Master and commander 1. Explain two ways the characters and/or events in the extract fit the action adventure genre. [10]

2. Explain how each of the following is used to create effects that fit the action adventure genre:

Soundtrack

Camerawork

Editing

Mise-en-scène. [20]

3. Discuss how people are represented in the extract. [20]

 

The characters in this film fit into the action adventure genre firstly through what they are doing. The majority of the way through this clip most characters are seen to be using cannon balls and shooting at the ship opposite. The shooting itself highlights conflict and danger, but when you see the characters behind the weapons, they appear angry and sometimes frightened foreshadowing a build-up to the current dispute. The communication between characters is aggressive and they are often shouting at each other, this shows the panic and fear amongst the crew on board and also shows how on edge they are. This affects the audience as it makes them feel for the characters on screen and also keeps them watching to see how the action plays out. Use of explosives, gun shots etc. is what ties it to the genre. The sounds that fit with the huge explosions make the impact greater on what is happening on screen.

The scene has a lot of establishing shots so the audience can see both ships, this gives them a further understanding of the location of the scene, and the impact of the conflict. There is also a lot of ariel shots to show the action from high up looking down on deck. This gives the audience an insight to the action on the whole top of the boat.

Hurt locker task

Q1. Explain two ways the characters and/or events fit the action adventure genre.

Q2. Explain how each of the following is used to create;

Camera work, soundtrack, mis-en-scene, and editing.

The characters in Hurt Locker clearly fit the genre or action adventure, this is firstly evident through what they wear; the soldiers are dressed in army outfits matched with helmets. This signifies how they risk their lives and put themselves in danger to help others. They are also holding hand guns and machine guns, foreshadowing peril coming up in the film. All these elements create mis-en-scene throughout. As the scene continues relationships between characters start to emerge, furthermore they use aggressive tones and scream to communicate signifying tension/suspense relating even further to the action adventure genre, it also shows how the soldiers are on edge.

As the scene progresses there is mostly diegetic sound coming from characters speaking on screen, there are also noises such as vehicles driving into the shot, making the source visible for the audience. There are also some examples of synchronous sound, for example gun triggers; this sound is expected because the amount of visible guns constantly being held up in the scene. It creates expectancy for action from the audience.

There are no evident antagonist characters, only the circumstances of antagonist’s actions. This shows there is dispute and disagreement in the film. The soldier who attempts to save the ‘victims’ life is clearly the protagonist character in the scene. Hinting at him being the hero and taking down the antagonist characters.

A variation of shots are used throughout the whole scene, firstly there is a point-of-view shot, showing the action from the perspective of the soldiers, it makes the audience see what is going on from the perspective of a character and feel like they are in the action with them. There is also an establishing shot from a high up perspective, used to show the audience a general perspective of the whole scene on the ground. There is a frequent use of cutting from one shot to another showing all the different aspects of the action as it happens. Doing this creates continuity editing, which keeps the audience’s attention on the story as the action plays out.

Dolly zoom is also a commonly used technique as the camera zooms in and out on the ‘victim’ who stands still as this happens; he remains the same size on screen throughout. Dolly zoom is used on the victim to show the bombs that are strapped to him; this implies to the audience something terrible could potentially happen.