Barthes' Narrative Codes

Roland Barthes' Narrative Codes

 

Action Codes
The audience recognises action codes within media texts as it is used to predict what will happen next after following a logical step. It also advances the narrative (story). For example, when a character packs a suitcase, the logical step after this would be to leave or go somewhere else. In our preliminary task, the protagonist walked up to the door and using action code, the next typical action was him walking out of the door.

Mystery Code/Enigma Code
This code is used to explain the narrative of a film by having control over what information and how much information is exposed to the audience. It grabs the audience's attention by setting up conflicts between characters, but it is then restored during the course of the narrative. In our preliminary task, if you carry on watching, you would find out what the documents meant and what mistake the antagonist made.

The Semic Code
This code is all about signs and meanings in a text that explains to us about the narratives and the characters. In our preliminary task, we unfortunately didn't use the effects of the semic code.

The Cultural Code
This code is used in order for the narrative to make sense to a culturally and socially aware audience. It makes reference to aspects from reality that the audience can relate to. It helps you understand the background of a character. In our preliminary task, the setting was based in an office/meeting room environment and made to look like a formal matter so it gives the indication that the characters could be middle class.

Codes of Oppositions
This code refers to a narrative that relies on binary opposites. For example, black v white, hot v cold, war v peace. In our preliminary, we have shown the opposites of male v female and to change the stereotypical representation of gender, the antagonist was female and she over powered the protagonist which was male.

Conventions of a Thriller Movie

Conventions of a Thriller Film

A thriller film consists, typically, of conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist characters when the stability of the film is disrupted. The story's climax progresses through a sequence of events and when the story is resolved, the balance is restored. The direct focus of the protagonist is to create peace and to settle the situation but the focus of the antagonist is to disrupt and destroy the protagonists intentions. 

-Lighting

-Camera angles/shots

-Non-diegetic music to create tension

-Black and white shots

These are just a few of the conventions that are used in mind when making a thriller film.

Thriller film makers are very good at creating a storyline to their film to something that could happen in a real life situation, to make the audience feel like it could potentially happen to them, which makes them scared but always draws their attention.

In regard to the characters within a thriller, there is stereotypically a male playing the role of the protagonist, who is very brave and desperate to restore justice. The antagonist's identity is very often kept anonymous until towards the end of the film. This draws the audience in and makes them want to watch more to see what happens. The story behind the antagonist is that they are out to seek revenge on events that have happened in the past.

Having the right music is essential when creating a thriller. It is used so the audience can understand the mood of a scene, it can build up the climax and also add in tension and suspense. 

The camera shots in a thriller are very expected and stereotypical. They famously use a large number of close up and extreme close up shots to show the emotions of both the protagonist and the antagonist. Close up shots can also encourage the narrative of the story. However, shots of the antagonist will be short, over the shoulder, or just the shadow. This is to protect their identity and cause a sense of mystery. 

Mise-en-scene is very important and it sets the whole film up. It depends on having the correct type of location to help the audience establish the genre, it uses low lighting to cause effect and the make-up and hair styles are good for representing the characters. Thrillers are famous for using black and white or grainy effects for their movies and they also use costumes to distinguish between the protagonist and the antagonist characters.

Taken is a very popular thriller movie, as well as things such as Batman.

     
           

Preliminary Task Evaluation

This is my Preliminary Task Evaluation.

Our Preliminary Task Video

This is our final cut of our Preliminary Task after it went through post-production, it is available to watch on YouTube.

Stylistic Influences and Post-Production in Utopia

Utopia is prominent for achieving its comic-book style and the requirement of sharp colours, it also has a different use of colour which is unlike any other show on TV. It is very rare that these effects are natural, so it takes a lot of editing in post production to get the scene to look the way it does when it is finalised.
The whole series of Utopia is based around a global conspiracy in a comic book, so it is very clever how the producers achieve an actual comic-book style throughout each episode.

Director of Utopia, Marc Munden, uses a Technicolour palette from 1950's Hollywood to achieve the unique style. Normally a piece of cinematography is constructed by blues, reds and greens whereas Utopia uses yellows, cyan and magentas to push a distinct element to the series.

Marc Munden and his colourist Aidan Farrell precisely colour-correct each shot in the process of post-production using a grading software called Nucoda Film Master instead of a brush or pen. This was so they could choose certain colours and then paint them into a scene afterwards. They used post-production to enhance the colours in a shot to make it look more vibrant.

It's been said that the colour palette for series two (and onwards) of Utopia is even bolder - with production now aided by sets that are pre-prepared and ready for grading in post-production. The producers and the members that work in post-production - successfully combine the vivid colours to produce a very well executed comic-book effect.

What is effective about the opening to Utopia? Series 2, Episode 6

In 'Utopia' there are a wide range of camera shot used to create dramatic effect throughout the opening scene. A close-up shot is used on the assassin when he speaks of killing the young boy, this shows the blank expression on his face which allows the audience to see his evil personality. It also makes you focus on the words he is saying closely, as everything around him is blurred out, this shows specific detail of mise-en-scene. A reverse shot is then used to show the conversation between the assassin and the mother, this shows the character's expression towards the conversation they are having. For example, the mother looked very shocked and taken back by what was being said to her about her son, whereas the assassin looked very calm yet serious about the conversation he was having. A low shot was used when the young boy was looking up at the assassin and as the assassin stood up to leave, this was used to make the male character look very dangerous and powerful.

The representation of gender is very important in identifying what type of programme 'Utopia' is. The assassin is portrayed as a very intelligent man, who dresses in all black to make his character seem more dangerous. However, the mother is portrayed as very innocent and naive, who cares greatly about the environment and her son as opposed to the male character in this scene. The representation of gender in this opening scene is very stereotypical of how males and females are presented in society. Women are viewed as a lot more insignificant to men, this is shown throughout the scene as the assassin continuously speaks over the mother but he does it in a passive aggressive way, emphasising the idea that we live in a patriarchal society.

The zeitgeist is very effective in an opening to a scene as it reflects what is problem/what is happening in the real world, at the time Utopia was aired on TV. In the scene they talk about how people are expected to look after the world by recycling to reduce the carbon foot-print, this shows how the issue of re-using products is ongoing in our own society. The idea of killing a child and speaking of it in such a way shows that it can be very brutal for the audience to hear. However, this unfortunately has become a norm in society and it is not unusual for many viewers to be shocked when talking about the death of a child.

It is an effective opening to a TV series as it uses non-diegetic music to create suspense and tension in the scene, this will entice the audience and make them want to watch more, which boosts ratings and makes the series more successful.

Preliminary Brief; Continuity Task

As our next assignment, we got set the task of creating a small clip using continuity techniques. The clip must show a character opening and closing a door, crossing the room and sitting across from another character where they will exchange a small piece of dialogue. The techniques that must be included are: 180 degree rule, examples of reverse shot and match on action.

The 180 degree rule:

This refers to a basic guideline that states two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship with each other. This rule refers to spatial awareness of the characters that are in the scene, the aim of this editing techniques is that the camera must stay on an axis in order for this shot to be successful.

Shot Reverse Shot:

This refers to a continuity technique used in conversations that are being conducted in a scene or simply characters just looking at each other or objects. This shot cuts from one person to another as the conversation keeps on progressing. This technique makes the scene look more natural.







Match on action:

This refers to film editing and video editing techniques where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shots action. These shots will more than likely be shot separately and not at the same time but match on action gives you the impression that the characters are having a conversation in that moment. This technique is very difficult to perfect.




Story Board: