Still - Frame analysis
Maxwell
This frame shows a man standing almost completely above a city. This displays power and foreshadows incoming action in a scene as this illustration of power is about to be rivaled.
The clothing being all black portrays the character as shady or secretive, which fits well with his image of being a spy. The all black attire is used to convey the sharpness and almost class of the character. He is not a common thug or a simple police officer, he is of a higher and more exciting status.
Pathetic fallacy is also used quite effectively in this image, although maybe not purposely. The bright but covered sky depicts not only the character but the scene/ event as not to happy or dark. In between with mystery and excitement.
Finally, being so high above the ground most casually onlooking also links to the character being a spy and this location almost acting like his vantage point. Seeing Big Ben in the background is also an effective use of semiotics as it gives the audience the location of the character as it is a well known tourist attraction so it can be seen that Bond is looking down on his own city and not any random city.
Joshua
This frame is interesting as it shows the antagonist versus protagonist fight. The protagonist (Batman) is clearly in the dominant/ superior postion due to his status. The camera is clearly focusing on him, putting him in the position of superiority. The characters in the background are running showing that the main fight is between the two most prominent characters in the camera shot. The stance that the protagonist is in shows his power and the suit he wears contrasts to his enviroment, instantly making him stand out as the most powerful in the shot. The colour black also connotes with darkness, suggesting a darkness about the character, signifying evil or death. It could also be interpreted as the character being secretive, illusive, or deceptive as these are all connotations that come with the colour black.
Andrew
This still frame shows two people standing on a cliff. In the distance you can see a lighthouse which is built on a small patch-land. The setting is perfect for a thriller because normally when you see TWO people on a cliff, one of them normally in a film falls down and the other tries to help them up.
The background and atmosphere adds into the mystery because the director has picked the perfect background setting for a thriller because it’s not too lightly, neither is it too dark. The forest also behind them adds into the mystery of what will happen next because the setting of the film itself uses different settings throughout. The way the director has chosen to film the forest as black and scary, the atmosphere contrasts this because it has a sharper contrast and more brightness. This is almost like their special point because when characters stand over for example: a city, it normally means, film related, they own the city, almost as if they are the controllers of the city.
The sky itself, depicts something eerie is going to happen, because it is almost as if the sun has set over the Island, and everyone knows normally in a thriller this is when the mystery of the film comes into play. The sky also depicts that something bad will happen because as the sun has set, the moon will rise, this means that the setting and background will be even more darker as it is, and the mystery will begin. This is when normally the mystery begins.
Evaluation:
The still frame analysis was very useful for us as a group. It forced upon us the importance of how just a picture from a scene can have so much connotations and clues as to what would happen. Also how explanatory it could be, from what it showed in all parts of the frame. The benefits of looking at this will hopefully rub off on our work, making it more detailed but again not confusing.
Maxwell St. Hill