Learning Aim A

The first of the 2 films I will be comparing is Christopher Nolans The Dark Knight. I chose
this film because it is one of the critically acclaimed best films of the Genre and (according to
IMDB.com), the best thriller film ever made with an overall rating of 9 and sits above
inception (8.8). The crime/thriller film based in the fictional streets of Gotham City and
including well known Superhero Batman and some of the villains from the franchise,
Scarecrow, Two-Face and the iconic Joker. This film focuses on building a tense atmosphere
in most places with some action. The film is considered one of, if not the best, DC films of all
time. The film also had a 180 million USD budget and made 1.005 billion at Box Office. The
films overall running time is 2 hours and 34 minutes. This makes quite a long film comparing
with films from the Star Wars franchise and The Hobbit. The film was created mainly in
Pinewood studios near London. The film is a part of Chris Nolans trilogy of Batman films
that also includes other films such as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises where the
series shows how Batman became who he is in the DC universe. The target audience is
mainly young male adults and teenagers as the movie is mainly action movie and is based
around characters from the DC universe. The narrative of this movie subverts many superhero
conventions as the film is based entirely around events of terror that show complete realism
and that have a lot more verisimilitude than other, more mainstream and typical superhero
movies. The narrative follows in the events of Gotham city and the characters Bruce Wayne,
his butler Alfred, his childhood friend Sarah, Police commissioner Gordon, and the Joker.
The extract I have chosen from this film is a significant scene in the film and concludes a
major plot point. The extract shows the now bitter Harvey Dent holding commissioner
Gordons family hostage and is threatening to kill the person that Gordon loves most. He does
this because Rachel (His Fianc) was killed because Gordons son couldnt get to the location
that she was being held hostage in time and she was blown up by a timed bomb. The tension
builds as an armed Harvey Dent is pointing a gun at his son. Gordon then begins to plead as
Batman arrives and states that Harvey doesnt want to hurt Gordons Son with which Harvey
agrees but says that its about whats fair as he lost Rachel. This further builds the tension
as Batman states that he should point the gun at the people that are responsible. Harvey then
responds by pointing the gun at Batman and flipping his coin. The coin lands on the burnt
side and he shoots Batman. He then does the same for himself and it lands on live. Harvey
then tells Gordon to Lie to his son and tell him its going to be alright. Dent then flips the
coin but before it lands back in his hands Batman tackles him and Gordons son and the shot
cuts to them falling off the edge of the building then quickly cuts again to the coin which has
landed on the side that wouldve meant Gordons son lived. Batman then hands Gordon his
son and Harvey dent has fallen to his death. Then after handing over his son Batman falls and
lands on his back beside Harvey and the clip ends. This clip is a film that builds a lot of
tension as there is a lot of stuff going on in the clip to maintain the tension as the clip contains
a lot of action to keep the audience involved which is one of the main appeals of the film.

The Dark Knight is a superhero thriller film thats about the well-known DC superhero
Batman. The genre of the film is noticeable because of the character types that are in the
film are often seen in many superhero movies, as well as the action that takes place within
it and the way that the film builds tension and enigmas overtime shows many aspects
that are often seen in other thriller films. There are also many narrative theorys within
the film such as Propps theory of character types as does most films with the Batman
being the hero, The Joker is the villain, Rachel is the damsel, Alfred is the helper, Harvey
Dent is the false hero and Lucius Fox is the Donor. There is also evidence of Todorovs
Narrative theory being used as at the beginning of the film there is an equilibrium, which
is then disrupted by The Joker which is then discovered by batman who then resolves the
problem of The Joker which then causes a new equilibrium. There are also different
generic conventions in the film that include the suit that Batman wears as it is in the style
that would only usually be seen in superhero movies and the classic confrontation of
superhero and super-villain fights within The Dark Knight which is also a classic
convention of superhero movies. The setting of Gotham City is also convention as
Superhero movies are often set in the well crowded urban areas as well as the slow paced
scenes that involve the Joker building suspense which is a convention of thriller films.
The iconography within the film is what allows the film to be it seen as a superhero
movie. Props and settings such as the Bat-Mobile and Gotham City are highly noticeable
and make the film more appealing to fans of the superhero genre as they are recognisable
items and places that are only seen in the Batman/DC franchises. Other conventions of
the genres that the film takes place in are the way that the film is put together such as the
way that Batman saves the citizens of Gotham from the super-villain, The Joker and the
different character types that are seen within the film are also seen within the different
superhero movies such as action sequences that involve the main protagonist (Batman)
solving the problems that the main antagonist creates (The Joker) and the main antagonist
making the issues such as blowing up a hospital or holding Rachel and Harvey dent
hostage. These types of situations like the hostage situation of Rachel is typical of the
superhero movies such as when Lois Lane is captured and Superman has to rescue her in
the superman movies or when Mary-Jane is held hostage by Doc Oc in Spider-Man 2.
This shows that some of the scenes in The Dark Knight are conventional of superhero
movies. The film also subverts certain conventions of superhero movies as well such as
the fact that the movie doesn't actually have any supernatural powers in it unlike basically
every other superhero movie such as Spider-Man, Man of Steel and The Avengers just to
name a few. This shows that the film is more realistic despite the genre it is a part of and
may increase the appeal to fans of the thriller Genre more as the film has more
Verisimilitude than most other conventional superhero movies. It also may entice regular
fans of the superhero genre to watch it more as it is unique which raises the appeal. The
camerawork is also conventional of both genres with the camera angles being long shots
and extreme long shots when scenes of action are taking place. This is conventional of the
superhero genre as in superhero films, when events of mass panic and destruction take
place, the camera angles are mainly shots that establish the setting and long shots that can
show the scale of the damage that is dealt for example the long shot of the hospital
blowing up in The Dark Knight. But in the scenes that are building up tension slowly like
when the Joker crashes the party and throws Rachel off the roof, the camera work and
editing is mid/close up and slow to slow down the pace of the film to build the tension
and make the film cater to the thriller audience more as slow paced tension building is
common in thriller films and is one of the main conventions of them. Another example of
the thriller genre that is shown in the film the way that The Joker is portrayed as creepy
and how he threatens certain people as well as the weapons he uses like the knife and the
make-up he wears gives him a threatening vibe that caters to the thriller audience. As well
as the way that The Joker is portrayed as completely insane as well which makes the
character all the more interesting and creates an audience pleasure. The film is a hybrid as
it shows different conventions of both superhero and the thriller genre however,
superhero is often seen as a sub-genre of the action/adventure genre.
This shot shows the Commissioner Gordons family when they are being held hostage
by Two-Face (Harvey Dent). The shot is a mid-shot as it fits in the three characters
(Gordons wife and two children). This is so that the shot can show the wives
frightened facial expression and you the see the children huddling their mother to
convey that they are frightened and they know that they are endangered. This also
shows that Harvey Dent is dangerous helping emphasise the danger of the situation.
The lighting in the shot is also dark which also helps emphasises the danger of the
situation that is taking place.

In this shot, a close-up of Harvey Dent is shown with from the same height as his face
so there are no camera angles involved. This is to show his angered facial expression.
In this shot as well, lighting is used very cleverly as the side of his face that is scared
and disfigured is covered up and hidden by the darkness whereas the rest of his face is
clearly shown, this is whilst he is talking about his past, in which his face was not
disfigured. This helps show the contrast on the man that he once was and the man that
he is now which an audience pleasure as it is allows the audience to see the full
progression of his character and shows how he is feeling.
This final shot from The Dark Knight is a POV shot from the perspective of
Commissioner Gordon looking down from the building after Batman has saved his
son and knocked Harvey Dent to his death. The shot shows Batman hanging from the
building holding the Commissioners son. Batman and the Commissioners son are in
the foreground and in focus as they are the main focus of the shot and two-face is in
the background dead. He is out of focus to connote the fact that good won over evil.
This is again a clever use of camerawork to emphasise fact that good triumphs.
Lighting is also dim to show the seriousness of the situation. Costume is also used in
this shot quite well as it shows the son to just be wearing regular clothes to show his
innocence, two-face is wearing a suit to emphasise his power and Batman is wearing
his suit to show that he is well equipped and prepared for the situation.

The second of the 2 films I have chosen is Tarantinos Django Unchained. It is a

Western film that is classed as a Drama/Adventure film and is based in a time 2 years
before the civil war in the 1850s in America. The film had a budget of 100 million
USD and made around 425.4 million USD at box office. The film was released on the
18th of January 2013. Although there are no direct connections to the plot of any other
film, the film was named after the 1966 film Django and features a cameo of the
character Nero from that film. The film also contains well-known actors such as
Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Foxx which makes some audiences
want to watch the film more.

Django Unchained is a western drama film that is about a bounty hunter known as Dr.
King Schultz and am ex-slave known as Django. The clip that I have chosen shows the
final shootout at Candy- Land (the plantation at which Django's wife is held). At the
beginning of the clip, Candy is insisting that Schultz shakes his hand because of the deal
that they had just made. Schultz then responds to the offer by putting out his hand as if he
is about to shake his hand but then uses his hidden gun to shoot and kill him. This is
different to The Dark Knight as in there was only one gun shot in the entire clip as
opposed to the many gunshots used in Django unchained. This makes the two clips very
different as the action codes are used less than 20 seconds into the Django clip whereas
they are barely used in the Dark Knight clip at all and there are no shots within the clip
until near the end and there is only minimal physical action between Harvey and the
Commissioner's family meaning that the rest of the viewers interest in the scene comes
from the action codes in the Django clip and Enigma codes in the Dark Knight clip. This
then causes Stephen to start crying and runs towards Calvin Candy to see if he's ok. A
man then turns to Schultz with a shotgun after Schultz explains to Django that he couldn't
resist and then proceeds to get shot by the man. A shootout then breaks out with all of the
other men that worked for Candy against Django after Django then takes the man with the
shotgun's pistol and then shoots him and proceeds to shoot others. The gunfight continues
with many people dying and another man on the floor being used as cover and being shot
multiple times. This clip is different to The Dark Knight as it builds tension through
action rather than through a hostage situation and enigmas like in The Dark Knight. The
narrative in this clip is shown through action but through the majority of the film it is
shown through dialogue. The film also uses narrative structure in different ways such as
the motivation of the protagonists being clear as their motivation is the getting the main
goal of regaining Django's wife back. It is also a closed narrative as after Calvin Candy's
house is destroyed and they ride off on a horse and there are no cliff hangers. It is also a
linear narrative as its all in chronological order and is told from start to finish only
showing flashbacks to events that have happened in the film. The movie is also single
strand as it only shows the story of Django throughout the entire film as he is in every
scene in the film. (The film shows the story of Django and no other separate people) The
film doesn't follow Todorov's theory of narrative as the film starts off with a problem then
goes to an equilibrium and then another problem is brought up by the protagonist Django
and they go to try and solve problem to make a new equilibrium. This is different to The
Dark Knight which does follow Todorov's narrative theory following the equilibrium to
the problem and resolution to get create a new equilibrium. In some sense the fact that the
film, Django, does not follow this is a good thing as it means that the audience are more
likely to be surprised by the events in the film as it will be harder to predict. meaning that
the audience will more interested to find out what happens. The audience of The Dark
Knight however will be more likely to predict the end of the film meaning that they will
be happy when the movie ends as the ending will be more likely to live up to the
audience's expectations. So, the film shows aspects of the theory but does not follow its
conventional order. This extract also uses predominantly action codes as the entire clip is
mainly action codes however the rest of the film is mainly enigma codes as the film uses
a surprisingly small amounts of action codes compared to the clip follow it exactly as the
film starts off with a disturbance of the equilibrium already being told to the protagonist
meaning that the protagonists equilibrium and the disturbance of the equilibrium had
already taken place before the start of the film. This means that the disturbance of the
equilibrium had already happened before the film had taken place. Action and enigma
codes also take place during the film to keep the audience hooked. As the narrative is
mainly told through dialogue in the film, enigma codes are the main thing that keep
people gripped to it. However, they aren't the only thing that keep people hooked. In the
extract I have chosen, and some other select moments from the film, action codes are
used. Some examples of these action codes include the scenes such as the candy land
shootout (My chosen clip) the shootout when that takes place when Django finds the
people that sold his wife and the beginning when Schultz kills the person that refuses to
sell him Django. These different enigma and action codes help keep the audience hooked
as they are what make the audience ask questions and also what builds the tension
throughout the film to make the audience want to continue watching it. There are also
elements of Levi-Strausss theory of binary opposites. The different views that are shared
in the film are the main example as they show the different views that he characters share.
For example, perhaps the most popular one in most movies is good vs evil. This is shown
with Dr King Schultz and Django (Good) and Calvin Candy (Evil) they share opposing
views as well in the sense that Django and Schultz want to free Djangos wife and the
Calvin Candy is the one that owns her and doesnt want to free her. These binary
opposites give pleasure to the audience as it makes them want to side with good and for
them to prevail in what they are doing. Propps character types also apply to the different
characters in the film. For example Django is the hero, Candy is the villain, and Dr King
Schultz is the side kick. These are generic
character types that appear in most films that are appealing to most types of people that
like action movies and most other fans of other genres.

