MEST2: Existing product research

* - information from the IMDB website 

A Beautiful Mind

Analysis;

The mise-en-scene, is paid close attention too quiet evidently. Firstly, the costumes used reflect the characters carefully. For example, the protagonist of the movie, has scruffy clothes and hair. This helps the audience to quickly see the visual representation of his unstable mental state and therefore reflects his character (at this given time) very quickly to the audience. This is probably essential as art house movies tend to be words of 'art' and therefore accurate visual representations are essential to making it successful. 

The lighting is also cleverly use in this clip. This is due to the fact that not only is the background slightly out of focus it is also darker than the area immediately around the 2 characters. This is therefore reflecting an extremely realistic view of how we perceive things, the faded out background highlights the fact that when we are focused on something (in this case the 2 characters) you ignore everything else (in this case the background) and this effect helps the audience focus their attention on the 2 characters whilst still giving it a realistic portrayal. Also the colour scheme of both inside and outside the office are complementary and mainly within similar tonal shades. Both characters stand out in their environment, highlighting their importance, but also don't stand out too 'boldly' keeping it natural and aesthetically pleasing. 

In terms of the actors, this is also important in the clip. Both characters look, or are presented to look, just as the role needs. The therapist looks serious and business type whereas the protagonists looks a bit frantic and stressed. Also, the acting of both characters is kept neutral where we see it like a normal 'everyday' scene. However, this is quickly contrasted when the actors use slightly exaggerated (well in character, cause he is mean to be portrayed as mentally unstable) and 'passionate' emotional responses especially from the protagonist. This is extremely important in creating an emotional impact on the audience who have, by now, identified with the protagonist as it highlights clearly the emotions of the protagonist and are therefore directly creating an extreme emotional response in the audience.

There are limited props in this scene, and the only props that are used like the chair etc. , create the sense of location and setting rather than engage in the furthering of the narrative. However things such as the handcuffs serve as a metaphor for how this character may feel trapped due to his hallucinating mind. 

As for setting, the locations are ones that the audience are aware of i.e a office and hospital, but aren't usually directly been involved in, and if they have its likely to create an unpleasant emotional impact just as the director intends. 

From the mise-en-scene what i can gather about the art house genre is the follow; they focus on how aesthetically pleasing the shots look put together, aim to create a deep and emotional impact on the audience and focus on the need to portray the personalities of each character accurately and in great detail. 

As for cinematography, a lot of pans and tilts are used throughout the clip but dominantly in the beginning and ending, both times in which the protagonist felt confusion. This was therefore a technique not only to make it shot seem for fluid and realistic, to give the audience the sense of being 'there' but also in order to create further identification with the protagonist. This is done by using camera movement in order to create the same sense of discomfort and confusion as the protagonist. This is also done but the continuous switches from external and normal shots to point of view shots. A lot of medium shots and close ups are also used in order to convey the emotions of the characters and subconsciously aid the audience into focusing on the dialogue of the characters. The only time long shots or wider medium shots are used are to create the sense of setting and location again in order for the audience to continuously feel 'present' in the scene.Shot reverse shots are also used to reflect the emotions of both characters are we not only hear the dialogue as its said but also see the facial expressions reflecting the response of the characters. All these techniques of cinematography help to communicate emotion to the audience and help them to emotionally engage in the narrative. 

The sound in the clip mainly consists of sole focus on the dialogue of the clip rather than any other diegetic sound. Non-diegetic sound is played though, when the man is talking to his illusion, in that moment parallel music fades slowly in and slowly out without interrupting the audience too much but still aiding a heightened emotional experience for the audience. Dialogue that is important is also repeated several times in the end highlighting the idea, to the audience, that this man is genuinely mentally unstable. 

Editing isn't used much in this scene, only a limited number of straight cuts, keeping it normal and everyday. 

This clip shows close attention to detail reflected in the mise-en-scene as well as a deep understanding of the mental condition they are trying to convey  a message about. The narrative is creative as it is said to be the first film to properly and openly convey the implications of schizophrenia in a less rose tinted way. 

