Jurassic Park Sequence Analysis, FTVNM Essay Task T1

To assist me with my  FTVNM Critical Genre Essay Task I completed the templates for each of my sequences.

The first one was for Jurassic Park. I researched information about the director, as well as analysed critical techniques that they have used within the sequence.

This template was extremely helpful when I began writing my essay.

I had left blank the areas in which the technique had not applied to either the sequence or the genre and fun that the other principles were more prominent and important to talk about.

Film Title: Jurassic Park

Director: Steven Spielburg

Information about the director

Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is consistently considered as one of the leading pioneers of the New Hollywood era, and is also seen as one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. In a career spanning more than four decades, Speilburg has made films that have covered many different themes and genres.

Genre Identification: Identify the film sequence’s major genre and relevant sub-genres

Main genre: Thriller/Suspense Sub-Genre: Adventure/Action

Research and identify specific genre conventions relating to these genres

Mise-en-scene:

Style of Acting: enhances and supports the action  Setting/location: need to and must enhance the genre, make the audience feel the suspense and thrill of the movie’s genre. Lighting: can be dark to make it mysterious, therefore making it suspenseful in a way that the audience doesn’t know what is being hidden, or can be over exposed to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Props/costume: anything that makes the mood dramatic in a thrilling or suspenseful manner.

Cinematography:

Framing: can be used to make a person look big or small depending on their importance Camera position: the position of the camera can make the audience feel as if they are either a part of the action or viewing it in a characters perspective. Camera movement: the movement of the camera usually follows the action that is happening, if not it is moved away from the action, making it more mysterious and suspenseful. Speed: a slow speed creates a suspenseful and tense mood, as well as a quick and fast speed creates a thrilling mood. Exposure: underexposure can make a mysterious mood, therefore making it suspenseful in a way that the audience doesn’t know what is being hidden, or can be over exposed to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Perspective: the scene can be shown from the perspective of a victim, an attacker, or a witness of any action event. usually it shows the perspective of the main character. Focus: is usually on the action that is happening, the bad guy is usually hidden or not in focus that leaves the audience in surprise.

Sound and editing:

Sound: the sound effects in dramatic and suspenseful films can be very affective; varying from absolute silence to extremely loud bangs, crashes and explosions. Editing: lots of long edits create suspense and tension. as well as fast edits to create thrill.

Identify the elements of mise-en-scene and describe how they have been used: Genre:
Style of Acting: All of the characters are being hunted by the dinosaur, therefore they were all acting scared and terrified.	Props/Costumes Dinosaur looks very realistic
Lighting: It is dark, enhancing the fact that it is set at night time. An underexposed effect is used throughout the entire scene to create a sense of mystery and fear	Setting: The people are at a very dangerous place, a dinosaur conservation, in raining weather with no power.
Genre specific elements

Identify the elements of cinematography and describe how they have been used:
Framing:	Camera position: when the camera is on the dinosaur, it is looking at it from a low angle to view it from the angle of the characters, also it makes the dinosaur look more powerful and in control.
Focus: Most of the time the focus is on the characters and their fear for the situation they are in, and other times the focus is on the dinosaur.	Exposure: An underexposed effect is used throughout the entire scene to create a sense of mystery and fear
Camera movement:	Speed: At the beginning of the scene, the pace was quite normally paced. Immediately the pace quickened when the dinosaur appeared, and this is
Perspective: The perspective is predominantly from an invisible witnesses view (this is so we can see most of what is happening), sometimes from the characters’ point of view, but very rarely is it from the dinosaurs point of view.	Genre specific elements:
Identify the elements of editing and sound and describe how they have been used:
Temporal editing: (the passing of time, manipulation of time using flashbacks/flashforwards) There is no temporal editing, this is to emphasise the amount/length of time that the people were experiencing the situation in fear/danger	Rhythm:
Graphic relationships:	Visible or invisible editing:
Music: There is no music throughout the entire scene, this is to revert the focus to the action and sound effects of the scene	Sound FX: The sound effects were definitely very appropriate for the scene, as well as realistic. The sound effects included; dinosaur breathing, footsteps and roars, and crashing and screeching of breaking objects. Without these sound effects, the scene wouldn’t look very realistic. For example, if I were to bounce a basketball, I would expect to hear a ‘bouncing’ noise every time it hit the ground. If I didn’t hear that noise, I would know that something was wrong or I had lost my hearing. To hear sound effects during a scene really supports and compliments the action on screen.
Dialogue:	Genre specific elements: