cinema screen

Actuality Cinema - 7
Frame 9 Creating Meaning Frame 7
The meaning within the sequence has been changed as its voice over is altered. The silent sequence allows the viewer to speculate about the meaning and create their own narrative. It gives pointers by contrasting beautiful suburban streets with a deprived area but it does not present a clear reason for putting the two sets of images together.

In the second sequence the meaning has been manipulated by the recording of a voice-over designed to provoke a political reaction from the viewer. The voice works to manipulate the meaning of what the viewer actually sees. So instead of a quiet suburban street, we are offered a classist society that lives lavishly whilst the poor suffer.

Finally, the original sequence proves to be no more than a corporate film for the council with a BBC voice-over that fits the bill as newsreel more than documentary.

Tasks

Try and think how you would reorder the images to create another meaning. 

  • Do you have any suggestions for other shots you would gather to enhance the sequence?
  • Try writing a voice-over of your own to fit the images.
  • What different meanings can be constructed by changing the soundtrack?

 
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