Costume in films

 

Audiance of Post Apocalyptic films

To find out what type of audience post apocalyptic films attract I used a website called 'YouGov' which is a website that creates a stereotypical profile of what the typical audience member is like for each film. the films I will be looking at are; I am legend, The book of Eli, 28 days later and The road. From my research into these four films I have found some similarities between all four film but for most points the group is split down the middle. this is because the book of Eli and I am legend are very similar and the road and 28 days later have a lot of similarities. the sample size of the films are slightly different which would make the results not as accurate as if the sample size was exactly the same. According to 'YouGov' the stereotypical audience member is a male between the ages of 40-54 for 3 of the films and 28 days later being an anomaly of the four with a audience range from 25- 39 which is slightly lower. The social grade also varies with one half of the group which includes I am legend and the book of Eli having a social grade of C2DE and the other half that I includes the road and 28s days later have a social grade of ABC1. another similarity between the book of Eli and I am legend is the regions that the typical audience member comes from which is the midlands, and again the road and 28 days later have very different top regions as one has the south coast and the other has central Scotland but one that they do have in common is the north east and north west of the country. The professions of the films differ slightly but the professions of I am legend and the book of Eli were very hands on jobs like construction, engineering and manufacturing whereas the professions of the audience of the road and 28 days later were very media and entertainment based jobs. The personality of each audience differs slightly as the audience members of the book of Eli, 28 days later and I am legend have a easy going , sweet and considerate personality's however the audience of the road are open, knowledgeable and challenging personality's. All four audiences have one TV show in common that they watch which is the walking dead. The walking dead is also part of the post apocalyptic genre which is why all the audiences probably watch it. each audiences spends a different amount of time watching TV/films for example the audience of I am legend spend 16-20 hours watching films , the audience members of the book of Eli spend 46-50 hours watching films and the audience members of 28s days later spend as little as 1-5 hours watching films which is a massive difference compared to the other three film audiences.

My Own Mise En Scene

I have taken 2 images to show and analyse my own Mise en scene. I have chosen to take images of my photography teacher to also capture his facial expression and show how that can change an image of a person. the first image is in his class room which isn't very clear but his costume is s shirt and tie which shows that his job is professional and important. secondly in the background you can see a poster with words relating top photography like depth of field, camera lens, shutter speed, aperture, contrast and exposure. these are words and things that all photographers live by and work with so it shows his profession. he is also wearing a camera round his neck which again shows his interests as well as his job. the colours in the post are very neutral with the greens and browns which shows that the room is peaceful and calm which helps with he learning and shows he is willing to help his students. in the first image he is also holding a book which shoes his intelligence and his interest for photography as it is a book by a photographer. this also shows that he is keen to lean something new. he is also wearing glasses which is stereotypical of someone smart and intelligent.

Mise en Scene

Mise en Scene is the French term meaning what is put in front of the camera or in the scene. the Mise en scene is essential to the media industry and give the audience essential information about the character and the setting and sends them signals about the film and how there suppose . the Mise en Scene is made up of 5 elements including;

• settings and props
• costume, makeup and hair
• facial expressions and body language
• lighting and colour
• positioning of the characters and objects in the frame

I have analysed 5 different stills from the films; The book of Eli, 28 days later, the road and I am legend.

This is a still from the film book of Eli. It is a scene between the main character Eli and a girl called Solara. The props in this still include a gun and a book which are both linked together. The gun shows that he is prepared to  defend the ownership of the book and that he will kill for the book. The book is positions away from the door and Solara which suggests that he thinks of her as a threat and that he is keeping the book away from her and he is a barrier between them. The dirty sink in  the background suggests that he is in a jail cell that hasn’t been used in a while. The fact that the sink is not in use shows that they don’t have access to clean water or that they don’t have enough to be able to clean themselves.  Eli is dressed in basic clothing that is quite dirty and shows that they don’t have access to water or clean clothing. On the other hand Solara is wearing clean , neat clothing and  he hair is groomed and neat which is like she is dressing up for Eli.

This is a second still from the book of Eli, during the scene between Eli and Solara. The setting and location of this image looks like a jail cell or derelict building as the wallpaper is peeling and the walls beneath are grubby and dirty. One thing that I noticed that hinted at a apocalypse or crisis is that they have an oil lamp in the middle of the table which suggests that they don’t have access to electricity or the electricity has been cut off. Also the light is on his side of the table which suggests that he is safe and she can trust him as light connotate positivity and a safe zone. The characters are sat either side of the table and it is like a barrier between them suggesting that one of them is dangerous. You can tell that Solara trusts Eli and she is letting him hold her hands during there prayer and has he eyes shut which shows that she thinks he is no danger to her.  Eli on the other hand has his eyes open during the prayer like he is convinced that she's up to no good. The placement of the food on Eli’s side of the table shows that they are trying to look after him and keep him well fed but don’t really care about the girl. Eli is shielding the food and looks like he does not want to share with Solara. The poster on the wall is significant as it is of an old post apocalyptic film in the 1970’s which tells us that the storyline to that film is similar or is significant to the ending of this film that as a viewer we will have to watch as see what it resembles.



This is a still from the film 28 days later which includes to characters a man and a woman. The woman is positions behind the man which suggests that he may be protecting her from something. Also the facial expressions suggest the same thing as the woman looks scared whereas the man looks confused but more confident than the woman. The Christmas lights in the background suggest that the film is set in the winter months and the clothing wore suggests the same thing as they are wearing thick hats and coats. The Christmas lights in the background also suggests that they still have access to electricity unlike other post apocalyptic films I have studied.

This is a still from the film The road which includes the too main characters the son and father. The background of the still suggest that they are in an abandoned building or that they are in a building that has been destroyed by war or another reason. Both characters are dressed in dirty and grubby clothing and the older man has a dirty and unshaven face which shows they don’t have access to new clothing or that they don’t have access to clean water to wash there clothing. The can of coke in the middle of the men is the main subject of this still as it is positioned in the middle of the shot. This suggests that the coke if the most important thing to them in this moment and as the mean are either side it looks like they could be fighting over it.  On the other hand the older man has the coke can in his hand which he could be handing over to his son because he would rather him have the energy and drink rather than himself. This shows that the father is still compassionate and caring even though there is an apocalypse happening in the moment his son is still the most important thing to him.

This is a still from the film I am legend and involves two characters in this scene the main character and his dog. The still shows us the location of the main character and he is in a well built up area. Another big clue is the empire state building that can be seen in the background slightly behind the fog, this gives the indication that the scene is located in New York city.  The streets look abandoned and derelict compared to what  New York city usually looks like in films. The cars that have been abandoned and deserted either side of the road some with the doors wide open suggest that people left in a hurry or that survivors has been scavenging through the cars for supplies.  The grass has over grown the path an into the cars which show that they have been abandoned and not in use for a while.  The main character carries round a gun which shows he is prepared for anything that may attack him or come in his way.  The man is also well dresses, clean and shaven which shows that he has access to water and resources like toiletries. The Christmas light shows that the apocalypse happening during the winter months which gives an indication on how long this man has been living post-apocalypse which has been well over a year as it looks like the end of summer/autumn in this scene.

Age Classification Catagories

Age classification in put in order by the BBFC (British board of film classification) in 1912 and is responsible for the national classification of film that are shown in cinemas and other things such as TV shows, trailers and adverts that are shown to the public. the classifications were put in place in order to protect children from unsuitable and harmful content. there are 7 age restrictions for films which include;

• U - in which all ages are allowed as there should be nothing that is unsuitable for children to watch
• PG - all ages are allowed but some scene could be unsuitable for young children and may contain mild language, violence and sex/drugs references.
• 12A - only used in the cinema, could be unsuitable for very young children and children under 12 may only be accepted if they are accompanied by an adult over 18. it is not recommended by the BBFC and it is the parents decision if they can watch it which causes a slight problem as the parents do not know before watching the film weather it is suitable for their child. it may include mature themes like drugs, discrimination, moderate language and moderate language.
• 12 - nobody under the age of 12 can watch this film as it contains infrequent drugs, use of strong language and nudity. also contain discreet sexual activity and moderate violence.
• 15 - only people over 15 can be accepted as these films may contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong language, strong violence and undetailed sex activity.
• 18 - only adults are permitted to watch as they don't have a limitation to the bad language as well as strong  violence, hard drugs, and strong sexual activity if it is justified by the content.
• Restricted 18 - can only be shown at licensed adult cinema and only to 18 or older and contains pornography.

Examples of categorised age restrictions;

• U- Finding Dory because it shows mild threats and language like 'darn' and 'heck' and during the film characters get chased which causes mild distress.  
• PG- Tangled because it has mild fight scene when the character threaten a man with a frying pan and a brief sight of blood.
• 12A- Now you see me 2 because it contains moderate violence and threat that then are revealed to become magic tricks
• 12-Fast five because it has scenes of violence and use of strong language as well as drugs and sexual references.
• 15- Hunger games because it puts emphasis on the injury's and violence and also has scenes that could be interpreted differently like her hallucinations caused by wasp stings and suicide.
• 18- 50 shades of grey because it contains sex, nudity and the portrayal of an erotic role.