ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY (AS) Genera Certificate of Education 2011 Moving Image Arts Assessment Unit AS [AX121] THURSDAY 16 JUNE, MORNING MARK SCHEME 6423.01
Assessment Objectives The assessment objectives beow provide an indication of the skis and abiities, which the AS AU 2 examination is designed to assess, together with the knowedge and understanding specified in the subject content. Tota AS AU 2 Examination Assessment Weighting: 30% Tota Marks Avaiabe: 90 (30 marks per question) In Assessment Unit AS 2 candidates wi be assessed on their abiity to: AO5 Anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts, demonstrating knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes, meanings and contexts. Assessment Weighting: 30% Assessment criteria The foowing Assessment Criteria AO5 a c are directy based on this objective. In AS Assessment Unit 2 candidates wi be assessed on their abiity to: AO5a Demonstrate Knowedge and Understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. AO5b Anayse and Criticay Evauate moving image products and texts. Candidates wi aso be assessed on the quaity of their written communication. This refers to candidates abiity to: Seect and use a form and stye of writing appropriate to purpose and to compex subject matter; Organise reevant materia ceary and coherenty using speciaist vocabuary where appropriate; Ensure typed writing is egibe, with accurate use of formatting, speing, grammar and punctuation in order to make meaning cear. As the assignment wi take the form of a paperess exam and wi be performed by candidates on computer, basic keyboarding and navigation skis wi therefore be necessary for the input of answers during the examination. In the event that candidates have access to speing and grammar aids on their computers during examination, assessment of speing, grammar and punctuation accuracy wi be reative to the avaiabiity of such assistance. Legibiity and presentation of the typed word wi maintain high assessment priority in these cases. 6423.01 2 [Turn over
Advice to Examiners Marking Bands The Marking Bands overeaf contain criteria that are appicabe to each examination question. These criteria are provided in order to detai the reationship between examination answers and their reevant assessment objectives. They are intended to provide a broad indication of the genera quaities associated with different eves of response. The marking criteria are set out in five eves refecting the broad range of achievement expected. The nature of this subject aows for a variety of responses even within a eves-of-response mark scheme and therefore mark schemes do not contain rigidy prescriptive responses. In an operationa examination situation candidates answers wi be considered by a members of the examining and marking team at the marking conference for each paper. The answers wi serve to exempify the mark scheme and, if necessary, to iustrate where adaptation may be necessary to ensure proper credit is given. Descriptive/narrative and beyond Answers which consist of simpe narrative or description as opposed to anaysis or discursiveness shoud not be awarded beyond eve 3. You shoud not, of course, undervaue answers where there may be impicit reevance in the narrative treatment; indeed, answers which, whie basicay narrative/descriptive, dispay quaities of perceptiveness and reevance, can score up to 15. Within eve 4 you wi find answers indicating increasing abiity to anayse and discuss and to engage with the precise terms of the question. Top eve answers wi address key terms in an expicit and sustained way. Key Terms/Issues In a questions, candidates shoud take account of key terms, and structure their answers accordingy if they are to be reevant and propery focused. Key terms are of two distinct kinds: those which are directives (e.g. discuss how effective, show how far, compare, examine ) and those which refer to specific quaities (e.g. form, structure, tone, imagery ). Audio-Visua Stimuus Examiners wi note that a AS Unit 2 questions empoy audio-visua sequences as a stimuus for their answers. Candidates are expected to show an awareness of the reationship of the audiovisua sequence to the question and to focus on the nuances of the sequence s visua anguage and construction. In genera, the abiity to unpack the question and to address a the issues, which it raises is the sign of a good candidate. Mutipe Stimui Where questions require candidates to seect more than one audio-visua sequence, distinguish between those requiring cose examination of the second/third sequences and those, which ask for reference to. In the first case, examiners shoud expect equa treatment to be given to each audio-visua sequence and reward accordingy; in the second case, candidates who make no reference to a second sequence shoud not be paced above the top of eve 4. 6423.01 3
