Voyeurism and The Male Gaze - HW

Shots and Angles used in Psycho & V for Vendetta shower scene 

Psycho:

During the beginning of this clip, there is a close up of Marion's face and the door. We can see she has shut the door for privacy as she is about to shower. The viewer can see that she is alone for a few moments and she thinks she is alone but the irony is that someone is about to interrupt her alone time. She is presented as a vulnerable character due to the fact she is not wearing clothes after she takes her robe off. We see a close up of her feet/legs and back which conveys her as an attractive character to male viewers. We as the audience are invading her privacy which reinforces the idea of the male gaze.

While she is in the shower the audience notices a shadow of someone entering the room. This is when we clearly understand she is not alone. The camera uses racking focus to draw the audiences attention to the shadow behind the curtain. The director has made the camera zoom in and out of the shadow to make it more obvious someone is there. The camera cuts off her face which could foreshadow her life is about to be cut off (end). The silhouette of the killer makes it look mysterious and it must be a man as he is penetrating her with the knife, even though he is dressed as a female. 

By the end of the clip, the camera uses pan to move with the water and blood flowing down into the drain. The camera uses an extreme close up of the plug hole which then turns into an extreme close up of her eye to emphasise her soul and life draining away from her. This type of method is known as graphic match. 

V for Vendetta:
The shower scene in V for Vendetta is not as intimate as the one in Pyscho. This is because there is not as many close-ups, and Lewis Prothero's body is not as revealed. The camera uses pan to follow his movements and racking focus is used to keep our attention on the background images as well which shows his a powerful man. 
The photo on the left shows a silhouette of a mysterious body entering his private space, creating suspense for the viewer. He is being interrupted by V, just like the man interrupted Marion in Psycho. The bottom left image shows a high angle shot over Lewis' shoulder, to reveal to the audience V's reflection on the TV. The TV is turned off to convey the idea Lewis' power has gone and now V is in charge of what will happen next. 

 Likewise, the image to the top right shows an high angle shot over V's shoulder to represent how vulnerable and powerless Lewis is. The bottom right image shows a canted, low angle of V's face to also reinforce the idea that he has more strength.



Overall, I would say that the shower scene in Psycho is more voyeuristic due to the fact it has more intimate, close-ups of the females body parts which reinforces a more sexual view to the male audience. For example, the close-ups of her feet, back and side-boob. In the V for Vendetta shower scene, the character is presented as more powerless and vulnerable, rather than sexual.

300 word analysis - Editing Techniques and Narrative Meaning

 The director, James McTeigue has used editing techniques to introduce us to the characters V and Evey. The main technique used is continual editing: the match on action. Here McTeigue presents the two views of both V and Evey getting ready in their rooms at the same time but in different places. This creates suspense for the viewer due to the fact we don't know how they will meet and when.

Secondly, another editing technique used is graphic match and parallel editing. The two images on the left show V and Evey both turning off the TV with the remote. This could convey the idea that there is a connection between both characters. The viewer has established that these characters are important and we should focus on them.

Moreover, we can see there is a relationship between both V and Evey as there is many similarities between many of these shots. McTeigue has purposely done this so the viewer gets the idea that the two characters will be together for the rest of the film. The graphic match of the two images conveys the idea that both of these characters are heading in the same direction. They are both walking at the same pace which creates a lot of suspense, and gives us a clue they are getting closer to meeting. 

Furthermore, McTeigue uses rhythmic pattern to convey the mood of the characters. As the tension builds the music gets faster/louder, which reveals how nervous Evey is when she gets caught by two men as she is out after curfew. The viewer gets the idea that V will appear any moment. As V arrives the music calms/lowers, therefore Evey's nerves calm down as she knows there is someone here to help her. Although, Evey does not know who V really is yet.

