Spirited away booklet one - Task 7

Gcse style 15 mark question

How are young, female characters presented in spirited away?

At the start of the film Chihiro is presented as being scared and dependant on others. An example that back this up is when the family have to stop at the dead end, the parents want to venture into, what they think is an abandoned theme park, but Chihiro doesn't want to because she is afraid of getting lost in there. Cinematography is used to show how young and small Chihiro is when walking with her parents as a high angle shot is used making her seem weak and innocent. While the whole of her is in the shot you can only see a small portion of the parents immediately showing us, as the audience that she is the main focus of this scene and she is the  only one who matters at that current moment as the director is trying to portray her in a certain way. This represents how the parents, are less scared if the outside world as they're used to it. The director is showing that at this current moment in the film her parents are stronger than she is, this could've been included to foreshadow the change of Chihiro.

Throughout the film, her character changes because she learns to work things out by herself and without her parents this makes the audience form an emotional relationship with her. She becomes less fearful of things and starts to be more independent, maturing into a stronger person, showing a difference from the start of the film where she is weaker and high angle shots are used. This is with some help from some of the characters she meets with on her way throughout the film, that form her into a new person who is stronger than the one before.

By the end of the film though she is more brave and doesn't need support from her parents or any other characters in the film. This is shown because she is the only person who can save her parents through the film, when they have been turned into pigs. This shows she is capable of looking after herself and others and the love for her parents, this also shows that she has become far more mature and found herself through the film.

This shows that Chihiro's character changes, this then concludes with her being able to save her parents and stop them from being pigs forever, this means she is capable of helping others that aren't just herself, this shows bravery and pride.

spirited away booklet one- task 6

Questions

How is the score of Spirited away used to portray Chihiro?

In the beginning of the film the score is used to represents Chihiro as being innocent and vulnerable, towards the end of the film the music shows her as being fearless and brave this makes her seem like a hero.

What is the most significant change to Chihiro's character?

Throughout the film Chihiro's character changes, we see her go from a young innocent girl to a girl who is mature and doesn't need to rely on other characters, such as her parents.

Give one example of cinematography used to present Chihiro's character. Make it clear which scene it is and explain what the director intended to do.

The director uses close up shots of Chihiro to show her emotions, these are often fear and confusion however they can also be used to show her determination. This shot can be seen when she gets home to her parents.

Give one example of editing used to present Chihiro's character. Make it clear what scene it is in and explain what the director intended to do with it.

I think the main editing techniques are the smooth switching of cutting between shots, I think that this shows that although she is just a young girl she is still innocent although showing her bravery.

Give one example of mise-en-scene used to present Chihiro's character.

The director constantly shows Chihiro's character expression and movement, this allows the audience to form a relationship with her and shows us how much she wants to find her parents and eventually get home as she is still only a child.

Spirited away booklet one - task four

Key scene analysis

scene one 0:00 - 5:55

We see Chihiro in the car on the way to her new home, looking very glum and making it clear she doesn't want to move there. She is represented as a young girl who is sad about moving at this point she just seems like a normal girl. There's a series of shots such as high angle shots, mid shots and long shots to show Chihiro. She is represented as vulnerable when she is shown with a high angle shot, also showing her innocence. Mise-en-scene shows us the characters and there expressions etc. the lighting shows no dangers in this scene. There's short shots to show the movement of the family as they're driving to their new house. There's non diegetic music in the background to show the mood of Chihiro as she moves, it shows the sadness.

scene 2 22:29 - 27:55

Chihiro finds a workshop where there's a man with 4 arms, as she enters all the bugs that are working run away. Chihiro is still represented as being innocent, she fears being in this place, she also doesn't seem too scared as she still ventures into the workshop. The low shots that are shown of her show the weakness of the bugs that scare away from her also suggesting that later on in the film she will be powerful. We see a lot of character expression/movement in this scene shows how Chihiro's character expression/ movement, we see Chihiro looking at a red light represents danger. There's short shots between the man and Chihiro. This is showing his strength and weaknesses.  You can hear the
cranking of the machine, this shows the power of the machinery.