Length of Answers Length is not important in this examination. Length does not aways mean quaity. Some engthy answers are thorough and interesting, others repetitive and podding. Some brief answers are scrappy, others cogent and incisive. In this AS Unit 2 examination, time restraints wi make it virtuay impossibe for candidates to contribute very engthy responses to questions. Emphasis shoud therefore instead be made on candidates abiity to be concise and to the point in how they answer the questions set. Answers in Note Form Some answers may degenerate into typed note form or may, substantiay take the form of notes. Do not assume that notes are automaticay worthess. Look at them carefuy. Some notes are better than others. The use of notes wi generay mean that the candidate has faied to construct a propery deveoped and coherent argument, but they may contain creditabe insights or raise pertinent points, however inadequatey deveoped these insights or points may be. In other cases, poor time management under pressure may be a contributing factor. If in doubt, contact the Chief Examiner. Uneven Performance Be prepared for uneven performances. Mark each answer on its own merit. Do not mark up unfinished work because of the quaity of the rest of the answers; mark what is before you. Whie some candidates may begin bady, they may redeem themseves during the course of the answer. Read a of each answer carefuy and do not et obvious weaknesses bind you to strengths esewhere in the answer. (The reverse, of course, aso hods.) Assessing the Responses of Candidates You wi be expected to impement the decisions taken at the marking conference and maintain a consistent standard throughout your marking. Be positive in your approach. Look for things to reward, rather than fauts to penaise. Using the marking grids overeaf, decide first which mark eve best describes the attainment of the candidate in response to the particuar question set. Further refine your judgement by deciding the candidate s overa competence within that eve and determine a mark. Do not bunch marks. You must use the whoe scae [0] [30]. Do not use haf marks. Excessive misspeing, errors of punctuation and consistenty fauty syntax in answers shoud be noted in the comments section of the mark sheet and drawn to the attention of the Chief Examiner. 6423.01 4 [Turn over
Question 1 Sequence 1. A young gir finds hersef in a sniper s sight. Study the foowing sequence that is set in a war-zone. How does the director use camera technique, editing and sound (incuding music) to create tension and suspense? Avaiabe Marks: 30 Assessment criteria Candidates wi be assessed on their abiity to: AO5a Demonstrate Knowedge and Understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. (10 marks avaiabe) Leve Performance Descriptors Marks 1 Show minima knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. 1 2 2 Show a imited knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be some understanding 3 4 of purpose and meanings. 3 Show a reasonaby consistent knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be 5 6 growing understanding of purpose and meanings. 4 Show a confident knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions and a consistent understanding 7 8 of purpose and meanings. 5 Show a consistenty high eve of knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions and a considerabe understanding of purpose and meanings. 9 10 Knowedge and Understanding refers to: Camera: Editing: Long shots, medium shots, cose-ups and extreme cose-ups; unbaanced compositions; shaky, hand-hed camera movement; shifting camera positions; tracking camera movements; extreme ow and high anges shots; aternating POV shots; POV of a sniper s sight; out-of-focus compositions. Rapid editing; cross-cutting between the actions of two characters; extreme contrasts of shots inter-cutting between ong shots, medium shots and cose-ups. 6423.01 5
Sound: Diegetic gunshots, reoading of gun, rusting eaves, whisting of the wind, the futtering of birds wings. Non-Diegetic ambient soundtrack. AO5b Anayse and Criticay Evauate moving image products and texts (20 marks avaiabe) Leve Performance Descriptors Marks 1 Minima abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts using appropriate moving image terminoogy. 1 4 2 Limited abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Limited appication of fim anguage 5 8 terminoogy to support responses. 3 Uneven, but sustained abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Increasing confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments 9 12 and responses. 4 A sound abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising fuency and confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments 13 16 and responses. 5 A highy deveoped abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising cear critica judgement and independent thinking. Appying fim anguage terminoogy fuenty and effectivey to justify arguments and responses. 