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Film Comparison, The Dark Knight vs Hush.

This post will continue my comparative analysis of the action and horror genre by comparing a film from each. My action movie chosen is the dark knight and my horror movie chosen is Hush.

This section will be a detailing of all the similarities that the films possess. The most prominent reason that I paired these two together as oppose to my other option from the respective genre is that both of these films are grounded in a realistic setting, the concept of both films have a sense of realism and can be taken seriously due to their real nature. These two movie lie at the end of the spectrum in which realism plays a factor into the plot. Both movies are dependent upon an antagonist, the dark knight had the Joker and Hush had the unnamed serial killer. Both of these antagonists are able to come off as threatening due to how real they are so their actions can be taken seriously. More modern films of the genre tend to stray away from these realistic character types, turning to more paranormal/abnormal antagonists. Both films contain assets from  Vladimir Propp’s character theory with the hero, the villain, the helper and the false hero. All of these character types help to forward the narrative and play a key role within it. In terms of the films outcome, the hero of the story being Batman for the dark knight and Maddie for hush are able to overcome their respective antagonist however it is at a cost for both of them. Batman ended up losing the only woman he ever loved as well as the man he considered a dear friend, on top of that the entire city of Gotham had turned against him which in turn forced him into retirement from his vigilantism. By the end of Hush Maddie has successfully defeated her attacker although her best friend and her best friends boyfriend were killed prier to his defeat, Maddie’s desire to live in isolation has now been changed due to such an experience. Both films place the antagonist at an advantage for almost the entire duration of the film. The Joker is constantly 2 steps ahead of batman with Batman failing to stop the build up to his master plan, however the Joker does not emerge victorious by the films end. Similarly the killer in Hush seems to have the advantage due to Maddie being both deaf and mute and on top of that she is living alone within the woods, miles away from another person. In summary these are all the aspects that the films have in common.

Now I will be discussing the differences between both movies. First off the most prominent difference is the films overall scale, The Dark Knight encompasses the whole of the fictional Gotham City as it showcases many of the films set pieces. Hush is very restricted in its setting as it takes place within the confines of a cabin, isolated within the wood with it occasionally shifting to the cabins exterior which is where the films more tense scenes take place as a physical confrontation between Maddie and the Killer takes place. On the subject of scale, the two films use their overall scale to create shots of differing effect. The dark knight is able to show high up shots of the Gotham city skyline whilst with Hush the highest they get is the scenes on the roof and even then their shot at a low angle. The number of characters present on screen differs as well, Batman has an entire police force he can rely on to help him with his battle with the Joker, Maddie on the other hand must face her attacker alone with no one to rely on. This presents different levels of stakes raised within both films as it is very clear that Maddie is much more vulnerable than that of Batman. The use of lighting differs between both films, The dark knight uses a combination of both night time shots and day time shots to establish each scene and its overall tone, whether it be the films opening of the bank robbery

Or the iconic shot of batman standing above Jokers pile of burnt money, the films symbol of chaos

The film uses the lighting of these scenes to its fullest advantage. Hush on the other hand lacks this creative opportunity due to the whole movie taking place over a couple of hours at night. The film only has two camera shot options, inside the cabin or outside the cabin. This restricts the films options for creative camera shots.

 The two films have a difference in tone, While the dark knight possesses themes of anarchy, chaos and hopelessness, Hush on the other hand is a tale relating more to a lesson about how those who are in one way or another disabled are still able to fend for themselves. It is clear that the tones of both movies are very different to one another.

These are the main differences between the dark knight and Hush.

To summarise while both films possess a lot of the same elements whether it be story based or not, it is clear that both films are products of different genres. 

[jackgornall-bth]

Film Genre Comparison(Action vs Horror)

So far within this series of posts I have discussed both the action genre and the horror genre. Now its time to compare both genres in depth and discuss the similarities and differences between both of them.