The Use of Juxtaposition in The Domino Montage:

The dominoes and the people of the city are juxtaposed in this clip. The population is symbolised as very weak and powerless just like the dominoes, and they get shot down one at a time. It's effective as the viewer can tell the shots of the people who are wearing V's mask are knocked down to mirror the actions of a domino. It could also mean V's plans are being destroyed, or his killing the people of his own kind. 

V for Vendetta Clip analysis - Cinematography

During the beginning of this scene, the viewer is informed that V's scheme has in fact worked. The image on the right shows us the Bailey being blown up, with many buildings in the background slightly blurred out to keep us focused on the havoc V has caused. The methods used are called shallow focus and wide shot, and they are shifting the viewer over to the destruction and demolished building. It reinforces the power a single person can have and how easy it is to create such a huge explosion.  
Evey is the vulnerable character during this scene due to the fact a man she has not known for long has just pulled off a scheme and could be seen as danger to herself. This is a total contrast with V's emotions as he is very happy, and he feels like his accomplished something. The colour orange is used for the colour of the explosion which means enthusiasm, energy or happiness, mirroring V's emotions. The director, McTeigue, has purposely used shallow focus on her face to make it even more obvious that she is in shock and it puts us into her shoes. There is also space within the frame which tells us that something is happening in front of her.

Near the end of the scene, we can see that there is a conversation between a group of men and Chancellor Sutler. With the use of close up, he is bigger than the rest of the men in the frame, therefore it makes him look powerful and more dominant to the others. It also shows that he has a higher class and he's the one in charge. There is the colour red in the background which could represent death, evil and blood which gives us a negative idea of what will happen later on in the film. There are silhouettes of the men watching him, which reinforces the idea that they are weaker characters and are less important. The director could have done this to also keep us focused on what Chancellor Sutler has to say. The men seated are looking up to him which could also convey the idea that Sutler controls/possesses them, again giving us a negative opinion of Sutler. 

Mise-en-scene

 The first design (top centre) shows an alien version of Alice in wonderland's main character Alice. This design was inspired by the film Alien (1979). The second design is also inspired by Alien, and it is the costume for Alice when she turns small. I would use blue and green hues for the background, and black and white or grey for the costume colours.

V For Vendetta Analysis

V for Vendetta Analysis

I feel V for Vendetta is a Thriller, Action, Sci-fi film. The government are fighting with V and he is fighting back. In nearly every scene we find that V is not happy with the way the government are treating him therefore he planned on bombing the Parliament creating even more conflict. There is also some romance included in the film.
V for Vendetta uses the shots as a way of capturing the tension of action shots. Close shots also create tension and reveal the emotions of characters. For instance, close shots of V’s face show his anger and tense but also his upset. The shots are taken in many different angles when it comes to the fighting/action scenes and this makes the viewer feel more involved with the fights as they can see every detail of what’s happening. V for Vendetta is quite a unique film and has its differences to other films. The film is set in the future, but it doesn’t feel like the future to me. My idea of the future is bright and colourful, but in the film it is mostly dark and deluding. This makes the film mysterious and ominous. The director is obviously trying to highlight that the dark atmosphere adds more depth and meaning to why the terrorism is happening.
Throughout the film we find out that V is a very powerful character and wants to fight for his freedom. He is also very persistent with getting his way and will not stop until he gets what he wants. V has a very close relationship with Evey and in the end they fall in love and eventually V dies after they kiss, also killing their destiny to be together and end the film in tragedy.
V for vendetta is clearly an action film which means there was a lot of fighting. V had killed many officers, government and people higher in the hierarchy to V. This is quite ironic as the viewer would feel the higher class people would have higher power. V and Evey are quite close to each other and after they met, both of them had the idea that they could both have their freedom. Evey was with V for every step of his plans which made them become closer. V is found out to be a very kind man, even though he had caused havoc and rebelled against the government.

25 word treatment for a sequel to The Last Song:
Ronnie is under a lot of pressure as it’s the 1 year anniversary of her father’s death. She can’t cope with her emotions and starts thinking about committing suicide.