17 20 Anaysis and Evauation refers to: This is a heart-stopping sequence of tension and suspense in which the director empoys a range of cinematic techniques, incuding abrasive editing, rapid cross-cutting, hand-hed camera technique, aternating POV shots, exposive diegetic sounds and an ambient soundtrack to convey the vioence, fear, disorientation, threat and extreme danger of a young gir s efforts to escape sudden death from a sniper s buet. From the very beginning of the sequence, visua stye sets us on edge. The fear and anxiety of the young gir is evident from the opening shot, which frames her in medium cose-up, from an eevated ange, ooking upwards apprehensivey. The foowing extreme ong shot reveas her exposed position. She is trapped out in the open, a tiny figure, kneeing on the ground, surrounded on a sides by the bruta architecture of a war-zone. Suspense is generated immediatey by disquieting, atmospheric sounds that signa danger and by the tight hand-hed camera framing of the face and hand that conveys the nervous movements of the gir as she picks up the jar. The diegetic sounds of rusting eaves and the whisting of the wind disturbing the eerie sience aso contribute to the tense mood of suspense. 6423.01 6 [Turn over
Abrasive sound and image editing communicates the extreme vioence of the sniper s assaut. The deafening sound of gunfire comes a spit-second before the buet strikes the wa, shattering the sience and throwing everything off-baance. The exposive sound triggers a rapid series of abrupt cuts from medium cose-up to medium shot to ong shot as the gir and her friends scrambe for cover. The swift movement of the shaky, hand-hed camera combines with the quick-fire editing to disorientate the viewer and convey the panic and terror suffered by someone who has become a human target. The introduction of images of the sniper greaty raises the eve of tension and suspense. This sinister figure of death is first gimpsed in a series of fragmented cose-ups cuminating in an extreme cose-up of his predatory eye. The director empoys two techniques that wi be sustained throughout the sequence heightening the tension and suspense. A pattern of rapid cross-cutting is estabished between the sniper and his moving target and POV camera technique is used to pace us in the perspective of both the hunter and the hunted. In the first of six POV shots through the sniper s sights, the director forces us to stare down the barre of the assassin s gun. With the vertica post offering barey enough cover to hide behind, the gir is caught firmy in the crosshairs, inches away from certain death. Through this terrifying POV shot, the director intensifies the sense of threat and morta danger. The ominous notes on the soundtrack and barey discernabe voices in the background indicate that worse is yet to come. The sound of echoing chimes sustains the dramatic tension as a high-ange medium cose-up camera reveas the hiding pace of the young gir. The director switches to her perspective as she searches desperatey for a means of escape. The ow ange POV shots of the tower bock and the possibe escape route are fimed with a jerky, hand-hed camera and are tighty framed so that the out-of-focus post obscures most of the image. This creates a powerfu sense of entrapment. Sound pays an important roe in the buid up to the gir s fight across the square. Sience is once again used to powerfu effect. A singe, ow bass note sounds a note of doom over the first POV shot of the tower bock. The diegetic sound of the futtering of birds wings may be an indicator of the gir s intentions. A ow, repetitive sound, ike the beating of a human heart, pays on the soundtrack over the second POV shot of the square. A rhythmic percussive instrument begins to gather pace as if starting the countdown to the gir s desperate fight. Dynamic editing, shifting camera positions and the rising voume and intensity of the ambient score prope the sequence forward into its fina moments of nai biting suspense. A second POV shot through the cross-hairs is foowed by a ong shot of the square reveaing to us just how much exposed ground the gir must cover in order to make her escape. The thriing race against time is a scene of dramatic cross-cutting between hunter and hunted, punctuated by the piercing sound of five gun shots. A frenetic editing pace is maintained throughout and the director empoys a wide variety of shot choices to keep us off-baance and in a state of constant suspense about the fate of the gir. 6423.01 7
The pattern of quick-fire editing is dictated by the mutipe gunshots. Each pu of the trigger sets off a sudden shock cut. A cose-up of the rife sight as the trigger is pued, cuts to a ow-ange medium cose-up of the gir s running feet as the shot strikes the ground. As the gir runs for her ife between the posts, two further expoding shots shatter the mortar triggering spit-second cuts from ong shot to medium shot. The director s dynamic use of camera technique, editing and sound to keep us on the edge of our seats reaches a high pitch of intensity in the cimatic moments of the sequence. A three areas of fim anguage are pushed to the imit to convey the terror and desperation of the gir, who is running for her ife, ike a hunted anima, dodging buets a the way. Fast tracking shots, fimed with an unsteady hand-hed camera, foow the gir s movements from shifting camera positions. A compex editing pattern of inter-cutting between cose-ups, ong shots and medium shots