Children of Men Essay - Chronological Order

Children of Men starts with sound and no picture. That instantly speaks to you (no pun intended), letting you know this is key information, this is the back drop of the movie, this is setting the scene, this is foreshadowing any possible outcome. The sound starts around the end of the credits to further capture the viewers attention instead of letting them look at the commonly renown boring credits. This is a good technique as it veers attention to the screen and lets the viewer know the movie has started and something is about to happen. All movie stereotypes aside, this is done for the pure purposes of capturing the viewers attention and giving them a background of the movie; where it is, what time it is, what's going on at the moment. From the beginning of the news broadcast you can instantly tell it's dire times, also due to the accents you can tell it's Britain and/or England in such turmoil. After the main bulletin a picture is now present to put emphasis on importance of that headline and show everyone's reactions. Lighting wise it's quite dimly let and follows the rather gloomy weather outside. There is no main focus of lighting present just sufficient lighting for everything in the scene to be seen. This is a a technique used to let the viewer think it's just an ordinary day, as if everything before this main headline was fine, despite obviously hearing the unusual bulletin of a country under siege. The news left everyone horrified and this is shown via their facial expressions. Everyone present is attentive to the news and shocked, they are all facing to the top right of the screen instantly letting the viewer know there is some type of monitor displaying this news. Surroundings are ironically turquoise edging more towards green, being ironic as green and turquoise is normally seen as a quite serene colour that reflects tranquillity. However the colour and words relating to food around the wall infer they are in a cafe, even before the protagonist has ordered his hot drink. Costume wise everyone is in pretty dull colours, and looks as if they are dressed very professionally, this further tells that it is in a major city in England (The iconic police uniform gives away it's London) and in a cafe (maybe before, lunch or after work). The fact that the whole colour scheme for costume in this scene is grey let's you know it's of dull times, or maybe it was supposed to be a normal day until a spanner was thrown in the works by hearing what is on the News. The fact that the movie was released in 2006, and the man that was the youngest person on the Earth before the event was born in 2009 shows the movie has an apocalyptic feel. The news specifically zoom in on that date to speak to the viewers. After the showing of the news, the attention is again directed towards the person you would think is the main character of the film, being that he is in the centre and the only 'normal' person in the scene. He grabs his coffee and walks away as if nothing happened, these actions speak to you in that you think this is a careless man who has sobered to the hard times of life in 2027. I say he is normal in that everyone is mourning a loss over a man they obviously didn't know, some are crying others are looking terrified as if something really bad happened. The fact that mourning his loss is the normal thing to do instantly lets the viewer know this is of importance and a foreshadowing possibly of death later on or this is what the whole movie shall be about. Music wise for that particular moment is really setting the rather sombre seen as the violin reflects due to a violin's connotations: Romance, patient, death, sorrow. The music is selected to give the viewer a pause to soak in this death and really understand what has just happened. The main character (who's name has not been introduced to us) walks outside the cafe with the camera following him at a steady pace as if it's a POV. This puts focus on this character and signifies an ending to that particular scene.

After the main character walks out you get the whole futuristic technology of broadcasts onto buildings and different means of travel etc. There is a subtitle saying the date and whereabouts of the scene, for any viewers that haven't quite picked up on what's happening, or maybe for those viewers that have been hustling and bustling around seats in the cinema. Scenery wise the place is dirty and gives a pathetic fallacy feel, and the fact it's obviously the financial district if London puts emphasis on the change of time and how now London is squaller, leaving you with questions such as: maybe changes have led the UK to no longer be a leading country? Why does London look like this? What caused this? What's really going on? etc. This mere technique of scenery captivates the viewers mind in being more interested and thinking harder about what's actually about to happen in the rest of the movie. To further more hit home with the whole desperate times feel of the movie the main character pulls out a bottle of alcohol, drinking during the day instantly makes the viewer think either there is something particularly wrong with the character or maybe it's just too much to live in London during this era. After this the attention is no longer put on the main character as he is set to the side, however having him at the front of the screen letting the viewer know he is still a man of importance. The camera then rotates to see the middle of the screen, where the character has just come from. Attention is now put on a couple that have just met, due to movie stereotypes the viewer knows this is a foreshadowing for something bad as in this genre there is no way a love can end in anything good. Barely a second after a bomb goes off, given away by the explosion and the eery sound of ringing letting the viewer feel as if they are there and acting as a clue to what's just happened. This is a perfect second step to the opening scene as just after the mourning of a somewhat tragedy another happens as a bomb goes off. This strengthens and answers the questions revolving around what is normal in London at this time, being of course constant tragedy and nothing real to look forward to. The bomb epitomises this by acting as finality and foreshadowing at the same time. Shortly following screaming to put emphasis on the event taken place and letting you know there has been causalities and injures. The sound is a start and then the literal seeing of a female carrying her own arm confirms the suspicions deaths and injuries. After the opening scene ends with the Children of Men title.

Step Two - Summer Work

This scene of Drake's Started From The Bottom consists of a bird's eye view extreme long shot of Drake walking on a billboard. The camera slightly zooms in to emphasise on what Drake is actually doing also placing main interest on the billboard, being that it is also in the middle of the shot. It's definitely an aerial shot that moves from left to right whilst slightly rotating, due to being in the sky, I highly doubt it being a pan shot. Lighting and colour-wise: The lighting is coming from the back of the billboard, this is because it's what is normal, not to particularly show anything, the lighting is just there because that's where it always is. Colour is obviously based on Drake's OVO brand colour scheme: Black and Yellow. This is printed on the billboard to follow that sam tradition, stand out to the viewer and endorse his brand. Costume-wise Drake is wearing a white puffer coat to signify his whereabouts, his hometown of Toronto, also since the video was released in February it is to tell viewers that he's so rich he doesn't have to follow through with the typical hip-hop tradition of 'hustle all winter, ball all summer'.

Obviously as a viewer of 2013 looking at a video from 1994 I can instantly see the costume and car differences. The whole polo sports half zip windbreaker, snap back to the back, Timberland 6 inch boots and all white air forces you can see the era of the video shoot. Also due to Raekwon rapping at the time being he is in the middle and there is a medium long shot. Setting wise it's in New York City, either Brooklyn or Long Island, due to where the clan is from. Placing the video signifies this, alongside having their 'friends' amongst them on the shoot, going with the whole theme of the song 'The Good Old Days of New York'.

All the following pictures are taken from the last episode of Breaking Bad, Ozymandias. In this episode there is a scene which goes back in time to around the start of their meth cooking empire to show viewers another side of Jesse and Walter White, also as a slight recap and to show the transformation from being small time criminals to America's midwest drug lords.

Below a long shot of Walter White in his first Meth Cooking gear.

Below is an Extreme Long Shot of Walt & Jesse to further let the viewer take in the surroundings and bring back some Breaking Bad nostalgia, 

 

Below is a crane shot of Walt which mainly incorporates his surroundings however Walt is present in the shot.

Below is an Aerial shot. Walt is in the shot however he may as well not be. Walter has just lost 70% of his money and zooming out on him creates a feel of lonesome and emphasises what has just happened.

Below is a medium close up of Walter, used to show disapproval of Jesse's actions. Walter is the only one standing which proves he is the authoritative figure of the two.

Below is a close up of Walter White highlighting his rather distraught facial expression to show his reaction to what just happened

Below is a big close up of Jesse showing his feeling, that has slumped him, to Walter telling Jesse he watched his lover die

Below is an extreme close up of Walter White

Below is a looking in space shot of Jesse

Below is a camera tracking shot of Jesse

Below is an over the shoulder shot of Walt & Jesse (Well kinda...)

Below is a two shot of Walter Jr and Skyler to collectively show their expressions

Media Homework for 18th September

Findings from today's class survey of film interest


Chris:
Favourite Film: inception
How many times do you visit the cinema?: Once a month
Favorite genre: Crime/Mystery
How many time spent watching films: Few hours a month
Yes, Chris does stream films.
Thoughts on Piracy: "Illegal".

Niro:
Favourite film: Fast & Furious
How many times do you visit the cinema?: Once every two months
Favourite Genre: Action
How many time spent watching films:
Yes, Niro streams films.
Thoughts on Piracy: "Nothing really..."

Shaan:
Favourite Film: Harry Potter
How many times he goes to the cinema: Once a month
Favourite Genre: Action
Time spent watching films: Film a week
Yes, Shaan does stream movies.
Thoughts on Piracy: "Piracy is good"

Julia:
Favourite Film: Intouchable
How many times does she go to the cinema: Twice a month
Favourite Genre: Drama
How much money spent watching films: £7
Yes, Julia does stream films
Thoughts on Piracy: "Don't care really".

Darius(Myself):
Favourite Film: Forest Gump
How many times do I go to the cinema: Twice a month
Favorite Genre: History - Crime/Mystery
I watch a film every-night so time watching films is quite a lot...
Yes, I stream films via Netflix and/or Sky. Never illegally online because I'm scared it will mess up my Mac.
Personally Piracy doesn't affect me and it's not like I take advantage of Piracy, so really as a naturally selfish human I couldn't care less. However, I know this is a big problem in the film industry and loses a lot of potential money and ruins an art.

Conclusion: Due to technology advances the most common way to watch movies in the class are streaming them to some kind of device, wether it be an Xbox, Laptop or Phone. No one in the class except Sir actually cares about Piracy despite knowing it is wrong, they don't feel as if it is a real law made to be upheld. Majority of the class like Action. The class doesn't have that much interest in the cinema so visits aren't that regular.

A$AP Ferg - Trap Lord Album Review

The album from the wild card of Yams' new age New York Hip Hop collective, Asap Ferg has recently dropped an album and as a TrapLordian I felt there was no choice other than to buy it. 

