Visual Text External 1.24 Credits

Film Study

YEAR 11 – Avatar

James Cameron

Throughout this unit you should focus on the following:

Theme and relevance of ideas to modern society/events

Character and character developmentImportant relationships / conflictSignificant event or climax pointSettingSymbolism / MotifsOpening and ending scenesTechnical elements – Visual / Oral

Film Objectives:

Cinematography – camera angles and shotsCostumePropsLighting – High Key / Low KeyColour – filters (green, blue, red)Camera movement – tracking, pan, tiltZoom in / Zoom out

MontageSpecial Effects – 3 D technology, Motion CaptureFade in / Fade outDissolveCut / Crosscutting

Visual Elements:

1. Diegetic Sound - onscreen2. Non-Diegetic Sound - added

DiegeticDialogueFootsteps/wind/natural sounds

Non-DiegeticSoundtrackVoiceover narrationSound effects

Oral Elements:

Establishing shotLong shotMedium shotClose-upExtreme close-upPoint of viewOver the shoulder

Low AngleHigh AngleEye Level

Cinematography : camera shots and angles

Match up the film stills/images on your handout with the correct term and definition.

Paste these into your English workbook.

FILM REVISION

Establishing shot

Long shot

Medium shot

Close-up

Extreme close-up

Over the shoulder shot

Point of view shot

Low Key Lighting

High Key Lighting / Filters

Eye level shot

High Angle shot

Low Angle shot

Montage

Diegetic / Non-diegetic

Sound

Camera Movement

Tracking, Panning, Tilt

fin

Avatar , through the character of Jake Sully, helps show the theme of the power of the individual - that one person has the ability to make a difference.

Jake Sully realises that the military mining operation on Pandora is unjust and eventually switches sides. He finds himself drawn to the culture he was initially fighting against. He is particularly attracted to their strong sense of respect for the environment and life in general. With the Navi Jake also feels a sense of belonging he lacked in his human community. His brother is dead, he doesn’t fit in with the “science geeks” and no longer identifies with the “jarhead” soldiers as he once did. This also reflects the importance of family and identity a person has in order to feel complete and fulfilled.

THEME

‘Avatar’ also reminds us about the harsh truth of unjustifiable military aggression and the capability humanity has to cause destruction, both to our environment and each other. The film conveys to viewers a warning about the way humans treat other species or cultures. A current world concern is the way many developed countries often feel entitled to inhabit another country with no concern for the indigenous cultures and the impact on the environment. Often the reason for invasion is to exploit their natural resources.

The director has acknowledged that even though there are good humans within the film, the humans "represent what we know to be the parts of ourselves that are trashing our world and maybe condemning ourselves to a grim future".

Cameron acknowledges that Avatar implicitly criticizes the United States' role in the Iraq War and the impersonal nature of mechanized warfare in general. Cameron said, "We know what it feels like to launch the missiles. We don't know what it feels like for them to land on our home soil, not in America." He said in later interviews, "... I think it's very patriotic to question a system that needs to be corralled ..."

OTHER THEMES:

A scene in the film which portrays this theme is the violent destruction of the towering Na'vi Hometree, which collapses in flames after a missile attack, coating the landscape with ash and floating embers.

TASK: Watch the following scene.Analyse how visual and oral techniques are

used to help convey this theme.

Important Scene: