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1. Unit 26 FilmStudies
PR4
There are manydifferentwaystoanalyse afilm, some of the waystodo thisare genre analysisand
Auteurtheory. Gene analysiscanbe done withLaceysrepertoire of elements:
.Character
.Narrative
.Iconography
.Setting
.Technical audiocodes
Narrative – Thisrefersto the structure of a story,as well asnarrative devices,whichsome
genresemploy. Forexample inLeonhere isaverydistinctlinearnarrative,andyoucantell
where everyseeninthe filmhasitsplace.Were asPulpFictionwhichhasthe same kindof
genre hasa more fragmentednarrative anditonlybecomesclearthe orderof scenes
towardsthe endof the film.
Character – Charactersusuallyhelpdevelopthe narrative withtheirfunctions,(Protagonist,
Antagonist).Some charactersare sowell associatedwithgenresthattheycanbecome a
generictype,forexample totoughyoungagentinactionfilms,the helplessdamselin
horror filmslike the Evil Deadwere she overcomesherowninflictionsanddefeatsthe bad
guy.
Iconography – Thisis whena filmcontainsvisual oraudioimagesthatbecome instantly
recognisable andassociatedwiththe genre. Forexample CowboysVsAliensisahybrid
movie butyetyoustraightaway know that itis aboutthe WildWestbecause of the location
and knowthat there isa hintof SCFIfromthe objecton hiswristwhichisemphasisedby
close upusedin the openingscene.
Setting– A fewgenreshave adistinctivelocationinwhichyouwouldshootthatparticular
type of film,Genscan alsobe associatedwithdifferenttime periods.Youcan usuallytell by
whattype of movie itwill be bythe settings.Forexamplespace –SCFI. A movie which
incorporatesthisisStar Wars, as inthe firstscenesof a few of the filmsthere isabattle in
space betweengiantships,the directorwouldof purposely setitinspace.There are alsoa
fewotherexampleslike ahorrorfilmbeingshotinthe woodsandan actionfilmbeingshot
inthe city.

2. Unit 26 FilmStudies
PR4
Style – Style isthe objectsinwhichiconographyrefers tobutinthe way theyare
presented,suchasediting,cameraanglesetc. Forexamplethe movie RaidandRaid2
have a verydistinctive styleastheyare fastpaced andviolent,thisisdone byquick
editingshotsandspecial effectsaswell asfightingchoreography.Were asafilmlike Da
Vinci’scode hasslowcut scenesinwhichtocreate tensionandmysteryandhas a very
differentfeeltoRaid.
AuteurTheoryis whena filmreflectsthe director’spersonalcreativevision;thiscouldbe fromthe
genre of filmsyouproduce or the style inwhichyoudoit. For example Leon,the storybehindthe
filmisabouta professional killer,whichyouwouldthinkwithtypical movie representationof a
professionalkillertheywouldbe youngandgoodlooking,aswell asalove interest.Like yourtypical
JamesBondfilm.
AlthoughinLeonthe protagonistisplayedbyaman wholooksto be past his40’s and the woman
whois usuallythe love interestisplayedbyayounggirl.Thisgoesagainsttypical representationof
action/thrillercharacters.Eventhoughthe filmwouldof probablyof made more moneybyusingthe
stereotypical characters,the directorLucBessondecidedtogoagainstit,makinghiman Auteurby
producingthisnewstyle of film.
AnotherexampleisMichael Baythe director,if youwasto lookat a listof filmshe hasproducedand
directedthe majorityif notall are action,thismakeshiman Auteurto that particulartype of Genre
as he is automaticallyassociatedwithit.Evenactorscan be seenas an Auteur,forexample Liam
Nessonashe is now becomes aniconicactioncharacter, and hisrole inmoviesisalmostalways an
actionhero.

