Avengers Assemble 2012.

Directed by Josh Whedon

The monologue that we hear at the start of Avengers Assemble creates the illusion that the
character has a high status because we cannot see their face. The synthesisation of the voice
makes it sound like the character is alien. Matched with the intense non-diegetic sounds the
audience are drawn into the
mysterious environment.

Low angle shots have been
used to connote that the Loki is
superior to others. The
audience will begin to fear Loki
without properly understanding
his character because of the
mise-en-scne used. He is
being presented, whilst wearing dark clothing, with a Laevateinn
which is other-worldly. The darkness of his costume and environment puts greater emphasis on
the idea that he is shrouded with secrecy. Because the audience cannot relate the surroundings
to a place they know everything becomes unfamiliar and also scary. All of these elements
combined suggests that he is a antagonist character.


The next major character that we meet, Nick Fury, has
an automatic positive air around him because he is
travelling into the Shadow Secret Research Complex
that is set for evacuation. His dominant walk into the
situation implies he is unafraid and powerful. Other
than darkness and evil, black connotes dominance and
formality.

The vast size of the research complex suggests that the movie
directors do not want to cut corners or produce below-par work as
the whole scene is well set up, looks completely realistic and
shows a lot of money has been invested in it.

Some of the angles used help to
influence the audiences view of a
character. For example when Agent
Hill is arguing with Nick Fury the camera is
placed in a low angle to suggest she is
inferior.


When the Tesseract is transporting Loki through to Earth the
camera shakes. This helps to emphasize how dangerous it can
be and bring a sense of reality to the film. The CGI/special
effects help to create scenes otherwise impossible- like the
when Loki is transported through the Tesseract. Without the CGI
the films effectiveness as a sci-fi/adventure is weakened. CGI is
also used in this film to help iconic character come to life, for
example when Dr Banner
transforms into the Hulk.

The use of mise-en-scne is crucial to the characters because
without props and costumes their characters would not be a very
convincing superhero. For example, without his Mjlnir Thor has no
powers and just appears like a grown man in a cape. These small
elements help to engage and convince the audience that the
production has been well planned and executed, not cutting
corners.

To understand the characters completely it is good to have seen the previous Marvel films. This
gives the audience a better understanding of the strengths and
weaknesses each Avenger has. In some parts of the movie they
reference to previous quarrels that characters have had; the main
example of this is the Loki/Thor argument. Without knowledge from
previous films it is difficult to understand why the brothers are
fighting each other and why Loki holds a grudge about his brothers
power. Along the way in the film there are also references to the
characters past lives, like Dr Banner/The Hulk, and how they came
to be a superhero. Understanding the film as a whole does happen
more easily if the audience has seen some of the previous films.

One of the main conventions of an adventure film is the high energy/action scene where the
hero(s) meet the foe. The films usually build up to this scene throughout the start of the movie
and arent normally surprise attacks. This is typical of Avengers Assemble: from the beginning
the characters and audience know there is going to be a confrontation between the Avengers
and Loki because Loki takes the Tesseract at the beginning. In most adventure/action films
there is a victim who cannot defend themselves and in this case it is the people of Earth.

I aim to use some of the following techniques when producing my own content:
The use of colours to portray personality traits and emotions.
The use of dark/light to signify certain moods and feelings.
Having a few key characters rather than just one.