Micro and Macro Element of Film Language

We have been focusing on two different elements of analysing within media, these two elements, analyse at different scales. The two elements are called 'Micro' and 'Macro'. Micro analyses the smaller aspects of media, this is built up of Cinematography, Mise-en-scene, Sound, Editing and Special Effects. Macro focuses on the bigger theme of the micro, these consist of the Genre, Narrative and the Representation, all these aspects have different effects on the audience.


Macro

Genre:

Genre is the factors of a media that determines if the overall production is based on a specific group. Genre in media is important as it allows the audience to identify what kind of production it is, if it is something that will interest them or if it is something that may not attract their attention. In media, the factors in the filming help to conclude what kind of genre the film is (I.e.: Dark lighting, blood, weapons and large range of victims may connotes to 'Horror' as horror really uses these factors within their filming effectively).

Narrative:

Narrative is the way that the story is put in place for the audience. Narrative is important as it helps to constructs the story. There are different methods of using narratives, some use actually speaking the storyline to the audience whereas others would use diagrams or events to help tell the storyline.

Representation:

Representation is the way people show themselves to others by different aspects, such as clothing; the way they speak; their attitude; the way they look. Representation is a key aspect when it comes to media because just the little things could connotes to something much more. Media uses representation all the time but usually effectively through the character, the audience can then judge the way the character is presented to them and have mixed emotions to if the character is represented in a positive way or if they are seen in a more negative way. The way the character is represent can also link to the genre of the film and narrative of it as well. The audience may take the way that the character is represented and take it to a more stereotypical approach. Stereotype is the way something or somebody expresses a group by their behaviour, attitude, looks and interest however these things may not bet true or may be outdated. If the media makes a character look quiet, wears glasses, loves to work...etc, then this may make the connotation that the character may be a geek. This is the general stereotypes that the audience may have towards a character like this if seen inside media. Although the audience may stereotype the character due to the way they have been represented, some media have found ways to counter these stereotypes, this is called Countertypes. Countertypes is the 'positive' stereotype, it makes the stereotyped look more different than what people would typically see them as (i.e.: A geek who would usually be seen as wearing glasses and unpopular however an countertype would be that the geek does not wear glasses as much or is more known by people.

Micro and Macro Analysis:

The Amazing Spider-man

I chose to use this clip from 'The Amazing Spider-man' to do an Micro and Marco analysis on the cinematography in this scene.

00:10-00:12- In this scene, it shows a wide angle shot of the city and the cranes that are beginning to turn around. This is also a POV shot as this is what the audience expect Spider-man to see right in front of him. This angle captures the obstacles that Spider-man has to go through to get to where he need to be.

00:23-00:25- They use a mixture of a slanted angle shot with a close up. This is seen when Spider-man tries to cover a denotation of a wound that is on his leg. The slanted angle connotes unease or extreme pain so this makes the audience think that the wound on Spider-man's leg might be affecting him and is very uncomfortable, we can see that Spider-man's injury is affecting him as there is a wound on his leg and that he has webbed the wound. The denotation of the wound is connoting that he is in pain and is suffering, the wound is hurting him and is a problem to him as he focuses on it while he is needed to be elsewhere, the fact that he has webbed the wound suggests that he is using any method possible to reduce the pain of the wound. Also using the close up shows how bad the wound is, it shows that this wound is important and makes it look more painful to Spider-man and is becoming a problem to him. This helps the audience understand how Spider-man is feeling, how he is in pain because of this wound and the impact that this wound has on Spider-man is not good.

00:34-00:39- This scene uses bird eye view and tracking movement. The bird eye view is used when the helicopter is using a spotlight on Spider-man's path. This camera angle is very effective in this scene as it allows the audience to follow the spotlight that is showing on the surface below. Tracking helps the audience not to lose focus of the spotlight as it zooms across the city, it also allows us to see the path in front of Spider-man. This angle makes the audience feel like they are in a helicopter looking down at what is happening below.

01:15- From this scene, the use of tracking is used frequently to capture the quick pace movement of Spider-man. While Spider-man is swinging, the camera uses different camera angles to capture Spider-man from different angles (Match on Action). As Spider-man swings across the city, the camera is constantly tracking his movement. Tracking is important in this scene because Spider-man is moving openly and freely through the city. In the scene before, there is not much tracking and if there is any then it is not use for long or as quickly, unlike this scene. Tracking helps to exaggerate the speed and the freedom of Spider-man's web swinging. It also allows the audience to see how it feels to swing around the city at this speed. In this scene, it really brings out the genre of this film, it is an Action/Superhero film so like most action and superhero film, it has to be fast pace as the hero needs to get around to save the day, this scene does nothing different. Spider-man is represented and heroic and brave to the audience as he is seen to be injured however still determined to do his duty as a hero. This is almost stereotypical as all heroes always put others first so it makes Spider-man look typical however because of the wound, it makes him stand out a bit more to the audience as he still got a job to do even when hurt.