Peaky Blinders Analysis

Peaky Blinders - Episode 1 Series 1

The video above is the episode 1 of the TV series called PEAKY BLINDERS and on this page I will be  giving you an analysis about the trailer as well as a few photo stills from the series.

So, as the scene opens it starts of with the (brilliant) actor CILLIAN MURPHY who I think suits this role very well. 

So lets talk about the setting.

The setting of this scene is in the era of 1919 and it's in the area of Birmingham - Small Heath. The way the episode it begins you can tell that it is in the 1900s as the buildings are old and everything is pretty much in dull.

in this image the sky is very dark and it seems like that there is going to be a storm so this shows you clearly that the character in this still is very important yet is negative because he has such a huge impact even on the weather. The way that he is sitting on the horse clearly shows you he has so much authority as a person as he is riding the horse one handed, this shows me that he's very confident within himself riding and he's confident about his horse too as he's showing the viewers that he is the one in power and that he can and will control anything, even the horse. The placement of his right hand which is on his lap shows me that he is in deep thought because the look on his face gives you that instantly, he looks very serious and there is no speck of smile whatsoever, this shows that he's a serious yet determined character and that he is the boss. The fact that he has come on a horse also shows you that he does have power as being on a horse gives you height so this means that he is above everyone there. (literally!) 

If he was brought into the scene in a normal black car, personally I don't think the scene would have been as effective as it is, simply because there would not be any levels in the scene and the fact there is levels in this scene makes it so much better to watch.

The props which are used in the scene are great because they go with the scene very well as they are within the era for example the hat that the character is wearing is a flat cap which were very common to wear in 1900s and they were mainly worn by people who generally where quite important and rich so again this connotes back to him as being an important individual.

The lighting used in the scenes are quite dim and dull and the only thing you can see which is bright is the light from the fire, the fires in these scenes are quite throughout the episode so its shows you that there was a lot of danger and distraction at this time in Birmingham Small Heath. The use of shadows are really good as you can see them very distinctively especially when the main character is riding the horse. This is done to create an atmosphere which is spooky and intriguing and its great because his shadow is the biggest and that shows that he has power over everyone as his shadows overs everything around him.

The costume and make up which is used within these scenes are great as they go very well with the time of the settings because the time that this was happening the clothing that they are wearing is correct. The colour that he is wearing is blue and he also has gold chain on him. The fact that he is wearing a gold chain symbolises to me that he is a very important character as the colour gold is generally associated with importance and royalty.

The space which is used within the scenes is very good and it shows clearly as the people in the village are scared of him so they stay away and hide, this shows the impact this character has on everyone. he also doesn't really socialise with any of the people in the village and this shows he doesn't really care about there thoughts and feelings as he is a negative character which he portrays very well.

The actors. I think the actors play there roles very well. I really like the idea that Cillian Murphy has this negative role as I think it suits him really well as he's done other roles previously such as in the movie Red Eye, where he was the villain and I think that in general him playing these kind of roles suit him.

Colour is absolutely beneficial in a series like Peaky Blinders because it is set in the 1900s, so the colour should be dark and dull because it goes with the scenes. If the colour was bright it wouldn't really make sense in a series like this. The colour is very complimented well as its dark and the fact that the colours in the images are quite dull and muted shows us that it was set in a certain era and again that is good because its given us a feel of nostalgia and that is what we need to see as an audience.

Movement within the scenes is quite important because it shows you how the actors are feeling as well as what they are doing. For example the movement of the people when the main character came on screen was very fast paced and quick, you could see them running away and hiding away as they were very scared of him, so this shows that he has a very superior impact.

I think that these image posters are great as they really show you what the characters are like, for example the first photo of Annabelle Wallis shows me that she looks like a very deceiving character because of her facial expression, the fact that she is not showing her face fully shows you that she is very condescending. I like how you can only see her one eye and the fact that her eye is very wide open thrives you the hint instantly shows me that she is very manipulative.

The Cillian Murphy poster which is in the middle is very good too and I think its great and it shows you so much about the character even before you watch he series. On this image I can tell straight away that he is going to be a very evil, conniving character with a lot of hidden identities  and that he is going to cause so much chaos. The fact that he is looking down and has a very sneaky smile shows me that he is definitely up to something and that he is not a good character, the fact that his eye are covered up as well shows me that he is a bad character because he is not sowing us his full identity.

