The document provides definitions and examples of key film analysis terms: 1) It defines denotation and connotation, and provides examples for the words "snake", "flag", and "gun". 2) It analyzes three movie posters, noting details like color schemes, imagery, and text that provide insight into the narratives and characters. 3) It summarizes two music clips, describing what type of scenes each might accompany based on elements like instrumentation, tempo, and structure. 4) It analyzes how a movie trailer for "The Shining" misleads viewers about the film's true nature through editing techniques. 5) It does the same for a hypothetical trailer for "

1. Meaning
Theory
Yoran Alflat

2. Snake
• Denotation
Scaly cold blooded reptile
Connotation
– Slippery, evil, scheming,
deceitful, traitorous,
turncoat.

3. Flag
• Denotation
Image known to represent
something like a country.
• Connotation
– Patriotism, prideful,
nationality, group,
representing, sporting.

4. Gun
• Denotation
Handheld ranged weapon.
• Connotation
– Violence, war, murder, pain,
loud, officer, army, police.

5. Poster Analysis 1
Freddie Mercury is clearly the main character as he takes up over
half of the poster.
The gold font represents the massive amount of money which
queen received for their music.
The purple represent royalty which could be to contrast against
the gold, could be to show royalty to go with the band being
called queen, is probably used to show that Freddie Mercury
became perceived as music royalty.
The sunglasses reflect queen which shows they are part of the
story but the main focus is still on Freddie Mercury.
Only half of his head is shown which suggests there is another
side to him which the audience may not know about.
Fearless lives forever suggests that Freddie Mercury has passed
away as a fearless person for those which may not have known
that.
Darker colour scheme suggests it isn’t the most light-hearted and
jovial tale.
Spotlight can be seen in his sunglasses which suggests he is put
into the limelight a lot whether he wanted to be or not.
The moustache and sunglasses are shown as they are
stereotypically known as what he would wear.

6. Poster Analysis 2
The different sections tells us that this story takes place over a
long time as the character grows up.
The divide with the purple colouring and the injured face
suggests that the middle part of the story is the darkest part and
that there is a divide inside the character.
The slogan this is the story of a lifetime says 2 things one that it
is the story of a persons life but it also says that it is a very good
story which people should watch.
There is a neon type glow around the lettering of the title which
suggests that the story takes place in grimier, darker places and
needs to be lit up.
The purple may represent the characters need/ want for money
in his circumstances in a way striving for royalty.
The blue shows a lighter side to the character but he still isn’t
totally out of the dark as the edges of the blue are darker.

7. Poster Analysis 3
Light to dark colour scheme suggests the character was happy until
something happened which led him to a darker place.
The main part of the character is distanced from the gun which
suggests he doesn’t want anything to do with it but as the barrel
stands in for the O it is also a part of him.
This also suggests the character has had a history of violence which
he has been able to distance himself from until now.
The slogan don’t set him off suggests the character has an aptitude
for violence and knows how to use weaponry which is also shown
with the barrel being part of his name. the slogan also suggests the
character is quite a vengeful one who may be looking to start a fight.
The name is disjointed slightly which suggests that there other sides
and parts to him than the violence but they are intrinsically linked. It
could also represent the fact that people tend not to see eye to eye
with him.
The gun barrel being part of the name suggests when people say it
they instantly associate it with violence and death which probably
gives the character a bit of legend and lore.
He looks at you with the gun barrel which suggests there may be
distance between you and him but if he’s got you in his sights then he
will kill you.

8. Soundtrack• Clip 1
– There is a horn then its quieter which suggests the character
has come across some sort of warning or danger which is
referenced by said horn. Then there are nature sounds like
wind blowing which suggests something shocking has
happened and now they are all quiet. The nature sounds
include wind which suggests that they are in the calm before
the storm. Then the music starts up again and escalates quickly
another horn is there to say it’s the same danger from earlier
the escalating music suggests the danger is getting closer and
closer and that the character is in danger. It almost comes to a
crescendo which is when something would happen this would
probably be used in a horror film.
• Clip 2
– A harp and some other light sound brings up images of
happiness and the harp in particular brings to mind something
magical or fantastical. It gets more and more magical which
suggests something wonderful is slowly until a slight crescendo
which suggests maybe a character is walking into the place of
their dreams or something along those lines. It takes it in steps
which suggests one nice thing after another adding up to s
super great thing and the bells bring to mind wedding bells
which may be because the character is about to see their
partner for the first time in a while or maybe they just got
proposed to and that’s why the music is playing. This would
probably be used in a fantasy or romance film.

9. Shining
• They put narration over it which usually isn’t used when it comes to
horror trailers which misleads the audience. There is some light
jaunty music as well so even if things don’t seem totally correct the
music calms them down and reassures them it is a nice film. They
show lots of scenes where the family is happily together which
hides the disconnect between them. They cut around bits of
dialogue so the characters say what they want them to say rather
than what they are really saying. They also cut around the context
behind why a character is saying something cutting off their
possible less savoury motives for saying it. They cut around parts of
Jacks craziness to make it seem much more comedic rather than a
descent into madness. The sadder music in the middle of the advert
makes clips which could come off as disjointed or scary come off as
sadder and not scary.

