LO1 Task 2 - Analysis of Four Lions

Purpose:

 The purpose of this film is to entertain the audience, this is because the main topic of the film is about terrorism however there is a comedic twist on it. The film also informs the audience about how different religions can influence people in the way they act, which includes people even dying for their religion.

Genre:

 This film is hybrid genre being a dark comedy, and this is because of how the film portrays a very sensitive topic in a comedic way. This fits in with the type of films that warps films has made in the past which are controversial like This is England.

 Form:

 The film is a feature film that is 97 minutes long.

Budget - 2.5 million

Box office - £ 6,968,562 THE FILM WAS DISTRIBUTED WHERE? WORLDWIDE? JUST IN THE UK?

Style:

 This film is very modern as it was made in the year 2010. Within the film there was use of special effects, one use of this is when Omar uses and rocket launcher to try to take down the drone. Within this film there is the use of pyrotechnics, this is shown in the film when Omar and Waj are seen running through the desert being attacks by the people who he accidentally attacked. Four lions uses a lot of stereotypes that had been exaggerated which is part of the genre as a dark comedy.

Content:

 For this section I will now be talking about the Mise en scene in terms of content, meaning and production process and how this creates and understanding for the audience about the narrative.

The mise en scene of any sort of audio visual product is anything that you can see on screen.

 Narrative:

The narrative of four lions is about group of Jihadists who decide to put their faith into action by becoming suicide bombers. Because their type of religion is not appropriate in Britain, they must keep a low profile in order to execute their plan. Regarding the Kate Domailie theory, the narrative of Four lions would fit under ‘Faust’. This type of narrative explains that by selling your soul to the devil is will bring you riches. Four lions fits into this because of what the main antagonist believe in, their belief is that by complying with their God and dying as a martyr then there would be a place for them in paradise with a number of virgins.   

Location and Iconography:

Within the film four lions there are many locations in that are encoded to create a preferred meaning (Stuart Hall 1980) for the audience. One of the locations that is denoted in the film is a training campo in a desert in Pakistan, this connotes to the audience that the terrorist group jihadist are planning attack the reinstate their dominance. The iconography of the location it self connotes to the audience what they would expect to see in a terrorist training camp, the area is very remote, with only a few goats and the one rocket launcher. This area is great for the terrorists because it is surrounded by hills, therefore this makes the terrorists less prone to attacks from military drones. Another location that is denoted is the city of Sheffield, this is where most of the scenes are filmed as it is the home of the small group of jihadists. Within Sheffield one of the locations that are denoted is the garage of Barry which has the windows boarded up, this connotes to the audience that they are hiding something from that is potentially dangerous like a weapon to use on the British people to complete part of their plan. Within the production stage the locations would be in the pre-production stage, this is because the pre-production stage involves the preparation of all elements involved in the film.

Characters and Acting Gestures:

Omar – deeply critical of western society.
Waj – dim witted / less intelligent one
Barry – bad tempered white man who converted to Islam.
Faisal – is very naïve, tries to train crows to be bombers.
Hassan – very reluctant to do anything in the group.

The acting in the film is encoded to create a preferred meaning to the audience of how people of a foreign countries view other people that are different to them. In this case the small group of terrorists don’t agree with how westernised people live. The acting within the film connotes to the audience how religion can influence the views of people, some religions condemn how other people live and in most religions there is always a particular way in which people should live. If those ways are challenged then some people take offense to that and their way of dealing with it is to retaliate.  

Costume and make up

Within this scene the clothes that Omar and Waj are seen in are very are authentic to the nation of Islam for example the head scarf. This piece of clothing connotes to the audience that both Omar and Waj are loyal to their religion which then explains why they are going to such extreme lengths which include becoming suicide bombers. Within the production stage the costume and make up would be in the pre-production stage, this is because along with the elements locations are considered before the filming takes place. Towards the end of the pre-production all of those elements are reviewed with the screenplay to see if it goes well with the plot.

Props

One of the main props that are used in this scene is the rocket launcher, the intended use of this was to take down the drown that was flying over them however it was accidently used to kill a group of jihadist. This connotes to the audience that the jihadist group are serious about their plan and that they will use any force necessary to do so. One of the other main props that is used in the film is the mass amounts of bleach in the garage of Barry’s house. This is encoded in the film to connote to the audience that the group of jihadists are very skilful and resourceful people as they are able to create explosives with bleach. The props would have also been considered at the pre-production stage, this is vital for film production companies because if one of the props turn out to be useless for a particular scene then they can take it out or replace it with another one.

Lighting and colour:

Throughout the film the lighting is very high key and the colours are very bright, this connotes to the audience the mood of the film. The film is a comedy so the high key lighting reinforces this and creates a happier atmosphere. The colours in the film are very natural and bright and the lighting intensifies the colours, one example of this is at ... 