scene 3 59:30 - 1:06:27

There's a creature following Chihiro while she's trying to protect a protect the packet, Chihiro is represented as brave and fearless in this scene. There's a pov shot what is going on throughout this scene. Mise-en-scene, as the audience sees the mud all over Chihiro and her breaking the stereotypes of a young girl, this is showing that she can keep herself safe and stand up for herself. The shot is following the rope as she followed it, this shows the length of the rope as it stretches out to get her. You can hear action music in the background, this carries out the shot and makes it more intense.

scene 4 1:55:30 - 1:55:40

A giant baby comes down we see that Chihiro is safe, Chihiro is a brave hero, there's a high angle shot of the baby looking down at the woman, this shows dominance, baby looks like it's in control. There is no sound to this scene this shows the importance of the words that are being said.

Spirited away booklet one-Task 3

Stereotypes of young girls:

• careless
• innocent 
• worry free
• bows in hair
• 'innocent' hair styles
• plays with barbies/dolls
• dresses
• imature
• no makeup
• school
• pure
• pink 
• skirts

Chihiro is stereotypical:

• she dresses in 'girly' colours
• at first she 'fears away' from the bad guy.
• she has long hair

Chihiro goes against stereotype:

• she's the protagonist
• she saves the people
• she is fearless
• doesn't act her age
• wears clothes that aren't skirts and dresses

Spirited away booklet one - task two

Applying knowledge - opening scene to baby driver.

The opening scene of baby driver starts with a low angle long shot of the street. This shows the location. It then moves to a shot where it is a extreme close up of a tire, the car looks fancy and very clean suggesting that this person has a lot of money. We then see a close up shot of the character with an mp3 in his hand. The character presses play and the shot switches to a close up shot where we first see the character. This enables us to get a sense of who he is, he is wearing black glasses that protect his identity. The shot then switches to a close up of another character, we see through facial expressions that they look as though they're doing business. Then switches to two other characters who seem as though they're in the back of the characters car. We then have a low angle shot where we see the characters full costume, this makes them seem as though they are powerful. Then it goes back to a midshot of the driver who is still listening to his mp3. There is then a long shot of them putting their bandanas on there face making it seem as though they're about to do something illegal. There's then a longshot of them entering the building we see first in the beginning shot, this is also a mid shot of the character driving. There's then a pan shot to show the driver dancing and listening to the music.

Spirited away booklet one- task one

Point of view shot - this is when the camera becomes the character and shows us exactly what they are seeing as they see it.

Close up shot - shows their head and shoulders, it is used to show emphasis on a certain character or object. It also allows the audience to create a relationship with the character.

Long shot - this is a full body shot it is used to show the relationships between characters or can be used to show location. Usually this is used to open a particular sequence.

Extreme close up- an extreme close up focuses on a certain place e.g. the mouth or the face. It is used to show emotion to the audience, usually at key parts of a story. 

High angle shot- the angle is above the character or place, it makes the person look vulnerable, it is used to make the audience side with the characters in shot.

Medium - shots show the waist up, it shows the background and the body language.

Low angle shot - a low angle makes the person look powerful and is positioned below the person

This is an example of a long shot, it shows the relationship  between the two shown and also shows the setting behind them.

This is a close up shot, it shows the facial expressions of the character, this allows us to see how he is feeling.

This shot is a mid shot this shows the characters facial expressions and also shows the status/class of the character.

This is a close up shot this shows the characters emotions and it

shoes a section of the background so we can see what type of person he is etc.

This is a low angle shot it is used to make the man seem powerful. This shot can be used to show his importance.

This is a long shot, it is used to show the whole location we can tell the where this scene is set and also we see that there's a lot of people and no characters are distinguished from each other.

This is a high angle shot. It is used to show the location of the place, if there was character in this shot it would make them look small and not powerful.

This is an extreme close up shot it is used to show the facial expressions of the characters and focus on certain features of them, this can be used to show strength//innocence.''[