Pirates of the Caribbean

Here are the examiner's notes on what candidates could have commented on in the Pirates extract, it is where two galleons have a sea battle



1) Discuss the ways in which the following are used, in this extract from: Pirates of the
Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Dir. Gore Verbinski 2003)

Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Position
Editing
Sound
Special Effects
Mise-en-scène.
[45 marks]

The textual examples chosen by the candidates must address the question directly, in
terms of appropriateness to subject matter and target audience for the film, rather than just
a descriptive list of what they have seen or heard in the extract.

Candidates’ answers should be tightly focused on analysis of the extract set and credit
cannot be given for detailed discussion of the history or generic conventions of action
adventure films at the expense of close textual analysis; however, passing reference to
background research to illuminate a point is acceptable.

Candidates are not required to cover each technical aspect in equal detail and some
overlap between aspects is permissible. Neither are they expected to mention all of the
following examples/aspects in their analysis. Candidates can select their own textual
examples of the use of moving image language as appropriate:

Mise-en-Scène

Location, set, studio/set design; costume; properties; ambient lighting; artificial lighting;
production design period/era; colour design.
Examples:
Sea location, ships with full rigging, sails and wooden decking/carved features, oars
and props such as barrels, cannons, gunpowder, seamen/pirate extras, muskets,
swords etc all establish this as a sea-faring action drama, in particular, a pirate
adventure – a battle at sea
costumes – buckles, waistcoats, ruffled shirts, hats, corsets all establish this as late
C18th/earlyC19th
Tattered sails (therefore how is it sailing?) of the Black Pearl and the mist/grey smoke
that accompanies only it (in contracts to the bright sun and blue sea/sky of the rest of
the sequence) signify its ghost ship status, or at least, its threatening nature, hence
‘good versus evil’ confrontation
Its Jolly Roger flag confirms its pirate identity
Contrasting characters in appearance and gender on both ships also reinforces good
versus evil – ie the ‘good’ side has two women who are anachronistically involved in
the action (equal status to appeal to contemporary mixed audience), beautiful and
young as well , reinforcing their innocence/good status and the young male lead, also
handsome and brave in the face of danger. the characters on the other ship,
especially the lead pirate (whose face is a ‘relief map’ of veins), are all made to look
very ugly and old, weather-beaten with dirty faces, skin, hair and clothes, with snarling
expressions whereas the young leads look virtually clean/fashionably dishevelled,
unblemished with noble and earnest expressions – in keeping with Hollywood’s
conventions for conventional popular heroes
Animals – colourful blue parrot for good side, screeching money for evil side – trophies
of adventures in ‘exotic’/tropical lands – the monkey is also like a witches/wizard’s
familiar, as its behaviour hints at conspiracy with his pirate master.


Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Position
Establishing shot; master shot; close-up (and variations); long shot; wide shot; two-shot;
high angle; low angle; aerial shot; point of view; pan; crane; tilt; track; dolly; zoom/reverse
zoom; framing; composition; hand-held; steadicam.
Examples:
Medium and wide shots of life on deck to show scale, surrounding and action of extras
around the main leads.
Extreme wide shots of ship following ship across the sea to show proximity of danger
to heroes in this chase.
Wide shots of faraway shores to emphasis the imminent danger and the heroes’
distance from safety
Low angles used on young male lead, especially when standing on deck or in rigging
to emphasise his bravery and leadership and central importance to the narrative.
Medium shots used to show conversations to indicate proximity of characters and their
involvement/role.
Several over-the-shoulder shots to show conversations with the threat of the Black
Pearl catching them to up to increase audience involvement, in almost pantomime
effect. ‘They’re behind you!’ by letting us know how close the danger is
Steadicam used to move around the characters and simulate movement of the ships
on the waves; used to dramatic effect to almost creep and then swoop round the old
pirate leader so that we have an intense close up on his gnarled and snarling face to
show how evil and determined he is.
Closeups and variations to show details important to the narrative i.e. the cause and
effect of dropping the anchor, candles falling off tables, as well as medallion falling
Wide shot of ships colliding to show dramatic scale of the impact and the sheet
numbers of extras and spectacular sets involved.
Keyhole and pov shots used for hole in side of ship through which pirate in cell looks
out at the sea/ship, gives the audience another perspective and keeps him involved in
the narrative
Pull focus on spoon at end to draw our attention to the impact of the cutlery in the side
of the ship – comic effect, we saw it being loaded into the cannon and this is the effect
Steadicam used in combination of a steady frame into which the characters move in
order to recreate the chaos on deck.
Wide shots of jetsam of boxes and barrels to show how much has been jettisoned to
improve lightness and speed of the heroes’ ship
Dolly in and zoom in on old pirate to emphasise his sinister and intimidating
appearance – looms up on him (also to ‘use’ the star here)
Medium close ups of the young leads’ faces, to show their intensity and earnest
expressions (fear, bravery, determination) as well as show off the young and
beautiful/handsome stars in the film.
Low angles of ships moving and steering wheel spinning to emphasis danger and
increase our involvement in the action.

Editing

Sound and vision editing – cut; fade; wipe; edit; FX; dissolve; long take; superimpose; slow
motion; synchronous/asynchronous sound.

Examples:

Establishes the three part narrative/perspectives – two boats and the pirate in the cell
below deck (Jack Sparrow)
Straight cuts used from ship to ship and character to character in order to establish
spatial and temporal continuity
narrative of the sea chase and battle is occasionally interrupted by the sub-plot of the
pirate in the cell; chiefly in order to keep the star’s presence prominent but to provide
some comic relief in contrast to all the action up on deck
Continuity editing used to show cause and effect, e.g. of the dropping anchor
sequence
Cutting together of two angles of cannons lined indicates imminent battle
Fairly fast pace of editing of battles preparation as both sides line up to face each
other, slowed down by cutaway of Jack Sparrow in cell and his povs – release of
tension/reminder he’s there
Shot reverse shot editing to show heated exchanges/conversations
tions
Cutting of multiple angles reinforces both sides lined up ready for battle.


Sound
Soundtrack; theme; tune; incidental music; sound effects; ambient sound; dialogue;
voiceover; mode of address/direct address.

Examples:

Diegetic sounds of monkey screeching and shouted orders establishes a sense of
urgency and panic on both sides in the chase and preparation for the sea battle
Sound of wind in the sails emphasises the location and method of transport –
dependent on natural elements
Dialogue – accents, predominantly English in origin, with the pirates sounding distinctly
West Country/Cornish (stereotypical pirates); Caribbean female pirates/sailors
indicates her origin and the location of this adventure; Jack Sparrow’s outrageous
accent, almost an impersonation of Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, is there for comic
effect as are the few lines he is given in his scene.
Sound effects of straining wood and ropes indicates strain on ship of the chase and
fallibility of equipment etc
Music – mostly restricted to background and as a commentary on the narrative, as an
underlying orchestral feature with prominent use of strings to indicate drama and
tension, which builds towards the final conflict by the use of bass drums to call to arms
and provide a beat to focus attention on coming conflict; use of woodwind is to create a
wistful refrain, a note of doubt as to the outcome of the battle; use of minor key –
anticipatory/anxious – who will win? some victorious assertions and associations to
show determination of the 2heroes/2underdogs
during battle – no music to focus attention entirely on the action and possible outcome
of the battle
Fun sound effect – almost like a cork out of a bottle/or arrow of wood, for the removal
of eyeball from the socket using the fork – comic/horror effect.

Special Effects

Graphics; captions; computer generated images (CGI); animation; pyrotechnics; stunts;
models; back projection.

Examples:

Here the principal effects appear to be:
Stunts of flying and falling – exciting action to be expected of the genre
Explosions of guns/cannons, with smoke and sparks, splintering wood – again
signifying the dangerous and dirty nature of conflict and weapons used at that time.
CGS is probably used to execute the fork in the eyeball shot – an unlikely and comic
effect for our amusement – and possibly for the wide shots of the appearance of the
Black Pearl to increase realism.

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Sound

Music changes our perception of things- the soundtrack to a film, anchors the meaning of the action, or location or mood for the audience- try watching an action sequence with the sound muted. 