Target audience;

Genre : Drama*
The film is aimed at a teenage to adult audience.
Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, sexual content and a scene of violence*

It probably appeals to a larger male audience slightly, around 55% and female 45% because of the male lead and the sexual and violence in the movie. Due to the narrative line it most probably appeals to a in education/graduated audience due to the psychological aspect of the movie. It is most likely to be aimed at middle class AB audience due to it being an art house movie(which cost money)


The psychographics are likely to attract a large amount to be a few  mainstreamers but would have a large amount of reformers, due to it addressing a complex mental health issue, and explorers also.

Donnie darko

Analysis;

In the mise-en-scene we can see that the costumes that are used by both characters are fairly casual which works in synergy with the casual setting of a room in your house. This creates a sense of comfort which is contrasted with the dialogue suggesting isolation and loneliness as a result causing the audience to sympathies with the character and also creating a eerie discomfort, this therefore helps the emotional aspect of the movie. 

In terms of lighting, low-key lighting is used to give it a dark yet realistic view, the formation of shadows helps to create the atmosphere intended by the directer, or fear and sadness. Moreover , this lighting allows shadows to be created but doesn't obstruct the audiences view of the characters which in turn give facial expressions reflecting there emotions thus reflecting these emotions and responses to the emotions in and by the audience.

The actors both give clear expressions to convey emotion to the audience but also, note how we can only see the therapists body language which is conveying discomfort and concern which may be in order to encourage the audience to identify with the therapist and also feel this way.

Regarding the props not many are used which may be to prevent the audience breaking attention away from this important and significant scene of the narrative, it is quiet obviously the turning point of the movie.

The setting is at a house, in a tight cluttered room. This again may require the art house target audience to pay closer attention and maybe infer that this may be how the protagonist of the movie is feeling, his mind is cluttered with too much going on and he also feels trapped and isolated due to these thoughts. In comparison to his size in the long-shot we can infer that he feels small compared to these catastrophic thoughts of him then seem to be bigger and more powerful than him. 

One interesting thing in the cinematography were the slow zooms towards the protagonist when he was delivering his dialogue, which highlighted the importance but also , maybe even without the audience knowing, subsequently caused the audience to feel more drawn into what he was saying and creating a deeper discomfiting emotional impact of the dialogue. Also, the shot reverse shot was used quiet a lot, this is in order to highlight the impact of the dialogue as the shots worked in synergy by reflecting the characters emotions too through their expressions, as a result making the audience transition from each emotional impact to another more swift. This also worked to provide a focus to the ever so important dialogue taking place. Lots of medium shots and medium close ups where used due to this and for the same reason. Long shots where also used in order to set the scene to the audience to make them feel continuously present and also portray the body language of the characters. The LS also helped to highlight the distance between the characters almost giving reason to why the boy feels so distant from people.

Sound is also carefully considered. The scene begins with a sound bridge from a slow motion shot of a past event, from which the audience can infer that it may be how the boys sees the past. This sound bridge may be highlighting how time may be blurred in this boys head but also provides a technically smooth transition between the scenes. Only diegetic sound is used in the clip which suggests that the dialogue is extremely important in this scene but also makes the audience feel like they are listening directly into the conversation providing it with a greater emotional impact, also the silence in the background helps to provide a much more sensitive and serious atmosphere which was needed to create such a strong emotional impact. 

Again, editing is also kept limited to straight cuts aside from the slow motion shot used in the beginning in order to show and reflect heightened emotions. 

You can tell that attention to detail is an important aspect i this movie as the room in which both characters are is almost an exact emotional representation of the protagonists internal mental state. The storyline is creative as it mixes an emotion that most people may feel and pushes it to the extreme paired along with the odd idea of time travel. 

target audience;
Genres: Drama | Sci-Fi*
Teenage audience

Rated R for language, some drug use and violence *

The target audience is more likely to be male around 60% and 40% female due to the references to crime and timetravel which usually appeals to a male target audience better. Again a middle class AB is most likely due to it being an art house movie. Also the audience is likely to be in education still. A large amount of appeal to an 'indi' and 'alternative' audience.

psychographics are likely to consist of explorers and reformers due to the alternative indi style of film and complexity of narrative. 

