(Movies used)
· Tomb Raider
· Die Hard
· Regeneration/ Behind the lines
Camera angles
Depending on the main plot of the film, and the intention of the way the character is meant to be portrayed, many different camera angles can be employed to give a certain status, or role to one character, but a completely different role and status to another.
For example, on the cover of the film ‘Tomb Raider’ a low camera angle was used, to show Lara Croft as a strong character, looking powerful and determined. They have made her look bigger than she is, and look like the most powerful, strong characters in the movie. If you have watched this movie franchise, you will know this is the main theme – Lara Croft is a strong powerful woman, capable of taking out small armies by herself, and rescuing fully grown men from burning buildings, and using a low camera angle in the movie cover was one way of conveying this theme before watching the movie. In this context, the camera angle can also show ‘attitude’ and ‘dominance’.
Another example would be a Bird’s eye view, used to make some kind of dramatic comment on a
character or scene. This kind of shot can seem disorienting because it is rarely the way audiences themselves see the world. In Gilles MacKinnon’s Regeneration (1997), a bird’s-eye shot of a World War I battlefield is used to open the movie. The effect of this shot is to suggest the madness of war and the brutality it inflicts on soldiers.
Conventions
The action film genre is generally characterized by the physical action that tells much of the story, as opposed to drama's for example where the story is told via the dialogue. In addition, there is a "hero" character whose individual efforts make up a lot of the action. One very strong example is the "Die Hard" movie series, where Bruce Willis' character was the hero. Action films are known for having a few characteristics that run throughout the genre. They are always fast-paced, have a (usually male) hero-centred narrative, a beautiful love interest who will require saving, and a multitude of guns, explosions, chases, and dangerous stunts. Character development usually takes a while to understand, but with so much excitement on-screen, viewers most likely won’t care.
Alternatively however (as talked about earlier) there can be a role reversal, and it is up to the woman to save the men and children. The main theme that occurs in action films still exists - fast-paced, explosions, guns, and a lot of the story is told through action. However, what is different is that there is also a lot of the story told through dialogue, which may be reminiscent of the fact she is a woman, and as well as strong, powerful, dominant she is also caring and deep-down still has woman-like traits.
Music
Usually to go with these action shots, and scenes, there is some sort of music that is common to the scene or event taking place. For example, if someone had 10 seconds to cut a bomb wire, that could potentially kill hundreds or thousands but they didn’t know which wire to cut, first we get a sense of pressure on this character, and there would usually be music playing that encouraged tension. A good soundtrack is essential to getting the attention of your target audience. A film can reveal so much within its music. Beyond the creepy background music of thrillers that tells you the killer is around the corner, music has the ability to expose characters’ feelings, actions, and a film’s tensions.
One of these examples could include chase scenes. Climatic, epic chase music will usually be a fore-warning to the audience that some chase, or battle, or shootout, etc. is about to take place; for example, in the movie ‘Taken 2’ the use of music is almost as important as the use of the characters themselves!
Music is very powerful in the sense that it has the power to change emotions, and change feelings towards a particular character. The use of music is a basic and effective way to heighten the drama of a given scene in a film. Regardless of the genre, a good piece of music can add to nearly any scene. In an action set-piece, the music will match the action in terms of power and intensity.
Director
The film director is much like the conductor of an orchestra. First, like a conductor has to create a mental ideal of how the music should sound, the director must create an ideal vision for how the film will look. Secondly, like a conductor, the film director must communicate that vision to the various players so everyone is working together toward the single vision.
Other than acting and script writing, the director is involved in every aspect of a film in some way or another, so it could be argued that he has the most important job, however some roles in creating movies can be equally important.
For example, all parties have an effect on the film. If the producer doesn't produce enough money, then depending on the film it may look cheap. If the script writer is bad at his job, then the actor’s lines will be awful. If the actors are poor, then the lines developed by the script writers won't be translated well. And if the director is, bad, then the film comes out even worse. So to summarise the director has an equally important job as the rest of the other personnel involved in the movie making process.
