Another Earth Poster

• The typography of the title is reminiscent to the film ‘Alien’ as the lettering is clear, modern and white. This hints at the film’s sci-fi links.
• The ‘o’ of ‘Another’ is actually 2 circles overlapping each other as if the ‘o’ is duplicated itself; linking clearly with the story of the film which is obvious in the title and the image.
• The rest of the font is in the same style, mainly at the bottom of the page in the form of a quote and a release date. The website is in blue to make it obvious and stand out against the image. This is what they want the audience to notice more so they log on and find out more about the film, creating a hype surrounding it.
• All of the text including the official ‘Winner of the Sundance Festival’ logo at the top of the page, is focused centrally in the audience’s eye line.
• The background of the poster is in various shades of blue, giving the poster an icy, scientific feeling. The girl in the centre of the poster breaks this up and adds human warmth. This is to show how the film is a drama as well as a sci-fi and to appeal to the whole range of possible target audiences however a specific target audience isn’t clear.
• The background image shows the sea, another Earth and the moon. This is not an ambiguous image but merely sets the backdrop to the story. The fact she’s the focus suggests she’s integral to the story and is the main character affected by this.
• Having a large focus on the girl clearly shows the audience the actress who’s playing her. In this case though, it doesn’t have any credits meaning they possible want the audience to think more about her as a character or create enigma and encourage them to research the film.
• There is no tagline and so nothing more is given away about the film, creating enigma and intrigue. 

Another Earth Scene Deconstruction #3

Us, Up Close 

Camera Angles 

• Establishing shot of the road Rhoda is walking down. It is shows Rhoda walking across the screen with the moon, Earth 2, the horizon, the ocean and the blue sky in the background. It shows the grand spectacle of the natural world.

• Another shot similar to the one above shows a larger view of Earth 2 as the focus and a boardwalk going out to the ocean as Rhoda walks down it. This could represent the pull and attraction she has towards Earth 2 that she will go as far as she can to reach it. This is a specific inspirational example as it’s a beautiful but not conventional shot.

• There is also a long shot of Rhoda walking around on the rock perhaps implying she doesn’t know what to do once she’s there, she just wants to be there.

• All of these shots don’t tend to show her face but are rather from the back, her side or far away. This links to the narration and treats her as any another human on Earth 1 who may be having these thoughts. It also gives a mysterious tone, appropriate for the genre. 

Sound

• A car horn beeps when Rhoda is crossing the road. The audience cannot see the car so it just as surprising to them as to Rhoda breaking both concentrations of the character and the audience.

• After this shot, space –age style music begins(appropriate for the mystery genre) which works well which the slow editing pace of the establishing shot of Rhoda walking along the pathway. It fits with the sci-fi theme of the film especially as Rhoda has just discovered she has the opportunity to travel into space.

• The deep, soothing male voiceover is part of a non-diegetic soundtrack. The dialogue is philosophical and talks about looking at ourselves. This could be Rhoda’s thoughts as she’s quite a closed book throughout the film and any deep thoughts like this are only expressed through voiceover as if/in the style of discussions on radio and television.

• ‘within our lifetimes, we have marvelled…’ – this reflects what Rhoda is doing in this scene as well as throughout the film.

• Dialogue in narration, possibly Rhoda’s thoughts:
• ‘But maybe the most mysterious of all is neither the small nor the large. It’s us, up close.’
• ‘Would we recognise ourselves and if we did, would we know ourselves?’
• ‘What would we say to ourselves? What would we learn from ourselves?’
• ‘What would we really like to see if we could stand outside ourselves and look at us?’

Mise en Scene

• As she is crossing the road, Rhoda is playing with a toy and she is about to walk in front of a car. This shows how she’s a dreamer and not necessarily attune to reality. This links back to the accident she caused on the road and how this was caused by her not being attentive.

• In this shot, the colours are neutral and slightly dull compared to the next shot which is bluer as it focuses on the ocean and Earth 2.

• Later in the scene she walks around in the same spot and looks around. This enforces the idea that she marvels nature and she is a dreamer. She doesn’t necessarily want to do something; she just wants to be where she’s comfortable.

• The toy she is playing with is an astronomy puzzle. This materializes her interests and personality. It’s a child’s toy also, which could represent how she hasn’t grown up much because she was in prison for 4 years and how she still has her childhood dreams.

Editing 

• The first shot tracks Rhoda as she crosses the road. This represents how the film focuses on her but also how she doesn’t have much of a stable life so she carries on moving rather than settling down.

• Most of the shots again are not static which also shows her unstable life and situation at the moment.

• 2 of the shots are of Rhoda walking in slow motion. This is representative of space-travel because of the lack of gravity and moon-walking etc. 

Another Earth Scene Deconstruction #2

Joan Tallis 

Camera Angles

• Begins with master shot to set the scene. This shows the family setting without Rhoda, showing how detached she’s become to the family dynamic.

• The angle changes to show he situation from Rhoda’s point of view which is all the family transfixed all the television. The audience are unable to see their faces suggesting Rhoda doesn’t have a close relationship with them anymore, or doesn’t know them as well.

• Over-the-shoulder shots show the brother and Rhoda watching the TV including their silohette into the shot. The fact it’s a silhoette provides more focus on the TV screen and represents them as mass audience with no individal identity.

• A lot of shots are close up, even of the TV screen, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere which in turn makes the audience tense.

• The shots of the TV put the audience in their position. 

Sound

• Diegetic dialogue from TV: ‘This is Doctor Joan Tallis of SETI, United States, Planet Earth. Do you read me?’ – this phrase is very official and serious. The use of ‘doctor’ and ‘planet Earth’ gives a futuristic feel. The fact it’s on TV relates to the use of technology and audience consumption.

• In the background there is a non-diegetic soundtrack of an ominous sound gives an eerie atmosphere.

• When the mother hears the diegetic sound effect of the door closing, she automatically moves over to make space for Rhoda. She assumes who it is and there is minimal interaction between them.

• As Joan Tallis realises the voice is not feedback, there is a non-diegetic metallic screech from a violin on the soundtrack. This creates a drama and shock.

• An ominous bass notes increases in volume as Joan reveals ‘Space strawberries’ suggesting impending doom.

• The family share dialogue after this such as ‘what does that mean?’, ‘no way’ and ‘it’s just an elaborate hoax’. This demonstrates various mixed reactions that people may have. Rhoda’s silence is obvious and makes the audience wonder more what she thinks about the situation.

Editing

• Throughout the scene, the camera is not static. It follows the action (zooming in and out as well as moving around) and makes the scene feel unsteady and unstable creating disequilibrium.

• Jump cuts are used sometimes to jump further into the image which is unexpected. This also creates unease within the audience foreboding the revelation about to happen.

• Some images are shaky having the same effect as well as the shots which are refocused. This ultimately gives a sense of daze, confuse and disorientation.  

Mise en Scene

• Low lighting with a green tint creates a dark ominous feel foreboding the revelation.

• The way the family is sitting suggests they’re comfortable. The parents are lounging (the mother with the legs up on the sofa) and the boy sitting on the floor showing respect for his parents. When Rhoda comes in, her mother moves over to make room for her to join them on the sofa. This is clearly an invitation as well as act of politeness and courtesy. Rhoda chooses to sit on the arm of the sofa however, showing she’s not comfortable with joining the family again quite yet.

• The bright, flickering, bad quality image creates unease and discomfort in the audience. This fits well with the genre of ‘supernatural’ and ‘mystery’.

• The expressions of the family enforce the idea of brain-numbing television. The son’s mouth is open, the father looks disinterested by keeps his eyes on the screen and the mother is fidgeting but still doesn’t look away from the screen.

• Rhoda however takes her eyes off the screen to look at them but they don’t take notice.

• When the phrase ‘space strawberries’ is revealed the son laughs in disbelief, the mother becomes worried and confused and the father denies and doesn’t seem impressed. This is for the same effect as the dialogue they speak as it shows various reactions to the revelation. Rhoda remains silent and expressionless.