First I will discuss the similarities between the two genres. Without a doubt the most glaring similarity between these two genres is the need for an antagonist. The one thing that makes a great movie be it either action or horror is a great antagonist, Whether it be the leader of a terrorist organisation or a knife wielding maniac, its clear that both genres present a clear villain for their story. Another key element that both genres possess is the ability to create suspense, while each genre has their own take on a suspenseful moment, it is clear that they aim to worry the audience for the characters well being. A stereotypical action movie may involve a bomb with a rapidly decreasing timer to help add suspense, horror movies tend to have a quiet moment of the antagonist searching for the protagonist. While these are two different methods they both aim to achieve the same goal. Both genres have a heavy reliance on music, be it in very different varieties. Action scores are usually loud to create feelings of excitement and enthusiasm from the audience, for example the score within the first avengers movie as the team assembles for the first time is bold and triumphant to help elevate the epicenes of what is unfolding. A horror movie score is usually something on the mellower side with little shifts in beat to go along with events in the film, the Halloween franchise score is probably one of the most iconic sounds in cinema history. These of the main elements that both action movies and horror movies possess.

Now I will move on to the differences between the two genres. One of the most subtle differences is the reliance/use of lighting. An action movie will tend to present bright and vibrant colours to allow the settings and the action taking place within them to be the primary visual that the viewer focuses on, this is referred to as high-key lighting. Horror movies tend to go in the opposite direction and will instead encompass low-key lighting. This means that what lies in the background  is focused on more than what is taking place in the forefront of the shot, this helps to create a sense of paranoia from the viewer as they will often question if whether or not they saw something within the shadows. This tends to provide most scenes with a layer of darkness that will once again create a sense of paranoia from the viewer. Another difference that is very prominent is the overall scale of the genres respective films. Action movies can encompass large iconic cities such as New York, London, etc. A horror movie can often use its setting to its advantage. Its usual smaller scaling's often place the protagonist and the antagonist within a finite area meaning that interactions between the two are more prominent and likely which adds to the ability to make the audience worry for the protagonist more. While both genres have a clear antagonist, an action movie has a clear hero to the story, whilst with horror movies it is more often that not left up to interpretation. This adds a higher level of intensity to the horror genre as their is no definitive proof that the antagonist will be stopped by the films protagonist. These are the most distinctive differences between the two genres as a whole.

To evaluate, it is clear that these two genres share many methods in regards to film making however both also have their own methods which make them unique from one another.

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Horror Movie comparison (IT vs Hush)

This post will consist of an analysis and evaluation of two of my favorite horror movies, those being 2017′s IT and 2016′s Hush.

The first of the two I will be discussing is the 2017 box office success IT, based off of the acclaimed Stephen King novel of the same name.

The films synopsis is  Seven young outcasts in Derry, Maine, are about to face their worst nightmare -- an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town's children. Banding together over the course of one horrifying summer, the friends must overcome their own personal fears to battle the murderous, bloodthirsty clown known as Pennywise.  

Much like the action movie post, I will be discussing is character type. While the movie itself has a core group of heroes it also has two major antagonists of varying threat. The films main antagonist is Pennywise who is the primary form of a shape shifting entity from another dimension who feeds off peoples fears, the other is Henry Bowers the local town bully who is constantly taking his anger out on the films main characters. While it is clear that Pennywise is more of a threat than Bowers, both do an effective job in tormenting the young band of heroes. 

Much like the previously mentioned the dark knight, the film itself does not rely the narrative device of a macguffin to move the plot along, instead characters actions and decisions are what moves the story along. 

While a rural town during the daytime may not seem like the most appropriate setting for a horror movie, not only are their scenes that take place within an abandoned house and the sewer, but also the towns inhabitants are blissfully unaware of Pennywise’s  antics which adds another layer of vulnerability to our child protagonists. Each of the seven protagonists are brought together via some sort of tragedy that ranges from losing a sibling to Pennywise, being abused by their dad etc. These characters find that their inner strength comes from within their companionship which ends up being the Deus Ex Machina that saves the day. The films open narrative only applies to the seven protagonists as each of them are shown to suffer from some form of issue.

The movies camera work is very immersive as shaky cam tracks the characters as the flee from danger or pans around their environment whether it be the openness of the wilderness or the confines of Pennywises lair located deep below the town. 

The character of Pennywise as an antagonist falls into the more paranormal category, his range of abilities make him a serious threat as he is virtually unstoppable via any normal methods of killing him. Pennywise as a character is the evil that is combated by the good which is represented in the form of the children's team work, Levis Strauss’ theory of binary opposites can be applied to this.

As a whole IT contains most of the key traits of what makes a good horror movie those being a menacing antagonist, a feeling of isolation and enclosed environments which accompany low-key lighting.

The second movie of the genre is the 2016 well received horror movie Hush.

This plot of this movie is  A deaf writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears in her window.

The characters within the movie for the most part correlate to Propp’s character theory in regards to horror. The typical horror antagonist who in this movie is an unnamed clearly unhinged man played by John Gallagher Jr.

The character himself falls into the category of horror antagonists who fall in line more towards a Michael Myers type character as appose to Freddy Kruger. The character despite being just a regular man he is established a serious threat due to not only his knowledge of weaponry and physicality but also due to the characters inability to hear or speak places him at a disadvantage in his sick game. Immediately there is a difference between him and Pennywise from IT. Both of these characters are good representations of the two category of horror antagonist. 

The character of Maddie is very different to the stereotypical female lead in horror movies, despite being very disadvantaged due to her disabilities she is clearly very capable of fending for herself by making smart and quick decisions. Similar to how the children despite being at a serious disadvantage against the cosmic entity known as Pennywise they are still able to triumph, Levi Strauss’ binary opposite theory can be applied as for the most part good will always triumph over evil.

The character of John fits into the character of the helper as he is able to provide Maddie with her opportunity to strike. 

Whilst the setting of IT was not particularly intimidating, Hush possesses the most ideal setting for a horror movie, a lonely lodger living within a cabin deep within the woods, miles away from help. Whilst many of the scenes within IT are spread out throughout the town thus making for some creative camera shots, hush’s cabin setting on the surface would restrict the directors creativity however the director manages to use this confined setting to his advantage as both the internal and external shots help to distinguish them as different settings. This shows that both a large scale and small scale location can work for horror, it just depends on how the setting is handled. 

The suspense within both films is of different levels, whilst in IT the protagonists could be taken by Pennywise at any moment they are able to escape his grasp throughout most of the film. What differs Hush from this is the fact that not only is the main protagonist alone for most of her ordeal but also the killer could enter her house at anytime and kill her, this helps build suspense as at any moment Maddie could be killed.  

The film itself lacks any real narrative device such as a macguffin, plot twist, red herring, etc. Much like IT the films core focus is its main protagonist overcoming the antagonist. Hush’s significantly smaller main cast helps keep the focus on Maddie and her attacker which keeps the stakes constantly high, unlike IT which transitioned from character to character throughout the film in order to establish and develop each character.

As mentioned before the films camera work is very restricted however this is used to the movies advanatage as despite it being a single cabin there are many creative single shots and pans across which help keep scenes from feeling repetitive.

To evaluate, while both movies are of the horror genre they are very different in almost every major category within a horror movie.

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The inner horrors of a genre

The second genre of film I will be discussing is that of the horror genre. Whilst not as formulaic as action movies, it is clear that the horror genre has its own stereotypes associated with it also. Fist of all every horror movie has an antagonist, unlike an action movie there is no distinct hero to combat this threat, now a horror antagonist can come in many forms ranging from a madman with a knife to a paranormal entity that does not operate under the basic rules of the universe.

This is Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise, just an ordinary man who is mentally disturbed. 

This is Freddy Kruger of the nightmare on elm street franchise, a being able to kill people via entering their dreams.

Any great horror antagonist needs one of two things an iconic design or memorable one liners. The silent stalker Michael Myers is recognized by his simplistic design. Freddy Kruger whilst interesting in design has some great one liners between the many murders he commits.

The role of a hero within a horror movie can fall upon anyone, it may be a police officer who shoots the antagonist or maybe the films typical horror star may end up saving the day. 

What makes a good horror film is the use of lighting and location. A populated street with high-key lighting doesn’t really convey horror or suspense on the other hand a house isolated within the woods surrounded by low-key lighting is much more intimidating and conveys an actual sense of horror.

Horror movies love to incorporate what is known as a jump scare, whilst yes these are common in almost every horror movie its the placing and usage of them which will determine there overall effectiveness. Sounds are also a very important aspect to help set the tone and scene

Horror movies are designed to affect their audience, it is important for any horror movie to be able to create suspense and place its audience on the edge of their seat. A horror movies use of music and jump scares should evoke a reaction from the audience, that’s what separates a good horror movie from a mediocre action movie. 

In summary these are the basic aspects of a horror movie and the genre as a whole.

[jackgornall-bth]

Action movie comparison( The Dark Knight vs Avengers Infinity War).

This post will consist of the analysis and evaluation of two of my personal favorite action movies Christopher Nolan's 2008 master piece the Dark Knight and The the 2018 box office breaker Avengers Infinity War.

