How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

The film 'La Haine' directed by Mathieu Kassovitz uses a number of different film techniques in order to portray the social issues in Paris. Through the use of mise-en-scene and sound, American culture is shown to have dominated the French culture and have impact on people's lives. A good example of this would be the roof top scene. Said, Vinz and Hubert socialise with others within their community on the top of the local gym in their estate. This scene shows how much the American culture has dominated and shaped their society. The use of diegetic sound is important within this scene. Hip hop music is used in this sequence and this reflects the American dominated culture they are part of. Hip hop is a very westernised genre of music and it is often associated with the American culture. Said splits off from Hubert and Vinz to socialise with others. From this, we can see how American culture has impacted them. They are shown to be discussing about the film 'Lethal Weapon' which is an American and also violent film. As well as showing how American culture has dominated them, it also shows how they are inflicted by violent films.

Mise-en-scene, the use of camera and editing help to show the passing of time within the film.Throughout the film, 360 degree pans are used to represent the circular motion of time. An example of this would be when Said, Vinz and Hubert have all finally joined together and are walking down the alley on their estate. Said then hears a bike and stops with his finger in the air to say to the others to be quiet. The camera then circles around them and then stops when they start walking and have found out who's bike it is. The 360 degree pans are a reaccuring thing throughout the course of the film. Also in this sequence, the fact that they know who's bike it is tells us that they live in a small and tight-knit community. This means that everybody knows each other within this community and can tell who's doing what and generally know where each other would be. A picture of the Earth is shown repeatedly in the film as a reaccuring motif. At the start of the film, we see a clip of Earth and later on we see Said, Vinz and Hubert walk by a billboard with that same picture on it. As the Earth rotates, time carries on. La Haine runs through the course of 24 hours and this is emphasised by the use of the clock to set the scene of where they are at a certain time. This is another way that time has been shown to have move on. At the end of the film, we see the clock change time for the first time. The clock changes from 9:00 to 9:01. As well as this, non diegetic sound of a clock continuously ticking has been used when Hubert aims the gun at the policeman who has just killed Vinz. This may represent a ticking time bomb, how time continously goes on and counts how long until something dramatic happens.

Film Coursework: Catalog

Question:
'In relation to Johnny Depp, how does he act as an actor and how does this effect his success?'

Films

Item 1 - 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003)
I chose this film to be my focus film due to the fact this is one of Depp's most famous roles.

Item 2 - 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' (1998)

Item 3 - 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (

Magazine:
http://www.empireonline.com/features/johnnydepp/default.asp?NID=21844

Interview:
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2011/01/johnny-depp-201101