Media- Now You See Me

1. AS Media Studies: Foundation Portfolio – Now you see me
Code and
Conventions
Findings Textual Evidence
Creation of
enigma.
Enigma is created when you first
see the back on the man as you
want to know who he is. He has his
eyes closed and is playing with the
cards. This creates enigma as you
want to know what he’s going to do
with them. You don’t get much of
an insight into what the character Is
like so the audience is unsure
whether he is good or bad. We
want to find out more about him
and what he’s like. We get to see
he is a magician and want to know
how he does his tricks. We then
see the back of a man who has is
hood up which creates enigma as
we don’t know who he is. This
signifies he is suspicious and
possibly dangerous.
Can’t see his face as first,
eyes closed, no insight, cards,
magician, dark clothing.
Introduction to
characters
Firstly a zoom in is used to the back
of a man wearing dark clothing to
connote mystery. This make the
audience more intrigued as we
want to find out more about who he
is. A big close up is then used when
he opens his eyes. This builds up
excitement. A suspicious man with
his hood up appears in the crowd.
We can’t see his face or make out
what he could be like. This
connotes worry and builds up
exhilaration. A different character
who says ‘Now look into my eyes
and sleep’ is introduced, he looks
powerful and intelligent as he was
able to make the women sleep and
she was under his control.
Suspicious characters,
powerful, dangerous, dark
clothing, no face, mysterious.
Setting up Plot
A plot could be set up as the man
performing the magic tricks seems
powerful and dominant as he is
able to perform magic and the man
Power, dominant, dangerous,
evil, villain, low key lighting.

2. AS Media Studies: Foundation Portfolio – Now you see me
who has his hood up looks
dangerous and evil therefore he
could be the villain and could cause
a lot of conflict between different
characters. Low key lighting is used
which could signify he is bad.
Pace and rhythm
Editing/mise en
scene/camera
shots
A fade in is used to a medium shot
of the back of a man. This connotes
mystery and enigma. It then zooms
in to him playing with cards. He
looks confident with them to signify
he is a magical and therefore
powerful. A zoom in is used from a
medium shot of his face with his
eyes closed to connote excitement
as we want to find out who he is.
This builds up tension. A straight
cut is used to a pan of him standing
in front of the mirror to an over the
shoulder shot. This signifies he is in
deep though and concentrated in
the magic that he’s forgotten about
everything around him. A straight
cut is then used to him playing with
the cards again which signifies the
cards are very important and have
a lot of power. This is repeated as a
zoom in on his face is used again to
a pan of him in the room again.
This builds up excitement as you’re
on the edge of your seat and want
to know what will happen next. He
is wearing dark clothing to connote
mystery or maybe danger as he
seems very powerful. Then a big
close up is used when he opens his
eyes. He uses a direct mode of
address to make him feel more
connection to the audience as the
voice over is used as he is directly
talking to us. A tilt is used when he
pulls a card out and shows it to the
audience. This draws you in and
Fade in, medium shot, zoom
in, cards, straight cut, pan,
mirror, over the shoulder shot,
dark clothing, big close up,
direct mode of address, tilt,
very long shot, close up,
diegetic sound, medium close
up, crane, extreme close up,
zoom out, patriarchy.

3. AS Media Studies: Foundation Portfolio – Now you see me
gets you involved in the trick he is
performing. A very long shot of the
city is used to connote wealth as
the city doesn’t look run down or
dirty. It then zooms in to give you a
close view. A straight cut is used to
a close up of his face and the
diegetic sound of him talking
signifies he is talking to us. A
medium close up of a woman in the
crowd is used. The editing speeds
up as straight cuts are used cutting
back to her. This allowed the
audience to see her reaction
clearly. A tilt is used when he
throws his cards in the air to a long
shot of the building. It then straight
cuts back to the women whose
facial expression is shocked and
amazed. This signifies he is very
good as magic. A pan is used of the
building with the light shining the
outline of the card on there to
create an enigma as you want to
know how he has done that. A
crane is used of the cards falling
down to a straight cut of a
mysterious man. We can’t see his
face as he has his hood up and his
back towards us. This connotes
fear and secrecy. A very long shot
of the outdoors is used to connote
isolation. An extreme close up is
used of someone’s eyes looking
directly at the camera to draw the
audience’s attention in. It then
zooms out to a two shot of a man
and a woman. The man is more
dominant to reinforce patriarchy as
men have more power than
women. This signifies he is
powerful as she is under his
control.

4. AS Media Studies: Foundation Portfolio – Now you see me
Mood and tone
(non diegetic
music)
Non diegetic music is used in the
background which is calm and
relaxed to signify a peaceful mood.
The music is slow to connote
tiredness. The music becomes
more upbeat when he flips the
cards in the air which signifies
excitement and a thrill. It draws
your attention more and makes you
want to find out what’s going to
happen next. The pitch of the music
changed to a suspicious sound
when we see the man with his hood
up. This connotes danger and
mystery.
Non diegetic music, slow,
relaxed, upbeat, suspicious.