The first of the two films I will be analyzing is The Dark Knight. The general plot of the movie is  With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.

The first point I will be addressing is the characters following the character type theory of character types by Vladimir Propp. The hero of the movie is Batman(Christian Bale) a one man war on the constant crime of Gotham city. The films villain is the Joker(Heath Ledger) an “agent of chaos” as he puts it, the characters sole purpose is to make the hero break his one rule which is “I will not kill”. The helper of the movie is commissioner James Gordon(Gary Oldman) as batman's main ally throughout the movie as well as his main source of Intel for all crime within the city. While the film itself lacks a donor and a dispatcher it does contain a false hero. Harvey Dent(Aaron Eckhart) begins as the charismatic DA of Gotham city, dents most iconic quote in the film is a perfect foreshadow for whats to come. “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” is a brilliant tease to how Harvey eventually becomes the villain two face.

The movie itself contains many traits that would you would associate with an action movie explosions,gun shots, police cars and cops etc. What makes this movie so entertaining is how it grounds a comic book property in a grounded and realistic environment, the way in which Nolan managed to make the film feel as real as possible adds to its effectiveness. The shots within this movie themselves range from wide aerial shots of Gotham to batman's shaky cam brawls with criminals. 

The films most iconic shot is shown above, as batman stands over a pit of money that the joker had previously burnt, he realizes the joker’s true message about chaos. This shot alone is seen as the films most iconic and recognizable images and applies to Jokers established mentality of that some men just want to watch the world burn, which is beautifully symbolized by the Joker burning the most important asset in making the world function that being money.

Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites is applied to Batman and the Joker, the light and the darkness, the Joker’s quote “what would I do without you” highlights that one of them cannot exist without the other.

The films itself possesses a closed narrative, the only real story present is batman's mission to stop the joker, no other characters possess any character moments that don’t involve batman except for maybe the joker.

Plot twists are not really present within the movie except for Harvey’s sudden transformation into the villainous two-face thanks to a severe injury he received due to do the joker’s actions. Harvey himself would fill the slot of the false hero according to Propp’s character theory as he starts as an ally to batman before becoming an antagonist. The teaching of Aristotle’s tragic hero applies to the character of Harvey also.

A macguffin is not needed in order for the plot to be moved along, instead the story continues through the characters actions.

This is my dark knight portion of the blog.

The second of the two action movies I will be discussing is Avengers infinity war, the cinematic event which acted as the culmination of 18 previous movies. 

The plot of this movie is  Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.

One aspect that immediately differs this movie from the dark knight is the over whelming number of characters. Whilst the dark knight follows Propp’s character theory very well with one set hero, villain, helper etc, Infinity war has a total of around 30 heroes with only a handful of villains. The most likely main heroes of this movie are most likely Tony Stark (Robert Downy jr), Steve Rogers( Chris Evans) and Thor(Chris Hems worth). The primary objective of are heroes is to stop the films primary villain Thanos(Josh Brolin) and his plan to wipe out half the universes population. One thing that separates the character types within the two movies is the realistic factor. Whilst the dark knight is set in a grounded realistic setting, infinity war is set in a universe comprised of magic, aliens, Norse mythology and advanced technology. whilst Batman is for the most part a character of realism, the trio of heroes of infinity war consist of a super soldier, a literal god and a genius inventor with a armored suit to advanced to be deemed realistic. Taking a look at the films antagonists the Joker and Thanos one of whom is a psychotic madman and the other is the soul survivor of a deceased alien race. There is a clear difference between the two antagonists.

One thing to discuss is the antagonists motivation. In most action movies the main villain of the movie is evil just for the sake of being evil, however both the Joker and Thanos have such complex motives that each receive their own response. As mentioned above the Jokers main objective is to drive Batman to killing him which in turn would destroy everything the character stands for, whislt this is a interesting premise it lacks any real motive or logic behind it. Thanos on the other hand is the complete opposite, as previously mentioned Thanos is the soul survivor of his race who went extinct due to over population and lack of sustainable resources. He wishes to gather the films macguffn the six infinity stones and use their combined power to wipe out half the universe at once so that the other half of the universe can survive. Thanos’ sparked many debates upon movie goers who were discussing whether or not they sided with him or not. At the end of the day what defines an antagonist is their effect on the hero and their world. Whilst the joker failed to break Batman he did succeed in making the rest of Gotham see him as a murderer which in turn led to him hanging up the cowl. Thanos, in a shocking turn of events succeeds in completing his goal of destroying half the universe, with one snap of his fingers many beloved characters began to fade away to ash, the list included Spider man(Tom Holland), Doctor Strange(Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Panther( Chadwick Boseman) and many others. This led to Thanos having a both physical and metaphorical impact on the heroes.

Whilst the dark knight contains action grounded within login, meaning hand to hand combat and shootouts, infinity war uses its unrealistic to its advantage. Fight scenes are present throughout the movie spanning places like New York, Edinburgh, Africa and even another planet. The camera work incorporated into the movie consists of many close ups on characters faces to show their responses to certain things, transitions back and forth between characters as well as pans across the many environments to give a sense of scope are also used. This movie is packed full of action movie stereotypes with large scale explosions, desolated areas etc. The dark knights single hero left most of its action scenes feeling repetitive as they were all pretty much just Batman vs a single or multiple antagonists. Infinity war makes sure to incorporate its large character roster into its actions scenes, in terms of action set pieces the two films possess their own unique style. 

The film does posses a potential Deus Ex Machina in the form of Thor as not only is he an actual God but he also turns the tide at the battle of Wakanda. Whilst the dark knight lacks the presence of this narrative device. This is not seen within the dark knight, the dyer situation is saved by those within it, not a seemingly out of nowhere occurrence which helps add to the films realistic tone.

Infinity war has very prominent  uses shot reverse shot which is when a characters eye line is met and then what they were looking at is revealed. This camera method acts as the introduction to both Thanos and Captain America. In the beginning of the film the character Loki(Tom Hiddleston) gazes towards an unknown figure before the camera pans over to reveal Thanos menacingly standing above a injured Thor, the scenes score adds to its effectiveness. Later on, while the characters of Scarlett Witch( Elizabeth Olsen) and Vison(Paul Bettany) are cornered by two of the movies second tier antagonists, immediately the characters glance over towards an unknown figure who is then revealed to be Captain America.

Unlike the dark knight which was a very self contained closed narrative piece, infinity war is an open narrative with the movies character being comprised of multiple groups throughout the whole movie. Each of the main trio I previously established lead a group to forward the plot. Iron man and company venture to space in order to combat Thanos head on, Thor along with two members of the guardians of the galaxy who are another team of marvel heroes who are dragged into the conflict are in search of a weapon powerful enough to kill Thanos, meanwhile down on earth the remaining heroes as well as black panthers army are led by Captain America as they combat the enemies attack on earth. This film is supposed to be the culmination of 18 movies worth of character development and its plays off very well.

The main difference between these two movies is their scale and their character roster, while both have gone down in history as possessing two of cinemas best villains it is clear that the two of them are drastically unique. Whilst Propps character theory cannot be applied due to the shear number of characters however Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites can apply to the films forefront conflict of Tony Stark vs Thanos both of whom have been aware of eachother just not by name. 

This could be argued as the movies main conflict throughout as Tony and Thanos are at the forefront of their respective role as hero and villain.

Both movies possess different key themes, The Dark Knight and its themes of chaos and anarchy can be summed up by both the shot I previously showed but also the quote spoken to Batman by Alfred(Michael Cain), when referring to the joker he says “some men just want to watch the world burn” which again correlates to the shot of batman standing over the jokers pile of burnt money, the movies main tagline in advertisement being “welcome to a world without rules” . Infinity war is a film about loss and sacrifice which plays a role throughout every key scene. In order for Thanos to receive one of the six infinity stones he first had to sacrifice guaridans member Gamora who is in fact his own daughter as he is told by the stones guardian” you must lose that which you love most”. Later on in the movie when Thanos is confronted by Doctor Strange( Benedict Cumber batch) he tells the sorcerer supreme that “the hardest choices require the strongest will”. At the films end when Thanos succeeds in wiping out half of the universes population he is seen speaking briefly to the spirit of Gamora who asks him what achieving his goal cost to which he replies “everything”.

To evaluate both movies are of the action genre and comic book genre but are so drastically different in almost every aspect which is what makes both films some of cinemas most iconic pieces.

[jackgornall-bth]

Lights Camera Action Genre

One of the most formulaic genres in all of film is that of the action genre. When it comes to an action film there is already a set structure that must be followed. Action films have lots of recognizable traits associated with them. For instance there is the typical manly action star.

This character type is very stereotypical being usually male with a muscular physique, usually in some form of vest or tank top, always equipped with a gun and injured a lot of the time. These character types are always the hero and always victorious. Action movies have no hero without an antagonist for them to face.  

The antagonist is what makes a good action movie, driving the plot along whilst giving the all mighty hero character many obstacles to overcome during the film. 

Sound effects such as explosions and gun shots are always present to add to the overall drama of the situation, most action movies tend to use non-diegetic sound. The camera work of a action film is often one of the most crucial aspects as it can often help to immerse the viewer through the use of shaky cam or give a scope of the scenes scale using wide panning shots.

The certain character types in a film such as the hero and the villain are often accompanied by the donor, the helper, the dispatcher and the false hero. These different characters often flesh out the film with each providing an essential aspect to the plot.

To summarize, these are all the key aspects to any horror film that has been made, the following of a structure, the character types and the sound effects are all present.

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The importance of visual storytelling

An important aspect of any film is the ability to tell a story without the need to verbally tell the viewer what is happening. The most prominant method of doing this is through the use of Mise en Scene.

Mise en scene refers to the arrangement of scenery,props,etc. Its main use is to allow the story to be told visually instead of verbally, for instance if a scene was to take place within a school then instead of the characters addressing that their at school a pan shot of lockers in a hallway or an exterior shot of the school is just as if not more effective. 

The following image is from Christopher Nolan's 2008 masterpiece The Dark Knight, the scene itself takes place within an interrogation room. The movie itself never has to address that it is indeed an interrogation room , the tiling along the wall, the one way glass panel and the table with the two chairs opposite each other are all aspects that visually say that it is an interrogation room. If you wanted to dive even further then you could say that the desk lamp being tilted towards batman is a visual metaphor for batman being the light and the joker is the darkness.

Eye line match is a technique in which a characters gaze will meet someone or something before the camera then pans over to what they were looking at and reveal it to the audience. Show don’t tell is an important message that many film makers will try to follow when creating a project.

Visual story telling is often more effective than that of verbal storytelling as it integrates not only the already established setting whilst expanding upon it but it can also be achieved via a close up shot upon a characters face, often times someone's facial expression is more effective than any form of dialogue.

This example from the 2017 horror movie Get Out has a scene in which the main character Chris conveys his utter sense of dread, terror and fear all without saying a single word.

It should be made apparent that visual and verbal storytelling must both play an equal role within any film.

The framing of angles can establish certain characters through the height of their angles. Lighting is also an important aspect when it comes to establishing the tone of the movie. 

Overall these are the key aspects of visual storytelling and how it can be successful.

[jackgornall-bth]

The secret to mastering narrative structure.

Any film no matter the genre will always follow a key narrative structure throughout. At the forefront of any film are two key phrases, Story and Plot, while these two are often confused for the same thing they are in fact different from one another.

 Plot refers to the films sequences, credits and sound both diegetic (within the scene) and non-diegetic (played over the scene). Story includes the plot but also our interpretation of the events referring to things that are not shown but inferred.

Narrative structure consists of six phases through out a story, this includes

. opening which establishes setting and introduces the characters

. buildup which establishes relationships as well as develops the characters and the world they inhabit 

. problem which is a series of complications that the characters must face

. events which is a series of obstacles which must be overcome by the characters

. resolution which is where the protagonists are victorious 

. ending is where the characters reflect on what they have just encountered

The narrative (story) is refereed to as a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. David Bordwell is the theorist behind this who explains that narrative comes in four forms those being closed,open,multi stranded and Point Of View.

Story's often contain what is known as a plot device. Plot devices come in many forms such as a plot twist which an unexpected development in the plot, a MacGuffin which is a special item that drives the plot along, a Deus Ex Machina which translates to god in the machine which refers to an unexpected power saving a helpless situation, a red herring which is a deliberate mislead towards the antagonists identity and finally there is an In Media res which is when the sequences of a film are portrayed out of chronological order. These are the key plot devices present in almost any fictional film produced. 

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Codes and conventions of fictional films

Within this blog I will be evaluating upon the codes and conventions of fictional films, discussing the narrative structure along with format,purpose,conventions,characteristics,expectations and interpretations of the audience, narrative models and theories. I will be analyzing the genre of action, horror and overall narrative structures as well as comparing both genres.Narrative structure and visual story telling are to be discussed as well and evaluated upon.