Characterisation - Nerve

Protagonist - Vee (Emma Roberts)

Vee works as a protagonist because she's a shy character who keeps to herself and doesn't take risks. This is focused on in the opening of the film so that when it's flipped on it's head the audience is shocked. Her brother also died some time ago so she has a strong relationship with her mother. When she decides to take risks on this app the film becomes very exciting. Another thing which makes Vee a good character is that she's an average teenage girl, enabling the audience to relate to her. With the films target audience being teenagers, this works very well. Vee is also a lonely character without much of a love life, so when a potential partner is introduced during the film, the audience become more engaged. Lastly Emma Roberts acts as a kind, intelligent and thoughtful character so the audience build a liking to her and want her to have the best possible outcome in the situations presented to her in the film.

Antagonist - Nerve App (Not a person)

The truth or dare based app 'Nerve' is what the film revolves around, and acts as a good protagonist in the film. Immediately it comes across as slightly strange and shady but relatively fitting in with other websites and apps. As the plot goes on the app takes a dark turn putting the protagonist and other users of the app in danger. It's also uncovered that the app has a shady history and has existed in previous years. Because the antagonist is an app and not a person, it is a lot more powerful and scary as it cannot be 'killed' and its power is unknown. It also adds a level of mysteriousness as it's unknown who or what is behind the app and controlling it. The main thing which makes this
application an effective antagonist however is the realism of it. The idea of an app like this being real is very possible and could have the same dangerous effects, making it all the more scarier.

The 180° Rule

In filmmaking, the 180° rule is a guideline that means the action should be all shot from one side. The diagram below helps explain this:

 As shown by the diagram, the actors are connected by a line (the line of action). The rule means that all cameras must stay on one side of this line (green cameras are in the right place, whereas the red one is wrongly placed). If a shot from a green camera cut to a shot from the red camera, the rule would be broken and the scene would look unnatrual because the characters would swap places on screen.

We made a short video breaking the rule to learn about it and to demonstrate what it looks like when it's broken:

Roles & Responsibilities in Filmmaking

When making a film, there's a massive amount of different roles that need to be taken on by a crew. Below is a diagram which represents this, showing how each role is working for a higher role leading up to the executive producer.

The entire process of the filmmaking is made easier because of this hierarchical format, which splits the operations and tasks into small groups so each professional can do their job efficiently and smoothly. Depending on the popularity and genre of film, the crew can range in size from hundreds to thousands of individuals, each with different responsibilities and roles to adhere to. The roles are not only useful on set however. Different roles will have tasks to do at different stages of production (pre-production, production, post-production and distribution). It all starts with an executive producer.

Analysis - Hot Fuzz Scene

This scene opens with an extreme long shot to establish the setting as well as to visualise the fact that the characters are travelling in a car. It shows the audience that this is a rural area in the countryside, with nobody around as the car is isolated.

We're led onto this second long shot which shows where the car is actually travelling to, as it shows two subjects: the car (which is in focus) and an old house/farm (in the background but subject is moving towards it).

Next, a medium shot is used which continues on from the previous shot to reveal who is in the car. The shot reveals the two main characters in the foreground, another old police officer in the background, and a dog, which are all introduced.

It quickly cuts to a new location, showing an old man. A close up is used to show the character in detail while he speaks.

This medium shot shows the main characters listening to the old man, from his point of view. They are arranged symmetrically to look uniform and appealing. 

Simon Pegg turns around to discuss what the man has said with the two other officers, turning his back to him. The man in still visible in the background however, to remind the audience that he is still there, and for comedic effect as he's being talked about. The shot still remains a medium shot, but it's a bit tighter.

It then cuts to a long shot as Simon Pegg replies to the old man, which reveals the setting in more detail, with the old looking chair, barricaded gate and wall separating the group from the old man.

We then cut back to this medium shot as Simon Pegg continues to reply to the old man.

Next, this medium shot is used to show the isolated old man's response, and to connote the fact that he is alone. This shot also reveals more of the location.

