media studies deconstruction of serenity firefly

8/13/2019 Media Studies Deconstruction of Serenity Firefly

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Immersing titles

Logo

At the start of the title sequenceit shows the word serenity on alogo which represents the name

of the movie they have cleverlyimmersed this by making it thename of the ship which isbranded with the same nameand logo which fades in from theblack background very subtly

into space so it is hardly noticedand your focus is drawn towardswhat the log is on as they slowlypan out of the shot to showmore and more of the shipestablishing from the start that it

is a sci fi setting.

Themes

The pan out shot establishes that it is in space butthey are constantly throughout the sequence tryingto establish a western kind of setting hence the old

tattered back ground on the logo and the fact thatit has been done with old style painting.


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Blurring Effect

Deliberate Effect

The motion shots are usuallyintentionally blurry they used an oldstyle of filming to achieve this anddidn'tt improve the quality with editing

this was to deliberately give it an oldfeeling by using a similar style of filmingto what would have been used in oldwestern films. They did this becausethey used zoom on cameras which isn'toften seen as it makes things blur and

messes with the quality of the thingbeing filmed however by doing this theyadd to the tension gives it a unique formof realism that makes the shots muchmore immersive to an audience.

Peering Effect

Also in another close shot we can see into acabin where you have a calm looking manwho has his hands in his pockets (denotinghis casual stance on things at the moment)

talking to the pilot whilst there flaming shipdrops out of orbit this adds to the comedicaspects of the sequence the close shot alsoshows a technique they repeat through outwhich is filming things through windows sothat its like your peering in on there lives

rather than watching a film


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Casual CharactersThe characters shown is this part ofthe sequence are arguing fairly

calmly despite that fact that whichwas mentioned in the dialogue thatthey could crash and burn at anymoment this adds to the humor andreally sets the scene for how theyare going to establish certain

characters. In this establishing shotthey are trying to show there twomain themes working in union forinstance we have some sci fi spacelike equipment flashing in the background whilst having a pilot dressed

in clothes not normally seenhowever they also show the othercharacter wearing an over coatwhich looks very similar to the kindworn in old westerns

They have worked the titles into the movingscene by simply putting them in front of the

characters whilst they go about their activities inthe title sequence this almost portrays a kind ofhumble approach to the scene which isreinforced by the scenery around them later on.The titles are in the background helping toportray that peering in affect where you are

there looking on these peoples lives as if theywere real people and this was really happeningwhich makes it hugely more entertaining. Thetitles are either written with a ghostly blue fontor a practical white font this is because blue is asci-fi associated color and the standard font for

title tends to be white this is the makers of themovie trying to fit in with some forms ofstereotypical convention in the media.


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Status in the shotsStatus

In the close up shot they are tryingto show a little bit of insight intothe characters themselves forinstance Malcolm is holding theintercom device which

stereotypically is used by peoplewho have power which makes theaudience immediately realize thathe is a leader and a key individual tothe plot. In the other establishingshot they are literally again looking

in threw the window reinforcingthe peering affect but it also showsMalcolm using defiant bodylanguage this is done to once againprove that he is in power and thathe is in control.

Music

Throughout this part of the title sequence theyhave some music playing in the back ground whichis based on a western in origin as it is mostlyacoustic guitar which is stereotypical for westernmovies. The shot also shows the medical lab behind

them also helping with the sci fi setting as it looksfuturistic but they deliberately make it so that youonly get to glance at that equipment as they aretrying to make the audience focus on thecharacters more and make they allow the audienceto imagine what medical related gear would be in

there so that they feel more involved.


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Location/tour

In these establishing shots they are trying to portraythe scene around them which is on a dark and crampedspaceship hence the futuristic style lighting and thecramped clustaphobic kind of feeling and the darklighting adds to the mystery of the sequence as you

dont know where they are going or what they are

doing the makers of the film are being deliberatelyvague in an attempt to enthrall their audiencesattention and they pull it of quite well. They alsocontinue expanding on the peering affect as you followthe captain of the ship as he walks through it stepping

over the same obstacles he does and viewingeverything over his shoulder which creates an affectthat makes the audience feel as if he is giving you a tourof the ship and he is slowly giving you insight into theirlifestyle which means the characters are used to revelthe mysterious that the camera shots and misenseme

try to create which works extremely effectively.


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homeIn the back ground of this establishing shot we see somegroceries and other stereotypical house hold appliances

in the back ground as well as a sudden change in thelighting used as well as a more open and expansiveenvironment in stark contrast to earlier establishing shotswhere it was dark and cramped. The lighting becomes analmost warmer color its brightly lit and it shows a vibrantyellow color which is done deliberately to be hugely

different to earlier on in the sequence where they weretrying to show the dark side of being out in space buthere they are trying to show an emotional connection tothe ship so that people know this is the characters home.The Groceries are there to also paint this homely picturelater on in the sequence you are taken to the engineering

section where everything is a brown rusty color andeverything is brightly lit but it is shown as clustaphobicOnce again the camera almost peers over his shoulder toview what's going on in the scene this adds to thecramped feeling as you imagine yourself stood behindsomeone in a cramped corridor but it also reinforces thetouring of the ship feeling that they are trying to show.


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How it endsThey finish stereotypically with the directors title at the end I believe this was to ensurethe focus was drawn the scenes going on behind the titles rather than to the peoplesnames this was possibly an attempt to be humble or to show that they aren't trying tobreak convention.However they do defy the running theme they maintain through out the title sequencewhich was the peering in affect that is kept going through out the entire sequence with

the exception of 1 close up shot of a women lying down this is to show how she is differentto the rest of the characters that were shown they are trying to draw focus to her andemphasize how much she stands out.The last establishing shot we see shows the spaceship comically struggling to land this wasdone not just to add to the humor but to cleverly show the reference of the ships brandbeing firefly which is why it physically looks like the bug (a firefly).

media studies deconstruction of serenity firefly

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