In terms of the production process the lighting and colour would be the post-production. The lighting and colours is part of editing so after all of the filming has been completed then the film editors can add colours filters or intensify some aspects of the footage to make the film better quality.

Sound
Within four lions the use of diegetic sound helps to enhance the sounds of some of the simple things that you see in it, one example of this is the chirping of the birds in the background. When this scene was filmed a lot of the things that you would expect to hear would not have been picked up by the microphone of the camera therefore, to the audience this would seem unnatural and unrealistic. So by having diegetic sounds it creates verisimilitude.

 Hear are some examples of diegetic sounds within four lions:

•The explosions of the weaponry used against Omar and Waj.

•The chirping of the birds.

•The engine of the car that the group was in failing. 

 

Within Four lions there is also the use of non-diegetic sound, this element is encoded in the film to show meaning. An example of this is shown at [3:04 – 3:20], this use of non-diegetic sound is used to connote one of the main themes of the film. This is mainly based around people from the Asian community so the use of their authentic music is played to so this.

Films with the use of diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror) or in this case it is used to create surprise the audience (comedy).

Example of non-diegetic sound in four lions:

The sound would be in the post-production process, this would be part of the editing. One of the main issues with filming is that a lot of the sounds that you would expect to hear won’t be there in raw footage as the microphone cannot pick up the sound. So with the use of Foley sounds, all of the everyday sound effects can be encoded after all of the raw footage is filmed to create verisimilitude.

Camera work:
 The camera work within four lions is encoded in the film to provide the audience with an understanding of the narrative, one of the ways it does this is by using certain shot types to connote the more significant changes in the narrative like the enigma. One of these shot types is the crowd shot, this becomes evident in the film when ever the group are all together on screen. This is encoded in the film and it is important as it connotes to the audience that each individual in the group in important and that all of the focus should be on them. Another shot type that is encoded in the film to emphasise the aspects of the narrative is the close up shot. This shot is encoded in the film to connote to the audience the emotions of the antagonists in the film and especially Waj. This is because close up allows you to create a mental connection with the character so that you can sympathise with him, in this case it allows you to see how the situation affects Waj. It is through this that you connotes to that audience that he does not want to do this but he does it anyway so that he can please he brother. The other main shot that is used is the establishing shot, this is encoded in the trailer to connote to the audience that there is a change in location. Within the film there is a lot of travelling to many different locations so, the establishing shot is used to show the view the scene and where the next couple of minutes of action are going to be taking place. One example of this is at ... where Omar and Waj have just arrived in Pakistan to begin their training.

 Camera angles:

 The camera angles that are encoded in four lions connote to the audience the stature of the antagonist. Camera angles can be used to show the dominance or weakness of something or someone. In this case the high angle is used in four lions to connote vulnerability and weakness. An example of this is at ... where you can see Omar in a wookie costume running away from the police. He is being watch by snipers from the high ground, this makes him vulnerable to attacks from the above. Another angel that is used to connote the stature of a character is the low angle, this angel is encoded in four lions to connote to the audience dominance. An example of this is at ... where you see Omar talking to the rest of the group, this is used as an indication of who is the main figure of the group. Another way this is shown is when the camera pans back to the rest of the group, the angel of the camera is high which connotes to the audience that they are inferior to Omar.

 The camera work would be considered at the pre-production stage, this is one if the main things that are considered before the raw elements for the film are recorded. With this being considered at pre-production it can then be used the instruct the camera team on the type of camera angles and shot types that are needed to complete the filming.

Editing:

The editing within four lions is encoded in it to create verisimilitude, this is important as the film is based on a real life problem. This then makes it relate-able and easier to understand for the audience. One of the editing techniques that complete this purpose is the insert shot, this shot is encoded in four lions to connote to the audience the significance of a prop. One example of this is at ... where you see the military drone flying over Omar and Way. The significance of this is that the drone's purpose is find any sort of suspicious activity in the desert, so therefore the enigma becomes present at this scene. One of the other editing techniques that are used is the cut, this is used alongside with the effect whereby is looks like the audience is looking through a camera. An example of this is at [22:53], where there is a cut to another scene. The cut appears in the form of a camera dying, this creates the illusion of the film being a documentary.
 Another editing technique used within the trailer is the use of CGI. One of the main scenes in four lions is when Omar accidentally kills some of his camp mates, when they retaliate the use rocket launchers at him. This would have been extremely dangerous to do live so the use if CGI lowers the risk of injury and lowers the cost to preform it.
The editing would be in the post-production process. Post-production is, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name.
 These typically include:
·         Video editing the picture of a film using an edit decision list (EDL)
·         Writing, (re)recording, and editing the soundtrack.
·         Adding visual special effects - mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be.
·         Sound design, Sound effects, ADR, Foley and Music, culminating in a process known as sound re-recording or mixing with professional audio equipment.
·         Transfer of Colour motion picture film to Video.​