Director Analysis

1. MediaStudies |BenLand
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg was born on December 18th
1946. He is
currently married to his wife Kate Capshaw and lives in Los Angeles,
California.
Spielberg is best known for his classics like E.T and Jurassic park but
even at the age of 69 he is still directing and producing very popular
films like Bridge of Spies and is currently filming Indiana Jones 5.
Until recently Spielberg would just focus on films but as the ever-
growing popularity of TV series’ increase he has started to direct well
known series such as Halo (currently being filmed) and Falling Sky’s
(which now has 4 seasons). He specialises in many genres but
focuses more on the genre of thriller. He has directed and written
thrillers such as the famous Jaws, cape fear and minority report.
Steven’s career has been hugely successful, he is well known for a
wide selection of movies in a wide set of genres. For example he is
well known for his family classic E.T as well as his action movie Saving
Private Ryan. Some of his best thriller work consists of Jaws and
Bridge of Spies. He is also well known for Indiana Jones and Jurassic
park which are more action adventure. He has won awards such as
the Academy Award for Best Director in 1999 for Saving Private Ryan
and most recently the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film in
2016 in Bridge of Spies. Spielberg is still alive and has had a massive
influence on the film industry. He has contributed with revolutionary
techniques and ideas like Jurassic Park which was an early SiFi
adventure film that is seen as an archetype of modern Hollywood
film making. To add to this he started the concept of ‘blockbuster’
movies as he created very successful movies that spanned over many
years, for example Indiana Jones.

2. MediaStudies |BenLand
Jaws
Basic details:
Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Richard D.
Zanuck and David Brown. It was based on the book ‘Jaws’ by Peter
Benchley and was accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack written by
one of Spielberg’s common collaborations John Williams. It was
released in 1975 with a budget of $9 million where, despite its age, it
made $470.7 million due to fantastic editing and visual effects, for
example the giant puppet shark. This film is still very popular even
and even though a CGI version was released the original is still
preferred. Despite the fact the shark was only on screen for a total of
4 minutes it is ranked as one of the scariest and most suspenseful
films of all time… it still holds this rank today.
Plot:
A young blond is swimming late at night and is viciously pulled under
and killed; her remains are found on the shore
and the beaches are closed for fear of another
shark attack. The beaches are then shortly
reopened due to the theory that it was a boating
accident until ‘surprisingly’ there is another shark attack. The shark
then starts to eat more people until local shark hunter Quint offers
his services as a shark hunter. He proceeds to hunt Jaws with three
colleagues until he is eaten alive and his friend Brody kills the shark
by throwing an air tank in its mouth and then shooting it.

3. MediaStudies |BenLand
Review:
“Here it comes, looming back out of the water: a restored print of Steven Spielberg's serial-
killer masterpiece from 1975; a film that apart from everything else, invented the "forensic-
autopsy-running-commentary" scene, delivered by a scientist trying not to puke. It was
adapted from Peter Benchley's filthier bestseller: a killer shark with the cunning of a U-boat
commander is eating swimmers, and threatening to destroy the precarious prosperity of a
US beach resort over the 4 July weekend. As a picture of pre-bicentennial angst, Jaws stands
alongside Robert Altman's Nashville. Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw are
the three glorious hombres of 70s Hollywood tracking down the shark, whose presence is
signalled by John Williams's orchestral theme, the creepiest since Herrmann's Psycho. All
have something to prove: Dreyfuss is oceanographer Hooper, a superbly natural, utterly real
performance, who has to show he's man enough to take down the big fish. Scheider's police
chief has to redeem himself after participating in that contemporary political phenomenon, a
cover-up: he withheld information about the shark to protect tourism. And Shaw's grizzled
seadog Quint is haunted by a chilling wartime memory. Don't listen to the cynics who claim
the shark looks iffy now. This is a suspense classic that leaves teeth-marks.”
-TheGuardian
To conclude the Guardians reivew, Jaws is a fantastic film and
although it is old it still successfully shocks people as to how
amazingly put together it is.
The genre:
Jaws fits the thriller Genre because it uses all of the generic
conventions that a thriller movie needs. For example in the film
there is lots of suspense due to techniques like the red herring. To
add to this it uses visual effects such as dark lighting and open waters
in order to play off people’s fears so that the effect of the film lasts
even when it is over. This is proven as a survey went round three
months after the film and 40% of Americans were too scared to take
their family to the beach due to the effect Jaws had on them.