of the gir and cross-cutting between the sniper and his quarry conveys an impression of an unstoppabe force bearing down upon its prey. A brooding soundtrack with a metronome-ike rhythm and intensity pusates throughout the sequence, sounding ominous notes of aarm. With the fast moving camera and high speed editing synched with the shattering impact of each buet, the gir s fight becomes a whir of burred images. After the third shot narrowy misses its target and the gir breaks for open ground, the editing acceerates into an exposive montage of 16 rapid cuts in ten seconds of screen time. Crosscutting from a ow-ange static ong shot of the sniper to a medium shot of the gir running furiousy towards the camera, the director raises the tension to boiing point. The visua dominance of the sniper is estabished by the pattern of frenetic cross-cutting from a ow-ange static ong shot of the sniper at the window to a medium shot of the gir running furiousy towards the camera; from a soft focus shot of the rife firing to a dramatic cose-up of the gir hoding her head; from an extreme cose-up of the sniper s eye to an extreme ow-ange shot of the gir huring hersef to the ground. A high eve of dramatic tension and suspense is maintained throughout this dizzying montage by the director s decision to return us, immediatey before each shot is fired, to the high-ange POV of the sniper. The recurring image of the gir trapped in the crosshairs seems to spe certain death. And for a few agonizing moments, we are forced to stare down the gun sight of her executioner. When the sniper s POV foows the gir as she ros aong the ground, we hod our breath waiting for the fata coup de grace, but no shot is fired. A tension and anxiety suddeny evaporates when the gir reaches the safety of the wa, no onger exposed to the sniper s deady gaze. Signaing the end of her traumatic ordea, the brooding soundtrack fades to sience, whie the hooded figure, framed in medium cose-up, ays down his weapon. 6423.01 8 [Turn over
Question 2 Sequence 2. A prisoner is taken from his ce to be interrogated. Examine the foowing sequence which is set in a futuristic poice state. Discuss the contribution of three of the foowing fim anguage eements to the creation of mood and emotion. Camera technique: Editing: Cinematography: Mise-en-scene: Sound (incuding music). Avaiabe Marks: 30 Assessment criteria Candidates wi be assessed on their abiity to: AO5a Demonstrate Knowedge and Understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. (10 marks avaiabe) Leve Performance Descriptors Marks 1 Show minima knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. 1 2 2 Show a imited knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be some understanding 3 4 of purpose and meanings. 3 Show a reasonaby consistent knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be 5 6 growing understanding of purpose and meanings. 4 Show a confident knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions and a consistent understanding 7 8 of purpose and meanings. 5 Show a consistenty high eve of knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions and a considerabe understanding of purpose and meanings. 9 10 6423.01 9
Knowedge and Understanding refers to: Camera: Editing: Cinematography: Mise-en-scene: Sound: Unconventiona camera framing; extreme high-ange and owange framing; deep focus compositions with a wide-ange ens; POV camera technique; extreme wide shots; expressive use of the cose-up; high speed backward tracking shot. Abrupt editing; inter-cutting between cose-up and wide shot; Low-key, high contrast ighting; heavy use of shadow; du, grey tones. Caustrophobic setting; a padded ce; a gigantic tomb-ike circuar interior; Muted coour scheme grey uniforms, a figure in a white coat; torture instruments and technoogy; a cross between a dentist s chair and hairdresser s chair; mask of a baby s face. Diegetic sounds of the prisoner s distress whimpering, crying; footsteps of the masked figure; buzzing of eectrica vaves. Ominous musica soundtrack of droning sounds and discordant chords. AO5b Anayse and Criticay Evauate moving image products and texts (20 marks avaiabe) Leve Performance Descriptors Marks 1 Minima abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts using appropriate moving image terminoogy. 1 4 2 Limited abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Limited appication of fim anguage 5 8 terminoogy to support responses. 3 Uneven, but sustained abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Increasing confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments 9 12 and responses. 4 A sound abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising fuency and confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments 13 16 and responses. 5 A highy deveoped abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising cear critica judgement and independent thinking. Appying fim anguage terminoogy fuenty and effectivey to justify arguments and responses. 17 20 6423.01 10 [Turn over
