for this task we were asked to analyse the 'les miserables' script.
1) How did the script introduce the narrative (story), setting, time period, the characters and the genre?
This script introduces the year of which it was set, the history of it and where it is set.
"The year is 1815.The French revolution is a distant memory. Napoleon has been defeated. France is ruled by a King again".
- This gives the audience the gist of the history of the film in the script before it even starts. This also uses short simple sentences which attracts the audiences attention because if it was a paragraph of writing they would not want to read it all.
Some parts of the script also make the setting appear miserable, gloomy and dark because at one part it says; "Winter rain slices the air" and "Storm-lashed sea and driving rain". These small parts of information could make the audience believe that throughout the film the gloomy and dark theme will be continued.
Also in this script it lets the reader know that these men are in fact convicts if they hadn't guessed that already, it says; "The convicts sing in time with the rhythmic pulls on the rope". This also lets the audience know that this film is a musical genre.
Throughout the script it focuses on one convict in particular which makes us think about his importance in the film and if he is a main character, this character is "Jean Valjean". Despite the physical labor he is doing and being "up to his waist in water, chained by two sets of manacles". This does not bother him because "he seems to feel nothing". This makes the audience wonder why he feels nothing despite being "a great brute of a man".
2. How does it engage you?
This script engages me because it gives me details of what it would be like for the convicts at that time and with accurate descriptions of the shots, it lets me imagine what it would be like. Also this script has made me learn not to go into too much detail with script writing because it engages the audience more with less details.
3. How did the film-clip introduce the narrative (story), setting, time period, the characters and the genre?
At the very beginning of the 'Les miserables' opening clip, it tells us information already, it says; "1815 twenty six years after the start of the french revolution a king is once again on the throne of france". This gives the audience a part of the historical background of the film and where it is set. Also the year "1815" was much bigger than the rest of the text and it makes the audience wonder if it is significant and if the don't know why they explain it later on in the opening text. After the text is shown non-digetic sound in the form of music is playing which is powerful, which makes the audience think that what they are about to see next could be similar.
The camera shots are then wide angled focusing on the many men that are pulling on ropes which are attached to a ship. The camera focuses on one of all these men in particular which is Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean). This may trigger the audience into thinking if he plays a significant part in the film because he is in most of the shots. some people may think that these man are being forced into this physical labor but when you look closely you can see that each of the men are wearing shackles around their necks and chains, this lets the audience know that they're actually convicts.
Also at one part of the opening clip Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean) is walking in a line with the other convicts which appears in a long angled shot, the officer in charge "Javert" makes Jean Valjean retrieve the flagpole with the flag attached which snapped off onto the floor. This makes me think that Javert chose Jean to do it out of all of those convicts because he shows strength and Javert doesn't seem to like people being stronger than him so he wants to break Jean.
4) How did it engage you?
The script engaged me because it gave me lots of information than I would have got if I just watched the clip alone. On the other hand the clip was also good because it gave me an idea of what the characters were like and their relationships.
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