3. Unit 26 FilmStudies
PR4
There are manydifferenttypesof Auteurs.
There isthe principle creatorof afilm,like QuintinTarintino,whocreatesall hisownscripts. Inhis
filmPulpFictionthe narrative isfragmented anddepictsthe filmfromthe bad guy’spointof view,as
were inyourtypical crime/thrilleryouonlysee the good guy’sside tothe story. Forexample
SherlockHolmesfocusesonthe maincharacter that isgood. AnotherfilmthatQuintinTarintinodid
that focusesonthe bad guysperspective isReservoirDogs.
Anothertype of Auteurisone that demonstratesaparticulartype of style.Forexample TimBurton,
the style of hisfilmsisusuallyprettysimilar,withlotsof apheticallypleasingsceneryandvery
distinctive maincharacters whichthe focusismostlyonthem. Like hisfilm9and Corpsesbride are
prettydark at some points,butbothshow incredible sceneryandvisual effects.Evenfromhisearlier
filmslike EdwardScissorhandsandBeetle Juice he still hadthatkindof feel andstyle tothe films.
An Auteurcanalso be seenassomeone whodemonstratesinnovation. Forexample,leadingbackto
star wars againyou couldargue that George Lucas was an auteurbecause of hisuse of special
effectswhenbackwhenthe movie wasbeingmade noone usedspecial effects,thiscouldof also
beena contributingfactorthatmade the filma bigsuccess.

4. Unit 26 FilmStudies
PR4
Furthermore anauteurcan be seenassome whovaluesartistmeritovercommercial success. Leon
isan example of this,ashe wentagainsttypical codesandconventionsandtooka riskby casting
actors whowouldn’tusuallyfitthe rolesinthe movie,bydoingthishe didn’tgetalotof success
withhisfilmbuthe createdart in hisownmindand thismakeshiman auteur.
Lastlyyou can identifysomeoneasanauteurif theyhave a consistenttheme thoughoutthere films.
An auteurwitha recurringtheme throughthere filmscouldbe Michael Bay.Nearlyall of hisfilmsare
actionand thriller.Indoingsoyouwouldrelate thisdirectortoactionfilms,almostashe has
become iconicforit,the same can be seenforDaniel Craigwhoeversince hisJamesBondfilmshe
has playedthe rolesof similarcharactersmakinghimanauteurfor thatparticularrole.
A filmthatiseasyto distinguishasbeingaproductof an auteurisNapoleonDynamite.Thisfilmis
basedarounda young manin highschool andhisstruggleswithbeingbulliedandgeneral life,itcan
be seenas an the workof an auteurthroughits exaggerationof certainaspectsaboutthe typical
highschool drama,for example howthe mainprotagonistdress’sandhow he speaksisridiculously
far fetchedbutalsorelative andfunny.The focusaroundhimandhisunpopularfriendsisalso
engulfed insocial awkwardnessthatleavesthe audience feelingawkwardthemselves,thisisaclever
technique usedbysilence andscriptwriting whichemphasisteenage awkwardness.
Thiscan be comparedto meangirlswere the directorfocusmore onthe popularpeople of high
school and beauty.Asthe movie isbasedarounda youngattractive girl whohas movedtoa new
school and histo try andmake newfriendsaswell asfitin,whichsoundslike acliché.There isa
massive difference betweenbothmainprotagonistsineachfilm.I wouldsaythe filmmakerfor
NapoleonDynamitewouldbe describedasanauteurbecause he valuesartisticmeritthan

5. Unit 26 FilmStudies
PR4
commercial successashismaincharacter was the exaggeratedsocial outcastratherthana young
attractive actor whowouldof most likely gainedmore attentionforthe film.
In myconclusionbothmethodsof filmanalysiscanhelpshow amore vastappreciationforfilmas
more than some people wouldthinkgoesintomakingone.Forexample whenitcomestothe
hobbit,theyhadto finda settingthatmade youfeel like itbelongedtothatgenre whichis
adventure/action.Youcouldalsoargue thattheycompare yourtypical actionherowithinthe film
as the two mainprotagonistsare completelydifferentasone isusedtothe comfortsof home and
has neverreallybeeninafightandthe otherwhichisthe kingof the dwarfsis usedtobattlesand
fightingforhislife.Theyare alsoverydifferentinappearance asonesstockyandhasa beardand
looksintimidatingalmostandthe otheriscleanshavenandwell dressedandlooksfriendly.
Eventhe movie postercan be seenasa representationof action/adventure,asyouhave tocery
distinctcolourseitherside of the image one beingredwithfire andthe otherbeingblue andcold.
Thiscouldbe a representationof goodversusbadwithinthe movie.Infactall of the hobbitmovie
posterscouldbe seenasthe workof an auteuras theyall containsymbolism.Forexamplethe one
belowshowsBilbosteppingoutthe door,were the insideof hishouse isdarkand boringandthe
outside issunnyandaestheticallypleasing,alsoimplyingthe adventuretheme tothe film.