The Corpse Bride

1. Note what you see in the first scene, under the following headings. Note two examples of each cinematic technique. Think about what your examples make you think and feel, and make your answers as in-depth as possible.

What can you see? / What does it make you think and feel?
Colours
Sound
Costumes

2. Who is the intended audience for this film?

Camera Angles

1. Match the names of these angles with their descriptions.

▪ long shot ▪ high angle ▪ close up ▪ mid angle shot ▪ low angle

a. ______This shot usually concentrates on one character. If it shows their face, its purpose is to show us what they are thinking and feeling.

b. ______This shot shows characters from the waist up. It allows more than one character to be in view and allows them to talk to each other.

c. ______A shot taken from above the actors. We feel as if we are looking down on them. It can make us feel superior and powerful and make the characters look small and vulnerable.

d. ______ A shot taken from below an actor, as if he/she is looking down on us. It can make us feel small and vulnerable and make the character look powerful.

e. ______ This shot presents the setting and the characters – it might show the countryside around them or the room they are in, as well as the characters themselves. It gives us an idea of the atmosphere or a sense of drama.

2. Now match the names and descriptions to the camera angles from The Corpse Bride.

This is a ______.

Other important camera shots

Establishing Shot (also called Master Shot): This shot shows the setting, location or the landscape of a scene.

Full Shot: This shot frames the entire body of one or more characters.

Medium Long Shot (also called American Shot): This shot shows one to three characters from the waist up. It shows the characters and their roles without emphasising their emotions. This shot is the basis for all storytelling in films.

Extreme close up (or Detailed Shot): This shot is more magnified than a close-up. It focuses on only one part of a character – an eye, a mouth, a hand.

Insert: This shot magnifies a thing – a letter, a photo, a business card.

The Corpse Bride: Looking at characters

1. What can we see in the clip? What does it tell us about the characters?

Make notes on the following. Note at least two examples under each technique. Give a clear explanation of what your examples tell us about the character.

Note what you can see / What does it tell us about what the characters?
Camera Angles
Soundtrack
Costumes and Props
Facial Expressions

2. What do you think the characters are thinking and feeling? Think about their facial expressions and what they say.

3. What are the names of the characters?

The Corpse Bride: Looking at characters

3. What can we see in the clip? What does it tell us about the characters?

Make notes on the following. Note at least two examples under each technique. Give a clear explanation of what your examples tell us about the character.

Note what you can see / What does it tell us about what the characters?
Camera Angles
Soundtrack
Costumes and Props
Facial Expressions

4. What do you think the characters are thinking and feeling? Think about their facial expressions and what they say.

3. What are the names of the characters?

Victor and Victoria

1. What do you expect a typical hero and heroine in a romantic film to be like?

Romantic Hero / Romantic Heroine
How do they look?
What kind of personality do they have?
How do they behave with the other person? Why?
What words would you use to describe how they think and feel?

2. How can we answer these questions for Victor and Victoria? Write down what you will be watching for in the boxes on the left

Victor / Victoria
The setting
· Describe the setting of this scene in as much detail as you can.
· How is it different from the other locations we have seen in the film so far? /

The characters

· Describe some of the new characters we see in this scene. Describe at least one in detail.
· Are they human, animal or something else?
· How do they relate to each other?
· How do they relate to Victor?

The storyline

· What happens at the beginning of this scene? How do you think Victor is feeling, and how can you tell? What are your own first impressions?
· Describe what happens next. Do Victor’s feelings change? Do your own feelings change? Give reasons for your answers. /

Cinematic techniques

What techniques are used in this scene? What effect do they have? In particular, note all you can about the following.
· Camera angles
· Soundtrack
· Colour

Dialogue

Adam: What happened to you, Joe?

Joe: Well, Adam, I was walking down the street, and a man came up to me. I said to him, ‘What seems to be the difficulty?’ He replied, ‘You owe me a hundred pounds.’ But I said I didn’t. And then he hit me.

Adam: Joe, man, what happened to you?

Joe: Well, um, I was going down the street, y’know, and this guy comes up to me, and I’m like, ‘Hey man, what’s up?’ I thought, like, he wanted something. I don’t know. Looked like, y’know Jimmy? Used to go to school with your brother? Hey, got to ring Jimmy. Anyway, he says to me, this guy, not Jimmy, he says, ‘You owe me a hundred quid,’ and I’m like ‘No way, man. In your dreams.’ Then pow! I’m lying on the street. Like, what?!

Adam: Hey Joe, what happened to you?

Joe: I was going down the street, right, and this guy comes up to me. I’m like, ‘What’s up man?’ And he says to me, ‘You owe me a hundred quid’, and I say ’In your dreams.’ Then – pow – he knocks me over.

Complete the following dialogues from The Corpse Bride

These are all characters from The Corpse Bride. Can you guess who they are and where they might be? If not, can you tell what type of person might be speaking?

A: There’s a ______in my soup.

A: Fetch my musket!

B: ______

A: Excuse me, you don’t know me, but______

A: In other news, ______

A: Who invited these people? They must be from ______.

B: Certainly not! If my grandfather could see this, he’d be turning in his ______.

Someone interrupts the conversation. Who might it be?

Dialogue can tell us about a character’s:

Ø personality

Ø job

Ø education and intelligence

Ø social position

Ø feelings about the person they are speaking to

What makes good dialogue

ü Create the illusion of real conversation, but pare it down to as few lines as possible to convey the necessary information. Real conversation would be dead boring if you put it in a film.

ü Avoid lots of ‘umm’s and ‘er’s and repetition.

Jane: How’s your sister?

Molly: My sister? She’s feeling better. What about your mum?

Jane: Mum? Well….

ü Avoid routine or meaningless exchanges. How exciting is it to listen to:

Sam: Hi Fred, how are you?

Fred: Oh, I’m fine Sam. How are you?

Sam: Can’t complain. How’s the wife?

Fred: Oh, not so bad.

ü Make the dialogue speak for itself. You shouldn’t need endless stage directions to show what the character is feeling or thinking.

ü Everybody talks differently. You should be able to tell your character apart from everyone else by their words alone. Use vocabulary and speech patterns that reflect the character of the speaker.

ü Make use of regional, class or professional language. What type of language would different types of people use?

The Corpse Bride: character study

Choose which character you are going to write about: either Victor or Victoria.

Introduction

Briefly describe what the film is about in two or three sentences. What genre is it? Introduce your character.

Middle

Write about at least one of these:

o Describe your character’s appearance: costume, facial expressions and colours

o Describe some camera angles used to show your character at different points in the film and what they tell us

o Describe how your character speaks

Write about both of these:

o Describe your character’s personality

o Describe your character’s relationships with other people

What do you think your character has learned? How has he/she helped other people?

Conclusion

What is your opinion of your character? Does he/she have a ‘message’ for us?