Anthichrist

Analysis;

In terms of mise-en-scene there has been a huge focus on setting more than anything else but firstly, the costume use is casual which is meant to keep a 'real' like feel but obviously this is in complete contrast with everything else in the movie, such as the acing and setting , which creates an extremely discomforting and ,starts to create, a creepy atmosphere intended, within 3 seconds of the clip starting. 

The lighting is more high-key during the start and then slightly low-key when the fox part comes. This is probably due to trying to make the protagonist more visible in a light that contrasts with the setting, making him seem more visibly in danger. The low-key lighting makes the fox part seem very creepy as it adds to the more 'mysterious' and odd side to the occurrence. 

The actor's expressions (both through his face and body language) are very important as they are emphasize by the editing also, helping to evoke the same fear and discomfort the character, they have identifies themselves with, is feeling.

The setting is a very important aspect as its highlighted through the cinematography and the extremely lengthy shot of the man walking in the location. The setting is used in most horror movie so due to the conventions of the genre the audience are already aware they need to be afraid but my doubt themselves due to the bright lighting. This contrast with non conventional lighting but conventional location causes the audience to feel unsettled which creates a huge enigma code by the end of the stretched out clip, by the time in which the audience is in heightened suspense. 

The cinematography is used very cleverly. This is because the long shot used to introduce the location highlights the sense of emptiness and the long grass highlighting how much is unknown about the place. Then when the shot of the fox comes a medium close up is used where the fox fully uses up the whole frame where the audience can only see the fox and nothing else making it increasingly creepy and unpleasant. Close up of both the protagonist and the fox are used after on another which is extremely odd too as the fox doesn't have as much as an expression as the male protagonist but almost reflect the need that the fearful protagonist (and audience) need to 'face' their fears (which is the fox) Also this close up of the fox makes it so that the dialogue is delivered straight to the audience and are almost making eye contact with this weird fox, again unsettling the audience even more than seeing it before. 

In the start the sound is more diegetic even though you can hear a louder version of what seems to be the sound of the wind which helps to build us suspense in the audience. Then, in reaction to seeing the fox, non-diegitic sound is played parallel to the images we see, yet it sounds similar to the sound of the wind but in a more unrealistic, editing way increasing its impact. Then the dialogue form the fox is said in a very demotic tone creating fear and confusion in the audience but also highlighting that this odd scene may just all be an illusion or some sort of dream. 

Editing is used in this movie clip far more than any of the others. The purpose of this may be as its meant to NOT be realistic and sentimental but much rather odd, creepy and scary due to its horror genre.

This clip clearly represents that this film isn't too conventional and is extremely creative, in the scene that is achieves its target of unsettling the audience through less graphic ways than most typical Hollywood horror movies but still has the same, if not more of, an impact. The technical proficiency is also very well done, because it cleverly used aspects that would of made the film seem less professional to create a strong impact on the audience. 

Target audience; 

Genres: Drama | Horror*

Certificate: 18*

adult audience, out of education and maybe middle class. The psychographic group seems predominantly strugglers due to the non-main stream scattered idea of the film.

After conducting this research i am aware that this isn't primarily a target audience i wish to address but am aware that the complexity of the storyline, somewhat, no matter how little, reflects a complex storyline and causes discomfort (but not to such a high extent)

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

Analysis;

You can see mise-en-scene is a very important aspect in this movie. In terms of costume the characters seem pretty normal, however this is contrasted by other features such as the dialogue. What this may be showing us is that to the protagonist everything seems normal whereas as the audience we can see its not making the audience question the mental state of the characters which therefore creates sympathy for the characters.