4. MediaStudies |BenLand
Close study:
Camera work
 There is an extreme low angle shot whilst Chrissie is swimming
in the sea. The camera is at the bottom
of the sea looking up at her; the shot is
used to give the audience an idea about
how deep the water is. Although there
isn’t much on the screen the faint outline
of Chrissie and the slight glimmer of light
is all the audience need to get a feel for
the depth of the water. This completely highlights the fear of
deep water and completely overwhelms the audience. This is
because in most thriller movies the audience sit there thinking
‘I know how to get out of that situation’ but the lack of objects
and things to hold on to and the deep water show the audience
there is no hope. This also gives us the impression that
someone or something is behind the camera looking up at her.
 There is also an effective zoomed low angle shot followed by a
slight pan. This camera is still underneath Chrissie and still
shows the extreme depth in water but as it zooms in on her it
gives the audience the impression that something is moving
closer. This again plays on the audience’s mind as they
remember the many times they’ve been swimming thinking
something is lurking in the depths. In this however something is
lurking in the depths and we begin to realise this when the
camera starts to follow Chrissie as we notice the danger is
getting closer and closer.

5. MediaStudies |BenLand
Editing techniques
 Jaws is unlike most movies in terms of editing techniques
because in the opening there really isn’t many to choose from.
In the opening there is only medium length cuts. This is
noticeable in the opening scene during the shark attack. Usually
the editing would be fast paced but in Jaws it is not. This allows
us to see the background and see that Chrissie is alone and has
no hope. To add to that it builds tension as we don’t know what
will happen.
Sound
 The theme tune for jaws is very simplistic (two notes) yet one
of the most famous movie tunes ever. This is because although
it is pretty much the only song heard in the film it is very clever
as it adds an extreme amount of suspense and drama. Once the
tune starts playing the audience instantly know someone will
die whilst the victim is completely clueless thus adding
dramatic irony.
Mise en Scene
 The use if props in this extract is successful. In particular the
use of the boi that Chrissie grabs on to. This is successful
because it gives the audience hope that she might survive as
she is able to swim to it. Other than the boi the use of props is
minimal in order to show the audience that Chrissie has
nothing to defend herself with.

6. MediaStudies |BenLand
Minority Report
Basic detail:
Minority Report was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the
bool Minority Report by Philip K. Dick. Its music was, again, by John
Williams who provides to the soundtrack to almost all of Spielberg’s
films. The film budget was $102 million and it made $258.4 million in
the box office which for a Spielberg film is not actually that much.
Despite this it is a well-regarded thriller due to its immense action
and plot.
Plot:
An organisation called PreCrime stops murders before they happen
and decreases the murder rate to zero. They are able to do this
because of three mutated beings, Precogs, which predict future
murders. The murderers are then found and sent to jail where they
live in their own happy virtual reality. The main character, Anderton
is believed to murder someone in 36 hours and therefore goes on
the run to try and find out why and who he is supposed to murder. It
turns out he was set up by the head of PreCrime so he exposes him
and PreCrime is shut down.

7. MediaStudies |BenLand
Review:
“The best scene in Minority Report involves a major character gruesomely trading one set of
eyeballs for another. It is a deliciously dark joke upon which to rest the action, for Minority
Report is a movie concerned with new ways of seeing. As such, it gives fresh impetus to a
growing suspicion about the world's most successful director: Steven Spielberg himself has
traded eyeballs.
From the murderous visions of the pre-cognitive trio, to the retina scans personalising your
shopping experience in Orwellian fashion, Minority Report is saturated with metaphors for
seeing. But look closer, and each new metaphor also functions as a commentary on the
hazards of movie direction itself.
Watching Cruise's cop, Anderton, conduct the Pre-Cog output, sorting through complex
future images with expert waves of gloved hands, is how you would like to believe Steven
Spielberg directs - musically, masterfully. But Spielberg, long removed from brash youth,
understands that ultimately all such confidence is misplaced.
A little later, Anderton's own skill betrays him when he zeroes in on his own face
perpetrating a future murder. Images in Minority Report are unreliable, subject to
interference and editing. The gritty cinematography, once again provided by Janusz
Kaminski, has the flavour of faded family photos and recurring dreams. You cannot quite
trust it, yet the locations seem horribly familiar.
Do not, then, be hoodwinked by the film's atavistic 'Everybody Runs' tagline; clearly the
marketing people at Fox would like the Jurassic Park audience to believe this is a breathless
action spectacle. It's not.
Minority Report is a hybrid film noir, pitched in moral twilight and steeped in shadow. There
may be no blue in the bleached sky, but this is not a standard-issue dystopian future. Nor is it
a satirical cartoon in the Paul Verhoeven tradition. Indeed, Spielberg, that most apolitical of
directors, could be the first visionary to fashion a near-future that feels distinctly ours -
organic, market-driven and teeming with as much danger as promise.
The film noir structure is adhered to until the bitter end, even if the luxurious running time
lacks the adamantine precision of the films Spielberg would most like to imitate: The Maltese
Falcon, The Big Sleep. The denouement, during which the detective unmasks the villain, is
classic noir. The action, let it be noted, ran out an hour ago.
Hugely ambitious and wildly successful in parts, only a tricky third act trips up a master
director clearly enjoying himself in virgin territory. Nonetheless this stands as the best future
noir since Blade Runner.”
-Empire

8. MediaStudies |BenLand
To conclude Empires review the film is very original and despite the
fact it was hugely ambitious it was very good and successful
especially as it was what is thought to be an accurate representation
of our future in terms of the mass marketing and bleached skys.
Genre:
Minority report fits the genre of thriller because it uses conventions
like “whodunit” and things like red herrings in order to confuse us
but still build on our suspicions. It also used techniques such as plot
twists, for example the head of PreCrime actually committed at least
two murders.
Close Study:
Camera
 Close up on Anderton loading his gun. This allows the audience
to see that the job is dangerous and the team are willing to use
force in order to stop the murder. It adds excitement to the
film and makes the audience look forward to an action film.
 Wide angle shot when the
team are getting ready to fly
out to the scene. This allows
us to see all the technology
and helps us know that this
is set in the future. It also
allows us to notice a
member of the team crossing himslef which lets us know that
although it is the future religion still plays a part in their live.
Editing

9. MediaStudies |BenLand
 The shots have been edited so that the sky is white and over
exposed. This has been done as it makes the sky look fake and
artificial showing the audience that the world is very different
to how we know it. To add to that it makes us feel
claustrophobic as it feels like we are still inside something even
when the character is outside due to the lack of sunlight.
Sound
 In the opening scene there is a very good use of non-diegetic
sound. The sound of a roundabout squeaking can be heard just
as Andterton works out that someone is standing in front of a
roundabout in an image. This is very clever as it helps the
audience work it out at the same time as the protagonist
making them feel like they have achieved something thus
making them enjoy the film.
Mise en Scene

10. MediaStudies |BenLand
 A very good use of ‘props’ is the gun that Anderton can be seen
carrying. It is a foreshadow as it is that same gun that is used to
set him up in a future event. To add to this it shows imminent
danger and worries the audience that he might have to use it.
Another effect it has on the audience is that it lets them know
what kind of person he is. The other crew can not be seen
loading a gun but he is loading one showing possible paranoia
as he constantly wants the protection of it. This links to the
idea that he is actually paranoid as it is established later in the
film that his child was abducted which has left him on edge
ever since.