 It then alternates between these two shots as they have a conversation, until, the old man says something shocking, which is responded by a fast dolly zoom towards Simon Peggs's face in shock, building suspense and dramatic tension before changing to the next scene.

Dolly Zoom towards Simon Pegg

The shot starts in complete darkness, then a door is opened revealing a shed, as light casts a silhouette on the interior of the shed through the door. This gives off a mysterious vibe and leads the audience the question whats inside, as it's hidden by darkness. The shot is a long shot to establish the location.

It then changes to this close up showing the old fashioned light switch suggesting more about the area, with the old mans hands turning them on, to reveal whats inside the shed. This is a suspenseful shot.

Next, lots of quick shots are cut with each other showing the lights turning on and a range of close ups of a variety of guns, to show the impressive collection. This is done to add intensity to the scene and to impress and shock the audience as it is unexpected. The shots are each under a second long and are very fast.

Next, this medium shot zooms slowly in towards Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, showing their astonished reactions to the room. By zooming in, their facial expressions are shown in more detail.

Analysing A Scene

I decided to analyse this scene in Pulp Fiction, which is where Jules and Vincent are speaking to Brett. Firstly, the scene is established by a long shot, which shows the whole room along with the people inside it (apart from Vincent).

Long Shot

In this shot Jules is stood up, and symbolises power which is shown by his relaxed but intense body language, and size in the frame. The three other young men are all below Jules's line of vision, either lying/sat down, or stood back. This shot lasts 25 seconds before changing to a close up of Jules, which is a fairly long time.

Close Up (Tracking)

This shot raises the tension as it changes to this just after he shoots his gun. You can see Jules's expression in detail and the audience can tell that he is a bold character.

Mid Shot

 It quickly changes to this mid shot, which shows the fear experienced by Brett, and his reaction to Jules's actions. It also keeps focus on the food on the table, as it is a significant part of the scene.

Close Up (Tracking)

The shot returns to this close up, and it follows Jules as he walks around Brett, further raising the tension and giving the audience a sense of what the guy in the chair is seeing.

Close Up

The shot shows Brett again but this time in a close up and his expression can be seen changing as he becomes more anxious and fearful.

Close Up (Tracking)

The shot follows Jules in a close up again, but this time he stops moving towards the end of the shot and he leans further into the camera. This builds the tension more.

Close Up

The camera returns to Brett and the audience are really shown his panicked attitude and he is stuttering. The alternating shots have also helped to build up tension to this point where it is peaking, making the whole audience feel tense and as if something is about to happen.

Mid shot, showing Jules and Brett from behind

 Finally, the pent up tension is released and Jules throws the table across the room, first shown by this mid shot which shows Bretts fearful body language. The action is connoted further as this shot lasts for under a second before changing to a long shot to show the effects on the environment.

Long Shot showing the aftermath of the tension build up

Elements of Photoshop

Layers

A big part of photoshop is it's layers feature, which for some circumstances is essential. They are like stacked pieces of transparent plastic which can be moved on top of or underneath each other with different content on each layer. Within the layers feature, you can manipulate how each layer acts. This can be done by changing their transparency using the opacity, with layer masks, or by changing the blending. Blending and layer masks can be used to create double exposures like that seen in The Revenant's Poster.

Text Tool

The text tool is a very versatile tool which allows you to add text to a document on photoshop, then adjust the font, style, colour, size, leading, kerning and more. This is an essential element and can be used in pretty much anything. Text can also be arranged into certain shapes and paragraphs.

Crop Tool

The crop tool is pretty self explanatory and may seem simple, however it is a needed element which can actually be fairly complex. It allows you to crop in to a photo so that it's a smaller size, or crop outwards to make a larger canvas. While cropping in or out you can also rotate the crop window to change the area of the image that is being cropped. As well as this, you can change the crop ratio to ensure that the end crop result will be a specific ratio e.g. 1:1 (Square), 4:3 or 16:9.

Liquify Tool

The liquify element can be used to manipulate the structure of an image. Within it it has a range of different tools that can shrink/bulge an image, as well as push/pull parts of it around. This doesn't have many practical uses as it's quite destructive, however it is known to be used on pictures of models to alter body shape.