10. Scary Mary
• The fog and dark skies show mystery and darkness rather than just being
clips of night-time in winter. They add in lines of text to make it seem more
like a fairy-tale and as they are vague and dark and they come up as Mary
Poppins arrives she comes of as the villain. The fact that Mary Poppins is
magical as she arrives makes it seem as if she might be a witch or
something else of that calibre. They add in a slow thumping heartbeat
which translates to someone is trying to not be found and be quiet so
much they can hear their own heart beat. They put disjointed violin music
and quick cuts to cut around the context and to replace that with fear. The
magic and shock people may express in relation to that is cut so the magic
is evil and the people are scared they do this multiple times with the
children to exemplify the fact that Mary is a scary witch from a fairy-tale
because kids are more likely to read those stories. They also show the kids
scared a lot to show that instead of the magic being fantastical it is evil
therefore Mary is evil. They cut the reactions from different things and
different magical things so they get a reaction to the magic but the
reaction may be from an entirely different thing. The indifferent looks
Mary gives make her seem cold and scary.

11. Stereotypes
Men
• Brash
• Obnoxious
• Sex driven
• Money driven
• Cant pick up hints,
dumb
• Sports
• Blue
• D.I.Y
• SOLDIERS
Women
• Clever
• Want a family life
• Want kids
• Over emotional
• needy
• Clean
• Pink
• Make up

12. Stereotypes
Upper Class
• Uncaring for lower class people
• Lazy
• Obnoxious
• Pretentious
• Mean
• Driven by money no matter the
cost
• Live in mansions and own 300
cars.
• scheming
• Own designer things
Working Class
• Dimmer
• Hard working or lazy
• Big families
• Simple lives
• Humble
• Solid values
• On the brink of
homelessness
• Hard tough lives.

13. Stereotypes
Old People
• Wise
• Incompetent
• Slow
• Aging bodies mean they
cant do much
• Usually have a dead spouse
or lost love
• Technophobes
• Hate modern world and
miss good old days
• Bad memory
Young People
• Tech obsessed
• Rude
• Kill or be killed attitude
• Ruthless
• Want a lot of money and
power.
• Hang around in big
groups
• Antisocial
• Don’t love the elderly

14. Iconography- Western
• Wagons, gunslingers, cowboys and Indians,
sheriffs, saloons, revolvers, bow and arrows,
buffalo, cowboy hats, horses, boots, Mexicans,
Clint east wood, standoffs, damsel in distress,
taming the wild, nature vs civilisation, train
robberies, outlaws.

15. Iconography- Sci-Fi
• Lasers, space ships, aliens, space, time travel,
black holes, clones, phasers, teleportation,
lightsabres, unknown worlds, lots of different
languages, intergalactic travel, robots, a.i,
computer simulations, murderous technology,
alternate timelines, asteroid fields.

16. Iconography- Fantasy
• swords, dungeons, dragons, skeletons, goblins,
giants, gnomes, princesses, damsels in distress,
knights in shining armour, magic, wizards,
witches, cauldrons, castles, peasants, black
death, bow and arrows, unicorns, trolls, caves,
hobbits, elves, dark powers, spell casting, wands,
riddles and prophecies, mermaid, legends,
banquets, knights of the round table, king Arthur.

17. Narrative
• Narrative Definition
– A story which takes place told by someone
• Linear Narrative Definition
– A film which takes place in perfect chronological
order
• Linear Narrative Film Example
– 1917 since its one shot there's no place for a
flashback.

18. Narrative
• Non-Linear Narrative Definition
– A film which is disjointed because events don’t
take place chronologically.
• Non-Linear Narrative Film Example
– Memento flashbacks, stories, unreliable narrator
all mean its not in a linear order.

19. Clip Analysis• The good characters are wearing a vibrant array of colours like orange pink and green this way you can instantly
tell the good guys and the bad guys apart as the Stormtroopers wear the same uniform and Darth Vader wears
all black. There is a storm in the background as Darth Vader comes out with the Stormtroopers this is meant to
put a sense of foreboding into the audience. The main characters are a range of different species opposite to
the Stormtroopers and Darth Vader. The entire set is made out of blacks and greys to show the doom and
danger coming. The spaceship there last hope of escape is white signifying hope. The good guys have scars and
robotic limbs which the empire hides beneath masks and uniforms whereas the good guys accept it’s part of
who they are. The only real bits of colour are the white of the spaceship and the explosions killing the
Stormtroopers and crushing Darth Vader with an AT-AT also signifying the light side. Instantly when the
Stormtroopers come out they run to one side signifying they are part of the side battle. This is also shown by
the other side characters on the other team aren't fighting Darth Vader. The music starts with foreboding horns
magnifying the hopelessness now that Darth Vader is on the scene. It then changes multiple times quickly
through the fight from deeper sounds to higher ones each representing the different groups getting louder and
more triumphant when a particular side is winning this adds a lot of tension as there is no clear audio cues as
to who is going to win. There isn't much dialogue but when there is some it is spoken by the side characters
often comedically adding a sense of light showing that at least to some extent they are winning. It adds to the
characters as well even under stress they are making quips and jokes. The red and blue lightsabres contrast a
lot obviously showing the different sides of the battle. The music which came in when Darth Vader entered the
scene goes quieter when he is momentarily defeated as he is crushed under the AT-ATs which is an audio cue
the good guys have won giving the viewer a sense of happiness and hope. The AT-ATs fall with a thundering
crash along with the sighs of the people Darth was fighting signifying it was a tough battle. The music begins
again when Darth Vader throws the wreckage off of him his music comes back signifying he is back in the
battle. Darth Vader is often alone in his shots whereas the good guys often share shots as they have to battle
together to fight Stormtroopers or Darth Vader. The fact Darth Vader is alone in some shots usually when he is
demonstrating his power gives the audience the sense of his power shown by the fact nobody can even share
the scene with him. Characters facing Darth Vader are in front of the ones fighting the Stormtroopers Darth
Vader is never behind the Stormtroopers and so on showing different characters different levels of strength.