The album starts with a Yams introduction, which is reminiscent to Diddy's many interludes and the introduction of Mase's classic album, Harlem World. This is intriguing as it defiantly reflects the groups love for new york hip hop and desperate attempt to bring it back to what it was, ironically doing so by copying the work of the golden days. Let It Go is the opening song of the album and it serves it's purpose of setting the scene for the album, you instantly know what kind of music is going to follow. Asap Ferg is far from a conscious rapper and may even be considered a party rapper however not pop unlike the most successful lead rapper of the group Asap Rocky. Let It Go has a dope beat which doesn't actually reflect the theme of the song, the undertone of the beat gives a sort of jungle feel. The beat doesn't involve any eccentric or surprising instruments, the looping instrumental by Razjah you can tell was made for The Trap Lord to float over with his exceptional flow. Overall, the song is dope however it subscribes to the thought of all of his music sounds the same. But as it's the first song it can be excused from a "WE NEED A NEW FEEL FERG!"

Second song on the lp and first sing is Shabba. This song is a hilarious ode to Shabba Ranks (Dancehall artist) and portrayal of Asap Ferg and his mobs new found flashy lifestyle. 

  

The third track is labelled Lord, in which you cant really make out whether the song has a real purpose or not. It went from sex stories, to praising Allah to detailed ways of how to kill a man. It's a shame but it is honestly one of the worst cacophony of sounds i've ever had to endure. After my first listen my first instinct was to delete the song and never look back. However, if you are a fan of nonsensical rhymes mainly about killing and fast rapping you may, dare I say, enjoy this track. It is compelling as you get the contrast of fast rapping clique Bone Thugz N Harmony to smoked out Asap Ferg. All in all, this song was awful and I had to apologise to my ears for subjecting them to such torture.

Like the third song there is 'F**k Out My Face': This is another feature track that can be easily over looked, it's no stand out on the album but it's always nice to see two 'legends' Onyx and B-Real sharing a track with two up and coming artists Asap Ferg and Aston Matthews. To me the song was far from anything extraordinary but it's good as Ferg didn't get overshadowed on the track despite the three others features. 

There is a remix to his most successful song Work which is actually alright but I prefer the original which consists of four other hot rappers in the game now. It has two nothing more than expected verses from Trinidad James and French Montana. A dope verse from Ferg and nothing too special from Rocky. However, there is School Boy Q's verse that completely overshadowed everyone else's, both lyrically and flow wise. The song serves it's purpose, it's just a shame Ferg had a Jay Z renegade experience.

Ferg completely switches it up with his catchy feature from Flocka in Murda Somethin. This song is good as he Asap Mob aren't really respected as thugs in the game, just a bunch of Hipsters from New York. Murda Something is a sort of cry out from Ferg letting fans know he isn't Rocky, Ferg has a thug side. He put the whole fake rapper is he really from the streets talk away letting everyone know he hasn't killed but he has no problem doing so with just his opening 2 bar. This is much like Fergivicious where he lets those that don't know, know. It's another song where he attempts to stand out and let the listener know who he is and what makes him what he is, this is present in the chorus.

Didn't Wanna Do That and Make a Scene is rare story telling from Ferg in which he tells what would happen if he had to make a scene in both songs. One telling what he will do to those that robbed his friend and the other being if someone was to confront him and the only possible outcome was to be death. Both loaded with euphemisms about killing, much like Murda Something.

402 serves as a perfect interlude to Dump Dump. 402 is a track that wasn't quite sure whether it wanted to be a skit, interlude or track on it's on. It's about a sexual experience of the Trap Lord and is placed before a song that is pretty much about the same thing. Dump Dump is hardly a stand out song or prominent piece of work on the album, it's serves it's purpose of being a sort out drugged up hype party track and that's it. It's a song you hear and want to fight the person next to you, whether for excitement from the upbeat tempo or frustration of the many elements of the song clashing together and not really making sense, that's it.

Hood Pope and Cocaine Castle are two spaced out songs by Donnie McClurkin Frontin' both incorporating a rather slow tempo and venting. One telling about how hard it is in his hood and how even Jesus wouldn't want to be there. The other telling stories about cocaine abusers and what it's really like to be with the notorious 'white girl'. Both songs are prominent and controversial as it shows Fergenstein's versatility; switching up flows and showing how he can ride any beat tailored to his unique style. Also shows Ferg's conscious side, not the side where he is talking about the 3 things that come with fame - Money, Clothes, H**s. 

Overall the album is strong and shows Ferg deserves the same respect shown to group leader Rocky or maybe even more. He shows how much he stands out from the collective and modern age Wu-Tang Asap. As Yams once said Ferg is the wild card of the group, and his debut album defiantly shows this wild card paid off. Best songs for me: Cocaine Castle, Make a Scene, Hood Pope and Let it go.