The Sam Neill image on this poster is the one who you can see clearly out of the three and to me it shows that he must be a very important character with a lot of importance. The fact that he has a very stern look on his face shows me that he is a very "straight to the point" kind of character and will do what he has to do.

  

This image above shows the area of Birmingham, Small Heath. 

Jeepers Creepers - Horror Movie Analysis

         Jeepers Creepers - Mise-en-scene

I have decided to analyse a movie which I really enjoyed watching, the movie is called Jeepers Creepers and its a horror movie.

The setting… car, road graveyards, church, tunnels.

This trailer is absolutely brilliant ! It starts of with two 20 year old -ish students who are literally on a road to nowhere ! The road they are on looks very secluded and quiet and now that obviously gives you that  scary feel because you know exactly that something bad is going to happen, and of course now that's what we want anyway because we want to be all entertained. 

The use of the certain settings such as the car, graveyards, church and tunnels work very great within this trailer as they all have eerie symbolics to them because of the way the setting is being portrayed. The darkness and the dimness of the area is reflected quite well as the use of the lighting that is used is very well complimented. The fact that crows are a big part of the trailer and you can hear them quite well, shows you that this film will end in a bad way as crows symbolise death. I also really like how the characters are in an  abandoned area(It kinda looks like a forest in a weird sort of way) because again you know there's something going to happen as the area is pretty much secluded.

The lighting… dim, dull, muted colours, shadows, dark, black and white, torch lights, spotlights, flashes...
 The lighting that has been used within the trailer is absolutely great considering that it goes very well with the theme of the movie, which of course is horror. I think that the lighting as the trailer evolves gets even better as the lighting is very dim and dull. The colours such as red and yellow are also shown as being very dull which is a bit strange because you'd think they'd be bright but no, the way the colour has been shown is vey muted and its this is great because it shows you that the story may not end very well and the fact that everything is so dull makes it much better. The use of the single spotlight on the villain as he is shown in the trailer is great because the shadows cover his identity and that's what keeps you very intrigued. I really love how the torch lights and flashes have been used because it makes everything oh so much more intriguing as sometimes it'll go bright and then other times it'll just go into a  black out. The blackouts to me, are such great effects in this particular trailer simply because they give you so much more suspense and they literally keep you at the edge of your seat. Flashing lights have been used too, in this trailer and this is definitely a good idea as that creates so much more of an eerie feel because you cant see clearly what's going on and that's what brings out the suspense.

The props which are used in the trailer are items such as swords, rats, birds, religious symbols, and graves - these props are perfect as they symbolise the way the movie is going to progress. The use of these effects are very good and they've been used in the right way because these props are perfect especially for horror genres. 

The costumes of the characters, especially the villain is great because he's wearing a black clock and a black hat, the fact that he's wearing black shows the negativity and symbolises he's not a good character, and that he's going to cause chaos and commotion. It also shows you that as a character he has a lot of importance because of the fact that the cloak is long, it gives you the idea that his character is very significant and has a great impact as well as importance because generally important people mainly wear long types of clothing.

Down the pipe.

The placement of the character(Derry) is great in this shot as the character is pretty much blacked out and this is great because it shows you that the importance in this scene is not on the character but instead its of what is going on around the character. The spot light further down the image definitely goes very well as its shows you the scene and that is what needs to be in the main focus as that's what the character is seeing. it also shows you the horribleness of what is going on around him. The colour red in the corner is quite bright the symbolism to this shows  that there is going to be some danger the colour red symbolises danger and death.

                                        

The creeper ! (jeepers)

I think that this shot is perfect. I really like how the emphasise of the creepers eyes are in the main focus. The fact that the background is fully black and intense gives the image so much more meaning because it catches your attention completely and makes you look into it a lot more It's also very scary to look at because at this point of the movie, this is the villain's opening scene and that is what will definitely make you want to watch on(if your not too scared) because at first you would have just thought the villain was an old man who didn't really look THAT scary but then as he's shown your see for yourself.

The shadow which is below his face gives a lot of detail to the image too, this is done because it makes the character seem way more scarier. The hat is a good prop that the villain is wearing and I think its good thing he is  because it covers parts of his identity and you cant really see him fully and I think its a good thing as it creates impact. The lighting also gives you shadows which is perfect as it keeps you much more intrigued.