Anaysis and Evauation refers to: In this sequence, the director draws us into the terrifying experience of a man about to be subjected to torture. The intention is to create a disturbing mood of fear, menace and mounting terror and to convey the emotiona distress and psychoogica torment of the prisoner each step of the way on his sow descent into a futuristic he. The director achieves this through the use of POV camera technique and a range of expressionist techniques, incuding chiaroscuro ighting, extreme camera anges and shot-sizes, expressive camera movements and the creation of a styised mise-en-scene that echoes the nightmare words of George Orwe s 1984 and Caigari s Cabinet. Exaggeration and distortion, the favoured techniques of the German Expressionists, are empoyed throughout the sequence to create an overpowering sense of threatening and oppressive spaces. The scene aso incudes an undercurrent of surrea humour the bizarre remark made by one of the guards about the prisoner s credit rating, the grotesque baby mask hiding the face of the interrogator which is deepy unsetting and adds to the sinister mood. The sequence begins and ends with the image of a human face. The opening cose-up of the anguished face of the prisoner cuts suddeny to an extreme high ange shot of the padded ce. In this unusua composition, the director empoys a wide-ange ens and ow-key ighting to create depth and distort perspective. The spatia disorientation conveys a feeing of vertigo. For a spitsecond, we are iteray ost in space suspended above a void as if we are staring down a ong, dark tunne or an eevator shaft. This God s eye view of a suffocating interior is a disturbing vision of isoation and caustrophobia. The was of the padded ce resembe a giant spider web within which the prisoner is trapped ike a fy. The editing pattern estabished at the beginning of the sequence, cutting abrupty between coseups and extreme wide shots, is a key method of generating dramatic tension and an a-pervasive sense of threat and danger. The inter-cutting between cose-up and wide shot in the ce is foowed by the first POV shot of the frightened prisoner as the hood is thrown over his head. POV technique is used at key moments in the narrative to communicate the emotiona distress and mounting anxiety of the prisoner. As the sinister figures of the uniformed guards oom into view, the ow-ange camera position and heavy use of shadows convey the utter hepessness and vunerabiity of the prisoner before the oppressive forces of the state. By hoding the POV shot unti the screen is punged into darkness, the director ensures that we experience the parayzing fear and anxiety of sudden bindness. A spectacuar camera movement reveas the true horror of the prisoner s situation. The director dispenses with editing and in one continuous camera shot moves abrupty from cose-up to an extreme wide-ange composition of a gigantic space. The acceerating speed of this dizzying backward tracking shot combines with the sheer scae of the setting to convey a sense of spatia disorientation akin to the feeing of vertigo. Except that instead of ooking down from a great height, we have the feeing of being diminished by a vast, monumenta space resembing the inside of a cathedra or Egyptian pyramid. In this futuristic equivaent of a medieva dungeon, human beings are reduced to the size of ants. With ight streaming from above, the director has conjured up a vision of the underword where the sous of the damned are cast adrift. 6423.01 11
The extreme contrast in size and dimension between characters and setting creates a powerfu feeing of being entombed. The du, grey tones of the cinematography and mise-en-scene and the absence of coour in the wide-ange composition accentuates the atmosphere of dread. Up to this point in the narrative, the director has empoyed an ominous musica score to convey the heightened emotions of the prisoner. In the shots inside the ce, a ow, incessant, droning sound evokes his fear and anxiety, rising in voume and intensity as the hood is paced over his head. As the screen suddeny goes bank, image and musica soundtrack combine to drown out the diegetic cries of panic and aarm. As the hood is removed, the musica notes become more much more sinister and foreboding. As the prisoner ooks around, a discordant note registers his shock and confusion. When the camera tracks backwards, the screeching soundtrack rises to a deafening voume and intensity, amost ike a scream from inside. When the camera comes to an abrupt stop, the high-pitched note of aarm reverberates over the image. It is the powerfu combination of image and sound that makes this breathtaking shot register as such a psychic shock to the senses. The director has conjured up a frightening vision of the power of the totaitarian state to isoate and crush the individua. As the fina note echoes through the vast, hoow space, the sense of something terribe about to happen is overwheming. From this point onwards, the director dispenses with the musica score, reying instead on the reaism of diegetic sound and an extended use of the POV shot to convey the prisoner s fear. The sudden cut from extreme wide shot to the medium cose-up of the guard repeats the estabished shot pattern of the sequence and transports us to the POV of the prisoner. This is a particuary effective means of conveying the mounting anxiety and emotiona distress of the prisoner as he graduay begins to grasp the fate that ies in store for him. As we ook up through the ow-ange POV shot as it swings from one guard to the other, and then across at the tabe where surgica instruments and an eectric dri are ceary visibe, the director forces us to share the extreme emotions of the prisoner as his worst fears begin to be reaized. The diegetic sounds of the retreating footsteps of the guards, the whimpering and aboured breathing of the prisoner and the buzzing of the eectrica vaves increase the feeing of dread. The fina shot combination in the sequence is truy chiing. The extreme ong shot of the sinister figure waking from the far distance towards us viewed from the POV of the prisoner, strapped to the chair, awaiting his ikey fate is a terrifying image of hepessness and degradation. In this 10 second static ong shot, the director generates a high eve of emotiona tension and suspense through the simpest of means. When the mysterious figure first emerges out of the doorway, he is barey distinguishabe, but the white doctor s coat makes him stand out against the monochrome setting and immediatey identifies him as the interrogator and owner of the instruments of torture. The brooding menace in this scene is created by the sow, steady approach of the sient figure towards us in POV ong shot, his footsteps getting ever ouder. There is no escape possibe for the prisoner and as we isten to his distressed breathing, we have a rea sense of someone quivering with fear. Time has amost run out for the prisoner when the director suddeny switches perspective to an over-the-shouder tracking shot of the approaching figure. By reveaing that he is wearing a mask, 6423.01 12 [Turn over
this fina ong shot increases the eve of tension and suspense. As with the previous shot, the ten seconds that we are eft wondering and waiting, are fied with our worst imaginings. The wide ange ong shot is carefuy framed to create maximum shock and anxiety. In the background, we can see the prisoner and the torture apparatus, whie in the foreground, the mysterious figure suddeny stops dead and turns towards the camera. The medium cose-up of the mask takes the scene to new heights of terror. The image of the face of an innocent chid hiding the features of a torturer is shocking and disturbing. The sequence has entered the dark territory of the Horror genre. A scene which began with a cose-up of a terrified human face ends with a deep focus shot of a mask of a chid s face framed in cose-up. 6423.01 13
Question 3 Sequence 3. A young boy is fascinated by horror. Study the foowing animated sequence. How does the director use mise-en-scene, ighting and sound (incuding music) to depict the dark fantasies of a young boy? Avaiabe Marks: 30 Assessment criteria Candidates wi be assessed on their abiity to: AO5a Demonstrate Knowedge and Understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. (10 marks avaiabe) Leve Performance Descriptors Marks 1 Show minima knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. 1 2 2 Show a imited knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be some understanding 3 4 of purpose and meanings. 3 Show a reasonaby consistent knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be 5 6 growing understanding of purpose and meanings. 4 Show a confident knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions and a consistent understanding 7 8 of purpose and meanings. 5 Show a consistenty high eve of knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions and a considerabe understanding of purpose and meanings. 9 10 6423.01 14 [Turn over
Knowedge and Evauation refer to: Mise-en-scene: Lighting: Sound: A young boy and his dog; the boy has a gothic appearance jet back hair, arge bug-eyes, anguar face, od-fashioned cothing and housecoat. Styised settings with eaning buidings, crooked staircases and spintery shaped windows, a aboratory with eectrica devices; a graveyard that turns out to be a fowerbed. Monochrome coour scheme; checkered wapaper, portrait. Painted ight drawn on to the interior settings. Back and white cinematography; ow-key ighting and heavy shadows; fashes of ight; high-key ighting in the fowerbed scene. Voice-over narration reading a poem. Diegetic sound effects buzzing of eectricity, sizzing and zapping noises, a oud exposion; the chimes of Big Ben. Ghosty, operatic score payed on an organ. AO5b Anayse and Criticay Evauate moving image products and texts (20 marks avaiabe) Leve Performance Descriptors Marks 1 Minima abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts using appropriate moving image terminoogy. 1 4 2 Limited abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Limited appication of fim anguage 5 8 terminoogy to support responses. 3 Uneven, but sustained abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Increasing confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments 9 12 and responses. 4 A sound abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising fuency and confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments 13 16 and responses. 5 A highy deveoped abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising cear critica judgement and independent thinking. Appying fim anguage terminoogy fuenty and effectivey to justify arguments and responses. 17 20 6423.01 15
Anaysis and Evauation refers to: In this animated sequence, Tim Burton empoys an expressionist visua stye to transport the viewer into the dark fantasy word of the strange young boy, Vincent. It is cear that most of the images that we see beong to Vincent s imagination and his obsession with authors of the macabre and the supernatura such as Edgar Aen Poe. In order to demonstrate how Vincent s fantasies have burred his perception of reaity (forcing him to mistake his mother s fowerbed for a grave, for exampe), the director dispenses with the conventions of reaism and invites us to enter a andscape of dreams and nightmares. Mise-en-scene The settings and iconography of the Horror genre feature prominenty in the sequence skus, od books and a giant cross; the aboratory with its eectrica devices where Vincent takes on the roe of the mad scientist experimenting on his dog to transform it into a zombie; the graveyard where he attempts to dig up his imaginary dead wife. The characters are aso ceary drawn from the Horror genre. With his shock of jet back hair, arge bug-eyes and anguar face, Vincent is a gothic caricature. We see him in a variety of different guises mad scientist, famboyant artist, obsessed husband inspired by his reading of Horror iterature. Vincent imagines his dog transformed into a zombie creature staking the streets and he takes on the roe of a bereaved husband haunted by the image of his dead wife (a fate suffered by a number of Poe s characters). The mise-en-scene is designed in the exaggerated and distorted stye of German Expressionist cinema. Everything is off-baance in Vincent s fantasy word. Space is constructed on a diagona axis with the checkered wapaper, the paintings, staircases and houses a tited to ean into the space at sharp anges. In this twisted, off-kiter word, the norma rues of perspective are waived and our sense of size and scae is deiberatey distorted. The director has not ony appropriated the styised sets of fims such as The Cabinet of Dr Caigari (seen most ceary in the night time street scene with the eaning buidings, crooked staircases and spintery shaped windows), he has aso empoyed the expressionist technique of painting on canvas backdrops in a theatrica manner. This is entirey in keeping with the word of animation and so we find beams of bright sunight painted onto the surface of the was in severa scenes, such as the wide shots of Vincent painting and reading. Painted ight streaming diagonay from above is used to create a strange, anguar composition in the scene where Vincent ascends the ong staircase. Athough a monochrome image, the coour contrast in this shot is particuary striking. The screen is spit diagonay down the midde with the staircase and Vincent s tiny figure in sihouette. The space above is iuminated by a beam of heaveny ight. The trianguar pattern of painted ight is echoed in the foowing scene of Vincent standing beneath the pyramid shaped wa with his imaginary wife s painting. Lighting If the ight painted on to the background sets evokes a reigious quaity, the ow-key ighting empoyed for the majority of the scenes creates an atmosphere of fear and dread. Heavy shadows obscure Vincent s visage in the opening shot and give him the appearance of a sinister figure of horror. The aboratory is coaked in darkness evoking a sense of macabre goings-on. 6423.01 16 [Turn over
Vincent stands in the shadows with the machinery, whie a singe ight iuminates the hepess figure of the dog. Light and shade are used expressivey in this scene to frighten and disturb us with Vincent s darkest fantasy of transforming his dog into a zombie. When the moment of transformation arrives, a fash of binding ight banishes the shadows. The ow-key ighting design of the street scene is particuary effective in evoking an atmosphere of horror and menace. By keeping the foreground in shadow and using the windows as mutipe ight sources aong with a strong background ight, the director creates a rea sense of depth. The heavy fog that moves across the screen as the shadows appear out of the darkness gives the scene a haunting quaity. Contrasting styes of ighting are used to generate the key comic moment in the sequence. Lowkey ighting creates a cassic horror scene of a grave being dug in a deserted cemetery in the dead of night. Reaity dawns when high-key ighting reveas the graveyard to be a fowerbed and Vincent s dark fantasies are exposed as absurd. As Vincent steadiy refuses to give up his fantasy ife as a horror character, the ow-key ighting scheme is reintroduced to evoke Vincent s new incarnation as an exie in the Tower of Doom. A doom-aden mood of soitude and grand tragedy is briianty conveyed by the suffocating image of the dead wife towering over the fororn figure of Vincent, surrounded by amost tota darkness. Sound The comic tone of the animation is set and sustained by the director s choice of sound. As with the mise-en-scene, there is an exaggerated quaity to the sound design that subverts the horror eements of the sequence by pushing them into farce. A three eements of the soundtrack parody the horror genre the creepy voice-over narration, the weird diegetic sound effects and the haunting musica score. Athough the spooky third person voice-over narration by the famous horror actor, Vincent Price, maintains a mock serious tone throughout, some of the ines spoken by the narrator undercut the dark and ghouish mood with comic asides such as Whie other kids read books ike Go Jane Go and Unaware that her grave was his mother s fowerbed. Simiary sounds that we associate with the creation of the Frankenstein monster buid up to a moment of high comedy. The pusating buzz of eectricity surging through the mechanica apparatus attached to the hapess dog signas that a gruesome experiment is taking pace. The abrupt sizzing and zapping noises that accompany the sudden fashes of ight from the hemet indicate that something horribe is about to happen. When Vincent pus the ever, the deafening sound of a oud exposion indicates not that something has gone wrong, but that the experiment has been a success. In Vincent s weird fantasy word, everything is turned upside down. The diegetic sounds of the chimes of Big Ben are empoyed in the London street scene to ampify the ghosty atmosphere. As the scene fades to back, the eerie sounds of a church organ food the soundtrack. The organ is another instrument that we associate with the Horror genre and here it is used to convey Vincent s transformation into a character from Edgar Aen Poe. The ominous chords of the organ become more urgent and intense as Vincent becomes seized by the fantasy that his imaginary wife might be buried aive. Sound and visuas merge together as the musica score reaches a crescendo over an image of a stone cross. The reigious undertones conveyed by the church organ find a visua compiment in this icon of Christianity. 6423.01 17
The ghosty, operatic score evokes the atmosphere of a graveyard, and its sudden disappearance signas a dramatic change in mood. Gothic meodrama is repaced by dro humour as Vincent s fantasy word is invaded by reaity. But not for ong. Vincent s morbid state of mind as he ascends to the Tower of Doom to be united with the image of his departed wife is conveyed by the ghosty organ notes. The comic ending is created by the sharp contrast between the absurd image of a young boy haunted by the portrait of an imaginary wife and the exaggerated tone of high tragedy evoked by the soundtrack. 6423.01 18 [Turn over
AS Moving Image Arts Examination Marking Grid Unit Tota 90 marks (30 marks per question) Assessment Criteria Tota Marks AO5a Demonstrate knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. 10 (per question) Leve 1 1 6 (1 18) Show minima knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms, conventions, purposes and meanings. Leve 2 7 12 (19 36) Show a imited knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be some understanding of purposes and meanings. Leve 3 13 18 (37 54) Show a reasonaby consistent knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions. There is ikey to be growing understanding of purposes and meanings. Leve 4 19 24 (55 72) Show a confident knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions and a consistent understanding of purposes and meanings. Leve 5 25 30 (73 90) Show a consistenty high eve of knowedge and understanding of fim anguage, forms and conventions and a considerabe understanding of purposes and meanings. AO5b Anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. 20 (per question) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Minima abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts using appropriate moving image terminoogy Limited abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Limited appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support responses. Uneven, but sustained abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Increasing confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments and responses. A sound abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising fuency and confidence in the appication of fim anguage terminoogy to support arguments and responses. A highy deveoped abiity to anayse and criticay evauate moving image products and texts. Exercising cear critica judgement and independent thinking. Appying fim anguage terminoogy fuenty and effectivey to justify arguments and responses. 1 4 5 8 9 12 13 16 17 20 6423.01 19 [Turn over
List of Fim Sequence References Question 1 Ana s Payground (2009) Director: Eric D. Howe (Short Fim) Timecode: 06:16:12-07:28:03 Question 2 Brazi (1985) Director: Terry Giiam DVD Chapter 19 Timecode: 01:59:18-02:00:24 Question 3 Vincent (1982) Director: Tim Burton (Short Animated Fim) Timecode: 00:01:56-00:03:12 6423.01