Low-key lighting is used with some top lighting, this gives the scene a very dark feel which reflects the dark heavy emotions that the audience see expressed in the scene, it may also be another representation of how the character may see his world going  dark without her. 

The actors have very good facial expressions and body language which successfully reflects to the audience the importance of the significant other the the character(s) giving the audience a clear emotional understanding of the characters.

In terms of the setting a warn down house, which obviously has sentimental value to the character is used, the feel of the environment comes of warm and loving which is contrasted with the dark lighting and the audiences knowledge that this isn't the scene where happily ever after happens but much rather a scene to show the increase instability of the character.

The cinematography has a great emotional impact on the audience. This is done through the various movements of the camera, such as tilts and tracking shots, to create a more intimate relationship between the audience and characters which helps identification with the audience to build as the narrative progresses, as i presume the ending isn't as so such pleasant as emotional. Its almost a hand held camera sequence giving the clip a more sentimental and stronger significance as the audience feel directly present in the intimate memory/hallucination(?) thus having a greater emotional impact. Moreover, because of this hand held camera style there are a variety of shots which can be inferred as the variety of emotions that the character may be feeling in this current moment/state of mind. 

Like the previous art house films this one also has mainly diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound that fades in and out during a very important/emotional part of the dialogue. 

In terms of editing a lot of shots are used and its almost like a montage sequence which may be a representation of how this is more like a visual representation of a string of events and emotions put into one dream like sequence for this character.  

There is a lot of creativity used in this clip and movie as the emotional representation of the characters mind is so clear, in how hectic it is, yet it still is portrayed in a clear and fluid way, this therefore suggests that the technical proficiency was also high. Also it pays close attention to detail as a lot of different areas are shown in the clip and they all add rather than take away from the emotional intimacy of the scene. 

target audience;
Genres: Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi*

Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content *

A more female audience 70% female and 30% male. Probably around the age of 17-35 due to the romantic storyline and the elder actors. Again middle class due to it being a art house movie and most likely to be in education or degree level.  

The psychographics are likely to attract a large amount of mainstreamers but would lean slightly more towards a large group of reformers, due to it adressing a complex mental health issue, and explorers, for the same reason.

It follows 

Analysis;

In terms of in mise-en-scene the costumes used are darker for the supposed villain, making him appear more mysterious and dangerous and the girl is more exposed which may be due to the metaphorical reasoning of her being exposes to this supposed thing that can 'follow' her. 

The lighting used is low-key and dark when we see shots of the man but much more high-key when we see the girl. This may be a reflection of the male being a much darker and mysterious character but the girl being a much brighter(happy) but more exposed and therefore a vulnerable character.

Both actors express themselves, by the man does it through body language as his face is probably kept hidden to keep him more secretive like an enigma code and make him seem more dangerous. The girl expresses her fear through her expression, therefore causing the audience to identify and feel scared too in anticipation to what might happen next.

The setting is more isolated and empty highlighting the scene of danger and discomfort.

The shot opens with a long shot of the place, which helps to establish the location fully and quickly highlight that some sort of danger may soon be coming, it also adds to the feeling of 'exposure' despite the dark lighting. The camera hardly moves causing the audience to almost feel tied like the protagonist thus increasing identification with the character.

The only sound used in the clip is diegetic making the atmosphere increasingly eerie and the echos produced heightening the fact that they are isolated and alone. 

Not a lot of editing is used which gives it a much more realistic feel just like most the other art house movies. 

The narrative i pretty creative and reflects a moral however he location is usually a key convention of horror movies. 

Target audience: 

Genres: Horror | Mystery | Thriller*

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language |*

The target audience is probably equal amounts boys and girls around 55% boys and 45% girls. Again middle class AB audience due to the art house type of movie. The audience is likely to be a young one from 16-27 due to the issue it addresses which is usually regarded amoungst young teenagers, it may also attract a younger audience of 13-16 as well. 

the psychographics are likely to consist of mainstreamers, due to the young audience appeal from the chossen topic of narrative and reformers and explorers who are likely to be open to new view points regarding mainstream culture.