The make up which is used on this villain is done absolutely amazingly, the fact that he looks like such a scary, evil, weird, human/half animal thing really has been done well. The make up colours which are used on him are dark colours which again is great because it gives you that eerie feel and the costume is black too which represents death and danger and there is a lot of that in this movie(trust me).The lighting on a whole in this still is very you could say top heavy and that's what makes this scene great as it gives so much impact on the character, even though you cant see all the face of the character you don't really need to as the lighting shows you exactly what you need to see.  

The facial expression on this character seems very aggressive and you know that he's not happy and that he's going to do something as you can see the crinkles under his nose which shows he's angry and literally ready to hunt for its prey as he is hungry.(Literally!)

Divided or united? 

                                                     

                                  SCOTLAND,YES...NO..MAYBE, NOT SURE?

YOU... will you be voting yes or will you be voting no?

Do you generally really understand what is "actually" going on and honestly, as a student, or as  an individual I should say, do you you really care what's going on? 
Of course you should because it's going to be such a huge change to our lives.
If you're like me generally a bit confused and slightly in the middle about it all then I think you must read on because I'm going to try and give you(as well as myself) some clarity on whether it will be better if we stayed united or just divided. I'll be comparing two sites and talking about a Panorama video which I recently watched about Scotland.

n a recent video I watched which was on BBC Panorama, I got from there that the general public and politicians' views about this sudden division between England and Scotland was all to do with The lady herself, Margaret Thatcher !! 
They're simply and most clearly saying on there that she has had a massive influence(even now) on this whole situation. When she was in power, they are saying that she didn't really care as much for the needs of the Scottish and felt that the Conservative party was pretty much anti-Scottish.

There are two major issues which have a big effect and they are  the OIL and the CURRENCY... 
The North Sea oil and gas reserves (or more precisely the tax take from Scotland's share) are vital to the Scottish government's case for independence. Currency also is a big deal because if Scotland do decide to part they still want to keep the pound as part of a formal currency union with the rest of the UK, but the three main UK parties which are the Conservatives, Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats won't go for it, and they have said whoever's in power after the next UK election will not agree to such a move.

THE 2 SITES COMPARISON:

So as I opened the browser (yesscotland website) and that malarkey and went on the website etc  I realised instantly that there are a lot of positives for the Scottish which could genuinely benefit them and make them as individuals much happier and more wealthy IF they did part. The one thing which I felt really works like that on the site and which I feel is quite powerful is the automatic video which the site starts off with as you open it. It's very beneficial for all the ones wanting to part as it literally shows you so many possibilities that the Scottish are missing out on simply by being part of the United Kingdom. It also shows David Cameron in a very bad light to be honest (black and white, literally) because it's showing the oh so many negative ideas that the politicians have made over the years and it's clearly saying that its never going to get any better and parting will be for the best for the Scottish anyway. The black and white does work very well within the video because it looks very dramatic . The site also has very catchy hyperlinks on it which takes you to other parts of the site and catchy imperative commands like "WE MUST, WE SHOULD, WE CAN" and this to me shows generally how passionate they are for  independence and it shows you why.  The colours on the site are blue and white which is very self explanatory as of course the Scottish flag is blue and white. There is no red on that site whatsoever! That would be a bit hypocritical as the red is in the England flag and they wouldn't want that on there.


The better together website is very different to the yesscotland one as it doesn't have a powerful video which pops up automatically. This one is much more… you could say, simple, but yet I feel it does have a strong message because if you look into it, it shows you loads of FACTS on why we are better united. The site highlights the main points of people's interests such as the economy, NHS, education,shopping and mortgages. The colours which are used for the hyperlinks are bright and bold which is really good because that will then make you want to click onto them. The wording and the images that are used on the site  get you straight to the point because they're easy to read and worded in a clear way. The colours which are used on this site are red,blue and white which is quite ironic as that's the colour on our flag so there is a patriotic link there. The site as a whole has a lot of powerful language which is mainly  rhetorical and includes lots of questions. These have been used to create an atmosphere and engage the reader.


By looking at the two websites which are FOR and AGAINST the division, I do think they are both very good and  very catchy. I feel that the yesscotland site grabs you in so much more because the video  it starts off with gives it so much favour and literally does the talking for you. After watching it you don't even need to really read on as it's very self-explanatory. However, as a student my general view of the partition is that we should STAY UNITED simply because we are known as being the UNITED KINGDOM and that means together and that is how we should remain !!