Media Languages and Forms

• What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?
• What is the significance of the text’s connotations?
• What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
• What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings?
• What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?
• What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?
• What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?

In the film the characters and situations are easily noticeable. The audience are able to tell the difference between characters and the future events. This is through the mise-en-scene/sets/settings. For example the villain Gothel is always shown in low key lighting and in dark black clothing. Also get appearance itself is frightening to an extent. From this we can tell as an audience that she is a villain and evil character. She is also nearly most of the time when entering a scene, she is shown in low angle shot connoting her power. However Rupunzel and Flynn are wearing light coloured clothing and their appearance are more attractive to the audience. Rupunzel wears the colour pink throughout the film which connotes innocence and romance. Also the colour pink is always associated with a girl. Whereas Flynn Ryder wears blue throughout. This connotes peace, and adventure. Also when the colour blue is always associated with the male gender. Both these characters are good within the film and are mostly shown in high key lighting with straight cut camera angles and shots like long, short, close up. An iconic image within the film is Rupunzel’s hair. Her hair connotes her innocence as it had never been cut and is long from the very beginning which can connotes that she has never been infected by the outside and is still sweet and innocent. Another iconic image is the tower that she lives in. It represents her isolation from the world but also can be shown as something ironic. The connotations of the tower could be a phallic symbol which is the irony in the film because she meets her love within the tower and does at the end finally kiss Flynn in it. It is also irony as Rupunzel is meant to be pure and innocent. The fact that the film is set in mainly a forest and a magical kingdom connotes to the theme of the film. Fantasy. It helps emphases the magic and those fairy tales and fantasy theme stories are always set within forest and kingdoms. The animals within the film do not speak, which is unusual for a film of the genre of fantasy. However from their facial expressions and actions the audience are able to understand them. For example  Maximus the horse always has a smoke coming out of his nostrils and a frown on his face whenever chasing Flynn Ryder or there is a mention of him.  However at the end when he teams up with Flynn to save Rupunzel he is grinning and smiling. Pascal the chameleon however is different his colour changing skills tell the audience how he is feeling and whenever he has something to say he is always with Rupunzel and only looks at her. Through he replies to Pascal we are able to understand what he was saying with him actually talking. The music within the film is a big indicator of how characters are feeling and the situations they are in. For example when Rupunzel finally gets to see the lights at the end a song is played where both Rupunzel and Flynn sing and the song is a sweet melody with lyrics that suggest that they are in love with each other. Each character has their own song which makes the overall soundtrack to the film.