Editing

The first aspect to consider about editing is that the editor has access to all the footage that has been filmed. Along with the director he/she creates a 'rough cut' which is then edited further and has special effects added to. This process can take as long, if not longer than the filming process itself. 

Every shot has been chosen to create a specific meaning for the audience. 

Editing has 4 main purposes:

1. Changing the scene- swopping the location of the narrative in time or in space.

2. Omission- in most films we do not observe every second of the characters lives, so what is chosen to be omitted is an important choice. 

3. Varying point of view-the audience is put into the place or invited to empathise with particular characters. 

4. Building a mental image or idea. Shots may be taken from all over the place and then edited to create a journey, for instance shots from a car may create a sense of direction that in fact may be totally different to how they are in reality. See Morrissey's video for Everyday is like Sunday. 

How to approach the action/adventure textual analysis

1. identify what is there in the sequence

2. how is it used ?

3. why it is there/used and what is its impact on the viewer ?

Short Glossary

Areas you need to be able to identify and write about in an essay on an action sequence:


Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition
Shots: establishing shot usually a wide shot that shows where the action is), close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot,
Angle; high angle, low angle, canted/dutch angle
Movement: pan (sideways move of lens whilst camera itself remains static- hence 'panorama') , tilt (up/down movement on camera axis), track/dolly (camera physically follows character or action), crane, steadicam (steady shot whilst moving due to mechanism that operator wears), hand-held, zoom,
Composition: framing, rule of thirds (eyeline of characters is roughly one third down from top of screen), depth of field – deep and shallow focus (what the lens focuses on near or far or both), focus pulls

Editing
Includes transition of image and sound – continuity (dominant editing form designed so that editing is not that noticeable in the telling of the story) Cutting; shot/reverse shot (tyypical way to shoot conversations), eyeline match, graphic match, action match (cuts halfway through an action to a new view making the cut seamless), jump cut, crosscutting (between two simultaneous or related scenes), cutaway (to something significant);
Other transitions: dissolve; fade-in; fade-out; wipe; superimposition;
Long take (without cuts for a long time), short take, slow motion, ellipsis (missing out time) and expansion of time,

Sound
Diegetic and non-diegetic sound
Sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover,
Soundtrack; score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound

Mise-en-Scène
Production design; location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties
Lighting; colour design

Special effects
stunts, CGI (computer generated imagery), bluescreen, pyrotechnics, animatronics/robotics, prosthetics (false limbs etc), models

In all cases, your first step is identifying what is there in the sequence and secondly how it is used and thirdly why it is there/used and what its impact is on the viewer

Advice for approaching Action/Adventure

1. Do not just give a descriptive chronological commentary – analyse and interpret.

2. Make useful detailed notes on the extract. Divide your notes into 5 sections for ease of use.

3. Identify moving image language techniques accurately

4. Select appropriate examples from the extract to discuss – you do not have to cover the whole extract or every example

5. Analyse why/how these aspects are used to create meaning for the spectator deconstruct what you see and hear, explain function, purpose and effect

