LO1: Task 2 - Analysis of Titanic 1997

Intro

Hello, I am Molly and I am going to be analysing the film titanic which is made by 20^th Century Fox.


Purpose

Firstly I will start with the purpose of this film. The purpose of Titanic is to entertain by showing the viewers the love between the main characters Jack and Rose, by watching their relationship form on the ship and seeing the juxtaposition of the classes that these characters are both from . Rose is from a higher class than Jack and we can see how this doesn't matter anymore. It is also to educate viewers on the main tragedy with the real titanic ship which sank in 1912, this shows an insight to what could have happened during the real tragedy and also to give the viewers an insight to the emotion and fear that the passengers would have felt. 

Genre

Next I will be talking about the genre of Titanic. The genre (Daniel Chandler 2001 'Genre means Category') of this film is a hybrid as it is a romance, epic film, drama and also a historical drama. A hybrid is 2 or more genres blended. Titanic also has a sub-genre (Barry Keith Grant 1995 'All Genres have sub Genres) as it includes a hysterical drama this is a genre in a genre.

Form

Titanic is quite long compared to the average film as it is 210 minutes this is 3 hours and 30 minutes long. This film is aimed to a wide audience from 12 and above. Titanic was initially released November 18th, 1997 at the Tokyo International film festival, unfortunately this didn’t go down as well as expected as it was described as "tepid" by The New York Times. However, positive reviews started to appear back in the United States, this is where Titanic’s success began.

Style

The style of Titanic is old fashioned film I know this as the costumes denoted in the film are outdated which is to show the audience that the film in set in a different time which is 1912. The font style used for the credits are modern, this contrasts with the rest of the film, this shows the audience that the film is still recent even though it is based in a different time.

Content/Meaning:

Narrative 

The Mise en scene Conventions are encoded to create a preferred reading (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience. The preferred reading (Hall 1980) of Titanic is a love story about a low Class man and a high class women who already has a fiancé. This instantly makes the audience feel the tension throughout the film as the love story in introduced at the start. However while the main story is the love story the film has also recreates the tragedy of the ship sinking in 1912. The location of this film is on a ship called the Titanic this ship is sailing in the North Atlantic Ocean, this connotes the icy conditions that the boat was in especially for the characters when the boat sank, this creates more of an intense atmosphere for the audience and the characters. The lighting in titanic is high key at the beginning of the film, this connotes a happy care free atmosphere and also gives the film a natural look which creates verisimilitude, however towards the end of the film low key lighting is used, this creates enigma and this also connotes that the film is social realism. The costumes in this trailer are different depending on the class of the characters, in this film the 1st class people wear formal clothes, these are things such as dresses and suits, this is to connote that these people have high importance and sophistication, however the lower class people in this film wear casual clothes, these are items such as coats and jeans, this connotes that these characters are insignificant to others and also underprivileged. This gives the audience an insight to what life was like when the Titanic set sail in 1912        .


Camerawork


Editing

Angles – A low angle is denoted in this film (34:31) this is used to show the characters high importance as this character is in 1^st class, this instantly makes the audience aware of this. This could also represent the point of view from the lower class passenger as they are literally looking up at the first class. These characters are the love story of the film; this instantly creates a division between the characters which creates juxtaposition. A high angle has also been used in this film (40:23). In this case the high angle has been used to connote the vulnerability of the women in this scene.

Shot type – A shot type denoted in this film is a establishing shot (19:55). This is used to show the audience where the scene is set and also to show the audience how big the ship actually is. Another shot type used in this film is a crowd shot (56:56). This shot is used to create an atmosphere which also creates a mood for the audience during this scene. An over the shoulder shot has been also been used (52:53). This is used to allow the audience to have an insight of the conversation from the characters point of view which also creates realism. Shot reverse shot is used in this film (59:36) this is to make the conversation believable which creates social realism. It also allows the audience to see from the point of view of the characters speaking almost as if the audience are speaking to the other character. Another shot used is an eyeline shot has also been used in this film (1:02:21). This is denoted to show the audience what the character is looking at, this makes the note in this scene the main subject. Insert shot is denoted in this film (1:20:59). This makes the necklace the main focus of this scene which shows is significance.

Transitions - A transition denoted in this film is a cut (33:33), this instantly replaces one shot with another, this has been used to change locations. Another transition used is dissolve (28:15), this is used for passage of time and also to change locations, this is a type of ellipsis as it doesn’t show the audience detail that doesn’t need to be shown.

Movement – During this film a pan has been used (57:57). This is denoted to set the scene and also create a mood for the audience.

A flashback is also used in this film (19.41) this is to visually show the audience the past of which the character is thinking back on, this is to bring the memory back to life.

Sound 

The sound in this feel is both Diegetic and Non-Diegetic. A Diegetic sound is denoted at the beginning of the film (21:55), this is sound is a whistle; this is used as an effect to create urgency. This could also be significant as it is one of the first sounds heard at the beginning of the film and also one of the last. Another Diegetic sound denoted in titanic is when the two main characters are dancing (1:04:23) This is diegetic as the characters are dancing to the music, this music is rapid music which connotes the characters are very energetic in this scene which is juxtaposition in contrast with the last scene which was the calm and civilised first class passengers. A non-diegetic sound is also used; this is also denoted at the start of the film (20:08). This music is cheerful; this creates an atmosphere and also creates contrast between the beginning and the end of the film. Another non-diegetic sound used in the film is a car horn (20:50). This is used to give the effect to the audience of a real car. This car beeping also is significant as it shows the importance of the character in the car.

Production Process

The final point I will be talking about is the production process. During pre-production for this film a script was made, which was written by James Cameron. Once this script was finished it was be broken down into a storyboard. This was to sort out what the locations, props, cast members, costumes, special effects and visual effects will be. After the script was arranged the film makers then needed to find a crew to hire and then financial arrangements were then put into place. The music and sound effects were also made during pre-production. The location has been chosen to where the true story is based as the ship sets sail from Southampton and travels across the North Atlantic Ocean. The costumes used where also based on the time of the true story, as in the film they were old-fashioned clothing and they wore casual and formal clothing depending on the class of the passenger.

Next the production was then put in to place; this is where the filming crew will film the film while the lighting crew ensure that the brightness of the film is natural.

Finally the post-production was established, this is when the editing of the film was put in to place, during editing, special effects such as the flashing light effects seen here (34:35). And also here (06:47) where there is a rocket set off, this is to show the audience that the ship is in real distress.