre of this film is a thriller.

The representation of Max in this opening sequence is that he is wearing a black leather jacket, dark jeans and black t-shirt this gives a very macho man look also he is dressed in very simple dark colours which tells us that his character is very enclosed and dull

This is a poster for the Max Payne film, the generic conventions which are shown on this poster are the shotgun and the hand gun which shows that this film genre is action also I noticed that he has a police badge on his belt telling us that he is a police cop and as he is not dressed in uniform so he could be an undercover cop. Max is represented as a very manly figure because of this leather jacket, however, it is tinted red so this suggests that he is a dangerous man and that he is prepared to spill blood or he already has.

The mise-en-scene in this poster shows a huge bridge towering over the Max suggesting that he is powerless also the the bridge wires which are surrounding Max signify that their is tension within him. The shot of this poster is from a low angle, this gives Max some sense of power and authority, however, as the bridge is towering over him this may represent the city and how crime is more powerful then him as a cop. The weather which is being shown in this poster is snow which signifies its winter also that its cold and lifeless linking to the feelings of the Max.

Behind Max is the bridge and where the bridge splits in the middle it make it look like Max has wings and the lighting is brighter this is signifying that he is like an angel, suggesting that he will perform miracles and impossible tasks.

Textual Analysis of John Q

At the start of this film the very first shot establishes the setting which is a long never ending road in the mountains, the shot which is used is a very long shot to to give the audience a feel of where they are. During the first three minuites there are not many generic conventions to give the audience a better understanding of what the genre is. The narrative for the opening is a BMW car which a a upper class car which tells us that the person is rich and upper class, it then shows an over the shoulder shot of the woman driving and the lorry infront this ins these to things together telling the audience something might happen. The woman drinving tries over taking the lorry, however, on the otherside of the road another lorry come and as she overtakes she is just to about to pullin to over take the lorry when the other lorry clips the back of her BMW which spins out of control and crashes into the other lorry.
From when the woman goes to over take the lorry their is tension building and when she crashes thats the highest point of tension where the audience is most engaged, this crash connotates that the film is a action film because of the impact and tension of the crash links to action.
The representation of the woman is very upper class and posh, maybe some what snobby, when the shot of the over the shoulder appears we notice that the woman is wearing a pure white turtle neck which signifies that she is pure and innocent because of the whitness and also their is no flesh showing she is covered up to the neck also showing she is a very Maddona like figure which is associated with Laura Mulvey's theory on the maddona or whore. She is also wearing white diamonds which also signifies that she is upper class and posh.
The lighting throughout these three minuites are all natural and are not artificial. Furthermore, their is background music played through these three minuites until the car crash incident, its classical opera to create a soothing at calm atmosphere also this links with the main charatcer what type of person she is, the sound is a non-digetic sound.

Textual Analysis of IRONMAN

In the first three minuites of IRONMAN we notice many generic conventions throughout to give the audience an idea of what genre it is. Firstly we see large army trucks with machine guns, hand held machine guns, missiles, guns in general, explosions and knives, when we see these signs of generic conventions we automatically think that the genre is action.
At the start of the narrative the first shot sets the scene to give the audience an idea of where it is, then Tony Stark (main character) who is famous for making special millitairy weapons is sitting in a army truck with army men, they are all joking around when they want a picture with the Tony. Suddenly the army truck in front explodes and they are all under attack, the men try to protect the the truck and tony, however, they all die and blood is shown which shows that its is dangerous because of the colour red. Tony then trys to escape, however, doesn't succed and gets captures and injured by a bomb.
Throughout the first three minuites the audience becomes engaged into the film because of the sudden explosion, also what contributes to this is that most of the camera shots are shot as if you are Tony, the audience experience and feel what the Tony is going through and this helps you imagine what is actually happening and gives a more personal presperctive on the action which is happening.
Furthermore, the reprsentaion of Tony at the start we see him as a buisness man and an important man as he is dressed in a suit also he drinks a scotch drink which is very manly and mature. The lighting during these three minuites are all used using natural sun light they dont modify any lighting, however, as soon as he get captured the lighting drops increasingly to a blackness to create a gloomy and evil atmosphere within that scene.