6. Refer closely to the set extract

7. Cover all five aspects – do not miss one out

8. If you can do make links between different film techniques used, for example, between sound and editing

9 Begin with mise- en-scene ( lighting, props, location, set, costumes, performance).

10. Be accurate with your use of terms, revise your glossary.

Revision: Spiderman feedback

The extract, Superman Returns lent itself to some detailed and thorough answers. This extract produced a broad range of detail being picked out, with candidates choosing a wide variety of points in the clip to use as exemplification of the technical film techniques used.
It is well worth considering a recommendation to candidates that they approach writing about each of the technical aspects in turn, or in pairs, instead of in a chronological way. Whilst it must be stated that these technical aspects of moving image language have a combined effect, this might encourage the chronological approach, which often results in candidates leaving significant gaps. It is this factor in particular, which often leads to few top-level answers, as the mark scheme requires a near comprehensive response, without significant gaps, at the top level. It must be noted that many candidates covered all 5 aspects of the analysis for question one, and also answered on the whole extract rather than focusing on just the action sequence used in the second half of the extract.
More so than in previous sessions, examiners reported balance in candidates responses – they covered textual analysis of all five technical areas. The strongest candidates were able to deconstruct the sequence skilfully, using the technical areas as the starting point for an analysis of how meaning was created in the sequence. There were fewer very weak responses and fewer candidates producing purely descriptive answers than in previous sessions.
The concept of mise-en-scène was well addressed and candidates readily made comment on the contrast and variety of settings used – in the apartment, the use of outer space and the urban metropolis. Candidates were able to pick up on the contrast between locations and the action that took place, the use costumes and props in the film sequence were often discussed at length, for example, the use of a spacious home, Superman’s outfit and superhuman powers he holds or the combat dress of the police and the useless power they had against the protagonist in the extract. The sequence offered a plethora of opportunities for candidates to examine the issue of mise en scène and this technical aspect of the extract was addressed well by most candidates. Candidates were least able to comment on lighting and performance as part of mise en scène.
SFX eluded many candidates and tended to be treated less thoroughly, than other technical areas. As previously reported, many candidates seem to think that SFX refers only to CGI, for example ignoring stunts and models. The candidates were able to recognise the use of computer generated images, in particular: Superman flying, his suspension in space and when Superman is shot in slow motion in the eye. The extract certainly enabled candidates to develop a discussion of special effects, given the combat sequence used in the second half. Many candidates could recognize the use of pyrotechnics and CGI. There were some highly enterprising interpretations of the use of CGI/ slow motion action shots at the end of the extract, when Superman’s qualities are represented by the deflection of impenetrable bullets – he is untouchable. The most able candidates were able to discuss the function of the effects and the performance of Superman as having superpowers/ being superhuman. In the majority of cases, an explanation was given by candidates of how special effects were created and the different types that may have been used; rather than being analysed in terms of the meanings being produced.
Editing remains problematic in many students’ responses. Many comments on editing were confined to the pacing of the extract, however more candidates than previous sessions showed the ability to discuss action and graphic matching of shots, within the sequence, indicating that Centres are beginning to pay attention to the key editing functions of manipulating time (as opposed to pacing), controlling narrative information for the audience (creating suspense or surprise) and constructing perspective. For example there was plenty of evidence of analysis of the discussion in Lois Lane’ apartment at the beginning of the sequence. Candidates could analyse the conversation through the use of shot reverse shots and 180-degree rule of editing. Also, whilst the police were in combat with the protagonist, candidates would often make reference to matching of shots to provide continuity, likewise, with the flight of Superman and the journey he takes into space and his return to earth. In weaker responses editing was under represented and often appeared as a gap in candidates answers.
All candidates were able to select examples from the extract and at times provide detailed discussion of the variety of shots used. The most able candidates could link these to the other technical aspects of the sequence. The Superman Returns extract provided plenty of opportunities to examine camera shots, from long establishing shots to the use of close ups. In particular candidates correctly identified the panning rotation of the camera around Superman as he is suspended in space, and many candidates would discuss the use of the long shot as establishing shot or as creating perspective, for example, Superman flying to space and then the sequence illustrates his perspective of earth from space. Stronger candidates would select a sequence of shots to analyse and provide examples; weaker candidates were too descriptive and could only identify and describe shots. The use of camera movement was important in this extract, many candidates were able to discuss the movement of the camera in terms of the actions of the characters and more so than in previous sessions.
Sound was analysed much better during this session. However there was evidence of confusion between recognising the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Many candidates were able to contrast the use of sound in the extract from the relaxed ambience of the apartment at the beginning of the extract, to the peacefulness of space, the voice of Superman’s father, to the chaotic sirens of police cars and the mayhem of the city. Candidates considered the use of sound effects, from the ‘swooshing’ of Superman’s flight to the roar of the use of the supergun. More able candidates would link the use of sound with the editing or use of mise en scène in the extract, or occasionally candidates would discuss the soundtrack as a means of conveying mood or atmosphere in the sequence. It is pleasing to note that sound is beginning to be integrated with wider aspects of technical analysis, for example, with character, mise en scène and at times special effects.