Django is a western drama/action film. I can tell this because the film is set in an western
desert style setting that includes many different characters that are stereotypically
included in the Western Genre such as film uses quite a few conventions of the genre
such as the ideas of slavery that are portrayed in the film and Dr King Schultz occupation
of a bounty hunter that is portrayed as these 2 factors are quite conventional of the genre
and are seen in quite a few western films. Some of the settings that are in the film are also
conventional of western genre such as the saloon style buildings that some of the scenes
take place in as well as the desert. Horseback transportation is also a key factor
convention of this specific genre of films as seen in other films such as Cowboys Vs
Aliens. The it is also classed as a Drama as most of, if not all of the scenes have in depth
dialogue that is quite dramatic and therefore keeps the audience interested in the film as
most of the characters in depth dialogue that takes place and the detail that information
that is given contains many audience pleasures that make the audience want to continue
watching the show as interesting information on the background of the characters or their
needs and wants. The film also uses iconography by including things that are typical of
the genre such as things such as the different settings like vast desert and saloons, also
props such as cacti and cowboy hats. A saloon bar and cowboy hat from the film are
shown below.

Camerawork and editing is also typical of the genre as it includes some extreme close-ups
that are often seen in this genre because of the different stand offs and close ups of the
guns that take place during these scenes. The editing techniques that take place. The film
uses only straight cuts between shots and the shots usually last for a long time to build
tension and make the movie go at a steady pace throughout the dialogue scenes. For
example, the different dialogue scenes that take place include longer shots to slow down
the pace of the film and in the action scenes the pace of film is increased because of the
faster cuts between shots which is typical of most western and action and drama movies
so it is a good balance which makes the audience more interested in it. The films narrative
is not very typical of a western film but does show some conventions of action movies.
For example most western movies include a storyline that involves gangs and conflict
whereas the film Django is based mainly around slavery. This doesn't mean however is
completely different to other western narratives as the film is loosely based around
bounty hunting which is also a common trait in his genre of film. It also follows generic
action narratives as well as it shows the good vs evil which is often a trait in action as
well as a situation that is similar to hostage situation that is shown in other action movies
where Django's wife is a slave and the protagonists (Django and Schultz) are trying to
free her from the antagonist (Candy). Because of this film subverting and not following
the main narrative style of most western films, it appeals to the audience as it shows a
kind of unique storyline that anything like it has been seen before making the audience
more interested before even seeing the film. The film is also a hybrid which opens it up to
a larger audience as it is a mix between multiple different genres meaning it will appeal to
people from the audience of all of the different genres that are included within it. The
hybrid genre also attracts the audience quite well as the audience might be interested to
see how the genres that the film is made out of mix to make a good film, which ultimately
makes them more interested in the film as their are likely more of a variety of events that
happen in the film than if it was just a one genre, attracting them to the film especially
making them want to watch it if they are a fan of both genres which will attract the
audience even more. The film caters to some of the audience's expectations such as the
action sequences, though there is few, they are quite action packed and conventional with
a lot of constant gunfire. The drama sequences are quite fulfilling for drama fans as the
film is full of the different ideas that the characters have and the different clashes of
personality that takes place and the tensions that builds and the enigmas that are
constantly created all fulfils the different conventions of the drama genre very well. And
finally the western genre is also fulfilled by the different conventions that take place in
the different props, settings and the character types that are included in the film such as
the revolvers, desert and saloon setting and the stereotypical Cowboys that are included in
the film.

