Genre:
In Avengers Infinity War, the directors, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, make their film in the action genre, this is because it has a vast, ever-growing fan base which allows repetitive increased viewings each year. As the genre theory tells us, genres are dominated by repetition but marked by differences from one another films within the genre. Mis-sen-scene is the most pivitol factor in the audiences connotations of a film, for example during a main fight scene, the heros requently use swords and other harmful weapons, this gives the audience a connotation of fighting and furthermore action. This shows the importance of micro-elements as it creates the the dennotations and connotations that the audience make.
Another represen
tation of the action genre, is the use of frequent violence, in Infinity War there is a repetitive elements and scenes of violence of the build up of tension to create a constant notion of anticpation within the audience, this feeling is vital in the genre, action, this is because the a main U and G for the action genre i sfor the audience need to be entertianed, without and gripping, tense storyline then this is not achieved, but Infinity War succesfully does this, thus why its a succesfull film.
Mis-sen-scene:
Mis-sen-scene is the placing of objects and characters on the stage or set. What is used on set is crucial in the viewers perception of the tone and meaning of a scene. For example, in Infinity War most scenes are flooded with futuristic gadgets and computers, this is because it gives the connotations of the genre-hybrid, sci-fi action. Within this there is iconography, this is the mis-sen-scene that represents a genre,
for example in an action film you would expect iconography of violent weapons, fowl language, scenes of violence and also numerous of hegemonic protagonist (main characters with vast power). This all adds effect towards to connotations the audience makes when watching this movie; without effective iconography then the tone of a scene can be spun on its head, an example of this is the fight scene when an allies villiage is under attack by the enemies then the reaction is to grab a weapon and fight, wihtout the appropriate iconography then a scenes meaning is altered to connotations that the audience make.
Sound:
In Avengers Infinity War, sound creates a essential part of a scenes dennotation and connotations by the consumers. In one particular scene the use of both types of sound are used sysincly, this is when the protagonist, Thanos aquires a Infinity Gaunlet the editors add in non-diegetic sound, this is where the sound is not hearable on set but is added to create a feeling, in this case it is very sinister and dark so as the audience the connotation of this is fear, anticipation and tension. This is pivotal in any action film so that the consmer is hooked and engaged to want to watch on.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9780751/Screen_Shot_2017_11_30_at_9.44.38_AM.png)
Furthermore, diegetic sound is used (the use of natural sound that can be heard by actors on set), in the same scene a continuous notion of hatred between both good and evil (binary oppositions) is imminent as the tone of the voice used by the actor Tom Hiddlestone (below) is very ominous and threatening, this thus adds to the purpose of sound, to create tension and a sense of feeling that the audience connotes there own meanigs of the text.
Camera:
Camera shots are essential in all fims as they make the audience feel like they are there, tell them how to feel of set the scene. In Avengers Infinity War shot-reverse shot is used repetitively, this is where the camera changes between character talking so the audience feels like they are there to, in one scenes a tense conversation between Loki and Thanos, this camera shot is used repeatedly, the effect this has on the viewer is an increase in tension and nervousness as you feel like you are being spoken to in such a menacing way.
Another camera shot used is the establishing shot, where the whole scene is and setting is shown to the audience. In this image it shows the village coming under attack by Thanos’ army, by using a establishing shot it firstly infers to us the scale of this fight and likewise to oher methods adds a rich notion of fearful anticipation and concern by the audience as the feeling of not knowing what is going to happen to this tribe is imminent.
Editing:
Editing is crucial in a film, it allows the scenes to flow smoothly and fluently from one to another, without this seemless transition then two scenes can look completely out of place. Firstly, during fight scenes continuity editing is used, this is to makes the cuts in between scenes look invisble, the reason why this is so effective in a action film is that with long periods of continuous scenes the viewers will gain an ever-growing feeling of anxiety and nervousness as the scene is full of scenrios that can go against how the viewers want it to go, for example in a fight between Thanos (evil) and Avengers (hero’s) continuity editing is used to keep the audience ho
oked as the fear of there hero’s not winning or potentially dying is imminent.
Narrative:
Narrative refers to the story-telling of the of the film, the way elements of the storyline are organised to construct a meaningful story. The way this can be done can range from the emotions on the actors faces to the tone of voice. For example as you can see in the image above, an emotional scene that illustrates a connotation of gratitude and love, the way this is done at a low-angle shows that the man s more superior and is the protagonist in this scene, he’s showing his affection for the women. The depth of field is close as the focus is on his emotions. By doing this it creates a bond between the audience and the character, further strengthening the viewers desire for the ‘Avengers’ to defeat Thanos’s army.
Second
ly, a contrasting example of how narrative is vital in showing the true meaning of a story, in this image you are seeing Thor being violated by Thanos, the way his facial expressions shows us his pure fear and pain reflect onto our connotations of Thanos, a evil killer. Making the audience want to watch further to see Thor get his revenge.
Media theories:
R.W Connell theory tells us that there is four definitions of masculinity varying from those with power to thoose without. In Avenger Infinity War the cast is crowded with many hegemonic characters, this is the males power within the film. For example all protagonist are hegemonic, all have a high class of power but some stand out from the rest, Iron Man (Robert Downey JR) is a mian leader within the Avengers team, many people respect him and is looked up to by many. This thoery is useful for us to identify the Avengers characters personalities and the role they provide in the film.
Manuel Alvarado states to us that there is four ways that a s
ocial classification is represented in a media text, in this scene the black family is portrayed as a ‘dangerous’ race, this is wrong as its illustrating a society grouping is as violent, we know this because all members of this race carry heavily armed swords and weapons. In my Marvel doing this ethically wrong as they are identifying a group of people as violent, when in reality they aren’t, the constant repetition of this in many films can end up creating bad stereotypes in modern day society. However, Marvel were the first action film to have a black actor and character as the protagonist, Black Panther, this is breaking the Tokenism theory of where characters often have reduced roles in comparison to characters who fit society’s dominant grouping, so by Marvel doing this it allows more opportunities for black actors to become a successful actor.
Lastly, another sub-title of Alvarado’s theory is ‘pitied’ this is where the directors make the audience feel they need to help the character, an example of this is when we see Thor getting beaten up by Thanos and as Thor is one of the Avengers we feel sad and pity for him as we want to be able to aid him but are unable to. This is very effective as it creates are relationship between character and viewers so that we share the same emotions that the protagonists are going though; making us more engaged on the film.
Harrison Cable-Media 