1. We learn about Ferris from
his Body language in the film.
He is represented as very
relaxed and we can tell this
from his posture. For example
in this picture the feet on the
desk shows he is very
confident and thinks that he
will get away with skiving
school.
From the opening sequence we see what
Ferris’ room is like. It looks like a typical
teenage room with posters on the wall and low
key lighting. The low key lighting shows that its
morning but also that teenagers like to hide
away in their rooms closed off from the outside
world.
The mise en scene of the film
adds to Ferris’ representation.
Ferris’ clothes represent him
as the typical rebel teenager.
For example the classic
converse shoes show his age
and also his clothing shows
the audience that this film
was made a long time ago.
The sound in the film adds to
the representation of the
character. The language of
Ferris is not like a lot of
teenagers. He does not
curse or use much slang.
This may be to convince
people he is older and more
mature than he is.
There is no soundtrack in the
opening sequence. This
could be to make the
audience focus more on what
is being said by the family.
Ferris Bueller
The editing in the opening emphasises the cheeky
nature of Ferris. He is communicating to his sister
behind his parents back and joking about the situation.
The fast pace switching of shots back and forth creates
a slightly tense atmosphere as the audience thinks he
might get caught.
Some camera angles in particular The close up
shots add to The representation of Ferris. They
show his facial expressions and give the audience
more of an idea of what Ferris is like. The high
angle helps create the false representation of him
being ill.
Most of the cast is young which tells the
audience that the social group is teenagers.
2. Will Hunting
Will’s dress code tells us about him. It
represents him as quite poor and rough. It is a
contrast to his character because he is actually
a genius who could have a very successful life.
We think that he is like Ferris because he
doesn’t look studious or smart however we find
out in the film that this is not the case.
In this shot we see the main
characters drinking alcohol. This
tells the audience that the social
group is older than most coming of
age films.
The mise en scene adds to the film. The setting of
the film is in Boston and Will lives in in a rough area
of it which represents him as tough. This adds to
the false representation of him not being clever and
not having much of a life ahead of him. His poor
background is emphasised by him having a job at
MIT as a janitor. The audience sees that he is unlike
the students their and doesn’t fit in.
The way Will speaks compared to
the students and teachers of MIT
shows his rough upbringing. He
swears frequently and has a
distinct accent. This represents
him as dumb and poor when in fact
a genius
In this bar scene when there is an intense talk between
Will and an MIT student there is fast paced editing
where the camera swaps back and forth between the
characters quickly to emphasise the hostile nature of
the scene. A lot of the film has fast paced editing
because Will is insulting and sarcastic in conversation.
However in some more emotional scenes there is a
slow pace made. For example in one scene the camera
does not move from a close up of Robin Williams. This
shows that he has a softer side that he hides away like
a lot of teenagers.
3. Harry
Potter Here the audience sees
Harry's geeky look
throughout the film.
This is a false
representation as Harry
is a rebellious character
who doesn’t
concentrate In school.
This matches the
stereotype of orphans
struggling to fit in and
act normally.
In these two pictures we
see that Harry’s clothing
style stayed mostly the
same throughout the films.
This style links the films
and shows that harry is the
same boy from the first
film. However, at the same
time it shows that Harry
has grown up and is much
more mature than before.
Harry’s accent is a typical
British one which changes
very little throughout most
of the films. This
represents him as a
normal British child when
in fact he is actually very
special and stands out in
the films through his
adventures.
The setting of Hogwarts represents
Harry and his friends as very lucky
special. This setting is part of what
makes Harry Potter so special to
fans.
In this classroom
scene in the Half
Blood Prince
Harry and Ron
fight over a book.
The editing here
is fast paced to
show the tension
in the scene. The
pace constantly
changes
throughout the
films to show the
different amounts
of tension in each
scene.
Throughout the franchise there are lots
of medium and close up shots. These
show clearly the facial expressions of
the characters as they are on their
adventures. It also shows how the
characters have grown up throughout
the films.
Low key lighting is used extensively
in the Harry Potter franchise to
represent the dark themes of the
universe. The constant threat of
villains such as Lord Voldemort is
displayed well with this technique.
