Media H/W character, narrative and audience position

Activity 1
The clip starts with a close up looking at the female character with her facial
expression. However it then quickly moves to a
subjective shot looking in on the car as if a person is
hiding or secretly watching the car. This is an enigma as
the audience wonder who is this and why are they
watching the car. An over the
shoulder shot is then used to look
again at the facial expressions but
also adds safety while giving an overview of the situation
positioning the audience looking in onto the characters. A
fade to black transition is then used after dialogue to
show time passing by. Slow music is then used to add to the sad, somber mood
further enhanced by the characters expression,
crying, as it initially is an objective shot looking in on
him, it then moves to an subjective shot engaging the
audience into the emotions and movements of the
character as if they are there.
The position of the audience as a whole changes
between objective long shots giving a look from a far what is happening and
objective close ups showing emotion while encoding messages about the mood
and feeling of the characters, while also involving few subjective shots
positioning the audience into the elements of the film making them feel more
related while also adding a sense of mystery with what else is happening in the
scene as you can only see what the character can
see.
The audience is actually shown very little as very
few genre signifiers or iconographies are shown.
Much is left to the imagination of the audience
adding to the mystery (enigma) of what is
happening with the narrative not having a clear
structure. However this is a gratification as the cinematography techniques are
used cleverly with a variety of enigmas engaging the
audience while using shot types both subjective and objective
close up and extreme long shot encoding messages to
communicate along with diegetic and non diegetic sound
adding mood and meaning as an important element of the
clip. The lighting also plays a key role, when he is in an
upbeat positive mood it is a bright light day however with his mood the lighting
turns dim and dull with night time and rain as he is crying, this is an example of
pathetic fallacy as the weather reflects the mood of the character.
Activity 2
The character construction is important in this clip as
firstly star persona is used as a gratification to those
Simon Peg lovers who may watch the film because of
his presence. In the clip the emphasis heavily lays on
the normality of the character and the bores of his
daily life, this is important in showing the equilibrium
of the film in the narrative structure. The subjective
view looking at the writing makes the viewer feel involved in what is happening
in the diegetic world of the film engaging the audience. The tracking shot is a
key element of the cinematography in showing character construction,
important changes in the mise en scene and the narrative elements interesting
the audience into the film. By following the main character firstly makes it seem

like someone is following him adding an element of drama but also shows the
abnormal elements in the mise en scene which he doesnt notice making the
audience feel wiser yet also making them feel helpless as they can't let him
know what is going on. This will draw in the audience as they are now engaged
and want to know what happens next. The blood stained hand marks are
another iconography linked to horror. The sound effects are also important in
creating mood and adding to tension with distant phone rings, dog barks,
smashes and strange music with beeps growing quicker and
louder adding to the tension. The
comedy element of the film are clear
with the joke he had with a zombie
thinking it was a homeless man.
This is another element of the
narrative that may engage and
interest the audience into the film.
The
as
horror

walking zombies act

iconographies of
films however it is clear there are comedy
elements in the film as he oblivious to the
abnormal events surrounding him. The
narrative structure is interesting and unusual as at first it seems to be the
equilibrium and to him it is equilibrium however for us we know there is a
disruption and we are in disequilibrium. This structure is another reason why
the audience is engaged as it acts as a slight enigma where the audience is
wondering how and when will he find out about this zombie invasion.