Roland Barthes: semiotics- Hotel babylon

Roland Barthes: Seminotics- Hotel Babylon from Millie Holt


Above is my analysis of a clip from Hotel Babylon that was used within a media studies exam. I have completed an analysis of that clip around the topic of Roland Barthes theory of seminotics. I think that this will be a valuable contribution to my research as I am tearing apart a piece of media film in order to view how the film was constructed, what shot types have been used and how the director engages with their target audience. All of which are qualities that ideally, I should be including within my final video product.

Made on PowerPoint and uploaded by slideshare. 

Director Analysis- Tim Burton (Corpse Bride)

For my first research into film directors I have decided to look into the director Tim Burton. My reasons for doing this are because as an audience member myself I really enjoy consuming his films, and also because the gothic quality which is often present in his productions is something that, if possible, I would like to try and include a little bit of within my main task. I plan to start this research off with an analysis of Corpse Bride. My reasons for selecting this film is because it doesn't have an exact age limit on it's target market; sure, it's mainly aimed at children, however, the film itself has that gothic quality to it which attracts a target audience of any age that is interested in a gothic nature.

The setting of the movie is in a small secluded town, with a forest and woods nearby. This in itself highlights the gothic nature of the film and could possibly connote the dark secrets that the woods know that an audience has yet to find out. In addition to this, the dark setting of the mise-en-scene could possibly represent the despair that the characters within the film have yet to face. The characters are Victor Van Dort, Corpse Bride, Victoria and Barkis Bittern. They, like  several other Tim Burton characters which can be found in his other films, are very skinny and gaunt looking, dress in a victorian-era style, have purple, sunken in eyes and ghastly pale skin. This gives them a quality which fits in the idea of 'the walking dead', or at the very least somebody which is close to death. This is a very dark connotation, juxtaposing the child-like animation of the film, and the films target audience. 

The movie is a stop-motion animation, and Tim Burton has used many varieties of shot types and editing skills in order to create an intriguing, yet shocking product that can be ensured to keep a younger audience engaged. Several close ups have been used when shooting with smaller characters-like the worm and the spider-, and this could have been done in order to give them a bigger significance, and a higher sense of importance to these two characters. In addition to this, spiders and insects are a common fear among not only children, but the entirety of society as a whole. Furthermore, by using close ups in order to make a spider and a worm seem a lot bigger than they actually are, Tim Burton is adding that horror/gothic based quality to his film that he's so well known for. Finally, another effect which Tim Burton used when making the film Corpse Bride in order to keep an audience engaged were the use of zoom ins to signify the shock in some scenes, for example when Barkis Bittern swallowed the laced drink and suddenly died as an aftermath. 

When looking at the editing of Corpse bride, you can see that the different scenes that have been used are mainly edited shot to shot or scene to scene. Tim Burton could have done this as, if more complicated editing had been used, the films target audience- a younger generation- is more likely to get confused at the film, causing them to be un able to follow the plot of the story correctly and, furthermore, causing them to lose interest. Another part of the mise-en-scene/behind the scenes technology that Tim Burton has used in order to bring this film to life is backlighting. The effect of this is that it helps to give an almost psy-fy quality to the characters within the film, and, in a more literal way, backlighting is interesting to look at, and this in itself will help grab a younger audience interest and keep their interest peaked. 

Lighting is used within the film in order to create an almost concert-like effect and he clay-like stop animation used is very smooth and very symmetrical. The reasons that you could say the lighting used is "concert like" is because it shows spot lights of various colours, coming from all different directions. This will furthermore provide an overall better aesthetic and exciting experience for a viewer-specifically a younger viewer- and help keep them interested, in addition to providing a more-over better interactive experience for an audience. 

Opening Scene Analysis: Part Two- Dawn Of The Dead

For my second textual analysis of an existing product, I have decided to pick the opening sequence of the 2004 remake of the film "Dawn Of The Dead". My reasons for selecting this film as the one I want to analyse are for reasons such as the fact that many horror based audience members describe this film as a "timeless, thriller classic", and also due to the fact that you could say, that the directors of this film are testing the barriers of what is, and isn't acceptable within a thriller based, media text (the zombie baby). This film (and it's opening) is a lot gorier, and more violent than I am planning to make my final product for AS, however, I still think it's a relevant film opening to analyse due to the fact that it is an iconographic thriller film, and due to the fact that it builds tension, something which I want to be able to do within my main task.(It was only after completing the analysis of this product that I realized it wasn't the actual opening scene to this film, however I still believe that my analysis is still relevant to the research I am completing because this scene happens very early within the film, and the film is still a horror based media product).The generic codes and conventions which you find within the opening sequence of the film "Dawn of the Dead" mainly centre around blood and violence. Both of which fit into the conventionalities of a horror genre. What's un conventional within this horror opening sequence is the fact that the main 'villain' within this media text, and the one character which you could say caused the pivotal key moment which provided the main disruption within the film that could make the rest of the plot possible, is the little girl which you see at the beginning of the opening sequence. She's the one came into the main characters house, and she's the one that infected her husband, and furthermore exposed her to the harsh, hellish nature of the new world.The way in which the characters are represented within the opening scene is very hard to analyse in contribution to other films, the reasons for this are that two of the three characters that are introduced within the opening scene of this film are characters that have been "infected" with the zombie like infection that completely wipes out any previous personal depth a character had, and instead replaces them with nothing but a syndrome that causes them to have an undeniable craving for human flesh. Furthermore, two of the three characters present within the scene are almost impossible to analyse due to the nature that we have no solid proof of who they were as a person. However, having said this, form the photograph that is shown within the second shot of the opening sequence, we can assume that the man within the opening scene was devoted, normal, and a big part within the main characters life (this may foreshadow some of the problems the main character has within the rest of the film). Another character that we know nothing about the life of due to the fact that we only see her after she has been infected, is the little girl. The only information we can gather about the little girl is from her appearance: she's in what appears to be a long, pink silk night gown, and has long, flowing, clearly looked after blonde hair. We see this is the medium shot of the girl which can be seen above. All of these qualities are stereotypical qualities that you would expect to find in a normal, little girl, furthermore, the bloody would on her face, in contribution to her violent, demon like behaviour, juxtaposes all the evidence that we have that suggests she was innocent, loved and looked after before she became infected. The transition of a what appears to be normal, loved characters, into blood thirsty beasts (one of which transitioned within the space of a few seconds) could have been included in the opening scene by a director because it will shock them, it will cause them to be on the edge of their seats and make them want to watch the rest of the film. By creating this kind of atmosphere for an audience, the director is correctly conforming to the thriller genre, and furthermore, correctly engaging and entertaining with the producers target audience.


Within the close up shot of the photograph of the main character and her husband/love interest that was mentioned in the previous paragraph, miss-en-scene is used in order to create a foreshadowing effect that conveys the sense of dread, in contribution to the up coming disruption that will present within the rest of the opening scene. The shot of the photograph is extremely dark, and in a similar nature to the opening sequence of The Woman In Black, the edges and corners of the shot are completely shaded. By including such dark, sinister qualities to a shot of two smiling-clearly happy- characters, the directer is effectively foreshadowing that something horrid is yet to come. In addition to this, the fact that darkness is a key point within this shot, and it appears almost as a virus that is creeping up the edges of the photograph, could represent that the relationship between the main character and her soon to be infected husband, is very, very shortly, about to face its end. A similar idea to this is that the dark shadows, caging in upon the happy smiles of the two people within the photograph, could represent that all happiness is about to over come by depression, and that the world itself, is just about to end.


Iconography is used within this clip through the use of the ticking clock and the soundtrack, The soundtrack is iconographic as it starts quiet towards the beginning of the clip but gets stronger and louder as the clip progresses and more intensity is shown through the use of camera angles and the facial expressions and acting of the characters. The way in which the soundtrack acts almost like a recently lit firework ready to bursts not only helps build tension  within the scene and furthermore intrigues an audience by almost absorbing them into the clip (diversion- Blumer and Katz), but it also foreshadows the explosive, constantly rocky (constant diversion, rare equilibrium- Todorov) nature of not only the rest of the clip, but the rest of the film and the emotions of the main character. Furthermore, this kind of soundtrack is iconographic for horror and action media products in which the director wants to build tension and suspense. The second iconographic thing which I picked up on within this clip is the use of the clock. At the very beginning of the clip we are shown a clock that switches to the next minute. In the pin-drop silence of the scene, the sound of the clock ticking is the only thing heard- this creates importance and emphasis upon this part of the mise-en-scene. Furthermore, the iconographic nature of the clock could be that it symbolizes the end of time for not only the main characters love interest which dies very shortly within this chapter, but also the end as life as not only the characters within the film, but the audience as well, know it.Framing, composition and layout is used within this clip in order to create a sinister vibe within the media text and install tension and paranoia within an audience. For example, the composition of the wide shot frame where we are almost lurking behind the two older characters in bed and staring at the open door suggest that there's something behind that door waiting to get in. This instils tension and enigmatic codes within the frame as an audience interest will be heightened and they may even face a 'diversion' from real life, this will help make the film see more real to them, and furthermore intensify the entire nature of the scene. In addition to this, the way the camera almost creeps slightly upon what seems to be a long corridor hidden by a door could have done by a director in order to represent the long journey of the rest of the narrative and the experiences which the main character has yet to face. Finally, the composition of the intense soundtrack- almost like a warning bells esperately trying to warn and awaken the main characters and the audience- notching up in sound and intensity the further we get closer to the door- and therefore, what lies behind it- helps to build tension, and that horror based, frightened feeling which all horror loving audiences want to feel. Evidently, by creating this time of atmosphere and composition with the film, the director is successfully conforming to it's chosen genre, and correctly engaging with the audience.