This shot from the extract shows a close up of the gun that Dr King Schultz gets out
after the going to shake Calvin Candys hand. The gun is the main focus of the shot
with Schultzs body in the background. The prop in the shot is the gun, which is
focused on to emphasise the fact that he is about to shoot Candy and to build tension.
The camera movement in this shot is also how the camera moves from the calm
expression on Schultzs face to focusing towards with equipping the gun and
shooting. This shows the speed and emphasises that he wants to get the action done
quickly to show his extra hatred towards the character.
This shot is a mid-two-shot of Stephen and a dead Calvin Candy. The shot is close
enough to be able to clearly see the facial expression on Stephenss face of loss and
how upset he is that Candy is dead. Out of focus in the background is the aftermath of
the shotgun shot that killed Schultz showing that the scene is of importance as much
action has just taken place as one of the main protagonists is dead as well as an
antagonist. This shot is quite typical of Tarantino as the shot is almost picturesque as
it shows Stephen is distress over his dead friend Calvin Candy in the foreground in
complete focus whilst also showing the action in the same shot in the background
which is out of focus in the background. The destruction shows the aftermath of Dr.
King Schultz in the background his body flys along the background of the shot and
the spread of the shotgun destroys some of the books which is why the paper is in the
background to show the action and emotional expression on Stephens face. The
costume in this scene also adds to the shot ass it shows that Candy is wearing what
appears to be an expensive suit whereas Stephen is shown to be wearing black and
white which are colours that are often associated with butlers which connotes that
Candy is more important than Stephen. As well as the actors that were chosen are
both in similar roles to what they usually play as Leonardo DiCaprio (Candy) often
plays main roles like in Titanic, Revenant and The Wolf Of Wall Street. And Samuel
L. Jackson who often places characters that isnt the main focus of the film such as
Mace Windu in Star Wars and Nick Fury in the Avengers.
This shot from Django is a close up of Django taking cover behind a body and
shooting his gun at some people that worked for Candy. The close up is used to focus
on his facial expression of anger and concentration as he looks down the barrel of his
gun. The gun is out of focus as well to further encourage people to focus on his facial
expression. The lighting in this shot also has a red/orange tint to emphasise the danger
and importance of the situation that the protagonist is. In this shot you can also see the
use of MES is quite good at sticking to the Western theme as the revolver in the
foreground is a convention of western films. The lighting is also quite clever in this
shot as it shows a dim lighting and because there is little lighting it connotes that there
is still a bit of hope for Django that he can win the gunfight he is in.

In conclusion, the 2 extracts contrast in very many different ways. One way is the way
that both extracts build tension. The main reason that this is such a big difference is
that the fact that the extract from The Dark Knight is builds tension by using the slow
paced editing and speech patterns with the characters. The extract creates many
different enigmas such as Who will die?, What will happen to two-face? and
What will the overall outcome of the situation be? The creation of these enigmas
creates tension as many of the main characters are in danger in this situation but very
little action codes are used in the extract until the very end. This caters to the thriller
audience because thriller films often use a slower build of tension rather than the
quicker build of tension used in most action sequences.

Django contrasts to this as it is nearly the exact opposite. The main way that the
tension is built in the Django extract I have chosen is through combat and action. The
constant gunfire that Django himself is under makes the viewer constantly interested
as he could be shot, injured or even killed at any point, this builds tension as the risk
of injury that the main character is under makes the scene more gripping to fans of the
action genre that the film is classified under. Also to build upon this, Django is at a
disadvantage as opposed to the protagonists in The Dark Knight which were
technically at an advantage when it comes to numbers whereas it is just Django
against a large number of the different characters that worked for the antagonist of the
film trying to kill him.
Another thing that contrasts the 2 extracts is the lighting that is used. In Django the
lighting is quite bright and intense whilst the constant gunfire is going on which is to
support the fact that the gunfire broke out quickly in broad daylight whereas in The
Dark Knight extract, the lighting was darker which helped with the gradual building
of tension that takes place in the extract as it makes the antagonist appear more
sinister and mysterious and also more clever than the cowboys that shoot mindlessly
at Django in the Django Extract.

These contrasts in the 2 extracts may not appear to be much but they are the main
reason that the films genres are different as the 2 different styles of the ways that
these 2 significant scenes in the films that both include the victory of the Protagonist
and the downfall of the Antagonist yet manage to show them in different ways that
caters to the fans of the different genres. However, although both films explore scenes
of dark and violent themes, The Dark Knight is aimed at more of a general audience
as it follows theories such as Todorovs and Propps theory meaning that the audience
are more than likely families with films that are based of similar structures meaning
that it will appeal to many audiences as of many different types of film, whereas
Django Unchained is more of a film that is less familiar as it subverts Todorovs
narrative theory as it follows a very different structure with the multiple disruptions of
the equilibriums throughout the film almost creating the multiple storylines in the
same film. This aims the film towards more of a niche audience as well as the unique
directing techniques of Tarantino to back this up makes the film more of a cult film
with a very niche and unique audience. These features of the film often also attract
more attention more attention as the film is more unique than films that have more
mass audiences such as the fans of generic superhero movies such as The Dark
Knight.